Who, in The Lord of the Rings, was the most effective liar?

[Raynor]

Originally Posted by Nogrod

Saruman's lies were also not profound enough to get my vote here as he too was revealed as what he was quite early on and he failed badly in the end and managed only through Wormtongue in relation to the Rohirrim.

Quite early on? Hm... I wouldn't say so. He was discovered a few months before the end of the Third Age, and he had his way for more than 160 years, fooling Men, Elves and other Istari.

Fooling Saruman, the greatest of the Maiar in the ME

Hm... I kinda doubt he still had that title by that time, nor that he was fooled - his eye was "trapped and held" by Sauron, he was persuaded and daunted, but I don't think he was lied to by Sauron.

Denethor the steward of Gondor in a tight place are credits for him as well

I disagree with this too; Sauron wasn't able to make the palantir "lie", only to direct its "vision". While it may qualify as a deceit, it is not a lie, in the context of this thread.

Originally Posted by Groin Redbeard

There’s no doubt about it, Sauron the deceiver lied to the great smiths to create rings of power, so that he could give them to the great leaders of the races of Middle Earth, in hopes of controlling them all.

-He nearly controlled the Elves, but they were too clever for him.

Well, isn't the Second Age too early to be considered in this thread? And about the elves, I doubt he would have controlled them as an entire species, if three of them would have kept their rings on.

wasn’t Sauron the one who brought about the destruction of Numenor?

Well, also, too early - I would say. [And, considering the state of Ar-Pharazon, it wasn't that much of an accomplishment. Saruman, the Jack-of-all-trades, with his Voice, is capable of achieving the same, in my opinion.]