The complete guide to the Gonzalo Higuain SBC on FIFA 17

A couple of weeks ago, we brought to the complete guide to the La Liga Santander SBC, whose rewards include a 94-rated SBC Luis Suarez, 30,000 coins, and over 400K in packs.

Last week, EA dropped yet another pair of league SBCs, and one of them is big one. Of course, I’m talking about the Calcio A SBC, which upon completion, rewards you with 25,000 coins and a 91-rated SBC Gonzalo Higuain.

Just like the La Liga SBC, the Calcio A one is relatively immune to price-fixing. Most of the sides have full gold starting XIs, and the ones that need silver players can be completed for a reasonable price.

The fantastic thing about the Calcio A SBC is that you could even make a profit by completing the SBC, even if you do it from scratch.

For completing the 20 teams, the SBC gives you over 390,000 coins worth of packs, and close to 35,000 coins, as well as the 91-rated Gonzalo Higuain (whose 91-rated inform card goes for around 250,000 on Playstation, and 180,000 on Xbox). When you consider that this challenge will set you back around 280,000 on either console, these rewards are ridiculous.

I’m currently one team away from completing the SBC (waiting on the Palermo player prices to drop after the Cavani SBC), and I’ve only spent 10,000 coins total, and have close to a hundred gold players in my club that I decided not to sell. Once I complete the Palermo SBC (which should drop down to around 15-20K), with the 25,000 coin reward for completing the set, I will have broken even, and that’s even not counting the 30K+ worth of players and consumables I haven’t yet sold.

Just like the guide to SBC Suarez, I will split this guide into two sections. First, I’ll talk about the overall strategy for completing this SBC, then I will talk about each of the teams individually.

Overall Strategy:

Just like with all league SBCs, be patient. A couple of teams (Napoli, Juventus, Roma, Milan and Palermo) currently have inflated prices due to other SBCs, or because their rewards are so good. If you give it a week or two, I can see the Napoli SBC dropping by 5-10K, Juventus by 5K, Roma and Milan by a couple of thousand coins, and Palermo by at least 20K, saving you around 40K.

That being said, there are a few teams that will not decrease in price, and may actually get worse. These are the ones with predominantly silver starting XIs (Crotone, Empoli), so get started on them right away.

Another important thing to remember is that you are more likely to save money by bidding on items, instead of trying to buy them instantly. I managed to complete most SBCs for 1-5K cheaper than their prices on FUTBIN, just by patiently bidding on players. Alternatively, you may choose to snipe players - you can get some incredible deals, but there are no guarantees.

Finally, and most importantly, do not save your packs until the end. Complete an SBC, open the packs, sell what you don’t need and store the stuff that may be useful. This way, you might pick up a player you need for a later SBC in this set, and they’ll already have the loyalty chemistry (making the SBC much easier and cheaper).

Team-by-team walkthrough:

With all that out of the way, let’s get into the teams.

For each team, I’ll explain how I approached it, the expected cost, the pack rewards, and whether it is worth completing. Next to each team’s name, I will put one of three symbols - I will include a “+” if this is a profitable SBC, a “~” if it is one where you can expect to break even, and a “!” if this is a guaranteed loss-maker.

Atalanta (~): This one is very easy - they have plenty of gold players, and a few cheap silvers, so you can get this done for 10K. You get a jumbo premium gold pack for your efforts, so you’ll probably make this 10K back (and possibly even make a profit).

Bologna (~): Another cheap, full gold team. You can easily complete this for around 10-12K, and you get a rare gold pack. These packs are extremely unpredictable - at worst, you’ll make back around 5K, but you could also make a lot of money here. Overall, I think you’ll break even.

Cagliari (!): You’re unlikely to make money here - they have quite a few golds, but you’re going to need to buy some silvers. Overall, this will set you back 12-15K, and you’re not going to make that back from the premium gold pack.

Chievo Verona (~): Yet another very cheap one. They have an almost full-gold team, and a few slightly more expensive silvers, but you can get this done for 10K. You get a jumbo premium gold pack back, and you can make your money back from that.

Crotone (!): Crotone is tricky one - they have no golds, so this one is all silvers and bronzes. The price is likely to rise with time, but it costs around 10-15K now, and you’re probably not going to make this back from his premium silver players pack.

