The game as we know it has really changed. The Synchro mechanic is one of the most innovative and well-considered additions to core gameplay ever. The amount of versatility that arrived with these monsters is astounding. My job today is to further convince you of that fact by elaborating on their versatility. You’ll find that most of the Synchro monsters exploit major weaknesses in each of the top decks.
Decline and Revival of the "Swiss Army Knife"
Remember the days of Metamorphosis when it was played in T-Hero? Ignoring the fact that T-Hero’s fame was short-lived, the sheer versatility of the deck gave us a run for our money. Fusions could be brought out for free and with blinding speed. Ryu Senshi and Dark Balter the Terrible were terrifying monsters that cleared the way for large attacks. You could even trade your now-Forbidden Dark Magician of Chaos for Gatling Dragon or Cyber Twin Dragon for serious damage. The deck was so fast and potent that you could barely keep up with its speed.
It seemed that particular brand of versatility was over once Metamorphosis was Forbidden. We reverted back to tribal warfare with decks that had enough of their own support to hit the big time. Zombie decks saw a revival and were taking control of the scene. When Dark Armed Dragon appeared, Zombies were quickly dethroned. Then came the strengthening of the forgotten Gladiators. Gladiators were not quite 
what they were now until Gladiator Beast Gyzarus and Elemental Hero Prisma appeared. They were doubted at first, but over time their victories became mainstream and they became almost unstoppable. The great Dark Dragon was subdued. When the Lightsworn arrived, they came with all the support they needed to succeed. But while they had their victories here and there, they were not as successful as the Gladiators. Why? Because Dark Armed Dragon threw a monkey wrench into the equation by trumping Lightsworn, but losing to Gladiator Beasts.
Now we’ve got a new and improved version of the "free Fusion" concept. The introduction of Tuner monsters and Synchros gave us a new weapon to use against major strategies like Lightsworn and Gladiators.The Synchro summon revived the Swiss Army knife concept and gave us the versatility we sorely missed. This may be the start of a regression from the "tribal" decks (like Lightsworn and Gladiators) and a re-introduction of the toolbox deck. A good tool for every situation: that’s what Synchros offer, but in a more dynamic fashion via the Synchro summon mechanic. That mechanic alone, a few deckbuilders reasoned, wasn’t enough. Synchros needed to be faster, more versatile, and truly accessible in the matchups they are each designed to destroy. Then deck experts came up with a solution. One card, in my opinion, is responsible for making Synchros ultra-playable and highly sought after: Emergency Teleport.
A Flavor for Every Situation
The clever addition of Emergency Teleport to the classic Dark Armed Dragon deck gives us the flexibility of Metamorphosis in a speedy quick-play spell. Why is this so significant? Because with the right Psychic-types and levels, you have access to Synchros that you would otherwise have to dedicate half of a deck to. Another important detail to remember is that practically every top deck in the format has a weakness that a particular Synchro monster can exploit.
When you’re up against a variant of Teleport Dark Armed that employs Phoenix Wing Wind Blast and Dimensional Prison, bring out your Thought Ruler Archfiend to turn that strength into a liability. Thought Ruler is the Ryu Senshi of the Synchro family. How do you deal, defensively, with a 2700 ATK steam roller that negates your targeted removal? Gadgets look out.
"Who cares about Thought Ruler," you say, "when I main deck Bottomless Trap Hole?" Good question. This is where Stardust Dragon comes in. For the simple price of Krebons and Destiny Hero - Malicious, you get the bane of the Gladiators. It shuts down key cards in 
the deck: Gladiator Beast Murmillo, Gladiator Beast Bestiari, and Gladiator Beast Gyzarus. The only real hope they have is Gladiator Beast Heraklinos or a fortunate Gladiator Beast War Chariot. The next best alternative is Book of Moon paired with Gladiator Beast Laquari or Gyzarus, which is neither as good nor as reliable as you might think.
