I'd put Littlefinger ahead of Varys. Littlefinger has almost-singlehandedly plunged the seven kingdoms into civil war and positioned himself to profit from the resulting chaos. He's effectively Lord of the Vale and was heading for Lord of Harrenhal and Warden of the North too. He's just unlucky that Sansa has a greenseer and an assassin as siblings.
The issue I have with that is Littlefinger is a master improviser. He may think chaos is a ladder, but he’s deluding himself to think he can continue to profit from that. If he truly needs disorder to retain his power, then he will never be secure; sooner or later, his means shall become his end. Varys, on the other hand, is working to advance another candidate, and LF’s chaos actually benefits that. We should also recall that Varys set the stage for LF to cause such havoc in the first place through his (in)actions. Had Varys been a truly loyal servant of the Crown, LF would have remained a minor lordling and Bobby B would have put Cersei and Jaime’s heads on pikes.
@@warlordofbritannia He can think chaos is a ladder while still being able to function without chaos, we know he’s capable as he built up enormous wealth by himself even without all that “chaos” stuff.
Honorable Mention: Bronn The only player to achieve Lordship and a high position at court with zero political skill, maneuvering, or even qualification for his position
you mean those useless fucks from north of the wall, don't worry about them a crippled Jamie Lannister, a teenage girl and a next to 0 battle experience fat Samwell outlasted them in one not that long night
not really. I think Tywin was far too brutal unnecessarily. the enemies he made with the Red Wedding, Sack of King's Landing and burning of the Riverlands would have eventually led to consequences for his family and its rule. and Dany was still coming.
@@godemperorofmankind3.091 You mean the enemies he ended. They should be glad he didn’t exterminate their entire bloodlines like the Reynes of Castamere. And he was already trying to make plans to deal with Dany.
@@AzarathMetreon He could have made plans so far he wanted. In a war with dragons, the side without them loses. Well, unless you are Dorne, but the terrain and the past of the Rhoynar played a huge role in that. But winning the conventional way? No way. Having a dragon makes you a superpower. Winning against Dany would be really hard, especially if you are he man who betrayed her father. Assassination would probably not work, so his only possibility would be exploiting her common sense by using civilians and cities as shield. But would that give him the win on the long run? I doubt it.
@@sinusspass1998 The only reason trying to assassinate her didn’t work is because Jorah was starting to regret his decision re: spying on Dany. She was about to drink that wine and die if he had done the job he signed up for. No dragons, no army, no sea crossing.
We orginally had a section about Tyrion and how he was hot out the gate but was eventually lapped by better players which is why he wouldn't make the best player list but can't make a worst list ethier. I agree with you though both Tyrion and Margaery have potential, its just Margaery has been steered in the right direction and Tryion discouraged and actively opposed at every turn. Thanks for watching! Liam
Ser Pounce is clearly the greatest player of the game. From birth he managed to enthrall the young prince who would eventually become the king of Westeros. Even when the previous king threatened to murder him just to spite his brother Ser Pounce clearly had enough influence over the rest of the royal court to deter the mad king from following through on his threats thus ensuring a cozy life of infinite milk, treats, and chin scritches. This is all the more impressive considering Joffrey has a history of felicide and yet still dared not bring harm to the legendary Ser Pounce.
Then I want to put Balerion into the game too! Rhaenys little cat survived the sacking, saw Gregor and Amory kill it's owners, lived for decades and was king of the secret cat empire in the keep with all the guards and servants knowing of him. No wonder, considering he's the black dread reborn.
I think one of the Spider's greatest weaknesses resided in his lack of direct power and allies. He has to act THROUGH OTHERS. At least players like Tywin or Olenna can act to prevent something going wrong for them (via loyal soldiers, assasins, gold for bribes, even the power in their names ect). If something goes wrong for Varys, he has no choice but to just take the incoming blow, pivot and adjust (as he did with Ned's excecution and the resulting war happening way too soon for his endgame - an event everyone agrees that Tywin could easilly have stopped). He's VERY good at laying the breadcrumbs for what he wants to happen, but laying breadcrumbs is really all he can do.
Thats very true Bencm 👍 not sure if that makes him even more badass though the fact he can mold and move around others plans take the knocks and turn them to his favour without requiring external resources. Your right though, like Littlefinger hes a bit of a glass cannon, one word from a truly powerful player and his head could be on a spike. Thanks for watching! Liam
"The Storms Come And Go, The Waves Crash Overhead, The Big Fish Eat The Little Fish, And I Keep On Paddling." On paper he is defenceless, in practice he is indispensable. He removes himself off the board before he can be taken out, and can remove the other players off the board should it serve his purpose. I also suspect Varys has been a faceless man in the books, and could hold his own in a fight.
Let's see: (Based on Show only) 1 Grandchild on the Iron Throne - Brandon Stark 1 Grandchild Queen of the North - Sansa Stark 1 Grandchild Lord of the Eyrie, Warden of the East - Robert Arryn 1 Son is the Lord of Riverrun and Lord Paramount of the Trident - Edmure Tully 1 Daughter was Dowager Lady of Winterfell - Catelyn Stark 1 Daughter was Dowager Lady of the Vale - Lysa Arryn 1 Grandchild was King of the North - Robb Stark And he died of old age and not violently like every other character on the list (Show only, not books) Hoster Tully dominated the Game of Thrones.
Varys' biggest weakness in the show is his insanely high standards. Varys expects his rulers to be absolutely perfect at all times, and whenever their moral compass falters, he immediately begins the process of betraying them and finding a replacement. Daenerys wasn't having any of it and burned him alive.
@@TheFandomeClips I like that you guys actually give out thoughtful responses to your comments, people really appreciate you guys engaging with the viewers in a way that doesn’t seem like it was written by a bot
What? no. Varys begged her not to destroy a whole city, and Dany was like "nah". if anything he gave up on Robert too quickly, not Dany. Roibert was neither mad nor cruel, as he says. by this logic, even Ned Stark has impossible standards, given he gave up on Joff and Tommen solely because of claim and blood right. and most of the North gave up on Jon and Sansa because of the sins of their older brother. Lyanna Mormont was about to leave Sansa to die because "um, you were forced to marry bad people so go away".
@@godemperorofmankind3.091 Of course he gave up on Robert. My man loses his brain the second he put the hammer down. Then he just thinks of girls and alc. Giving up on Dany was harder, but considering Jon, who presented himself absolutely perfect, it was understandable. Still stupid, because Dany still had absolute power, but this season was BS at all.
@@godemperorofmankind3.091 By the conversation Varys had with Tyrion on the boat before Rhaegal & Missandei were killed, he was planning on betraying her as soon as he was told Jon is Targaryen. That is before Daenerys had any desire to burn King's Landing. He started verbally questioning her behind her back starting in 7x4 after she executed the Tarlys (when they refused a pardon & the Night's Watch) even though in 6x10 Jon tied Ramsay in the kennels and let Sansa feed him alive to dogs and Arya baked 2 men into a pie & tricked their father into eating them.
Bronn for me is a honorable mention on my book, the guy literally got lucky when he ran into Tyrion & Kat in the Inn at the Crossroads and took the opportunity to join in on the Party. He took an huge gamble on siding with Tyrion as for him siding with the Lannisters would set him up to climb the social ladder. Becoming a knight and of Minor nobility and in charge of City Watch to eventually becoming the Lord of the Reach and a member of the small council. An to think the guy started off as a mercenary with barely a penny to his name, Bronn is basically an opportunist and knows when to side on the winners or people that will simply help and improve his standing in life. Non of the other players in the game see Bronn as a threat or a Major player cause Bronn didn't make himself a major player he just played his cards right and worked with the right people and simply hope for the best. Cause unlike the people that are on this list Bronn is alive and got what he wants while all the people on this list got murdered/executed and didn't get or partially get what they want.
He moves up, but he also is highly selective when it comes to where and when he takes his gambles and who he gambles on. I think this ultimately limits how high he could rise, but like Littlefinger or Varys he starts so low that given where he finishes (and unlike Varys and Littlefinger, he does finish) the tale (at least in the show) I think he clearly belongs on this list and could maybe go as high as the top spot.
you got it right in your first sentence. he got lucky. he stumbled into power for no good reason out of pure luck, and his opponents not just axing him out when they have the chance. how on earth was Tyrion ever expecting to convince Daenerys, if she lived, to hand Bronn such power?
I think I can agree with 4/5 of this list. I think calling Pycelle a good player is somewhat overblown. For one his position is chosen by the citadel and once installed he is hard to remove. He is not bad, but no great player. For someone who does play well I would actually suggest the (when younger) Hoster Tully. He made in self indispensable to the rebellion and through the alliances made tied to 2 of the more powerful factions there. The weakness of course is similar to Tywin he is unable to properly manage one of his daughters who goes insane despite being near the top as far as women go. But his schemes were all told well played and raised the tullys up a few notches. His lack of ability to inspire loyal vassals is his main limitation.
I think we chose Pycell for how long he's managed to hang around, 6 kings (2 of whom were unstable monsters) was quite a feat in our eyes but I understand why you may think otherwise. Hoster is a dam good player even in his old age. He actually outplays Tywin once which is no mean feat and doesn't take the Lions bait. Thanks for watching as always Neo matey! Liam
Hoster is a good shout, but I'm at a bit of two minds about him, mainly *because* he nailed his colors to the mast of the rebellion so fast. If Robert had lost to Rhaegar at the Trident, House Tully could've easily ended up in the mud. It was a massive gamble, one that could've really backfired on him. There's a reason Tywin decided to sit out the Rebellion for as long as he could, despite having a personal score he wanted to settle with Aerys. That said, I also don't know who else I'd put ahead of Pycelle instead of Hoster. I was considering Doran Martell, who has been playing the long game and shown a godly amount of patience in doing so, but he's kind of at the other end of the spectrum and could be considered *too* passive (and I admittedly don't know enough about his actual plot to judge him fairly I feel like, as I haven't read the books).
@@TheFandomeClips I always appreciate you guys and your interaction with the comments. It's great to see (one day you should do a sort of "commenters thoughts" episode and see what happens). But because I am the obsessive nerd who need to over explain everything I wanna say I get the argument for Pycelle and he is certainly at least competent, plus becoming the GM will take some politicking.. However the 6 kings feat is I think not as impressive as it sounds. Of those 6 kings Robert was apathetic, and Aegon and Jaeherys seem to be decent enough kings that being a competent maester would do (plus J was only king a short time). Tommen is a kitten as well so the only tough kings are Aerys and Joffrey. Frankly manipulating Joffrey is not exactly hard. Let him indulge his passions and you will be fine. Plus stay out of the conflict between Tyrion and his family and you can avoid the battle. So the GM not being harmed by Joff is not I think a sign of great playing, but competence alone. Again he is not bad at the game but it doesn't strike me as a feat that needs celebration. So that leaves Aerys. Well for most of that reign he had the protection of Tywin as Hand, who only left office a couple of years before the end. This period was a tough one for him to navigate but again I don;t think staying on Aerys good side was exceptionally hard for a GM, who cannot be blamed in the way a hand can when things go wrong. His surviving is a testament but the shortness of the period limits it's benchmark status as an achievement. Not to mention how easily Tyrion outwits and outplays him in KL on more than one occasion. Not that Tyrion is a slouch but it shows a significant misstep on his part. Again he is no slouch as a player of the game and owuld belong probably in a top 10/20, but I would not laud his feats as much as you as he was often protected or propped up by others and relatively easily disposed of by better players when the time came.
