D&D 5E What's the worst spell?

[Mistwell]

nevermind

 

[Gladius Legis]

Taking all factors into account (i.e. general crappiness, level of the spell, mechanics of said spell, comparisons to spells with similar functions, etc.), Mordenkainen's Sword definitely takes the title.

Immolation is a notable dishonorable mention.

 

[Bacon Bits]

TBH the ability to halve enemy melee damage for a round on a hit from a 2nd-level spell is underrated. It even works against ancient dragons.

That kind of depends on your interpretation. You can say that for the same reason Paladins can't smite with an unarmed strike, a dragon's natural weapons are unaffected by RoE. They both use the same term: weapon attack.

Yes, this is yet another example of why Crawford's insistence on the isn't-a-weapon/is-a-weapon nonsense with unarmed strikes and natural weapons is not sustainable.

 

[fearsomepirate]

That kind of depends on your interpretation. You can say that for the same reason Paladins can't smite with an unarmed strike, a dragon's natural weapons are unaffected by RoE. They both use the same term: weapon attack.

Regardless of whether there's some ambiguity in the text of Unarmed Strike; there is no ambiguity whatsoever in monster stat blocks. They explicitly say, "melee weapon attack," and any time monster natural weapons have come up in SA, they've been resolved in favor of player effectiveness. If you have a DM who makes a huge range of monsters (probably most of them) immune to being affected by Ray of Enervation, Heavy Armor Master, Blade Ward, and other player abilities that refer to "weapon attacks" by dint of them using claws, fangs, and tentacles rather than swords and clubs, it's not a game worth playing. He's going to be overriding the text of the rules to cripple the players until everyone quits anyway.

 

[Stalker0]

That is true, but the general design of 5E is that a spell's effectiveness should depend only on its level, not on which classes have access to it (a departure from previous editions).

Definitely disagree there, cleric spells are much last blasty than wizard spells pound for pound.

So looking at Bigby's hand, I agree that it trumps Mordenkainen's sword in every way. Heck even the fact that the hand is attackable I actually consider a benefit, as it absorbing damage away from your party.

To me, the definition of worst spell is a spell that has negative value, aka that there is no scenario where casting it is better than casting another spell. There are many crappy spells that have some value in very niche situations, but to be the worst of the worst, it should have no value.

Mordenkainen's Sword seems to fit that bill. Bigby's hand delivers more damage (at its base 5th level AND way better damage upcast to 7th), better range, more flexibility, and the ability to tank damage from the party.

And so, I, Stalker0, with absolutely no authority given to me by anyone, do declare Mordenkainen's Sword the worst spell in 5e!

 

[fearsomepirate]

Mordenkainen's Sword is bad, but I would argue that Contagion is even worse. For example, M's Sword is on the Bard list, but Bigby's Hand is not. So, you know, conceivably, somebody could hand me a pregen Valor Bard sheet where he'd used Magical Secrets on healing spells, and M's Sword was his 7th-level pick, and you know what, I'd probably cast it at some point.

By contrast, I would never cast Contagion. Ever. It's most likely outcome is...nothing. The majority of monsters have good CON saves, and even if they don't, assuming you even hit, it's going to typically be 4-5 rounds for it to take effect, by which point just about any monster worth using a 5th-level, single-target spell on will be dead. I'd rather upcast Guiding Bolt than this piece of trash.

 

[Shadowdweller00]

Blade Ward is a funny trick for Tiefling warlocks to pull when they invest in Armor of Agathys. Also occasionally amusing (if usually a waste of an action) on eldritch knights with the War Magic class feature (single melee attack as a bonus action after casting a cantrip) and/or sorcerers with the Quicken Spell metamagic.

 

[Rob Kuntz]

If Know Alignment is still in the rules (not sure if it is) then that's my pick. I zapped it from my games in 1975 and am not budging.

 

[Zubatcarteira]

Contagion can be nice since it applies the poisoned condition with no save, and they need at least three rounds to get rid of it. Dis on all attacks and ability checks is pretty good to throw at a big monster who could otherwise save against debuffs, and, if it does stick in the end, Slimy Doom or Flesh Rot just means they have no chance of fighting anything until they're healed.

 

[Stalker0]

Contagion can be nice since it applies the poisoned condition with no save, and they need at least three rounds to get rid of it. Dis on all attacks and ability checks is pretty good to throw at a big monster who could otherwise save against debuffs, and, if it does stick in the end, Slimy Doom or Flesh Rot just means they have no chance of fighting anything until they're healed.

I always played contagion as since it causes an actual disease....you could become...you know....contagious! Aka its more of a plot spell for evil clerics to start mass plagues and such.

Did the spell ever get official clarification? There is an interpretation where the disease is applied after the melee spell attack, and the con saves are only to determine if you get rid of it. I think most people consider the spell too powerful under that ruling, as some of those diseases are extraordinarily powerful to allow "on a simple hit"