I’m 1 win away from Arena 9 and none of my players are above level 7. Here’s how I did it (3-1-2-1-3 formation and usage, tips, advice, corners, roles, etc)

Posting only to share what works for me. I found a lot of advice here when I first started and now I’m just paying it forward. (Also why I put search terms in the title.)

3-1-2-1-3

Back 3: Intruder-Explorer-Explorer

1: Guard

2: Guard, Guard

1: Hammer

Front 3: Infiltrator-Speedster-Infiltrator

You need speed on the back line. I didn’t want the Intruder in the center because his response isn’t as good. Maybe it’d work, but symmetry’s overrated.

My back-3 is a new development. I used to have it be Explorer-Guard/Protector-Explorer but putting the Intruder back there is way better. I went from a W/L record of 93-94 in Arena 8 to 131-111.

Note: At one point I was 10-14 or so in Arena 8 and got relegated back down to Arena 7. That’s why I’m “only” 20 games over 500 but have the stars of someone who’s 24 games over 500. (Well, 27 games, but they give you 54 free stars when you get promoted.)

I also changed my captain to a guard and put him as my Back-1, where I used to have an Engine or Protector. Playing the 3-guard lineup really made my game take off. Guards are smarter defensively than Protectors (I know they have the same speed and response. Doesn’t matter, guards are better). Offensively, they never turn the ball over. They don’t like dribbling so it’s a lot of quick passes back and forth amongst themselves + the hammer, and before you know it, you’ve broken down the defense.

Turnovers are key. Live ball turnovers especially. Create your lineup to minimize turnovers, and cause maximum turnovers for your opponent. Sometimes, if I don’t have a good pass available, I just throw the ball away out of bounds, or to the opposing GK, rather than risk a live ball turnover. Live ball turnovers are death when you only have 3 guys in the back ranks, and your opponents often have Level 8 and Level 9 Speedsters/Intruders/Infiltrators. I still commit ~2-3 live ball turnovers per game in games I win, and ~4+ in games I lose. You can’t avoid them all. You still have to take some risks.

On the corner kicks, my speedster takes the corner. I used to be able to kick directly to my hammer in Arena 7 and below, but in Arena 8 I kick it to my Guard on the far side who lays it up for the Hammer to kick it in, most times. By this I mean I don’t try to header it in with the guard directly, once the guard has the ball on his head, I just tap the ball in the direction of the hammer, who kicks it in. The Hammer still kicks it off the head of one of the opposing players relatively often, but it works more often than anything else I’ve tried.

Let’s see, what else...

When I got promoted to Arena 5, it was a mistake. Soon I was out of cash and losing all the time, couldn’t even afford to play enough matches to get relegated back down to Arena 4 where I was comfortable. I spent ~$5 on enough cash that I could finally lose enough games in Arena 5 to get relegated again. It’s the only money I’ve spent on the game so far. Of course, once I spent the money and was trying to lose, I started winning, a bunch. Trying to lose actually made me better. I wasn’t spamming the tackle button anymore. I remember my first game, I tried to miss both my shots but they went in anyway. I was furious with myself for winning that first game. But then it happened again, and again. Before I knew it, I was closer to promotion than relegation.

From then on, before I got promoted, I always made sure I had more than enough money to play in, and lose, in the next arena enough times that I could get relegated, before I would try to promote myself.

I haven’t used/borrowed anyone’s captain. I suppose I’d be open to it, but I have a lot of pride in the winning % I obtained without doing that so far.

Any other questions, I’m here.

Proof: https://imgur.com/a/2bE7fhp

Edit: Up to A7, my Captain was an Engine. I switched him to Speedster when he promoted to L7 before any of my other players reached L7.

When I used the 4-4-2, from A1-A5, I played

Infiltrator-Infiltrator/Speedster

Producer-Engine-Engine-Producer

Explorer-Guard/Commander-Guard/Protector-Explorer

Once I reached A5 or A6, that completely stopped working.