FAB 3.0 - A FAB Monopoly Case Study

We have written a lot about Free Agent Budget (FAB) in previous years and this 3.0 article is the pièce de résistance of everything to do with the subject. In our first article, we introduced what FAB is and how you can use it to add some strategy to the weekly waiver process. In our 2.0 article, we dove deeper and gave you different strategies on how you could gain the upper hand by using FAB wisely. In a guest article by the brilliant Didier Guerin, in an article that could best be described as FAB 2.1, we looked at January Transfer Window FAB Wars. In this final article, we employ one of the strategies (the one with potentially the most upside) and look at how it fared in real time. Let us look at how two managers who had achieved FAB monopoly in their respective Community League divisions managed their great FAB spending power. And don't forget to check out our 25/26 Draft Kit and Pricing Plans to get full access to the most extensive Draft Kit ever!

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Setting The Scene

The DPL Community League is one of the biggest Twitter-based Fantrax leagues. In 21/22, the league had 8 divisions of 12 teams. Each manager/team starts with $100 in FAB. The various divisions decided to draft at different times during the off-season, resulting in differing intensity in their respective "FAB Wars". We're going to follow two managers in two different divisions that employed this FAB monopoly strategy.

Both our protagonists, @dannynoll in the Payet Posse division and yours truly @tottiandor, in the Junior Stans division, got their feet wet early with FAB-related trades. Danny traded out Harry Kane for $100 + Raphinha and I traded out Tarkowski for a cool $45. As the season progressed, less and less FAB was available in each league. By the time the January transfer window rolled around, both of us had a FAB monopoly in our crosshairs. Danny had acquired the last pennies available in the league through a trade in mid-January, sending Kieran Tierney and Timo Werner for $44 +Allan. I managed mine a bit later, finalising the last trade days after the deal flagged above, sending a then Spurs-linked Adama Traore for Ruben Dias + $18 (there were some other deals involving FAB, which are detailed below). At this point, Danny was sitting in 6th with a record of 11-11 & $92+ to spare. Meanwhile, I was 8th at 9-13 with $52 left in the coffers.

How We Fared

Getting The Big Names In

Both Danny and myself managed to acquire most of the late January window arrivals, snapping up Trippier, Weghorst and Diaz. Danny also got Coutinho while I was able to pick up Bruno Guimaraes. Getting the big name signings in for a measly $1 is always the main aim of achieving FAB monopoly and we did just that, swooping up most of the talent ahead of our rivals.

Using The Waiver Wire As Your Extended Roster

One of the less talked about quirks of FAB Monopoly comes when there are midweek matchups and crucially, there is only one waiver run between two gameweeks. When this happens, you can drop ANY player you like during a waiver process, as you will be guaranteed to get them back the next time waivers come around. I have dropped Salah, Diaz and Reece James several times, whereas Danny has done the same with the likes of Martinelli and Saka.

The Psychological Pressure

After awhile, your league mates will likely give up all hope of acquiring top waiver targets - an added benefit of FAB monopoly. It's a war of attrition. I recall a conversation in my league chat after a certain waiver period where I had made a mistake while setting up my claims and had not put in a bid for one Mohamed Salah (who I dropped a week before). It was to my shock that, in fact, nobody else had put in a bid for the then highest scoring player who was available on waivers. The group chat confirmed my hunch that they had become apathetic to the process, opting to strengthen their squads through Free Agency or going for the very obscure WW targets, knowing the FAB overlords would get everyone of perceived value on Waiver Day.

The Results

Unsurprisingly, both our teams dramatically improved in the second half of the season. Danny turned an 11-11 record into a 21-17 record to improve to finish 5th. Three of his seven defeats came in the last 4 GWs in a dramatic late-season collapse, which doomed him to 5th spot despite having the 3rd best FptsF and besting those around him by a healthy 300 points. His final spot earned him the 6th highest FptsF among all 8 divisions which in turn qualified him for next season's Gold League along with all division winners and the Winner of the Champions Cup.

I fared much better as I managed to clinch my division on a dramatic final day with a 3-way tie at the top and only FPtsF separating us. My spring run of 14-3 propelled me up the table, but rivals dropping points was the main reason for my unlikely final-day win.

As mentioned in our previous article, achieving FAB monopoly is not easy but it can be a hyper-effective tool to climb up your league.

If you are interested in how it all unfolded, click the following link to view the 21/22 season of the Community League: DPL Community League Season 21/22

For all the latest from Tottiandor, follow @Tottiandor on Twitter!

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Check out our 25/26 Draft Kit for all the pre-season information you could ever need. We've got a Live Draft Aide, Draft Rankings, Team Previews, Cheat Sheets, Strategy Articles, Draft 101, plus so much more. Dominate your draft!

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