Synchro Monsters were the first new summoning mechanic introduced in Yu-Gi-Oh!'s Extra Deck during the 5D's era. It quickly became one of the strongest kinds of Extra Deck Monsters, with many powerful cards and Tuners being released over the years.

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As the game has progressed, Synchro Monsters have become easier to make with how easy it is to flood the field with Tuner and non-Tuner Monsters. In many cases, Synchro Monsters serve as fantastic Boss Monsters that endboards always want to have. In other cases, Synchro Monsters have the versatility that allows them to advance their plays in future turns.

Updated November 10, 2022, by Doruk Kaptan: Yu-Gi-Oh! is an ever-evolving card game with a meta that uses every card released and new sets regularly being released. One thing that's great is that many summoning mechanics manage to stay relevant, despite their age or specificity. One of the more exciting Extra Deck monster types is Synchros. While some have been power crept over the years, newer Synchros and older cards with incredible effects still manage to make a splash. Here are some of the all-time great Synchro Monsters.

20 Tempest Magician

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Tempest Magician is an iconic card, for sure. It has a great burn ability and, thus, has been banned for several formats. It's relatively easy to summon and has a decent body, but the effect is what makes this card incredible.

Once per turn, you can discard cards to add Spell Counters on your monsters for each discard. Then, you can remove all Counters on the field to burn your opponent for 500 damage per Counter. This card is a bit too good of a burn card to be roaming freely; it's just that effective in closing up games.

19 Dark Strike Fighter

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Speaking of amazing burn effects, we have Dark Strike Fighter, another great card that's iconic for a good reason. To begin with, it's easy to summon, without much restriction, and a good level for Synchroing into.

Dark Strike Fighter allows you to Tribute a monster and burn your opponent for 200 times the level of the Tributed monster. While not as sizable as Tempest Magician, Dark Strike Fighter is easier to summon and still great at burning your opponent for upwards of 1500 LP. A great option for any deck that falls short of damage thresholds or dedicated burn decks.

18 Ib The World Chalice Justiciar

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Ib The World Chalice Justiciar may not seem incredible at first, having a subdued look when compared to other powerful Synchros. However, Ib has an amazing effect that gives you a consistent card advantage.

Its effect has two parts. Upon Synchro Summon, you can add one "World Legacy" card from your deck to hand. If Ib is sent from the field to the Graveyard, you can Special Summon a World Chalice monster from the deck or Graveyard. Both parts of this effect are amazing, netting you a +1 consistently while allowing for further combos.

17 Ignister Prominence, The Blasting Dracoslayer

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Ignister Prominence is a great example of why older players may be intimidated by modern Yu-Gi-Oh! With a hefty effect description and unique interactions, it surely is a reading task. However, it has such a great effect that it's worth learning and considering it.

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You can target one Pendulum Monster on the field or a card in the Pendulum Zone, destroy it and shuffle one card on the field into the deck. Reshuffling cards back to the deck is the best way to get rid of problematic cards, and Ignister Prominence does so easily in a dedicated Pendulum deck. It can also summon Dracoslayer monsters from the deck, which is a huge plus.

16 Dewloren, Tiger King Of The Ice Barrier

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Dewloren, Tiger King of the Ice Barrier, is a great looking card to begin with. Luckily, that's not all it has to offer, since its effect is quite incredible, a staple for Ice Barrier Synchros. Dewloren is strong in a unique way — not negating, destroying, or locking your opponent out of certain effects. Instead, it can bounce your own cards and gain 500 ATK per each card bounced.

The attack gain is great, potentially beefing up Dewloren to amazing heights. However, the real great part is bouncing cards back to your hand. Many cards that activate on summon or activation, soft once-per-turn effects, and much more, become instantly online again. Dewloren is a great option to restart a combo or take advantage of strong effects twice.

15 Ally Of Justice Catastor

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While Ally of Justice Catastor has fallen out of favor in recent years, it still remains one of the best Synchro Monsters that have appeared in any Yu-Gi-Oh! meta. It's a simple Level Five Synchro Monster that can destroy any non-Dark Monster it attacks before damage even applies. This allows Ally Of Justice Catastor to get through a ton of Monsters that would otherwise prove nearly impossible to get rid of.

