Monsters

Now to continue with the lesson we will start with all the different monster types there being alot so keep quiet so I can teach.

Monster Cards are differentiated by their names, Type; Attribute; ATK; DEF; Level (or Rank or Link Rating). Monster Cards can be subdivided into Normal Monsters, Effect Monsters, Ritual Monsters, Fusion Monsters, Synchro Monsters, Xyz Monsters, Pendulum Monsters, Link Monsters and Monster Tokens, each with a distinctive colored card frame to differentiate them.

In extent to the aforementioned classifications, Monster can also be classified as Tuner monsters or Special Summon Monsters, but this classification isn't a separate division from those above. Also, Effect Monsters, exclusively, can be classified further by Ability. This includes Spirit monsters, Toon monsters, Union monsters, Gemini monsters, and Flip monsters.

Normal Monsters lack effects and are not typically paired with any other Monster Card types (with the exception of Gemini monsters, a class of Effect Monsters which are summoned as Normal Monsters, and some Pendulum Monsters, which can also be Normal Monsters). Effect Monsters cannot also be Normal Monsters (with the exception of the aforementioned Gemini monsters), but they can also be Ritual, Fusion, Synchro, Xyz Monsters, Pendulum, and Link Monsters. Some Ritual, Fusion, Synchro, Xyz, and Link Monsters lack effects and are thus not also Effect Monsters, but they are not considered Normal Monsters. Such monsters are known as Non-Effect Monsters.

During play, monster cards can be played in either face-up Attack Position or face-down Defense Position. The importance of monster cards lies in their effects (which usually activate during their controller's Main Phase) and their ATK and DEF values during the Battle Phase (or more specifically, the Damage Step).

Examples for each type of card include:

Tokens=dragon lord token

Normal=Megalosmasher X

Union=A-Assault Core

Effect=B.E.S Big Core MK-3

Spirit=Amaterasu

Flip=Morphing jar

Ritual=Balameuniere de Nouvelles

Gemini=Alien Hypno

Fusion=Amulet Dragon

Tuner=Junk synchron

Syncho=Stardust Dragon

Xyz=cyber dragon infinity

Pendulum=Amorphage Gluttony

Link=Firewall dragon

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Tokens are Monsters Special Summoned out of nowhere by a card effect. These monsters are not included in the Deck, Extra Deck or Side Deck, as stated on the limitation text of each Token Token Monsters are always Normal Monsters and never have effects. Thus, they qualify for Normal Monster support and non-Effect Monster support.

Some Token Monsters have effects applied to them by the cards that Summon them, but these are not the effects of the Token Monsters themselves, so these "effects" cannot be negated by cards like "Skill Drain".

Some Normal Monster support may specifically exclude Tokens, such as "Order to Charge".

Tokens can only exist face-up on the field.

Token Monsters cannot be face-down. Thus, they cannot be targeted by, and are unaffected by, effects that flip cards face-down (such as "Book of Moon" and "Swords of Concealing Light").

If an Attack Position Token Monster would be affected by a card that would change it to face-down Defense Position, such as "Swords of Concealing Light", the Token Monster's battle position is not changed at all.

Token Monsters cannot be banished face-down. They can't be targeted, and are unaffected, by card effects that would do so.The original ATK, DEF, Level, Name, Type and Attribute of a Token is stated on the card that Summons them.

If a Token Monster would leave the field (i.e. if it would be returned to the hand or Main Deck, sent to GY, or banished), it simply disappears.

Token Monsters can be successfully Tributed, destroyed, or banished; however, because they simply leave the field, they are not treated as being successfully moved to the specified Token Monsters can be used to pay costs, as long as the cost does not specify a destination.

Token Monsters can be Tributed for Tribute or Ritual Summon, or for the Special Summon of cards like "Destiny HERO - Plasma".

They cannot be sent to the Graveyard as a cost (such as for the Special Summon of "Arcana Force EX - The Dark Ruler").

Banishing does not specify a destination, so a Token can be banished for a cost (such as for the Special Summon of "Unibird").

