Odes to our Favorite Bad Cards of All Time

Tess Greymane is the one for me and many others. Our beloved princess who hopefully one day will be buffed to an actually competitive 6 mana.

Tess is/ was an agenda. I loved the struggle to worship her highness with plays that would make her reign unquestioned (Blizzards and Tirions and Mind Controls, oh my). The trouble was always staying alive to see her ascension 

Great Tess! I vow to you that you will see your day in wild yet!

- your humble knight

So many to choose from!  I’ll say Rotface.  Such a cool card, snuffed out by the use of “survives” instead of “takes.”  I still run it in my hit-your-own-stuff warrior, though, and it’s won me at least one game, thanks to an unexpected Kayn Sunfury.

Nat, the Darkfisher

Such a cool concept, so bad stats!

If he was at least a 3/4 he could be used for Tempo, if he had 100% he'd be a decent Mill card. Instead, he's half and half, and neither of them...

I would say Tess Greymane, but she's a pretty good card i.m.o. However my favorite BAD card is definitely Academic Espionage. Gives you a lot of value, but i guess all that value isn't that useful when your opponents gets all SMOrc on your face. If only the meta had slowed down enough. (become control/value oriented when this was still in standard)

What’s there not to adore

when I see 20/20 in stats

with K&C’s awesome lore

and cool mechanics and theory crafts

Alas, the dream deflated

It was crushed with scary starkness

And when the meme decks rotated

The Darkness faded into darkness

I find it difficult to answer this because I believe the only truly bad cards are those with little to no card text that have low stats (and therefore aren't exactly exciting enough to become a favourite). Everything else has a niche where it is great. E.g. I distinctly remember Anub'arak single-handedly beating control warriors in TGT. Heck, even Bolf Ramshield was central to a strategy in 1 tavern brawl where you could reliably get a 0-mana Tree of Life in your hand then play Bolf and Auchenai Soulpriest with it to win the game.

With that in mind, I am going to pick a card that I don't actually think is bad per se, but it being good, great, meh or disastrous is far enough out of your control that it just about qualifies as a War Golem with potential downside: Flame Leviathan. There are very few cards that put a smile on my face even when they mess up badly, and this beautiful tank never failed to do that.

Mayor Noggenfogger. I remember when you could run him in Spiritsinger Umbra + Dreadsteed combo or when you could use it with the Bladed Gauntlet OTK. Shit was dumb.

Lucentbark for me! There was a time when I could fuck around in standard with it, copying it multiple times and giving my opponents fits (still a horrible win rate, but at least I won some games). However, that all changed when Plague of Death and The Amazing Reno attacked...

Chameleos has a soft spot in my heart too. I loved stealing quest rewards with it back in the day (Sulfuras in Priest???).

Recurring Villain.  You think you've killed him, but then he comes back, see--like a cartoon villain!

So yeah, wasted many hours building decks around that silly card.  There was a slightly viable priest variant back when Arms only cost 2 mana, but pushing it back to 3 pretty much killed it.

I love using "bad" cards. Something satisfying about winning with the unexpected. 

Zerek, Master Cloner was one I tried hard to get right. I haven't played with him since he rotated but maybe it's time for round two.

Confessor Paletress is still my old favorite. Heck Inspire as a whole is something I like. I can see the problems with it but I really enjoyed a lot of these cards. Mukla's Champion was a particular favorite that I managed to work well back in the day.

Current standard favorite is Transmogrifier! So fun. Especially with the "cards you draw cost zero this turn" effects. Random zero cost Legendaries!

Quote From Brandon

I would say Tess Greymane, but she's a pretty good card i.m.o. However my favorite BAD card is definitely Academic Espionage. Gives you a lot of value, but i guess all that value isn't that useful when your opponents gets all SMOrc on your face. If only the meta had slowed down enough. (become control/value oriented when this was still in standard)

Academic Espionage is a weird card in general. You need so much card draw to actually support it, because if you’re only drawing one card per turn, then the cost of that one card doesn’t really matter that much.

Personally my favorite bad card is Toshley, the first legendary I opened back when I started playing. Haven’t used him in awhile though, kind of miss him

Enhance-o Mechano - my old time favorite. I loved the feeling of getting tons of Divine Shields.

