Can you survive without vanguard

This vanguard meta is getting too easy. I'm a skill player with vanguard...I don't abuse it though, it's mainly for when I'm having a tough time against those real sweatys 🥵 but I have been trying to just enjoy an full Eagles TT and wanted to know how hard it's going to be to win games with limited to no vanguards. I'm good but I'm not great so any info would be greatly appreciated.

vonaliltwitchy said:

This vanguard meta is getting too easy. I'm a skill player with vanguard...I don't abuse it though, it's mainly for when I'm having a tough time against those real sweatys 🥵 but I have been trying to just enjoy an full Eagles TT and wanted to know how hard it's going to be to win games with limited to no vanguards. I'm good but I'm not great so any info would be greatly appreciated.

Last night I decided to make a lineup that is pretty much all bnd/free just to see how it would play. I went into HR and lost my first game, then went 6-0. This morning another 6-0 with only 1-2 losses. The only vanguards I have in this lineup are LT, RG, TE1, and TE2. I don’t run the ball a lot but I still had several good runs. A couple of around 50+ yard TD runs with Chris Johnson (he’s hard to catch in space). I’m surprised at how well the bnd team is playing.

SlowAndSteady said:

Last night I decided to make a lineup that is pretty much all bnd/free just to see how it would play. I went into HR and lost my first game, then went 6-0. This morning another 6-0 with only 1-2 losses. The only vanguards I have in this lineup are LT, RG, TE1, and TE2. I don’t run the ball a lot but I still had several good runs. A couple of around 50+ yard TD runs with Chris Johnson (he’s hard to catch in space). I’m surprised at how well the bnd team is playing.

Giving me even more hope. I just sold most of the vanguards I have. I want to get better not have a crutch...I end up getting carried away with the crutch(vanguards) I rather use my skills and just learn as I go

only vanguard i currently have is FB lamar and i have no issues running the ball

vonaliltwitchy said:

Giving me even more hope. I just sold most of the vanguards I have. I want to get better not have a crutch...I end up getting carried away with the crutch(vanguards) I rather use my skills and just learn as I go

Too often I find myself trying to build my playing around certain players/abilities instead of building the team around the way I play. 

It’s kinda funny how the community gets all caught up in having the “best” cards at every position. I find that I enjoy the game more (and win more) when I’m just using cards that I want to use instead of trying to have all the best cards with all the best abilities. Right now I’m enjoying the bnd/free team much more than the expensive team I have been using.

SlowAndSteady said:

Too often I find myself trying to build my playing around certain players/abilities instead of building the team around the way I play. 

It’s kinda funny how the community gets all caught up in having the “best” cards at every position. I find that I enjoy the game more (and win more) when I’m just using cards that I want to use instead of trying to have all the best cards with all the best abilities. Right now I’m enjoying the bnd/free team much more than the expensive team I have been using.

Yeah hopefully I have the same experience

No I cannot survive, which is why I run 9 vg and Faalele

yes, I still pass in endgame madden, I only run in the redzone

SlowAndSteady said:

Too often I find myself trying to build my playing around certain players/abilities instead of building the team around the way I play. 

It’s kinda funny how the community gets all caught up in having the “best” cards at every position. I find that I enjoy the game more (and win more) when I’m just using cards that I want to use instead of trying to have all the best cards with all the best abilities. Right now I’m enjoying the bnd/free team much more than the expensive team I have been using.

I used to get all bent out of shape chasing specific players, especially for my theme team, but over the past 1-2 seasons i figured out it's vastly superior to match up abilities to  specific areas of the field and simply ignore the picture on the card, as well as the meaningless OVR ratings.  This strategy doesn't work from August til December, but the game doesn't really play for shit until Christmas anyway.  I wish we didn't need abilities to help our "simulated" professional athletes catch the damn ball, on both offense and defense, but sadly, EA cannot figure out how to code the game, so we're forced to rely on the array of abilities.  Disappointing that 2K Sports hasn't dropped an arcade style NFL game for consoles, what a missed opportunity.  They wasted all that effort on some terrible trading card game where you can't even play actual fatball.  Not surprised it's being shuttered after less than a year: https://x.com/NFL2KPlaymakers/status/1917655217530888430

I'd love to think things will improve in M26, but the headlining feature is impactful weather... so i think we already know the answer to this.  If they had made any meaningful improvements, they'd find some marketing speak to slap us in the faces with.  BOOM Tech.  More lipstick on the pig, as per usual.  Sure they'll tune the various gameplay sliders, making it look and feel more like College Football, which i assume is based on the fact that CFB25 sold more copies than M25.  I'm of the opinion that had almost nothing to do with gameplay, but more a result of the decade+ long hiatus that franchise suffered from.

Ahh well, still holding strong.  Have not pre-ordered Madden 26 and have no intentions of doing so.  I was hoping to check out the beta test, but i'm not getting on a plane to fly to Orlando for that.  Doubtful they'll even have a public beta test at this point, running out of time.

@peatrick 

Agreed my friend.

I started MUT24 at Easter and had no intentions of getting MUT25 until I was gifted a PS gift card at Christmas. I decided to get the 25/CFB bundle with the 4600 points for each game (it was super cheap at Christmas). I ended up pulling LTD Calvin Johnson SS and sold him for over a mil to get a squad put together. I actually enjoyed the gameplay of CFB better but I couldn’t find a decent way to make coins after starting so late.

Anyways, I have ZERO plans of buying Madden 26 and I 💯 will not be starting it at the beginning of the cycle. Most Feared is typically the earliest I get into MUT and over the past few years it’s been Zero Chill or later. This year’s product was a significant downgrade from 24 and the cash grab direction EA has succumbed to doesn’t interest me at all.

Tried using no Vanguards and less and just got destroyed.  If you even have one spot without one people will exploit it.  Not much fun getting sacked every play.