So, yesterday I was casually going through my FM2011 folder on my laptop (mainly procrastinating whilst somewhat revising for University exams) when I found a small file which brought shivers to my spine. IL DEVASTO is a name which will be remembered by many experienced FM players. Merely the thought of it's success back on older versions of this game brings back so many memories. It was released for 2011 and 2012, yet Satorox seemed to disappear for 2013 (which doesn't surprise me considering the frustrating match engine this year). I looked here on FM-Base and saw many requests for an FM2013 IL DEVASTO... so here it is. The truth is, I've made no changes whatsoever to the random IL DEVASTO.tac file I found in my FM2011 folder, I also have no idea which IL DEVASTO version it is (since there are lots of them). In fact, I might have even made changes on FM2011 to it and saved them into it (I can't remember!). It is all Satorox's work as far as I'm aware, however this thread can be used for people to post their results with this system. It might also be worth noting the fact that this specific IL DEVASTO didn't work on FM2012... which tells us a lot about FM2013's match engine. However that is irrelevant for this discussion.
IL DEVASTO won't perform on FM2013 as well as it did on FM2011, scoring over 130 goals a season with Manchester United... but it will do 100 and go unbeaten bar the Champions League.
IL DEVASTO unfortunately won't make Wayne Rooney score 89 goals a season either. However it does 48, with him playing in the second striker role (he scored 89 in the main strikers role back in the day). The main striker role was split between RVP (who got injured ridiculously), Chicharito & Welbeck (51 goals altogether).
I am currently testing IL DEVASTO with Blackburn in the Championship who DO NOT have the right player types (bar Jordan Rhodes, David Goodwillie & Nuno Gomes) for the tactic which will be explained below. The tactic has done well however seems leaky (IL DEVASTO was known for being very leaky) and I will be working on creating an underdog/weaker team version myself. I am currently 3rd, 1 point off 1st place. It doesn't come across as much different to the original IL DEVASTO which allowed teams to score lots yet weaker teams also found themselves conceding many. For teams like Blackburn, IL DEVASTO will most likely win them the Championship or automatic promotion. For teams like Stoke, IL DEVASTO will be a learning curve. The first season will be an adapting season with good preformances, however I do not think it will turn you into Bayern Munich overnight like it did on previous editions of the game.
- Make sure you have a large pitch size.
- Leave training to your assistant.
- Leave opposition instructions empty.
- It will take longer than usual for your players to adapt to the tactic. Make sure you have the right players in each role to get the best out of IL DEVASTO... or what's left of it.
- Also, KEEP TARGET MAN TICKED!! (This is not a joke, I am serious... those of you who used IL DEVASTO before will know what I'm on about.) Do not assign a target man.
The player role types are quite simple. I do believe that Satorox built IL DEVASTO with the 2011 line up of Manchester United.
GK: Quite a simple role. Just get yourself a top goalkeeper, David De Gea was terrific this season and was a huge factor to preventing leaking goals. e.g. David De Gea, Iker Casillas, self explanatory.
RB/LB: I have found that center backs trained as full backs worked well. Phil Jones was the best in the right back role, not Rafael as the full backs rarely push forward to overlap offensively. Evra got the job done at left back due to his physical centerback-like presence which suits center backs. They play simple passes and contribute in the opposition's half due to the high line. e.g. Phil Jones, Patrice Evra, Chris Smalling, Martin Kelly, Sergio Ramos, etc.
CB: Experience and all round class is needed here. The old IL DEVASTO's commanded that the center backs were two of the most important players in the tactic and this still applies in FM2013. A very high line is played and you need to have extremely strong yet physically capable center backs with top anticipation, marking and tackling. They will and can make or break how leaky you become. It's no good scoring 100 goals if you concede 100. e.g. Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, Vincent Kompany, Ashley Williams, etc.
CM: Another simple role. You don't want to aim for specific roles such as Ball Winning Midfielders or Deep Lying Playmakers. Simply go for all round top central midfielders who offer everything on every front and are hard working. They will contribute defensively, offensively and score a few goals per season. e.g. Michael Carrick, Darren Fletcher, Tom Cleverley, Yaya Toure, Claudio Marchisio, Lucas Leiva, etc.
