I've Had Worse

I've Had Worse 1[credit]

Event
Influence: 2

Draw 3 cards.

Whenever I've Had Worse is trashed by taking net or meat damage, draw 3 cards.

Illustrated by Matt Zeilinger
Decklists with this card

Order and Chaos (oac)

#32 • English
Startup Card Pool
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Rulings
  • Updated 2024-09-20

    NSG [NSG Rules Team Update]

    What happens if the Runner has 3 I've Had Worse in grip and takes 4 damage from End of the Line?

    The Runner is flatlined. The Runner trashes all cards from the damage before drawing for I've Had Worse. I’ve Had Worse cannot prevent the Runner from being flatlined if the Runner takes more damage than the number of cards in their grip.

    Updated (2024.09).

Reviews

This card is fantastic, and I plan to play 3 in every deck, completely replacing the need for Plascrete Carapace. "What's the point of Steelskin then if it can't save the runner from certain death?" The point is that you very rarely have only 2-3 cards in your hand, especially against Weyland. What's more likely is that you have 5 cards, the corp plays Scorch, and you lose 4 of them. Even if you're only holding one of these, there's an 80% chance that the first Scorch will hit it. You'll go back up to 4 cards, which is conveniently just out of range for the second Scorch. Better yet, they didn't know you had it, so it's harder for them to plan around (unlike Plascrete). A crafty corp can figure out a triple-Scorch if you have a single Plascrete out, but if they don't know for certain that you have some kind of defense, they probably won't.

Honestly, if this card is as good as I predict, we may see more Traffic Accident than I was thinking. An Accident has a 60% chance of dodging a single I've Had Worse, and will put a 5-card hand down to 3 (just in range to Scorch without worrying about the I've Had Worse). But the 2-tag requirement makes it harder to pull off. Either way, it makes the deck weaker, and only works 60% of the time, so I'm super okay with that strategy existing.

Anyway, the main thing this card has over Plascrete (besides the secrecy I mentioned earlier) is that it doesn't become a dead card in non-Weyland matchups. Even against a deck that you're certain doesn't run any net/meat damage cards, this is still a 1 Diesel. If Diesel costed 1, would you still play it? I know I would, especially in-faction. This card is fantastic in Anarch, and I'll probably still be shelling out 6 influence to put it elsewhere.

The last great thing about this card vs Plascrete? If you're uncertain about what your opponent is playing, you can wait to use it, and all it does is take up a spot in your hand. When you're running Plascrete and you find yourself against NBN: Making News, you're never really sure if they shelled out the influence for Scorch. Do you shell out the 3 credits and a click (or 6 credits and two clicks if you want two of them) for your Plascrete, or do you take your chances and not play it? You won't find out the correct answer until it's too late, but 3 credits is a lot of money sometimes, especially early on. It's just another reason I hate playing Plascrete and love about this card.

So, to summarize, this card is better than Plascrete because (1) Your opponent has a harder time playing around it, (2) it can be used as a draw card if you don't need damage prevention and (3) it doesn't cost anything to use as protection. The only things Plascrete has over this is (1) Sometimes that first Scorch will miss it if you're only holding one, (2) it prevents one fewer damage, so if you're only holding 4 cards, they can still get you with 2 Scorches, and (3) it costs 2 influence outside of Anarch.

The decision between the two seems pretty obvious to me.

(Order and Chaos era)
151

I realize I'm probably in the minority in my opinion on this card but I wanted to write down my thoughts. This is not my favorite card. First off, I don't even like Diesel all that much. After the click you spend to pick it up and the click you spend to play it, you are only saving one click. That's not to say I don't use the card, I do. A click is a click and click economy is very important. But if I have the room I usually prefer to go the PPVP/Quality Time or Career Fair/Earthrise route. Now on to I've Had Worse; after the click to pick it up, the click to play it, and the 1 credit play cost you aren't gaining that much. Again I do use the card sometimes. In faction I might use it especially with PPVP to offset the credit cost. I'd usually prefer going with Wyldside/Chronotype though.