Token Monsters can be used as Fusion, Synchro, or Link Materials.

Tokens cannot be used as Xyz Materials, because Xyz Materials are attached to the Xyz Monster and attached Xyz Materials are not considered to be on the field. Tokens can be the target of and are affected by card effects that cause them to leave the field, even if they specify a destination, such as "Number 50: Blackship of Corn" and "Compulsory Evacuation Device".

Tokens cannot be targeted by the effect of a card that would attach them to an Xyz Monster, such as "Number 101: Silent Honor ARK".

A Token Monster can be treated as an Equip Card by a card like "The Grand Jupiter"

If so, Token Monsters cannot be Special Summoned from the Spell & Trap Zone.

The owner of a Token Monster is the player who Special Summoned it.

"Owner's Seal" will change control of Ojama Tokens Special Summoned by the effect of "Ojama Trio" to the player who activated "Ojama Trio".

"Rose Tokens" are the exception to this, instead being owned by the player who controls the monster whose Summon caused the "Rose Token" to be Summoned (rather than the player who Summoned the "Rose Token"). (Example: Player A Normal Summons a monster, and trigger the effect of "Black Garden", Special Summoning "Rose Token". This "Rose Token" is owned by Player A.)

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Normal Monsters (Japanese: 通つう常じょうモンスター Tsūjō Monsutā), colored yellow, are Main Deck monsters with no monster effects. In the card description box (which contains the effect on Effect Monsters), Normal Monsters include a brief description of its lore. Starting from Starter Deck: Link Strike onwards, all Normal Monsters also include the designation "/Normal" on their Type/Ability lines.

Only Monster Cards with "yellow" backgrounds are Normal Monsters. There are Tuner and Pendulum Normal Monsters, such as "Tune Warrior" and "Flash Knight". Monster Tokens are also Normal Monsters. Non-Effect Fusion, Ritual, Synchro, Xyz and Link Monsters are not Normal Monsters. Some non-Normal Monsters can be treated as Normal Monsters with card effects, most notably Gemini monsters and some Trap Monsters.The card text (or flavor text) on Normal Monsters is for illustrative purposes only, and has no effect on gameplay (except archetype conditions, such as on "Summoned Skull" and "Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts" in the English TCG). These texts provide lore on how the monster is related to other cards in the game, such as the flavor text of "Opticlops" which explicitly states that it serves "Dark Ruler Ha Des".Though they do not have inherent effects, there are often Spell, Trap, or Monster effects associated with specific Normal Monsters. For example, "Dark Magic Attack" can only be used with "Dark Magician", "Huge Revolution" can only be activated with 3 specific Normal Monsters on the field, and "X-Head Cannon", "V-Tiger Jet" and "Dark Blade" are the specific targets for three specific Union monsters.

Normal Monsters have received some very powerful support cards for general use, such as "Birthright", "Summoner's Art", "Knight of the Red Lotus", "Princess Cologne", "Terratiger" and "Ventdra, the Empowered Warrior", "White Tiger" and "Blue Dragon Summoner", "Dark Factory of Mass Production", and "Creepy Coney". The Normal Pendulum Monsters "Dragon Horn Hunter", "Lancephorhynchus", and the "Draconia" series support Normal Monsters. "Thunder End Dragon" has a powerful effect, but requires 2 Normal Monsters in order to be Xyz Summoned.

"Rescue Rabbit" can Special Summon 2 Level 4 or lower Normal Monsters from the Deck, providing quick access to Xyz Monsters; this effect is so useful that Dino Rabbit Decks are built entirely around it.

Some Normal Monster support focuses on low-Level Normal Monsters (typically Level 3 or lower). There are cards that allow the Special Summon of large numbers of low-Level Normal Monsters from the Deck (such as "Human-Wave Tactics" and "Enchanting Fitting Room"), to then be powered up with cards like "Triangle Power", "Amulet of Ambition", and "Sword of the Soul-Eater", or used to get rid of the opponent's cards with "The Law of the Normal".

