August 2008

 

Looking Under The Bed - Gren Maju Da Eiza

 

Hey all, and welcome to another chapter in my "Looking Under the Bed" series. This article is dedicated to a monster with incredible potential, but is never played: Gren Maju Da Eiza. Let's break Gren Maju down a bit, and see what makes him tick:
 
Gren Maju Da Eiza
Monster - Effect
3 Level Stars
ATK: ?
DEF: ?
Text: The ATK and DEF of this card become the number of your cards removed from play x 400 points.
 
A lot of people have tended to underestimate Gren Maju, but his effect is absolutely amazing. During the days of Bazoo-Return, I used to run this card in 3's, because I'd get rid of a whole bunch of Monsters, then drop Gren Maju with his whopping 2400+ ATK (that's only two removes with Bazoo, you know). I was thinking of going a similar way with this deck, but insted I opted to use Gren Maju's effect to the fullest. Notice it says "the number of your cards removed from play," not "the number of your monsters removed from play." This is a huge distinction, one that I actually passed up the last time I tried a build like this. He gets 400 ATK per card that you own that is removed from play. Now, this brings up some interesting questions:
 
1. What can remove my cards to pump up Gren Maju?
2. What can remove my opponent's cards to stop their Graveyard effects?
3. What can shut down my opponent, allowing me to maneuver into position?
 
The answer: Macro Cosmos.
 
Macro Cosmos
Trap - Continuous
Text: You may Special Summon 1 Helios - The Primordial Sun from your hand or deck. While this card is on the field, any card sent to the Graveyard is removed from play instead.
 
This card is a doozy. Remember way back when, when Macro Return started to see some big plays? Lots of 1-for-1 trade-off cards being used to fuel a massive return (hopefully with Jinzo in its arsenal), while at the same time shutting down your opponent? It's the same idea here, except we aren't looking for a massive Return - we're looking for a Massive Normal Summon. The key to this deck is getting your Macro Cosmos out early - that's the bane of Lightsworn right there. This deck is instant win against Lightsworn or any other deck that relies on the Graveyard, and there's plenty of ways for you to get around those pesky Gladiator Beasts. One break in the chain and their done, for the most part, because Gladiators rely on their cycle ability to keep them alive. That's where this deck gets interesting.
 
We're gonna now go into the deck itself, because you may be a bit surprised at the build I have here. It's not a typical Macro deck - it doesn't rely on the remove mechanic present in Macro Cosmos to fuel a win. Instead, it relies on the remove mechanic to fuel a Monster effect, which in turn will provide us the win by attacking. So, you need to protect your monster(s) at all costs, and you'll see how with this Monster line-up:
 
Monsters (22):
 
3x Gren Maju da Eiza
2x Injection Fairy Lily
3x Caius the Shadow Monarch
3x Majestic Mech Ohka
3x Dekoichi the Battlechanted Locomotive
3x D.D. Survivor
2x Cyber Dragon
3x Gravekeeper Spy
 
I know what you're all thinking: what the hell? Let me explain. The Majestic Mech Ohka's are, I'm sure, turning some heads, but what's so bad about this monster? It's a 2400 beatstick that doesn't require a tribute. This card is perfect in this deck, because when it comes out it doesn't need a tribute, can slaughter an opponent's monster, and fuels Gren Maju if Macro Cosmos is out on the field. This card is a perfect fit in this deck, because beatsticks are crucial. Dekoichi are an immediate 3-per-deck here, because of its draw mechanic. Using Dekoichi will lead to big hands, big plays, and it fuels Gren Maju when destoyed. It protects your lifepoints and gets you one step closer to your win condition, as does Gravekeeper Spy. It's 2000 DEF was feared by many a player back when Return was legal, and it still can be. It's 2000 DEF is a blessing when you think about it, because it prevents plenty of damage to your lifepoints, as well as being a searcher for another Spy when it's flipped. This card is amazing.
 
