The Strategist / Video Games

• The Doctor, the player character in Arknights, is the strategist for Rhodes Island. Even though the Doctor has amnesia, Amiya is so confident in their skills that she puts them in command a few minutes after they wake up.
• Lord Recluse of City of Heroes can turn any band of thugs into Elite Mooks with some anally precise tactical movments — which is what lead him to take-over a country with what was originally less than half-a-dozen assassins. In battle this means giving his allies/minions about 10 different buffs passivly, in the narrative this means said epic battle you are engaging in with him... is just a distraction.
• The demon Azmodan from the Diablo franchise is described as one of the finest battlefield commanders in Hell, possibly all of Creation, who has honed his knowledge of warfare through millennia of battles between demons and angels. The key words there being "described as". When you actually get to face his army in Diablo III most of his forces will simply throw themselves at you and hope to crush you with sheer numbers, and while he has a few moments of tactical genius (such as burrowing his forces into a keep and sneak attacking it from below), his habit of telepathically sending you arrogant taunts often results in him giving away his plans before he puts them into action.
  • Makes more sense when you consider he is the Aspect of Sin, namely, Pride. He assumes he has already won once he invades Sanctuary, and all that's happening is the mop-up of Sanctuary's remaining defenders, when in fact he's actually battling their real army.
• As leader of the Inquisition's military, this is Cullen's job in Dragon Age: Inquisition. In particular, he advises the Inquisitor about how to successfully breach the defenses of Adamant Fortress, and personally oversees the effort to bring the battle to the Venatori in the Arbor Wilds.
• Dwarf Fortress: Ever since the Tactics skill got actual use in Worldgen battles, and the player became capable of sending raids off-site, having a dwarf with high level in it to act as this trope is a valuable thing for both NPC empires and your fortress. While the actual process is heavily abstracted, the game tells how far one side outsmarts the other, and the combat rolls are skewed appropriately; a thorough out-gambitting can lead to even trashy conscripts carving a sizeable dent in an actual army. And skilled, well-equipped warriors at a good Tactician's command can slowly whittle a city to a lifeless ruin with a little insistence.
• The Dynasty Warriors series of games (based on Romance of the Three Kingdoms), has a number of strategist characters that has expanded into an ensemble as the series has gone on:
  • Shu has Zhuge Liang, Pang Tong, Xu Shu, and Fa Zheng.
    • Jiang Wei, true to history, tries to be this but fails pretty miserably.
  • Wu has Zhou Yu, Lu Su, Lu Meng (sort of), and Lu Xun.
  • Wei has Guo Jia, Jia Xu, Xun Yu, Man Chong, and Xun You. In Wei's hypothetical route in 8, Xu Shu also defects to Wei.
    • Sima Yi was the 'main' strategist for Wei until the Jin faction was introduced, after which point this role was taken by Guo Jia and Jia Xu.
  • Jin has Sima Yi and Jia Chong.
    • Sima Yi's sons Sima Shi and Sima Zhao both have an almost innate understanding of tactics, though each with their own flaws. Shi is inflexible, and Zhao is lazy.
  • Among the "Other" characters, Chen Gong served as Lu Bu's strategist even as a generic NPC. As of 8: Xtreme Legends, he's been upgraded to a full character and takes a more prominent role as this.
• EXTRAPOWER: Attack of Darkforce: Werner on Gerstenbüttel fulfills this role as commander of SPICA, and for the heroes when they combine forces. His tactical experience, intelligence and cool-headedness gives him a privileged position to see the bigger picture in a situation to direct the next course of action.
• Fire Emblem:
  • The series' first army tactician is Malledus in Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light, a confidant of Marth's father and his adviser during the war. In Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem, Malledus has fallen ill, and his role is replaced by Jagen.
  • Despite being a Tagalong Kid, Oifey proves himself a capable strategist in the first half of Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War. In the second part, Lewyn takes over the role.
