I think another factor as well is that by the time Yu-Gi-Oh was growing popular, Pokemon popularity & hype was starting to die down among the generation who largely experienced it
Cards with high synergy UA05BT/KMY-1-035|SR Muzan Kibutsuji A extremely power card with and passive effect, that can only be put into the Front Line when you have 20 or more cards in your Outside Area
It has Sapphires signature ramp cards like 001-164-one-jump-ahead, letting you increase your inkwell and play more expensive cards
For one, they're auto includes in decks of their colors
For rule of the Aldering Forest, Numstail stole the acorn from Nestwind, who stole it from Brankie, who stole it from Lightroot, who stole it from Leafpaw, who stole it from Darkfur
This makes for a fundamentally riskier style of gameplay, as getting a rough starting draw (a gamble alleviated somewhat by the fact that the rules allow a redraw attempt) can make it difficult to get off the ground