RW/LW: The wingers can also make or break the success of the tactic. Not too severely if you have strikers who can score, however you will really score for fun if your wingers are fast, can cross and can dribble. Valencia on paper isn't that strong in this role but played outstanding on the right. As can be seen above, 23 assists was superb. The left winger role was rotated more due to an injury Ashley Young suffered. Kagawa, Young & Nani played the most on the left. They assisted 13, 15, 15. I cannot emphasize how important it is to have wingers capable of providing this service. Don't go for inside forwards. You want a right footed lad on the right and a left footed lad on the left. Good ol' fashioned Beckham & Giggs combo, hard working and get the job done. e.g. Valencia, Young, Nani, Cristiano Ronaldo, Franck Ribery, Gareth Bale, etc.
STCL: You want a more physical, technically capable striker here. Think of this role as a Deep Lying Forward in Attack. Wayne Rooney fits the bill perfectly (over his 2011 self) because he is more than a striker. His first touch, passing, technique and physical presence is perfect for playing 'just off the striker' which is what Sir Alex Ferguson started doing prior to his retirement. We've all seen the passes he's pulled off (Rooney to RVP vs Aston Villa 2013...). Now he won't pull back as deep as he did against Villa, but I'm just trying to portray the technically gifted type of striker you want here. If you can't afford a Rooney-like player, just get someone who is preferably physically and technically gifted. A decent target man. e.g. Wayne Rooney, Robert Lewandowski, Edinson Cavani etc.
STCR: This is your proper goalscorer. I know Rooney finished my top scorer but he was playing regularly whilst I rotated the other three. Being tall for this guy is a plus, so is being speedy, however you just want an all round poacher-like player. Someone who will guarantee you goals, nothing more nothing less. The reason why I say being tall is a plus is because it adds another dimension to ones play. With Van Persie, you can feed him different types of balls at different heights and expect him to shoot on goal. Chicharito on the other hand is limited to an extent. e.g. Robin van Persie, Sergio Aguero, Robert Lewandowski, Olivier Giroud, Javier Hernandez, Danny Welbeck, Lionel Messi, Gonzalo Higuain, Karim Benzema, etc.
So, let me know how you all get on. Once again, full credit goes to the author who unfortunately has dissapeared on the FM-Base forums by the looks of things. All of you who have posted around repeatedly asking for an FM13 version of this tactic to be created, here you go... the FM11 version works. I don't want people complaining and saying it isn't the same thing because it isn't as overpowered. Whether one likes it or not, despite being built on terrific footballing credentials, IL DEVASTO did exploit the old engine at times. The original FM11 version scored 137 a season and on FM13 it scores 100. If winning the treble with Manchester United whilst being unbeaten in the league isn't enough to prove that IL DEVASTO is still among us then I don't know what is. I personally think 51 apps 48 goals for Wayne Rooney is an achievement by itself.
Good luck to everybody and feel free to post your results.
Results:
(as blackburn)
(as blackburn)
After releasing the IL DEVASTO which did well for FM13, I went to test it with Blackburn Rovers & West Brom. I found that it worked well, however it wasn't IL DEVASTO standard with the weaker teams. It played a very high line which left a lot of space to exploit for the opposition. This is obviously fine with the likes of Manchester United, Arsenal who have top quality center backs. However I was dealing with the likes of Scott Dann and Jonas Olsson. I made a lot of other tweaks and changes to the tactic as well, some which you might spot and others which you might not. The most blatant ones are in the image above. The central midfielders have become defensive midfielders and the attacking wingers have become wingers. You will also find that this underdog variant will play slightly more direct with a counter attacking feel to it. But that's all I'll say for now. Take a look at the results yourselves.