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Gemini monsters (Japanese: デュアルモンスター Dyuaru Monsutā "Dual Monster") are Effect Monsters with the "Gemini" ability. They are treated as Normal Monsters on the field and in the GY, and can gain their effects by performing an additional Normal Summon on them while they are face-up on the field.

While a Gemini Monster is face-up on the field, or in the GY, they are treated as Normal Monsters. They are treated as Effect monster everywhere else. They can be Normal Summoned again to unlock their effect(s).

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Union monsters (ユニオンモンスター Yunion Monsutā) are Effect Monsters with the "Union" ability. Each Union monster has an effect that allows it to equip itself to a monster as an Equip Spell Card or unequip itself to Special Summon itself to a Monster Zone.

Union monsters were introduced in Advent of Union.

Not all monsters that can treat themselves as Equip Cards are Union monsters; for example, "Worm Millidith", "Dark Necrofear", "Kiseitai", "Armory Arm", and "Number 58: Burner Visor" all have effects that turn these cards into Equip Cards, but none of them are Union monsters.

The equip-themed "Vylon" and "Machina" archetypes as well as the A-to-Z series contain several Union monsters.

Effects

Every Union monster has an Ignition Effect that allows it to either equip to or unequip from the host once per turn while it is on the field. If a Union monster unequips itself with its own effect, it is Special Summoned; Union monsters last printed prior to Structure Deck: Seto Kaiba can only be Special Summoned in Attack Position if Summoned this way. Additional cards, such as "Formation Union" and "Combination Attack", can equip and unequip Union monsters, with "Formation Union" even treating the Union monster as having been equipped by its own effect. They also do not require you to Special Summon them in Attack Position after being unequipped from a monster.

Older Union monsters have an effect to destroy themselves if the monster they are equipped to would be destroyed by battle. More recent Union monsters destroy themselves if the monster they are equipped to would be destroyed by any means. All Union monsters printed since Structure Deck: Seto Kaiba (including reprints) destroy themselves if the monster they are equipped to would be destroyed by battle or card effect.

Prior to Structure Deck: Seto Kaiba, all Union monsters had a condition that meant that only one Union monster could be equipped to a monster at a time. In the OCG, from Structure Deck: Seto Kaiba onward, Union monsters no longer have this restriction (including reprints).

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Effect Monsters (Japanese: 効こう果かモンスター Kōka Monsutā) are Monster Cards with an orange color border, and were first introduced in the Vol.3 booster pack. Effect Monsters necessarily have at least one card effect or condition.

Effect Monsters are designated by the text "/Effect" on the Type/ability line. Originally, Effect Monsters which also had abilities (such as Toon and Gemini) or were Tuners would display their subtype and not "/Effect". From Battle Pack 3: Monster League onward, all Effect Monsters now include "/Effect" regardless of their abilities or status as a Tuner monster. Regardless, monsters that have abilities are always Effect Monsters (although this is not the case for Tuner monsters).

Fusion, Ritual, Synchro, Xyz, Pendulum, and Link Monsters can also be Effect Monsters. Some effect monsters have powerful effects, but low ATK and DEF for their Level (such as "Ancient Gear Engineer" and "Needle Burrower"). Additionally, some cards with higher ATK or DEF for their Level have negative effects (such as "Giant Kozaky" or "Giant Orc").

Monster effects

Monster effects vary greatly, and are classified into four different types:

Continuous

Continuous Effects (Japanese: 永えい続ぞく効こう果か Eizoku Kōka) are a type of monster effect that applies while the monster remains face-up on the field. Some of these effects must meet additional requirements before they can be applied, and others may only be applied temporarily. These effects never "activate", and thus, do not start a Chain.

"Jinzo" and "Starduston" are two such cards with Continuous Effects. Since these effects don't start a Chain, they do not interact with effects that negate activations. However, they can still be negated by other card effects that negate monster effects that don't needing to respond to an activation, such as "Skill Drain", "Effect Veiler", "Junk Synchron", etc.

