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Soukaku

Suship - Greatest thing about Yu-Gi-Oh! is the card art; in no other TCG will you get battleships made of sushi. The Gunkan Suship monsters are another Xyz deck, but this time like to use specifically Gunkan Suship Shari as material in order to draw a card, thus recouping resources. They're named after gunkan mari, which translates to warship roll, and each main deck monster is meant to represent a different topping placed on top of the roll. In real life, they are famously used by JankfessorYGO, who goes to events dressed as a sushi chef and plays on a serving board play mat. Other cards include;

• Gunkan Suship Shirauo
• Gunkan Suship Catch-of-the-Day
• Gunkan Suship Uni-class Super-Dreadnought
• Gunkan Suship Daily Special
• Gunkan Suship Shari Red

There's only two food related decks that can be used, so since I decided to give the other Section 6 members Japanese-themed decks, it only made sense to have Soukaku use the sushi deck.

Harumasa

Superheavy Samurai - Usually, most decks like to have a certain ratio of Spell and Monster cards (and sometimes traps, if the deck allows it), in order to enable their plays. Not Superheavy Samurai, though. If you have a Spell in your grave, the entire deck becomes unusable. Instead of those, the Spell & Trap Zones are occupied by it's Pendulum monsters or the Superheavy Samurai Soul monsters; the latter equip themselves onto summoned monsters for beneficial effects. Some of them, including the Synchro Monsters, have the ability to attack in Defense Mode, and so they have low ATK. They are used by Gong in Arc-V, and other cards include;

• Superheavy Samurai Soulpeacemaker
• Superheavy Samurai Motorbike
• Superheavy Samurai Prodigy Wakaushi
• Superheavy Samurai Swordmaster Musashi
• Superheavy Samurai Scarecrow

Now, if you've seen ARC-V, you'd might think to yourself, 'Wait, Gong isn't like Harumasa at all. If anything, they're polar opposites.' I know, because that's not the reason I gave Harumasa Superheavy Samurai. You see, there's a card called Number 41: Bagooska the Terribly Tired Tapir (or Drunk Sleeping Demon Beast in the OCG), that, when summoned in defense mode, makes all monsters on the field go into defense mode and negates their activated effects. The Superheavy Samurai's ability to attack in defense mode does not activate, so they are the only monsters that will be able to attack. Bagooska doesn't have a deck associated with it, so I gave Harumasa a deck that can still KO despite it's restrictions.

Yanagi

Shiranui - Despite looking human, the Shiranui are FIRE Zombie monsters, mostly for lore reasons. As a deck, they have multiple effects which banish cards from the graveyard, either for card advantage or spot removal. A lot of their cards also have effects that activate when they are banished or recover cards from the banishment. The debuted in the 2016 set, Breakers of Shadow, and other cards include;

• Shiranui Squire
• Shiranui Style Synthesis
• Shiranui Spectralsword Shade
• Shiranui Sunsaga
• Ghost Meets Girl - A Shiranui's Story

The story of the Shiranui monsters are tied to the Mayakashi archetype. The Mayakashi are yokai that hunt near the village that the first Shiranui. Years pass, and eventually the Mayakashi would be wittled down to just two members; Yoko and Yuki-Onna (no relation to the Ghostricks). Eventually, the sword that the first Shiranui used would be passed down to Squire.

There's just one problem; Squire is actually friends with Yoko, because at the time Yoko was disguised as a human in the village she protected. Their friendship became so deep that Yoko no longer wanted to become evil, and her magic allowed Squire to achieve new form in Skillsaga Supremacy. And then Yuki-Onna showed up, stole Squire's new power, and that's where the story ends (Konami just finish the story you haven't made a single new card for either archetype since 2020!!!!)

Essentially, Yanagi plays Shiranui because the story between Squire and Yoko roughly matches with how the ZZZ's Oni War; the Defense Force does try and eradicate the Oni, and Yanagi doesn't become friends with the Oni's leader, but she does gain her power and has to take care of Soukaku. Also like the Shiranui-Mayakashi storyline, I wish Hoyo would elaorate on what the deal is with for the Oni War.