@@crossy6398 I think show Doran was doing fairly well, until the Crazy Lady decided that the only way to avenge her lover was to kill the rest of his family. He kept Dorne out of the trouble, managed to score an marriage pact with the reputed king's sister and was able to defuse a pretty horrific situation all told. In the books from what I gather his plan is more overtly to support Dany but he has internal trouble with his daughter and so is not able to be too effective. Lets be fair, until he is got out of the way Dorne as a nation lost nothing throughout the war. Except Oberyn but that was a very personal decision thing no scheming could stop. EDIT: Also, with Tully on board you had The North, Riverlands, Vale and Stormlands on one side, with Stannis tying up most of the Reach forces at Storm's end and Tywin out of the game. Frankly it was a 4 vs 2 at that point against the Crownlands and Dorne. Not bad odds all things considered. His failing there was not capitalising by getting some Riverlandish influence on the Capital. Plus he was already inclined to their side as Brandon was going to be his son in law, making him another aggrieved party.
@@Huhbroski He was not too soft he led part of the army against the reyne Tarbeck revolt and in the war of the five kings, kevan wasn’t one for wanton cruelty but he by no means was soft
varys' weakness is his hatred of magic tbh fundamentally, he is playing a political game in a world he understands, while the thing he hates most grows stronger and stronger each day. in the end i think it will cloud his judgement and cause him to make unwise decisions for no reason beyond prejudice, ultimately compromising his endgame once dragons and red priests take center stage.
when was that a weakness? Varys had the Game won, set and match, until he became extremely foolish at the last possible moment, pointlessly blabbing his plan to Tyrion and Jon. he was never taken down by magic. he was taken down by Tyrion selling him out.
@@hamadkennedy6295that's why people will mention "book" varys as being the best player.. cause it's there that he shows why he's the greatest as this.. he manipulated the mad king the entire time.. he was involved in motivating the Starks to join the Rebellion.. after the dust settled down he gained a strong position at the council.. he then unites with the Citadel to put Aegon on the throne and Aegon has a lot of supporters because of how Varys plays his cards with the small folk.. he kills Kevan with his own hands and even takes pleasure in doing that knowing that Kevan was way too close to bringing the realm back to stability and order. While watching the show I was 100% sure that Littlefinger was the undisputed best player, but after hearing of everything Varys did.. he basically makes Littlefinger look like an amateur.. the only reason why Littlefinger started climbing the "chaos ladder" is because Varys created that Ladder.. Littlefinger wants to seat on the throne and is obsessed with it, meanwhile varys sees the throne for what it is, a tool, he understands that the real power is to manipulate the one sitting on that chair not to sit on it yourself
Ah, Varys was definitely the MVP of the Game of Thrones. Through the influence he gained over a lifetime of spy craft, people wound up calling him "Lord Varys" despite having no lands, titles or inheritance. Lord Varys had that ideal combination of patience and initiative, allowing him to nurture a long game strategy while deftly undermining opponents (warning Olenna that Littlefinger intended to kidnap Sansa to secure a greater hold over the North). I know we've been challenged to find a legitimate flaw to Lord Varys, but it is just so hard to find one (but I managed to come up with a SINGLE criticism aside from Books>Show). Varys planned for success without having contingencies for if something went wrong or his counsel wasn't heeded. 1: The Sack of King's Landing: Varys warned King Aerys II that Tywin intended to betray the Targaryens, but the Mad King ignored the warning and opened the gates. I know Book Varys MAY have made plans to secure a Targaryen Revival, but he didn't make plans to secure King's Landing against Tywin's betrayal. 2. The execution of Ned Stark. Varys had helped broker the deal that if Lord Eddard confessed his treason, Sansa would be spared and war could be averted. He didn't have a plan for Joffrey going off script and ad-libbing his lines to have Lord Eddard executed. 3. Keeping Sansa out of Littlefinger's hands. Yes, he succeeded in keeping Sansa out of Littlefinger's hands by letting the Tyrells try to marry her off to Ser Loras (or his brother in the books), but this success was brief. Yes, Littlefinger didn't get Sansa at the time. However, the Tyrells didn't get Sansa either because she was married off to Tyrion (a clever bit of asset denial by Tywin). When Joffrey's cruelty was too great a risk to Margaery, Olenna decided to scheme with Littlefinger to eliminate the boy-king in exchange for Sansa, who was no longer an available asset to the Tyrells. It was a delayed failure, but a failure all the same, with Sansa falling into Littlefinger's clutches. His final failure that ended in his death was so poorly contrived that I'm tempted to consider it non-canon. Still, it was in line with his previous failures because Lord Varys tried to have Daenerys assassinated, but failed to plan an exit strategy should his plot be discovered. (Planned for success without preparing for failure).
Ah Bloodraven your insights are always welcome 🙏 this is a serious contender for the pin. Fantasy point about Varys and brilliant suggestion for his weakness! Thanks for watching as always mate! Liam
Very late but arguably little fingers biggest weakness was his obsession with Cat and then Sansa. Because while yes his gaining their respective trust leads to him making some of his best plays, he ultimately gets too confident and gives sansa the upper hand which leads to not only his death in the show but it teaches her how to play the game and become arguably one of the strongest players because she is so underestimated.
@@audrajurgela2985 Yes, to me it's clear from the books that he sees Sansa as his protege but is very much in danger of underestimating how quickly she's learning and how clearly she sees things. From the TV show she ends up as undisputed Queen of the North with a huge amount of political influence ( "Uncle? Please sit.") and relatives in nearly all the other key roles.
Varis's weakness is his lack of friends. He could have been killed at every time when he was in kingslanding. Tyrion was the only person who liked him. When Jaime frees Tyrion, he threatens to kill varis and nobody would have cared. He simply has to rely on his mind
Some people say it can be harder for an experienced sword fighter to fight a beginner than a decent fighter. Because the inexperienced one will attack without self preservation instinct. In way that’s what happened to Olenna in the show she did everything right but Cersei was just like “imma arm the faith” “imma blow up the sept” without any fear of the consequences.
Cersei is what ultimately undoes Tywin. All his carefully laid plans are dashed by her upon his death; questioned by her Uncle, Aunt, cousins, brothers and really everyone. Despite how much he hates Tyrion it is odd how Tyrion is the only one of his children he speaks to like an equal.
I think Tyrion(at least the show version) honestly has the potential to match Little Finger and Varys where Tywin failed because he comes from a position where he is viewed as "weak" and he not only acknowledges it but uses it to his advantage. If not for Tywin's obsessive hatred for him, if given the proper recourses and time Tyrion likely could have crippled at least Little Fingers plans (Varys' plan in the show still up in the air given the whole dragon thing). His outsmarting Little Finger, Pycel, and removing Sir Janos from the equation almost immediately when given temporary authority as stand in Hand of the King speaks volumes to his abilities. I also think the show having him give a very obviously false suggestion to Varys regarding the marriage to Theon is a way of him showing respect for Varys's ability to play the game and demonstrating that he knows Varys has no need to work with someone like Cersi
3 out 5 and nearly all on the right spots! Well done 👏 Manderly was in our top 10 when we were thinking of making it a top 10s list, dude is a badass! Liam
@@sinayezulu9928 Tyrion is very witty I won't deny it but when it comes to playing the game he's not as good as he might think. Sticking around as joffery died was what pretty dumb leaving could have given him a fighting chance- speaking from the book's perspective.(There are more examples but I would prefer not to continue racking my brain) Tyrion also is only able to solve problems at the time - though pretty well- he isn't able to influence events as other players do. He would probably make it to the top ten but most definitely not the top three
@@wanyekivincent2883 My overall view on Tyrion’s performance is that he is intelligent, he knows how the game is played (theoretically at least) but he is incredibly inexperienced and unprepared for the vipers nest that is kings landing.
If certain book theories are correct about Varys' sister, his weakness may be loyalty to his family, which would make a very interesting parallel between him and Ned
Varys biggest weakness is the exact opposite if little fingers strength. Everyone suspects him. While baelish is convincing and has u trusting him, varys has to fool you while your on guard. He has the nickname of the spider, but despite this he still fools many people, including Tyrion in my oppinion
😂 thank Pennzilla, I agree and what's worse is that unlike Tolkien GRRM has apparently ordered any unpublished manuscripts destroyed upon his death so if winds doesn't drop before he does, we'll not even get that. Thanks for watching! Liam
@TheFandomeClips When Dickens dropped dead in the middle of his final story, he at least had left enough for people to construct the second quarter with strong outlines for the third, but unfortunately nothing for the fourth. Louis L'Amour dropped dead with several books in progress, many with such extensive notes that his son was able to keep publishing books for another two decades, and the same was more or less true of Robert Jordan. If his series does not complete, he will fade into utter obscurity and forever be a might have been.
Sure, Varys is undisputably presented as the best player. He's also the most subtly built character. But in the show version, you have to acknowledge something weird : he fails pretty much everything he tries. He fails to poison Daenerys. Then he fails to prevent the clash between Starks and Lannisters. Then he fails to save Ned. Then he fails to maintain Tyrion in place as hand of the king. Then he fails his spying operation on Littlefinger, then fails to block his ascension. Then he fails to prevent the alliance between Tyrells and Littlfinger. If you count last season, the deal he strikes with Martells and Tyrells proves largely useless. He fails to bring Jon Snow to proeminence, then dies by stupidly revealing his preference to everyone, which really doesn't sound like a master of whispers. But, well, season eight. The only two things he actually achieves are the capture of the wizard, wich is never heard of again, and the evasion of Tyrion, which proves quite messy and costs him his place in the council. All in all he appears like a beacon of reason, cunning and completely right, but powerless in the storm of madness that rises up in Westeros. So, as a weakness and having only the show as reference, I would say : not crazy enough. A light touch only takes you so far in a context of a full trottle civil war.
Olenna didn't inherit her position as matriarch of House Tyrell, she was originally born into House Redwine (which, although also a noble family and hence privileged, is way weaker than House Tyrell). She obtained her high position by deliberately seducing the head of house Tyrell (a story she tells Margaery about)
You can also add the high sparrow to this list. As the leader of the faith he wielded immense (although unofficial) power and influence which he got from a single agreement with Cersei. He went from running a soup kitchen to becoming one of the most influential men in the kingdom in a matter of days.
