History Main / JunkRare

* Anchors are the rarest items in SuperMarioBros 3: every other world has an [[GuideDangIt untold]] level where collecting an untold number of coins gets you anchor. All the anchor does is stop the airship from changing its place on the map if you die. In World 5 a very rare glitch can make the airship fly to an [[UnwinnableByMistake unreachable square]], so it's probably most useful there.
* {{Pokemon}} has plenty of rare but almost useless {{Mons}}: Tangela and Lickitung were this in the first generation, and subsequent games followed in their footsteps with such duds as Qwilfish and Dunsparce. However, Chimecho takes the cake here: In its debut, not only was it found on an area where you were unlikely to go search for Pokemon, with a 1% encounter rate, but ''no trainer had it'' (meaning you can't use the in-game function to find out where an encountered species can be found)... and it was the weakest Psychic-type in the game.

This trope is not exclusive to {{Collectible Card Game}}s--RandomDrops can qualify as well.

* {{Pokemon}} has plenty of rare but almost useless {{Mons}}: Tangela and Lickitung were this before getting evolutions, Farfetch'd is not worth the trade, and even legendaries like Entei, Articuno or the Regis (ESPECIALLY Regigigas) won't be as useful as hyped. However, Chimecho takes this trope to the extreme: In its debut, it was found on an area you were unlikely to go search for Pokemon, it had a 1% encounter rate, no trainer had it (meaning you can't use the in-game function to find out where an encountered species can be found)... And it was the worst Psychic in the game.

<<|CollectibleCardGame|>>

** Rarity seems to be more related to the Pokémon featured than the potential for playability. There have been instances in every tournament season up to the present (2010-11) of a player doing well with a deck using nothing above Uncommon, the second-lowest rarity, though such decks have never moved beyond the national level. There was one time a World Championship winner's deck used only 4 Rares out of 60 per deck. (There were at least three rarities above Rare at that time. And if you're curious, it was the [[PokemonRubyAndSapphire Lunatone-Solrock]] deck.)

* {{Pokemon}} has plenty of rare but almost useless {{Mons}}: Tangela and Lickitung were this before getting evolutions, Farfetch'd is not worth the trade, and even legendaries like Entei, Articuno or the Regis (ESPECIALLY Regigigas) won't be as useful as hyped. However, Chimecho takes this trope to the extreme: In its debut, it was found on an are you were unlikely to go search for Pokemon, it had a 1% encounter rate, no trainer had it (meaning you can't use the in-game function to find out where an encountered species can be found)... And it was the worst Psychic in the game.

[[caption-width-right:312:Yes, this is a rare card. No, discarding your hand is not a good thing... [[NotCompletelyUseless usually]]]]

[[caption-width-right:312:Yes, this is a rare card. No, discarding your hand is not a good thing... [[NotCompletelyUseless ususally]]]]

[[caption-width-right:312:Yes, this is a rare card. No, discarding your hand is not a good thing.]]

* {{Pokemon}} has plenty of rare but almost useless {{Mons}}: Tangela and Lickitung were this before getting evolutions, Farfetch'd is not worth the trade, and even legendaries like Entei, Articuno or the Regis (ESPECIALLY Regigigas) won't be as useful as hyped. However, Chimecho takes this trope to the extreme: In its debut, it was found on an are you were unlikely to go search for Pokemon, it had a 1% encounter rate, no trainer had it... And it was the worst Psychic in the game.

* {{Pokemon}} has plenty of rare but useless {{Mons}} like Tangela (before it could evolve), Regigigas (and the other Regi's were rather mediocre), Entei, Chimecho, etc.

[[caption-width-right:312:Yes, this is a rare card. No, discarding your hand is not a good thing.[[hottip:*:Unless you are playing a Madness deck.]]]]

[[caption-width-right:312:Yes, this is a rare card. No, discarding your hand is not a good thing.]]

[[quoteright:312:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/One_With_Nothing_7807.jpg]]

May be AwesomeButImpractical, CoolButInefficient, or a UselessUsefulSpell. Compare PromotionalPowerlessPieceOfGarbage.

* ''EveOnline'' occasionally releases limited edition ships to all active players to commemorate some milestone or special offer (the 5th aniversery, the re-release of a boxed edition, etc.) These ships tend to have low or no skill requirements and low utility: the Apotheosis and the Interbus Shuttle are shuttle-class craft: small fast (and in any other circumstance, cheap) ships that can't mount weapons and can carry one person and a tiny amount of cargo, and the Zephyr was an intro-level exploration ship with no weapons that isn't visible to wormhole [=NPCs=].

** Another example would be the super AwesomeButImpratical legends, and some rares are actually extremely weak and nigh unplayable, like early Magnetons, Pidgeot, etc.

* Pokemon has plenty of rare but useless creatures like Tangela (before it could evolve), Regigigas (and the other Regi's were rather mediocre), Entei, etc.

* ''MagicTheGathering'' has a lot of these, usually [[TheyPlottedAPerfectlyGoodWaste on purpose]]. Mark Rosewater, the game's head designer, wrote a lengthy [[JustifiedTrope Justification]] of the practice titled [[http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtgcom/daily/mr9 "Rare, but Well Done"]], in which he discusses in great detail why this trope exists. the main point (among others) is that complicated cards confuse new players, and so they should be rare whether or not they are powerful.
** Players have, of course, found ways to ''make'' Junk Rares into good cards.

* In ''[[TabletopGames/{{Pokemon}} Pokémon]]'', evolved Pokémon are rare, and require basic Pokémon first. (You can get around using a Stage 1 with Pokémon Breeder, but you need the common basic pokémon.)
** A better example would be the super AwesomeButImpratical legends, and some Rare's are actually extremlly weak and nigh unplayable, like early Magnetons, Pidgeot, ancient mew, etc.

* ''MagicTheGathering'' has a lot of these, usually [[TheyPlottedAPerfectlyGoodWaste on purpose]]. Mark Rosewater, the game's head designer, wrote a lengthy [[JustifiedTrope Justification]] of the practice titled [[http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtgcom/daily/mr9 "Rare, but Well Done"]], in which he discusses in great detail why this trope exists.

* Anchors are the rarest items in SuperMarioBros 3: every other world has an [[GuideDangIt untold]] level where collecting an untold number of coins gets you anchor. All the anchor does is stop the airship from changing its place on the map if you die. Marginally useful in World 5 where a glitch can make the airship fly to an [[UnwinnableByMistake unreachable square]].

* Anchors are the rarest items in SuperMarioBros 3: every other world has an [[GuideDangeIt untold]] level where collecting an untold number of coins gets you anchor. All the anchor does is stop the airship from changing its place on the map if you die. Marginally useful in World 5 where a glitch can make the airship fly to an [[UnwinnableByMistake unreachable square]].

* ''MagicTheGathering'' has a lot of these, usually on purpose. Mark Rosewater, the game's head designer, wrote a lengthy [[JustifiedTrope Justification]] of the practice titled [[http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtgcom/daily/mr9 "Rare, but Well Done"]], in which he discusses in great detail why this trope exists.

* In ''{{Runescape}}'', it's possible, but ''extremely'' rare, to randomly receive 100 silver ore as a drop from most monsters with drop tables. Otherwise, silver ore is a common item, and even a hundred of them are only worth a few thousand gold in total. The dragon spear is obtained through a similar system (an extremely rare drop from the same wide variety of enemies) and is very close to completely worthless.

* ''YuGiOh'' has the Exodia cards. Get all five and win the game. Fine, but you can have only one copy of each of them in your deck, and they're really weak on their own.

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This trope is not exclusive to CollectibleCardGames--RandomDrops can qualify as well.