Now, for our first Void Hunter...

Miyabi

Mikanko - This deck is an Equip Spell focused deck, as well as a Blind Second OTK deck. Essentially, it aims to power through your endboard and slap you as hard as they possible can. Whenever the Mikanko's have are equipped, they become indestructible in battle and reflect any and all damage you normally would've taken to the opponent; this is possible because all the Mikanko's have 0 ATK. Each of the main deck Mikanko's can have another effect that they can use when they are equipped, and each of the archetypal Equip Spells grant the monsters effect destruction immunity. Mikankos are also a Ritual Archetype, and some of their cards have access to burn damage in case the damage reflection doesn't finish the job. The debuted in the 2023 set Amazaing Defenders, and other cards include;

• Ha-Re the Sword Mikanko
• Mikanko Kagura
• Ni-Ni the Mirror Mikanko
• The Great Mikanko Ceremony
• Hu-Li the Jewel Mikanko

The three main deck Mikanko monsters are born of noble families. They are priestesses who use dance to commune with their goddess, Ohime, and whoever performs the best dance will be the host for the goddess. Hu-Li, however, does not want become Ohime's host. She's only performing because her family pressured her into doing so; becoming Ohime's host would make the family famous. Despite her own desires, she dances alongside Ha-Re and Ni-Ni, and Ohime deems her worthy to be the new host. They fuse and transform into Arahime.

Essentially, this is meant to be in reference to how Miyabi became Tailless' new master during Hollow Zero's eruption. These stories aren't exactly one-to-one, but what I wanted to focus on was Miyabi's deck was becoming someone with great power at a great cost; Miyabi lost her mother, while Hu-Li lost her autonomy.

Plus, given Miyabi's general... everything, having her pilot a simple deck that can OTK seems fitting for her.

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(lowkey, how many of you would like to see a ygo fic with these characters piloting these decks? My fanfic urges are tingling (my 40+ wips are crying).)

(btw, all Agents are roughly to scale with their monsters!)

Piper

Railway - Like Ancient Gears, this deck is focused on big EARTH Machine monsters with high ATK stats, though it's Rank 10 Xyz focused and it also has a side of burn damage, too. Because the Railway deck doesn't use an archetype, any EARTH Machine monsters can be slotted into the deck with ease; commonly they use Ancient Gear, Machina, and Infinitrack cards to supplement their combos and end boards. They are used by Anna in ZEXAL, and other cards include;

• Exceptional Schedule
• Revolving Switchyard
• Night Train Blue Traveler
• Heavy Freight Train Derricrane
• Superdreadnought Rail Cannon Juggernaught Leibe

The monsters that part of the Railway deck are based off different kinds of trains, with the Superdreadnought Xyz monsters (sans Number 42) all drawing inspiration from railway guns created by Nazi Germany to be used in WW2. Because of this, all of their monsters are massive, and part of the appear of Piper's character is small old woman driving big vehicles. There's no truck based archetype (yet) so giving her bigass trains were the next best thing.

Can you find Piper? You don't get anything if you do.

Lucy

Resonator - Fun fact, she's the only Synchro user in a sea of Xyz decks. Resonators are low level Fiends Tuners that work in conjunction with other Fiend monsters to summon Red Dragon Archfiend and it's various evolutions. Unlike most Synchro decks, Resonators must use 2 or more Tuners as opposed to only one, in order to reach their strongest Synchro monsters. They are used by Jack Atlas in 5Ds and ARC-V, and other cards include;

• Red Reign
• Crimson Resonator
• Red Rising Dragon
• Soul Resonator
• The Crimson King

The white bone pieces on Scarlight's right arm is actually a cast; during Yusei and Jack's final Duel in 5Ds, Yusei won by having Junk Warrior attack Red Dragon Archfiend after boosting Junk Warrior's ATK (this event is depicted in the card Clashing Souls). When Jack appears in ARC-V, Scarlight was designed to reflect this loss, which is why it's wearing the brace and its horns are broken. All this to say; Scarlight is Lucy's ace because she has lost to Caesar many times when fighting for control over the Sons of Calydon.