Now all the above ignores the cards main function. If this is triggered by taking net or meat damage (unfortunately not brain damage) it becomes much more efficient and of course could save you from a flatline. There are even scenarios where you could trigger this yourself with the help of cybernetics. Without cybernetics though, what percentage of games do you run into meat damage or consistent net damage? Maybe 50%, probably less. I'm sure that number fluctuates. The point is the ability won't be used in every game.

We do need protection against damage though, and as noted in other reviews, there are several advantages to this card over Plascrete. There are some disadvantages though;

-influence cost when used out of faction; 6 influence if you include 3

-if you are left with 3 cards in hand, this won't protect against a single Scorched Earth, plascrete will

-if you have 4 cards, possibly even 5 cards in hand, this won't stop a double Scorched Earth, plascrete will

In conclusion, this card is a viable option for protection from a flatline, and one that won't be a dead card if you aren't taking damage. But in my opinion, it's not for every deck. Stay safe on the net!

Edit: If you are running Comet, both I've Had Worse and Diesel are really great includes.

Edit: In light of the myriad of new ways to tag the runner (like Hard-hitting News) and many new damage cards (like the new Weyland ID and the upcoming DNA Tracker) that are being released, this card has grown on me. I usually do include the three of them in any anarch deck.

(Data and Destiny era)
303
Actually, with 5 cards in hand, this included, you are able to stop double scorched earth, leaving you at 0, as they resolve one after another. Good thinking though. I'd rather a suit of plascrete, but flavor-wise nothing says screw you like standing up after a bazooka to the face. —
Not if the first scorch happens to miss I've Had Worse. Chances are it will, but it could miss it. —
It only costs a click to draw I've Had Worse if you don't have any other draw / tutor ability... such as I've Had Worse. You also fail to note the signalling difference between having to install a Plascrete versus merely holding an I've Had Worse. This is flawed analysis. —
And you fail to realize, PentagonJR, that if you didn't have I've Had Worse in your deck, the free draw would of drawn another card. So my point is still valid. And I noted quite plainly that there are several advantages to I've Had Worse over Plascrete as noted in other reviews. I choose to note the disadvantages not listed elsewhere. —

The funny thing with this card is that, according to the rules, the second effect cannot work because the card is inactive when in the grip and when in the heap. And always according to the rules “An inactive card’s abilities [sic] do not affect the game and cannot be triggered.”

Also, the Golden Rule can hardly apply because an inactive card cannot contradict the rules, obviously.

This little problem aside, this is a great card for the Anarch. It can work as a subsitute for Plascrete Carapace but also works against net damage. It can unexpectedly save your butt, which is even worse for the Corp if a SEA Source and a Scorched Earth have been used with no tangible effect.

What isn't clear is: what happens if the amount of damage is superior to the number of cards in the grip? Is the Runner dead or does Steelskin trigger and save him?

And if the Corp does not mean to harm you, the card is still useful to draw cards, even more with a Prepaid VoicePAD.