Cyber Dragon is a staple in this deck, because we're looking for quick monsters that will help us in a pinch and we can reuse later for Gren Maju. Every monster here has an advantage with Macro Cosmos, because they can fuel the all powerful Gren Maju. Cyber Dragon is just another way, too, to tribute for Caius, which is a beast in and of itself because he acts like Zaborg, Granmarg and Mobius all rolled into one, and his removal effect is even better. D.D. Survivor is the perennial powerhouse here because of her ability to continue to survive, and with 1800 ATK is nothing to scoff at.
 
Now then, the Spells:
 
Spells (10):
 
3x Lightning Vortex
1x Smashing Ground
1x Nobleman of Crossout
1x Brain Control
1x Allure of Darkness
2x Grand Convergence
1x Mystical Space Typhoon
 
Now, the first thing you'll notice is the lack of Monster Reborn and Premature Burial. Well, in this deck, you don't need it. All your monsters will (hopefully) be removed from play, rendering both recursion cards completely useless, and more dead weight in your hand. The Lightning Vortex acts in a two-fold way: first, it destroys a bunch of monsters on your opponent's side of the field, and second, it puts two cards in your RFG pile, beefing up Gren Maju even more. The only other card that may not be so obvious is Grand Convergence, and this is an easy card to overlook. If Macro Cosmos is on the field, this acts like a Dark Hole with 300 burn damage to your opponent, making it a great play in the mid-to-late game when you're looking to bring out your Gren Maju.
 
Traps, however, are a bit easier to work with:
 
Traps (8):
 
1x Torrential Tribute
1x Mirror Force
3x Macro Cosmos
3x Solemn Judgment
 
All of these traps are self-explanatory. Solemn Judgment is a great card because, for a mere half of your lifepoints, you get to negate anything. Anything! This is, at the moment, the most perfect card in your deck, because it can help in any situation, and it keeps both Gren Maju and Macro Cosmos alive (granted you have three of each, but still).
 
This deck's strategy is simple: remove everything from play, clear your opponent's field with Caius, Vortex and Grand Convergence, and waylay him/her with your 5600+ Gren Maju. I like to call this deck a "suicide" deck, because you're gonna be paying a lot of lifepoints between the Solemns and the Injections, so you need to be wary of using them too sparingly. Use Injection to make a big push with Gren Maju, and use Solemn only when necessary. You're not running a lot of defensive traps, so you're gonna have to rely on your spells (in the form of Convergence and Vortex) and your monsters to bail you out. Luckily, Gladiator Beasts are typically pretty small to start, so you should have an early lead. Against Gladiators, you need to be constantly pushing the attack and forcing the Gladiator player into positions that'll be hard to get out of. Lightsworn gets destroyed, and against that matchup you don't even have to worry. Hand Control is probably your biggest threat at this point, because once you lose your Macros it's all over, unless you can finagle your way past them with a Caius or Cyber Dragon. It's a beatdown deck at heart, but it relies heavily on Gren Maju and Macro to be effective. If you can protect these two cards, you'll be sitting pretty.
 
As for sidedeck choices, you're gonna wanna cover all the bases. Some Compulsory Evacuation Devices, maybe some Book of Moons, Enemy Controllers, all of these can help you against decks that you're having trouble with. Always playtest and tweak your deck to fit your local metagame, because that's where it's going to be the most effective. If you're going to a Jump with this deck, make sure you playtest heavily against any and all decks you expect to play there, and have a counter or two for each.
 
Well, that concludes the article, so if you have any questions or comments, feel free to e-mail me at anteaus44@hotmail.com.
 
If you'd like to have a card you like featured in this series, e-mail me the card name, text, ATK/DEF/Level (if a monster), and a reason why it deserves its own deck. If you'd like to have a deck you have fixed up, e-mail me the decklist in the format used in my articles, and I'll take a look and try to fix 'em!