Quote from Space Pirate Nithiel;1234091:
Basically, starting with synchros the game went downhill. It has become a game of "Spend hundreds of dollars to get the same OP deck everyone else is using or you can't possibly win and will lose in 2 turns if you even make it that far."
Quote from Space Pirate Nithiel;1234216:
When Six Samurai came out everyone was using them. Every single tournament deck. Anyone who wasn't playing SS or a deck specifically made to shut them down got swarmed by the second or third turn with no way of recovering. Just instantly dead in one turn. And then when the next set came out there was a new set of monsters that everyone was using and could only be beaten by the same deck or a deck specifically made to beat them. I don't know how you managed to get that far, seeing as "I play 20 cards in one turn, attack for 20,000 LP and you can't activate or play anything." can't be recovered from. You're definitely the exception, not the rule.
Both of these comments are full of so much misinformation it's laughable.
One, all card games are expensive. It's an expensive hobby. Also Yugioh's currently at it's cheapest. Back in the "good old days", in order to be competitive, you would have to drop at least $100 a card. Which you would need three of. You'd also have to do this for plenty of cards.
Two, Six Samurais were broken and degenerate as hell. That's why a banlist exists. They banned their most broken card, then woah, they're not doing so hot. They're losing pretty badly. They can't do anything once they set up their board turn 1, and you clear it turn 2 or 3. It was laughably easy and sad.
Three, Six Samurai were not Tier 0. Tier 0 would be Airblade Turbo, Tele-DAD, Dragon Rulers, Goat Control. Goat Control, btw, being a deck prior to the existence of Synchros, and easily would cost you over a thousand dollars to play. Also, while Tier 0 formats are indeed everyone's bane and are easily the most hated times of Yugioh, they're also undeniably the most skillful times of the game.
Four, OTKs don't happen unless you're fucking terrible. Any good player can stall any amount of time to turn back the game. Hell, this is why cards like Torrential Tribute and Dark Hole exist. They're outs to otherwise unbreakable boards.
Five, seriously, OTK's don't happen unless you're fucking terrible. You play in matches, which are best 2 out of 3. This works and balances the game due to the existence of the Side Deck, which allows you to swap cards out from your deck for the equal amount of cards from the Side Deck. You side against decks which are your decks banes to inhibit them, and add cards that extend your deck's plays when the opponent's plays are just inherently better than yours.