This tactic won't score as much as the original, however I still think considering Everton are a weaker side, only 19 goals less isn't too bad. It is definitely worth sacrificing the goals scored to concede only 27 throughout the whole season. That is 2 less than what was conceded with Manchester United. I was really gutted to not win the Premier League, however the fact that we achieved 2nd place and lost out on goal difference to a blatantly superior Manchester City side says it all. We lost the FA Cup final 1-0 to a Manchester United Howard Webb penalty. We also had Manchester United a week later for the final match of the season where we drew 2-2. Manchester City drew 1-1 with Liverpool. I genuinely think that if this had happened in real life, Manchester United would have scored an own goal to give us the Premier League over Manchester City... surely?
Dominating the league statistics again. I'm not sure who will win the Golden Boot now since Jelavic and Lukaku are tied... does anybody know? Kevin Mirallas was also outstanding on the right wing. Oviedo was poor at first however took his opportunity well when Steven Pienaar got injured. Jelavic was on fire in the STCL role and was a superb target man, particularly when counter attacking. Even though he isn't specified as the target man, the fact that a target man has to be used means the team decide themselves who the most appropriate choice is. In this case, a big tall striker like Jelavic is the obvious choice.
- Make sure you have a large pitch size.
- Arrange EXTRA friendlies. Make your training 'tactics only' until you gain 100% familiarity. (Don't worry if this takes until January, just stick with it). Once you have full familiarity, leave training to your assistant.
- Leave opposition instructions empty.
- It will take longer than usual for your players to adapt to the tactic. Make sure you have the right players in each role to get the best out of IL DEVASTO... or what's left of it.
- Also, KEEP TARGET MAN TICKED!! (This is not a joke, I am serious... those of you who used IL DEVASTO before will know what I'm on about.) Do not assign a target man.
The player roles are all the same as the regular version except the following:
DM: Try to have at least one of these to be a hard working defensive midfielder. In the regular tactic we go for two DLP-ish players. As an underdog try to have a big hard working physical man alongside a Carrick-like player. e.g. Marouane Fellaini, Radja Nainggolan, One of the bender brothers.
STCL: Before I said this guy needs to preferably be a more physical striker. With the underdog tactic, it is a must. Ensure this striker is tall and physical over technical ability (even though obviously ensure they can kick a football). They will give you a great dimension when attacking, particularly on the counter. e.g. Nikica Jelavic, Steven Fletcher, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, Fernando Llorente, Edinson Cavani.
Good luck to everybody. I will continue my Everton season until January 2014, to see whether any second season syndrome is suffered by these tactics. Remember to post your results!
Results:
IL DEVASTO won't perform on FM2013 as well as it did on FM2011, scoring over 130 goals a season with Manchester United... but it will do 100 and go unbeaten bar the Champions League.
IL DEVASTO unfortunately won't make Wayne Rooney score 89 goals a season either. However it does 48, with him playing in the second striker role (he scored 89 in the main strikers role back in the day). The main striker role was split between RVP (who got injured ridiculously), Chicharito & Welbeck (51 goals altogether).
- Make sure you have a large pitch size.
- Leave training to your assistant.
- Leave opposition instructions empty.
- It will take longer than usual for your players to adapt to the tactic. Make sure you have the right players in each role to get the best out of IL DEVASTO... or what's left of it.
- Also, KEEP TARGET MAN TICKED!! (This is not a joke, I am serious... those of you who used IL DEVASTO before will know what I'm on about.) Do not assign a target man.
The player role types are quite simple. I do believe that Satorox built IL DEVASTO with the 2011 line up of Manchester United.
GK: Quite a simple role. Just get yourself a top goalkeeper, David De Gea was terrific this season and was a huge factor to preventing leaking goals. e.g. David De Gea, Iker Casillas, self explanatory.
RB/LB: I have found that center backs trained as full backs worked well. Phil Jones was the best in the right back role, not Rafael as the full backs rarely push forward to overlap offensively. Evra got the job done at left back due to his physical centerback-like presence which suits center backs. They play simple passes and contribute in the opposition's half due to the high line. e.g. Phil Jones, Patrice Evra, Chris Smalling, Martin Kelly, Sergio Ramos, etc.
