A long time ago, Fantasy Premier League (FPL) introduced some chips to make the game more interesting and strategic, with the Wildcard now being one of FPL’s funnest parts.
Every manager gets two of these per season.
What is an FPL Wildcard?
A Wildcard gives managers a chance to transform their squad, which corrects past mistakes, finally grabs that bunch of players you’ve long wanted and starts planning for the future. To do this, you get an unlimited amount of free transfers during one Gameweek.
Two chances, to be precise. One Wildcard to be used before Gameweek 19’s deadline, and another at some point afterwards.
How to activate a Wildcard
Via a computer, select the ‘Transfers’ tab. Right at the top of the page, under the Wildcard icon, there is a ‘Play’ button you can hit to activate the chip.
Meanwhile, using the official FPL app, you need to replace one player with another and hit ‘Next’ to get the image below.
Select ‘Wildcard Active’ and confirm it, though be aware that, once activated, the chip cannot be cancelled.
Between this point and the Gameweek deadline, you can make as many transfers as you want.
The best times to Wildcard
The key to successfully using a Wildcard is timing. Play it too early and you won’t be able to use it later if injuries and suspensions start to build. But playing it too late won’t reverse the already-done damage.
Ultimately, it’s team-dependent. Managers who’ve picked a good squad will only need minor tweaks, but others will have got it all wrong or been unlucky with injuries. Therefore, the chip is like an emergency cord that’s ready to be pulled.
Within the FPL community, the first Wildcard usage tends to be about pouncing on the best early-season assets. Then, the second is part of a chip strategy aiming to take advantage of multiple Blank and Double Gameweeks towards the end.
If you notice a big fixture swing – where a bunch of teams are about to increase in appeal whilst others decrease – that’s another good time to Wildcard.
Will you lose your saved-up transfers?
No. If you’ve accumulated up to five free transfers and choose to Wildcard, you’ll still have that number for the following Gameweek.
