Survivor is an individual game once players hit the merge but in the first half, it’s all about teamwork. Players are forced to compete in tribes, meaning they win or lose as a group. The tribe phase of the game is difficult to navigate. Do you keep strong players to help win challenges? Do you cut big threats while you still have the chance? It’s tricky and players often struggle to make the right choices during the pre-merge rounds.
Over the years, viewers have seen many different tribe dynamics. Some tribes dominate the competition, while others can’t seem to get it together. I have loved some successful tribes in my days as a Survivor viewer but I must admit, it is the highly dysfunctional tribes I remember most. In the words of Billie Eilish, “I put on Survivor just to watch somebody suffer.”
Here are the worst tribes in Survivor history.
The Vula tribe – Survivor 48
Survivor 48 featured a tribe swap, allowing players to connect with more castaways prior to the merge. The swap couldn’t have come at a better time for the tragic Vula tribe, who were left with only three players after a string of immunity challenge losses. Vula’s poor performance in challenges wasn’t the only thing that made the tribe dysfunctional. Two tribe members, Sai Hughley and Mary Zheng, couldn’t stand each other. Their feud affected tribe morale and made it difficult for them to work as a group. They’re lucky production chose to shake up the tribes because the odds of winning a challenge with only three players was not looking good.
The Heroes tribe – Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains
The Heroes tribe started strong but lost their footing after one of their strongest players, James Clement, got injured. The tribe struggled to work together as a group, which gravely affected them in challenges. The Heroes tribe wasted time fighting over petty things like “banana etiquette,” while the Villain’s tribe dominated challenges and found advantages. Their tribe was so unsuccessful that not a single member made it to the final four, forcing them to reward the title of Sole Survivor to one of those dastardly villains.
The Ua tribe – Survivor 41
The Ua tribe couldn’t win immunity to save their lives. This Survivor 41 group spent a considerable amount of time at Tribal Council, losing four out of the six pre-merge challenges. Thankfully, Ua’s two surviving members, Shantel Smith and Ricard Foye, played beautifully in the second half and were able to form new connections post-merge. But beyond them, the tribe was pretty forgettable and paled in comparison to the stronger, more dominant tribes.
The Matsing Tribe – Survivor: Philippines
The Matsing tribe’s failure is a little puzzling considering that its two surviving members ended up killing the second half of the game. Malcolm Freberg and Denise Stapley proved to be fierce competitors once the merge arrived, which made fans wonder why the Matsing tribe could not pull out an immunity win. I suppose it comes down to tribe chemistry. To win, tribes need to know how to work together and how to play to their individual strengths. The Matsing tribe didn’t gel and it affected them with challenges.
The To Tang tribe – Survivor: Kaôh Rōng
The To Tang tribe couldn’t get along and it showed in challenges. Despite having strong, physical players, the tribe’s inability to work together caused them to lose a series of challenges. The arguments were plentiful, making camp life far from a cakewalk. The To Tang tribe consisted of players with big egos, so their dysfunction wasn’t a huge surprise. They just didn’t know how to work as a group.
The Ulong tribe – Survivor: Palau
The Ulong tribe in Survivor: Palau sunk its own ship. The tribe decided to vote out the brawn of their tribe, making it nearly impossible for them to compete with the rival Koror tribe. They lost immunity challenge after immunity challenge, which caused more tension and stress back at camp. Usually, Jeff Probst would introduce a tribe swap when one group is falling bar behind, but in Palau, production left Ulong to fend for themselves. The tribe eventually dwindled down to just two members, Bobby Jon Drinkard and Stephenie LaGrossa-Kendrick. They lost a challenge, presenting a difficult scenario for production to grapple with. After all, they couldn’t go to Tribal with only two players. Production solved the issue by making the two compete in a fire making competition. Stephenie won, making her the first player in history to be the lone survivor from her tribe.
Survivor is available to stream on Paramount +
TELL US – DO YOU AGREE WITH OUR LIST? WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE MOST DYSFUNCTIONAL TRIBE IN SURVIVOR HISTORY?