Ignition

Ignition Monster Effects (Japanese: 起き動どう効こう果か Kidō Kōka, "Startup effect") are Spell Speed 1 effects that require a manual activation by the card's controller during their own Main Phase 1 or 2. This type of effect used to be called a Cost Effect in the early days of Yu-Gi-Oh!, which was slightly confusing because not all of those monsters had a cost.

Examples of monsters with Ignition Effects: "Cyber Gymnast", "XYZ-Dragon Cannon", "Bazoo the Soul-Eater", "Blackwing - Gale the Whirlwind", "3-Hump Lacooda", "Card Trooper", "Dark Simorgh", "Lonefire Blossom", "XX-Saber Faultroll" and most Xyz Monsters.

Post-Problem-Solving Card Text, these type of effects will generally be indicated by "Once per turn:", "You can" or "During your Main Phase:", followed by the cost which will end with a semi-colon(;), and lastly, the actual effect which you activated.

Trigger (including Flip effects)

Trigger Effects (Japanese: 誘ゆう発はつ効こう果か Yūhatsu Kōka, Evoked Effect) are a type of card effect for Monster Cards that activate when a certain condition is met. Trigger-like Effects are the parallel type of card effect for Spell/Trap Cards.

Trigger Effects are Spell Speed 1 effects that make a Chain Link when activated. In general, Trigger Effects can be activated during any phase, although many individual Trigger Effects have restrictions on the phases in which they can be activated as part of their activation timing. Trigger Effects can be mandatory or optional. Here is an example. If you control "Starving Venom Fusion Dragon", its effect states: "If this card is Fusion Summoned, you can make this card gain ATK equal to 1 opponent's Special Summoned Monster." If this card IS successfully Fusion Summoned, then its controller can choose when to activate the effect. This is because "IF" effects cannot miss the timing. However, this effect only lasts until the end of the current turn.

Quick.

A Quick Effect, formerly called a Multi-Trigger Effect, and called an Immediate Trigger Effect (誘ゆう発はつ即そく時じ効こう果か Yūhatsu Sokuji Kōka) in the OCG, is a type of monster effect that is Spell Speed 2 (and is the only Spell Speed 2 monster effect).

It is the only type of monster effect that can be activated in Summon negation window, and the only one that can be chained to another activation (excluding SEGOC). As such, monsters effects that negate the activation or Summon are all Quick Effects.For cards with Problem-Solving Card Text (PSCT), starting in Maximum Crisis Special Edition, Quick Effects are noted by mention of "(Quick Effect)" in the text. Prior to Maximum Crisis Special Edition, for cards with PSCT, Quick Effects are normally noted by "During either player's [turn/Phase/Step]" in the activation timing, or "(this is a Quick Effect)" at the end of the effect if that wording is not applicable.

For cards without PSCT, Quick Effects are more difficult to identify. They can be identified by text which indicates the same timing as the PSCT standard. Some Quick Effects can only be determined to be that way due to rulings.Unless otherwise specified (e.g. "Light and Darkness Dragon"), the same Quick Effect can be activated multiple times during the same Chain, as long as it meets its activation conditions and/or timing each time.

Chain example

The player controls a face-up "Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV8", and it is currently the opponent's Main Phase 1.

Chain Link 1: The opponent activates "Fissure".

Chain Link 2: The player Chains "Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV8"'s effect to negate its activation and destroy "Fissure".

Chain Link 3: The opponent Chains "Book of Moon", targeting "Horus".

Chain Link 4: The player Chains "Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV8"'s effect to negate its activation and destroy "Book of Moon.

Since Chains resolve backwards, this Chain would resolve as follows:

Chain Link 4: "Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV8" negates and destroys "Book of Moon".

Chain Link 3: "Book of Moon" does not resolve.

Chain Link 2: "Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV8" negates and destroys "Fissure".

Chain Link 1: "Fissure" does not resolve.