I had this realisation awhile back, the way Tywin and Tyrion are politically is almost perfectly reflected in how their champions (Oberyn and The Mountain) fought. Tyrion is deceptively dangerous in the political realm. He dances around his enemies, making sharp jabs to throw them off balance and often appearing like less of a threat than he truly is. There is something captivating about the way he plays the game. It's a joy to watch him outmaneuver and banter with his political rivals, but there is an edge of ruthlessness to him. Often, he has already found a way to beat you before you even sit down at the table. Oberyn is deceptively dangerous in a fight. He dances around his enemies, making sharp jabs to throw them off balance and often appearing like less of a threat than he truly is. There is something captivating about the way he fights. It's a joy to watch him outmaneuver and encircle his enemies, but there is an edge of ruthlessness to him. Thanks to his use of poison, he has already found a way to beat you before you draw your blade. Tywin is something of a political brute. Unlike his son, he is direct, straitforward, and doesn't bother with fancy wordplays. He is, in many ways, far less, and yet far MORE dangerous than his reputation conveys. On the one hand, he relies far too much on brute force intimidation. Frequently targeting those houses that are weaker than him, or who are too afraid of him to really fight back. When talking to his children, his aproach is blunt force. "You WILL do what I want." and when faced with an equal opponent such as Robb Stark or Ollena Tyrell, he finds himself quite easily outmaneuvered and rapidly giving ground. But what truly makes Tywin fearsome is his ability to endure, and his oppurtunism. The man is a survivor, as relentless and unyeilding as he is simplistic. You better make sure that when you have him on the defense, you FINISH HIM OFF. Because he will find a way to capitalise on ANY weakness. Any advantage. And when he does the result is final, devastating and horrifically brutal. Just ask Robb Stark. Gregor Clegane is a brute. Unlike Oberyn, The Mountain is direct, straitforward, and doesn't bother with fancy swordplay. He is, in many ways, far less, and yet far MORE dangerous than his reputation conveys. On the one hand, he relies far too much on brute force intimidation. Frequently targeting opponents that are weaker than him, or who are too afraid of him to really fight back. His aproach is blunt force. and when faced with an equal opponent such as Oberyn, he finds himself quite easily outmaneuvered and rapidly giving ground. But what truly makes The Mountain fearsome is his ability to endure. The man is a survivor, as relentless and unyeilding as he is simplistic. You better make sure that when you have him on the defense, you FINISH HIM OFF. Because he will find a way to capitalise on ANY weakness. Any advantage. And when he does the result is final, devastating and horrifically brutal. Just ask Oberyn Martell. August 30, 2023
Going into this id have have 1& 2 reversed but you actually convinced me. In thinking I think Varys not wanting power for himself truly makes him even harder to predict.
If we rank from when the show actually counted, 1-4, then it’s Tywin, Varys, Littlefinger, Roose Bolton, Olenna Tyrell and Margaery together….and I actually said this before watching this video so respect to the creator for giving he props!
Ive always said the reason GRRM is taking song long with winds of winter and songs of spring is because the end of the show is basically what he has planned i.e bran becomes king john kills danny etc etc. So he saw how much people hated bran and all the endings of GoT so he panic re wrote the entire last 2/3 of winds and scrapped spring entirely and is trying to tie everything together with different endings even though bran being king isnt bad they just did it badly in the show.
The book version of Doran Martell would need to be at least rank 5, theres still a good chance for his plans to adjust and bring success to the Martells
My problem with him is that he is to passive. Doran is the guy in a club who sees a girl and starts planning evrything from there wedding, number of children and design of there gravestones... just to never speak to the girl in the first place.
Doran made it into the top 10 when we were in the orginal planning stage but like Roose Bolton we just don't think he can make the cut for top 5 despite been a good player. Thanks for watching as always TW! Liam
Theres a deleted scene with pycel talking to tywin and tywin calls him out on the act and pycel straightens his posture and speaks super clearly and calm and explains thst its all part of his act its a great scene
Just gonna say Bronn did very well for himself actively and came from sell sword to lord paramount of the reach and master of coin (for some reason ) and lord of highgarden diffrent attempt at playing the game of thrones but did astonishingly and didnt die
Honorable mentions should go to Daenerys, Tyrion, and Margaery. Daenerys (before the show went south) built an unstoppable empire almost entirely from nothing. Tyrion is arguably one of the best strategists and tends to take avenues that don't burn bridges. Margaery flawlessly executes the Tyrell strategy and adapts brilliantly in the moment.
I think varys' biggest weakness in a way is his lack of protection. As stated by him, he's got no one really to protect him if things go wrong. He has to tread very careful because at any point, cersei, tywin, or joff could've decided he'd be more trouble than he was worth, and his head would be on a spike. However, it also gives him massive respect for what he accomplished given this
"Peter Baelish is the Bobby Fischer of this GOT sh**"🤣 Well, said! He basically put all the gears in motion for the series and outlived even Tywin and Olenna
A bit of foresight and proactiveness from Ned, who hasn't trusted the Lannisters since Tywin declared late & had the Targaryen children killed, could have won the day with the political marriages of his kids. Surrounding the Lannisters with Firstborn Son Rob, to Margery Tyrell, uniting the North with the largest standing army AND biggest food supplier in the kingdom Firstborn Daughter Sansa to Renly, to further connect himself to Robert without connecting to the Lannisters and also gaining the Stormlands Bran to Shireen Baratheon to tie them further to Robert, his true heir, and more importantly The Dragon Stone Fleet. Then Arya to her cousin Robert Arryn(Sweet Robin) to secure the Vale with a strong-willed and intelligent Arya. Also a bit on heard of but betroth Jon to Robert's 1st favorite bastard Mya Stone to give Arya 2 capable loyal companions to help her in the Vale. Finally, betroth Rickon to the Freys, and encourage his most loyal houses(Manderley, Glover, Umber, Tallharts, Karstarks, Flints) to do the same, The Reeds do their own thing and are looked down on by everybody but the Starks so no one will question if they don't do it too, and Howland might have the Dornish connection all sown up with the Daynes. Well before any of this begins it should be OBVIOUS to every Northern lord how important the Twins are to the defense and offense of the North. With his alliance to the Tully's through his marriage with Cat. Ned should have also talked to Holster about remedying the Blackfish's slight by betrothing Edmuire( the heir is a more prestigious match than the brother anyway) to Desmera Redwyne. Then the Starks could have almost single-handedly kept the realm together.
I definitely thank thats a factor of his character, he's certainly one of the more empathetic players, his speech when he kills Kevan is testament to that. Thanks for watching Tristan! Liam
Another Brilliant video guys !! Always a pleasure to watch your vids. What about a top 10 or top 5 for something star wars ? I know you used to do a lot of star wars maybe something like top 5 clone captains/ commanders maybe ???
Thanks Hayden! Nice to see you in the comments as always. Next video will be star wars but not a listicle (though Thom does keep pushing for us to rank the prequel jedi council) We're taking a look at the crossguard lightsaber like we did with Dawn. We will keep trying to get our toes wet with Star wars and LOTR don't worry! We just get way more thrones requests lol. Thanks for watching as always matey! Liam
I agree, almost. I'd put Baelish 1st. He lost because he underestimated characters who had magical abilities. Top 5 Smartest 0. Bran Stark (magical) 1. Baelish 2. Varys 3. Qyburn 4. Tyrion 5. Sam Top 5 Most Powerful Characters 0.1 Night King (magical) 0.2 Daenerys (magical) 1. Tywin 2. Olenna 3. Cersei 4. Jon Snow 5. Baelish Top 5 Fighters 0.1 Night King (magical) 0.2 Arya Stark (magical disguise) 1. Jamie Lannister 2. Mountain 3. Brieanne 4. Hound 5. Jon Snow Although I consider Jon to be a good swordsman, I can't place him above Hound based on what I know.
I think there is a argument for Ned being a great player. He didn't do it by scheming or threatening but by sticking to his principles. He sacrificed himself and ended up with his son ruling six kingdoms, his daughter ruling the North and the winter he was so worried about being defeated. He might not have wanted to play but there is a argument that he was the most successful. He died but he would consider a sacrifice of himself to be a good price for the happiness and security of his descendants and kingdoms unlike many of the other player who would only see a win as benefiting themselves.
Top 10 list of players In my opinion. HM- Kevan Lannister, Illyrio, Mace Tyrell (if his playing fool) 10-Pycelle 9-Davos 8-Stannis Baratheon 7-Melisandre 6-Roose Bolton 5-Margeary Tyrell 4-Olenna Tyrell 3-Tywin Lannister 2-Lord Varys 1-Littlefinger
I would say Verys' biggest weakness is his lack of a future. He is very secretive and subtle but that can work against him since he won't be continuing his bloodline. If he goes down, I don't think anyone could pick up the pieces for him.
I would personally call tywins playing of the game as “whatever I say is gonna happen, will happen, one way or another” whereas Varys and littlefinger would deceive and manipulate events, Tywin would just say what he wants to happen and through sheer will of force, said thing comes to fruition
To the show's defence, it's arguable that it makes sense for the game not to be as important in later seasons as it was in early ones. When you have fire-breathing dragons and ice zombies knocking on your door, political manoeuvring probably isn't going to be viewed by anyone in that situation as a priority 🤔
Video idea(s) What if Danny stayed in Essos, gained control of the continent and went to war with Westeros as a whole to take back the throne? Or who would be able to beat the other in full scale war Westeros or Essos?
A united Essos would definitely win. The entire Rhllor fellowship, warlocks, & Asshai witches. Dothraki, Unsullied, & multiple sellsword armies. Qarth has a hold on international trade. The iron bank of Braavos. The combined wealth of hundreds of thousands of slain Masters in dozens of cities. And Yiti.
Tywin's biggest weakness is his control over his family. He had much control over his armies, land, and the throne but his own house was always unstable. From his two eldest being in an incestuous relationships, Cersei's obsessive narcissism, and his reluctance to treat Tyrion(who was his strongest player) with respect. If Tywin had more control over his own house he would be in a better position
She played it better than most. It took a looney on a dragon to take her down. Nobody saw the burning of the Sept coming at all. Sure, many of her machinations back-fired to tragic effect for her but at the same time she outlasted everyone except Tyrion.
Ollena is more complicated in the books , on one side his death ( and his family ) happen only in the show , just like his moment of weaknes with Tywin, but on the other side she stay in the game the least , she return to Higarden before Margery arrest and she we never hear about she again
Definitely, her contribution to the houses success is a lot more merky in the books Flavius as Mace isn't an idiot and a genuinely competent player himself. Shes definitely important but how much isn't as clear in the books. Thanks for watching! Liam
You guys do a vid on best/worst character portrayals on the show(s)? We love lists and there's 2 right there. In the books I thought Tywin was interesting, but cast him as Charles Dance and you have one of the coolest villains of a generation.
To be honest, I think Olenna being a woman is ultimately her biggest weakness. Although in the show it seems like she is calling all the shots for house Tyrell, she does have to go through an extra step that Tywin doesn't: she has to make Mace Tyrell FEEL like he's the one calling the shots and manipulate him into doing her bidding. While some players acknowledge her for her power, I also feel like there are times where she does have to go through those extra hoops with men to manipulate them. If she had unquestioned authority over house Tyrell and the general authority of a man of the house, she would have gotten things DONE.