Okay, I´ll make my confession too. My most favourite bad card was Malorne. I loved my meme Jungle Giants deck back then so much, I even crafted Malorne in gold... I know, I´m ashamed :D

Quote From OldManSanns

Recurring Villain.  You think you've killed him, but then he comes back, see--like a cartoon villain!

So yeah, wasted many hours building decks around that silly card.  There was a slightly viable priest variant back when Arms only cost 2 mana, but pushing it back to 3 pretty much killed it.

He goes infinite in quest rogue. Try that on

Quote From Alleria

Okay, I´ll make my confession too. My most favourite bad card was Malorne. I loved my meme Jungle Giants deck back then so much, I even crafted Malorne in gold... I know, I´m ashamed :D

I must be a noob but I don't understand why 7 mana 9/7 with no downside is a bad card.

I'd like to give a shoutout to - not a good bad card, but a card that's so bad I kind of love it. You may not even remember or have heard of it. It's a Deadly Shot for 8 mana. It's a 6-mana minion with the statline and effect of a bad 4-drop. It's a TGT special. Yep, it's Void Crusher, a card that lets you pay 8 mana for a "repeatable" Unwilling Sacrifice (which isn't even good)... and the effect can literally kill itself, meaning you paid 8 mana to destroy 1 random minion. I genuinely believe Void Crusher is the worst card in Hearthstone, and that's endearing to me.

Quote From JohnnyStorm

Quote From Alleria

Okay, I´ll make my confession too. My most favourite bad card was Malorne. I loved my meme Jungle Giants deck back then so much, I even crafted Malorne in gold... I know, I´m ashamed :D

I must be a noob but I don't understand why 7 mana 9/7 with no downside is a bad card.

I don't think Malorne would be bad nowadays, but it was basically useless back in GVG. Druids could not play Control decks or play for the long game, so Malorne was a dead draw that put endless dead draws into your deck. His shuffle was an actual downside. All Druid wanted to do was get minions on the board and deal incremental face damage, then set up for a Force of Nature (the Treats had Charge originally) + Savage Roar lethal. Naturalize and Poison Seeds were bad cards back then, just to give you an idea of the landscape.

Also, the card is trash in Wild because there are so many better options. There are faster ways to have infinite value if you want, and 2 attack over a War Golem is nothing. 

Quote From MurlocAggroB

Quote From JohnnyStorm

Quote From Alleria

Okay, I´ll make my confession too. My most favourite bad card was Malorne. I loved my meme Jungle Giants deck back then so much, I even crafted Malorne in gold... I know, I´m ashamed :D

I must be a noob but I don't understand why 7 mana 9/7 with no downside is a bad card.

I don't think Malorne would be bad nowadays, but it was basically useless back in GVG. Druids could not play Control decks or play for the long game, so Malorne was a dead draw that put endless dead draws into your deck. His shuffle was an actual downside. All Druid wanted to do was get minions on the board and deal incremental face damage, then set up for a Force of Nature (the Treats had Charge originally) + Savage Roar lethal. Naturalize and Poison Seeds were bad cards back then, just to give you an idea of the landscape.

Also, the card is trash in Wild because there are so many better options. There are faster ways to have infinite value if you want, and 2 attack over a War Golem is nothing. 

This pretty much sums it up, thanks MurlocAggroB :)

The Last Kaleidosaur. My favorite decks are midrange ones that let me buff my minions and build a strong board. Unfortunately, Galvadon wasn't a great payoff. Even if it were, I don't remember having a lot of great buffs and I often died just before or shortly after playing my dino friend.

Let me add Sir Finley of the Sands.

Dear Scarab Knight, 

They didn't let you start during the first turn [as a (1)1/3], 

They hindered back your knighthood placing you second in line, and made impossible to reliably tutor your arrival [with Crystology]

Soon enough

To make you good.

My dear dear Emeriss,

Oh where oh where did we go amiss?

For it was clearly impossible to foresee,

That playing an 8/8 do-nothing on 10 would result in your own death subsequently...

