Synchro Monster

Synchro Monsters are a type of Monster Card, first released in Starter Deck 2008. The color of their card frame is white just like the cards in season 0. These cards are placed in the Extra Deck.

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. Some Synchro Monsters require a specific Tuner monster in order to be Synchro Summoned (such as "Junk Synchron" for "Junk Warrior") or monsters of a particular Type or Attribute as Material Monsters, but many do not, so they can be in just about any Extra Deck.

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.ref Also, like Fusion Monsters, they cannot be Special Summoned from the Graveyard if they were not properly Synchro Summoned first.

Some players have begun to use the term 'Synchronize,' 'Sync,' or 'Tune/Tuning' to then list which Tuner monster and non-Tuner monsters will be sent to the Graveyard when they perform a Synchro Summon and Summoning a Synchro Monster. (i.e. "I tune my "Quillbolt Hedgehog" [LV2] and "Speed Warrior" [LV2] with my "Junk Synchron" [LV3] to Synchro Summon "Junk Archer" [LV7, requires "Junk Synchron" as the Tuner]!")

There are currently no Aqua or Fish-Type Synchro Monsters in TCG or OCG. However, Konami has released Synchro Monsters for certain archetypes of monsters, including "Alien","Laval", "Six Samurai", "Iron Chain", "XX-Saber", and "Blackwing".

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; thanks to the addition of "Formula Synchron" and "T.G. Halberd Cannon" meaning that only a Level 11 Synchro Monster is needed to complete the entire spectrum of Synchro Summoning (as you cannot Synchro Summon a Level one Synchro Monster without the help of card effects).

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.

Role 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 Jacob 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.

Similar to how Synchro Monsters replaced Ritual and Fusion monsters when ''Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's started, Xyz Monsters have slowly started replacing Synchro Monsters since Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL'' started. New Booster Packs, Starter Decks, and Duel Terminals now focus on Xyz Monsters and included almost no more tuner Monsters and no Synchro Monsters have appeared in ZEXAL, save for "Iron Chain Dragon" and only in the preview for episode 1.

Types of Synchro Summons

 * Synchro Summon
 * Accel Synchro Summon
 * Delta Accel Synchro Summon
 * Dark Synchro Summon
 * Double Tuning
 * Limit Over Accel Synchro Summon