The only good fusion monsters were those that could be summoned by alternative means like "Metamorphosis" or "Instant Fusion." GX did its best to introduce fusions to the metagame with Contact Fusion, a method used by the competitive deck "Gladiator Beast." It wasn't until Arc-V that a deck worthy of national competition would Fusion Summon using an actual fusion spell: the fan-favorite archetype "Shaddolls." This Flip/Fusion deck took the least-loved summon methods at the time and turned them into the best deck in the metagame
When judging all aspects of the game, I took into account the year of release and what other games were doing at this time
By detaching one Xyz material, the player can add one Reptile-type monster from their deck to their hand once per turn
This came in the form of DP or Duelpass Points which could be purchased as Duelpasses
Yusei does get a new outfit, as do Akiza, Crow, probably the twins after the Time Skip in the last 3 episodes
It can even bring itself back by targeting an Insect, Plant or Reptile monster you control and returning it to the bottom of the deck