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Nick Curtis on Yugioh
Synchro Monster
September 1, 2009

Well hello fellow duelists! This will be my first of many articles to come, so let’s get started!

My articles will be written mainly from the viewpoint of a duelist that has taken a year or so off from this game and is now coming back to it. Obviously there are A LOT of changes. The introduction of Synchro and Tuner monsters are the biggest change to the game in the past year. And now with the new ban list, the tempo of the game is vastly different from when I left, as well as the addition of the “Extra Deck”. I quit the game when TeleDad was the deck to play and Stardust dragon had just come out. I didn’t even know how to Synchro summon at the time, but now it seem way too easy. Why did I leave the game though? Cards were way too expensive and the game was heading in a direction I did not like, where the best cards cost an arm and a leg to get unless you had insane luck with boosters.

This article will focus on Synchro monsters, and what they have brought to this game. The first thing I noticed was the fact that a Synchro summon is a -1 for the player who summons one. So why would someone sacrifice possible advantage to bring one of these out? Well just read some of their effects! Goyo Guardian comes to mind immediately. Sure you -1 yourself to summon him, but if his effect goes through you just gained your advantage back. Stardust Dragon protects your field from basically anything, and black rose dragon punishes players who overextend. Three broken effects, and that’s just the start! Also, due to the speed of this game and concepts the game has abandoned, such as the one normal summon 1800 attack average monster per turn being your main play, special summoning is now considered to be the “new” normal summon every turn. Some decks special summon 2-4 times a turn and can bring out 2-3 Synchros at any given time. That’s a huge tempo change from when I quit the game a year ago.

Now Tuners are a whole different story. These little guys are the main ingredient in the Synchro summon. Without them Synchros would not exist. In my opinion only a handful of them are note worthy, such as Psychic Commander, Rose Warrior, and Plaguespreader. Not only that but cards exist that make them even more accessible, such as Foolish Burial for Plaguespreader or Emergency Teleport for Krebons. So if you can’t access one quickly enough through drawing you can drop them or special summon them to further increase the rate you can summon your Synchros, which is ridiculously good! Not only that, but a Tuners own effect can make or break a game as well. For example we have Krebons, pay 800 life points to stop an attack that targets him. This effect can keep you from dying and setting up for game next turn. Now with Raiza back to 3 you can summon Raiza, bounce a card, then Emergency Teleport in Krebons and bring out Stardust Dragon or Colossal Fighter.

Some Tuners though are now splashed into all sorts of decks. For example we have Gale. This card is a Tuner of course, but also has a great effect of its own. These amazing Synchros that have come out now have to worry about this card, and it’s as simple as sending Sangan or Mystic Tomato to the graveyard. This card can run over the Stardust Dragon you just brought out, or half the attack of that Blackwing Armor Master you just brought out to not make it much of a threat anymore. The fact that it has a great effect by itself, and can be splashed into almost any deck is one of the main reasons it was limited to one. And the fact that in Blackwing this card is boss. It was the bread and butter to the Blackwing deck. It added speed and created good field presence at the same time. It is to this day probably the best Tuner released besides maybe Plaguespreader. And the fact that it’s a 3 star Tuner gives access to Armor Master or Dark Strike Fighter as most monsters you will Synch with a Tuner are 4 stars. I can’t tell you how many times my Gale has taken down that Stardust or other Synchro, when the only other answer I had at the time was a Smashing Ground, which obviously does me no good.

So not only do these cards exist but there are decks that abuse them to no end, and that is Cat Synchro. This deck was recently nerfed due to the new ban list with Rescue Cat and Summoner Monk at 1. I did get to play it for a week or two, and let me tell you that deck is fun! Sure Cat Synchro is basically gone, but with Cat at 1 I have already seen players try and develop a quicker means to clear the field using him and X-Saber Airbellum along with Gravekeeper’s Spy to get a quick Arcanite Magician. Not only is the deck they’re used in important, but the extra deck itself is too. Now Fusions and Synchros must co-exist in this extra deck which is limited to 15 slots. Remember lists that would have like a billion Fusions in them? Well I’m sure there are judges out there thanking their gods for this change in the game. Plus who takes the time to write those lists, seriously. So picking which 15 is crucial as space is limited. One staple I have seen is Chimeratech Fortress Dragon. This card is pretty nifty, but very situational in my opinion because not many decks right now run Dekoichi or Card Trooper. Now that Dark Strike Fighter is gone that opens up two spots for most players, which is now replaced by a second Stardust and Colossal from what I have seen.

So not only has there been a new monster type introduced to the game in the past year, but new strategies and game play mechanics as well. Next week’s article will talk about the new ban list and what it was like a year ago as compared to now. As well as the decks used a year ago compared to now.

Feedback is always welcome with me, so catch me on AIM: ssjtrunks756, or my email: ssjtrunks756pojo@gmail.com