Synchro Monster

Synchro Monsters are a type of Monster Card, first released in Starter Deck 2008. The color of their card frame is white. 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. Synchro Monsters are generally 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. Ritual and Fusion monsters on the other hand, generally require certain specific monsters to be on your field or in your Graveyard to Summon them, long with the proper Spell card.

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.

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". Synchro Monsters have recieved support and monsters for many different Archetypes, much more than Ritual and Fusion monsters have. They can be ran effectively and have recieved Tuner support in "Laval", "Synchron", "Junk", "Karakuri", "Blackwing", "Vylon", "Six Samurai", "Plant",  "XX-Saber", "Flamvell", "Naturia", "Scrap", "Infernity", "Fire Fist", "Mecha Phantom Beast",, "Zombie", "Nordic", "Fabled", "Watt", "Dragunity", "Agent", "Psychic", "Gusto", "Iron Chain", "Mist Valley", "Alien", and "Fish". Synchro Monsters are also often used in "Dragon Ruler" and "Mermail".

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, 11 and 12; thanks to the addition of "Formula Synchron" and "T.G. Halberd Cannon".

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. As for those with specific requirements such as "Ally of Justice Decisive Armor" 1 tuner + 2 or more non-Tuner monsters, the tuner plus the 2 or more non-specific non tuner monsters levels must equal 10 and at least 3 monster must be used to Special Summon. Unlike Synchro monsters such as, "Karakuri Steel Shogun mdl 00X "Bureido"" which requires the non-Tuner to be a Machine-Type. That is to say that Ritual Monsters, Trap Monsters, and Token Monsters that have been used for Synchro Summoning must also meet the criteria of Level/Attribute/Type, as for Rank the requirements that can be noted are solely towards Attribute/Type as a Rank would not add to the Levels of the other monsters used, such as a Rank 4 Xyz monster + a Level 3 Tuner would not meet the summoning criteria for a Level 7 Synchro monster. Though if the requirements were strictly amount of monsters or a specific Attribute/Type is needed a Material can be 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 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.

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. Whilst Synchro Monsters still have not appeared in the ZEXAL anime or manga, additional support for Synchro Monsters has appeared in the Booster Packs Judgment of the Light and Shadow Specters and also featured in the Structure Deck: Saga of Blue-Eyes White Dragon.

Types of Synchro Summons

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