LK, the whole of Warcraft was his plan , he betrayed Kiljaeden/Archimonde and lived to tell the tale. He manipulated Arthas, the kings son to pretty much become the downfall of Lorderon AND eventually his vessel.
He also pretty much controls all his minsions through mental power alone, I think hes the conciousness of thousands of undead that he controls to do his bidding.
The Lich King is innitially a mortal man as well. He then pulled Kil'Jaedens nose and became the Lich King.
I think this is an "I am smarter than you" contest. Ganondorf seem more creative than the Lich King, but in long term, I think true brilliance can be found in the Lich King. His manipulation of Arthas was genius. Let us not forget that Arthas went out to stop the Scourge, then held the tool to do so in his hands, only to turn it over to the Lich King and at the same time give him a body.
Thing is Ganon has been defeated again and again, LK has had times of vulnerability but more recently his only defeat is something he could never have forseen/fought against.
Gender: Male Location: 1/9.7'rd Horseman of the Apocalypse
The only thing Ganon loses to in Zelda is something he can't foresee or fight against.
In OoT and TP he had no prior knowledge. (split timelines).
In WW he /needed/ Link tp have the mastersword to unseal his power, and couldn't kill him before that, and afterward, werll.. Link had the sword.
Unlike the LK he usually also starts off with vast advantages over his opponents, when he had the trueforce and transformed the sacred realm he still invaded with armies and was defeated and sealed.
In other games he has control over most of the world, has large armies and monsters. Like the LK he spends too much time not stopping threats himself before they can blossom, difference is this was also the LK plan, Ganon never planned to allow Link to get so powerful in each game.
Well, there are no such godly relics like the Triforce scattered around Azeroth for the Lich King to go after.
He had power of three "Sargerases" and still managed to get defeated and sealed by some knights and wise men. That is a fail of truly cosmic proportions. His fall was bigger than his rise.
__________________ And from the ashes he rose, like a black cloud. The Sin of one became the Sin of many.
Another good point, given supreme power (arguable) he still slips up. Give LK the power of 3 sargeras and I dont see him getting defeated by anyone on Azeroth. Certainly not a few knights/mages.
Gender: Male Location: 1/9.7'rd Horseman of the Apocalypse
Unfortunately for him, there's nothing he can do. His hands are tied where this weapon is concerned.
The "three sargeras's" is only applicable to the triforce, which split when he touched it, leaving him without that kind of power, but the power that made him immortal is just that. He later assembles it, and the imprisoning war is being downplayed. The sages are "old men" in the same sense that Medivh is, and the master sword, as always, was there, in the hands of Link.
Comparing his rise to his fall:
Mortal ruler of a desert to deity to evil in a can.
Medivh would be completely powerless against Sargeras. Frankly, comparing any one piece of the Triforce or Ganondorf to the power of Sargeras is like comparing a firecracker to a nuke.
__________________ And from the ashes he rose, like a black cloud. The Sin of one became the Sin of many.
Gender: Male Location: 1/9.7'rd Horseman of the Apocalypse
I never claimed one piece = Sargeras, only that the whole = three.
The triforce works as follows: It contains the power of the thre e goddesses, each the equivelant of a member of the Warcraft pantheon. As a fail safe, when touched by someone who's heart is out of balance, it splits, leaving them with a single piece, which is not as powerful as a goddess. They still get to make one wish before it scatters, however, and that single wish will be backed by the full power of all three goddesses.
This kind of power is only accessable when the triofrce is whole, when it's seperate, it becomes that firecracker you mentioned. The Person who innitially touched it keeps one piece, and the other two seek out people who most illustrate their qualities. Power, Wisdom, and Courage. Zelda got Wisdom, and Link Courage.
The Master sword is one final fail safe, should an evil person assemble the entire thing, and it's proven to be able to stop the triforce, as it did so in aLttP.