  • August in Fire Emblem: Thracia 776 is hired by Lewyn to advice Leif and his army. He is later joined by Dryan until the latter is killed. The game also has the court bishop of Velthomer, Saias.
  • Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade has the player themself (by means of a character simply called "the tactician", though their default name is Mark) taking on this role, with the other characters directly addressing and asking them for advice. The tactician refrains from battle and only directs others.
  • Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones has Seth act as one, particularly after the route split (in a time where you've finally got an army at your disposal), and his role actually changes depending on which of the two main siblings you're with. With the much less militarily savvy Eirika, he's the primary tactician (though he is later joined with Innes, who is also a strategist). With Ephraim, who is quite the tactician himself, he's more of an assistant, and the two even debate the proper course of action in the cutscenes.
  • Soren in Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance and Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn serves as the tactician for the Greil Mercenaries.
  • The remake of Mystery of the Emblem places Katarina as the Seventh Platoon's tactician until she reveals her true allegiance (though she can be turned back to the heroes' side).
  • Fire Emblem: Awakening:
    • The customizable Avatar, default name Robin, serves as the Shepherds' primary tactician, to the point that their initial class (which can use both swords and magic tomes) is even named "Tactician".
    • The Avatar's child Morgan can also become a Tactician, and is a devoted student of tactics who wants to become a strategist like their parent.
    • Virion is a gifted strategist who's even able to defeat the Avatar in wargames. However, his victories typically have much higher casualties and would be unsustainable in a real-life conflict; as such, he happily leaves the business of tactics and strategy to the Avatar.
    • Excellus is supposed to serve as this for Walhart; however, he's a Smug Snake whose strategies tend to involve copious amounts of threatening his foe's loved ones to force compliance, he's respected by no one on his side, he's almost transparently The Starscream and The Mole for the Grimleal meant to sabotage Walhart from the inside, and Walhart tells him to his face that not only is Robin his superior in every way but that he was well-aware of his duplicity in both senses and only kept him around because it was funny to watch him scheme and fail.
  • In Fire Emblem Fates, Yukimura serves as the primary strategist for the Kingdom of Hoshido; while Iago technically fills this role for the Kingdom of Nohr, Prince Leo is the kingdom's true strategic genius.
  • Byleth, the Avatar of Fire Emblem: Three Houses, quickly proves themselves to be one of Fódlan's finest tacticians, and it's ultimately their involvement that decides which faction comes out on top. Additionally, Hubert is the tactician of the Black Eagles house (second only to the Avatar should they join them), and becomes the chief strategist for the Adrestian Empire after the Time Skip. Claude of the Golden Deer house also gains a reputation for this, gradually becoming known for using unconventional tactics to accomplish his goals and gaining the nickname of "Master Tactician" ("Tabletop Demon" in Japanese) after the Time Skip, though he's thoroughly exasperated by it. The fact that the Blue Lions house lacks a dedicated strategist outside of Byleth on their route (and to a lesser extent Rhea on the Crimson Flower route) is a plot point as without one willing to give Dimitri in his Ax-Crazy state pushback, he'll lead the Kingdom of Faerghus straight to its destruction.
  • The Summoner, default name Kiran, from Fire Emblem Heroes quickly proves themself to be one for the Kingdom of Askr. And since the game is a Crisis Crossover between Fire Emblem games, the heroes summoned on Askr rely on the Summoner for strategy during battle. Many characters also speak highly of their strategic abilities, to the point where some claim that their skills rival that of other legendary Fire Emblem tacticians, such as Saias and Robin.
• Final Fantasy XIV: The Scholar Job is one of the Healer Jobs, and it's flavored as this: the Scholar is a military historian that uncovers the military tactics and combat-healing magics on the ancient Nymian tacticians. Aparently the Nymians were such good strategists that, combined with their healing magic, could succesfully defend their small city state from much larger, more powerful empires until a plague wiped them out.
