10 Smartest Villain Plans In Doctor Who
3. Rassilon (The Five Doctors)
As one of the founders of Time Lord society, it was important that Rassilon maintained his position. So he designed a test – The Game of Rassilon – for anyone who sought to usurp him. And, in fairness, it worked.
The challenge? To reach Rassilon's tomb in the Death Zone on Gallifrey. The reward? The Ring of Rassilon, which bestows immortality upon its wearer.
At least, this is what fellow Time Lord Borusa understood The Game of Rassilon to be. But there was a catch. A riddle, hidden in plain sight, inscribed on an obelisk in the tomb: "To lose is to win, and he who wins shall lose.”
Though that clearly sounds like a warning, Borusa doesn't care one bit. As he discovers, the Ring of Rassilon does indeed grant its wearer immortality, albeit not in the form of perpetual regeneration, but perpetual imprisonment – as a mummified face on the side of Rassilon's sarcophagus.
It’s quite different to the other plans on this list, since the Doctor was quite happy to stand back and let it reach fruition, but no less ingenious.