Vrays’s greatest weakness is that his skin was fireproof. In all honesty for the show his weakness was the bad writings. He was a great character until the they had to write their own stuff and made him just do tons of dwarf and eunuch jokes with Tyrion. It’s kinda like spending months on a perfect painting, then your cousin shows up with their kid who when your back is turned puts paint on their hands and smears it all over the painting ruining it, then your cousin gets hostile for you yelling at their precious innocent little angel and cares nothing of the damage they have done
why is robb stark held in such a high regard he never met the lannister in a fair an conventional fight and his tactical and strategic movement was largly carried out by the blackfish and aided by his dire wolfe, so the only things that were really done by him was deciding were to go and in this he was assistet by his bannerman. so if you combine this with his bad political moves what makes him so great
I genuinely think Varys' biggest weakness is that he's the best at playing the game and everyone knows it. He got so good that kings essentially appointed him to play it for them. And now no one trusts him. All his moves require so much more work because even the people he is trying to help don't trust anything he says or does. He is the Spider, the Master of Whispers, and everyone expects traps in his offers. His biggest losses came from people trusting others when they should have trusted Varys. So he plays the game, and even has to put his allies in a position where they have no choice but to accept what he's giving them.
You can say what you want about Tyrion, but unlike a lot of the other players, he got his skills on his own. Most of the nobles were exposed to the political landscape or tutored on how to play the game by mentors, but Tyrion was stashed away by his father, and before the start of Game of Thrones, his position was chief of sewers in Casterly Rock. But he educated himself and studied copiously, was a f#cking unit as a diplomat, was able to recognize people's potential when no others could (in people like Bronn, Pod and Shagga) and for all his flaws, he understood people. Be it hatred, love or ambition, he knew how to tailor his strategy to take advantage of different players. And all of this with most people wanting to ignore him right out of the bat just because he was a dwarf. If this was what he could do when he had a skeleton crew of actual reliable allies (who didn't have that much political power), imagine what he could have done if he had had the chance to talk to people like Olenna and Dornan, who despite their flaws, probably would have seen how useful he could be.
Ok I’m gonna take a crack at Varys’ weakness. Varys’ weakness is described rather eloquently by Varys himself (please note: I can’t remember if this is a show only quote) when he said “nobody mourns for spiders”, just about every other master player (and most of the shitty ones) has something or someone to fall back on if their mastery of the game fails. Tywin and Ollena have the power of great houses, Littlefinger has immense wealth, Tyrion has a famously skilled older brother who’ll hunt people to the ends of the earth for Tyrion (also the backing of his family [excluding cersei] and their bannermen). But all Varys has is his game mastery, which is incredibly powerful (don’t get me wrong) but it probably won’t save him if an army with the intentions of killing him and everybody else on the small council busts open the gates of kings landing and butcher the city before Varys can retreat, or even if some rando with a shiv just decides to stab him. That’s why Varys has to be 30 steps ahead of everybody else, because if he isn’t then he’s pretty much fucked if somebody blindsides him.
It's just a shame the later seasons couldn't capitalize on the intelligent writing of characters like Littlefinger and Varys in the future and had to find some ways to kill them off quickly.
also, PLEASE kindly do an episode on Ned Stark's unheralded competency at the GofT. i myself tend to think of him as militarily competent, possessed of great common Sense, and literate enough in the game to draw a few key inferences (ex, r+l=j=dead j, therefore gtfo of Dodge, and he promptly does so), but coming into the Snakepit at the turning point was doom for him. but if he's savvier than that, i would LOVE TO HEAR IT! cheers! ✌🏻
Bronn. Bronn gained the most out of anyone else, directly because of his actions. He started as a common sellsword and ended up as Lord of the Reach and pretty much the wealthiest man in Westeros. He played his cards very well, only took very well calculated risks and succeded because of it. He was loyal enough to not be suspected of treason, but never too much as to compromise his own interests in order to serve others. He fought for Tyrion in his first trial by combat, because he didn't have much to lose, but plenty to gain. Then, he refused to fight in the second one against Ser Gregor, because he had too much to lose and not many things to win by fighting. He proved his loyalty first to Tyrion, then to Jaime, and thus he was rewarded handsomely but knew when to stay out of things. In the battle of the Bells, again, he chose not to participate. He just stood by and let the rest of Westeros destroy itself. Same for the battle against the dead. And then he again took advantage of the new status quo and became Lord of Highgarden. He had some luck go his way of course, but his execution was flawless.
Bronn gained a stupid amount of power in a short time, but it was mostly just him being in the right place in the right time. His only real qualities are 1) he's always looking out for his own interests and 2) he's good at fighting. That's not really top-five-game-of-thrones-players material. Most of the top players, if they had started out in slightly different parts of the world, would still have worked their way up. If Bronn had started out elsewhere in the world, he'd be dead in a ditch somewhere, or at best be some unremarkable mercenary.
Funny enough if we're going by the show, yeah, the #1 player is Bran. It's insane to think about it but it is canonical that he literally orchestrated everything from the moment he got his powers to put himself on the throne. As he said: "Why do you think I came all this way?"
I like how Olenna tells Margaery how good she was back in the day but Margaery is even better. Because I don’t think that’s true but she’s trying tog ice her more confidence. Part of the game 🙂↔️
16:29. I suspect Littlefinger wouldn't be as threatening if he'd started with Tywin or Olenna's resources. It's the near-nothing background and humiliation from it that laid the foundation for who he is and how dangerous he can be.
I feel like Varys and Littlefinger are on the same level, just on opposite sides. Varys works and schemes for the good of the realm, while Littlefinger schemes for his own good. They both are extremely talented at what they do, they just have different motives. Opposite sides of the same coin.
"imagine if the house of lannister wasn't always trying to f*** itself over we'd never have Joffrey" 💀☠️ I spit the beer that I'm drinking. bro I can't😂🤣
Its pretty clear why little finger isnt consisered a threat to varys in the books like he is in the show. Varys wants that shit to go sideways and chaos to reign
Indeed. Which also makes the show-only "what I do, I do for the good of the realm" not really work out. Because what Varys has been doing clearly wasn't for the good of the realm.
Olena also married in to the Tyrells despite the fact that it wasn’t the planned marriage. She’s been playing the game since she was young, she didn’t even inherit much.
I definently agree with the top 2 but I would flip them. I have no doubt Varys could do the same thing as Baelish but he hasn’t. The manipulation that Baelish did is just insane. Manipulating the war, taking control of 2 and probably 3 kingdoms in the span only being in power for less than 20 years but honestly both of them could be 1 good list
Vary’s biggest weakness, along with Littlefinger was crap writing from D & D the moment the material from the books dried up, as they seemed to forget how the characters even functioned and turned them into idiots. I personally hope the faceless man theories are cannon as would explain a lot, regardless if that seems a lazy way to fix the problem. Least it saves 2 great characters entire ark from being shat on from a great height.
I'd put Littlefinger ahead of Varys. Littlefinger has almost-singlehandedly plunged the seven kingdoms into civil war and positioned himself to profit from the resulting chaos. He's effectively Lord of the Vale and was heading for Lord of Harrenhal and Warden of the North too. He's just unlucky that Sansa has a greenseer and an assassin as siblings.
The issue I have with that is Littlefinger is a master improviser. He may think chaos is a ladder, but he’s deluding himself to think he can continue to profit from that. If he truly needs disorder to retain his power, then he will never be secure; sooner or later, his means shall become his end.
Varys, on the other hand, is working to advance another candidate, and LF’s chaos actually benefits that. We should also recall that Varys set the stage for LF to cause such havoc in the first place through his (in)actions. Had Varys been a truly loyal servant of the Crown, LF would have remained a minor lordling and Bobby B would have put Cersei and Jaime’s heads on pikes.
@@warlordofbritannia He can think chaos is a ladder while still being able to function without chaos, we know he’s capable as he built up enormous wealth by himself even without all that “chaos” stuff.
@@winstonpeanutbutter but he ultimately got killed due to his own plans and got outsmarted by monster of his own creation
@@kevincapote82 that wasn’t in the books tbf, could just be the result of terrible show writers. The way he was dealt with in the show was lame af.
@@kevincapote82 that was just poor writing
Honorable Mention: Bronn
The only player to achieve Lordship and a high position at court with zero political skill, maneuvering, or even qualification for his position
Thats actually a dam good point TKarp. Forget Honourable mention Bronn should have made the list lol. Thanks for watching! Liam
He really just job hopped asking for a raise each time. Lesson for life
you’re so right
Craster has the be number 1 he was the only one smart enough to make diplomacy with ice zombies
Underrated player. - Thom
He was running out of sacrifices
@@mathewparry9256 He can always make more
@@mathewparry9256 no?
you mean those useless fucks from north of the wall, don't worry about them a crippled Jamie Lannister, a teenage girl and a next to 0 battle experience fat Samwell outlasted them in one not that long night
Tywin’s only real mistake was underestimating Tyrion. That man had the game, set, and match until he took a bolt to the belly.
not really. I think Tywin was far too brutal unnecessarily. the enemies he made with the Red Wedding, Sack of King's Landing and burning of the Riverlands would have eventually led to consequences for his family and its rule.
and Dany was still coming.
@@godemperorofmankind3.091 You mean the enemies he ended. They should be glad he didn’t exterminate their entire bloodlines like the Reynes of Castamere. And he was already trying to make plans to deal with Dany.
@@AzarathMetreon He could have made plans so far he wanted. In a war with dragons, the side without them loses. Well, unless you are Dorne, but the terrain and the past of the Rhoynar played a huge role in that. But winning the conventional way? No way. Having a dragon makes you a superpower. Winning against Dany would be really hard, especially if you are he man who betrayed her father. Assassination would probably not work, so his only possibility would be exploiting her common sense by using civilians and cities as shield. But would that give him the win on the long run? I doubt it.
@@sinusspass1998 The only reason trying to assassinate her didn’t work is because Jorah was starting to regret his decision re: spying on Dany. She was about to drink that wine and die if he had done the job he signed up for. No dragons, no army, no sea crossing.
Did he underestimate Tyrion, or did Jaime ruin it for him?
Tyrion and Margaery both seem to have the potential to reach up to the level of their father/grandmother
We orginally had a section about Tyrion and how he was hot out the gate but was eventually lapped by better players which is why he wouldn't make the best player list but can't make a worst list ethier. I agree with you though both Tyrion and Margaery have potential, its just Margaery has been steered in the right direction and Tryion discouraged and actively opposed at every turn.
Thanks for watching! Liam
@@TheFandomeClips yea, imagine what Tyrion could have reached if Tywin had been a good father 🤯
@@TheFandomeClipstyrion should have joined stannis baratheon. He literally has no reason to side with his family. and stannis values talent.