Pulchra

Goblin Bikers - Guys this isn't just Rank 3 spam... it's also Rank 6 spam! It's completely different from Onomats, Sharks, Ryzeal, and Railway! In all seriousness, there is something unique about these cards, the 'Goblin Biker' archetype technically doesn't exist. In their card text, the Goblin Bikers only name 'Goblins' so you technically splash in Goblins from other archetypes, too, like Scrap Goblin, Gogogo Goblindergh, and Memetotlan Goblin. The Goblin Biker cards even account for the difference in Level, as some of their cards allow for level modulation. Goblin Bikers debuted in the 2024 set Phantom Nightmare, and other cards include;

• Goblin Biker Grand Entrance
• Goblin Biker Dugg Charger
• Goblin Biker Big Gabonga
• Goblin Biker Grand Bash
• Goblin's Crazy Beast

Given that Pulchra is a recent recruit to the SoC, and that Goblin Bikers are the cards that unit all the Goblin cards into one "cohesive" deck, it made sense to give this to her. There also another reason; the Goblin Bikers are goofy mfs. They pose to threaten Diabellstar and all she does is look away awkwardly (as depicted in Grand Entrance). They're chaotic and drag others into their messes... which is essentially what Pulchra's opinion of the SoC are at first, especially towards Burnice. Top 10 glup shittos in ygo these guys are (really disappointed they just disappeared after the prison escape arc).

Burnice

Springans - technically, this Xyz deck doesn't spam monsters; it uses their field spell to summon the Xyz monster first and then attach the monsters under it at a later time. Crazy difference, I know. At the very least, this lets them use the effects of the Xyz Monsters multiple times even after all the material has been used up, usually for spot removal. And, as all other archetypes in the Branded storyline, they have some synergy with Fallen of Albaz and it's fusions. They deputed in the 2021 set Blazing Vortex, and other cards include;

• Great Sand Sea - Gold Golgonda
• Tally-Ho! Springans
• Tri-Brigade Springans Kitt (Kitt lives with these guys btw, this is the only Kitt cards that actually support Springans)
• Springans Captain Sargas
• Springans Watch

The Spingans are all living bombs and missiles, and explosions cause a lot of fire. Something tells me Burnice will enjoy watching the Springans explode into the enemy monsters and the fires they create as a result. Maybe a bit too much.

Lighter

Battlin' Boxer - Fun fact about this decks so far; 15 of the 24 deck featured of this post are Xyz, Meanwhile, Lucy and Wise and Nekomata and Qingyi are tied for being the only two Synchro and Fusion users, lmao. I swear this isn't intentional.

Anyways, Battlin' Boxers are FIRE Warriors that, for their unique spin on Rank 4 Xyz Slop, have easy access to "Counter" Counter Traps. This is quite powerful, as the only cards that can respond to Counter Traps are other Counter Traps, something that many decks might not have access to, at least not easily as the boxers. Since they also have an Over-Hundred Monster, they can also make use of the "Seventh" cards (so can Sharks, I think I forgot to mention that). They are used by Alito in ZEXAL, and other cards include;

• Battlin' Boxer Promoter
• Battlin' Boxer Chief Second
• Ring Announcer
• Battlin' Boxing Spirits
• Battlin' Boxer Cross Counter

Aside from the fact that Lighter's fighting style incorporates boxing; there's also some similarities between Alito and Lighter, namely in occupation. Alito was a gladiator in ancient times, the strongest gladiator in fact, before he died. Like how Lighter was saved from the underground fighting rings by Big Daddy, Alito was brought back to life by Don Thousand in order to serve Caldyon and Barian World respectively. Plus, the Counter Traps being unrespondable by most other cards is like how Lighter serves as champion for the SoC and protects Caesar. Speaking of the King...

