Synchro Monster
Synchro Monster | |||
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Japanese |
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Japanese (ruby) |
シンクロ(モンスター)[Notes 1] | ||
Japanese (base text) |
Sモンスター | ||
Japanese (romanized) |
Shinkuro(monsutā) | ||
English |
Synchro (Monster) | ||
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Synchro Monsters (Japanese: シンクロモンスター Shinkuromonsutā, abbreviated
To be Summoned, Synchro Monsters require Tuner monsters to be face-up on your field. When the total Level of the Tuner monster and any other face-up monsters on your field exactly matches the Level of the Synchro Monster you wish to Summon (no more or less), by sending them to the Graveyard, you can Synchro Summon the Synchro Monster. The monsters used are referred to as Synchro Material Monsters.
Because Synchro Monsters belong in the Extra Deck, they return there whenever they would be returned to the hand or Main Deck, like Fusion Monsters before. Also, like Fusion Monsters, they cannot be Special Summoned from the Graveyard if they were not properly Synchro Summoned first. As with all Special Summoning certain criteria must be met.
There are also two special types of Synchro monsters: Tuner and Accel Synchro monsters. Tuner Synchro Monsters are Synchro monsters that are Tuner monsters; usually, they have effects that make Synchro Summoning easier (such as allowing the player to Synchro Summon during their opponent's turn or by managing Levels). Accel Synchro Monsters are Synchro Monsters that require all of their Synchro Materials to be Synchro Monsters, so require Tuner Synchro Monsters (or Synchro Monsters treated as Tuner monsters) to be Synchro Summoned; their level is always high and they have powerful effects.
Contents
Synchro Material Monsters
To perform a Synchro Summon, one Tuner monster and one other monster must be used as Synchro Material Monsters. While almost all Synchro Monsters require 1 Tuner monster and 1 or more non-Tuner monsters, many Synchro Monsters have different requirements. Trap Monsters and Token Monsters can be used as Synchro Material Monsters, with the Trap Monster "Shapesister" even being treated as Tuner monster.
Some Synchro Monsters have restrictions on the Synchro Material Monsters that can be used. Restrictions can be placed on the following attributes of the Tuner monster:
- Name (e.g. "Moon Dragon Quilla", "Life Stream Dragon")
- Type (e.g. "Chaos King Archfiend", "Lightning Tricorn", "Driven Daredevil")
- Attribute (e.g. "Beelze of the Diabolic Dragons", "Gungnir, Dragon of the Ice Barrier", "Vylon Sigma")
- Archetype (e.g. "Thor, Lord of the Aesir", "Daigusto Eguls")
- Level (e.g. "Sea Dragon Lord Gishilnodon")
- Monster card type (e.g. "Shooting Star Dragon", "Azure-Eyes Silver Dragon")
Some Synchro Monsters require 2 or more non-Tuner monsters to be Summoned, such as "Mist Wurm" or "Ally of Justice Decisive Armor"; in that case, at least 3 monsters are required. Other Synchro Monsters, such as "Sea Dragon Lord Gishilnodon", specify the number of non-Tuner monsters that are required.
While "Phantom King Hydride" is a Tuner monster, it can treat itself as a non-Tuner monster during a Synchro Summon.
Multiple Tuner monsters
While most Synchro Monsters require exactly 1 Tuner to be Synchro Summoned, "Red Nova Dragon" and "Vylon Omega" require 2.
"XX-Saber Gottoms" must be Synchro Summoned using a Tuner and EARTH-Attribute monster(s), but it does not specify that the EARTH-Attribute monsters must be non-Tuners. As such, up to 5 Tuner monsters can be used for its Synchro Summon.
If a specifically named Synchro Material Monster is treated as a Tuner monster, it can be used for the Synchro Summon and result in there being 2 or more Tuner monsters used. For example, if "Stardust Dragon" is treated as a Tuner monster, it can be used as a Synchro Material for the Synchro Summon of "Majestic Star Dragon" or "Shooting Star Dragon" in addition to the necessary Tuner monster. If "Red Dragon Archfiend" is treated as a Tuner monster, "Red Nova Dragon" can be Synchro Summoned using 3 Tuner monsters.
Play style
While some Synchro Monsters have restrictions on the Synchro Material Monsters that can be used, many do not, or have lax restrictions, making them more splashable in decks than Fusion and Ritual Monsters, as many require just a single Tuner and another monster to Summon them, and almost any Deck can run a few Tuners.
