Decklists: A Certain Scientific Card Game/Science Side

Kamijou Touma
Touma uses a  Deck, focused on disrupting the opponent's plans with banishment tactics and effects that undermine Special Summoned monsters. He includes several cards, such as "" and "", that banish the opponent's resources and renders them unable for use, while he himself is not affected by such tactics. His secondary plan is to get out large beaters such as "" and "" to simply run over the opponent's attempts to bring out boss monsters. Touma's ace card is "Helios Fantastikos - Imagine Breaker", which wipes the entire field clean of Special Summoned monsters, punishing opponents who overextend without dedicating themselves to a boss monster and paving way for a final finishing blow.

As accumulating field presence is difficult, Touma also includes Pendulum Monsters that, even on an empty field, have disruptive effects. "Selene, the Lunar Elegance" can change the Levels of monsters, making it more difficult for the opponent to Synchro or Xyz Summon, and "Asteria, the Light of Stars" can negate the existence of face-up Spell Cards for some time, making it extremely difficult for the opponent to use cards such as runes or "Polymerization" to Fusion Summon monsters. This, combined with his Level 0 esper ability that makes him completely immune to other esper abilities that would affect him or his cards, makes him a very challenging opponent despite not having any "true" innate powers.

Misaka Mikoto
Mikoto uses a   (DracoPal) Deck, focused on all-out offensive tactics. Her signature move against unprepared opponents is to rapidly Pendulum Summon Level 4 monsters to bring out "", then use her "Railgun" (5) esper ability to boost its ATK to 12500 and OTK the enemy immediately, with no chance for any counterattack. This is especially effective because many lower-leveled espers do not have access to disruption tactics or anything with more than 4500 ATK, but will leave monsters in Attack Position, leading to their easy defeat. Against more evenly-matched opponents, she takes time to set up her Extra Deck with Level 4 Pendulum Monsters through the effects of cards such as "", "", and "", and makes disruptive cards such as "" to remove opponents' troublesome monsters.

Even though the DracoPal Deck can already generate massive card advantage on its own, Mikoto's esper abilities amp the Deck's speed up to ridiculous levels. Her (4) esper ability allows her to draw cards equal to the number of her own monsters that she destroys, making "Pendulum Sorcerer" essentially a +4 if it resolves correctly, not even taking into account that it can be Pendulum Summoned again. Additionally, her (2) esper ability prevents opponents from targeting her monsters while they attack, making battle traps almost completely ineffective against them. Finally, against individuals who try to summon large Machine-type monsters with protection to defend against her ridiculous attacking potential, Mikoto can use her (3) esper ability to take control of those monsters, or just outright banish them.

Tsuchimikado Motoharu
Motoharu is first introduced as using a Normal Monster Pendulum Deck, with several "joke" cards such as "" and "" thrown into it alongside the Normal Pendulum engine. This is to maintain his image as a poor student who is Level 0 and never takes anything seriously. Despite this, he is known to "accidentally" defeat higher-leveled opponents with this Deck, since it is ultimately still functional, with access to draw cards such as "" allowing him to turbo out Pendulum Monsters against unprepared opponents.

His true Deck is a  Deck, capable of performing Fusion, Synchro, Xyz, and Pendulum Summons to completely overwhelm the enemy. Motoharu has full mastery of this Deck, knowing all of the combos, and recycling with cards such as "" and "" to outstanding effect. He would be one of the most fearsome opponents to face in this state if not for the fact that he has entered the esper training curriculum, and thus cannot use magic (Fusion) without harming his own body and Life Points. Not even "" can save him, because every time a Fusion Monster he control has its effect even applied (not necessarily activated), he loses half his Life Points, causing "d'Arc"'s healing effect to backfire on him most of the time before he can reap its benefits. This is highly problematic, because he must Fusion Summon multiple times to create large boards, but if he cannot afford to lose Life Points or tire himself out, he is left with only the Synchro and Xyz capabilities of his Deck, which do not have anywhere near the same combo potential as his Fusion cards.

