ZaZ - Earth 4.0 ST

Earth is a high intensity defensive tactic with three defenders. For tips and extra information, check the Fire thread.

Earth 4.0
Testing a few different shapes to see which direction I should take with this tactic.





Earth 3.1
Crossing to near post to increase goal opportunities. Wingback set to FB-At to participate more in the offensive actions. Defensive midfielder set to Vol-At to increase threat. (I'm keeping wingback as DL/R because they have higher availability in the game.)



Earth 3.0
Tried to keep instructions lean, and check if play by the flanks work well when team has only one player in the flanks. There is also one version with wingback as DR/L, because it is easier to find players in that position, which means you can use players with better attributes.



Earth 2.6 WB
IWB -> WB in the minimalistic approach. My goal is to check if IWB has anti-synergy with two DMs, or with wingers that run wide with the ball. I believe it's the later, but I need to check in different formations to confirm.



Earth 2.0 3ST




Changelog Earth 2.5
Same instructions as Fire 2.5.



Earth 2.0 DW




Earth 1.0




Earth 2.0




Leave a comment below if you liked the tactic and make sure to share your results. Enjoy!

@ZaZ Looks solid, is it going to be tested?

Tejash said: @ZaZ Looks solid, is it going to be tested? Expand

I believe it will be tested, but I'm not the one to decide that.

Since a couple of years I appreciate and enjoy your tactics. It will be the same with this one...

MarcoL said: Since a couple of years I appreciate and enjoy your tactics. It will be the same with this one... Expand

Thank you! This was just a first draft, I will try to improve all versions more after next patch. (P.S.: Right now I wanted to see tactics with one DM, since 2DM seems better.)

I would love to use a Libero but I've never managed to make a decent tactic with one. What considerations did you have to get it to work?

Also given Libero and RPM are both playmakers don't they tread on each others toes a bit creatively?

tom100000000000 said: I would love to use a Libero but I've never managed to make a decent tactic with one. What considerations did you have to get it to work?

Also given Libero and RPM are both playmakers don't they tread on each others toes a bit creatively? Expand

Libero usually works better than a third central defender in my tests. They step up to the DM position and allow the DMs to get further forward without leaving spaces. I agree with you that the middle is too busy with them and two central midfielders, but I was just setting this up as a benchmark to develop from there. Next version will either change the midfield to two DMs plus SS (3412), or use two DMs and change to a single AF with two IFs by the sides (343).

ZaZ said: Libero usually works better than a third central defender in my tests. They step up to the DM position and allow the DMs to get further forward without leaving spaces. I agree with you that the middle is too busy with them and two central midfielders, but I was just setting this up as a benchmark to develop from there. Next version will either change the midfield to two DMs plus SS (3412), or use two DMs and change to a single AF with two IFs by the sides (343). Expand

Sounds good, looking forward to it. With a good creative libero working and a solid back 3, I’d like to try something like volantes in the middle running up and down, maybe on support. I would guess two DM roles would be too defensive with 3 centerbacks, but not sure

tom100000000000 said: Sounds good, looking forward to it. With a good creative libero working and a solid back 3, I’d like to try something like volantes in the middle running up and down, maybe on support. I would guess two DM roles would be too defensive with 3 centerbacks, but not sure Expand

Yeah, I will still test what is the best duo. For single DM, it seems like RPM, DM-De and DM-Su give me the best results for different shapes.

best tactic ive test so far in this fm,good job and thank u for u time.

ZubeR said: best tactic ive test so far in this fm,good job and thank u for u time. Expand

Good that it works for you! Still a lot to improve, though. =)

ZubeR said: best tactic ive test so far in this fm,good job and thank u for u time. Expand

is this possible? I mean tactics are tested in 2.8k matches to find the best but this guy said "best tactic so far". Isn't the best tactic is who gets most points on the table? Just curious

saitjerome said: is this possible? I mean tactics are tested in 2.8k matches to find the best but this guy said "best tactic so far". Isn't the best tactic is who gets most points on the table? Just curious Expand

Dude, no need to be a downer.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion.

He might like how it plays and that's the major factor for him.

Or he might just had a great winning run with it (it could be luck but it doesn't matter) and now he's happy and just came to thank ZaZ for this tactic.

Or it might be his team is perfectly fits into this tactic and that delivers a very good result.

Anyway, I think you got my point.

Milakus said: Dude, no need to be a downer.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion.

He might like how it plays and that's the major factor for him.

Or he might just had a great winning run with it (it could be luck but it doesn't matter) and now he's happy and just came to thank ZaZ for this tactic.

Or it might be his team is perfectly fits into this tactic and that delivers a very good result.

Anyway, I think you got my point. Expand

Yup, i got your point. I like 3 defender formations too but also very *depended* on table points, dunno why. It always felt me like i'm going to lose because i didn't pick the best tactic... Whatever i think you got my point too :P

saitjerome said: Yup, i got your point. I like 3 defender formations too but also very *depended* on table points, dunno why. It always felt me like i'm going to lose because i didn't pick the best tactic... Whatever i think you got my point too :P Expand

You really can win everything in FM even using a 30 points or lower tactic from the test.

Just look at this - https://fm-arena.com/thread/2980-game-changing-player-attributes/

it's possible to build a monstrous team that will destroy everyone on its path even with the worst tactic in the game.

And if you like 3 defenders formations then it's possible to win everything with them.

But if your team is the weakest in the league then even the best tactic won't help you winning it.

saitjerome said: is this possible? I mean tactics are tested in 2.8k matches to find the best but this guy said "best tactic so far". Isn't the best tactic is who gets most points on the table? Just curious Expand

A tactic with 42 points is not bad, it's still above average. He probably tested, and it went really well for him. We see it all the time, people complimenting tactics not on top of the table and saying they gave them the best results so far. It motivates me to get a better version of this tactic in the near future.

I think It really depend on the formation he want to play. Probably this tactic doesn't have the 1st rank in the table, but this tactic formation fit his team. And as you can see from zippo post, the real different come from the players not from the tactic itself. If you try to fit your team in a tactic that doesn't fit your players then the result would be much worse than using the lower rating tactic which fit your players Cheers to every top tactic maker who devoted their time and effort.

I'm playing around with Libero tactics and I want to keep 2x IFs and a lone striker. So far, playing around with the wingback roles (WBs/WBa/CWBa) and two deep CMs (double VOL, VOL+DM, some rpm combos) and I'm really struggling to make something that scores enough.

Did holiday test with Mainz and finished 2nd behind Bayern. Very good

Earth 2.0 is up.

ZaZ said: Earth 2.0 is up. Expand

Which do you recommend I try first out of your 4 new tactics?

Mark said: Which do you recommend I try first out of your 4 new tactics? Expand

I like fire more.

ZaZ said: I like fire more. Expand

Here are my tests



Not much between Earth and Fire. Wind not so good.

Mark said: Here are my tests



Not much between Earth and Fire. Wind not so good. Expand

Thank you for testing! I couldn't make the 4123 shape work well yet, even though some other people got good results with that shape. I hope those versions are at least a good foundation to work on.