• Halo:
  • Thel 'Vadam(ee) was considered one of the most dangerous members of the Covenant for this very reason. One of the few advantages Humanity had against the Covenant during the war was how the latter stubbornly refused to use innovative tactics against the former, relying on the sheer technological edge and overpowering legions. Thel 'Vadam was among the few leaders in the Covenant who ignored this handicap by matching/often surpassing the human strategists with unpredictability, leading to multiple victories against them, and he likely would have been one of the driving forces behind humanity's extinction if he hadn't pulled a Heel–Face Turn. This is even more impressive when one realizes the Sangheili race he's a part of usually ostracizes traits like innovation and creativity, yet he managed to develop them on his own.
  • On the human side, Admiral Preston Cole is considered one of the main reasons why humanity lasted as long as it did against the vastly superior Covenant; he never lost a major battle, and his battle record is considered even more impressive than those of the Spartan-IIs.
• The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night: Among the trio leading the Sky Pirates, Scratch is the main brains of the outfit when it comes to directing the pirates' operations, while Sniff is the one who directs the group during combat. Skabb is instead the Dumb Muscle and transportation.
• Mass Effect: Commander Shepard is considered this by reputation; depending on the background, s/he could have single-handedly lead an impromptu defense against an army of Space Pirates, single-handedly survived a Thresher Maw on foot, or have lead an army of soldiers into a successful suicide Zerg Rush victory. In-game, s/he is praised by his/her squadmates and superiors for being an excellent leader, though that comes down to the player's skill, especially in the second game when you take on the suicide mission. In the Omega DLC for Mass Effect 3, notorious and egotistical criminal warlord Aria T'Loak justifies putting herself under Shepard's command by saying his/her tactical skill is the reason she brought them along.
• In Mitsumete Knight, Meehilbis of the Ghosts is the strategist of the enemy mercenary brigade, Valpha-Valaharian ; he's so skilled, even when he loses the battle he personnally fights in (even eventually losing his life by your character's hands), he manages to pull off a master Batman Gambit that decimates one third of Dolphan's army, making this battle a Pyrrhic Victory for Dolphan.
• Myth 2: Soulblighter has you find The Deceiver, an enemy from the first game. He is responsible for a number of seemingly insane plans which both radically improve your side's power and cripple the enemy.
• Nintendo Wars: The first Advance Wars casts the player as a "special advisor". Nell, Commander-in-Chief of Orange Star has this reputation in the first three games, but it's implied that her abilities have about as much to do with her absurd luck as her tactical skill. The bad guys have Hawke, who does virtually all of Black Hole's tactical heavily lifting. He's so good that, while his subordinates are getting their asses handed to them by the nations they're trying to take over, he's single-handedly crushing Green Earth, and it takes a coalition of all three of the other nations to stop him.
• The lore of the Pokémon games is a world of Spirited Competitor and Blood Knight monsters where humans earn their keep through superior technology and providing tactics to win battle. In practice, most players just raise one monster to a high level and slaughter all opposition until it runs out of energy, type matchups and other finesses be damned. Pokémon Black and White combated this practice by making experience gain proportional to the level of the monsters battling, making raising a monster's level much higher than the opposition a very time-consuming process, making more players rely on tactics.
• This is the role of Vertin, the protagonist of Reverse: 1999. As the Timekeeper, she is immune to the effects of the reality destroying and warping "Storm" which helps her lead and coordinate others who are more vulnerable, she can get the aide of several others across time periods (represented by the gacha "Summoning" feature), and has access to special "Tunings" that can turn the tide of combat. In the midst of a fight, she never attacks directly (outside of story cutscenes), instead coordinating her up to 3-4 person team's incantations to maximum effect; this is represented by the player shuffling and playing cards, with the character's voice lines implying that they're being given orders directly by Vertin and are willing to comply.
• Similarly, Samurai Warriors has several:
  • Ieyasu Tokugawa grows into one as he becomes a more skilled general, masterminding his eventual rise to power, culminating in his planning of the Siege of Osaka, ending the last Toyotomi threat to his rule.
