Intro
When starting out or looking to upgrade your teams on Sorare, the most important division in my opinion is 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 dont 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.
Some of these players are from Asia where the season is ending in mid November and likely restarting in late Feb. Its important to realise you wont be able to use those cards then which is somewhat reflected in the price.
It does also mean you are able to get some cards a lot cheaper now compared to when hype builds for these divisions. There is also plenty of GWs available still to make use of these cards.
With the addition of league 2 cards, we also have an influx of new cards which may well not be as well known as other leagues. This will potentially present an opportunity to pick up threshold cards. Research is important and I hope to provide some info on how I go about scouting here too.
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.
I will be going through each position in different posts. Today, I will be looking at what will likely be the biggest investment - Goalkeepers
Player Suggestions - Goalkeeper
I have written previous posts about J1 League keepers which can be found here. They are out of date but does provide background info on keepers in J1 League.
Keepers are usually the most expensive position on Sorare and the most important in that you need one enter most tournaments.
The underdog rare special do provide another competition you can enter without a keeper and can provide something to build towards if you are still scouting or waiting for your targeted player to come up in auctions/hit your price point.
Low Budget
Name: Maasaaki Higashiguchi
Team: Gamba Osaka
League: J1 League
Price: $241
Av L40 Score: 46
Positives
Starter for club and v unlikely to be replaced unless he decides to retire (no indication of this)
Made the most saves in J1 League history this year and suits the matrix even without a cleansheet
Has relatively good amount of scores >60 points for a keeper:
Risks
Team are in a relegation fight. They have improved recently but its still 50/50 if they will survive. If relegated, I see Higashiguchi staying and having no utility on Sorare
This risk is reflected on the price. There may well be opportunities to buy if Gamba become safe or very likely safe
Alternatives
Overall, there is usually a reason why keepers are lowly priced. When I first started, I wanted to buy a "cheap" keeper and ended up buying someone who was dropped within 2 weeks and it became very frustrating.
There are other keepers who are around this price range that are also in the relegation battle and could be worth researching eg:
Name: Yang Hyung -Mo
Team: Suwon Bluewings
League: K League
Price: $349
Positives
Starter for club and has started 32/33 games this season
Risks
Currently in the relegation play spot. There are 5 games remaining so this may well change
Mid Budget
Name: Kim Jin Hyeon Team: C.Osaka
League: Japan J- League
Av Price: $506
Av L40 Score: 47
Positives
Starter for Cerezo Osaka
Has been at the club for 12 years is very low risk of moving/being replaced
Cerezo have a decent chance of qualifying for the ACL which provides extra utility
Has good save ratio of over 70%
Risks
Asia season is ending in November
Low CS number of 7 in 28 games (25%)
If wanting to look for keepers not in Asia or America, the best potential area to scout is the new Division 2 teams.
I am no way an expert on these leagues and have only just begun scouting myself. The schedules of these leagues look potentially very interesting, especially La Liga 2 which also has fixtures in November and December when the world cup is on.
A method I use to scout is on SorareData and Similar Players. The below is what is found if I look for similar players to Kim.
The auctions have just started here and I think this is a good area to scout for potential keepers. Its hard for me to give specific suggestions as the prices havent settled yet. Players such as Alvarez, Abedzadeh and Reina are potential players that may provide options
Top Budget
Name: Guillaume Hubert
Team: KV Oostende
League: Jupiler Pro League
Price: $651
Av L15 Score: 47
Positives
Starter for club and has started 100% of games so far this season
Jupiler league is likely to start back after the World Cup on December 23rd 2022. This means the "break" is relatively short compared to Asian leagues for example
Reasonably high peak scores and % >60pts for a keeper. Has the 4th highest number of saves in the league so far
Risks
Team are a bottom half side that could well be pulled into the relegation battle
Team doesn't get many cleansheets
Alternatives
There are plenty of different keepers available for this price range. I would suggest looking at the similar players function and also looking at the second division players coming out in auctions now.
If willing to sacrifice a few GWs, there is a host of keepers in Asia and America divisions that I think provide good threshold keepers. For example Liga Mx starts up in January with Torneo Clausura and there are still games remaining now esp those who reach the playoffs.
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.
With keepers, the cost can be very daunting and its easy to want to go for cheaper options. I feel its important to weigh up the total cost of the team and in future posts will give examples of other positions which are significantly cheaper in price & have more options available,
Another aspect I think that is important is to look at the football calendar in general. League start dates, particularly after the world cup are coming out and this is what I am looking at closely. You can find useful links I use, including calendars 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!
For more detailed reports and strategy advice I have a Patreon - more info here
My Sorare SO5 key metrics can be found here