Thunderstruck is one of the best promos inEA Sports FC 25,offering Live cards to collect and enjoy while awaiting the possibility of further upgrades. Aside from the obvious cosmetic improvements, these cards can receive additional upgrades based on how their associated team performs in real games.
While these cards are ranked based on their abilities before they receive any future upgrades, the players are likely to remain among the best regardless of further improvements. While the additional room for growth is a bonus that makes these cards fun to own, they won’t change significantly enough to make or break their useability.
Thunderstruck cards will receive the following upgrades based on their team’s performance in theirnext five(starting June 26, 2025)Domestic Leaguematches:
– If their teamwins twogames:TwonewPlayStyles& a newRole+
– If their teamscores six goalsor more:Plus OneOverall rating & a newRole+
Four Stars
Fede Valverde has boastedone of the best midfielder cards in recent years,with this Thunderstruck version sticking out as one of the best pre-Team of the Year cards we’ve ever seen. The Real Madrid star also comes with a sky-high price tag, but with access to the PowerShot PlayStyle Plus, it should come as no surprise.
Real Madrid links and Valverde’s flexibility to shift from CM to CDM or RM make him a must-have card if you can afford his price tag and aim to be competitive in the higher online divisions.
Five Stars
While he has been limited by a nagging injury in real life, Kevin De Bruyne’s Thunderstruck card still stands out as one of the premier cards from the promo.Incisive Pass Plus is one of the best PlayStyles in EA FC 25,allowing players like KDB tolaunch crisp passes to their teammates with impressive precision.
De Bruyne’s major pitfalls are his Pace and his price, as he’s not particularly quick or agile, but can still dribble well andcut through defenses in the right hands.
Viktor Gyokeres is one of the best strikers you can get in EA FC 25, with an almost unbelievable combination of Pace and Physical that makes him one of the hardest players to defend.
His 88 Shooting is the final part of Gyokeres' deadly triumvirate of attributes that grace his card.
While Gyokeres is much more affordable than KDB or Fede Valverde, it comes at the cost of having one of the most difficult linksets to work with in FC 25. Swedish players are few and far between, while you’ll struggle to include many Liga Portugal players to line up alongside your striker.
Three Stars
Jules Kounde’s base card was one of the best options at right-back in the early stages of FC 25, and this Barcelona fullback returns with another impressive improvement thatmakes him meta-relevant once again.
Luckily, Kounde’s links are miles better than Gyokeres, as French players boast some of the most plentiful high-quality options. Jockey is a great PlayStyle Plus for a right-back, as you’ll be able to usher attacking players down the sideline without giving up the ability toshift directions with them at a moment’s notice.
While Nicolo Barella isn’t the flashiest player or the biggest name on this list, his Thunderstruck card stands above similar options based onaccessibility, value, and overall quality.Barella’s attributes don’t jump off the page, but he consistently over-performs with his impressive in-game movement and dribbling, among other qualities.
He won’t strike fear into your opponents with his small stature, but Barella’s immense presence in the midfield makes him one of the most noticeable players on the pitch.
Two Stars
William Saliba isone of the best defenders in Ultimate Team,and this massive upgrade he receives from his base card feels even bigger considering how good the gold version still is. Saliba’s access to theAnticipate PlayStyle Plusmakes him one of the best choices for the position.
While Saliba’s price makes him as restrictive as KDB and Fede, you shouldn’t need to change your CB for months if you have the coins to invest in this card. While cards with two PlayStyles are sure to shift the power curve, Saliba is one of the few players likely to survive the shift.
If you thought some of the best Thunderstruck players thus far were cost-prohibitive, then prepare for a mammoth price tag from Marcus Rashford, as this card hassome of the most desirable qualitiesyou could hope forin an attacking player.
Rashford’s links are incredibly easy to work with, and his access toPower Shot Plusmakes him one of the most lethal strikers in FC 25. With Pace, Shooting, and Dribbling all exceeding 91, Rashford has no major weaknesses to speak of, unless you consider an imperfect weak foot as the sole blemish.
It feels like cheating whenever Mbappe gets a new promo card, as he was already amongthe best dribblers in FC 25,not to mention a nearly perfect attacker in other ways. Mbappe’s maxed-out Pace, and deadly combination of Shooting, Dribbling, and decent Passing make him a menace to contain.
Aside from his attributes, Mbappe comes with his famous “jammy” qualities, where rebounds and deflections seem to magically end up at his feet as he barrels through defenders with his speed. Try him out, and you’ll see that all the talk about “auras” and “jam” is more than just waffle.
