The official gameplay reveal for EA FC 26 has been unveiled. And, admittedly, it looks solid! As a lifelong FIFA/EA FC player, the community’s relationship with the series has been rather rocky for the better part of the last decade, with many complaining that the gameplay has taken several steps back and has gradually become less fun as time has passed. I can’t disagree with this either — EA FC 25 represents the game I played the least since I first started playing the series in 2002. And so far, what EA has shown represents several steps in a positive direction. But I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t at least somewhat concerned about what it could mean for Clubs mode.
For anyone who has followed my history on OpSports, you’ll know that Clubs mode is my favorite. I love the idea of online, competitive 11v11 football, and EA FC is the only football sim that offers that kind of experience. But how will EA FC 26‘s advertised gameplay innovations affect the mode? We can try to predict this — and, by proxy, guess what the OP builds will be — going by what the competitive gameplay looks like and the PlayStyles that have been showcased.
What Are The New PlayStyles In EA FC 26?
Before we can talk about how each new PlayStyle might affect Clubs builds in EA FC 26, we must first establish what these new PlayStyles are. According to the Pitch Notes, here’s a full list of them as well as their descriptions:
- Enforcer: A physical attacker who takes control through shielding and when initiating contact while dribbling.
- Aerial Fortress: A defensive player who dominates aerial battles only in defensive scenarios. This reconfigures the former Aerial PlayStyle to give it a more defensive focus.
- Precision Header: An offensive player who specializes in controlled, accurate headers, rather than just raw power towards the goal. Refined from the former Power Header PlayStyle, with more focus on aerial battles and heading accuracy.
- Inventive: A player specializing in creative passing, combining and refining the former Flair and Trivela PlayStyles.
- Game Changer: A player who is known for extraordinary and unconventional finishes, combining and refining from the former Flair and Trivela PlayStyles.
EA FC 26 will also be removing other PlayStyles to implement the new ones. The ones being removed are Power Header, Aerial, Trivela, and Flair.
So, now that we know what these new PlayStyles will be, what Clubs build do we think will be overpowered when the game first ships?
Physicality Is Obviously Being Emphasized
Judging by the first three PlayStyles listed above — Enforcer, Aerial Fortress, and Precision Header — it’s obvious that physical play seems to be a point of emphasis for EA FC 26. And, honestly, I can’t say I blame them. Over the last few years, while flashy and skillful players have still been prevalent, we’ve seen the ascent of players such as Erling Haaland, Virgil Van Dijk, Alexander Isak, and others. And what do all of these players have in common? They are athletes.
In an effort to combat the often tiki-taky gameplay style that prioritizes skill over other fundamentals, it seems EA FC 26 will reward players for being physical specimens. While this might be a good thing to implement into Ultimate Team to give players more options for viable players, Clubs has already kind of been in that pocket for the past few entries.
For at least the last two installments, Clubs has been filled with users using tall, pacy players, utilizing knock-downs and overall physically dominant play. It’s gotten so bad that some online Clubs leagues literally had to outlaw certain builds in the game and place height restrictions depending on positions. And, at least judging by the early looks we’ve been given, I don’t expect that to change. In fact, it might get worse.
How Most Clubs Builds Will Look At Release
When the more dedicated Clubs players pick up EA FC 26 in September, I expect them to immediately open up the mode and grind with small-man teams (or, rather, teams that don’t have 11 players on them) or even in Rush. Upon reaching a certain level, I expect the following to be the most OP in the early goings:
- 6’2 or above
- No less than 134 lbs.
- Precision Header and Enforcer both applied to attackers. Maybe Game Changer, too, if it isn’t in the same category
- Aerial Fortress for big defenders, even fullbacks or wide midfielders
Now, it’s nice that not everyone in the attack will be running Aerial anymore, with only defenders having an aerial-focused PlayStyle. That said, the Enforcer role for attackers is obviously designed to counter that, meaning that shielding will now become the new way to create high-quality chances on the volley or in the air.
Is this the worst thing in the world? Probably not. But it certainly is a far cry from what Clubs was back in FIFA 18, where the builds for everyone in Clubs felt way more diverse and varied, no matter where on the pitch you were playing. Sure, the game wasn’t perfect, and the low-driven shot (which is making a bit of a comeback in EA FC 26) was way OP. But the game felt way different match to match than just a rehash of previous games.
Now, maybe I’m wrong and these new systems are actually pathways to way more original and fair outcomes. But, judging from the early looks of things, I’m not so sure about that.
