Top 10 Manhwa Where MCs Use Strategy Instead of Power, Ranked

The manhwa medium is undoubtedly very popular for usually overwrought tropes, where superhuman strength and epic battles often steal the limelight. However, it's no exaggeration to say that there's something undeniably addictive about protagonists who rely on strategy and intelligence rather than brute force to achieve their goals.

These characters rely more on their intellectual skills, intelligence and careful planning to outwit their opponents, proving that brains really do trump brawn. In this piece, we'll highlight the best manhwa titles that fall into this category, examining how the central character emphasizes his intellect and abilities, and detailed plot twists. Therefore, the best manhwas with protagonists who prefer brains to brawn are below.

10 Avatar of Kings

Alternative titles: Full-time expert

• Creator(s): Blue Butterfly, Chang Pan Yongzhe, D. Ian Cang Lan
• Gender: Action, Comedy, Fantasy, Sports
• Number of chapters: 169 (in progress)

E-Sports is in the spotlight the avatar of kings series, following the protagonist, Ye Xiu, the unbeatable expert of the online multiplayer game Glory. The series by Ye Xiu explores professional gaming from a rather overwhelming perspective, detailing what professional gaming actually looks like.

Following a forced expulsion from his professional team, Ye Xiu finds a job as a manager at an internet cafe. However, as a ten-year veteran of Glory, it's impossible to resist the urge to jump back into the game after it launches its tenth server. With memories of the past and a goal to return to the top, Ye Xiu begins his journey back into professional gaming.

9 The Academy's undercover teacher

Alternate titles: N/A

• Creator(s): Tana, Sayren, Wag
• Gender: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Drama, Mystery, Supernatural
• No. of chapters: 93 (in progress)

The Academy's undercover teacher features the many lives of the central character. This young man is reincarnated in a magical world after suddenly dying due to his disbelief in his mother's teachings about religion. Now is Professor Ludger Chelysie in this new life, or is he? Or is he the dreaded Machiavelli or the infamous Gerrard?

Assuming many identities to continue his quest, Professor Ludger Chelysie is just another of the many identities necessary for his purpose. Taking on the teacher's identity after the real Ludger dies on a train, he is unaware that the owner of his new identity is involved in a deep and dark secret. Now, as Professor Ludger, he must be careful to uncover his cover.

8 Over equipped

Alternate titles: N/A

• Creator(s): Saenal, Monohumbug
• Gender: Action, Adventure, Fantasy
• Number of chapters: 255 (in progress)

The Over equipped the series elevates VR gaming by following the life of Shin Youngwoo, the protagonist. There is no middle ground for people like Youngwoo in the online game “Satisfy”. You are either among the best or among the least.

Youngwoo is part of the bad luck until he accidentally discovers a legendary class item called the Pagma Successor, turning him into the most skilled blacksmith in the game. Now able to craft the best equipment and gear in the game, Youngwoo is on his way to legendary fame and fortune, all through crafting and selling gear.

7 The Queen's Kingdom

Alternate titles: N/A

• Creator(s): Bitoru, Chira
• Gender: Drama, Fantasy, Historical
• Number of chapters: 124

The Queen's Kingdom is exactly what its title sounds like: a kingdom ruled and dominated by a queen. The series is set in the Kingdom of Blenheim, where although the national ruler is a woman, the nation is made for men.

However, with the nation's highest authority belonging to a woman and the nation being one where women are also restricted in what they can do or even be, it is only a matter of time before a female ambition takes over on people's hearts. The series follows four girls from the Kingdom of Blenheim who have set the crown as their ultimate goal and are determined to revolutionize the kingdom.

6 The legendary moonlight sculptor

Alternate titles: N/A

• Creator(s): Lee Do-Gyeong, Nam Heesung. Kim Tae-Hyung
• Gender: Romance, Sci-Fi, Action, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
• Number of chapters: 169 (in progress)

The legendary moonlight sculptor details an expansive story of the essence of being able to work in a medium, albeit obsessively, through the lens of a virtual reality game. The central character of the story, Hyun Lee, lives in poverty with his grandmother and works part-time.