Caesar

Exosister - Waiter! Waiter! More Rank 4 Xyz Soup, please! This flavor locks down the graveyard and punish graveyard usage in general; for the former, their Xyz Monsters prevent the opponent from summoning and activating card effects from their effects, and for the later, each of the Exosister main deck monsters can summon their enhanced Xyz forms if the opponent moves a card from the graveyard. The graveyard is probably the most important tool in modern YGO, aside from the Extra Deck, so locking that down can be devastating to some decks that absolutely need it. They also synergize well with the Normal Summon Spirit Monsters, especially Ichiki Sayori-Hime, as all the main deck Exosisters have 800 ATK. They debuted in the 2022 set The Grand Creators, and other cards include;

• Exosister Pax
• Exosister Elis
• Exosister Mikailis
• Exosister Elis
• Exosister Vadis

This is deck is inspired by magical girl shoujo manga; each of the main deck monsters are normal nuns before they use their effects to transform into their more powerful Xyz exorcist forms. This also happens to be yuri-flavored shoujo; Elis + Stella and Irene + Sophie both have similar effects; the former pair special summons, the latter draws, but they also have the user gain LP if the other member of the pair is on field when that effect resolves. As we know from PinKing (banger song btw), Caesar likes romance shoujo, so she'd gravitate towards these cards (somehow Exosisters are not the gayest cards in ygo).

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(glad the season 3 teaser came out because now I can show what good character design looks like /j)

Seth

S-Force - This Link-Focused is a deck that, on paper, is focused on column control; most of the Main Deck S-Force monsters have either a continuous or ignition effect that punishes the opponent for placing monsters in the same column as an S-Force Monster, there's just two problems. 1) the opponent can simply choose to not play cards in that column which is a problem because 2) those punishments for playing them in the same column? Yeah, they're not good. "Oh no! 600 less ATK, whatever will I do...?" Anyways, S-Force debuted in the 2021 set Blazing Vortex, and other cards include;

• S-Force Retroactive
• S-Force Rappa Chiyomaru
• S-Force Chase
• S-Force Bridgehead
• S-Force Nightchaser

The "S" stands for Security (go figure), and they're space-time cops that are also maybe corrupt in some way? Master Duel as Justify as the main antagonist for Masquerena and Little Knight's (Chiyomaru after leaving the S-Force) solo mode, with Justify telling former to kill the latter for some vague reason. While Seth and Severian aren't that antagonistic with each other, Seth still clearly has a rivalry with him. Plus, Rappa Chiyomaru is also portrayed as being bright-eyed and optimistic like Seth.

Jane

SPYRAL - They are combo strategy that used to get out a variety of different monsters on the field, due to the lack of a Hard Once Per Turn clause on SPYRAL Master Plan and Quik-Fix. By re-summoning Master Plan and Quik-Fix, you get multiple searches, that leads to more summons that can allow you to re-summon Master Plan and Quik-Fix again for more searches, and thus more summons. This deck also has a neat information gathering gimmick, in which correctly predicted what card the opponent's deck is allows the SPYRAL monsters to use to successfully activate their effects (or you can just re-arrange the top cards with Drone). SPYRAL debuted in the 2016 set The Dark Illusion, and other cards include;

• SPYRAL GEAR - Big Red
• SPYRAL Resort
• SPYRAL Sleeper
• SPYRAL MISSION - Rescue
• SPYRAL Super Agent

If it's not apparent, SPYRAL are based off spy movies, most notably James Bond. You wanna know what Jane is? Double Agent plays into the spy motif really well, as it summons itself to the opponent's board but locks itself out of being used Extra Deck material, reveals the top card of the deck for Super Agent to use his effect, and strengths SPYRAL monsters. Double Agent is a younger version of the taller man depicted in Double Helix.