  • Father and son team Motonari Mori and Takakage Kobayakawa are shown to be so prodigiously talented that they can hold their own against Hideyoshi Toyotomi Hideyoshi himself.
  • Hanbei Takenaka and Kanbei Kuroda both count and act as another strategist team.
  • Sakon Shima for Shingen Takeda, and then for Mitsunari Ishida.
  • Shingen Takeda was feared for his cunning in battle.
  • Kojuro Katakura is this for the Date clan. His strategies keep Masamune from getting killed due to his recklessness.
  • Masayuki Sanada is said to be one of the great strategists in the Sengoku era. His strategies during the Battle of Ueda Castle gave Hidetada Tokugawa a crushing defeat and prevented him from aiding his father in Sekigahara.
• In Sengoku Basara, we have Hanbe and Kanbe, strategists of the Toyotomi army (since their boss is better at punching than thinking). Kanbe also has the dubious honor of being titled "The Inadequate Tactician". Otherwise, Kojuro comes up with most of the Date army's strategies, and Motonari is more known for his genius than for his fighting skills.
• In StarCraft and its expansion pack Brood War, this is what the player character is. During mission briefings you will routinely be spoken to directly, with Raynor, the Overmind, Fenix, and Kerrigan being particularly fond of doing so. While most of these 'characters' are never referenced outside of your role as them, if you look deep enough into the lore, it becomes clear that your character in the original Protoss campaign is Artanis (a hero unit in BW and StarCraft II) and that in Brood War you play as Selendis (another SC2 hero).
• Suikoden has at least one strategist per game, whose help the Kid Hero must seek out. The Silverbergs are a family of strategists who have helped shape the history of the games. Lucretia Merces, the advisor for Suikoden V, dresses in robes and often carries a feather fan (perhaps as a Shout-Out to her spiritual predecessor, Zhuge Liang). She's also the only strategist in the series with no known connection to the Silverberg family at all.
• Total War: Pharaoh: Tausret is portrayed as a strategic genius, and both her quotes and things others say to her emphasize this. Mechanically, this is represented by economic strength and by a superior ability to manipulate the court and turn intrigues against her back on their originators.
• Triangle Strategy: Benedict, Steward of House Wolfort, is this for the player character's team, both in gameplay and story. Gameplay-wise, his end-game class is "Master Strategist", and he focuses on boosting your units and allowing them to act more often or sooner. Story-wise, he is the one who comes up with plans, and the narration itself presents him as a cunning tactician, thoroughly dedicated to House Wolffort.
• Valkyria Chronicles: The original game has Welkin Gunther. Who knew a guy who prefers to spend hours watching and drawing animals and plants could make use of his vast knowledge of nature to transform a Ragtag Bunch of Misfits in a Badass Army?
• Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader: The Officer, Master Tactician, and Grand Strategist archetypes all fit this role, based around creating party buffs, netting extra turns, and unleashing powerful stratagems. The Commissar, Navy Officer, and Astra Militarum Commander origins also fit this role strongly, with abilities to make the most out of the party's skills and keep them moving.
• In XCOM, Player Character The Commander was renowned for their tactical genius, to the point that they were abducted by the aliens in XCOM 2 and used as a Wetware CPU to guide their troops.
• Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Taion is the strategist among the main heroes. He's always the guy thinking ahead, formulating plans, and is usually the first of the group to see through any tricks or traps the enemy tries on them. His default class is even called "Tactician". There is a downside to it though: his natural inclination towards suspicion and caution also means he's the slowest of the group to open up and learn to trust the others.
• In Yggdra Union, Bly is a textbook example. He refuses to go with the Royal Army because he's too old for war and travel, but his granddaughter Mistel goes with you in his place. The Imperial Army has Nessiah, who also serves this role in Blaze Union; Mistel and Nessiah are both more than willing to take to the battlefield and participate in achieving victory.