History Main / XanatosGambit

* [[GlorySeeker Narcissa Richmond]] manages to pull off one of these in ''Literature/GrandmasterOfTheft''. [[spoiler: [[BigBad Deus]] manipulates her to challenge the Grandmaster to steal Undine's Tear from her. Just in case his plan didn't work and she lost, she brought a replica. By having the real one on her, she then claims to have fought off the Grandmaster and get the exact same fame she wanted in first place through challenging.]]

** For a modern example of this trope in action, look no further than Tearlament, especially during the times when products like the core set ''Darkwing Blast'' and box set ''Magnificent Maidens'' were released. The archetype’s goal is to Fusion Summon a ton of monsters, and has multiple ways to get 3 of their monsters with said Fusion Summoning effects- Havnis, Merrli, & Scheiren -into the GY by card effects in order to use said effects. Wanna run them over to not trigger their effects? Their big fusions, Rulkallos & Kaleido-Heart, are too big to handle and the former shields all of your other Aqua monsters from battle destruction. You take them out by card effects? Better hope they don’t hit the GY, otherwise cue triggers of those Fusion Summoning effects, as well as the effects of those Fusions, and just about every card effect in the archetype. You try to deck them out? 2 monsters that are retrained versions of Ishizu Ishtar’s popular picks can quickly shuffle back sent cards, giving the deck enough gas to keep going, and you trigger said effects anyway. Going first and setting up an unbreakable board? Havnis is an archetypal handtrap that sends cards from the hand and Deck to GY, and heaven forbid it sends 1 or even both of the other 2 retrained monsters, let alone any Tear cards.

* In ''WesternAnimation/Shrek1'', when the titular ogre approaches Lord Farquaad after he dumped off a load fairy tale creatures in his swamp, Farquaad offers to return ownership of his swamp to him in exchange for bringing him Princess Fiona. If Shrek fails, then Farquaad will be rid of the ogre, and if Shrek succeeds, then Farquaad gets Fiona without having to risk his life going through the dragon's keep.[[note]]Unfortunately, the plan doesn't work out that way because Shrek ends up falling in love with Fiona, and viceversa[[/note]]

At its most basic, the Xanatos Gambit assumes two possible outcomes for [[UnwittingPawn the one manipulated]] -- success or failure. The plan is designed in such a way that [[MortonsFork either outcome will ultimately further the plotter's goals]]. A more complex view is offered by the study of probability in which such a gambit is known as a Dutch Book and involves securing bets such that regardless of the outcome the bookie will always pay out less than was bet.

Since the Xanatos Gambit can involve an obvious goal's apparent failure, this is a convenient device in an ongoing series to let the villain occasionally win (preventing VillainDecay) while still giving the heroes a climactic pseudo-victory. It can also be a demonstration of EvilVirtues and possibly a forerunner to a HeelFaceTurn (as in the {{Trope Namer|s}}); a Xanatos Gambit often involves foregoing a large win in favor of a smaller easier win, showing that the villain is capable of being patient and humble.

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Shrek}}'', when the titular ogre approaches Lord Farquaad after he dumped off a load fairy tale creatures in his swamp, Farquaad offers to return ownership of his swamp to him in exchange for bringing him Princess Fiona. If Shrek fails, then Farquaad will be rid of the ogre, and if Shrek succeeds, then Farquaad gets Fiona without having to risk his life going through the dragon's keep.[[note]]Unfortunately, the plan doesn't work out that way because Shrek ends up falling in love with Fiona, and viceversa[[/note]]