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Spirit monsters (スピリットモンスター Supiritto monsutā) are Effect Monsters with the ability "Spirit". Each of this type of monster has an effect that returns it to its owner's hand during the End Phase of the turn it is Normal Summoned or flipped face-up (or the turn it is Special Summoned in case of Spirit monsters that must be Special Summoned). With the exception of the Special Summon Monster "Yamato-no-Kami", "Shinob" Ritual Monsters, and the Martial Arts Spirits, this kind of monster cannot be Special Summoned. The "Martial Arts Spirit" monsters (which are Pendulum Spirit Monsters) are an exception to both of these typical characteristics: they can be either Normal or Special Summoned, but their effects (including the Spirit return effect) only activate when they are Normal Summoned.

The designs of most Spirit monsters are based on icons from Eastern mythology. They all have very similar backgrounds, ostensibly the Spirit World. Their OCG names are in kanji, but the furigana is in katakana, which normally would indicate a foreign-language word.

History

Spirit monsters debuted in Mythological Age and received support for the first time in The Duelist Genesis, which was released almost 7 years later. When they are reprinted, it is usually in Structure Decks and Tournament Packs.

There are no archetypes focused on Spirit monsters, but there is one series that does, "Shinob". The only two archetypes that have Spirit monsters as members are "Ice Barrier" ("Sacred Spirit of the Ice Barrier") and "Gishki" ("Gishki Natalia" and "Emilia"). Both archetypes are WATER-Attribute, and their Spirit monsters don't represent any mythological figure, instead representing revived spirits of dead characters of their storyline. All of these Spirit monsters were introduced in the Hidden Arsenal series.

Due to the low speed of a dedicated Spirit Deck, as well as their lack of Special Summons and field presence, they never experienced competitive relevance as a Deck theme (although individual members did). There are several competitively noteworthy Spirit monsters, such as "Yata-Garasu", the fundamental part of the Yata-Garasu Lockdown, which was Forbidden for 17 years until 2022; "Tsukuyomi", which used to be Forbidden due to its ability to Set Flip monsters again to allow them to activate their effects again, enabling powerful loops; and "Asura Priest", whose ability to attack every opposing monster was unique at the time of its release.

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Flip monsters (Japanese: リバースモンスター Ribāsumonsutā "Reverse Monster"), formerly Flip Effect Monsters (リバース効こう果かモンスター Ribāsu Kōka Monsutā "Reverse Effect Monster"), are Effect Monsters with the ability "Flip". With the exception of Deus X-Krawler, they all have a Flip effect, although they may also have other effects in addition to their Flip effect.

Previously, Flip Effects (as they were capitalized at the time) were a type of card effect like Trigger and Ignition Effects, with Flip Effects being able to be identified by the text "FLIP:" at the start of the effect; Flip Effect Monsters were simply monsters that had a Flip Effect. Starting in Starter Deck 2014 (in the OCG) and Super Starter: Space-Time Showdown (in the TCG), Flip is treated as an ability and the word "Flip" is written on the cards' Type/Ability line.

Flip monsters usually have a low Level, and often have low ATK and DEF.

The "Charmer", "Krawler", "Prediction Princess", "Shaddoll", "Subterror", "Tindangle" and "Worm" archetypes are primarily based on Flip monsters.

Flip monsters can also be Tuner monsters or Pendulum Monsters.

Flip effects

A Flip effect is a type of Trigger Effect that is preceded by "FLIP:". This kind of effect meets its activation timing when the Flip monster on the field is flipped from face-down to a face-up, even during the Damage Step.

Some monsters have effects with the timing "when this card is flipped face-up" (unofficially called Pseudo-Flip Effects), such as "Snowman Eater", which, while mechanically identical, are distinct from Flip effects.

When a face-down Flip monster is attacked, during damage calculation the monster is flipped face-up, then it is determined whether or not the monster is destroyed by battle. During the Damage Step, after damage calculation but before being sent to the Graveyard if it was destroyed by battle, the Flip monster's Flip effect activates and resolves on the field, if the timing is correct.

If a card effect destroys a face-down Flip monster, its Flip effect cannot be activated since it is not flipped face-up.

Trivia

There are currently no Dinosaur or Fish-Type Flip monsters.