Strategically speaking, Synchro Monsters allow for a large amount of rapid power to be Summoned with relative ease and speed. Most of them have very potent effects in addition to their ease in Summoning. They do not necessarily always have card advantage over Fusion Monsters, because a player might use up as many cards getting all of the Material Monsters on the field to perform a Synchro Summon in one turn, but they have the advantage of increased flexibility and speed over Fusion Monsters due to the fact that many of them have very non-specific requirements for them to be Summoned, so a player with a Tuner monster and a non-Tuner monster on the field will always have one or more options for Summoning, especially if card effects that allow Levels to be changed are used.
History
Similar to how Synchro Monsters replaced Ritual and Fusion monsters when Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's started, Xyz Monsters replaced Synchro Monsters when Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL started.
However, whilst Synchro Monsters did not appear in the ZEXAL anime or manga, additional support for Synchro Monsters still appeared on occasion in the TCG although the primary focus of all ZEXAL-era products was Xyz Monsters. The TCG version of the booster packs Generation Force, Order of Chaos, Photon Shockwave and Cosmo Blazer all included 1-3 new Synchro Monsters despite primarily containing Xyz Monsters. Synchro Monsters also have been on occassion released in the 2012 Collectors Tins as promo cards and new Synchros were still released in several Hidden Arsenal sets, Hidden Arsenal 5: Steelswarm Invasion and Hidden Arsenal 6: Omega Xyz. The latest addition in Gold Series, Gold Series: Haunted Mine contained reprinted Synchro Monsters as well. The 2012 Premium Collection Tin also included 3 new Synchro Monsters, and several Synchro Monsters were reprinted in the 2013 Collectors Tins. Judgment of the Light, however, marked the first time since Xyz Monsters came into the game that Synchro Monsters gained much support and new monsters, featuring 8 new Synchros, about the same number released per set during the Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's era of the TCG. One of the newest Structure Decks, Structure Deck: Saga of Blue-Eyes White Dragon features a "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" Synchro Counterpart ("Azure-Eyes Silver Dragon"). Shadow Specters and Legacy of the Valiant released 4 and 3 Synchro Monsters respectively, including brand new, splashable and generic ones, such as "Giganticastle" and "Leo, the Keeper of the Sacred Tree", TCG-exclusives, like "Powered Inzektron", and Synchro monsters that only existed in the OCG, such as "Celestial Wolf Lord, Blue Sirius".
However, beginning with Duelist Alliance, the set after Primal Origin (which is the last Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL based set), it has been advertised by Konami that Synchro Monsters, Xyz Monsters, Ritual Monsters and Fusion Monsters will begin getting an equal amount of support. More Synchro Monsters that were formally OCG-exclusive were also recently finally released in the TCG Premium Gold set, along with many reprints of old Gold Series Synchro Monsters.
In the anime
Synchro Monsters have the power to manipulate Ener-D, allowing humans to accelerate their evolution. It was a vital part of the plot of Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's and the series antagonists' intentions. However, it was never explained exactly how Synchro Monsters obtained this ability.
A possible theory is linked to the statement that Synchro Monsters are the "symbols of human evolution". This could be the case when one considers how intricately linked humanity is to Duel Monsters and Ener-D. It is stated by Jakob that man's excessive use of Synchros caused Ener-D to spin faster, producing more energy and thus accelerating human evolution. It could be that this energy is fueling human evolution because of Synchros, the "symbols of human evolution". Humanity expresses its subconscious desire for evolution by obsessing over and excessively using Synchro Monsters.
While no Synchro Monsters appeared in Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL, Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V has shown one Synchro monster in the first episode, "XX-Saber Gottoms," which appeared later in the series used by "X-Saber" Duelist Yaiba Todo. Declan has also used a Synchro Monster, and Yugo uses a Synchro Deck, while Gong has added Synchro Monsters to his Deck. They are said to be monsters that only the elite use, and they are they only type of Extra Deck monster used in the Synchro Dimension.
Example
Trivia
- Machine-Type monsters are currently the most diverse monsters by Level, as they have Synchro Monsters that are Levels 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 12.
- They are followed by the Dragon-Type, that has Level 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 Synchro Monsters.
- The only 3 Zombie-Type Synchro Monsters ("Revived King Ha Des", "Doomkaiser Dragon" and "Archfiend Zombie-Skull") are all Level 6 Zombie counterparts of pre-existing monsters and all require "Plaguespreader Zombie" to be the Tuner monster.
- "Star Eater" is both the only Level 11 Synchro Monster and the only Synchro Monster whose Synchro Summon cannot be negated, and the only one who prevents the activation of cards or effects when it is Synchro Summoned.
- "Sea Dragon Lord Gishilnodon" is the only Synchro Monster who specifies the Level of the non-Tuner monster required for its Synchro Summon.
- "T.G. Recipro Dragonfly" is currently the only Level 2 Synchro Monster that is not a Tuner Monster.