That would have been a powerful marriage! I’m in
Tyrion, Margaery, and Arya somewhere in the 6-10 slots
Ser Pounce is clearly the greatest player of the game. From birth he managed to enthrall the young prince who would eventually become the king of Westeros. Even when the previous king threatened to murder him just to spite his brother Ser Pounce clearly had enough influence over the rest of the royal court to deter the mad king from following through on his threats thus ensuring a cozy life of infinite milk, treats, and chin scritches. This is all the more impressive considering Joffrey has a history of felicide and yet still dared not bring harm to the legendary Ser Pounce.
Then I want to put Balerion into the game too! Rhaenys little cat survived the sacking, saw Gregor and Amory kill it's owners, lived for decades and was king of the secret cat empire in the keep with all the guards and servants knowing of him. No wonder, considering he's the black dread reborn.
Agreed
Bran Stark. Nobody saw him coming.
Haha brilliant and also apt, he should have been our number 1. Thanks for watching! Liam
@@TheFandomeClips Cheers mate, good video
And Bran had the most knowledge.
“Why do you think I came all this way?”
You’re not wrong.
I think one of the Spider's greatest weaknesses resided in his lack of direct power and allies. He has to act THROUGH OTHERS. At least players like Tywin or Olenna can act to prevent something going wrong for them (via loyal soldiers, assasins, gold for bribes, even the power in their names ect). If something goes wrong for Varys, he has no choice but to just take the incoming blow, pivot and adjust (as he did with Ned's excecution and the resulting war happening way too soon for his endgame - an event everyone agrees that Tywin could easilly have stopped). He's VERY good at laying the breadcrumbs for what he wants to happen, but laying breadcrumbs is really all he can do.
Thats very true Bencm 👍 not sure if that makes him even more badass though the fact he can mold and move around others plans take the knocks and turn them to his favour without requiring external resources. Your right though, like Littlefinger hes a bit of a glass cannon, one word from a truly powerful player and his head could be on a spike. Thanks for watching! Liam
@@TheFandomeClips Thank YOU for the great content!
Yes, a glass cannon is the perfect way to describe him!
"The Storms Come And Go, The Waves Crash Overhead, The Big Fish Eat The Little Fish, And I Keep On Paddling."
On paper he is defenceless, in practice he is indispensable. He removes himself off the board before he can be taken out, and can remove the other players off the board should it serve his purpose.
I also suspect Varys has been a faceless man in the books, and could hold his own in a fight.
It also frees him of any consequences when the plan fails leaving him free to concentrate on one of the other multiple irons he has in the fire.
@@bencm92 Varys killed Kevin Lannister
In the books so I wouldn’t say he doesn’t purely work through others. Just mainly.
Let's see: (Based on Show only)
1 Grandchild on the Iron Throne - Brandon Stark
1 Grandchild Queen of the North - Sansa Stark
1 Grandchild Lord of the Eyrie, Warden of the East - Robert Arryn
1 Son is the Lord of Riverrun and Lord Paramount of the Trident - Edmure Tully
1 Daughter was Dowager Lady of Winterfell - Catelyn Stark
1 Daughter was Dowager Lady of the Vale - Lysa Arryn
1 Grandchild was King of the North - Robb Stark
And he died of old age and not violently like every other character on the list (Show only, not books)
Hoster Tully dominated the Game of Thrones.
Varys' biggest weakness in the show is his insanely high standards. Varys expects his rulers to be absolutely perfect at all times, and whenever their moral compass falters, he immediately begins the process of betraying them and finding a replacement. Daenerys wasn't having any of it and burned him alive.
Definitely true for the show version. His puppets need to be as perfect as him.
Thanks for watching remnantreacts! Liam
@@TheFandomeClips I like that you guys actually give out thoughtful responses to your comments, people really appreciate you guys engaging with the viewers in a way that doesn’t seem like it was written by a bot
What? no. Varys begged her not to destroy a whole city, and Dany was like "nah".
if anything he gave up on Robert too quickly, not Dany. Roibert was neither mad nor cruel, as he says.
by this logic, even Ned Stark has impossible standards, given he gave up on Joff and Tommen solely because of claim and blood right. and most of the North gave up on Jon and Sansa because of the sins of their older brother. Lyanna Mormont was about to leave Sansa to die because "um, you were forced to marry bad people so go away".
@@godemperorofmankind3.091 Of course he gave up on Robert. My man loses his brain the second he put the hammer down. Then he just thinks of girls and alc.
Giving up on Dany was harder, but considering Jon, who presented himself absolutely perfect, it was understandable. Still stupid, because Dany still had absolute power, but this season was BS at all.
@@godemperorofmankind3.091 By the conversation Varys had with Tyrion on the boat before Rhaegal & Missandei were killed, he was planning on betraying her as soon as he was told Jon is Targaryen. That is before Daenerys had any desire to burn King's Landing. He started verbally questioning her behind her back starting in 7x4 after she executed the Tarlys (when they refused a pardon & the Night's Watch) even though in 6x10 Jon tied Ramsay in the kennels and let Sansa feed him alive to dogs and Arya baked 2 men into a pie & tricked their father into eating them.
Ned Stark is the best player: he knew his death would led to an all out war that would culminate in his son become king.
@@antoniovasquez9946 He knew less than his bastard "son".
Bronn for me is a honorable mention on my book, the guy literally got lucky when he ran into Tyrion & Kat in the Inn at the Crossroads and took the opportunity to join in on the Party. He took an huge gamble on siding with Tyrion as for him siding with the Lannisters would set him up to climb the social ladder. Becoming a knight and of Minor nobility and in charge of City Watch to eventually becoming the Lord of the Reach and a member of the small council.
An to think the guy started off as a mercenary with barely a penny to his name, Bronn is basically an opportunist and knows when to side on the winners or people that will simply help and improve his standing in life. Non of the other players in the game see Bronn as a threat or a Major player cause Bronn didn't make himself a major player he just played his cards right and worked with the right people and simply hope for the best.
Cause unlike the people that are on this list Bronn is alive and got what he wants while all the people on this list got murdered/executed and didn't get or partially get what they want.
Oh 100%, he's one of the only characters in both show and books who simply cannot lose. He's constantly moving up.
@@elijahalbiston
Even if he dies, he’s already gotten far further than he ever should have.
He moves up, but he also is highly selective when it comes to where and when he takes his gambles and who he gambles on.
I think this ultimately limits how high he could rise, but like Littlefinger or Varys he starts so low that given where he finishes (and unlike Varys and Littlefinger, he does finish) the tale (at least in the show) I think he clearly belongs on this list and could maybe go as high as the top spot.
Basically Pycelle, but with battle prowess as well
you got it right in your first sentence. he got lucky. he stumbled into power for no good reason out of pure luck, and his opponents not just axing him out when they have the chance.
how on earth was Tyrion ever expecting to convince Daenerys, if she lived, to hand Bronn such power?
I think I can agree with 4/5 of this list. I think calling Pycelle a good player is somewhat overblown. For one his position is chosen by the citadel and once installed he is hard to remove.
He is not bad, but no great player.
For someone who does play well I would actually suggest the (when younger) Hoster Tully. He made in self indispensable to the rebellion and through the alliances made tied to 2 of the more powerful factions there.
The weakness of course is similar to Tywin he is unable to properly manage one of his daughters who goes insane despite being near the top as far as women go. But his schemes were all told well played and raised the tullys up a few notches.
His lack of ability to inspire loyal vassals is his main limitation.
I think we chose Pycell for how long he's managed to hang around, 6 kings (2 of whom were unstable monsters) was quite a feat in our eyes but I understand why you may think otherwise.
Hoster is a dam good player even in his old age. He actually outplays Tywin once which is no mean feat and doesn't take the Lions bait.
Thanks for watching as always Neo matey! Liam
Hoster is a good shout, but I'm at a bit of two minds about him, mainly *because* he nailed his colors to the mast of the rebellion so fast. If Robert had lost to Rhaegar at the Trident, House Tully could've easily ended up in the mud. It was a massive gamble, one that could've really backfired on him. There's a reason Tywin decided to sit out the Rebellion for as long as he could, despite having a personal score he wanted to settle with Aerys.
That said, I also don't know who else I'd put ahead of Pycelle instead of Hoster. I was considering Doran Martell, who has been playing the long game and shown a godly amount of patience in doing so, but he's kind of at the other end of the spectrum and could be considered *too* passive (and I admittedly don't know enough about his actual plot to judge him fairly I feel like, as I haven't read the books).
@@TheFandomeClips I always appreciate you guys and your interaction with the comments. It's great to see (one day you should do a sort of "commenters thoughts" episode and see what happens).
But because I am the obsessive nerd who need to over explain everything I wanna say I get the argument for Pycelle and he is certainly at least competent, plus becoming the GM will take some politicking.. However the 6 kings feat is I think not as impressive as it sounds.
Of those 6 kings Robert was apathetic, and Aegon and Jaeherys seem to be decent enough kings that being a competent maester would do (plus J was only king a short time). Tommen is a kitten as well so the only tough kings are Aerys and Joffrey.
Frankly manipulating Joffrey is not exactly hard. Let him indulge his passions and you will be fine. Plus stay out of the conflict between Tyrion and his family and you can avoid the battle. So the GM not being harmed by Joff is not I think a sign of great playing, but competence alone. Again he is not bad at the game but it doesn't strike me as a feat that needs celebration.
So that leaves Aerys. Well for most of that reign he had the protection of Tywin as Hand, who only left office a couple of years before the end. This period was a tough one for him to navigate but again I don;t think staying on Aerys good side was exceptionally hard for a GM, who cannot be blamed in the way a hand can when things go wrong. His surviving is a testament but the shortness of the period limits it's benchmark status as an achievement.
Not to mention how easily Tyrion outwits and outplays him in KL on more than one occasion. Not that Tyrion is a slouch but it shows a significant misstep on his part.
Again he is no slouch as a player of the game and owuld belong probably in a top 10/20, but I would not laud his feats as much as you as he was often protected or propped up by others and relatively easily disposed of by better players when the time came.
@@crossy6398 I think show Doran was doing fairly well, until the Crazy Lady decided that the only way to avenge her lover was to kill the rest of his family. He kept Dorne out of the trouble, managed to score an marriage pact with the reputed king's sister and was able to defuse a pretty horrific situation all told.
In the books from what I gather his plan is more overtly to support Dany but he has internal trouble with his daughter and so is not able to be too effective. Lets be fair, until he is got out of the way Dorne as a nation lost nothing throughout the war. Except Oberyn but that was a very personal decision thing no scheming could stop.
EDIT: Also, with Tully on board you had The North, Riverlands, Vale and Stormlands on one side, with Stannis tying up most of the Reach forces at Storm's end and Tywin out of the game. Frankly it was a 4 vs 2 at that point against the Crownlands and Dorne. Not bad odds all things considered. His failing there was not capitalising by getting some Riverlandish influence on the Capital. Plus he was already inclined to their side as Brandon was going to be his son in law, making him another aggrieved party.
people underestimate him and he wants them to, intentionally. but you're right. he's made some bad mistakes, like choosing Cersei over Tyrion.
