Happy Friday, FUTcast crew!

If you blinked, you missed the crash. If you slept, you missed the panic.

Thunderstruck has officially landed, kicking off the Black Friday carnage we all knew was coming — but maybe not this hard. The servers are melting, the store is flooded with lightning rounds, and the market Index looks like it fell off a cliff.

We have live cards that upgrade based on real-world performance, Icons that will cost you a mortgage, and a pack store that is trying its very best to drain your coin balance before TOTY.

The game has changed overnight. The power curve just took a massive leap forward. Let’s break it down before the next lightning round hits.

Promo & Event Updates

Thunderstruck

This isn't just a shiny card design. These are Live Cards. Similar to previous years, these cards upgrade based on their team’s real-world domestic league performance.

The Upgrade Path:

  • 1 Base PlayStyle: Club wins or draws 2 matches in the next 5 domestic games.

  • All Roles++ in all positions: Club wins or draws 3 matches in the next 5 domestic games.

  • +1 PlayStyle+ (or Base PS): Club scores 10 goals in the next 5 domestic games.

This is arguably the strongest squad we've seen in FC 26.

Icons:

  • Diego Maradona (96 CAM) - The king of the promo.

  • Franz Beckenbauer (93 CB) - The best CB in the game?

  • Paolo Maldini (93 CB) - It’s Maldini. You know the drill.

  • Birgit Prinz (93 ST) - Underrated stats, lethal finishing.

  • Eusébio (92 ST) - A nightmare to play against.

Current Players:

  • Jude Bellingham (92 CAM) - Real Madrid links + upgrades? Scary

  • Alexia Putellas (92 CM) - The midfield queen returns with 5-star skills and 91 Passing.

  • Rodri (91 CDM) - The anchor every team needs with 91 Defense.

  • Raphinha (90 LM) - 92 Pace, Barcelona upgrades incoming.

  • Theo Hernández (88 LB) - The best LB in the game just got better with 92 Pace.

Promo Takeaways

  • The Chase: Jude Bellingham and Alexia Putellas. With Real Madrid and Barcelona likely to hit the win requirements easily, these cards are almost guaranteed to become 3-PlayStyle+ monsters. If you pack them, you build your team around them until TOTS.

  • The Value: Raphinha (90 LM). While 90 rated isn't cheap, his stats are perfectly meta (92 Pace, 88 Dribbling). With Barcelona's attack, he is highly likely to get the 10-goal upgrade.

  • The Trap: Wout Weghorst (85 ST). Don't let the upgrades fool you. He turns like a truck with 82 Pace and low agility. Unless you are crossing 20 times a game, leave him on the market.

Pack Value Alerts (Thunderstruck Guarantee Pack)

Cost: 250,000 Coins / 2,000 FC Points.

Odds: 25 Rares (83+), 5 Guaranteed 85+, 1 Guaranteed Thunderstruck Player.

Probabilities: 100% Thunderstruck Player, 1.9% Thunderstruck ICON.

Verdict: AVOID (With Coins). This is a coin sink designed to drain you during the crash. While a guaranteed Thunderstruck player sounds nice, the drop weight is heavily skewed toward the lower-rated cards like Zakaria or Weghorst, who will cost less than 25k on the market.

  • FC Points: If you're spending money, it's one of the better chances at a promo card.

  • Coins: Absolutely not. Keep your liquid.

Image: EA

SBC Spotlight

It’s Black Friday, so EA is throwing SBCs at us non-stop. Here is the verdict on the chaos:

  • Max. 89 Base Icon Upgrade (~138.5K) — Big No. The pool of good icons rated 89 or below is shrinking fast. You are paying nearly 140k for a likely discard Icon because the max 91 version is available for a similar price.

  • Max. 91 Base Icon Upgrade (~159.4K) — Fair Gamble. For only ~20k more than the 89 version, you unlock the chance at the big boys (Vieira, Ferdinand, Eusebio). If you have fodder, this is the better casino ticket.

  • Base Hero Matchday Pick (Hazard/Di Natale) (~440K) — Skip. Way too expensive. 440k is liquid gold in this market. Do not lock it into an untradeable Hazard or Di Natale when you can buy similar cards for half the price.

  • Fernando Torres (Thunderstruck Icon) (88 ST, ~494K) — Okay/Good. He has the stats (90 Pace, 88 Shooting) and the Icon links. It's expensive, but if you need a striker who won't lose value, he’s solid.

