History Main / DeckOfWildCards

* ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'': The thirteen Forsaken are [[TheAntiGod the Dark One]]'s most [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld ancient]], [[TheArchmage powerful]], and [[HadToBeSharp experienced]] servants, each with abilities unheard of in the current Age. Fortunately for the Light, they're [[ItsAllAboutMe only in it for themselves]] and will happily double-cross each other for a chance at power unless ordered not to (and sometimes even then). The Dark One seeks out that kind of selfishness in his minions because [[EvilCannotComprehendGood he can't comprehend]] more positive qualities, never mind appreciate them.

* ''WesternAnimation/HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse2021'': The Dark Masters qualify. Evelyn and Kronis clearly don't like each other and Keldor makes it clear he doesn't trust either of them. [[spoiler:When Evelyn, Kronis and R'Qazz attempt to take Skeletor's power for themselves, he reveals he planned for this and enslaves them to his will.]]

** The first Organization XIII famously had a coup attempt in its' first appearance led by Marluxia, the effects of which shook the group to the core for the remainder of its' existence. Most of the Organization is loyal to the cause, but Xemnas is such a BadBoss nobody is really loyal to ''him'' except for Saix... who we later learn had pretty much no choice in the matter.

** The second incarnation of the Organization, the Thirteen Seekers of Darkness, is even worse because of the raised stakes. Now, everybody knows that they're basically a group of [[spoiler:human sacrifices for Master Xehanort's plan to open Kingdom Hearts.]] Marluxia and Larxene are even brought back because as the former points out, Master Xehanort doesn't care about them as people and just wants them as cannon fodder. In short order: Ansem/Xehanort's Heartless realizes his presence means he failed already and doesn't put any heart into the fight; Xigbar, Saix, Vexen, and Demyx have their own agendas; Luxord respects Sora too much to put too much effort into fighting him and even helps him; Marluxia still hates Xehanort for [[ProperlyParanoid proving him right about Xemnas]] and Larxene is only staying to stay near his side; Xemnas himself hates what he's doing because of the pain of having a real heart after all this time; and Dark Riku, Vanitas, and Young Xehanort are really only in it for themselves. While the heroes gain strength through their friendship and slowly grow their ranks throughout the climax of ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII'', the Seekers completely fall apart. The only one who is kind of loyal is Terra-Xehanort, which makes sense given he's functionally Master Xehanort himself but in an extra, younger body, so of course he's loyal to his own plan.

** {{Discussed}} in a conversation between Yoda and the spirit of Darth Bane, the creator of the RuleOfTwo. It's mentioned that the Sith fell thousands of years ago because their ambitions got the better of them, and they wouldn't stop fighting amongst themselves to seize power. Thus, Bane streamlined the process by deeming that there could only be one Master and one Apprentice at a time -- one to have power, and one to crave it -- to preserve their way of life and ensure the Jedi would eventually fall.

** ''Series/TaiyouSentaiSunVulcan'': The only henchmen who stay consistently loyal to [[BigBad Führer Hell Saturn]] are the [[DarkChick Zero Girls]]. The rest (Queen Hedrian, Amazon Killer and Inazuma Ginga) are all plotting to overthrow him and take the throne of Black Magma for themselves. Because of this, most of the Black Magma leaders die by each other's machinations rather than by Sun Vulcan.

* ''VideoGame/NeoTheWorldEndsWithYou'': [[spoiler:The Shinjuku reapers]] are revealed to be this over the course of the game. [[spoiler:The Game Master, Shiba, effectively has Ayano commit suicide, and traps Tsugumi's heart and soul in a stuffed toy]]; [[spoiler:Shoka is kicked out for helping the Wicked Twisters and eventually makes a full HeelFaceTurn]]; [[spoiler:Hishima is willing to abandon Shiba and the city to their doom]]; [[spoiler:Susukichi turns out to be GoodAllAlong and was preparing to stab Shiba in the back]]; and [[spoiler:Kubo is actually an Angel knows as the Executor who manipulated Shiba and was [[TheChessmaster plotting everything]] [[BigBad all along]]]].

But what if ''[[ExaggeratedTrope everyone]]'' in the group was like that?

This is the Deck of Wild Cards, where most, if not all, members of a group or organization are going to play Starscream and try to kill you so they can seize power for themselves, even if it means going over each other to make it happen. Because damn any friendships they might have made; they want their supervisor's corner office, and will kill anyone that stands in their way to get it. Expect constant EtTuBrute moments, lots of {{Xanatos Gambit}}s [[GambitPileup piling on top of one another]] to see who can outsmart whom, and someone inevitably being killed or thrown to the wolves along the way--especially if one of these Starscreams acts like a FalseFriend so they can thin the herd on their way to the top.

Like with most Starscreams, everyone in the organization has their reasons. The boss may have a OneHundredPercentAdorationRating and they want [[ItsAllAboutMe that kind of attention for themselves]]. It could be that the boss has a ZeroPercentApprovalRating, and they're trying to pull this to keep the group from falling apart. Or, in rarer cases, the entire group may try this because it's expected; after all, who deserves to rule an EvilEmpire if they can't stop themselves from being betrayed?