CB: Experience and all round class is needed here. The old IL DEVASTO's commanded that the center backs were two of the most important players in the tactic and this still applies in FM2013. A very high line is played and you need to have extremely strong yet physically capable center backs with top anticipation, marking and tackling. They will and can make or break how leaky you become. It's no good scoring 100 goals if you concede 100. e.g. Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, Vincent Kompany, Ashley Williams, etc.
CM: Another simple role. You don't want to aim for specific roles such as Ball Winning Midfielders or Deep Lying Playmakers. Simply go for all round top central midfielders who offer everything on every front and are hard working. They will contribute defensively, offensively and score a few goals per season. e.g. Michael Carrick, Darren Fletcher, Tom Cleverley, Yaya Toure, Claudio Marchisio, Lucas Leiva, etc.
RW/LW: The wingers can also make or break the success of the tactic. Not too severely if you have strikers who can score, however you will really score for fun if your wingers are fast, can cross and can dribble. Valencia on paper isn't that strong in this role but played outstanding on the right. As can be seen above, 23 assists was superb. The left winger role was rotated more due to an injury Ashley Young suffered. Kagawa, Young & Nani played the most on the left. They assisted 13, 15, 15. I cannot emphasize how important it is to have wingers capable of providing this service. Don't go for inside forwards. You want a right footed lad on the right and a left footed lad on the left. Good ol' fashioned Beckham & Giggs combo, hard working and get the job done. e.g. Valencia, Young, Nani, Cristiano Ronaldo, Franck Ribery, Gareth Bale, etc.
STCL: You want a more physical, technically capable striker here. Think of this role as a Deep Lying Forward in Attack. Wayne Rooney fits the bill perfectly (over his 2011 self) because he is more than a striker. His first touch, passing, technique and physical presence is perfect for playing 'just off the striker' which is what Sir Alex Ferguson started doing prior to his retirement. We've all seen the passes he's pulled off (Rooney to RVP vs Aston Villa 2013...). Now he won't pull back as deep as he did against Villa, but I'm just trying to portray the technically gifted type of striker you want here. If you can't afford a Rooney-like player, just get someone who is preferably physically and technically gifted. A decent target man. e.g. Wayne Rooney, Robert Lewandowski, Edinson Cavani etc.
STCR: This is your proper goalscorer. I know Rooney finished my top scorer but he was playing regularly whilst I rotated the other three. Being tall for this guy is a plus, so is being speedy, however you just want an all round poacher-like player. Someone who will guarantee you goals, nothing more nothing less. The reason why I say being tall is a plus is because it adds another dimension to ones play. With Van Persie, you can feed him different types of balls at different heights and expect him to shoot on goal. Chicharito on the other hand is limited to an extent. e.g. Robin van Persie, Sergio Aguero, Robert Lewandowski, Olivier Giroud, Javier Hernandez, Danny Welbeck, Lionel Messi, Gonzalo Higuain, Karim Benzema, etc.
So, let me know how you all get on. Once again, full credit goes to the author who unfortunately has dissapeared on the FM-Base forums by the looks of things. All of you who have posted around repeatedly asking for an FM13 version of this tactic to be created, here you go... the FM11 version works. I don't want people complaining and saying it isn't the same thing because it isn't as overpowered. Whether one likes it or not, despite being built on terrific footballing credentials, IL DEVASTO did exploit the old engine at times. The original FM11 version scored 137 a season and on FM13 it scores 100. If winning the treble with Manchester United whilst being unbeaten in the league isn't enough to prove that IL DEVASTO is still among us then I don't know what is. I personally think 51 apps 48 goals for Wayne Rooney is an achievement by itself.
Good luck to everybody and feel free to post your results.
Results:
DOWNLOAD
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IL DEVASTO - UNDERDOG! by KYANITE & SATOROX
Not tested yet with strong teams, could be deadly too.
Otherwise use underdog tactic and switch to normal once you become a top team.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
IL DEVASTO - UNDERDOG! by KYANITE & SATOROX
Not tested yet with strong teams, could be deadly too.