  • Willian Pacho (Thunderstruck) (87 CB, ~198K) — Overpriced. He’s a good CB with PSG links, but nearly 200k for a CB with no PlayStyle+ to start? There are tradeable options (like Marquinhos) that do the same job for less.

  • Guro Reiten (Flashback) (89 LM/LW/CAM, ~111K) — Worth It. Excellent value. Great PlayStyles, great dribbling, and fits the Chelsea/WSL meta perfectly. A fantastic LM/CAM option.

  • Nicolás Tagliafico (Thunderstruck) (86 LB, ~44K) — Skip. No PlayStyle+ and average stats. He is purely for Lyon fans.

Image: EA

Cheapest Solution For Guro Reiten

Task

Requirements

Recommended players (rating)

Task 1: Chelsea

Chelsea players: Minimum one

Team overall rating: Minimum 84

Romelu Lukaku: 84

Alexander Sorloth: 84

Greggi: 84

Enzo Fernandez: 84

Sergej Milinkovic-Savic: 84

Alex Greenwood: 84

Damaris Egurrola: 84

Fox: 84

Hampton: 84

van de Donk: 83

Ilkay Gundogan: 83

Task 2: Top Form

Team overall rating: Minimum 84

TOTW players: Minimum one

Oyarzabal (TOTW): 85

Foord: 85

Girelli: 85

Granit Xhaka: 85

Giugliano: 85

Svenja Huth: 85

Vivianne Miedema: 85

Kim Little: 85

Caroline Weir: 85

Damaris Egurrola: 84

Barcola: 84

Task 3: 86-rated squad

TOTW players: Minimum one

Team overall rating: Minimum 86

Marie Katoto: 88

Irene Paredes: 88

Ada Hegerberg: 87

Millie Bright: 87

Ruben Neves: 84

Maanum: 84

Isco: 84

Sergej Milinkovic-Savic: 84

Harvey Barnes (TOTW): 84

Pedro Goncalves: 83

Gimenez: 83

Task 4: 86-rated squad

Team overall rating: Minimum 86

Marie Katoto: 88

Irene Paredes: 88

Ada Hegerberg: 87

Millie Bright: 87

Ruben Neves: 84

Maanum: 84

Isco: 84

Sergej Milinkovic-Savic: 84

Cata Coll: 84

Pedro Goncalves: 83

Gimenez: 83

Market Watch

Market Overview: The market is bleeding. The Index 100 is down -12.91% today. This is a massive panic sell-off as players liquidate teams to open packs or buy the new shiny Thunderstruck cards.

Fodder on Fire (81-83s): Index 81 is UP +8.26%.

  • Why? Flash SBCs and Upgrade SBCs are draining the supply of low-rated golds.

  • Action: SELL. If you have 81s, 82s, or 83s in your club, list them now. They are selling instantly.

High-Rated Dip (85-88s): Index 85 is DOWN -29.49%.

  • Why? Lightning rounds are flooding the market with high-rated cards, and people are panic-selling to buy the 250k pack.

  • Action: BUY. This is the floor. 85s, 86s, and 87s are incredibly cheap. Stock up now because when a big Icon SBC (like a POTM Mbappe or a Thunderstruck Icon) drops in a few days, these will fly back up.

Evolutions: Song of Touré (50k Coins / 500 FC Points)

We have a new Evo that is specifically designed to fix your CDM problem.

The Upgrade: +15 OVR (Base 68 -> 83/87), Massive Physical & Defending Boosts.

Best Picks:

  • Alvero (Werder Bremen): Becomes a 6'8" giant in the midfield. Unplayable reach.

  • Khéphren Thuram (Juventus): Becomes a Gullit-gang midfielder.

  • Ryan Gravenberch (Liverpool): If you have his lower version, this makes him silky and strong.

Verdict: Do it. 50k is a steal for a CDM that performs like a 300k card.

Quick Hits

  • Thunderstruck: Live cards are here. Bellingham and Putellas are the ones you want.

  • Pack Value: Do NOT open the 250k pack with coins. It is a coin sink.

  • SBC Verdict: Do Reiten (Value), Skip Pacho (Robbery), and Gamble on the 91+ Icon if you feel lucky.

  • Market: 83s are flying (Sell), 86s are dying (Buy).

  • Evo: Song of Touré is a 50k steal for a meta CDM.

  • Grind: Flash objectives expire fast — check them hourly for easy packs.

The market is scary, but this is where the coins are made. Sell the low fodder, buy the high fodder, and grind the upgrades.

Good luck with your reds,

Shahmeer

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