Magnificent Bastard / Redwall

To where will they go,
This is a secret nobeast may know.
Marlfox!

Plundering murdering vulpine thieves,
Who blend with stone,
Or meld with leaves.
Marlfox!

See the pale eyes and swirling cloak,
Appear like nightmare,
Vanish like smoke.
Marlfox!

What steals upon the silent air,
Gleaming fangs, mottled fur,
A deadly axblade lying there.
Marlfox!

Nobeast living can hide from thee,
O thou who treads invisibly,
Cross hill and vale, through woods and rocks.
Marlfox! Marlfox! Marlfox!

— On the titular creatures of Marlfox

From the imaginative mind of Brian Jacques, the Redwall series and his expansive cast of critters, it's inevitable some make for truly audacious and competent schemers.

Order by book release dates.

All spoilers are unmarked. You Have Been Warned!

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• Mossflower: Bane the mercenary is a professional fighter, a talented warrior fox who is revered by his troops and always ensures they get the best of the spoils. Upon seeing Kotir, Bane forms a scheme to take it for himself by allying with Tsarmina and brings his professional talents to her war with the Woodlanders. Bane's effective strategies prove devastating to the Woodlanders, with Bane overwhelming them in one battle and even using a plan to burn the woodlands to flush them out. When his and Tsarmina's alliance crumbles, Bane is caught by the eagle Argulor and goes out fighting, mortally wounding his opponent even as he dies.
• Salamandastron: Ferahgo the Assassin, the charming, blue-eyed weasel warlord of the Corpsemakers, is one of the craftiest threats to ever attack Salamandastron. Known and feared for his disarming blue eyes and charming temperament, Ferahgo put these to good use to manipulate and slay the parents of future Badger Lords Urthwyte and Urthstripe, claiming the lands of the southwest for himself. Ferahgo attacks Salamandastron seasons later when Urthstripe rules, employing trickery and poison in his attempted assaults while remaining deftly ahead of his treacherous minions, tricking two who try and slay him while he's grievously wounded into taking out a decoy before he kills them. Unique among other Redwall villains for even having slightly more positive traits, Ferahgo genuinely loves his son Klitch and tolerates his ineffectual attempts at betrayal, and dies in a Mutual Kill with a Bloodwrath-consumed Urthstripe, fearlessly facing the badger to the end in comparison to countless other vermin who die running.
• Pearls of Lutra:
  • The polite, cheerful fox Rasconza is the only one of his crafty kind upon the corsair isle of Sampetra. Unhappy with the captains starting a war with the Emperor Ublaz, Rasconza betrays them to be slaughtered and personally kills the chief captain Barranca in the thick of battle without being suspected. Attempting to make peace with Ublaz and being betrayed, Rasconza wages a war as head of the Wave Brethren, utterly dismantling the pine marten ruler's base of power and winning over his elite corps of trident rats when Ublaz refuses to stop threatening them.
  • Romsca, captain of the Waveworm, is one of the most rounded, badass vermin in the entire series. A shrewd and cunning corsair who hates the flesh-eating monitor Lask Frildur, whom with Ublaz Mad-Eyes forcibly saddles with on a mission to the abbey, Romsca exploits the condition of the sea to make Lask too seasick to bully her or her crew around and shows remarkable respect for her crew, including the stoat who captained the Waveworm before her. After kidnapping the kindly old Abbot Durral, Romsca takes a liking to him and ends up slaying Lask Frildur and all his monitors when they try and eat him during a storm, sustaining fatal injuries in the process and dying with a smile in the Abbot's arms.
• Marlfox: Mokkan, the last of the titular Marlfoxes standing, is the eldest and cleverest of his ruthless siblings. Masterminding their raids on Redwall abbey to steal the tapestry of Martin the Warrior, Mokkan promptly doublecrosses his siblings, stealing some of their boats and destroying the rest after sending them to fight Redwall Abbey, as well as rooting out and murdering a spy his sister sends after him. Having realized that once their mother dies, infighting will begin, Mokkan intends on getting a head start in placing himself close to the throne. Mokkan arrives at Castle Marl to find his sister Lantur has murdered their mother and is crowning herself queen. Mokkan swiftly outwits and murders her, making himself king, where he even promises that he will promote any slave to his personal guard or demote a guard to a slave based solely on merit. Even among the clever Marlfoxes, Mokkan distinguishes himself as one of the cleverest villains to grace a Redwall novel.
• Lord Brocktree: Jukka the Sling is a squirrel bandit who leads a tribe of like minded warriors. Luring in targets to kill and rob, Jukka practices this upon a group of Blue Horde warriors, inadvertently rescuing the hare Fleetscut. Upon Fleetscut's accusations that she is a coward, Jukka decides to help liberate the mountain of Salamandastron and proceeds to prove herself an effective strategic mind with siegecraft and infiltration, stealing into the mountain to gain Ungatt Trunn's plans, eventually dying side by side in battle with Fleetscut to help her friends.
• The Taggerung:
  • Ruggan Bor, chief of the Juskabor and a fox characterized by his dazzling golden fur and equally-golden tongue, debuts two-thirds from the work's start to effortlessly snatch the role of main villain from the whinging Gruven Zann. When Gruven returns to his tribe the Juskarath, Ruggan Bor has already outwitted and slain Rath's scheming mother Antigra and taken over the entire tribe. When Gruven lies that he slew the Taggerung—and thus, now holds the title himself—Ruggan Bor sees through his lies and interrogates him, leaving Gruven a whimpering mess by the end of it. When Ruggan Bor is finally satisfied that Gruven is the Taggerung, he immediately dispatches Gruven to take the mantle for himself. One of the few villains in the series to escape with his life, it takes a Badger Lord coming out of nowhere to stop Ruggan Bor, who admits even he won't pointlessly throw away his life fighting a badger.
  • Vallug Bowbeast and Eefera are members of the Juskarath sent with the new chieftain Gruven to hunt down the Taggerung, Tagg, after he is framed for their leader Sawney Rath's murder. Far smarter and deadlier then Gruven, the two humiliate him and abandon the rest to die so they may kill Tagg and claim the title of chief for themselves, each plotting to do away with the other when the time comes. The two proceed to hunt Tagg to Redwall abbey, blackmailing the abbey to give them the Taggerung while capturing Gruven and his team, making it appear as if the abbey is besieged by a horde while keeping minimal danger to themselves, with Vallug even mortally wounding the powerful Cregga Rose-Eyes, the badger matriarch of Redwall. Two of the most ruthless, yet effective vermin around, Eefera and Vallug demonstrate rare skill and resourcefulness for villains, putting Redwall under more threat as a duo than entire armies have achieved.
• Loamhedge: Flinky is one of Burad's band, a charismatic stoat known for his cheerful disposition and silver tongue who is able to manipulate his bosses into doing what he wants. When a series of mishaps leads to the megalomaniac little fox Badredd taking over, Flinky manages to sneak into his confidence and almost has him murdered to end his ambition. Forced to attack Redwall, Flinky simply puts no effort into it and almost deserts with his wife Crinktail before being caught by the brutal searat Raga Bol. Flinky is able to arrange an escape for himself and his friends, now the leader of the group and only interested in finding a peaceful place to settle down.