[[folder:Comics Books]]

* ''Franchise/TheTransformers'': Both the Decepticons and their descendants, [[WesternAnimation/BeastWars the Predacons]], have established their regimes based around this philosophy. Only those who are strong and cunning deserve to rule, and being deposed of by a weak underling is a sign they were never meant to rule to begin with. Of course, the franchise has tended to depict this haphazardly, so it's not always consistent in this regard.
** ''WesternAnimation/TheTransformers'' shows that, with the exception of [[UndyingLoyalty Soundwave and Shockwave]], nearly every Decepticon tried to backstab or remove Megatron aside from Starscream himself, as a consequence of their ambitions getting the better of themselves. Notably, Astrotrain and Blitzwing worked with Starscream to depose Megatron, then backstabbed the both of them so they could jointly rule. The Combaticons were also once a band of Starscreams before the series, having been melted down and left [[AndIMustScream as just personality components]] for trying to overthrow Megatron long ago, and falling right back onto old habits the moment the TropeNamer himself brings them out of storage for his own ends. By the third season, even Galvatron's most loyal subjects--Scourge and Cyclonus--were not above doing this, as a consequence of DrunkOnPower and committing his insane leader to therapy respectively.

* ''VideoGame/NeoTheWorldEndsWithYou'': [[spoiler:The Shinjuku reapers]] are revealed to be this over the course of the game. [[spoiler:The Game Master, Shiba, effectively has Ayano commit suicide, and traps Tsugumi's heart and soul in a stuffed toy]]; [[spoiler:Shoka is kicked out for helping the Wicked Twisters and eventually makes a full HeelFaceTurn]]; [[spoiler:Hishima is willing to abandon Shiba and the city to their doom]]; [[spoiler:Susukichi turns out to be GoodAllAlong and was preparing to stab Shiba in the back]] and [[spoiler:Kubo is actually an Angel knows as the Executor who manipulated Shiba and was [[TheChessmaster plotting everything]] [[BigBad all along]]]].

->''"Look at us: a couple of cards!"''
-->--'''Arin Hanson''', ''WebVideo/GameGrumps'', ''VideoGame/AWayOut''

* Creator/DCComics likes this trope quite a bit, to the point of having various supervillain teams whose members try to betray or kill each other with varying degrees of success. On occasion, the villains will [[TeethClenchedTeamwork put aside their differences for a common goal]] and sometimes even [[FireForgedFriends become genuine friends]]. Teams like the ComicBook/SuicideSquad, the ComicBook/SecretSix and even the [[Characters/GLRedLanternCorps Red Lantern Corps]] are representative of this trope. ''ComicBook/SalvationRun'' is an {{exaggerated|Trope}} version of the Deck of Wild Cards trope, with all villains exiled on a lonely planet and needing to stay together to survive and come back to Earth. Considering that ComicBook/TheJoker and ComicBook/LexLuthor are the "rulers" of this new planet, this trope goes UpToEleven with the rest of the villains here.

** The Sith "Rule of Two", as detailed in both the Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse and its predecessor ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'', was specifically created to ''prevent'' this. The Sith encourage {{Klingon Promotion}}s; the Sith master embodies power while the Sith apprentice craves it. However, Darth Revan refused to take more than one apprentice because he realized that it was likely they would team up to kill him before either of them were strong enough, negating the [[SuperiorSuccessor entire point]]. Darth Bane later heeded Revan's advice and created the "Rule of Two" that the Sith would follow from then on, barring a few exceptions. Note that Darth Bane did what he did as much out of disgust with the Brotherhood of Darkness having partly ''abandoned'' this tendency as anything else: Lord Kaan demanded greater cooperation of the Sith in order to more effectively fight the Jedi and Republic, even eschewing the use of the title "Darth" as an attractive nuisance, which Bane viewed as having abandoned the essence of being Sith.

** {{Discussed}} in a conversation between Yoda and the spirit of Darth Bane, the creator of the Rule of Two. It's mentioned that the Sith fell thousands of years ago because their ambitions got the better of them, and they wouldn't stop fighting amongst themselves to seize power. Thus, Bane streamlined the process by deeming that there could only be one Master and one Apprentice at a time -- one to have power, and one to crave it -- to preserve their way of life and ensure the Jedi would eventually fall.

* ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogIDW'': The ''Bad Guys'' miniseries revolves around an alliance of Dr. Starline, Zavok, Mimic, Rough and Tumble. Starline only assembled the team as part of his own bid to get back in Eggman's graces, and when Zavok and Mimic learn of his deception, they naturally turn on him. The only members of the team with any true loyalty to each other are [[SiblingsInCrime Rough and Tumble]].

* The Denarians of ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'' are capable of cooperation with each other as long as their respective agendas align, but being a group of FallenAngels treachery and backstabbing is in their blood.