I've been a Gren Maju player since 2016. It is undeniable that the deck has come a long way - even becoming playable occasionally. Common Charity will have a good amount of competent decks that gatekeep the format - some with surprising capabilities. I believe some variation of this build of Gren Maju can keep up with the likes of "Towers" strategies (often midrange decks that "turbo" unaffected monsters with threatening stats) and control strategies, as well as assert dominance over other agro strategies (this deck's forte)
DECK STRATEGY
Many consider Gren Maju to be an OTK deck. Some play it as a stun variant. I Myself view Gren as a Midrange/Control Deck which incidentally can OTK, and have played it this way since Eater Of Millions became legal in the TCG. I personally feel that Gren is best suited for explosive plays, aiming to break the opponent's board (or hard-punish them for not building one on Turn 0). Gren, played in this manner, seeks to accomplish the following win condition against competent decks:
- Force the opponent rapidly deplete resources in the first turn(s) by mass removal and/or insane attack pressure
- Win in the mid-game by having higher-quality threats than the opponent
PROS
- Gren Maju decks, if tuned properly, can reasonably break any board and have decent OTK potential.
- This particular build blanks opposing spell/trap removal (pre sideboard), as it has no reliance on continuous backrow or field spells.
- Played skillfully, Gren Maju also provides opportunity for technical plays that exploit the mechanical limitations of some other kinds of decks.
CONS
- Gren Maju is inherently weak to backrow. This is offset by mass removal like Lightning storm in Advanced Format, but this weakness is pronounced in Common Charity.
- Gren is traditionally unable to grind at a high tempo, leaving it at a disadvantage to highly recursive decks - specifically decks that can recur removal.
- Gren Maju is at a huge disadvantage when hand size is low - despite sometimes insane top-deck draws.
- Gren must have a plan in the side deck to go 1st if forced to do so during a match
The biggest drawback of Gren Maju is related skill/deck-building. First of all, the deck MUST be tuned to a particular meta to be consistently effective against competent decks. This is true for any Rouge Deck. While Gren Maju Decks are fairly intuitive to play, effective deckbuilding is what enables their success. Lastly, you must be very knowledgeable about the rules of the game to be baseline effective at this deck, let alone boast a winning record on a competitive level.
MAIN DECK - MONSTERS
3x Gren Maju Da Eiza
Less "OTK boi" and more Removal Through Attacking and lightning-rod for certain negates and removal. Incidentally, sometimes it will result in your opponent's life points being reduced to 0, which is an added bonus. Biggest drawback to Gren is that he is not a 1-Card-Combo... He Needs an enabler to banish cards, which reduces the consistency of this deck. Nonetheless, the upsides far outweighs the downside, and its good enough to name the deck after it...
3x Eater Of Millions
Depending on the Matchup, the Removal that Eater provides ranges from highly effective to just ok. This card does serve as a secondary Gren Maju, both in terms of removal through attacking and winning through damage output.
3x Necroface
A tertiary Gren Maju, again serving as removal through attacking and winning through damage output. HOWEVER, this is a "non-bo" with Gren while, as well as a conflicting Normal Summon. These drawbacks are balanced with this card's synery with gold sarcophagus and enabling you to grind (sometimes indefinately). Normal Summoning Necroface may result in continued plays with Gizmek Orochi, pot of desires, etc.
3x GizMek Orochi, The Serpentine Sky Slasher
Easily the best monster in the deck. It fades battle damage by soaking up an attack or simply "flashes-in" on your opponent's end phase, is spell speed 1 monster removal, and has decent stats... All while fueling Gren Maju, Eater, or Necroface. This card's quick effect to special summon itself is very good, and its ability to destroy a face-up monster is good too (when you have the opportunity to use it).
3x Divine Serpent Geh.
Easily the Worst Monster in the Deck. It is situational, costs half of your life points to use, and takes a little experience to get the feel for when it is good and what situational synergies it brings to the deck. However, it is untargetable, and can usually get over any monster your opponent controls (as long as they have not gained atk). Furthermore, it negates random things like Flip effects during the damage step when it declares an attack, as well as certain problematic continuous effects of the attack target. This card is usually really good against decks that rely on targeted removal. In an alternate universe, this card is D. D. Assault Carrier, if that card was actually playable.
3x Radian, the Multidimensional Kaiju
This card enables removing a "Towers"-like monster from the board. Its the Lowest ATK Kaiju at common rarity, and is dark too!
1X DinoWrestler Pankratops
A Solid going-2nd card. Serves as removal via attacking or its own effect. The flexibility this card offers is frankly amazing, despite is lack of a dark attribute of level of 8...
1x Phantom Skyblaster
Often times, this is a 1 card Link 3, which will often serve as a form of targeted monster removal and an attacker. Dark attribute is good too. It is however, the deck's 7th normal summon, which is pushes the boundary for normal summon only monsters a little bit.
1x Battle Fader
It has dark dynergy and is enables counter-attack plays that can result in victory. It is outclassed by Gizmek Orochi for what it does, however.
