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I'm pretty sure the magical "worst card in the game" is Eye for an Eye - here's why.

As many people know, the "worst card in the game" was, at one point, Magma Rager. However at some point it lost that crown, and was replaced by something else. We have not been told what that card is, and have basically been told that we won't be told. I am fairly confident that card is Eye for an Eye.

Before I explain my reasoning, let me clarify some points and greater context:

• The specific criteria used for this "worst card" status is the following: When you draw this card, it has the biggest negative impact on your win rate for that game.

• The card is definitely not on this list, and it isn't a recent release.

• In the first reply to that list, /u/bbrode says (and other team 5 devs have said before) that he really believes at least some people "really love playing the card" and those people would be sad to realize how bad it really was.

That last piece of context is the key. It means that the card has to be at least somewhat interesting from a game design perspective and create some cool moments for HS players. Other horrible cards just aren't interesting enough to fulfill that criteria, such as Bestial Wrath, Boogeymonster, Mindgames, Gargoyle, Savagery, etc.

So why is it Eye for an Eye? Reasons.

• It's not on the big list of guessed cards.

• EfaE was clearly designed in Alpha/pre-Alpha, back when secrets could trigger on your own turn. It wasn't all that good under that ruleset, either. After that change it became, by far, the worst Secret in the game.

• Getting Eye for an Eye from Mysterious Challenger bypasses the "draw the card" criteria of this worst-card ranking, so that method of using the card (where it is marginally better, to be fair) can be dismissed.

• Most importantly - drawing Eye for an Eye will almost never actually increase your win percentage.The only two obscure situations where drawing Eye for an Eye would actually improve your chance to win a game are:

  • You somehow have an Ice Block active. This is so exceedingly rare it can be dismissed in terms of statistical significance.
  • You are far enough ahead that a big burst of damage will kill your opponent, but not you. In this situation, your opponent is almost definitely trying to clear your board rather than doing non-lethal damage to your face.
  • So, at its absolute best, drawing Eye for an Eye will significantly increase your chance for the game to end in a draw, most of the time.

• Eye for an Eye is just "cool enough" that Team 5 can defend its existence, even as a terrible, terrible card. Getting an Eye for an Eye proc on a Pyroblast is indeed a really cool moment, and is probably good enough to justify the existence of the card.

I might be wrong but I can't really think of any significant flaw in my logic, so I'd love to hear your rebuttals. <3

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