Despite his mistakes as a father , Tywin really had the heir that he wish : Kevan 😢
Also Tyrion
Honestly this is so real justice for kevan the best most competent person in the realm
@@thepunisher6674 I wonder if we can somehow engineer an AU where Stannis becomes king with Kevan as his hand?
That pair would get things done!
@@Huhbroski
He was not too soft he led part of the army against the reyne Tarbeck revolt and in the war of the five kings, kevan wasn’t one for wanton cruelty but he by no means was soft
@@neodigremo
That would be a good pair they would usher in 100 years of peace and prosperity
varys' weakness is his hatred of magic tbh
fundamentally, he is playing a political game in a world he understands, while the thing he hates most grows stronger and stronger each day. in the end i think it will cloud his judgement and cause him to make unwise decisions for no reason beyond prejudice, ultimately compromising his endgame once dragons and red priests take center stage.
when was that a weakness? Varys had the Game won, set and match, until he became extremely foolish at the last possible moment, pointlessly blabbing his plan to Tyrion and Jon.
he was never taken down by magic. he was taken down by Tyrion selling him out.
@@godemperorofmankind3.091 i don't feel comfortable discussing this topic with you.
lol
@@hamadkennedy6295that's why people will mention "book" varys as being the best player.. cause it's there that he shows why he's the greatest as this.. he manipulated the mad king the entire time.. he was involved in motivating the Starks to join the Rebellion.. after the dust settled down he gained a strong position at the council.. he then unites with the Citadel to put Aegon on the throne and Aegon has a lot of supporters because of how Varys plays his cards with the small folk.. he kills Kevan with his own hands and even takes pleasure in doing that knowing that Kevan was way too close to bringing the realm back to stability and order.
While watching the show I was 100% sure that Littlefinger was the undisputed best player, but after hearing of everything Varys did.. he basically makes Littlefinger look like an amateur.. the only reason why Littlefinger started climbing the "chaos ladder" is because Varys created that Ladder..
Littlefinger wants to seat on the throne and is obsessed with it, meanwhile varys sees the throne for what it is, a tool, he understands that the real power is to manipulate the one sitting on that chair not to sit on it yourself
Ah, Varys was definitely the MVP of the Game of Thrones. Through the influence he gained over a lifetime of spy craft, people wound up calling him "Lord Varys" despite having no lands, titles or inheritance. Lord Varys had that ideal combination of patience and initiative, allowing him to nurture a long game strategy while deftly undermining opponents (warning Olenna that Littlefinger intended to kidnap Sansa to secure a greater hold over the North). I know we've been challenged to find a legitimate flaw to Lord Varys, but it is just so hard to find one (but I managed to come up with a SINGLE criticism aside from Books>Show).
Varys planned for success without having contingencies for if something went wrong or his counsel wasn't heeded.
1: The Sack of King's Landing: Varys warned King Aerys II that Tywin intended to betray the Targaryens, but the Mad King ignored the warning and opened the gates. I know Book Varys MAY have made plans to secure a Targaryen Revival, but he didn't make plans to secure King's Landing against Tywin's betrayal.
2. The execution of Ned Stark. Varys had helped broker the deal that if Lord Eddard confessed his treason, Sansa would be spared and war could be averted. He didn't have a plan for Joffrey going off script and ad-libbing his lines to have Lord Eddard executed.
3. Keeping Sansa out of Littlefinger's hands. Yes, he succeeded in keeping Sansa out of Littlefinger's hands by letting the Tyrells try to marry her off to Ser Loras (or his brother in the books), but this success was brief. Yes, Littlefinger didn't get Sansa at the time. However, the Tyrells didn't get Sansa either because she was married off to Tyrion (a clever bit of asset denial by Tywin). When Joffrey's cruelty was too great a risk to Margaery, Olenna decided to scheme with Littlefinger to eliminate the boy-king in exchange for Sansa, who was no longer an available asset to the Tyrells. It was a delayed failure, but a failure all the same, with Sansa falling into Littlefinger's clutches.
His final failure that ended in his death was so poorly contrived that I'm tempted to consider it non-canon. Still, it was in line with his previous failures because Lord Varys tried to have Daenerys assassinated, but failed to plan an exit strategy should his plot be discovered. (Planned for success without preparing for failure).
Ah Bloodraven your insights are always welcome 🙏 this is a serious contender for the pin. Fantasy point about Varys and brilliant suggestion for his weakness! Thanks for watching as always mate! Liam
I thought Varys was called “Lord” out of courtesy at him being a councillor
Very late but arguably little fingers biggest weakness was his obsession with Cat and then Sansa. Because while yes his gaining their respective trust leads to him making some of his best plays, he ultimately gets too confident and gives sansa the upper hand which leads to not only his death in the show but it teaches her how to play the game and become arguably one of the strongest players because she is so underestimated.
@@audrajurgela2985 Yes, to me it's clear from the books that he sees Sansa as his protege but is very much in danger of underestimating how quickly she's learning and how clearly she sees things. From the TV show she ends up as undisputed Queen of the North with a huge amount of political influence ( "Uncle? Please sit.") and relatives in nearly all the other key roles.
Varis's weakness is his lack of friends. He could have been killed at every time when he was in kingslanding. Tyrion was the only person who liked him. When Jaime frees Tyrion, he threatens to kill varis and nobody would have cared. He simply has to rely on his mind
Some people say it can be harder for an experienced sword fighter to fight a beginner than a decent fighter. Because the inexperienced one will attack without self preservation instinct.
In way that’s what happened to Olenna in the show she did everything right but Cersei was just like “imma arm the faith” “imma blow up the sept” without any fear of the consequences.
Cersei is what ultimately undoes Tywin. All his carefully laid plans are dashed by her upon his death; questioned by her Uncle, Aunt, cousins, brothers and really everyone. Despite how much he hates Tyrion it is odd how Tyrion is the only one of his children he speaks to like an equal.
Bran is that one kid on your block that had all the Nintendo magazines full of walkthroughs
I think Tyrion(at least the show version) honestly has the potential to match Little Finger and Varys where Tywin failed because he comes from a position where he is viewed as "weak" and he not only acknowledges it but uses it to his advantage. If not for Tywin's obsessive hatred for him, if given the proper recourses and time Tyrion likely could have crippled at least Little Fingers plans (Varys' plan in the show still up in the air given the whole dragon thing). His outsmarting Little Finger, Pycel, and removing Sir Janos from the equation almost immediately when given temporary authority as stand in Hand of the King speaks volumes to his abilities. I also think the show having him give a very obviously false suggestion to Varys regarding the marriage to Theon is a way of him showing respect for Varys's ability to play the game and demonstrating that he knows Varys has no need to work with someone like Cersi
David and Dan for tricking us into thinking they could write
If you are going to make the top 5 worst players it would be so funny if Balon was the worst, since he is already the worst general
Lol, he is only the best in being the worst in all categories
He’s the inversion of Bobby B. Has no mates, sucks at war, ruler of a puny island, about as much fun as a kick in the nuts - Thom
@@TheFandomeClips
Bobby B-loads of bastards
Balon-two extant children, both legitimate
What got me is where did they get all that wood to make those ships when those Islands were pretty bare.
Here's my list before watching the video:
1. Varys
2. Littlefinger
3. Tyrion
4. Tywin
5. Wyman Manderly
Honorable mentions: Olenna Tyrell, Roose Bolton
3 out 5 and nearly all on the right spots! Well done 👏 Manderly was in our top 10 when we were thinking of making it a top 10s list, dude is a badass! Liam
Tyrion?????
@@wanyekivincent2883 he's basically almost as good as Tywin but without the resources.
At least that was my reasoning.
@@sinayezulu9928 Tyrion is very witty I won't deny it but when it comes to playing the game he's not as good as he might think. Sticking around as joffery died was what pretty dumb leaving could have given him a fighting chance- speaking from the book's perspective.(There are more examples but I would prefer not to continue racking my brain) Tyrion also is only able to solve problems at the time - though pretty well- he isn't able to influence events as other players do. He would probably make it to the top ten but most definitely not the top three
@@wanyekivincent2883 My overall view on Tyrion’s performance is that he is intelligent, he knows how the game is played (theoretically at least) but he is incredibly inexperienced and unprepared for the vipers nest that is kings landing.
Season 8 Tyrion would say Varys' biggest weakness is not having balls.
Or a cock 😂 so true Elrevenio! Thanks for watching! Liam
If certain book theories are correct about Varys' sister, his weakness may be loyalty to his family, which would make a very interesting parallel between him and Ned
This is what I needed I live for these videos
No problem Karim, slowly but surely pushing the boat out with length. Thanks for watching! Liam
Varys biggest weakness is the exact opposite if little fingers strength. Everyone suspects him. While baelish is convincing and has u trusting him, varys has to fool you while your on guard. He has the nickname of the spider, but despite this he still fools many people, including Tyrion in my oppinion
Guesses before watching:
5. Ross Bolton
4. Olden Tyrell
3. Varys
2. Little Finger
1. Tywin
Not bad mate 4 out of 5 even if the orders wrong!
Close Awesomeaman! Nearly a full house but for one. Thanks for watching! Liam
Tywin can NOT be on top. Roose Bolton is also pretty bad
I love watching videos like this. It makes so sick that GRRM will never finish ASOIAF. Biggest case of BB in media history
😂 thank Pennzilla, I agree and what's worse is that unlike Tolkien GRRM has apparently ordered any unpublished manuscripts destroyed upon his death so if winds doesn't drop before he does, we'll not even get that. Thanks for watching! Liam
@TheFandomeClips
When Dickens dropped dead in the middle of his final story, he at least had left enough for people to construct the second quarter with strong outlines for the third, but unfortunately nothing for the fourth. Louis L'Amour dropped dead with several books in progress, many with such extensive notes that his son was able to keep publishing books for another two decades, and the same was more or less true of Robert Jordan. If his series does not complete, he will fade into utter obscurity and forever be a might have been.
Sure, Varys is undisputably presented as the best player. He's also the most subtly built character. But in the show version, you have to acknowledge something weird : he fails pretty much everything he tries. He fails to poison Daenerys. Then he fails to prevent the clash between Starks and Lannisters. Then he fails to save Ned. Then he fails to maintain Tyrion in place as hand of the king. Then he fails his spying operation on Littlefinger, then fails to block his ascension. Then he fails to prevent the alliance between Tyrells and Littlfinger. If you count last season, the deal he strikes with Martells and Tyrells proves largely useless. He fails to bring Jon Snow to proeminence, then dies by stupidly revealing his preference to everyone, which really doesn't sound like a master of whispers. But, well, season eight. The only two things he actually achieves are the capture of the wizard, wich is never heard of again, and the evasion of Tyrion, which proves quite messy and costs him his place in the council. All in all he appears like a beacon of reason, cunning and completely right, but powerless in the storm of madness that rises up in Westeros. So, as a weakness and having only the show as reference, I would say : not crazy enough. A light touch only takes you so far in a context of a full trottle civil war.