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Frozen|2013}}'': Some XanatosSpeedChess is necessary at first due to changing circumstances, but as of Anna's departure from the palace, a regular gambit is in motion: [[spoiler:Hans leads Arendelle through the crisis while both queen and princess are absent, becoming a public hero. Option 1: Neither survive (despite Hans eventually mounting his own heroic efforts to find them), so there is no official heir and he will be supported in taking the throne. Option 2: Anna survives but Elsa dies, so he can marry Anna unimpeded and let the naïve princess be a PuppetQueen to his [[EvilChancellor Evil Consort]]. Option 3: Elsa survives but Anna dies, so Elsa's one supporter is gone and she can be blamed for everything and executed, turning it into Option 1. Option 4: Both return, but public support will now favor Hans over Elsa and she'll ''have'' to let him marry Anna; an [[MakeItLookLikeAnAccident accident]] for the feared queen can be arranged later to turn it into Option 2. Hans nearly gets Option 3, but [[SpannerInTheWorks with Olaf's help]], Anna stayed unfrozen long enough to derail things]].
* Part A of Syndrome's scheme in ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles''. He sends superhero after superhero against his Omni-Droid, and records everything. If the hero dies, well and good. If not, then he takes everything he learned, builds a better version of the Omni-Droid to take that into account, and the hero dies next time. When Mr Incredible accesses Syndrome's files, he sees how this has happened over and over; each version of the droid will kill a number of heroes, fail and die, then its successor kills the hero responsible and takes out the next few. By the time Syndrome sends Mr Incredible after the droid, it's gone through eight versions ([[spoiler:and then it learns from Mr Incredible himself and becomes strong enough to beat him as the ninth, with the ultimate tenth version as the sum of all its experiences]]). And due to the scenario presented, no one thinks there's a need to question the droid's source.
* In ''LightNovel/TheIrregularAtMagicHighSchool: The Girl Who Calls The Stars'', Navy scientists make a meteorite strike Earth as part of their attempts to recreate an illegal experiment. If the meteor hits, they know they got the experiment right. If it is magically disintegrated, they know that the Japanese army secretly has someone '''very''' powerful at their command.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Frozen|2013}}'': Some XanatosSpeedChess is necessary at first due to changing circumstances, but as of Anna's departure from the palace, a regular gambit is in motion: [[spoiler:Hans leads Arendelle through the crisis while both queen and princess are absent, becoming a public hero. Option 1: Neither survive (despite Hans eventually mounting his own heroic efforts to find them), so there is no official heir and he will be supported in taking the throne. Option 2: Anna survives but Elsa dies, so he can marry Anna unimpeded and let the naïve princess be a PuppetQueen to his [[EvilChancellor Evil Consort]]. Option 3: Elsa survives but Anna dies, so Elsa's one supporter is gone and she can be blamed for everything and executed, turning it into Option 1. Option 4: Both return, but public support will now favor Hans over Elsa and she'll ''have'' to let him marry Anna; an [[ MakeItLookLikeAnAccident accident]] for the feared queen can be arranged later to turn it into Option 2. Hans nearly gets Option 3, but [[SpannerInTheWorks with Olaf's help]], Anna stayed unfrozen long enough to derail things]].

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Frozen|2013}}'': Some XanatosSpeedChess is necessary at first due to changing circumstances, but as of Anna's departure from the palace, a regular gambit is in motion: [[spoiler:Hans leads Arendelle through the crisis while both queen and princess are absent, becoming a public hero. Option 1: Neither survive (despite Hans eventually mounting his own heroic efforts to find them), so there is no official heir and he will be supported in taking the throne. Option 2: Anna survives but Elsa dies, so he can marry Anna unimpeded and let the naïve princess be a PuppetQueen to his [[EvilChancellor Evil Consort]]. Option 3: Elsa survives but Anna dies, so Elsa's one supporter is gone and she can be blamed for everything and executed, turning it into Option 1. Option 4: Both return, but public support will now favor Hans over Elsa and she'll ''have'' to let him marry Anna; an accident to the feared queen can be arranged later to turn it into Option 2. Hans nearly gets Option 3, but [[SpannerInTheWorks with Olaf's help]], Anna stayed unfrozen long enough to derail things]].