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Ritual Monsters (Japanese: 儀ぎ式しきモンスター Gishiki Monsutā), colored blue, are monsters that must be Special Summoned with a Ritual Spell Card. Examples include "Relinquished", "Magician of Black Chaos", "Revendread Slayer", "Nekroz of Trishula", and "Herald of Ultimateness".

Ritual Monsters are Special Summon-only monsters. This means that they cannot be Normal Summoned or Tribute Summoned from the hand and cannot be Special Summoned from the Graveyard or while banished unless they were first Ritual Summoned (even with a card like "Fulfillment of the Contract").

Ritual Summoning

In some ways, Level 5 or higher Ritual Monsters are easier to Summon than Normal or Effect Monsters of the same Level, since their Tributes do not need to be on the field. However, they do require a number of specific cards to be in the hand at once, which can be quite difficult to achieve. Some Ritual Spell Cards such as "Advanced Ritual Art" can ameliorate this by using monsters from the Main Deck instead, as opposed to using monsters from your hand and/or side of the field. Cards such as "Preparation of Rites" and "Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands" help the player to assemble the necessary components for a Ritual Summon, while cards such as "Ascending Soul" and "Ritual Buster" help alleviate the costs of Ritual Summoning. The "Djinn of Rituals" monsters can serve dual purposes, as they make the Ritual Spell Card's monster requirement easier to fulfill by banishing themselves from the Graveyard, as well as granting an additional effect whenused for the Ritual Summon of a Ritual Monster.

As this is my specialty I'll give you some playstyles to use.

Because Ritual Monsters are not stored in the Extra Deck, they don't have the benefit of being immediately available to be Summoned as soon as the player has the necessary monsters. Likewise, needing specific Spell Cards for each Ritual Monster (with some exceptions) can also limit the player's ability to Ritual Summon should they be missing the Ritual Spell Card or Ritual Monster. As a result, Decks focused on Ritual Summoning tend include ways to search Ritual Monsters and Ritual Spell Cards.

Ritual Summoning is supported by a number of Spell Cards, including "Ritual Foregone" which allows for the instant Summon of a Ritual Monster from the hand, though such a monster cannot attack and will be destroyed during the End Phase. Generic search cards such as Preparation of Rites, Pre-Preparation of Rites, and Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands are a common sight in Ritual-based strategies for their ability to easily set up a Ritual Summon, tributes notwithstanding.

The Impcantations are the best support for any Ritual based Deck to date; notably "Impcantation Talismandra" and "Impcantation Chalislime". By helping to search the Ritual Monsters and Ritual Spells, and by Special Summoning themselves to the field, they can easily meet the requirements for a Ritual Summon. Overall, they give all Ritual-reliant decks some much-needed consistency.

No other Tributes are required if using "Ritual Raven" for the Summoning of a DARK Ritual Monster. Two of the "Gishki" archetype monsters, "Gishki Shadow" and "Gishki Vision" allow them to be the entire Tribute for any WATER monster, not just a "Gishki" Ritual Monster.

Ritual-reliant Decks benefit the most from having multiple copies of Ritual Spell Cards and Ritual Monsters, as the chances of drawing both the Ritual Spell and the Ritual Monster increases greatly. Ritual Summoning can cost the player a large amount of cards in hand/field so ways to generate hand advantage and recycle Ritual Spell cards are also important.

With the introduction of the New Master Rules, Ritual Monsters now have the advantage of being able to be Summoned in any Main Monster Zone, unlike Pendulum and Link Monsters.

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Fusion Monsters (Japanese: 融ゆう合ごうモンスター Yūgō Monsutā or フュージョン Fyūjyon in Yu-Gi-Oh! Rush Duel) are a type of Monster Card. The color of their card frame is violet. These cards are placed in the Extra Deck.

To be properly Special Summoned, Fusion Monsters must first be Fusion Summoned (unless otherwise specified). If they leave the Extra Deck without being properly Special Summoned, they cannot be Special Summoned while they are banished or in the Graveyard.