Level Five Synchros are incredibly easy to make, and in a meta without a lot of Dark Monsters, Ally of Justice Catastor is a good Synchro Monster to stick in the Extra Deck. This is the definition of an old card that's still got some use in it.

14 Brionac, Dragon Of The Ice Barrier

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Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier is among the many powerful Synchro Monsters that are a part of the Synchro Ice Barrier lineup. With Brionac, it can take care of just about any Monster on your opponent's side of the field.

Since Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier returns cards to the opponent's hand, it gets around every form of protection that isn't Targetting protection. It also makes you discard cards to use its effect, allowing you to set up your Graveyard while setting your opponent back for great tempo plays.

13 Junk Speeder

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When Junk Speeder first came out, no one gave it a second thought due to Master Rule Four's Extra Deck Monster restrictions. However, with the revision in 2020, Junk Speeder became one of the best Synchro Monsters out there. For Synchro-focused decks, Junk Speeder can get any amount of Tuners you want from your deck onto the field.

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Junk Speeder locks you into Synchro Monsters for the rest of the turn, but there are so many fantastic Synchro Monsters that can be made with Synchrons that this is hardly a downside.

12 Cosmic Blazar Dragon

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Cosmic Blazar Dragon requires a lot of resources to make, and is one of the few Monsters that need a Tuner Synchro Monster and two non-Tuner Synchro Monsters. However, if you decide to do so, you are rewarded with one of Yu-Gi-Oh!'s best Synchro Monsters.

Cosmic Blazar Dragon comes with three fantastic effects it can use, all of which prevent your opponent from taking meaningful actions. It can stop a Battle Phase, negate a summon, or Omni-negate any effect, all while banishing itself so that your opponent can't try to take care of it after baiting out its effect.

11 Beelze Of The Diabolic Dragons

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The King of many an FTK deck, Beelze of the Diabolic Dragons was a menace in its prime. While it isn't as powerful now, it's still a good Synchro Monster to use for specific strategies. It's easy to make, only needing a Dark Tuner and a non-Tuner.

Beelze of the Diabolic Dragons can still be hard for decks to get rid of, as it can't be destroyed by battle or card effects. Not only that, it constantly boosts its own Attack if you take damage to decimate the opponent's Monsters and Life Points. Its effect isn't once per turn either, allowing it to play a key role in Burn FTKs.

10 Scarlight Red Dragon Archfiend

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Scarlight Red Dragon Archfiend is a generic Level Eight Synchro, one of the most common levels for Synchro Monsters. It has a situational field wipe effect, but a very powerful one if it can be used. The power to destroy all Special Summoned Monsters on the opponent's side of the field is great and can even do a hefty bit of burn damage.

While it only destroys Monsters with Attack less than Scarlight Red Dragon Archfiend, the likelihood of the opponent having more than 3000 ATK is a low one, so it will likely lead to a full field wipe. It's one of the best Level Eight Synchro Monsters out there.

9 Black Rose Dragon

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Black Rose Dragon is one of, if not the best Level Seven Synchro Monster. On summon, you can choose to essentially activate a Dark Hole that destroys not just Monsters, but Spell and Trap cards as well, making it a true field wipe. It affects your field too, but you will likely only have Black Rose Dragon being destroyed while the opponent loses their entire field.

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If the opponent is playing defensively, you can use its second effect to deal high damage to the opponent if they have any Monsters in Defense Position. Regardless, field wipes can be essential in an uphill battle, and that's the more impactful effect without question.

8 Formula Synchron

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Formula Synchron is the most played Level Two Synchro and one of the few Synchro Tuner Monsters. It is primarily used to Synchro out into much more powerful Synchro Monsters, but this ability is so good that it's a staple in some of the best Synchro decks in the meta.