Empoli (!): Another one with a lot of silvers, so the price is going to be pretty high. It’ll cost you around 10-15K, and you only get a 7.5K pack back. Don’t expect to make a profit here.

Fiorentina (+): Fiorentina have a whole bunch of gold players, so you can do this for around 10-12K, and the premium gold players pack you get back will allow you to break even, and possibly even make a profit.

Genoa (~): Yet another one with a lot of cheap golds and silvers, and you can complete this for 10-12K. Once again, you can make your money back with the jumbo premium gold pack you get.

Inter (~): The fact that this is one of the more pricey ones says all you need to know about this SBC. They have a lot of gold players, and a couple of expensive silvers, so you can get this done for 12-15K, and you walk away with a premium gold players pack and 2K.

Juventus (!): When the prices settle, this will probably be the most expensive one. You need an 82-rated team, so you’ll have to avoid the silvers and buy some high rated golds, so it will cost you around 20-30K. You get prime players pack, so you have a shot at making this all back, but it’s likely you’ll make a loss here.

Lazio (~): This is not the cheapest, but the abundance of cheap golds and high-rated cards allow you to complete this for 12-15K. You get a 25K back for you, so you’ll probably break even, but making a profit is unlikely.

Milan (+): The biggest profit maker of the lot. You can buy a lot of cheap golds and complete this SBC for around 12-15K, and you get a 45K pack. You’ll almost certainly make your money back, and possibly turn a profit.

Napoli (!): DO NOT DO THIS NOW. Once the MMs and Cavani SBC ends, the price of the Napoli SBC will fall, and you’ll be able to complete this for around 15K. Regardless of whether you do it now, or do it later, you’re unlikely to make a profit here, and will probably make a small loss.

Palermo (!): ABSOLUTELY DO NOT DO THIS NOW. Palermo players are very, very expensive right now, and you only get a 7.5K pack as a reward. The SBC costs around 35-50K, but in a week or two, it’ll be in the 10-15K region. Either way, you’re probably not going to turn a profit here.

Pescara (!): Another loss-maker. You’ll need to spend 13-15K here, thanks to the lack of gold players at Pescara and the rising prices of silvers, and you’ll only get a premium silver players pack back as a reward. Unless you pull an expensive MLS/Ligue 1/Liga Nos/ La Liga silver, you’re unlikely to make your money back.

Roma (+): This one is good for making some coins. You pay around 13-18K for a mega pack, and by selling the multitude of players and consumables you receive, you can easily make your money back.

Sampdoria (~): You’ll need a couple of silvers here, making it a little pricier than it needs to be. You do get a jumbo premium gold pack back, so if you’re diligent with selling you pack contents, you can make your money back.

Sassuolo (~): Once again, you’ll need a couple of silvers here, and that can be pricey. Fortunately, the gold players are very cheap, so you can do it all for 12-15K. You get a rare gold pack back, so there is a decent chance to make your money back.

Torino (~): These are the sort of SBCs I love - a lot of cheap gold players, with a silver or two used to fill in the gaps. You can get this done for 10-12K, and you can make your money back with a jumbo premium gold pack.

Udinese (!): The reward for this one is deceptive - the gold players pack you receive will probably give you around 5-6K back (in the worst case), but fortunately you’ll only be spending 10-12K on the SBC.

As always, when you complete all 20 teams you get a coin reward - in this case, it’s 25,000 coins.

Summary:

So there it is - my guide to the Calcio A SBC. All-in-all, it’ll set you back around 275K, but if you wait a week or so, I wouldn’t be surprised if it drops down to 220-230K. You’ll pretty much break even on most SBCs, make a small loss on a couple, and a little profit on others. Even with terrible pack luck (my best player was Handanovic, who sold for 7.5K, and then the rest were 4K or less), I’ve only lost 10K after completing 19 teams, and I’ve still got well over 30K worth of players and consumables left to sell.

You essentially guaranteed to break even on this SBC, and if things really don’t go well, you’ll lose 20-25K at most. When you consider the fact that you are getting a 91-rated Higuain, this is an SBC you just must complete.