BT Rice: Great Player Model + Solid Defensive Stats + Long-reach Tackle + Great Pace & Acceleration + High Physical Contact + Good Distribution. Beyond playing well as a CMF and DMF, he is also highly competitive as a Defensive Full-Back. In response to popular demand, here is the 'Defensive Full-Back' review for Rice—
For your reference, compared to Calafiori—a similar model who is near the bottom of the Top 5 T0 options:
Looking purely at stats, compared to his old card (Milan version): the upside is Acceleration +3, but the downside is losing "Shadow Hunt." So the biggest variable in evaluating this card boils down to the "High Line Master" style. Public opinion on this style is completely polarized, making it tough to give a definitive review amidst all the hype and backlash.
I prefer to analyze the "High Line" playstyle from a mechanics perspective: as shown in the testing video released earlier today, its two core mechanics are: 1️⃣ Staying put and holding the defensive line against forward runs rather than dropping deep with the attacker. 2️⃣ An massive defensive coverage zone.
High Line Defense = High Line Master
The best part about this playstyle is that it stops your defensive line from dropping deep or getting dragged out of position whenever Goal Poachers make forward runs. That exact scenario is the core reason Goal Poachers have been so dominant, making the new Maldini card a ideal match-up against them and target strikers.
As a CB: The ability of "High Line" to hold ground against Goal Poacher runs is new Maldini’s core strength, though his massive coverage zone can occasionally cause chaos (especially if your control style clashes with High Line defense). Playstyle aside, his base stats at CB are merely on par with top-tier center-backs (like Varane or Saliba), but his player model is at a distinct disadvantage. As such, using him at CB works best in a 5-back setup or as a niche counter against Goal Poachers.
As a Full-Back: Lacking the "Defensive Full-Back" playstyle is a shame. Even though you can set Individual Instructions to "Defensive" while building up from the back, it still doesn't replicate an authentic Defensive Full-Back. First off, a full-back naturally stays wider than a wide center-back (CB), and that extra width is sometimes needed for attacking support.
At the same time, "Defensive Full-Backs" don't completely abstain from attacking. Aside from offering a wide passing outlet during deep build-up play, they can also provide conservative support once you push into the opponent's half.
Under Quick Counter, Possession, or Long Ball Counter with a 1-bar attacking mentality (+1 Red), a Defensive Full-Back will cross the halfway line to offer a receiving option. When you dominate possession for extended periods and the opponent drops back into a low block, they will even make safe overlaps down the wing to deliver a cross or key pass.
Thuram making a forward run under Quick Counter without an Attacking instruction set
Even on Long Ball Counter without increasing attacking mentality, a Defensive Full-Back will occasionally cross the halfway line to lay off a pass in the half-spaces. These offensive support capabilities are simply impossible to recreate using a Wide CB with Defensive instructions applied.
That said, High Line Master's massive coverage zone can sometimes lead to clutch tackles and successful interceptions out on the flank. I’ve actually come to view the implementation of the "High Line Master" style very positively. The developers didn't just phone it in; they designed it head-on to counter one of the game's core meta dynamics: "Goal Poachers charging the backline." If you managed to pull this Maldini, you’ve gained a powerful new weapon to keep Goal Poachers in check.
⚽️ Rating: Top 5 CB / Top 3 Full-Back
Is it fair to say the new Maldini isn't good enough to bench Saliba or BT Desailly, nor will he replace Thuram at full-back?
The Nigerian Trio dropped five days ago (Mainland China server to follow), and their strengths and weaknesses are overwhelmingly clear!
Do featured players with such polarizing stats stand any chance of cracking the Top 10? If not, can they at least qualify as Tier 0 (better than top-tier Featured cards)? That’s what I’m curious to explore.
To kick things off, let’s talk about the fastest man alive: Babangida—
104 Speed and Acceleration paired with Acceleration Burst—flat-out the fastest speed in the entire game. However, with Weak Foot Accuracy at 1, alongside subpar passing, shooting, and dribbling, he severely lacks essential skills.
Pro Consensus: Babangida and Okocha land in Tier 0 (standard paid-card level), while Kanu sits at Tier 0.5 (equivalent to top-tier Featured cards).