Olenna didn't inherit her position as matriarch of House Tyrell, she was originally born into House Redwine (which, although also a noble family and hence privileged, is way weaker than House Tyrell). She obtained her high position by deliberately seducing the head of house Tyrell (a story she tells Margaery about)
19:32 Imagine if the guard was fast enough to kill him and word got out. Lysa Arryn would jump on the Stark team in no time.
Surprised this channel only has 17k subscribers the videos are extremely well done and voiced over.
3 best players based on how fast they ascended to power:
Bronn
Davos
Qyburn
These three came from nothing and held immense positions of power.
You can also add the high sparrow to this list. As the leader of the faith he wielded immense (although unofficial) power and influence which he got from a single agreement with Cersei. He went from running a soup kitchen to becoming one of the most influential men in the kingdom in a matter of days.
I had this realisation awhile back, the way Tywin and Tyrion are politically is almost perfectly reflected in how their champions (Oberyn and The Mountain) fought.
Tyrion is deceptively dangerous in the political realm. He dances around his enemies, making sharp jabs to throw them off balance and often appearing like less of a threat than he truly is. There is something captivating about the way he plays the game. It's a joy to watch him outmaneuver and banter with his political rivals, but there is an edge of ruthlessness to him. Often, he has already found a way to beat you before you even sit down at the table.
Oberyn is deceptively dangerous in a fight. He dances around his enemies, making sharp jabs to throw them off balance and often appearing like less of a threat than he truly is. There is something captivating about the way he fights. It's a joy to watch him outmaneuver and encircle his enemies, but there is an edge of ruthlessness to him. Thanks to his use of poison, he has already found a way to beat you before you draw your blade.
Tywin is something of a political brute. Unlike his son, he is direct, straitforward, and doesn't bother with fancy wordplays. He is, in many ways, far less, and yet far MORE dangerous than his reputation conveys.
On the one hand, he relies far too much on brute force intimidation. Frequently targeting those houses that are weaker than him, or who are too afraid of him to really fight back. When talking to his children, his aproach is blunt force. "You WILL do what I want." and when faced with an equal opponent such as Robb Stark or Ollena Tyrell, he finds himself quite easily outmaneuvered and rapidly giving ground.
But what truly makes Tywin fearsome is his ability to endure, and his oppurtunism. The man is a survivor, as relentless and unyeilding as he is simplistic. You better make sure that when you have him on the defense, you FINISH HIM OFF. Because he will find a way to capitalise on ANY weakness. Any advantage. And when he does the result is final, devastating and horrifically brutal. Just ask Robb Stark.
Gregor Clegane is a brute. Unlike Oberyn, The Mountain is direct, straitforward, and doesn't bother with fancy swordplay. He is, in many ways, far less, and yet far MORE dangerous than his reputation conveys.
On the one hand, he relies far too much on brute force intimidation. Frequently targeting opponents that are weaker than him, or who are too afraid of him to really fight back. His aproach is blunt force. and when faced with an equal opponent such as Oberyn, he finds himself quite easily outmaneuvered and rapidly giving ground.
But what truly makes The Mountain fearsome is his ability to endure. The man is a survivor, as relentless and unyeilding as he is simplistic. You better make sure that when you have him on the defense, you FINISH HIM OFF. Because he will find a way to capitalise on ANY weakness. Any advantage. And when he does the result is final, devastating and horrifically brutal. Just ask Oberyn Martell.
August 30, 2023
Love the video you should make one ranking the army’s of each region
Going into this id have have 1& 2 reversed but you actually convinced me. In thinking I think Varys not wanting power for himself truly makes him even harder to predict.
S Tier editors note, can't lie, you got me, had to rewind and I laughed
If we rank from when the show actually counted, 1-4, then it’s Tywin, Varys, Littlefinger, Roose Bolton, Olenna Tyrell and Margaery together….and I actually said this before watching this video so respect to the creator for giving he props!
Ive always said the reason GRRM is taking song long with winds of winter and songs of spring is because the end of the show is basically what he has planned i.e bran becomes king john kills danny etc etc. So he saw how much people hated bran and all the endings of GoT so he panic re wrote the entire last 2/3 of winds and scrapped spring entirely and is trying to tie everything together with different endings even though bran being king isnt bad they just did it badly in the show.
your narration is so entertaining I’m so glad I found your page!!
Weird thing I found a few years back: Pycelle is played by the same actor as the bad guy in The Last Crusade.
No way 😳 I love that film and have never made connection Warlord. Seven hells hes got some good acting chops thats for sure. Liam
He's also the Imperial Commander in the AT-AT Walkers in the Battle of Hoth in Star Wars Empire Strikes Back lol
And Admiral Ozzel plays Hitler in the Last Crusade... :p
@@TheFandomeClips
Wow, I actually did not know that…kinda see it now ofc 😂
Awwww I’m touched you phrased cersei’s weakness like that after you pinned my last comment. ♥️
The book version of Doran Martell would need to be at least rank 5, theres still a good chance for his plans to adjust and bring success to the Martells
My problem with him is that he is to passive.
Doran is the guy in a club who sees a girl and starts planning evrything from there wedding, number of children and design of there gravestones... just to never speak to the girl in the first place.
Doran made it into the top 10 when we were in the orginal planning stage but like Roose Bolton we just don't think he can make the cut for top 5 despite been a good player. Thanks for watching as always TW! Liam
Theres a deleted scene with pycel talking to tywin and tywin calls him out on the act and pycel straightens his posture and speaks super clearly and calm and explains thst its all part of his act its a great scene
Pycelle was slapping those Tyrell cheeks too!
Just gonna say Bronn did very well for himself actively and came from sell sword to lord paramount of the reach and master of coin (for some reason ) and lord of highgarden diffrent attempt at playing the game of thrones but did astonishingly and didnt die
Honorable mentions should go to Daenerys, Tyrion, and Margaery.
Daenerys (before the show went south) built an unstoppable empire almost entirely from nothing.
Tyrion is arguably one of the best strategists and tends to take avenues that don't burn bridges.
Margaery flawlessly executes the Tyrell strategy and adapts brilliantly in the moment.
Dany only did it because of the "cheat codes that spawn 3 firebreathing lizzards" not because she would be any good at the game.
Another banger, Game of thrones till this day is still strong.
I think varys' biggest weakness in a way is his lack of protection. As stated by him, he's got no one really to protect him if things go wrong. He has to tread very careful because at any point, cersei, tywin, or joff could've decided he'd be more trouble than he was worth, and his head would be on a spike. However, it also gives him massive respect for what he accomplished given this
"Peter Baelish is the Bobby Fischer of this GOT sh**"🤣 Well, said! He basically put all the gears in motion for the series and outlived even Tywin and Olenna
A bit of foresight and proactiveness from Ned, who hasn't trusted the Lannisters since Tywin declared late & had the Targaryen children killed,
could have won the day with the political marriages of his kids. Surrounding the Lannisters with
Firstborn Son Rob, to Margery Tyrell, uniting the North with the largest standing army AND biggest food supplier in the kingdom
Firstborn Daughter Sansa to Renly, to further connect himself to Robert without connecting to the Lannisters and also gaining the Stormlands
Bran to Shireen Baratheon to tie them further to Robert, his true heir, and more importantly The Dragon Stone Fleet.
Then Arya to her cousin Robert Arryn(Sweet Robin) to secure the Vale with a strong-willed and intelligent Arya.
Also a bit on heard of but betroth Jon to Robert's 1st favorite bastard Mya Stone to give Arya 2 capable loyal companions to help her in the Vale.
Finally, betroth Rickon to the Freys, and encourage his most loyal houses(Manderley, Glover, Umber, Tallharts, Karstarks, Flints) to do the same,
The Reeds do their own thing and are looked down on by everybody but the Starks so no one will question if they don't do it too,
and Howland might have the Dornish connection all sown up with the Daynes.
Well before any of this begins it should be OBVIOUS to every Northern lord how important the Twins are to the defense and offense of the North.
With his alliance to the Tully's through his marriage with Cat. Ned should have also talked to Holster about remedying the Blackfish's slight by betrothing Edmuire( the heir is a more prestigious match than the brother anyway) to Desmera Redwyne.
Then the Starks could have almost single-handedly kept the realm together.
Fucking love your analysis man, thank you for making tuff content for FREE
Id say Varys weakness is that he is human and tries to save people who maybe valuable but can honestly ruins his plans such as tyrion or ned
I definitely thank thats a factor of his character, he's certainly one of the more empathetic players, his speech when he kills Kevan is testament to that. Thanks for watching Tristan! Liam
Another Brilliant video guys !! Always a pleasure to watch your vids. What about a top 10 or top 5 for something star wars ? I know you used to do a lot of star wars maybe something like top 5 clone captains/ commanders maybe ???
Thanks Hayden! Nice to see you in the comments as always. Next video will be star wars but not a listicle (though Thom does keep pushing for us to rank the prequel jedi council) We're taking a look at the crossguard lightsaber like we did with Dawn. We will keep trying to get our toes wet with Star wars and LOTR don't worry! We just get way more thrones requests lol. Thanks for watching as always matey! Liam
@TheFandomeClips that sounds like an awesome video !!! Can't wait for it
I agree, almost. I'd put Baelish 1st. He lost because he underestimated characters who had magical abilities.
Top 5 Smartest
0. Bran Stark (magical)
1. Baelish
2. Varys
3. Qyburn
4. Tyrion
5. Sam
Top 5 Most Powerful Characters
0.1 Night King (magical)
0.2 Daenerys (magical)
1. Tywin
2. Olenna
3. Cersei
4. Jon Snow
5. Baelish
Top 5 Fighters
0.1 Night King (magical)
0.2 Arya Stark (magical disguise)
1. Jamie Lannister
2. Mountain
3. Brieanne
4. Hound
5. Jon Snow
Although I consider Jon to be a good swordsman, I can't place him above Hound based on what I know.
Thanks so much for not spoiling the books. I’m on a dance with dragons and I thought I had to click off the vid
I think there is a argument for Ned being a great player. He didn't do it by scheming or threatening but by sticking to his principles. He sacrificed himself and ended up with his son ruling six kingdoms, his daughter ruling the North and the winter he was so worried about being defeated. He might not have wanted to play but there is a argument that he was the most successful. He died but he would consider a sacrifice of himself to be a good price for the happiness and security of his descendants and kingdoms unlike many of the other player who would only see a win as benefiting themselves.
Top 10 list of players In my opinion.
HM- Kevan Lannister, Illyrio, Mace Tyrell (if his playing fool)
10-Pycelle
9-Davos
8-Stannis Baratheon
7-Melisandre
6-Roose Bolton
5-Margeary Tyrell
4-Olenna Tyrell
3-Tywin Lannister
2-Lord Varys
1-Littlefinger
@afonsosilvestre7626 Tyrion is definitely worthy of top 10
That Joffery joke was great
I would say Verys' biggest weakness is his lack of a future. He is very secretive and subtle but that can work against him since he won't be continuing his bloodline. If he goes down, I don't think anyone could pick up the pieces for him.