Otherwise use underdog tactic and switch to normal once you become a top team.
After releasing the IL DEVASTO which did well for FM13, I went to test it with Blackburn Rovers & West Brom. I found that it worked well, however it wasn't IL DEVASTO standard with the weaker teams. It played a very high line which left a lot of space to exploit for the opposition. This is obviously fine with the likes of Manchester United, Arsenal who have top quality center backs. However I was dealing with the likes of Scott Dann and Jonas Olsson. I made a lot of other tweaks and changes to the tactic as well, some which you might spot and others which you might not. The most blatant ones are in the image above. The central midfielders have become defensive midfielders and the attacking wingers have become wingers. You will also find that this underdog variant will play slightly more direct with a counter attacking feel to it. But that's all I'll say for now. Take a look at the results yourselves.
This tactic won't score as much as the original, however I still think considering Everton are a weaker side, only 19 goals less isn't too bad. It is definitely worth sacrificing the goals scored to concede only 27 throughout the whole season. That is 2 less than what was conceded with Manchester United. I was really gutted to not win the Premier League, however the fact that we achieved 2nd place and lost out on goal difference to a blatantly superior Manchester City side says it all. We lost the FA Cup final 1-0 to a Manchester United Howard Webb penalty. We also had Manchester United a week later for the final match of the season where we drew 2-2. Manchester City drew 1-1 with Liverpool. I genuinely think that if this had happened in real life, Manchester United would have scored an own goal to give us the Premier League over Manchester City... surely?
Dominating the league statistics again. I'm not sure who will win the Golden Boot now since Jelavic and Lukaku are tied... does anybody know? Kevin Mirallas was also outstanding on the right wing. Oviedo was poor at first however took his opportunity well when Steven Pienaar got injured. Jelavic was on fire in the STCL role and was a superb target man, particularly when counter attacking. Even though he isn't specified as the target man, the fact that a target man has to be used means the team decide themselves who the most appropriate choice is. In this case, a big tall striker like Jelavic is the obvious choice.
- Make sure you have a large pitch size.
- Arrange EXTRA friendlies. Make your training 'tactics only' until you gain 100% familiarity. (Don't worry if this takes until January, just stick with it). Once you have full familiarity, leave training to your assistant.
- Leave opposition instructions empty.
- It will take longer than usual for your players to adapt to the tactic. Make sure you have the right players in each role to get the best out of IL DEVASTO... or what's left of it.
- Also, KEEP TARGET MAN TICKED!! (This is not a joke, I am serious... those of you who used IL DEVASTO before will know what I'm on about.) Do not assign a target man.
The player roles are all the same as the regular version except the following:
DM: Try to have at least one of these to be a hard working defensive midfielder. In the regular tactic we go for two DLP-ish players. As an underdog try to have a big hard working physical man alongside a Carrick-like player. e.g. Marouane Fellaini, Radja Nainggolan, One of the bender brothers.
STCL: Before I said this guy needs to preferably be a more physical striker. With the underdog tactic, it is a must. Ensure this striker is tall and physical over technical ability (even though obviously ensure they can kick a football). They will give you a great dimension when attacking, particularly on the counter. e.g. Nikica Jelavic, Steven Fletcher, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, Fernando Llorente, Edinson Cavani.
Good luck to everybody. I will continue my Everton season until January 2014, to see whether any second season syndrome is suffered by these tactics. Remember to post your results!
Results:
DOWNLOAD
After some tweaking, I seem to have found a solution for second season syndrome... with the underdog tactic at least.
I noticed the players passing just wasn't clicking, so I removed training from the *** Man and changed it to Teamwork. The results then started to significantly improve and return like before!
Here is season 2 league table with more or less the same team bar Macheda on loan:
Sat 3rd in January isn't bad considering the bad start we had due to the second season syndrome. It's nice to see that switching training to teamwork fixes the second season syndrome. A lot of goals have been conceded but the mass majority of them were from the bad spell.
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