Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore saw the long-awaited confrontation between Dumbledore and Grindelwald. The duel demonstrated the two powerful wizards' strength and skill with magic in a way that Harry Potter fans have rarely had a chance to see. Of course, the third installment of the Fantastic Beasts series saw Grindelwald get away, so the final confrontation and biggest battle yet will have to wait for the next film.
Dumbledore and Grindelwald are known as some of the most powerful wizards in history, but not every wizard can be expected to live up to a similar reputation. In fact, several characters in Harry Potter demonstrated that the skill to manipulate magic in battle is a rare one. Characters like Pettigrew, Lockhart, and even the Minister for Magic proved that they might not have what it takes to win a duel. Redditor Trahan94 posted a well-thought-out list of the best and worst duelists in the series, and other Reddit users chimed in with their opinions, to create a list of the worst duelists in the wizarding world, ranked.
Peter Pettigrew
Peter Pettigrew is a character who knows his shortcomings and chooses to keep powerful wizards in his company to make up for it. This started with the Marauders while he was in school, and ended with Voldemort and the Death Eaters.
While the series never saw him in a real duel, this was because Pettigrew was too cowardly to ever find himself in the thick of the action. However, Redditors did not categorize him as the absolute worst, since he "blew up an entire street, killing 13 people [and] framing Sirius for murder," as caeciliusinhorto pointed out.
Rubeus Hagrid
Hagrid was expelled from Hogwarts in his third year. He therefore was never able to complete his education and is forbidden by law to carry a wand. Even if he hadn't been expelled though, Hagrid revealed that he had never had great skill with magic, leading his father to wonder if he was a wizard at all.
While he has limited magical ability, Trahan94 initially placed Hagrid fairly high when it came to dueling. Other Redditors challenged this, with Legittem pointing out the ranking was only due to Hagrid's "physical strength." Hagrid's skin is resistant to magic, but he could not be expected to win with a wand alone.
Fenrir Greyback
Trahan94 explained Fenrir Greyback was "merely ferocious" as opposed to actually being skilled with a wand. Greyback had no interest in using a wand to hurt his enemies, instead preferring his teeth and nails.
Greyback was an evil antagonist in the Harry Potter series, but that was due to his ferocious nature, not his magical skill. The book actually hints that his magic abilities were very poor. He was never allowed to be in Voldemort's inner circle, as he did not have the power that that entails. Instead, he was treated more like a sadistic pet.
Dolores Umbridge
Dolores Umbridge is a witch who enjoys wielding power over others. A school was a perfect environment for her, as being surrounded by powerless children allowed her to feel in control. However, when it came to actual conflict, she never seemed to know what to do.
Redditor Leocain stated that Umbridge was, at most, "mediocre." While she demonstrated that she had the skill to use an Unforgivable Curse and a Patronus, her resolve never held up in battle. When she was under attack from centaurs, she made no attempts to fight, relying only on her useless authority instead. Had she gone up against a powerful wizard from the Harry Potter franchise, she would not have stood a chance.
Cornelius Fudge
Cornelius Fudge had clearly demonstrated enough magic aptitude to land him his post as Minister for Magic, which is why he is ranked higher than others. However, the cowardice that he displayed throughout the series shows that he would never have what it would take to win a serious duel.
Redditor Dredge_admiral_abyss pointed out that Fudge could not act quickly enough to stand a chance in a wizarding world duel, proven by his inability to take "immediate action" against Voldemort. Fudge enjoys the role of power but does not have the stomach for real war and conflict, placing him fairly low on the list of capable fighters.
Vincent Crabbe
Vincent Crabbe was really only ever seen as Malfoy's crony in the Harry Potter series. He struggled through every one of his classes and was only considered dangerous to Harry and his friends because of his size and strength.
In Deathly Hallows, it is revealed that Crabbe excelled at cruelty and violence, and had a special talent for the Cruciatus Curse, which is why Redditors didn't place him as the worst in the series. However, as propaglandist pointed out, "Crabbe ended up destroying himself in a rather dumb way." In a duel with Harry and co., he managed to successfully cast one of the most dangerous spells in Harry Potter, but he accidentally killed himself in the process.
Gregory Goyle
Gregory Goyle was almost indistinguishable from Crabbe for most of the series. He demonstrated no real skill in anything and depended instead on the strength of his fist to intimidate the smaller students. By his final year at Hogwarts, he did manage to prove himself capable of Unforgivable Curses, which saved him from a lower position on the Redditors ranking.
However, Redditor Rem_elo pointed out that when Malfoy and Crabbe were fighting the Golden Trio, Goyle was "standing around dumbly as Crabbe [had] a full-blown sadistic meltdown," before he was disarmed and stunned by Harry and Hermione.
Gilderoy Lockhart
Gilderoy Lockhart is not a man without talents, but none of those are based in combat. He was able to fool the entire wizarding world into believing that he was a powerful and skilled champion against the dark arts, so much so that he seemed to almost believe it himself.
While he was clever enough to pull this off for so long, he proved over and over that he had no control over magic other than memory charms. Redditor TifaSleeves pointed out that he "put himself in so many situations where he looked stupid, like the duel with Snape, the pixies in class, or removing Harry's bones." If Lockert was in a duel against a skilled wizard, he might be able to trick them, but not defeat them.
Mundungus Fletcher
Mundungus Fletcher is another wizard who has shown some wit but lacks a single ounce of courage. Redditor Im_Bill_Fletcher argued that Mundungus fled from every difficult situation he found himself in, which made him "responsible for Moody's death." No doubt, Mundungus knew that he didn't stand a chance against even students when it came to a duel.
While Mundugus did demonstrate that he could be clever, even this only got him so far. Unlike Lockhart, his cleverness never kept him out of trouble or made others think better of him. He might have a good idea from time to time, but it wouldn't be enough to help him in a fight.
John Dawlish
In Trahan94's original list, they comically placed Dawlish even below Muggles like the Dursleys. This is because any time he appears in the book, he comes across as completely useless. "Poor Dawlish just can't catch a break," said Redditor Hsvh_hp, since Dawlish was stunned more times than any other Harry Potter character.
Movie fans might not remember Dawlish, but in the books, he is an Auror whose loyalties stay strictly with the Ministry. His laughable skill level made him a frequent target for the Order of the Phoenix when they wanted to plant false information since he was so easy to charm. The sheer number of times that he is defeated by even the simplest spells made many fans wonder how he could have possibly passed his Auror exam. Perhaps this skillless wizard just had some friends in high places.