To earn money, Hyun Lee is no stranger to odd tasks until he enters the virtual reality game Royal Road. Accepting a side quest to become a sculptor, Hyun Lee realizes that he can make money playing the game. However, with very little sculpting fees, Hyun decides to build a character skilled enough to save his family from poverty.

5 How to use a returner

Alternate Titles: Regressor Instruction Manual

• Creator(s): Domi, wooden spoon, midnight studio
• Gender: Fantasy, adventure, romance
• Number of chapters: 116 (in progress)

Being suddenly summoned to a separate world full of monsters with nothing but the ability to see the abilities of others sounds like a truly horrifying experience, and Giyoung Lee couldn't agree more. How to use a returner series. Giyoung finds her life changed forever one random night after being suddenly summoned to another world where survival is a game of life and death.

Summoned alongside other players with nothing but a single ability that allows him to see the abilities of others, Giyoung quickly discovers that monsters are the least of his worries. An opportunity finds Giyoung when she meets another character, Hyunsung, who she discovers is a regressor of this new world. With his cunning intelligence, Giyoung finds Hyunsung the perfect shield to ensure his survival and eventual return to his old life.

Alternate titles: N/A

• Creator(s): Jee Gab Song, Carrotoon
• Gender: Drama, fantasy, action, adventure
• Number of chapters: 105 (in progress)

The extra of the novel brings to life the reality of the protagonist's creation, following the central character, Kim Hajin, as he suddenly finds himself in the world of his self-authored web novel. To make matters worse, Kim only reincarnated as an extra in the book, and this was just a nightmare for him.

With no choice but to see the story through, Kim Hajin is lucky because he knows everything in this world, including everything that is going to happen. However, Kim Hajin begins to feel unsure of what he knows when the story begins to deviate from his original designs.

3 The largest real estate developer

Alternate titles: N/A

• Creator(s): BK_Moon, Lee Hyun-Min
• Gender: Action, adventure, comedy, fantasy
• Number of chapters: 167 (in progress)

The largest real estate developer defies the overpowered MC trope that usually follows a reincarnation series through its protagonist, Suho Kim. The story begins with the central character, Suho Kim, after he falls asleep while reading a web novel. Mysteriously, he wakes up to find that he has been reincarnated in the novel he was reading as the character Lloyd Frontera of the declining Frontera noble house.

Even worse, his family is on the verge of drowning in debt. With a new life and no way to go back to his old one, Suho, Lloyd decides to prevent his family's impending bankruptcy. Drawing on his engineering knowledge from his previous life, Lloyd begins designing inventions in hopes of raising enough to change his family's fortunes.

2 Garbage of the Count's family

Alternative Titles: Lout of The Count's Family

• Creator(s): The elegant Yoo Ryeo Han
• Gender: Action, Fantasy, Comedy, Adventure
• Number of chapters: 134 (in progress)

The trash of the count's family features a quirky story alongside a unique central character in this exciting reincarnation series. The story begins with the central character, Kim Roksu, an ordinary young man who is reincarnated in his favorite novel. Not only did he reincarnate, but he reincarnated as Cale Henituse, the eldest son of Count Henituse and a minor villain in the novel's original story.

Even worse, Cale is the first villain to die at the hands of Choi Han, the original protagonist of the story. Knowing his fate, Kim Roksu, now Cale Henituse, is determined to avoid this future and is willing to do whatever it takes. However, Cale's actions unintentionally affect the original timeline of the story.

1 The magic of a returner should be special

Alternate Titles: The Returner's Special Magic

• Creator(s): Sun-Wook Jeon, So-Nan Yoo
• Gender: Action, Comedy, Adventure, Drama, Romance, Supernatural, Slice of Life
• Number of chapters: 269 ​​(in progress)

The magic of a returner should be special it is a spectacular mixture of regression and fantasy based on the destruction of all humanity, or an alleged destruction. The series revolves around the central character, Desir Hermann, humanity's last hope, along with five other heroes against the Shadow World.

In a final act to defeat their enemies, the six heroes are about to perish until Desir mysteriously wakes up thirteen years in the past, just before the entrance exams to the Hebrion Academy of Magic. With a golden second chance to prevent the world from being destroyed, Desir is determined to put his life on the line once more.