Draft the Ultimate Team in FIFA 16

As with several of EA’s other sports franchises, FIFA’s Ultimate Team mode has become one of the most popular game modes available. Whether you’re a hardcore, stat-obsessed fan or someone who’s looking for a group-friendly way of enjoying of the series, it’s a fantastic way to interact with the sport. With FIFA 16, in an effort to build on Ultimate Team’s popularity and draw new fans in the process, EA has doubled down with the FUT Draft.

Fans of “the other football” are perhaps familiar with Madden NFL 16’s newest mode, called Draft Champions. And despite the name change, this mode is a pretty accurate picture of what you can expect from the latest FIFA. Initially, FUT tests the player’s ability to build a team of players who play a similar scheme; once they’ve drafted a team of the best players available (based on FUT trading cards), they’ll have the option of setting them against CPU-controlled teams with a random set of FUT cards, or challenging other human-controlled squads online.

FIFA players are faced with interesting team building challenges: Do you grab the best, highest-rated player in a given position, for instance… or focus on maximizing team chemistry? The objective is to win four matches in a row; if successful, you’ll earn the title of champion and reap the FUT rewards.

Unlike Madden’s Draft Champions, FUT Draft requires players to choose a captain early in the process. This selection will be your team’s best player, though that itself is subjective: You’ll get the opportunity to choose between five superstar options. The choices are randomized, and different each and every time you play.

FUT Draft and Draft Champions take place within the Ultimate Team universe, and both modes give players with an opportunity to compete with the best players, without having to earn them by virtue of pack purchases. Among various other gameplay advances, FIFA 16’s Career Mode features a new training system to help upgrade your young players, along with improvements to the various management features.

FUT Draft showcases some excellent mechanics as you attempt to win four matches in a row with your hand-picked squad. You can check it out now in FIFA 16, available for Xbox One, Xbox 360, and Windows PC.