You are right, I have made some really good friends playing YGO. Due to them, I was very close to playing competitive, (my friends always wanted me to join regional tournaments) but never got around to it. I stopped playing the game seriously when the XYZ monster came out... and now the game is very broken.
It usually whoever gets their setup first, wins. Also, the skill required in the game has diminished, as every card has immunity, a stun or destruction ability (usually a combination of the listed) and have way too many special summoning. Just a little salty because Six Sams (I main them) is a deck that is WAYYY too slow to do anything (in this format) and very predictable on what the cards they play. I wish the TCG banlist could make Shien at two, but that won't really make much of a difference for Six Sams.