Madden 19 MUT Draft Guide: How to play, Draft Targets, Playbooks and Key Formations


Madden Ultimate Team is the pinnacle of team building. You can blend stadiums, uniforms, and players together in endless combinations to build a team and take on solo challenges or other players online.

Within Ultimate Team is MUT Draft, a game type that allows you to build a fresh team that is stacked with stars and take on a six-game challenge against players or the computer. You have to get your MUT team to level 8 before you can unlock MUT Draft, but once you do, it is a fantastic way of gaining XP and leveling up quickly.

How to play

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Enter Ultimate Team and you'll find MUT Draft in the bottom-right corner of the "Play" section. From there you can select which game mode you want to do, Solo Draft is you against six computer teams, of greater and greater difficulty, that can take a while to play through but is a good way to grind XP. However the real prizes are found in Ranked Draft. The biggest entry cost category is 5 tickets, but the prize if you win all six games is enormous.

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Not only do you get 30,000 coins and your 5 tickets back, but you get 15 trophies, 2 Competition Champion Packs, and 2 Competition Contender Packs. Winning against five other players will take some nerve and a lot of skill when it comes to drafting your team. How can you maximize your opportunities?

Draft guide

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MUT Draft starts with you picking one of three coaches. You'll use their offensive and defensive playbooks throughout the six games. This is where it comes in handy to have tried a lot of different playbooks in other game modes because there is nothing worse than trying to navigate a new playbook that lacks your go-to plays. So try to have a grasp of all the offensive playbooks and at least know which ones have your money plays so you can select them if they come up.

Next MUT Draft generates you a new team full of low-to-mid range gold players. A fine base but not exactly great. You then get 20 rounds to pick players to add to that.

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Each round will see you pick between three players at the same or similar positions. It seems like there could be no real edge to be gained here, after all you don't know who will come up in later rounds, so how can you pick correctly?

Pick to your strengths

The best strategy with MUT Draft is to know your own playing style and pick appropriately to that. If you always call man coverage, it is no use taking corners that are better in zone. If you rarely pass to the tight end, then don't spend a pick on one if you could take a wide receiver there.



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You should also prioritize speed over things like awareness or play recognition, especially at a position you control more often than not. At linebacker and safety speed is everything, and with differing levels of ability throughout the MUT Draft rosters it is always useful to have a blazing fast wide receiver or cornerback if possible.

Know the Legends

The final round of the draft will offer you the choice between three Boss Legends and Hall of Fame players. The Boss Legends are players rated 90 or 91 OVR with excellent stats. However, there are just 18 in the game, and only five Hall of Fame players (Dan Marino, Terrell Davis, Brian Urlacher, Rod Woodson, and Terrell Owens). So by knowing who they are and what positions they play you can scheme yourself into a position where you aren't benching one of your previous picks to play a legend.

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For example, there are three Boss Legends defensive ends but only one guard and no centers. If you take a pair of DE's earlier in the draft, you may end up limiting your choice and potentially benching one of your 80+ players. Knowing what positions could be available at the end of the draft is always a good idea. However, if you don't take a quarterback and neither Steve Young, Michael Vick, or Dan Marino are there, then you are more than a little stuck. That is the one position you shouldn't take a chance on.

Create pressure

With just 20 picks it is nearly impossible to create a well-balanced offensive line. You might get a chance to take three blockers if you are lucky, but you are more likely to end up with just two. This leaves both yourself and your opponent vulnerable to pressure.

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To maximize that vulnerability invest in pass rushers. Don't be afraid to take players like Jadeveon Clowney or Von Miller if you are running a 4-3 defense, since you can edit your lineup afterwards and bring them down to the DE spots. You can kick players like Aaron Donald or JJ Watt inside and have a dominant force up front that can protect your linebackers against the run and terrorize a quarterback. You get more XP for sacks, turnovers, and defensive touchdowns, so don't be afraid of building your team defense-first.

Clock management

MUT Draft games are played with 4 minute quarters and 30 second play clocks. This makes it tougher to drain the clock at the end of a game since three snaps can no longer kill the last two minutes. It becomes vitally important to get the most out of every drive since you are likely getting just four, maybe five, per game. Another advantage of creating a strong defensive line is that you can stop the run far more easily and prevent an opponent from draining the clock on you.

If you do only have two offensive linemen selections, then try to group them together so you can run the ball behind them when you need to. Winning six games in a row is far from easy, but you can do it by ensuring you have the ball at the end of each half and having some plays in your arsenal that attack the sideline so you can stop the clock when you need to.

Verdict

MUT Draft is a really fun game mode that can free you from the grind of your own team. It allows you to play with far more of the MUT players than you would normally get to, and it can provide you with plenty of rewards if you win. This is our favorite part of MUT this year.

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