#tuneintopower

Yu-Gi-Oh is an ever growing and evolving card game. As time went on, it has become something that is almost unrecognizable to those played back when it first came out. Because of this, it can start to look daunting to both new players trying to start playing it and old ones who left but are coming back. So that’s why I’ve decided to try to make it easier for people who want to get into it. So let’s break down Yu-Gi-Oh’s first new summoning method: Synchro Summoning.

So what is Synchro Summoning? Well, at its core it's basically simple math. You must match the levels of your monsters so that they add up to the level of a synchro monster in your extra deck. So, say you were trying to summon a Level 8 monster. It doesn’t matter how many monsters you used as long as their levels together equaled 8 and included a tuner monster. Now, a tuner monster is the most important thing about Synchro Summoning and what makes it possible. The easiest way to think about it is a monster form of Polymerization, a card that is required to summon fusion monsters. You need this specific type of card in order to bring out this specific type of monster. Let’s say you wanted to bring out a Level 6 synchro monster. You could use any combination of levels (1 + 5. 2 + 4, 3 + 3) as long as one of those monsters was a tuner monster.

Finally, we have to look at material requirements. Most synchro monsters have generic materials, meaning that you can use any tuner and non-tuner monster(s) to bring them out. However, in certain cases monsters will also require a specific kind of monster. For example, the synchro monster Junk Warrior requires the tuner monster Junk Synchron and any non-tuner monster(s). This means that it doesn’t matter what non-tuner monster(s) use as long as you also use Junk Synchron. Another example is the card Clear Wing Fast Dragon. This card has the requirement of 1 tuner monster and any non-tuner wind monster(s). This is far less restrictive than Junk Warrior, but still forces you to make sure that any non-tuner monsters are wind attributes. When trying to Synchro Summon, it is important to pay attention to what is required so that you’re not caught off guard.

And that is essentially Synchro Summoning. While there are some more advanced techniques, this is enough to understand the basic premise. With this knowledge, you are now one step closer to being a bonafide player.