Let’s take a look at another Synchro monster that I’m a fan of: Colossal Fighter. Now this brute packs some muscle. I think the 2800 ATK and the self-revival effect pushes the limits of fairness. It’s easy to guess what this card is good against: Lightsworn. Colossal Fighter tramples on the Lightsworn by simply being more powerful in battle. It’s bigger than every single monster the deck plays by default save for Judgment Dragon. Judgment Dragon is a minor threat to the undefeatable colossus. Given the nature of the Lightsworn deck, they always have Warriors in the graveyard. All it takes is two Warriors to give the Fighter enough muscle to collide with Judgment Dragon and dig itself out of the grave when it’s finished. If your opponent tries to block your attacks with Honest, he or she still has to deal with the Fighter again. Honest is essentially useless as a defensive measure.
Now that I’ve quickly run through the benefits of some of the more popular Synchros, let’s proceed to specific scenarios.
Practical Applications
Scenario 1: Starting Out Aggressive
Scenario 2: Establishing Control
This is an actual play recently explained to me by Josh Graham:
1) Remove Destiny Hero - Malicious from the graveyard to special summon one from the deck.
2) Normal summon Phantom Skyblaster, then special summon two tokens.
3) Activate Emergency Teleport to get Krebons.
4) Synchro summon Stardust Dragon using Malicious and Krebons.
5) Tribute your two tokens and your Phantom for Destiny Hero - Plasma.
6) Steal your opponent’s monster with Plasma.
The total cost of this play is three cards in hand and a Malicious in the graveyard. Now you have effect negation combined with destruction negation: a game-breaking combination.
Scenario 3: The Turn-Around Play
The opponent has Thought Ruler Archfiend on the field and Mirror Force set. Your field is empty and you have one Dark in your graveyard:
1) Draw into Emergency Teleport.
2) Activate Reinforcement of the Army to fetch Necro Gardna.
3) Normal summon Gardna and use Teleport for Psychic Commander.
4) Synchro summon a Goyo Guardian with Gardna and Commander.
5) Special summon Dark Armed Dragon and destroy your opponent’s Mirror Force.
5) Attack your opponent’s Thought Ruler with Goyo. Special summon the opponent’s Thought Ruler to your field in defense.
Scenario 4: Another Turnaround Play
The opponent opens strong with Cold Wave and Gladiator Beast Laquari. You can make a few plays with your hand of Malicious, Krebons, Teleport, Allure of Darkness, Crush Card Virus, and Reinforcement once you can use your non-monster cards . . . so you pass. On the opponent’s second turn, that player special summons Test Tiger, sends back the Laquari to get Gladiator Beast Secutor, and attacks. At the end of the battle phase, your opponent gets two copies of Laquari and Fuses into Gladiator Beast Heraklinos with four cards in-hand.
Now it’s your turn and you just top-decked into Dark Grepher:
1) Discard Malicious to special summon
Dark Grepher.
2) Remove that Malicious in your graveyard to special summon another one.
3) Normal summon your in-hand
Krebons.
4) Synchro summon into
Colossal Fighter using
Krebons and Malicious.
5) Send your Grepher into Heraklinos to add another Warrior to the graveyard.
6) With your Fighter at 3000 ATK you attack into Heraklinos, destroying both monsters.
7) Special summon your Fighter with its effect (it was destroyed in battle after all) and attack for 3000.
8) Move to main phase 2 and remove your Malicious to special summon another one in defense.
9) Set Crush Card Virus.
Final Thoughts
The above examples are just a few of the many scenarios in which Synchros can hit with deadly force and totally change the game state. Some duels can be locked on turn 1. Synchro monsters give many decks (not just Teleport Dark Armed) access to answers that you normally wouldn’t have outside of your side deck. Don’t be discouraged by the overuse of Teleport Dark Armed in my examples because it was strictly for instructional purposes. There are many innovative applications for Synchros in other strategies.
It’s time to realize that the side deck is not your only saving grace against difficult matchups. It’s too slow as a solution. With Synchros you can have built-in counters to difficult matchups through the shrewd selection of Tuners. Those counters won’t be obvious, either. In fact, they can be very stealthy and difficult to predict. Synchros are here to stay and they’ve opened up a world of opportunity for the inspired duelist. Even though Teleport Dark Armed has more speed and consistency than most decks, this is only temporary. Crossroads of Chaos brings more opportunities for Synchro summoning that the intelligent duelist can exploit at his or her next tournament.
Until next time, remember to focus and have fun!
—Bryan Camareno