Qingyi

Ancient Gear - Unga Bunga beatdown incarnate. Nearly all of their monsters prevents Spell and Traps from activating when they declare an attack, and they have multiple cards that allow them to cheat out high ATK monsters from the Deck. Their Fusion Monsters, meanwhile, are all monsters with high ATK that can attack multiple times. Essentially, their gameplan is slapping you until you die. A number of their Continuous Spell also provide advantage when they are destroyed. They are used by Vellian Crowler in GX and Obelisk Force in ARC-V (if you want to know what Obelisk Force did with them, ask Sora). Other cards include;

• Ancient Gear Commander
• Ancient Gear Advance
• Ancient Gear Catapult
• Ancient Gear Tanker
• Ancient Gear Chaos Giant

Qingyi is one of the older members of the cast, as her creation dates back to the Old Civilization, so she can be considered "Ancient". In addition, Qingyi isn't as strict as Zhu Yuan when it comes to doing police work by the book, so a simple playstyle would be just as fitting.

Zhu Yuan

K9 - Another Xyz swarm deck, but this time they specialize in Rank 5 Monsters. Though unlike Ryzeal or Onomats playing solely on their turn, K9s have the capacity to act on the opponent's turn, summoning Xyz Monsters that can disrupt the opponent or dodge targeted effects. Also, funny quirk about these cards' art; most of the K9 monsters have A Case for K9's art as their background. They debuted in the 2025 set Justice Hunters, and other cards include;

• K9-ØØ Lupis
• K9-66X "Jacks"
• K9-X "Ripper/M"
• K9-LC Release Restraint
• K9-EW Special Release Experiment

Like the S-Force, these are guys are just cops, though this time they're all based on dogs (go figure), specifically the bloodhounds used to track Jack the Ripper. Zhu Yuan is also a cop. "Ripper" is the enhanced form of Izuna, who is the leader of the K9 squad, and the K9-X "Werewolf" is the ultimate form of Lupis, who was the first K9 mutant created by KEEPER (by the way, all the K9 monsters are mutants with the ability to transform into more monstrous forms, said transformations are depicted in the Release cards) before defected and becoming a vigilante. By virtue of being in the same deck, it can be implied Izuna's squad and Lupis work together on occasion despite Lupis being wanted, which mirrors Zhu Yuan's and Phaethon's relationship in pre-1.4.

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[source](https://x.com/\_Mensang/status/2050235932817961240?s=20)

Corin

Ghostrick - Despite not Flip effects, the Ghostricks are a series of monsters that have effects when they are flipped face-up. They are toned down interpretations of various horror monsters that love to prank anyone who come by their mansion, which is depicted in gameplay by their trigger effects that activate when they are flipped face-up (yes, this is different than having straight Flip effects). They are separated into three groups; the Level 1 Fiends, the Level 2 Spellcasters, and the Level 3 Zombies, each with their own associated Xyz Monster. They also have Rank 4 with an Instant Win Condition. They debuted in the 2013 set Shadow Specters, and other cards' include;

• Ghostrick Stein (he's present in Ghostrick Festival, but only his hand; he's carrying Yuki-onna.)
• Ghostrick Nekomusume
• Ghostrick Mary
• Ghostrick Angel of Mischief
• Ghostrick or Treat

This was honestly the easiest deck to give to Corin; she's cute and horror-themed, the Ghostrick's are cute and horror-themed. I considered giving Angel of Mischief her ace, as Corin is supposed to be super strong and Angel is the 'strongest' Ghostrick with her instant win con, but I decided with the Festival because frankly it's the best support they've gotten in years and Ghostricks are still practically unplayable even with it. Sorry Elote. Maybe one day they'll both become top tiers...

