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(Import from TV Tropes TVT:Main.MaryTzu 2012-07-01, editor history TVTH:Main.MaryTzu, CC-BY-SA 3.0 Unported license) |
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More common in works revolving around warfare, a Mary Tzu is a character, usually a military commander, with unrealistic tactical abilities. She (or he; actually more often he, [[Just for Pun|we just couldn't pass up the pun]]) can pull a win out of any battle no matter how outnumbered, outgunned, or outmatched, she can guess any enemy commander's plan no matter how convoluted or how little information she has to work from, and any plan she comes up with will work perfectly, often employing [[Hollywood Tactics]], resulting in total enemy defeat and another smashing success for General Tzu's track record. As per the standard [[Mary Sue]] traits, such a character is usually treated as a paragon and/or revered by the other characters. Sometimes she comes complete with a [[Big Book of War]], possibly written by her.
To be clear, this trope only deals with ''unrealistically'' good tacticians. ''Merely great'' commanders wouldn't apply, as long as they're fallible, or if they're written well enough to make their victories seem plausible. If it looks like they play [[Gambit Roulette]] instead of [[The Plan|more sound and realistic plans]] you've got a Mary Tzu.
In some respects, one could argue that this is a case where "[[Show, Don't Tell
Sometimes, this character will merely be a plot device, but other times it can be piled onto the [[Common Mary Sue Traits]] of your [[Improbable Age|fourteen year old]] [[
Named for [[Sun Tzu]], a [[Real Life]] (maybe) [
Compare to [[The Chessmaster]] or [[The Strategist]], which are for masterminds that push, but don't destroy, [[Willing Suspension of Disbelief]]. Also see [[Hollywood Tactics]] and [[Idiot Ball]] as (like all [[Mary Sue]] types), Mary Tzu's main ability is to make everyone else incompetent so that she looks good.
{{noexamples|[[Mary Sue Tropes]] are by their nature [[:Category:YMMV Trope|YMMV Tropes]], and we don't need the flamewars.}}
{{reflist}}
[[Category:
[[Category:Wish Fulfillment]]▼
[[Category:Gambit Index]]
[[Category:Home Page/YMMV]]▼
[[Category:Military and Warfare Tropes]]▼
[[Category:Gambit Index/Sandbox]]▼
[[Category:Just for Pun]]
▲[[Category:Military and Warfare Tropes]]
▲[[Category:Wish Fulfillment]]
[[Category:YMMV Trope]]
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