Most Fusion Monsters have a set of Fusion Materials, which are listed on the first line of the card's text. These are the materials used to perform the Summon of that monster.

Like other Extra Deck monsters, Fusion Monsters cannot exist in the hand or Main Deck (even with card effects). If a Fusion Monster would be moved to the hand or Main Deck, it is returned to the Extra Deck instead. If a card like "Transmigration Break" or "Degenerate Circuit" is applying, this will override the Fusion Monster's ability to return to the Extra Deck.

Fusion Summon

Polymerization

Contact Fusion

Contact Fusion (コンタクト融ゆう合ごう Kontakuto Yūgō) is a semi-official term which means to Special Summon a Fusion Monster with its own Summoning procedure, instead of requiring "Polymerization" or card effects.

"Hex-Sealed Fusion" monsters can Special Summon a Fusion Monster by Tributing themselves and the other listed Fusion Materials.

"Summoner of Illusions" can Tribute another monster when flipped face-up to Special Summon a Fusion Monster from the Extra Deck.

"Cyber-Stein" can Special Summon a Fusion Monster from the Extra Deck by paying 5000 LP.

"Magical Scientist" can Special Summon a Level 6 or lower Fusion Monster from the Extra Deck by paying 1000 LP.

"Metamorphosis" can Special Summon a Fusion Monster from the Extra Deck by Tributing a monster with the same Level.

"Temple of the Kings" can Special Summon a Fusion Monster from the Extra Deck by sending itself and a "Mystical Beast of Serket" to the Graveyard.

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Tuner monsters (Japanese: チューナー Chūnā, "Tuner") are monsters with "Tuner" listed on the Type/Ability line. They are required for the Synchro Summon of a Synchro Monster. Normal, Ritual, Fusion, Effect, Pendulum, and Synchro Monsters themselves can all be Tuner monsters, although some card effects can treat non-Tuner monsters as Tuners. Flip and Union monsters and Special Summon Monsters can also be Tuner monsters.

To perform a Synchro Summon, the player sends monsters they control (including a Tuner monster) to the Graveyard whose total Level is exactly equal to that of a Synchro Monster in their Extra Deck, then they Synchro Summon that Synchro Monster. Usually, Synchro Summons require exactly 1 Tuner monster, but some Synchro Monsters allow or require multiple Tuner monsters (referred to as Double Tuning).

A number of support cards specifically deal with Tuner monsters, including "Mind Trust", "Boost Warrior" and "Quillbolt Hedgehog", which can further aid in setting up a Synchro Summon.

Some Synchro Monsters require a specific Tuner monster to be used ("Sun Dragon Inti"), or a Tuner of a specific Type ("Trident Dragion"), Attribute ("Dragocytos Corrupted Nethersoul Dragon"), or archetype ("Blackwing Tamer - Obsidian Hawk Joe"), etc. Likewise, some Tuners can only be used as Synchro Material for a limited set of Synchro Monsters, such as "Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Spirit", "Mystic Macrocarpa Seed", and "Scrap Soldier".

There are also Tuner Synchro Monsters, Synchro Monsters that are themselves Tuners. Due to their difficulty of use, they tend to have effects that make Synchro Summoning easier, such as by manipulating their own ("Phonon Pulse Dragon"), allowing its controller to Synchro Summon during the opponent's turn ("T.G. Wonder Magician"), or having effects that activate when used as a Synchro Material ("Puralis, the Purple Pyrotile"). In the anime, Tuner Synchro Monsters are notably required for Accel Synchro Monsters, such as "Shooting Star Dragon".

Commonalities

Level

Tuner monsters are often low in Level, usually ranging from Level 1 to 3. A number of Level 4 Tuner monsters exist, but very frequently have negative effects or conditions that limit their use (due to Level 4 being by far the most common Level for monsters that can be readily Normal Summoned, this is presumably to make it more difficult to Summon Level 8 Synchro Monsters). The first Level 4 Normal Tuner monster, "Angel Trumpeter", was not released until 2016, eight years after the debut of Tuner and Synchro monsters. There are not many Level 5 or higher Tuner monsters.