Which of the villains (redeemed and not) are the most intelligent?

[Vlazamal 338]

A villain is usually only as strong as their efficiency with the application of their assets, whether it be emotional leverage or magical powers. Villains usually fail because of oversight or a lack of intelligence or being inevitably destroyed by the Elements of Harmony. Which MLP villains are the strongest when it comes to intelligence?

[Denim&Venöm 16,509]

Well considering she has yet to be redeemed or vanquished, I'd say best bug horse tactician, Queen Chrysalis. 

 

[Wonderbolt Slipstream 263]

 

31 minutes ago, Vlazamal said:

A villain is usually only as strong as their efficiency with the application of their assets, whether it be emotional leverage or magical powers. Villains usually fail because of oversight or a lack of intelligence or being inevitably destroyed by the Elements of Harmony. Which MLP villains are the strongest when it comes to intelligence?

Queen Chrysalis is looking like the best choice, her use of magical knowledge and tactics made her almost win 2 planned invasions, sure they failed in the end but they initially succeeded in the beginning.

Edited July 11, 2018 by Wonderbolt Slipstream

[Denim&Venöm 16,509]

1 minute ago, Wonderbolt Slipstream said:

Sombra wasn't redeemed, neither was Storm King.

 

19 minutes ago, Denim&Venom said:

Well considering she has yet to be redeemed or vanquished, I'd say best bug horse tactician, Queen Chrysalis. 

 

[Wonderbolt Slipstream 263]

Just now, Denim&Venom said:

 

 

Ah, my mistake, I'll delete my comment.

[AlicornSpell 142]

I think that Tirek is the most intelligent. I mean look at all the stuff that he accomplished.

[Nightfall Thunder 1,937]

I'd actually say Tirek. He was able to manipulate Discord and would've won if not for the friendship power which he could not have known about.

On the other hand, Queen Chrysalis let here cockiness get the best of her and, in to where and back, completely looked over discord and starlight, who were both immensely powerful... I guess she overlooked trixie too.

[King of Canterlot 9,588]

I would have to say Tirek, the only way they were able to stop him was with the element of harmony, but if those didn't exist, Equestria as we know it would have been screwed. 

He's so powerful he doesn't really even need much more of a plan other than suck everyone dry of their magic until he's powerful enough to confront the princesses and take their magic. He came extremely close to doing that, but again the elements stopped him. Though I'm sure if something were to get in his way, he could easily come up with a plan to get around it, he did after all manage to get Discord to join his side, so he is a persuasive talker.   

[DonMaguz 1,023]

Starlight Glimmer handed over her victory. She planned perfectly to avoid facing Twilight with her friends. She conceded defeat only because her beliefs were shaken, but the victory was hers to take.

[Phosphorous 135]

King Sombra was the smartest because instead of direct tactics, he used psychological tactics to make the ponies defeat themselves. One of the ways, he held the crystal empire for one thousand years was by having ponies to see their fears. His work was focused on changing how ponies perceive the world, and making himself seem more powerful than he actually is, as a looming shadow in pony minds.

If Celestia is a villain, she is by far the smartest. Just like Sombra, she makes everyone believe she's more powerful than she actually is. She made them believe that she was the only pony that can lift the sun. However, unlike Sombra, she keeps a positive persona. This makes her subjects not resent her. Unlike Sombra, who avoid confrontation by appearing threatening, Celestia avoids confrontation by appearing as an essential part of Equestrian society. By claiming that she is the only one that can move the sun, she is threatening that if anyone should try to confront her, she can make Equestria suffer an eternal night, and end life as we know it.

[Thrond 3,257]

Tirek, maybe. He had no reason to know about the magic box, and aside from that, he pretty cleverly exploited Discord, and convinced Twilight to give him the alicorn magic. And unlike Starlight, who also planned pretty well, he didn't even bother to come up with any sort of warped justification for himself. 

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,151]

I tend to see Sombra as the most intelligent due to his traps, pre-planning, control of citizens through fear (even before he breached Cadence's wall), overall clever hiding spot for the crystal heart, and NOT rushing his enemies or overestimating his abilities. Like a spider waiting for it's prey; he waiting patiently until Cadence strength was sapped before making his move. Had Spike not had accompanied Twilight she would've been stuck in that trance; frozen in fear and it's entirely conceivable that Sombra would've been victorious.

[Narcissus 352]

Nightmare Moon was the most intelligent. There wasn't any reason to take into account the elements of harmony, and her attempts to weaken the ponies by playing to their weaknesses was solid. It didn't turn out, but she gave it a good shot.

Chrysalis is a good contender though. She's held on longer than the others which is quite a feat in the MLP universe. 

Starlight Glimmer also had a good thing going before she was shot down. She really worked great as a bad guy. 

I'm going to give it to Nightmare for the win though. She seems to have the most going on upstairs. 

[Lazy Crazy 3]

Discord was the first to cross my mind. He was a brilliant villian. He almost destroyed the core of the elements of harmony - the friendship of their bearers and the qualities that made them earn them in the first place. If he only took a good care of Celestia it would be a finished deal.

Then, of course, Chrysalis, since she hasn't been completely defeated and/or reformed yet. She did have the best strategy, she used a perfect opportunity and fooled everyone - even Celestia herself, and Twilight, the only one who doubted her, gave up on her said doubts and apologised. Her defeat was out of pure luck of Shining and Cadence.

And also Starlight Glimmer. In a season 5 opening she was amazing - a clever brainwashing unicorn. But in the end of the same season she became overpowered (A unicorn stronger than an alicorn princess and an element of magic. Uh huh), redeemed with a cheesy speech and yeah...

[EpicEnergy 22,074]

I'd say Starlight was the most intelligent villain, considering she almost succeeded in erasing everything the mane six did.

[Splashee 28,537]

100% sure it is Tirek that is the most intelligent and therefore not redeemable. A villain that knows when being tricked by the good side is of course quite intelligent.

[Tom Gallagher 33,521]

Tirek is the one with the most depth and the most intelligence. Sombra and his ability to manipulate would be there too if it wasn’t for Season Nine.