The Doctor may be the most recognizable and well-known Time Lord the galaxy has ever seen, but it would be foolhardy to count out the Master entirely! This nefarious villain has repeatedly clashed with Davros for the title of the Doctor’s arch-nemesis, and it’s easy to see why.

Through the years, the Master has wreaked havoc across the galaxy in his quest for ultimate power, only to be foiled by the Doctor each and every time. He’s the yang to the Doctor’s yin, making him one of the universe’s greatest and most poignant threats. Today we’re looking at 5 reasons why the Master is the best Time Lord in Doctor Who and 5 reasons why it’s the Doctor. In a battle of wits, knowledge, and skill, it will be hard to decide the outcome!

THE MASTER IS CUNNING

While the Doctor is no stranger to subterfuge and manipulation, he’s cookies and milk compared to the Master! This domineering villain conquers the will of anyone he believes can be of use in his schemes. When he’s not controlling them via hypnosis, he’s imposing sheer force of will on his victims, typically at the end of a deadly weapon.

The Master is also quite willing to play the long game in order to achieve his agenda. When the sixth Doctor was put on trial by his own people on the charge of genocide, the Master was revealed to be the mastermind behind the charade, in an attempt to destroy the Doctor for good.

THE DOCTOR IS A LEADER

Where the Master likes to dominate his subjects, the Doctor prefers to rally them to their banner. Sometimes this means putting them in harm’s way, even if they prefer to keep people safe. While The Doctor looks out for the well-being of their compatriots, the Doctor also recognizes the need for sacrifice.

Nobody felt the influence of the Doctor’s charisma more than Adric, who sacrificed himself to prevent Earth’s destruction at the hands of the Cybermen. He realized the importance of fighting for a cause greater than one’s own self, paying the ultimate price in the process.

THE MASTER IS A SURVIVOR

Just when you think the Master is down for the count, he gets right back up again. He’s the galaxy’s most tenacious intellectual cockroach; a never-ending tidal wave of evil and destruction that won’t rest. He’s faked his own demise countless times, only to come back stronger again.

The Master has cheated death on several occasions. He once tried to trigger a new cycle of regenerations which would have destroyed Gallifrey in the process, only to later transfer his soul into the body of a Trakenite scientist - the father of the Doctor’s companion Nyssa. He later survived execution at the hands of the Daleks before his plan was foiled by the newly regenerated Eighth Doctor. He would then be found hiding trillions of years in the future near the end of the universe, before reawakening to once again spread destruction and fear as the Master, and his subsequent reincarnation Missy.

THE DOCTOR REGENERATES

Luck hasn’t always been on the Doctor’s side, as evidenced by his countless fatal encounters over a number of years. Each time he’s met his end, so too has his current form and its distinct, variant personality. As such, the Doctor is essentially reincarnated each time, with various levels of change.

Each new regeneration brings forth a new side of the Doctor we’ve never seen before. His third form wasn’t afraid to mix it up with hand-to-hand combat, while his seventh incarnation masked a seething ruthlessness behind the false veil of friendliness. Regeneration hasn’t always been kind to the Doctor, either. The pain of losing so many friends and loved ones, mixed with the chaotic nature of the regeneration process, in general, has produced a thirteenth Doctor that is cold, aggressive and unpredictable.

THE MASTER IS A WEAPON OF CHAOS

Few beings in the galaxy are as feared as the Master. Indeed, even the Time Lords themselves view him as the epitome of danger and will go to great lengths either to stop his machinations or (worse) use him as a weapon to further their own ends.

When the original five Doctors were taken out of their respective timelines and deposited into Gallifrey’s Death Zone at the behest of Lord President Borusa, the Master was sent in to save them from their fates, despite not realizing he was a pawn in the scheme. Later, Rassilon himself would abuse the Master by retroactively implanting a hypnotic suggestion in his mind that drove him mad, paving the way for Gallifrey’s ascension before its destruction in the Time War. The Master was also unleashed as a killing machine against the Dalek incursion during the war, which proved how desperate the Time Lords had become.

THE DOCTOR IS A WEAPON OF NECESSITY

The Doctor isn’t immune to Time Lord manipulation, either. In exchange for his freedom to gallivant across the galaxy in his Tardis, the Time Lords would force the Doctor to undertake special missions on their behalf. The most infamous mission involved the Doctor’s interference with the creation of the Daleks, which put Gallifrey directly into their crosshairs and served as the first volley in what would later become the Time War.

On his own, the Doctor does what he must, even if he loathes the outcome. His actions have saved billions of lives, but the cost for each victory has been extraordinarily high. It was this behavior that first put him on trial by his own people, and that same behavior would lead to the destruction of Gallifrey itself, in order to save the universe from the havoc of the Time War.

THE MASTER HAS POWERFUL ALLIES

Despite his penchant for betrayal, the Master has an uncanny knack for convincing other deadly races to work with him, or fooling them into thinking he’s their servant. Either way, he rarely keeps his promises. In the end, he’s out for number one, and no one else.

The Master has joined forces with the Cybermen, the Autons, the Toclafane and the Rani, to name but a few. Never one to pass up a one-sided beneficial alliance, the Master is always on the lookout for another powerful set of allies to forge temporary bonds with.

THE DOCTOR IS AN ONCOMING STORM

The Doctor has rarely allied himself with any of his enemies except when absolutely necessary. At one point, he even brokered an uneasy truce with the Daleks who had lost their powers due to an energy field permeating the planet Exxilon.

Any such alliance is a last-ditch option to buy time or prevent an even greater catastrophe. Otherwise, the Doctor will do whatever it takes to thwart the most wicked and insidious plans of the galaxy’s greatest villains.

THE MASTER IS BOTH RUTHLESS AND CARELESS

The Master deals out death like it’s a bodily function, and he won’t hesitate to slaughter anyone who serves up so much as an annoyance. While there are many times he’ll go about his business undeterred, those who manage to earn his attention frequently find themselves suffering an untimely, horrible demise.

The Master’s ruthlessness is mixed with a psychotic and cynical urge to alienate himself from the rest of the galaxy. He loves no one, cares for nothing, and has no friends aside from his complex relationship with his arch-rival, the Doctor.

THE DOCTOR IS BOTH RUTHLESS AND REGRETFUL

Ruthlessness is a quality that both Time Lords share alike, but the Doctor never enjoys what he has to do. He realizes the sanctity of life must be maintained at all costs, but if that life is threatened by evil, he won’t hesitate to put a permanent end to it.

While the Doctor has held himself back from the precipice a number of times, such as when he refused to commit genocide against the Daleks, he would later shirk that morality in order to render the Vervoids extinct to save the planet Earth. In both instances, the Doctor loathed having to face such a decision.