* In TabletopGame/{{Bridge}}, with the number of different varieties of coups, endplays, and the like, it's quite possible to make sure you make your contract (or your opponents lose their contract) no matter what is played, despite said contract appearing to be hopeless (or completely solid). The most common variety would be the endplay (by intentionally losing a trick to opponents, you force an opponent to give you at least two more tricks due to lack of leads), but the squeeze play (where an opponent is forced to discard too many cards, allowing their good cards to be easily captured) and the coup (generally a play to force a foe into promoting one of your other cards) also frequently work like this. The defense can also pull these off, although generally not as easily.
* Frequently the primary style behind the Scorpion Clan in ''TabletopGame/LegendOfTheFiveRings'', both in game mechanics and in storyline, consist of losing to win. Attacking them politically means they indulge in slander and blackmail; attacking them militarily means they lay horrific traps and pull you into impossible wars all the while. This has proven to be a catch-22 for the writers, as it's a Wall Banger if the clan doesn't salvage anything from a defeat, and if they're never truly defeated. They're also notorious for claiming everything is AllAccordingToPlan, even unambiguous defeats.

* Setting up and spotting small-scale Xanatos Gambits up is a useful skill in TabletopGame/{{Chess}}. Many a novice, and more than a few experienced players, have gotten just ''a little too eager'' in [[SchmuckBait grabbing that one extra pawn]] or [[UnwittingPawn attacking the obvious weakness in the enemy's position]] and [[OhCrap realized only too late]] that it was AllAccordingToPlan.

** Tzeentch is the gambit personified, since he would cease to exist if his gambits stopped. As long as one of his gambits exist, he has already succeeded. This leads into his ultimate Achilles Heel: he doesn't have one giant plan, but multiple, mutually-exclusive ones, so every victory for him is also a loss, and vice-versa[[note]][=W40K=] is the type of 'verse where SummonBiggerFish applies to ''everything'', up to and including plans; Tzeentch has a bad habit of Summoning Bigger Gambits against ''himself''[[/note]].

* Wrestling/BretHart pulled this off in his WWF Championship match against Wrestling/TheUndertaker with Special Guest Referee Wrestling/ShawnMichaels at ''[[Wrestling/SummerSlam WWF Sumerslam: Hart and Soul]]''. Near the end of the match, Hart would spit on Michaels, provoking him to grab a chair to hit him, only for Hart to duck. Resulting in Michaels hitting Taker instead. Had his plan succeeded (which it did), Hart would be able to easily win the title with Michaels forced to count the fall under the threat that he would not be able to wrestle on American soil if he screwed over Hart. Had it backfired, while he may have lost the match, Hart could possibly gain a rematch on the grounds of being screwed over by Michaels, who would be barred from wrestling in the states. Effectively eliminating his ArchEnemy once and for all. As an added bonus, [[SmallRoleBigImpact this would mark the start]] of the feud between Taker and Michaels, which would eventually lead to the first-ever Hell in a Cell match.

* Connect 4 is generally won through a Xanatos gambit: by setting up two sequences right next to each other, either the other player blocks your first one and allows the second, or ignores both and so allows the first.
* Tic Tac Toe, capture 3 of the 4 corners to assure that you will win regardless. While not always a board game (in fact, it's usually drawn with paper and pencil), a so-called "double-trap" in Tic-tac-toe is one of the most obvious Xanatos gambits.

* The Chinese game of Go makes this OlderThanDirt, as the game is believed to be the oldest game still being played (at least 2,500 years old), as well as having many situations where both players are doing this simultaneously.

* Wrestling/BretHart pulled this off in his WWF Championship match against Wrestling/TheUndertaker with Special Guest Referee Wrestling/ShawnMichaels at ''[[Wrestling/SummerSlam WWE Sumerslam: Hart and Soul]]''. Near the end of the match, Hart would spit on Michaels, provoking him to grab a chair to hit him, only for Hart to duck. Resulting in Michaels hitting Taker instead. Had his plan succeeded (which it did), Hart would be able to easily win the title with Michaels forced to count the fall under the threat that he would not be able to wrestle on American soil if he screwed over Hart. Had it backfired, while he may have lost the match, Hart could possibly gain a rematch on the grounds of being screwed over by Michaels, who would be barred from wrestling in the states. Effectively eliminating his ArchEnemy once and for all. As an added bonus, [[SmallRoleBigImpact this would mark the start]] of the feud between Taker and Michaels, which would eventually lead to the first-ever Hell in a Cell match.

