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How to conquer FIFA 19's Squad Building Challenges
These tips will help you obtain the best SBC rewards in FIFA 19 Ultimate Team.
FIFA’s Ultimate Team mode received a significant overhaul back in 2016 with the release of Squad Building Challenges. These tasks, which remain ever-present in FIFA 19, reward users with lucrative coins, packs and special items for trading in specific sets of players.
If you’re new to the concept, there’s plenty to get your head around. You’ll need to know which SBCs to complete, how to tackle them effectively, and other tips and tricks along the way. We’ve picked out some helpful hints to get you started.
1. Complete Basic SBCs for easy rewards
Many of the Basic SBCs require just a handful of players
© EA Sports
The first SBCs on your checklist should be those in the Basic category. These challenges are tailor-made to ease you into completing various tasks, and provide a welcome range of generous pack rewards that can be sold, used for additional SBCs, or added to your squad.
Most of these early challenges require little effort, and can often be completed with the players you’ve already acquired. Should you need to peruse the transfer market, you won’t need to spend too many coins to get everything completed.
2. Take advantage of Marquee Matchups
New Marquee Matchups SBCs are released every Tuesday, highlighting the biggest real-world matches of the week. They’re a popular method of obtaining packs, and due to their specific requirements, there's potential to profit from them in a big way.
Be sure to check the requirements for each Marquee Matchup when they’re released. If you happen to own players that meet those demands, you can either complete the SBC, or sell them at significantly inflated prices on the transfer market.
3. Prepare for League SBCs ahead of time
Start collecting players early to avoid spending a fortune on the market
© EA Sports
There are various league SBCs that offer lucrative packs and special player picks upon completion. The downside is that to obtain the special player, you’ll need to complete an SBC for every single team in the league, resulting in a potentially hefty outlay.
To lessen the blow, select one or two leagues to focus on as a priority. Then, start storing any players that you obtain from these leagues in your squad instead of selling them. Pack rewards via the likes of Division Rivals and Squad Battles will soon boost your collection significantly.
4. Plan squads with Concept players
There’s plenty of trial and error involved in completing some of the toughest SBCs. You don’t want to cough up a fortune on the transfer market for a squad that doesn't meet the requirements, and that’s where Concept players can prove useful.
You can toggle Concept items when adding a player to an SBC, allowing you to see how they’d fit into your squad. That way, there's no risk involved in determining the perfect lineup, and they can later be replaced with the actual player items you require.
5. Look out for UCL & TOTW upgrades
These time-limited SBCs can prove generous if you’re lucky
© EA Sports
Throughout the year, you can trade in a team of players for a small set of improvements – 11 gold players for two gold rares, for example. These upgrade SBCs can sometimes prove worthwhile, but their untradeable rewards typically aren’t worth the hassle.
That said, live upgrade SBCs are occasionally released for UEFA Champions League and Team of the Week players. Due to both being required for high-end SBCs on a regular basis, it’s well worth acquiring them for a later date if you’ve got gold players to spare.
6. Use Loyalty to complete Hybrid SBCs
SBCs in the Advanced category require a little extra work to complete, but provide some outstanding rewards for doing so. You can redeem the majority of them without too much effort, but you’ll probably need to dip into the transfer market in the process.
A few of them, however, require something called loyalty. This is a chemistry boost that applies to players that have been acquired through packs, or that have played 10 games for your team. So, if you’re struggling to complete an SBC, this might be the answer.
7. Keep track of Swap Deals
Some Swap players can be acquired just by logging into FUT 19
© EA Sports
Special SBC events called FUT Swap Deals appear during the season in FUT 19. They typically last throughout the month, and allow you to acquire rewards for completing objectives, SBCs and playing modes such as Squad Battles.
You’ll find the list of rewards and their requirements in a dedicated Swap Deals category on the SBC menu. As you’d expect, the best rewards demand the most Swap players. Be sure to cash in before the SBCs expire, however, as players can’t be transferred from event-to-event.
