Today marks the first set of Icon Swaps entering FUT in FIFA 21. That means six of the world’s greatest stars from years past are now available to earn. If you played FIFA 20, these likely look somewhat similar. However, EA has made quite a few changes to rewards. So, if you’re looking for a one-stop-shop to usher you through the whole process, give our guide a look below.
The first Icon Swaps of #FUT21 are here, with a greater mix of ICON and pack rewards. pic.twitter.com/jvXZxpipeE
— EA SPORTS FIFA (@EASPORTSFIFA) December 11, 2020
Rewards
Let’s start with the fun part. Unlike last year, you only have six Icons available in this first set. However, EA has padded the rewards out with some intriguing new packs. Depending on how many swap tokens you earn (there will, presumably, be 17 total), you have several options available. Check out your options.
- Ultimate Packs X2 (2 Swaps)
- Five 85+ Player Pack (3 Swaps)
- 25 83+ Play Pack (5 Swaps)
- Base Nemanja Vidic (7 Swaps)
- Base Icon Pack (8 Swaps)
- Mid Gheorghe Hagi (9 Swaps)
- Base or Mid Icon Pack (10 Swaps)
- Mid Davor Suker (11 Swaps)
- Mid Icon Pack (12 Swaps)
- Prime Ronald Koeman (13 Swaps)
- Prime Frank Rijkaard (14 Swaps)
- Mid or Prime Icon Pack (15 Swaps)
- 89+ Mid Icon Pack (16 Swaps)
- Base Icon Player Pick (17 Swaps)
- Mid Thierry Henry (17 Swaps)
As you can see, the rewards have changed quite a bit. If you don’t have time to get all the Swaps you need for a certain player, you can grab a heaping helping of fodder to help build out your squad. However, if you’re up for a grind you can grab some pretty decent players.
Both Vidic and Suker are new Icons to the game this year. Neither are game-changing, but it shouldn’t be hard to unlock them if you’re interested. The same goes for Hagi. It’s cool to see EA putting Prime Icons in this first slate, though neither Koeman and Rijkaard are probably the ones most people want. As far as Henry, I used that card quite a bit last year, so getting him for free isn’t a bad thing.
That said, personally, I think the packs you can earn are more interesting. The 89+ pack doesn’t completely cut off all the stinkers, but it does give you a much better chance of getting one of the big boys. Importantly, it includes the latest Icon, David Beckham. I’m still not which I’ll go for, but there are some intriguing choices here. But how do you get them all? Find out below.
Earning Swaps Tokens
Fortunately, earning Swaps is basically the same in FIFA 21 as it was last year. You can easily earn three tokens through Squad Battles. The requirements are incredibly easy to finish if you’ve been playing the game for a while, so, at the very least, you’ll be able to grab some easy fodder if you’re not interested in going all the way down the rewards. Check out the requirements here.
- Win 5 Squad Battles on World Class with 11 Eredivisie players in your starting lineup
- Win 5 Squad Battles on World Class with 11 MLS players in your starting lineup
- Win 5 Squad Battles on World Class with 11 EFL Championship players in your starting lineup
If you’ve been keeping up, you’ll notice those three leagues are the ones we’ve gotten milestone players for. So, if you’ve been doing those, you already have three solid players from each league to build your team around. And, those teams don’t have to be first-owner, so you can buy players off the market as needed. The same can’t be said for the other Swaps.
On the FUT Friendly side of things, players will need to use some first-owner players. That means you have to have gotten the players through either packs or completing SBCS. No buying players off of the transfer market. Check out these requirements below.
- Win 6 matches in Live FUT Friendly: One League with at least 5 First Owned Premier League players in your starting lineup.
- Win 6 matches in Live FUT Friendly: One League with at least 5 First Owned Serie A players in your starting lineup.
- Win 6 matches in Live FUT Friendly: One League with at least 5 First Owned LaLiga players in your starting lineup.
- Win 6 matches in Live FUT Friendly: One League with at least 5 First Owned Bundesliga players in your starting lineup.
- Win 6 matches in Live FUT Friendly: One League with at least 5 First Owned Ligue 1 players in your starting lineup.
That’s a ton of wins in just 20 days, but it should be doable. You’ll also scoop up some packs as you go for scoring in all those matches. As you can see though, this is only eight Swaps in total. Meaning this will extend into the next season of FUT in FIFA 21. That’s not too surprising, but I know many were hoping for shorter seasons given how few players were included in this first round.
That said, this seems like a decent start to Icon Swaps. Obviously, it’s not going to blow anyone out of the water with the player selection. However, this gives players plenty to do between Weekend Leagues, which is always a good thing. And hey, if your luck is in, you could pull a big boy out of one of the many packs you can pick up through Swaps.
FIFA 21 is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X. Not only is today the start of Icon Swaps but EA has also kicked off the brand new FUT Freeze promo. So, if you’ve been starved for new stuff to do, rest assured you’ll have plenty to hop into this weekend when you take a break from Cyberpunk 2077.
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