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"I have been careless, and so have been thwarted by luck and chance, those wreckers of all but the best laid plans. But I know better now. I understand those things that I did not understand before. I must be the one to kill Harry Potter, and I shall be.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

What does "those wreckers of all but the best laid plans" mean exactly? Are "those wreckers" referring to "luck and chance"?

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Yes, the phrase "those wreckers" refers to "luck and chance." Further, the phrase "those wreckers of all but the best laid plans" indicates that luck and chance have the potential to ruin plans that are not well-thought-out, while plans that are well-thought-out are not susceptible to such ruination.

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    The phrase "the best-laid plans" is derived from the phrase "The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry", which comes from the poem by Robert Burns To a mouse "The best laid schemes o' mice an' men / Gang aft a-gley.” (which means the same in the old scots dialect)
    – James K
    Commented Aug 18, 2019 at 8:25

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