tactician; schemer; intriguer; resourceful person
彼は策士として知られる政治家だった。
He was a politician known as a shrewd tactician.
策士策に溺れるとはこのことだ。
This is a case of the schemer drowning in his own schemes.
老獪な策士が裏で糸を引いていた。
A cunning schemer was pulling strings behind the scenes.