Its effect allows you to Synchro on the opponent's turn, so they can't play around with the Monster you are planning to summon. In addition, this can lead to a powerful interruption depending on the Synchro you go into. Level Two is one of the best Tuner levels, making Formula Synchron that much better.

7 T.G. Hyper Librarian

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T.G. Hyper Librarian does not have any powerful negation effects or great Attack or Defense stats. Despite that, T.G. Hyper Librarian is such a good Synchro Monster that it is currently Limited on the ban list. It has a simple effect — any time a Monster is Synchro summoned, you can draw a card.

Card advantage is important in Yu-Gi-Oh!, so the ability to draw more than one card per turn is incredible. Just look at how long Pot of Greed stayed legal. T.G. Hyper Librarian is a staple in practically every Synchro-heavy deck, as its effect is fantastic and easy to go into, making it one of the strongest Synchro Monsters in the game.

6 Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon

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Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon requires a lot of effort to go into since it needs both a Tuner and a non-Tuner Synchro Monster to make. However, this effort is more than worth it. Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon comes with a free Monster effect negation once per turn that also destroys the Monster and gains Attack from it.

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It is even good for combat, as it gets a stat boost if it battles a Level Five or higher Monster. While Xyz and Link Monsters make this effect less relevant, there are still plenty of Monsters that can be affected by it. Its 3000 Attack is already high, so boosting it even higher can lead to devastating damage.

5 Trishula, Dragon Of The Ice Barrier

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Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier is the best Level Nine Synchro Monster by a large margin. It has found itself a few times on the ban list, with it currently being Limited. When summoned, Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier will banish three cards the opponent controls, one from the hand, one from the field, and one from the Graveyard.

This triple banishment of the opponent's cards is fantastic and is even better because it is not once per turn. If you can summon Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier more than once, you can keep using its effect to completely get rid of the opponent's hand. This gave Trishula a lasting legacy as one of the best Synchro Monsters ever printed.

4 Naturia Beast

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Naturia Beast isn't a generic Synchro Monster, as it requires an Earth Tuner and non-Tuner Monster in order to make. Despite this, Naturia Beast is still one of the best Synchro Monsters ever released. It can constantly negate the effects of strong Spell cards, as its effect is not once per turn.

While the negate isn't exactly free, it only requires you to mill two cards from your deck. This is such a minor cost, especially with the trade-off of negating Spells — some of which are among the best cards in the game. Many decks even want to mill cards to take advantage of Graveyard effects, making Naturia Beast an absolute powerhouse.

3 PSY-Framelord Omega

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PSY-Framelord Omega is a generic Level Eight Synchro Monster and is so good that it has been Limited on the ban list for quite some time. PSY-Framelord Omega allows you to interrupt the opponent's turn by getting rid of a card from their hand for the duration of their turn.

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Its Graveyard effect allows you to recycle not only itself but other Monsters in your own Graveyard. This can create loops with other Monsters easily. None of its effects are a hard once-per-turn either, so if it winds up in the Extra Deck, you can use its effects all over again.

2 Herald Of The Arc Light

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Herald of the Arc Light is one of the best Level Four Synchro Monsters and is incredibly versatile in two very different decks. In the best Synchro decks, it can act as a strong negate for both Spell and Trap cards. In addition, it has a floodgate-like effect where all cards sent from the hand or Main Deck are banished instead.

Ritual decks can even take advantage of it, as if it is sent to the Graveyard, you can add either a Ritual Spell or Monster. Ritual decks that can Synchro summon can even take advantage of all of its effects. Herald of the Arc Light has a ton of great effects built into one card.

1 Borreload Savage Dragon

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Borreload Savage Dragon takes the crown as the best Synchro Monster in the game. It is a Level Eight Synchro Monster, which is an easy Synchro Level to go into and has generic requirements to make. It does require a Link Monster in the Graveyard to work, but practically every deck can accomplish this.

The boosted Attack from the equipped Monster can make Borreload Savage Dragon incredibly hard to deal with, especially since it comes with an Omni-negate as well. Overall, Borreload Savage Dragon is one of the best Boss Monsters in the game and stands out as the most powerful Synchro.

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