Synchro Summon A Synchro Summon ( " Shinkuro Shōkan " , シンクロ in card text before " Duelist Alliance " ) is the act of Special Summon ing a Synchro Monster from the Extra Deck using a Tuner monster with additional non - Tuner monsters . How to Synchro Summon . During their Main Phase , the turn player can Synchro Summon a Synchro Monster from face - down in their Extra Deck by send ing two or more face - up monsters from their field to the Graveyard as Synchro Material s ( including at least 1 Tuner monster ) whose combined Level s exactly equal its Level , that are listed on it as material s . After that , the player Summons the Synchro Monster from the Extra Deck in an unoccupied Main Monster Zone that a Link Monster points to or an Extra Monster Zone in face - up Attack or Defense Position . A player can perform any number of Synchro Summons per turn . Prior to the introduction of the Extra Monster Zone s , a monster could be Synchro Summoned to any Monster Zone . Mechanics . Monsters that do not have Levels , such as Xyz Monster s and Link Monster s , cannot be used as Synchro Materials . Token Monster s and Trap Monster s can be used as Synchro Materials . Synchro Materials are sent to the Graveyard by default , but the Synchro Summon is still successful even if the materials are moved to some other location instead . For example , it is still possible to perform a Synchro Summon while " Macro Cosmos " is active or using Pendulum Monster s as materials , in which case the materials will be banish ed or placed face - up in the Extra Deck , respectively . Even if all appropriate Monster Zones are occupied , a Synchro Monster can still be Synchro Summoned as long as at least one of the Synchro Materials used is in one of these zones , so that there is an available zone when the Synchro Monster is Summoned . A Synchro Summon is a type of built - in Special Summon , so it can be negate d by cards like " Solemn Warning " and " Thunder King Rai - Oh " . Even if a Synchro Summon is negated , the Synchro Materials do not return to the field . Effects . Like other Extra Deck monsters , if a Synchro Monster is not Synchro Summoned first , it cannot be Special Summon ed from the Graveyard or while banish ed ( unless it specifies another way to properly Special Summon it , in which case it must first be Summoned that way ) . For example , if a Synchro Monster is Special Summoned from the Extra Deck by the effect of " Shadow Impulse " and sent to the Graveyard , or was sent from face - down in the Extra Deck to the Graveyard by " Gale Dogra " , it cannot be Special Summoned from the Graveyard by " Premature Burial " ; however , if it was originally Synchro Summoned , it can be Special Summoned from the Graveyard by " Premature Burial " . Alternate methods . Apart from the basic method of performing a Synchro Summon outlined above , certain cards allow the controller to perform a Synchro Summon outside of its parameters . In the anime . Yu - Gi - Oh ! 5D ' s . While Synchro Summoning , the Tuner monster is said to be tuned with the other monsters . Many characters in the Japanese anime have chants , often unique to them and each of their Synchro Monsters , which they recite while Synchro Summoning . Before the chants , the Duelist announces the monsters being used , starting with the Levels and names of all non - Tuner monsters , from the lowest to the highest Level , then the Level and name of the Tuner monster . In the English dub , this is reversed ; the Tuner monster ' s name is said first and the non - Tuner monsters ' names are said last . During a Synchro Summon , the Tuner monster transforms into a number of green rings which corresponds to its Level . These rings then " scan " the non - tuner monsters , which first change into a glowing yellow " outline " of themselves before turning into a number of stars which correspond to their Levels . A beam of light then envelops the stars , passing through the rings , and the Synchro Monster appears thereafter . In some special versions of Synchro Summons , the rings are a different color or are completely redesigned , for example , when " Shooting Quasar Dragon " is Limit Over Accel Synchro Summoned , the rings are gold instead of green , and when " Red Nova Dragon " is Synchro Summoned , the Tuner monsters transform into rings of fire , which form a sphere around the non - Tuner monster . Additionally , when " Malefic Paradox Dragon " is Synchro Summoned , the Synchro Rings are black instead of green , and the non - Tuner monsters become a purple outline , and a cyclone of darkness envelops the stars instead of a beam of light . Also , the characters may have personalized backgrounds and other graphics for Synchro Summons ( most noticeably Vizor ) . Starting with episode 65 and the second season , when the non - Tuner ( s ) turn into stars , the arithmetic addition of the total Levels involved in the Synchro Summon is briefly shown on the bottom of the screen . Yu - Gi - Oh ! ARC - V . Synchro Summoning appears to be more advanced than it was in " Yu - Gi - Oh ! 5D ' s " as can be seen by the Synchro Rings are surrounded by multiple small rotating rectangles , which gives them a more futuristic look , implying that in the future the actual Synchro Summoning method has evolved . Like in 5D ' s , when Jack Atlas performs a Double Tuning , the two Tuners become rings of fire rather than Synchro rings . A Synchro Summon performed using monsters that have been Pendulum Summoned is referred to as a " Pendulum - Synchro " .