(The Source era)
523
I see what you're saying, Pyjam, but there are exceptions to every rule. :) In this case, the rule is that an inactive card cannot affect the game. However, its 2nd effect states that it can, will and must affect things. I don't think FFG would create a card with an effect that can't be triggered, even if it is from hand. I plan to make heavy use of this card in my Quetzal deck when O&C comes out. The game is ever-changing, and this set along with the SanSan cycle will continue with that paradigm. This will make it much easier for players to float tags if they're usually worried about damage. It won't make Plascrete Carapace obselete, but it will present another way to strategize. The double effect is also really cool...basically an Anarch Diesel at the cost of 1 measly credit. To your question about timing and flatlining from hand...technically, net and meat damage are supposed to be dealt all at once, BUT...the corp cannot take more than one card at a time per damage. In other words, you get Scorched...but legally, the Corp player can only take one card at a time from your hand and trash it. Say you have 3 cards. You get Scorched. One damage, another damage, he hits the Steelskin...NOW you draw your cards. You now have 4 in hand. Two damage left. You'll be left with 2 cards after the damage is dealt. This will depend, of course, on how many Steelskin you're holding onto. Edit - @JAK - The question then becomes "What's the point of Steelskin then if it can't save the runner from certain death?" It only makes sense that you gotta take damage one by one, especially now after O&C with the cards. Like I said, if not, then they may as well just take the words of the 2nd part of it out completely. :) —
@estutter Actually, as stated in the rules, the game ends if the runner takes more damage than they have cards in hand. Hence, the argument goes, they don't actually have to discard as a result of taking damage, and so Steelskin doesn't get a chance to fire, because the game has ended. This is a significant question: we're waiting for O&C to come out so we can see if this wording is correct, and then, if it is, ask Lukas. This is really not a review, but it's important to say. —
I think its pretty safe to say that flatline damage would ignore Steelskin. This card is clearly a soft counter to Argus Security, considering its damage fires multiple times throughout the game (generally). While its nice that we're so passionate about the game and new cards, the answers are already there (rulebook) and therefore the discussion is mostly wasted. :( I'm 100% sure this card would have stated something along the lines of 'prevent flatline' like that new card does. (The one that makes you trash everything and remove tags, etc.) —
@esutter. Actually, damage is dealt all at once and if it is greater than the runner's hand size, the runner flatlines before discarding. Lukas recently ruled on this. It's always how I suspected it to work as well. You kind of have to survive the damage before claiming you've had worse =p This card is going to be great, I hate carrying plascretes around and this gives anarchs much needed draw power. I foresee many people swapping out plascretes for this card unless they're low on influence. —
I think that logically you have to accept the Golden Rule on this card, but you do have to accept the existence of transitioning space and transferal of information. Reading the card, we have to accept that because of the card type, it can only be trashed in a few ways. First, it can be trashed after being played (draw 3, ignore the "when trashed" effect). Second, it can be trashed by brain damage (trash the card, no effect triggers). Third and fourth, it can be trashed by net and meat damage... Now, since the card is never installed, the "whenever" effect can only happen if there were SOME state that could see it, and perhaps this is a bit tautological, the card implies this state. It goes from "In grip (inactive)" to "Being trashed (active)" to "In heap (inactive). For most cards, this "Being trashed (active)" doesn't matter. There are two exceptions besides I've Had Worse and one example showing they know the correct wording. First, the correct wording example is Tallie Perrault and that card reads "Whenever a gray ops or black ops operation is trashed after resolving, you may give the Corp 1 bad publicity and take 1 tag." The important text here is "after resolving", which is similar to "by taking net or meat damage" which shows that FFG recognize the difference between a card just being trashed versus being trashed for a reason, in this example, from being played and resolved. The exceptions are Harbinger and Rolodex. For Harbinger, if we accept the "Being trashed (active)" state, then any time it's trashed, even from hand or while face down, it gets reinstalled, and can only be in the heap because it was discarded during the discard phase or was removed from game because of a "remove from game instead of adding it to the heap" replacement effect, since Harbinger isn't preventing the trash, only replacing the effect of adding it to the heap or when it's being told to be added to the heap directly without trashing. Treating Harbinger like I've Had Worse makes it ABSURD. For Rolodex, we have a similar problem. Corp deals net damage to the runner, and trashes rolodex from the grip. Accepting the "Being trashed (active)" state, now the runner also trashes the top three cards of the heap. Sounds much worse than it did before. So what do we do? Well, we could errata I've Had Worse to add "This effect is active while in the runner's grip" or to that effect. Or we accept Harbinger and Rolodex as also being exceptions. Or we errata Harbinger and Rolodex with "when trashed while installed faceup". —