Abilities & Personnel

Table of Contents

MUT Abilities

While this scheme doesn’t require having a fast QB, I still think a fast QB with Escape Artist gives you the best chance of winning games. Ultimately, however, your ability setup depends on whether you want to use Escape Artist (Ability Setup 1) or Hot Route Master (Ability Setup 2). For my 23-2 Weekend League finish, I ran Ability Setup 1.

Ability Setup 1 (Improviser or Scrambler Archetype QB) - RECOMMENDED

Escape Artist + Pass Lead Elite (15 AP total)
Slot Apprentice (1 AP), Outside Apprentice (1 AP), or Backfield Master (1 AP)

Ability Setup 2 (Strong Arm or Field General Archetype QB)

Gunslinger + Hot Route Master (7 AP total)
Fearless on your QB (2 AP)
Long Range Deadeye on your QB (1 AP)
Leapfrog on your RB (1 AP)
Short In Elite on the TE (2 AP)
Route Technician a WR (2 AP)
Deep Out Elite on a WR (1 AP)

MUT Personnel

Speed is more important than anything else, so I strongly recommend using a 50/50 Theme Team to get a +2 speed bonus on every player with the Theme Team chemistry.

QB - I strongly recommend using Randall Cunningham for Ability Setup 1. He is 98 SPD on any 50/50 Theme Team and has the Generic 3 release which is arguably the best release in the game. For ability Setup 2 I would recommend Steve McNair since he can get Gunslinger & Hot Route Master and is 94 speed.
TE - We want the fastest, tallest TE possible. On my 50/50 49ers Theme Team, I have Vernon Davis (6’3, 97 SPD)
HB - We want the fastest HB possible who also has a decent catch (CTH) rating. On my 50/50 49ers Theme Team, OOP HB Randy Moss has a 98 speed rating and 90 catch rating. Check mut.gg for the best running backs on your theme team. I also am currently using the OOP HB Vita Vea (89 speed, 347 lbs) for short yardage runs.

WR - We want the fastest WRs possible who will ideally also be the Route Runner archetype so they can get Route Technician for 2 AP (if you choose to use it). We also want the tallest WRs possible since height is extremely important in Madden 22. On my 50/50 49ers Theme Team, my WRs are Cooper Kupp (6’2, 99 SPD), Jerry Rice (6’2, 99 SPD), and OOP WR Deion Sanders (6’0, 99 SPD).

MUT Abilities

Regs/CFM Abilities

If you plays regs or are in a CFM, you might not have the luxury of choosing every ability you want. With that restriction, the #1 most important ability for this scheme is a throwing ability, ideally Gunslinger or Pass Lead Elite. Without a throwing ability, you will have an extremely tough time passing the ball consistently. Below are my recommended abilities at each position.

Gunslinger (preferred), Pass Lead Elite, or Set Feet Lead
Escape Artist
Hot Route Master

TE Apprentice (if you don’t have Hot Route Master)
Short In Elite

Backfield Master (preferred) or Backfield Mismatch

Slot Apprentice (if you don’t have Hot Route Master)
Outside Apprentice (if you don’t have Hot Route Master)

Regs/CFM Personnel

Based on the abilities above, here are the ideal players to use for this scheme. The top priorities are 1) Have a passing ability, 2) Get the fastest players possible, 3) Have as many of the other abilities as possible.

Kyler Murray (Gunslinger + Escape Artist)
Josh Allen (Gunslinger + Escape Artist)
Russell Wilson (Gunslinger + Escape Artist)
Aaron Rodgers (Gunslinger)
Patrick Mahomes (Escape Artist)
Tom Brady (Set Feet Lead + Hot Route Master)
Justin Herbert (Set Feet Lead)

Darren Waller (TE Apprentice, Short In Elite)
George Kittle (Route Apprentice, Short In Elite)
Travis Kelce (TE Apprentice)

Davante Adams (Route Technician + Outside Apprentice)
Justin Jefferson (Route Technician + Outside Apprentice)
Amari Cooper (Route Technician + Outside Apprentice)
Cooper Kupp (Slot-O-Matic)
Chris Godwin (Slot-O-Matic)
Adam Thielen (Slot-O-Matic + Slot Apprentice)
Deebo Samuel (Slot-O-Matic)
DeAndre Hopkins (Short In Elite, Mid In Elite)
Keenan Allen (Outside Apprentice)
Terry Mclaurin (Outside Apprentice)
D.K. Metcalf (Outside Apprentice)
Michael Thomas (WR Apprentice)
Mike Williams (Outside Apprentice)

Christian McCaffrey (Backfield Master)
Austin Ekeler (Backfield Master)
Alvin Kamara (RB Apprentice, Matchup Nightmare)
Aaron Jones (Backfield Mismatch)

If you are running this scheme in Regs, I recommend using the Cardinals - Kyler Murray with Gunslinger + Escape Artist will allow you to run this scheme without any limitations, and their receiver group is extremely solid as well, between DeAndre Hopkins with Short In & Mid In Elite and Andy Isabella & Rondale Moore who have 95 and 94 speed, respectively. Other regs teams that could be successful with Pistol Trips are the Seahawks, Bills, Packers, and Chiefs.