Shirai Kuroko
Kuroko uses a  Deck, focused on relentless offense and "tagging out" of weaker monsters to summon strong floaters. Many opponents have been decimated by her "s", as lower-leveled goons have no response to it. Even if they do manage to get past it, "Dark Destroyer" can just float down into a smaller ship to maintain field presence, or in the case of "", destroy backrow. It can also float into a pilot such as "", who can retrieve more ships from the Deck later and tag out into them. Her Field Spell, "", allows her to fix her hands, and recycle banished monsters such as pilots, or even banished "Dark Destroyers". This rapid, constant recycling and searching of resources allows her to quickly defeat even large waves of enemies, as expected from an officer of Judgment.

Kuroko's "Kozmo" Deck is amplified even more by the inclusion of her esper abilities. Her "Teleport" (4) esper ability allows her to add any Quick-Play Spell she wants from her Deck; the most common target is, fittingly, "", which allows her to grab any smaller pilot she needs to keep a play going, or just add more damage onto the board. Alternatively, she can add "" to remove backrow and set up her Graveyard, "" to serve multiple purposes, etc. Her (3) and (1) esper abilities allow her to destroy "Kozmo" ships in her field and hand, respectively, which immediately trigger their floating effects. This means that even without the use of her other abilities, she can turn even traditionally bricked hands in the TCG that are full of ships around into a great asset.

Accelerator
Accelerator runs a  Deck, focused on control tactics. "Monarchs" on their own generate massive field presence and card advantage with draw and search cards like "" and "". They generate Tribute fodder with cards such as "" and "", which helps the larger monsters, such as "", come out. These monsters possess abilities that can disrupt the opponent's field, such as non-targeting non-destruction removal from "Erebus", and Tribute Summons on the opponent's turn with "". The number of Tributes each Level 8 Monarch requires is further cut down by "", which also allows these Monarchs to run over almost anything.

Ultimately, Accelerator's Deck is strong, but his esper abilities make fighting him a completely impossible task. His "Deflection" (4) and (3) abilities allow him to not only ignore battle and effect damage, but also to make the opponent pay the price instead, either from them taking the battle damage (from (4)) or having all monsters they control lose ATK equal to the effect damage he would have taken (3). He can also use his (3) to negate the cost of his own esper abilities AND still decrease the opponent's ATK by how much he would have paid. That ability also allows him to hurl copies of "" into his Graveyard to serve as further Tribute fodder. His (1) ability also allows him to destroy a card his opponent controls if they manage to destroy one on his field. What truly makes fighting Accelerator impossible, however, is his (5) ability: Accelerator can negate the existence of his own Extra Deck whenever he feels like it. This allows him to essentially lock out his opponent from the Extra Deck with "Domain" while he can still Xyz Summon whenever the situation calls for it. Even without the use of his deflection, Accelerator can simply lock out Extra Deck-reliant opponents from playing anything at all while he whittles down at their life with his gigantic Tribute Summoned Monarchs.

Shokuhou Misaki
Misaki runs a  Deck focused on swarming the field with large, high-Leveled/Ranked monsters and beating down the opponent. She has cards that accumulate "" and "" in her hand, such as "", allowing her to instantly summon a 3000 ATK monster that can destroy another monster on the field. The large number of Level 8 monsters she runs allows her to use "" to continually dig deeper into her own Deck and draw out key cards. Misaki also utilizes the "Eyes of Blue" series to great effect, using them to tutor out the Level 8 Dragons and go into huge Synchros or Xyzs with them. Her most common choices are "" to steal opponents' monsters, "" for a multipurpose beater, and "" to shut down Pendulum users.

