Tiers of card badness
The Kitchen Table forum
Posted on March 10, 2024, 4:03 p.m. by legendofa
Not all "bad" cards are created equal. As I see it, just like how there's build-around good cards, really good cards, and must-include cards, there's several tiers of cards that don't quite measure up.
At the top, there's the weird cards. These cards have unique effects. They're generally useful and/or interesting, but make lots of demands for deckbuilding and have no redundancy. Spellweaver Helix, Riku of Two Reflections, and Leyline of the Guildpact are some examples. Good for casual play and for "trying to make work".
Next is the draft fodder. Good if you don't have anything better, but easily replaceable. These cards get functionally reprinted a lot, and are usually pretty straightforward. I would put Cancel, Shock, and Alabaster Host Sanctifier as examples. You won't be ashamed to use them in Limited, and they work well as starters for a new collection, but they get outclassed quickly.
Next, and the first tier I would call truly bad cards, are the very inefficient cards and the cards that just don't do anything. They're significantly overcosted, or there's many better options. These cards might still be technically useful, or at least not actively harmful, but they can't compete with anything else. Mudhole, Razor Boomerang, and Aven Trooper go here.
Finally, there's the worst of the worst. The cards that actively hurt you and make it harder to play the game. If you put them in a deck, you're either trying to meme or you're going to Donate them. Alabaster Leech, Soldevi Steam Beast, and Goblin Elite Infantry fall into this group.
This is subjective and a continuum, so there's a lot of room to arrange individual cards. I've been reading Mark Rosewater's articles on bad cards, and designing Nihilist decks (example here), and there's been some forum discussion on what cards are worth using and which aren't. So it's been on my mind recently.
jethstriker Good calls on those. I was considering using Wood Elemental as an example for worst of the worst, but went with less-infamous cards. Seriously, even in the early days, how did anyone think those cards would be usable? + sac two untapped forests for a 2/2 is bad compared to Barbary Apes or Radjan Spirit or, well, anything.
jethstriker says... #2
My input for your first tier is One with Nothing. Historically, many players tried to find a use for this card but nothing really significant came out of it.
For your worst of the worst I nominate Wood Elemental and Sorrow's Path. Seriously, I think even the most casual of players wouldn't dare touch these cards.
March 11, 2024 7:33 a.m.