FPL Help Guide: What is a Wildcard?

Over the season, each FPL manager is given a series of chips to use on their squad. So, of these, what is a Wildcard?

Ahead of the 2015/16 season, Fantasy Premier League (FPL) introduced some chips to make the game more interesting and strategic.

All Out Attack isn’t around anymore but both Bench Boost and Triple Captain remain – alongside a Free Hit and two Wildcards – to play a key role in each manager’s attempt to win mini-leagues and achieve a strong global rank.

WHAT ARE CHIPS?

This toolbox provides FPL managers with a few different ways to approach the game.

Triple Captain – Multiplies the chosen captain’s points by three rather than the usual two.

Bench Boost – Includes the points of your four substitutes in the Gameweek total.

Free Hit – Using unlimited free transfers to form a squad for one Gameweek only.

Only one of these can be used per Gameweek, activated before the deadline.

WHAT IS A WILDCARD?

Meanwhile, a Wildcard allows managers to transform their squad using an unlimited number of free transfers. It’s a chance to correct any past mistakes, finally grab a bunch of players you’ve previously missed out on and start positively planning for the future.

Two chances, to be precise. For there is a Wildcard belonging to each half of the season, with dates specified by the official FPL site.

Once played, the Wildcard cannot be cancelled.

HOW TO ACTIVATE A WILDCARD

Via a computer, just log into your FPL account and select the ‘Transfers’ tab. Above the starting XI and substitutes bench is a ‘Play Wildcard’ button that needs clicking and confirming.

Using the official FPL app, you need to replace one player with another and hit ‘Next’ to get the below image.

BEST TIMES TO USE A WILDCARD

Chips can be used in a variety of situations, that’s the beauty of them. Perhaps it’s to attack a Double Gameweek or survive a Blank Gameweek. Maybe your squad has an injury crisis or you have supreme confidence in one player’s upcoming fixture.

Compared to other chips, there is more flexibility amongst the FPL community about when to use a Wildcard. Especially with both of them usually having different purposes.

The first Wildcard tends to be about pouncing on the best early-season assets, whilst the second is part of a chip strategy aiming to take advantage of the imminent rise in Blank and Double Gameweeks.

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.

Nevertheless, if your squad simply has a lot of problems and issues, the chip can act like an emergency cord that’s ready to be pulled.

With the 2023/24 fixtures now released, we’ve recently taken a look at good times to activate a Wildcard next season.