Misaki is extremely frightening to face due to her "Mental Out" (5) esper ability, which allows her to steal a card from her opponent's Extra Deck during either Battle Phase and force it against its owner. This can prove fatal if the opponent has monsters in their Extra Deck with huge ATK values, such as "". She also runs a gigantic slew of cards that can permanently remove monsters she steals from the game. Against Fusion and Synchro Monsters, she will simply overlay them into an Xyz Monster, or if needed, adjust its Level with Rank-Up-Magic Star-Eyed Force. Against Xyz Monsters of Rank 4 or 5, she will overlay Blue-Eyes Solar Dragon over them. Against higher-leveled Xyzs, she can adjust their Rank with that Rank-Up-Magic card, or simply perform a Rank-Up on them into one of those aforementioned Xyz Monsters. Her other abilities make sure her opponents never have a chance to hit their mark; her (4) ability allows her to change the attack target of any opponent's monster to anything, including the opponent themselves, and her (3) ability allows her to change the target of a card effect. And if the opponent somehow exhausts her abilities for the turn, they cannot attack if they have 3 or more monsters, as her (2) passive ability stops their Battle Phase if such a number of monsters is on the field.

Nunotaba Shinobu
Shinobu runs a  Deck, focused around Synchro Summoning. She utilizes cards such as "" to throw copies of "" into the Graveyard for mass Special Summons, and "" to tune those copies of "Malicious" into Level 8 Synchro Monsters such as "". Aside from that, other "Destiny HERO" cards such as "" provide situational effects, while serving as discard fodder for the "" engine. If the situation calls for it, Shinobu can also call out "" to negate the effects of opponents' monsters, giving her some breathing room.

While Shinobu has no useful esper abilities, she is excellent at bluffing, making her opponents become fearful of her supposed deadly powers while she actually has none. This is especially effective if the opponent runs a Deck that her passive esper effect does hinder, such as "s". Shinobu often bluffs that she has an esper ability called "Critical", which petrifies her opponents' monsters and makes them unable to attack. She also claims that once she summons "Beelze" and battles an opponent with it, her opponents' life force and Life Points will deplete while "Beelze"'s ATK continues to go up, eventually resulting in them losing the Duel, and their lives. She often aids in this bluffing by turning off the lights and activating card effects without her opponents' knowledge, most of which do cause some degree of burn damage or do increase "Beelze"'s ATK. Opponents who are frightened by her claims often faint before the Duel is even over, giving her an automatic win from them failing to act for one minute.

Frenda Seivelun
Frenda runs a  Deck focused on Synchro Summoning. She emphasizes slower play of "Shaddolls", as without "", she has no quick way of getting them into the Graveyard to activate their effects. Instead, she uses cards such as "Shaddoll Tune" and "Shaddoll Shroud" to slowly gain card advantage. Additionally, instead of shutting down the opponent's Special Summoned monsters' effects and summons with Fusion Monsters, Frenda emphasizes rapid burn damage tactics, some of which gain in power the more the opponent Special Summons or searches. For example, "Nil Shaddoll Phlogiston" inflicts 300 damage each time the opponent tries to add a card to their hand outside their normal draw, and "Nil Shaddoll Satellite" inflicts 100 damage for each card the opponent has in their Extra Deck when a "Shaddoll" inflicts battle damage. Her ace cards are "Nil Shaddoll Flats", which gains ATK equal to the total Levels of all "Nil Shaddolls" that have been Summoned plus any effect damage the opponent took that turn, and "Nil Shaddoll Bermuda", whose ATK can be double that of any "Shaddoll" in the field or Graveyard, with a deadly banishing effect.

To support her Deck's usage of multiple Attributes, Frenda incorporates several smaller engines into the Deck. "" cards given to her by Mugino Shizuri allow her access to LIGHT and FIRE Synchros; "" and "" allow for EARTH and WATER Synchro access while also simultaneously providing Rank 4 fodder; furthermore, Takitsubo Rikou's "Heraldic Beast Berners Falcon" allows her to Rank 4 with any Xyz or lower-leveled Shaddoll, as well as easily go into "Nil Shaddoll Miasma" both on the field and via "Shaddoll Tune".

Frenda's style reflects her involvement in ITEM, where she is a paid mercenary who is trained to take out her targets efficiently and mercilessly. Even if she can't get the job done, opponents will be hard-pressed to escape a Duel with her unscathed, as her passive Level 0 esper ability prevents the negation of effect damage. Thus, the opponent will be ideally brought low enough in vitality and Life Points for other members of ITEM, such as Mugino Shizuri, to finish them off easily.