Since I started this website, the most common questions that I receive are:
- Why are the cards so expensive?
- How much do I need to start playing?
- Can I make money with a low budget team?
It’s important that Sorare is available to all budgets, but I must admit that if you’re looking at playing with a few hundred pound and wanted to add the best players to your collection, you’re going to struggle.
Fortunately, there’s a strategy for every single budget, thanks to the Sorare rewards which are offered from the tournaments.
Whilst you need to finish in the Top 3 overall to win yourself a shiny new card, you can with Ethereum prizes much easier than this. It’s a sure-fire way to build your cash balance.
Let’s get into this strategy, explaining everything that you need to know. Remember, you can read the full beginners guide to Sorare here.
Sorare Low Budget Strategy: Meet the Ethereum Threshold
I’d have loved to start with a huge budget and been able to pickup all of the world’s top talent. Jan Oblak, Virgil Van Dijk, Joshua Kimmich, Kylian Mbappe & Joao Felix. Now that’s a team that would dominate for years to come. I can only dream of having a lineup like this, and the likelihood is that you’re in the same boat as me!
There’s nothing wrong with the struggle though, it’s definitely what makes Sorare fun to play. In a similar way to playing Fifa Ultimate Team, we can dream of packing an elite reward instead of spending our money on one.
One strategy that seems very popular for lower budgets is the weekly ethereum threshold team. It requires for you to meet a required point score, to be guaranteed a reward.
It’s not going to be comparable with winning a Tier 1 Star Rare, but you will be able to accumulate regular rewards which will soon add up.
I’ve attached the Prize Pool for the next gameweek on Sorare.
Inside the Global All Star Division 4, you will find the above rewards.
First place receives a lovely Star Rare, alongside £700 or 0.5 Ethereum.
We aren’t going to reach for the stars just yet, so let’s set our sights on the thresholds, which I have highlighted in yellow. For a score that totals more than 205, you’ll receive a prize of £14.02, or 0.01 ethereum.
For a score above 250, you’ll receive £28.03, or 0.02 ETH. These are easily achievable rewards, rewards which you should be hitting easily with a £300 to £500 team. There’s always an added chance that you’ll also be able to finish a lot higher than this, earning larger rewards.
However, for this strategy I would do the following:
- Use a Common Goalkeeper, as a Rare Goalkeeper card will demand a large portion of your budget.
- Choose players between 25 and 30 years old. Youth Players tend to be higher in demand, which means higher in price. In addition to this, you can’t guarantee that a youth player will get 90 minutes gametime.
- Do some research on Soccerway, Transfermarkt and other sites to find a player that regularly gets 90 minutes. If you’re looking at a player that only plays 50-60 minutes, you’re missing out on much needed points.
- Focus only on the Global Division 4, with your main aim to hit the threshold. We all want to win the best cards, but we will benefit long term from this strategy.
Why use Common Goalkeepers?
Goalkeepers are in short supply on Sorare. This is because there can only be one goalkeeper that plays for each team, and they rarely get substituted unless injured or they get suspended.
If you get lucky with a Common goalkeeper from your onboarding process, you’ll have a steady advantage over your competitors. It’s important to remember that your common players will receive a penalty, taking 50% off their total score. However, that’s fine as it will still help you to reach the threshold.
As your goalkeeper levels up, this penalty will also decrease as your player xp will counteract this.
This is a much favoured approach, as a decent goalkeeper is going to cost at least £200.
Finding Players with Good Scores
Sorare have made things exceptionally easy for you to scout for your next signings. Let’s explain, once you’ve seen the picture.
Note, look how expensive the goalkeeper is!
For every player auction, you’ll see the huge bid buttons, but it’s also important to look at the data that lies right underneath the player card.
Choi Sung-Geun, for example, has a 35 in a circle, alongside a +5% icon.
The 35 score means that he’s scored an average of 35 in his last 5 games. This can help you understand what sort of score each player achieves, before you make a bid.
The 5% icon shows that he will have a 5% score multiplier, as his card is the current seasons card. He won’t have a 5% bonus next season, although he will receive an XP Bonus from the matches that he’s featured in.
The next one that you’ll see is the ‘badge of honour’, which is an icon including the number 23. This highlights that the player is eligible for the Under 23 leagues.
Competing Every Week
To compete on a weekly basis, you’re going to need more than 4 rare cards. I would scout for 7-8 rare outfield players, remembering to utilise the common goalkeeper.
There are plenty of bargains to be found on the platform, but it’s not something that I tend to discuss, due to the fact that if everyone reads who the bargain is… they won’t be a bargain for long!
Obscure Strategy: Focus on Less Popular Leagues
The best players in the best leagues definitely command the highest prices. There are many factors for this, their global appeal, media hype & the fact they’re just so good!
There are players in less covered leagues, such as the MLS or K League 1 that are putting in impressive performances, but their prices just don’t match up.
A lot of this is due to the collectability of the cards. Well, if that’s a word?
I’ve spotted a forward in the MLS, named Alan Pulido who has scored an impressive 79 average, over his last 5 games. His price? £600 / 0.449 eth.
Another forward, Memphis Depay has scored a 66 average and is priced at £1,700 or 1.2 ETH. Depay is a highly popular character, and you can see that there is some ‘hype’ built into his price. He’s playing for Lyon currently, but it’s unclear what the future holds for him.
The truth is, the first player that we mentioned is probably too good for your Threshold squad. He would definitely fit inside a squad that’s capable of winning bigger prizes.
Budgeting for Your Squad
Let’s run an example, thinking of a starter budget for a £500 team. We are going to budget per position, using the following:
- Goalkeeper – We are going to use the common goalkeeper which won’t cost anything
- Defender – Budget £140 to spend on two Defenders that regularly score above 45
- Midfielder – Budget £200 to spend on two midfielders which regularly score at least 35
- Forward – Budget £160 for two forwards, that play regularly. Try to avoid any with regular DNP’s.
The total cost of this team will be around the £500 mark, but you’ll have multiple players to choose from. Eventually, you’ll be able to build a secondary team by adding an extra player or two.
Entering Your Team into the Tournament
There are various tournaments on Sorare to compete in, with multiple leagues in each division.
The only one we are interested in with this strategy is the Global All Star Division 4. Click to enter your lineup and add the players to their allocated positions. Your last task is to choose the captain, I opt to pick the highest scoring player in my lineup, as it gives an additional bonus of 20%.
After you’ve selected your team and picked the captain, it’s time to wait until the leaderboards have updated for the weekend and to check your final score.
If you’ve exceeded the minimum scores, you’ll be given your rewards a few days after the gameweek has settled.
Remember, this is a slow and careful approach. It’s not going to set your excitement alight, but it’s a great way to learn to play Sorare on a small budget.
If you spend £500 and still manage to get a 0.02 ethereum reward, that’s still a 5% return on your squad cost.