* A {{retcon}} of two different [[EvilPlan Evil Plans]] of [[Characters/MarvelComicsThanos Thanos]] that were foiled by Kazar and Thor (respectively) established them as Xanatos Gambits. Thanos was in fact using the two situations to secretly study Kazar's HeroicResolve and Mangog's power source of a countless souls, information he would later use to devise the most effective stratagem for his upcoming showdown with the death god known as The Walker.

Since the Xanatos Gambit can involve an obvious goal's apparent failure, this is a convenient device in an ongoing series to let the villain occasionally win (preventing VillainDecay) while still giving the heroes a climactic pseudo-victory. It can also be a demonstration of EvilVirtues and possibly a forerunner to a HeelFaceTurn (as in the TropeNamer); a Xanatos Gambit often involves foregoing a large win in favor of a smaller easier win, showing that the villain is capable of being patient and humble.

* Frequently the primary style behind the Scorpion Clan in ''TabletopGame/LegendOfTheFiveRings'', both in game mechanics and in storyline, consist of losing to win. Attacking them politically means they indulge in slander and blackmail; attacking them militarily means they lay horrific traps and pull you into impossible wars all the while. This has proven to be a catch-22 for the writers, as it's a Wall Banger if the clan doesn't salvage anything from a defeat, and if they're never truly defeated. They're also notorious for claiming everything is JustAsPlanned, even unambiguous defeats.

* ''Franchise/GreenLantern'':

* ''ComicBook/TheJoker'''s entire existence is this at the expense of the [[ComicBook/{{Batman}} Caped Crusader]]. If Batman doesn't come after him, Joker can do whatever he pleases with impunity: Joker wins. If Batman beats him and throws him into [[CardboardPrison Arkham]] or does something else to incapacitate him, [[JokerImmunity Joker just escapes]], and he had gotten to have a playdate with Batsy again (and kill a bunch of people in the meantime): Joker wins. If Batman kills him, Joker has [[IfYouKillHimYouWillBeJustLikeHim corrupted him]]: Joker wins.
* In one ''Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica'' story, the Key traps the League in hallucinatory fake realities, with their inevitable escape being an important component of his EvilPlan. Having them trapped happened to be beneficial for him, but he was also counting on their escape. Unfortunately for him, [[spoiler:[[SpannerInTheWorks he didn't count on]] [[ComicBook/GreenArrow Connor Hawke]]'s appearance]].

* A {{retcon}} of two different [[EvilPlan Evil Plans]] of ComicBook/{{Thanos}} that were foiled by Kazar and Thor (respectively) established them as Xanatos Gambits. Thanos was in fact using the two situations to secretly study Kazar's HeroicResolve and Mangog's power source of a countless souls, information he would later use to devise the most effective stratagem for his upcoming showdown with the death god known as The Walker.
* The first story arc of ComicBook/TitansRebirth had Abra Kadabra plan against ComicBook/WallyWest by threatening to kill Linda Park and having his minions target the other Titans. Either Wally didn't save any of them, and suffered for it, or he saves them all at once by running so fast that he re-imprisons himself back into the Speed Force, so either way Abra benefits. The latter ends up the option, but Wally redirects his focus from Linda to the other Titans so they can pull him out, allowing Abra himself to be trapped in the Speed Force.

* ''WesternAnimation/ThePrincessAndTheFrog:'' If [[BigBad Facilier]] wins, his "[[DealWithTheDevil friends]]" get the souls of everyone in New Orleans. If he loses...well, they seem so ''gleeful'' when he loses that [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation some fans suspect]] that [[spoiler:[[YouHaveFailedMe dragging him off]] to "the Other Side"]] may have been their goal the whole time.

