Being able to summon a monster and then get another monster from your graveyard without paying for it is certainly worth attention. The fact that Junk Synchron can do this and also set itself up for a quick Synchro summon is even better.
Don’t Throw Out the Junk!
has plenty of monsters to choose from in the 5D’s Starter Deck and the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG as a whole, but you need to understand which effects will be negated and which will not.
"When this card is Normal Summoned, you can Special Summon 1 Level 2 or lower monster from your Graveyard in face-up Defense Position. That monster’s effect(s) is negated."
Junk Synchron gives you an extra body on the field, free of charge, but it comes with a condition. The monster special summoned by Junk Synchron has its continuous effects negated while it is face up on the field. Any effect that the monster activates while it is on the field will also be negated, even if the monster is removed from the field to pay a cost or in response to its effect. Trigger effects that the monster activates while it is on the field are also negated, but trigger effects that activate when the monster is sent from the field to another zone will not be negated.
When Junk Synchron special summons Sonic Chick, its continuous effect that can protect it from being destroyed by battle will not be applied. The damage inflicted by a direct attack from Piranha Army won’t be doubled. The ATK and DEF increase of Muka Muka will not be applied. You get the monster, but its continuous effects are down and out while the monster is on the field.
Junk Synchron doesn’t stop you from trying to activate the effects of the monster you special summoned. If you special summon a monster with an ignition effect you can still activate its ability, but you can’t plan on getting anything out of it. Even if the monster is tributed, removed from play, or otherwise taken off the field when you activate its effect, the effect will still be negated when it resolves.
Example: Red-Eyes B. Chick
Player A normal summons Junk Synchron and uses its effect to special summon Red-Eyes B. Chick. Next, she sends Red-Eyes B. Chick to the graveyard to activate its effect. Its effect is negated when it resolves, because it was activated on the field and is not activated in the graveyard.
Removing Junk Synchron from the field doesn’t allow the special summoned monster to use its effects properly. The condition is placed upon the monster when it is special summoned. If the ignition effect of the special summoned monster is activated and Junk Synchron is removed to pay its cost or in response to the effect, the ignition effect activated by the special summoned monster will still be negated.
Example: Hand of Nephthys
Player A normal summons Junk Synchron and uses its effect to special summon Hand of Nephthys from the graveyard. Next, he activates Hand of Nephthys’s effect by tributing it and Junk Synchron. When Hand of Nephthys’s effect resolves, it is negated because this effect was activated on the field.
Trigger Effects
As mentioned earlier, trigger effects that the special summoned monster activates while it is on the field are negated. This includes trigger effects that activate when it is special summoned or while it is face up on the field.
Example: Copycat
Player A special summons Copycat with Junk Synchron’s effect. Copycat’s trigger effect starts a chain when it is special summoned and a target is selected for the effect, but the effect is negated when it resolves because Copycat activated it on the field.
Trigger effects that activate because the special summoned monster moves from the field to another zone will not be negated, because these effects activate at the destination and not on the field. It doesn’t matter if the monster was destroyed, tributed, or otherwise sent to the destination. Just be careful not to confuse this with effects that require sending the monster to the graveyard, deck or some other location to pay a cost. We have quick-effect monsters that will do this, like A-Team: Trap Disposal Unit, and it can be easy to confuse the two when you are learning how to make the distinction.
Example: Nimble Momonga
Player A special summons Nimble Momonga with Junk Synchron’s effect. When is later destroyed during the battle phase, its effect activates. Nimble Momonga’s effect activates in its owner’s 
graveyard, so it is not negated by Junk Synchron. Player A gains 1000 life points and can special summon additional copies of Nimble Momonga from her deck.
Example: Neko Mane King
Player A special summons Neko Mane King with Junk Synchron’s effect. During Player B’s turn, Player B special summons Gladiator Beast Gyzarus and uses its effect to destroy both Junk Synchron and Neko Mane King. Neko Mane King’s effect activates in the graveyard, so its effect is not negated when it resolves.
In some rare occasions you can actually run into a monster with both kinds of trigger effects.
Example: Apprentice Magician
Player A special summons Apprentice Magician with Junk Synchron’s effect. Apprentice Magician’s effect activates when he is special summoned, but his effect is negated so he can’t place a spell counter on any of Player A’s other cards. During his opponent’s turn Apprentice Magician is destroyed by battle. This effect activates when Apprentice Magician is removed from the field, so the effect is not negated.
Negation Side-Step
We know that removing Junk Synchron from the field doesn’t allow the monster to properly use its effect—the restriction placed upon the monster by Junk Synchron’s effect still remains—but there is a method that does work. If the special summoned monster is flipped face down and afterward it is flipped face up, its effects can be activated without fear of negation. Flipping the monster face down frees it from the restriction placed upon it by Junk Synchron’s effect. This is a fairly common behavior that we have seen before with other cards.
Example: Mask of Darkness
Player A special summons Mask of Darkness with Junk Synchron’s effect. When Player B attacks Mask of Darkness with one of her monsters, Player A activates Book of Moon to turn the Mask of Darkness to face-down defense position.
You can do this with any level 2 or lower monster that has a flip effect, like Morphing Jar, Penguin Soldier, or Old Vindictive Magician. If you special summon a monster with an ignition effect, like Hand of Nephthys or Ancient Gear Cannon, and flip it face down, after it is flipped face up you can activate its ignition effect, and the effect won’t be negated.
Until next time, send all comments and questions to Curtis@Metagame.com!
—Curtis Schultz