Ellen

Shark - Another Xyz Spam deck, but this time they like to summon Rank 3, 4, and 5 monsters! With the Armored Xyz cards, they have easy access to a unique form of disruption, which is having opponent's cards being stacked under the Xyz Monsters as material; this bypasses destruction and banishment protection, and delays or sometimes even disables floating effects as Xyz Materials aren't considered 'on the field'. On their turn, they are heavily OTK focused with monster with high ATK and plenty of ways to attack multiple times. Shark and Armored Xyz are used by Reginald / Shark / Nasch (these are all the same person) in ZEXAL, and technically weren't actually an archetype until the 2024 set Rage of the Abyss, where the archetypal name "Shark" was finally mentioned on Surfacing Big Jaws. Other cards include;

• Abyss Shark
• Drake Shark
• Bahamut Shark (and by extension Toadally Awesome)
• Full Armored Dark Knight Lancer
• Number C32: Shark Drake LeVeiss

I mean... do I have to? Do I really got to? Y-you see what these cards are, right? You know what kind of Thiren Ellen is, right?

Jokes aside, Ellen owns shark merchandise, so it's not too much of a stretch to say you'll also use Shark cards. I choose Number 37: Hope Woven Dragon Spider Shark because A) the name Hope is in reference to Utopia's name in the OCG (King of Wishes - Hope), so it felt fitting to give this to ZZZ's first limited S-Rank, and B) I think its art is cool.

Alexandrina

Gimmick Puppet - Another Xyz focused deck, this time it's an FTK deck. With it's Rank 8 monsters, Gimmick Puppet summon an Xyz Monster to the opponent's field and destroy it repeatedly with their own effects in deal enough burn damage for to close a game. If you think there's counterplay to this strategy, you'd be partially right! The Xyz Monster on your field shuts down select hand traps, and Gimmick Puppets also have an in-archetype way to make all their moves unreactable. Yay, how fun! They are used by Quattro (real name Thomas Arclight) in ZEXAL, and other cards include;

• Mansion of the Dreadful Dolls
• Rank-Up-Magic Argent Chaos Force
• Gimmick Puppet Chimera Doll
• Number 15: Gimmick Puppet Giant Grinder
• CXyz Gimmick Puppet Fanatix Machinix

Keeping with Victory Housekeeping's horror themed, the Gimmick Puppets are based on creepy toys and possessed dolls. Rina herself has a ghost theme, since she floats and in commands her two Bangboos as if she were puppeteering them. The FTK also makes; Rina is a perfectionist, and the closest you can have to a 'perfect game' in YGO is to not let the turn pass over to your opponent!

Lycaon

Tr-Brigade - Tri-Brigade is a Link Deck focused are focused on the Tri-Type of Beast, Beast-Warrior, and Winged Beast monsters. The Main Deck monsters dump other members into the graveyard, as they all have an effect on field that allow them to summon a Tri-Type Link monster by banishing the same number of Tri-Types as the summoned monster's Link Rating. The Link-3 and lower monsters all have effects that allow for more swarming, the two Link-4s have both have board breaking effects, and all their floating effects allow them maintain card advantage. They debuted in the 2020 set Phantom Rage, and other cards include;

• Tri-Brigade Kitt
• Tri-Brigade Ferrijit the Barren Blossom
• Tri-Brigade Airborne Assault
• Brigrand the Glory Dragon
• Tri-Brigade Shuraig the Ominous Omen

Instead of the going with the horror theme (there's not that many werewolf themed decks), I instead went back to Lycaon's phantom thief days with his ex-boyfriend Hugo. Visually, Shuraig also has prothestics; his left wing is metal. In Branded Lore, the Tri-Brigade were all exiles from various tribes of demi-humans, who all eventually banded together to keep protect themselves safe from the Dogmatika nation. They are freedom fighters against oppression, and so was Lycaon during his time as a Phantom Thief. They also get involved eldritch horror nonsense; Lycaon, because he works with mayor, knows about the Exaltists (rip bozos) and the Creator, and the Tri-Brigade joins with Albaz and Ecclesia to fight off Maximus, who after some rituals had transformed himself into Bystial Dis Pater.