MAIN DECK - SPELLS
3x Pot of Desires
A +1 in card advantage whose cost synergizes with 9 of our monsters - auto include
3x Allure of Darkness
Card advantage neutral, but has has synergy Necroface, serving as a way to rip apart your opponents deck and eventually boost Gren (or another Necroface). We play 17 dark monsters, to it is sometimes viable to activate this card with no dark monsters In hand, and is rarely dead otherwise.
3x Forbidden Chalice
One of the best cards in the deck. Since we kind of want the opponent to go off on Turn 0, we don't mind too much on mission out on playing Effect Veiler instead. This card also enables some combat tricks, allowing a Gizmek Orochi to attack over a Radian, a Necroface to get over a boss monster, etc. Also, on the off-chance that magic cylinder is a great card in Common Charity format, this can very well save you from your own Gren... Also good in the mirror (should that ever be a thing you encounter)
3x Dark Hole
The expectation is never for this card to lead to an OTK, but is is a very good way to punish out opponents for not setting up a solid board Turn 0. Occasionally, this may blow your opponent out, but most of the time, against competent decks, this card will be part of the sequence of plays you make to attrite your opponent into the ground by the mid game.
1x Monster Reborn
This card enables all sorts of situational plays. It is arguable that Upstart Goblin is better in this slot.
1x Gold Sarcophagus
In a long game, ensuring that you see a Necroface eventually, can be the difference between winning and losing. Occasionally can lead to banishing some good stuff out of your opponent's deck via this play. Can also get any card in the deck if you figure it'll be good in 2 turns.
1x Called by the Grave
We want to have offensive turns with this deck, relying on activated abilities of monsters and spells. This card is good at protecting against hand traps, as well as disrupting resources in the opponent's GY.
1x Foolish Burial
Basically Gizmek Orochi #4. If ever make a rank 8 XYZ with this build, if will probably involve this card.
MAIN DECK - TRAPS
3x Typhoon
Admittedly, this card is not as good as twin twisters of Cosmic Cyclone - or even MST in some cases. However, I don't this deck is well suited for Twin Twisters (despite Gizmek synergy), and snake-boi Divine Serpent Geh will likely cost us 4000 Life Points for its first activation, adding some risk to Cosmic Cyclone that i'd personally rather avoid. Really, this is a symptom of the bigger issue here: there are not enough playable level 8s for this deck. We would happily leave Geh behind for a competent level 8 - then we could even dump some of the sacky spell cards for Trade In!
Spells enable this deck to function. Anti-Spell Fragrance and Imperial Order will prevent us from breaking a well set up board time and time again. Typhoon will always out those cards, and has situational advantages against field spell decks. Cosmic Cyclone is in the Side deck if you really need it.
EXTRA DECK
3x Linkuriboh
You can make this card with Eater when situations come up where that is advantageous, so try to always leave 1 in your extra deck during gameplay. You can also make this with Battle Fader
3x Ra'Ten, The Heavenly General
Phantom Skyblaster goes into this card, and then you blow something up with it. 2 of these copies are banish fodder. This card allows you to target and destroy a card at the start of the battle phase,
3x Steel Star Regulator
An Objectively Worse Ra'Ten. Banish Fodder
3x Number 62: Galaxy Eyes Prime Photon Dragon
Can get up to 5600 atk on its own and can serve as a situational out to certain cards, if ypou can make this rank 8 play
3x Aegaion The Sea Castum
We need to banish something from the extra deck to summon Eater of Millions and it might as well be this. Can serve as a situational wall/removal, and if your opponent's extra deck is running out you might hit a payoff... or something.
SIDE DECK
1x Macro Cosmos & Dimensional Fissure
If you're going to be forced to go 1st, might as well play cards that make your deck better (despite lost Gizmek Value), and probably make your opponent's deck much worse.
2x Trap Trick
If your going to go 1st, might as well have 2 more copies of Torrential Tribute and Banquet of Millions in your Deck
3x Torrential Tribute
One of the best traps in the game and right in line with the deck's plan to induce resource depletion for the opponent. Just know your matchups so you know when to use it.
2x Banquet of Millions
If forced to go 1st when wen don't want to, this matchup dependent card can ensure that we see out next turn, at which point our gameplan resumes as normal.
2x Dark Ruler No More
When you know you want to go 2nd and the matchup will inevitably be a grind, or you know that your opponent's board will be very difficult to break.
3x Cosmic Syslone
Useful for whenever Typoon alone is insufficient.
HOT TAKES
TRADE IN
So Close... If you're willing to play Schwartzchild Limit Dragon and perhaps another lv 8, you can replace Divine Serpent Geh and some spells for lv8s and some number of Trade Ins. Right now, I think Gizmek Orochi is the only Level 8 worth playing, which is a shame. Gren can't afford to sit with a dead Trade In in hand, and you don't need the ordeal of trading an optimal Gizmek play on your opponent's turn for that pseudo +1 from pitching it with trade In. We just need more playable lv8s. Of course, you do you... I'm Projecting here.
POT OF DUALITY
Not for me... I've never liked this card in Gren. I think Gren plays a sub-optimal stun strategy, and losing your ability to have a maximally explosive turn at any point in the game seems like an anit-synergy to me. I'd rather run something like Upstart Goblin and just hope I banish it every time...
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