YGO- Countdown to Starstrike T-minus 10 days: Formula Synchron

Good morning, and welcome to the first installment of our 10-day special report "Countdown to Starstrike." Basically, I realized yesterday that with ten days remaining until November 6th and the release of the newest earth-shattering Yu-Gi-Oh booster set, I'd like to take a little look at a few interesting cards. Our first segment is going to be a bit of a weird one, but take a look at this:

For those of you who can't read japanese, fear not! This little number is the Formula Synchron and it's sure to inspire a whole bunch of raised eyebrows. First of all, let me generously provide a write up of the scrawly text that adorns this card before we get into the specifics. The effects read as such:

1 Tuner + 1 non-Tuner Monster
When this card is Synchro Summoned, you can draw 1 card. During your opponent's Main Phase, you can Synchro Summon if you use this face-up card as a Synchro Material Monster.

First of all, yes, this card is a two star synchro monster and is now the lowest star cost synchro monster (previously that title belonged to turbo cannon) and it features the lowest possible cost for a synchro monster.

As far as stats go, this little guy is terrible. He certainly isn't an attacker, and he isn't really a defender, so what's the point of him? Well, there are two. First of all, when he is summoned, instant draw power. A great Yu-Gi-Oh player once told me that draw power in the game is everything, since, unlike Magic: the Gathering, there are no resources to manage, so any new card can be your key to victory. So you've drawn your card, but you're still sitting there with a two star monster.

Well, he's a light monster, so if he is in attack mode and he gets attacked, those of you playing Light-based or Chaos decks can always drop an Honest on him and run over the attacking monster, so he's likely to see some use there.

Oh, did I mention that he's a tuner? Now I'm noticing the eyebrows start to go up. Yep, the Formula Synchron has the following types: Machine, Synchro and Tuner. Now, that's a first, a synchro monster that's also a tuner. All this looks really complicated and unnecessary until you realize something key. The summoning requirements for this set's major trump card, the Shooting Star Dragon include both a Stardust Dragon and a monster that is both a Synchro and a Tuner, and that's where formula synchron comes in. Oh, one last thing, his other effect? He lets you synchro summon during your opponent's main phase. The only thing better than pulling out a Shooting Star Dragon is watching your opponent's face as you do it on his turn.

I'll let you spend the next 24 hours contemplating the awesomeness that is Formula Synchron and give you a quick recap:

2-star synchro tuner
Lets you draw when summoned
Necessary for the summon of Shooting Star Dragon
Lets you synchro summon during your opponent's main phase

Well, that's all for now. Look for the next Countdown to Starstrike tomorrow!

-DS

Images Courtesy of the Yu-Gi-Oh Wikia