I'm having a real hard time deciding on this one, as there are several cards that are generally considered not particularly great that I've spent eons trying to build decks around. My first thought was Iron Juggernaut which has been a must in pretty much every Control Warrior I've ever built. If only he was odd-costed... Then there's Rotface and Blackhowl Gunspire, cards that fit into an archetype I've always wanted to be good, that being self-damage value Warrior. They even had great support with the Warrior DK, Sudden Genesis etc. Plus, King Mosh was there to provide even more payoff for your whirlwind effects.

But my choice would have to go to Stalagg and Feugen. I think I must have spent like 3 years with those cards as an integral part of one of my main decks, originally in Hunter, later in Rogue. I've finally said goodbye to them and no longer include them in my deathrattle strategies but they were super fun. There was nothing more enjoyable than having your N'Zoth board wiped only for several Thaddiuses to drop in for the kill. If only there wasn't that sliiiiight wrinkle that if one of them gets transformed your entire deck stops working....

One of my first legendaries was The Boogeymonster. I tried several times to build windfury Shaman with this guy, but I was never good at deckbuilding, so it wasn't successful, as you might guess.

Recently I fear it has been Bandersmosh. I remember opening this chap up in Golden and fist pumping because it’s the exact kind of card I like to get in gold. I like how his name sounds like a bad British hip hop artist too!

Bandy is a hell of a lot of fun (when he wants to be..) but has the days numbered: when it cycles to wild there are sooo many useless legendaries that this card as cool as it is will see even less play than now if that is even possible. 
#booooonotmakingcontrolshamangood

Mine would be Mech-Bear-Cat. If they would have made it a 6/7 instead of a 7/6, is would work so much better.

And Eadric the Pure also has a place in my heart.

Quote From MCMitta

Mine would be Mech-Bear-Cat. If they would have made it a 6/7 instead of a 7/6, is would work so much better.

And Eadric the Pure also has a place in my heart.

First of all digging that Sam Giancana avatar. 

As for the thread's purposes, most of the bad cards I love tend to be Legendaries, but in particular is Dreadscale and Rotface, who isn't really that bad, but they just never got their chance in the sun, and that sucks :c

Another bad card I dig is Rusty Recycler. Just his opening quote and his simple Lifesteal/Taunt effect...I just really vibe, y'know?

I run Nat Pagle in togwaggle priest, which is probably the worst card I own.

Maybe treachery warlock with unlicensed apothecary into treachery into mad summoner comes close.

The only bad cards are ones that you don't enjoy using.

Although not really "BAD", Val'anyr made my day when I cracked it in December after the release.  In the trailers for the K&C release, it was the ONE card I thought would never be bad... and it's not really.  Just a pain in the ass to get to work well with your decks without your opponent immediately silencing anything it touches.

Val is a good one. When that card works it is so beautiful- like a full force Hammerdin!

I still remember the horrific memories when I was a Hearthstone noob:

1. I disenchanted a golden Leeroy Jenkins for an Onyxia

2. I disenchanted a golden Cenarius to craft a Nozdormu

So I'd say, by those mistakes alone, Onyxia and Nozdormu will forever be my favorite bad cards

Quote From Caro

I still remember the horrific memories when I was a Hearthstone noob:

1. I disenchanted a golden Leeroy Jenkins for an Onyxia

2. I disenchanted a golden Cenarius to craft a Nozdormu

So I'd say, by those mistakes alone, Onyxia and Nozdormu will forever be my favorite bad cards

Hurts to read.

Well, I disenchanted Prince Keleseth just before it started being included in every single rogue and warlock deck...

Wrathion, by far. I played so many decks and games with it, had so much fun. I thought it was super good... I was the only one :

I forgot to mention Lyra the Sunshard, the card would fit a unicorn Miracle Priest, but it's so expensive... Why isn't it a (3) 2/5 already?!

And with Lyra, Crystalline Oracle deserves a mention as well, as it is currently powercreeped by a Basic Card. Oracle could easily be a 2/1 and/or be focused on copying Spell cards only.

i crafted Flame Leviathan long after it rotated and when i wasn't particularly swimming in dust just because i wanted it in my collection and to this day i have 0 regrets about it

playing big minions was also a huge liability in GVG too. Thanks to Dr. Boom warping the meta around himself almost every deck was running Big Game Hunters (which back then costed 3 mana)