In Season 42 of Survivor, it seems as if much of the game's post-merge tribal lines have been scrubbed away. With only one of the season's three tribes caring about their pre-merge social bonds at all, it looks like that element of the game is beginning to lose its importance.
Still, the pre-merge is an essential part of the game that influences every aspect of later episodes in a season, and oftentimes the cohesion or lack thereof can make or break a tribe's success in the game. When a tribe is especially dysfunctional, it has an impact, but who were the messiest tribes in Survivor history?
Matsing
The infamous Matsing Tribe. A team that failed so much that it couldn't win a single immunity challenge before being dissolved. In Survivor: Philippines, it almost seemed like Matsing was quite literally cursed, which could be why the Tribe was quickly dissolved as soon as it came down to two .
Part of what makes Matsing such a strange tribe is that two of its , Malcolm and Denise, would go on a tear through the post-Merge of the game, and Denise would even claim the Sole Survivor title. With two incredibly strong competitors on the beach, it's amazing they couldn't manage to work together with their other tribemates.
Casaya
A significant portion of Survivor is a physical game based on challenges that test the limits of castaways. It's an unfortunate fact for the Casaya Tribe from Panama, a tribe entirely composed of older women on a season that split cast based on age and gender.
Though the tribe contained one of the best Survivor castaways of all time in Cirie Fields, the tribe just could not achieve unity. More often than not, they were failing at challenges and fighting amongst themselves. Though they were quickly merged, the tribe elected to vote out their strongest member, which would likely have doomed them in the long run.
Fang
Gabon isn't exactly 's best seasons, but it certainly ranks among the best for entertainment value. With one of the most surprising winners in the series, an utterly chaotic cast of characters, and people who don't seem to understand the game at all, the season is downright hilarious.
Yet, the most enjoyable part of it all is watching the Fang Tribe stumble through the game. The tribe had incredible leadership turmoil that saw GC claim the leadership position and then abandon it within a day. As such, they failed to win many challenges — despite having an Olympic gold medalist on the team. It's a genuine shock this tribe was as bad as it was, but it certainly added hilarity.
To Tang
After losing four out of five immunity challenges, To Tang — the Brawn Tribe from Survivor: Kaôh Rōng — secured itself in history as an incredibly disastrous tribe. After starting the game with Jenny nearly being evacuated after a bug crawled in her ear, the team faced an overwhelming degree of infighting.
Between arguments about an all-women's alliance being revealed immediately, difficulty starting a fire, and having a villain like Jason on the tribe, To Tang was never really meant to last. It was, however, the only tribe to not face an actual medical evacuation in this tumultuous season.
Maraamu
A tribe that struggled with both communication and leadership, Maraamu of Survivor: Marquesas was a mess — thanks, in no small part, to being Boston Rob's original tribe. Though Rob is one of Survivor's best winners, he wasn't exactly promoting tribal unity within Maraamu.
After the tribe's leader, Hunter, stressed out Maraamu by ordering them to work harder than they thought they ought to, Rob led a successful coup. Now permanently fractured, the tribe certainly suffered infighting and miscommunication woes until the Swap.
Heroes
When someone thinks of a hero, they think of Batman or Superman. What they don't think of is one of Survivor's funniest quotes: "Superman in a fatsuit". Yet, one can hardly deny that the Heroes Tribe wasn't particularly impressive in Heroes vs. Villains.
Between JT's boneheaded plan to send an idol to an unknown villain and the tribe's challenge woes, the Heroes certainly struggled. And, with social politics so complicated that the tribe developed banana etiquette, it was only downhill from there. All considering, the Heroes tribe ought to have been called the Zeroes, because the Villains absolutely demolished them.
Morgan
Survivor: Pearl Islands was an incredibly successful season that birthed the Queen of Survivor and one of its greatest villains. It also brought one of the worst starting tribes to screens everywhere, after introducing Morgan.
A tribe without any true leadership that couldn't even spend all of their money during the bartering phase of Pearl Islands, Morgan was a mess of a tribe. Their camp dysfunction led to challenge disruption, meaning more and more of their were picked off. They even made the mistake of letting Sandra take the tarp off of their shelter alone, which nearly destroyed it. And, really, who underestimates Sandra?
Vati
A tribe from Season 42, Vati never could get themselves under control. With the tribe segmented into three pairs, the first time they went to Tribal Council, all hell broke loose. With Chanelle and Mike unable to vote, thanks to a game-ending mistake by Chanelle and the Beware Advantage, the tribe went to rocks at its first Tribal Council.
After the majority alliance lost Jenny, the entire tribe splintered for the rest of the season. By the Merge, each member was perfectly willing to abandon their tribemates and sacrifice them to the majority. Without any of them seeming to have formed any close bonds, the tribe was truly a train wreck.
Luzon (Brains)
The Brains tribe in Cagayan really didn't seem to have all that much brains to it — usually by their own ission. Constant infighting and remarkably poor challenge performances led them to Tribal Council again and again.
With a tribe so dysfunctional that it planned to retain a woman who poured out their rice, it was a miracle that a single member of the tribe managed to last even a few days after the Merge. And with Chaos Kass in their ranks, it was fairly impossible to keep things from devolving even further. Really, despite being some incredibly smart people, it was a mess.
Ulong
When people think of Ulong Tribe from Palau, they tend to think of one name: Stephenie LaGrossa. Why? Because she was the only member of the tribe to survive it. After the tribe voted out its leader and strongest member, it was all downhill from there. Communication issues multiplied exponentially, and the tribe visited Tribal Council after Tribal Council.
Eventually, with just two left, the tribe lost again and had to face a fire-making competition just to see who would keep their torch from being snuffed. Without leadership, the tribe was damned from the start, and it's why Stephenie was the only one to make it out.