I would personally call tywins playing of the game as “whatever I say is gonna happen, will happen, one way or another” whereas Varys and littlefinger would deceive and manipulate events, Tywin would just say what he wants to happen and through sheer will of force, said thing comes to fruition
To the show's defence, it's arguable that it makes sense for the game not to be as important in later seasons as it was in early ones. When you have fire-breathing dragons and ice zombies knocking on your door, political manoeuvring probably isn't going to be viewed by anyone in that situation as a priority 🤔
Its still a factor in that though (Cersei not joining, allowing the threat of the white walkers to weaken Dannys armies etc)
- Thom
Video idea(s)
What if Danny stayed in Essos, gained control of the continent and went to war with Westeros as a whole to take back the throne?
Or who would be able to beat the other in full scale war Westeros or Essos?
A united Essos would definitely win. The entire Rhllor fellowship, warlocks, & Asshai witches. Dothraki, Unsullied, & multiple sellsword armies. Qarth has a hold on international trade. The iron bank of Braavos. The combined wealth of hundreds of thousands of slain Masters in dozens of cities. And Yiti.
Tywin's biggest weakness is his control over his family. He had much control over his armies, land, and the throne but his own house was always unstable. From his two eldest being in an incestuous relationships, Cersei's obsessive narcissism, and his reluctance to treat Tyrion(who was his strongest player) with respect.
If Tywin had more control over his own house he would be in a better position
Cersei definitely is number one her intelligence is unmatched jk great video as always keep up the great work
You had me for a moment 😂 - Thom
She was able to figure out that the washerwomen were shrinking her gowns, even Varys could never
She played it better than most. It took a looney on a dragon to take her down.
Nobody saw the burning of the Sept coming at all.
Sure, many of her machinations back-fired to tragic effect for her but at the same time she outlasted everyone except Tyrion.
@@aidanmagill6769 Her father never taught her how to play the game so she started playing a completely different one.
Ollena is more complicated in the books , on one side his death ( and his family ) happen only in the show , just like his moment of weaknes with Tywin, but on the other side she stay in the game the least , she return to Higarden before Margery arrest and she we never hear about she again
Definitely, her contribution to the houses success is a lot more merky in the books Flavius as Mace isn't an idiot and a genuinely competent player himself. Shes definitely important but how much isn't as clear in the books. Thanks for watching! Liam
Finally someone recognizes how good Pycelle was at playing the game
You guys do a vid on best/worst character portrayals on the show(s)? We love lists and there's 2 right there.
In the books I thought Tywin was interesting, but cast him as Charles Dance and you have one of the coolest villains of a generation.
Just found this channel..love the content! Keep it up man, love some GoT and you've earned a Sub.
To be honest, I think Olenna being a woman is ultimately her biggest weakness. Although in the show it seems like she is calling all the shots for house Tyrell, she does have to go through an extra step that Tywin doesn't: she has to make Mace Tyrell FEEL like he's the one calling the shots and manipulate him into doing her bidding. While some players acknowledge her for her power, I also feel like there are times where she does have to go through those extra hoops with men to manipulate them. If she had unquestioned authority over house Tyrell and the general authority of a man of the house, she would have gotten things DONE.
Vrays’s greatest weakness is that his skin was fireproof.
In all honesty for the show his weakness was the bad writings. He was a great character until the they had to write their own stuff and made him just do tons of dwarf and eunuch jokes with Tyrion.
It’s kinda like spending months on a perfect painting, then your cousin shows up with their kid who when your back is turned puts paint on their hands and smears it all over the painting ruining it, then your cousin gets hostile for you yelling at their precious innocent little angel and cares nothing of the damage they have done
why is robb stark held in such a high regard he never met the lannister in a fair an conventional fight and his tactical and strategic movement was largly carried out by the blackfish and aided by his dire wolfe, so the only things that were really done by him was deciding were to go and in this he was assistet by his bannerman. so if you combine this with his bad political moves what makes him so great
I genuinely think Varys' biggest weakness is that he's the best at playing the game and everyone knows it. He got so good that kings essentially appointed him to play it for them. And now no one trusts him. All his moves require so much more work because even the people he is trying to help don't trust anything he says or does. He is the Spider, the Master of Whispers, and everyone expects traps in his offers. His biggest losses came from people trusting others when they should have trusted Varys. So he plays the game, and even has to put his allies in a position where they have no choice but to accept what he's giving them.
Random shogun clip slipped in there
You can say what you want about Tyrion, but unlike a lot of the other players, he got his skills on his own. Most of the nobles were exposed to the political landscape or tutored on how to play the game by mentors, but Tyrion was stashed away by his father, and before the start of Game of Thrones, his position was chief of sewers in Casterly Rock. But he educated himself and studied copiously, was a f#cking unit as a diplomat, was able to recognize people's potential when no others could (in people like Bronn, Pod and Shagga) and for all his flaws, he understood people. Be it hatred, love or ambition, he knew how to tailor his strategy to take advantage of different players. And all of this with most people wanting to ignore him right out of the bat just because he was a dwarf. If this was what he could do when he had a skeleton crew of actual reliable allies (who didn't have that much political power), imagine what he could have done if he had had the chance to talk to people like Olenna and Dornan, who despite their flaws, probably would have seen how useful he could be.
Ok I’m gonna take a crack at Varys’ weakness. Varys’ weakness is described rather eloquently by Varys himself (please note: I can’t remember if this is a show only quote) when he said “nobody mourns for spiders”, just about every other master player (and most of the shitty ones) has something or someone to fall back on if their mastery of the game fails. Tywin and Ollena have the power of great houses, Littlefinger has immense wealth, Tyrion has a famously skilled older brother who’ll hunt people to the ends of the earth for Tyrion (also the backing of his family [excluding cersei] and their bannermen). But all Varys has is his game mastery, which is incredibly powerful (don’t get me wrong) but it probably won’t save him if an army with the intentions of killing him and everybody else on the small council busts open the gates of kings landing and butcher the city before Varys can retreat, or even if some rando with a shiv just decides to stab him. That’s why Varys has to be 30 steps ahead of everybody else, because if he isn’t then he’s pretty much fucked if somebody blindsides him.
It's just a shame the later seasons couldn't capitalize on the intelligent writing of characters like Littlefinger and Varys in the future and had to find some ways to kill them off quickly.
Video idea
Who is the best mercenary in GoT?
I've genuinely never realised Varys rush over to Joffrey at Ned's execution before
also, PLEASE kindly do an episode on Ned Stark's unheralded competency at the GofT. i myself tend to think of him as militarily competent, possessed of great common Sense, and literate enough in the game to draw a few key inferences (ex, r+l=j=dead j, therefore gtfo of Dodge, and he promptly does so), but coming into the Snakepit at the turning point was doom for him. but if he's savvier than that, i would LOVE TO HEAR IT! cheers! ✌🏻
Bronn. Bronn gained the most out of anyone else, directly because of his actions.
He started as a common sellsword and ended up as Lord of the Reach and pretty much the wealthiest man in Westeros. He played his cards very well, only took very well calculated risks and succeded because of it. He was loyal enough to not be suspected of treason, but never too much as to compromise his own interests in order to serve others.
He fought for Tyrion in his first trial by combat, because he didn't have much to lose, but plenty to gain.
Then, he refused to fight in the second one against Ser Gregor, because he had too much to lose and not many things to win by fighting. He proved his loyalty first to Tyrion, then to Jaime, and thus he was rewarded handsomely but knew when to stay out of things.
In the battle of the Bells, again, he chose not to participate. He just stood by and let the rest of Westeros destroy itself. Same for the battle against the dead. And then he again took advantage of the new status quo and became Lord of Highgarden.
He had some luck go his way of course, but his execution was flawless.
bronn stumbled into power through pure luck and the right people in his way dying.
there's no way Dany is giving him all that power, had she lived.
Bronn gained a stupid amount of power in a short time, but it was mostly just him being in the right place in the right time. His only real qualities are 1) he's always looking out for his own interests and 2) he's good at fighting. That's not really top-five-game-of-thrones-players material.
Most of the top players, if they had started out in slightly different parts of the world, would still have worked their way up. If Bronn had started out elsewhere in the world, he'd be dead in a ditch somewhere, or at best be some unremarkable mercenary.
Funny enough if we're going by the show, yeah, the #1 player is Bran. It's insane to think about it but it is canonical that he literally orchestrated everything from the moment he got his powers to put himself on the throne.
As he said:
"Why do you think I came all this way?"
I like how Olenna tells Margaery how good she was back in the day but Margaery is even better. Because I don’t think that’s true but she’s trying tog ice her more confidence. Part of the game 🙂↔️
That's the thing about game of thrones you have to play if you want to live and when you play ether you win or die
Hodor 😊
Edit: also could you possibly do one on who were the best hand of the king?
16:29. I suspect Littlefinger wouldn't be as threatening if he'd started with Tywin or Olenna's resources. It's the near-nothing background and humiliation from it that laid the foundation for who he is and how dangerous he can be.
I feel like Varys and Littlefinger are on the same level, just on opposite sides.
Varys works and schemes for the good of the realm, while Littlefinger schemes for his own good. They both are extremely talented at what they do, they just have different motives.
Opposite sides of the same coin.
You gotta make the inverse
Also great video and here for algorithm
👀 we’re gonna have a bigger list in that case 😂 Thanks for the support! - Thom
"imagine if the house of lannister wasn't always trying to f*** itself over we'd never have Joffrey" 💀☠️ I spit the beer that I'm drinking. bro I can't😂🤣
Its pretty clear why little finger isnt consisered a threat to varys in the books like he is in the show. Varys wants that shit to go sideways and chaos to reign
Indeed.
Which also makes the show-only "what I do, I do for the good of the realm" not really work out. Because what Varys has been doing clearly wasn't for the good of the realm.
I think this list should genuinely include Otto Hightower. If you're including HotD.
Olena also married in to the Tyrells despite the fact that it wasn’t the planned marriage. She’s been playing the game since she was young, she didn’t even inherit much.
Sansa Stark, went from timid little girl to queen in the north, exceptional achievement in such a cut throat world.
I definently agree with the top 2 but I would flip them. I have no doubt Varys could do the same thing as Baelish but he hasn’t. The manipulation that Baelish did is just insane. Manipulating the war, taking control of 2 and probably 3 kingdoms in the span only being in power for less than 20 years but honestly both of them could be 1 good list
Tywin wasn’t playing, he was the game
Vary’s biggest weakness, along with Littlefinger was crap writing from D & D the moment the material from the books dried up, as they seemed to forget how the characters even functioned and turned them into idiots. I personally hope the faceless man theories are cannon as would explain a lot, regardless if that seems a lazy way to fix the problem. Least it saves 2 great characters entire ark from being shat on from a great height.
The words you are looking for are "canon" and "arc".
Will you please do a top 5 okeyest players of Game of Thrones