On December 4, EA Sports released a batch of Fantasy Hockey player items in NHL 21. Fantasy Hockey cards are unique, as these items can be upgraded throughout the year. However, the way that these special cards are upgraded has changed a bit from previous games.
How Fantasy Hockey Master set cards works in NHL 21
Traditionally, Fantasy Hockey player items have received upgrades based on real-life player performance. For example, skaters who scored a goal in the real NHL would receive a +1 OVR boost, and goalies would pick up a +1 OVR for every win. However, with no NHL hockey going on until January 2021, things are just a little bit different for NHL 21.
On December 4, four Fantasy Hockey player items were released in Hockey Ultimate Team. Flyers C Sean Couturier (84 OVR), Avalanche D Cale Makar (83 OVR), Canucks RW Brock Boeser (82 OVR), and Golden Knights RW Mark Stone (84 OVR) received Fantasy Hockey Master player items; to acquire these cards, NHL players can complete sets (which will stay active indefinitely) that will yield their lowest-rated version upon completion. Users will need to input a number of Gold players (either rare or non-rare) to acquire the Master items.
From here, things get a bit complicated. After acquiring the initial Master item, NHL players will need to complete additional sets, which can be found in the Fantasy Hockey sets folder, to upgrade the overall of the item. These upgrade sets will require a combination of player items, jersey cards, number items, and even Gold collectibles.
As of December, these are the max overalls for each Master player item:
- Brock Boeser – 89 OVR
- Cale Makar – 90 OVR
- Mark Stone – 91 OVR
- Sean Couturier – 91 OVR
Each month, EA Sports will release new sets for each of these players. Users can complete these new sets to further upgrade the player items. Each of these Fantasy Hockey player items will have a maximum overall of 99.
Other Fantasy Hockey cards
In anticipation of the start of the 2020-21 NHL season, the NHL devs released new Fantasy Hockey player items that are available through packs. These cards, much like the ones released in NHL 20, will behave in the same manner that Fantasy Hockey cards did last year.
For every regular season goal scored in the real NHL by a player who has a Fantasy Hockey player item, that individual will receive a +1 boost to all attributes, with the exception of the Speed and Acceleration ratings. Those two attributes will receive a +0.5 increase.
These cards will also see the Synergy points double should those items go up to 95 OVR. These items have a maximum player rating of 99 OVR
