Are you just starting Madden Ultimate Team 23 and have questions about Theme Teams? You're in the right place. Today's article is going to explain what a Theme Team is and why it's more than just representing your favorite team in MUT. A Theme Team is one that is built mostly or entirely of players from 1 of the 32 NFL teams. The more players from one team you add to your lineup, the more ratings boosts you will receive to those same players. However, this year has an all-new Legends Team Chemistry option as well! Continue reading to learn everything you need to know about Theme Teams in MUT 23:
Ratings Boosts
Building a Theme Team means making sacrifices in certain areas since you will not have the top-rated player at every position. As a way to help even the playing field between "God Squads" and Theme Teams, building a Theme Team grants additional ratings boosts that a Non-Theme Team will not receive. As you add more players/components from a specific team to your lineup, more boosts will be unlocked, applying to all players with the SAME equipped Team Chemistry in your lineup.
For those of you who might have built a Hybrid Theme Team in previous years (25 of 1 team and 25 of another), I have bad news for you; the first +1 SPD boost has been moved to Tier 8 (40 components), instead of Tier 5 (25 components). A full Theme Team will still receive the full +2 SPD at Tier 10 (50 components), but with the increased component total before the first +1 SPD boost, Hybrids may be a thing of the past.
The following Team Chemistry Tier boosts are cumulative, meaning if you reach Tier 5, then you get all boosts for Tiers 1-5:
Tier 1: +1 STR (Requires 5 Components)
Tier 2: +1 JMP (Requires 10 Components)
Tier 3: +1 AGI (Requires 15 Components)
Tier 4: +1 ACC (Requires 20 Components)
Tier 5: +1 STR (Requires 25 Components)
Tier 6: +1 JMP (Requires 30 Components)
Tier 7: +1 AGI (Requires 35 Components)
Tier 8: +1 SPD (Requires 40 Components)
Tier 9: +1 ACC (Requires 45 Components)
Tier 10: +1 SPD (Requires 50 Components)
Where do I find my Team Chemistry total?
At the main Ultimate Team menu, navigate to "My Team" and "Adjust Lineup". Once you are viewing your lineup, use your left joystick to open the "Lineup Tools" panel on the right side of your screen. Under "Chemistry", select the NFL team you are building to see your component total and active boosts. You can have multiple Team Chemistry boosts at once, but remember that each boost only applies to players with the SAME equipped Team Chemistry.
Where do I find Team Chemistry on my player item?
You can find your player item's Team Chemistry by navigating to your Binder, located under the My Team tab of the main Ultimate Team menu. Once inside your binder, locate the correct player and click A on Xbox (X on PlayStation) to "View Item", then tab over to "Upgrades". You can also reach this screen from your lineup by hovering over the player, clicking X on Xbox for "Player Options" (Square on PlayStation), and then selecting "Upgrade". Team Chemistry will always be the first tile under "Chemistries & Positions". See the image below:
Can Players Switch Team Chemistry?
In Madden Ultimate Team 23, most 80+ OVR player items will be able to change Team Chemistry to any team the player has played at least 1 snap for during a regular-season or playoff game. If you notice in the image at the bottom of this section, after opening Ronald Darby's Team Chemistry Slot, I am presented with the option to equip any of his 3 previous teams before the Broncos for 25 Coins. More will surely be released throughout MUT 23, but for now, here are the current players who are exceptions to the rule and can equip Team Chemistry for teams they have NOT played for:
- Team Captains (Can equip any of the 32 NFL teams)
- Division Champions (Can equip any team in their division or any team they have played for)
What Counts Toward the Team Chemistry Total?
There are currently only 2 different ways to increase your Team Chemistry Components in MUT 23: Players and Team Affinity Strategy Items. The following players count towards your Team Chemistry Components:
- Offensive Starters and Backups
- Defensive Starters and Backups
- Kicker and Punter
*Players do NOT count towards Team Chemistry if playing out-of-position with no Secondary Position Chemistry enabled.
**Players only appearing at Specialist Positions in your lineup do NOT contribute to your component total.
In previous years, items such as your coach, stadium, uniforms, and even playbooks at one point contributed to your component total. However, these items no longer contribute and you are free to equip whatever your heart desires in those slots without sacrificing components toward your Theme Team boosts.
Team Affinity Strategy Items can be purchased from the Auction House this year, which is a huge improvement over MUT 22. All 32 NFL teams have 3 different tiers of Strategy Items that contribute a small number of Team Chemistry Components to your total. Since you can only equip 1, you will want the best one currently available, the Rare Tier (Blue). Check out the 3 different tiers and their component total below:
- Common (Gray): +1 Component
- Uncommon (Green): +2 Components
- Rare (Blue): +3 Components
Legends Theme Team
A new option in Madden Ultimate Team is the ability to construct a Legends Theme Team. Captains and most Legendary Players released throughout the year will have a "Legends" option located in their Team Chemistry Slot, allowing them to benefit from some ratings boosts as well. Keep in mind you can only equip Legends Team Chemistry OR an NFL Team Chemistry. Unless something changes later, you must pick one or the other.
The boosts for a Legends Theme Team are similar to those of an NFL team but with 1 less acceleration boost and 1 less speed boost. Check out the boosts below:
- Tier 1 (5 Components): +1 STR
- Tier 2 (10 Components): +1 JMP
- Tier 3 (15 Components): +1 AGI
- Tier 4 (20 Components): +1 ACC
- Tier 5 (25 Components): +1 STR
- Tier 6 (30 Components): +1 JMP
- Tier 7 (35 Components): +1 AGI
- Tier 8 (40 Components): +1 SPD
If you're trying to figure out which players can be used on your Theme Team, check out our Theme Team Depth Charts section or search our Players Database by Team Chemistry.
Do you still have questions about Theme Teams or Team Chemistry? Check out the MUT.GG Discord or Forums for more help. Shout out to kan for letting us showcase his Commanders Theme Team!