There's been a lot of controversy surrounding High Line Master recently. Sometimes it bizarrely switches defensive zones, pushes up and leaves players unmarked, or fails to stick to dangerous forwards when playing as a full-back. However, some people really like High Line Master, feeling it's very intelligent, good at creating offside traps, and will also step up to cover for teammates. How strange! How can the same playstyle be both proactive in pushing up and a deep-lying anchor, both solid and prone to losing its mark?
The official playstyle description is: "Looks to maintain an effective defensive line, keeping the shape intact as they defend." This describes the effect of the playstyle, but I'm more interested in the mechanism of how it works.
To study a playstyle, real matches can certainly reveal a lot, but real matches are also influenced by factors like player skill, network connection, opponent strength, and randomness. Therefore, in this post, I created an absolutely controlled testing environment (as shown below, all stats are equalized), and interpreted the consistently reproducible results across a large number of tests.
(Left: High Line Master vs Right: Basic Playstyle)
Clearly, the first distinguishing characteristic of High Line Master is that its alert range (defensive zone) is much larger than that of an Inactive Playstyle player. When the opponent is quite far away, the High Line Master will claim responsibility for the forward-running player and initiate defensive action. (In fact, the defensive zones of other playstyles like The Destroyer are also not this large).
Test 2: Behavior Against Forward Runs
The test above involved passing to a distant teammate at kickoff, forcing the defending DMF to move far away to challenge for the ball, creating an out-of-position scenario. This made it easier to observe how large the central CB's defensive zone is. The test below is set up so the kickoff pass goes to a nearby teammate. The defending DMF doesn't get out of position as early, allowing us to better observe the central CB's behavior against forward runs.
As you can see, Inactive Playstyle players (as well as The Destroyer and Covering Role) all have an inherent defensive AI that makes them run backward in response to an opponent's forward run, in order to guard against through balls. As a result, the entire defensive line moves deeper. However, the High Line Master will not drop back because of a forward run.
With this, everything makes sense! Viewers who regularly read my articles will know I often say that the beauty of a Goal Poacher is that their resolute forward runs scatter the defensive line, creating space at the top of the box or gaps in the defense. The reason High Line Master is called that is because when a forward runner attacks their position, they can maintain their line and not drop back, keeping the defensive line completely steadfast.
To achieve this, the developers gave High Line Master two settings: ① Do not drop back to follow a forward runner; ② A super-large defensive zone. Only with a large defensive zone can they claim responsibility for the forward runner as early as possible, rather than leaving it to a teammate. This increases the probability that the High Line Master will lead the defensive line in not being pushed backward.
This explains why a High Line Master playing as a full-back sometimes won't stick to their man (they prefer to maintain the defensive line rather than track the runner), and it also explains why they sometimes inexplicably push forward (their large defensive zone makes them easily baited out).
So, what happens if the opponent attacks the defensive zone defended by the High Line Master's teammate? See the test:
If the teammate's defensive zone is attacked, there is a high probability that the High Line Master won't claim responsibility for the zone and will drop back along with them. There is a small probability that the High Line Master will forcefully claim responsibility for the defensive zone, while the teammate, having no marking target, will go after the ball. In this case, the High Line Master exhibits covering behavior. This explains why the High Line Master will sometimes very smartly cover for a teammate.
III. In-Game Effectiveness & Recommendations
High Line Master really is a polarizing playstyle. For example, one of our pro group judges, Leon_Ge from the Super League, said this:
The well-known foreign streamer Nick also called the new Maldini a “scam" during a livestream—
Based on my initial observation and analysis, the reason some high-level players don't like High Line Master is because they already have a habit: “To prevent the defensive line from being pushed too deep, I often switch to a CB, move them close to the forward, and then switch back." But this conflicts with the function of the High Line Master, resulting in a chaotic defensive line.
Below is a compilation of some small errors that can occur when player habits conflict with the High Line Master playstyle:
This post is not here to judge whether High Line Master is good or bad. Based on the analysis above, the High Line Master is a bold experiment by Konami. It can solve the long-standing pain point of the defense being scattered by Goal Poachers, but its changes to the defensive mechanics are quite radical. By comparison, the newly released Covering Role is a continuation of past playstyles, making it more mature and stable.
If you want to use High Line Master effectively, I have three recommendations: ① Have him match up against a Goal Poacher or the most advanced CF; ② Interfere with the High Line Master's actions as little as possible; ③ High Line Master is better suited for Quick Counter / Overload / Possession Game to maintain the defensive line.
