This era was probably the best time to play yugioh, at least i think it, good pool of decks and strategy to play, lots of old archetype get some spotlight thanks to the generic power of the xyz, sychro are still vaible despite xyz being around, and bls is back from the ban-list
Zexal peaked in chaos dragon format. The dragon's collide structure deck is what got me into Yugioh. I still remember when my dad bought it for me in Wal-Mart.
The Xyz summoning mechanic was both one of the best and worst things to happen to the game, though the negative aspects weren't the mechanic's fault. On one hand, it forced Konami to get rid of Priority Ignition (which I still think was extremely unfair and made certain cards more powerful than they should have been). What I loved the most was that there were actual limits to most Xyz effects since most of them carried a cost. Only time they began to drive me nuts was when the Xyz monsters that just overplayed on another Xyz for nothing began to dominate the game. That, and Xyz monsters like Diablosis that were nothing but an endless cavalcade of effects (which are cards I loathe in general)
I have very fond memories of the early Zexal era. The Number monsters are some of my all time favorites, and summoning them was always exciting. Especially if you saw what kind of paranormal powers they gave them in the show! I remember wondering what invincible monsters would things like Rank 8-9-10 be, and being absolutely stunned when Neo Galaxy Eyes Photon Dragon dropped. A reflection: I feel like the introduction of a new summoning mechanic always brings the most fun out of the game. Especially if you limit yourself by using only the new cards in the first handful of sets of the new era. I tend to like early 5D’s, early Zexal and early VRains a lot. Similarly to how many videogames have very solid beginnings but lack the same charm and care towards the middle and ending.
If they had levels, they'd be way more broken lol You'd be able to XYZ with them normally & Synchro summon as well as using a multitude of other level themed cards
