Collectors Guide To Madden NFL Ultimate Team

In 2011, EA announced Madden NFL Ultimate Team, which allowed players to build the team of their dreams by collecting players and assembling them on the field. Players are gained from opening packs, which can be bought with real currency or earned from playing.

What Is Madden NFL?

Madden NFL, published by EA, is the best-known Football game on the planet. It originated in 1988 under John Madden Football but has been known as Madden NFL since 1993. It follows a yearly release cycle, similar to FIFA and NBA 2K.

Madden NFL is a long-standing EA series (get Madden NFL on Amazon).

What Is Madden NFL Ultimate Team?

Madden Ultimate Team is an addition to the classic Madden NFL game. It emphasizes multiplayer gameplay and collecting the best team possible. Users can open packs to collect various NFL players, both current and from the past. You can sell cards to other players, build unique teams, and compete with others worldwide.

How Does Madden NFL Ultimate Team Work?

Various game modes populate Ultimate Team, including challenges, a draft mode, and a season game mode. These will reward you with coins and sometimes players and packs. Coins are the primary currency and you can use them to buy packs from the store. In addition, there are a few types of packs that are permanently available and seasonal packs that usually provide more significant rewards at a greater price.

Types Of Madden NFL Ultimate Team Cards

Similar to sports card collecting, there are a wide variety of card types available in packs. Base cards are divided into five categories, rookie, bronze, silver, gold, and elite. Other card sets, known as programs in-game, exist with different themes. Examples include Heavyweights for linemen and Flashback cards commemorate notable moments in players’ careers.

Some sets provide bonuses, such as the Team Builders and Team Captains program. These both improve your team affinity, an important attribute when you start playing games.

As this season of Ultimate Team progresses, EA will introduce new programs, and expand current ones. In addition, sets like Limited Edition and Core Strategy will receive expanded rosters by the release of Madden 23.

EA even sells cool figurines of the best players (get Madden NFL Ultimate Team figures on eBay).

Did you know? Starting Lineup figurines were released in 2022 with figures for 8 top NBA stars.

How To Get The Cards?

There are three methods to get cards in Madden Ultimate Team: the auction house, opening packs, and completing challenges.

For those building a specific team build, the auction house is where to go to get cards. Here other players sell cards they pull from packs or no longer need, but the high-end cards will cost quite a bit. Since it is still early in the season, players in the 89 to 91 overall range are the top-tier cards available. A Reggie Bush card, a part of the Campus Heroes set, is the most expensive card available as it goes for over 300 thousand coins. However, as it is only a 91 overall card, it will surely decrease in value as the season progresses.

Opening packs is the best way to improve your team, especially early on quickly. You can buy these with coins in the Ultimate Team shop, usually for cheaper than the same quality players will cost on the auction house. Eventually, you will want to rely on the auction house, though, as you construct a team to your specifications.

Finally, completing challenges is the best way to get cards for free. The challenges in the game vary in difficulty and rewards. EA will add more throughout the season. Meeting the preseason ones is recommended, even for experienced Ultimate Team players. Those will get you started on your Madden Ultimate Team journey.

What do you think of the player ratings? (picture taken from EA.com).

How Important Are The Cards

Cards are the bloodline of this game mode. They drive the entire player economy and are the players you put on the field. Therefore, players with better cards will usually see much better results on the field.

If you are struggling to beat an opponent or get past a stage in a challenge, getting more packs or upgrading a position of weakness on the auction house should be your first priority.

Bottomline On Madden NFL Ultimate Team 

Madden Ultimate Team is a unique game mode that lets players build their ideal fantasy team, amass a collection of cards, and prove their skills on the gridiron. If you have ever wanted to collect virtual cards from players of all eras and put them on the field together, you have to check out Ultimate Team.