* This can occur in ''TabletopGame/{{Paranoia}}''. However, both SpannerInTheWorks and GambitPileUp can also occur, resulting in failed gambits all around. The Computer manages a brilliant one by sending Troubleshooters on missions. If the mission succeeds, the plans of The Computer's enemies are set back. If it fails, it was clearly due to sabotage by Commie Mutant Traitors, as the loyal team members will happily point out to Friend Computer; these traitors can then be executed. If a team doesn't come back at all, then they were clearly incompetent and The Computer is better off with a new team. The Computer always wins.

** Note that this only applies to Tzeentch himself: his followers and daemons are quite often the victims of some of these turnabouts (and can get quite miffed at being backstabbed by the god of hope, sorcery, mutation and betrayal), resulting in the JustAsPlanned / Not As Planned memes.

* In ''Theatre/{{Hamlet}}'', we have King Claudius and Laerites' plan to kill Hamlet. The plan was to get Hamlet and Laerites into a fencing match with Laerites using a poison-tipped foil. At the same time, Claudius would have a goblet of poisoned wine to offer Hamlet to drink. Either Laerites would stab Hamlet or Hamlet would drink the goblet; either way, Hamlet dies and they both have a thorn removed from their sides. While Laerites is able to stab Hamlet, neither he nor Claudius are able to celebrate as [[HoistByTheirOwnPetard Hamlet stabs Laerites with the poisoned foil and forces Claudius to drink the goblet after being stabbed himself]]. For added DidntThinkThisThrough, Queen Gertrude also dies from the poisoned wine due to unwittingly drinking it in Hamlet's stead.

* ''Literature/ThreeHundredThirtyHoursRevolution'': [[spoiler:Jack pulls a big one during the story, as he reveals in his speech to Dr. Gold. He planned everything out from the beginning allowing himself to be captured so he could declare war on Dr. Gold. Met up with every single soldier disguised and manipulated and tricked into telling him what he planned. He then faked their deaths by placing the battle in a location where there were no security cameras and developed a hallucinatory drug that he gave to the soldiers a week in advance while giving his team antidotes, so the soldiers would think they were killing the rebels. And to top it off stole all of the government’s special grenades.]]
* In ''The Daily Victim'', Fargo seems [[http://archive.gamespy.com/dailyvictim/index.asp?id=490 very fond of the Gambit]].

* Parodied by Adam in Episode 9 of ''WebVideo/MaddisonAtkins''.

* In the ''ComicBook/NewGods'', {{ComicBook/Darkseid}} and Highfather exchanged their sons as part of a cease-fire treaty between Apokolips and New Genesis. Darkseid immediately handed Highfather's son over to Granny Goodness and ordered her to put him through twice the torture that the other orphans on Apokolips endure under her "care". Darkseid knew that the increased torment would push the newly christened Scott Free (the future Mr. Miracle) to escape Apokolips at any cost. This would violate the terms of the treaty and give Darkseid an excuse to retaliate. In the meantime, Darkseid is secure in the knowledge that his hated enemy's son is going through hell. (Unfortunately for Darkseid, he didn't count on the fact that both Mr. Miracle ''and'' Orion, his son who he had given to Highfather, would later become two of his worst enemies, and cause him more grief than he could have ever imagined.)

* In ''ComicBook/TheSandman'' volume ''The Doll's House'', Dream's [[{{Hermaphrodite}} sibling]], Desire, as part of their eons-long feud with Dream, launches a plot to hurt him by tearing apart his realm: [[spoiler: during Dream's imprisonment, Desire discovered that the comatose Unity Kinkaid was a "vortex" (a mortal whose existence causes the Dreaming to break down, destroying the world unless he or she is killed,) but was currently harmless because she was unconscious. Desire secretly raped and impregnated the sleeping Unity, which, unbeknownst to Dream, caused the power of the Vortex to be passed on to Desire and Unity's granddaughter, Rose Walker. If Dream did not kill Rose, the vortex would tear apart the Dreaming, but if he had killed her then shedding the blood of a family member (even if he didn't know she was family,) would have unleashed the Furies to ravage the Dreaming anyway. Ultimately, the various players manage to TakeAThirdOption, but only by using a method which Dream himself didn't know was possible, and without which Desire's plan would have worked flawlessly]].