Intro
See here for the first part of this series which looks at Goalkeepers.
When starting out or looking to upgrade your teams on Sorare, the most important division in my opinion is the All Star Rare Division. The reason is simply that you can get threshold rewards and also a chance to win a card reward too.
Here are the ETH reward totals for 2022:
- 205 point threshold will offer $25 worth of ETH - 250 point threshold will offer $50 worth of ETH
It is tempting to just jump in and start buying cards especially as auctions are addictive! This can however lead to spending too much on players you don't need.
I will look to identify certain players I would suggest scouting. What is more important than the specific player is the type of player.
The main areas I look at are:
Scoring -average, high point, DNPs (are they starters)
Team - strength, league , upcoming fixtures, season length
Price - current price, last auction price,
I will be looking at various different tools that I use and also giving example players. This post will be looking at all outfield players
Threshold Planning
I like to plan any buy I make on Sorare so that I dont a)overspend and b) end up with a lopsided squad eg has 5 defenders but no strikers!
For this exercise, I tried to put myself in the shoes of a new starter in the game with a budget of roughly $1000
I then scouted players in different positions. These are the players I will be going through in this series of blog posts for each position.
I was particularly looking at:
Price
L40 average
Risks in the future (ie are they starters/save in the position)
The overall aim was to get players who can consistently score >250 to hit the threshold.
I experimented with a number of different combinations of players from the above list
Price - total cost of 5 players (1 has to be keeper)
L40 -total scores of these players
GWs to parity - how many GWs it would take to reach the initial investment
Again, this is crude method which was I used to get a feel of the different available players.
It doesnt consider the potential card appreciation and resale value as it assumes the user will be wanting to build and compound/grow.
Tools
An excellent tool to use when experimenting with player is SorareBase which can be found here
Amongst a number of different tools available is the SO5 simulator where you can try different players and see what they have scored in the past/how often they have hit threshold or got rewards. An example is shown below:
Previously I looked at goalkeepers and today I will be looking at defenders
Player Suggestions
I have written previous posts about threshold players which can be found here. They are now out of date in terms of suggestion, however could give useful info on how to scout players.
Its also important to know the calendar and how many games each leagues play. Put simply, leagues with the most fixtures gives the most opportunities to gain threshold. If teams/players also play in supplementary tournaments (eg Europa League or ACL) then that is a huge bonus too.
Defenders - Budget <$50
Name: Hwang Seok Ho
Team: Sagan Tosu
League: J1 League
Price: $30
Av L15 Score: 55
Positives
Starter for club and has started 95% of games when available
No indication of retiring or changing club. Is "older" at 33 but still has potentially a few more seasons in him
Has relatively good amount of scores >60 points for a defender at 32%
Risks
Sagan Tosu are a club that have a high turnover of players each off season putting almost all players at general risk. However, this season their finances are in better condition so this should bring more stability, esp to leaders like Hwang Seok Ho
Season break likely from November - February 2022
Alternatives
Maruyama (Nagoya)
Asada (Kyoto) - Relegation risk
Kurokawa (Gamba)
Gkezos (AK Austria)
Defenders - Mid Range <$100
Name: Alcala
Team: FC Cartagena
League: LaLiga Smartbank
Price: $75
Av L40 Score: 46
Positives
Starter for club at the moment, starting in the last 10 games
The league has a very high number of clean sheets in general with an average of just 2 goals per game. Cartagena have 36% of clean sheets so far
There are 42 games in the season also with games during the world cup period in November.
Risks
I am not overly familiar with the league or team. I have based this on the data that shows he is a starter - do your own research on this of course :)
Alternatives
Sakai (Urawa) - World cup utility
Nagato (YFM)
Dussenne (Standard Liege)
Defenders - Higher Range <$200
Name: Siebe Van der Heyden
Team: USG
League: Jupiler League
Price: $175
Av L15 Score: 51
Positives
Starter for club and has started all 12 games this season
USG are in the europa league which gives extra utility. They also play games in Jan after the world cup
Has excellent peak scores and scores > 60+
Risks
Jupiler league finishes relatively early in April
There are injuries at USG eg Machida which could put his position at risk. There were also transfer rumours with him in the summer that could reappear in the winter transfer window
Alternatives
Sakai (Vissel Kobe)
Ito (Stuggart)
Finish
Thanks for reading!
This is intended to provide info on how I scout players and the different aspects I look at. These players are all good picks but what is more important than these specific players is the thinking behind your decision and the research you do.
Defenders I find can be the best value position and I often play them in the extra spot. Its also important to look at the XP of a card - this can make a big difference especially for the captain choice
The players mentioned here can be found on this watchlist:
I find watchlists great in getting an overview of the plays eg Stats like below
They are also great to be able to quickly see what cards are on the market/auctions.
I will making posts about Midfielders and Forwards this week.
After this, I plan to do some content on calendar planning and suggested buys/strategy particular in the J1 League and other leagues heading to the offseason. This content will be for only Patreon members & more info can be found here
I am fantasy sports addict, in particular I follow J1 League football closely and provide lineup/strategy info. Click below for the J1 League Sorare Discord channel, you can keep up to date with the latest info and get other peoples opinion in the community!
My Sorare SO5 key metrics can be found here