It has been a while since Great Nature last got a batch of support, and things have settled down a bit. Because of this, I thought that I would delve back into the world of writing for this blog to look at where the clan is as a whole right now. Certain deck types have emerged as more popular and others have fallen by the wayside in the past months. That said, let’s look at these decks.

Ever popular in Great Nature are the non-Generation Break decks. I myself currently play a variant that largely uses non-GB cards. The draw of these types of decks it that they cannot be stunted by your opponent misriding or playing the G2 game. Abusing cards such as Binoculus Tiger, Mikesaburo, and Coiling Duckbill also allow you to field cards early and put quick pressure on your opponent without really losing out on any advantage. Tech choices for these types of decks include Sleepy Tapir (for the Resist ability as well as more early game retire potential) and Barcode Zebra (for more board clear, though you will want to adjust your grade ratios to skew toward grades 1-2 to make Zebra more consistent). With the tankiness of some of the top decks out there, playing the rush game can allow you to put in early damage to secure the win before your opponent gets completely set up.

Success decks are one that seems to have fallen to the side a bit. Plagued with issues over cost vs effect (For instance, Momonga needs to be retired by effect, so using Maltese to retire him leaves you out in the cold for his search skill), Success often just feels too awkward to put a significant amount of effort into. Success decks also suffer from the same disease any GB-focused deck falls victim to. If you run into a deck that can play without riding to G3, you’re either forced to waste valuable CB on Sebreeze or lose out on turns of being able to use your units’ effects. Add all of that to the fact that Success decks just do not have a fantastic selection of Rear Guards and it is easy to see why they are underrepresented in the landscape of the game right now.

Honorary Professor is an interesting case. The deck has the tools it needs to play the early game, using many of the same cards as the non-GB variants. However, the archetype as a whole just feels very unfinished. The Grade 2 unit does not play well with the new G Unit, for instance. The combos you can pull off between Crayon Tiger, Brahmananda, and Reader Pig are effective but otherwise, the deck does not tend to do anything you aren’t already getting from another GN variant. One big plus to the HP build is the fact that Chatsauvage lets you bypass gradelocked (intentionally or otherwise) opponents to Stride and get to GB1 for cards like Crayon Tiger. I sincerely hope that the next set of GN support fixes this archetype’s awkwardness. I want to see it dominate and I think the tools are there, just waiting to be brought together.

One build that many GN fans still swear by is the Fox Legion build. While I myself have not seen much modern success (pun always intended) with the Legion deck, this variant still has a very vocal and loyal following. The benefits of the deck are plain to see. You have the ability to put valuable cards back into your deck not only via the Legion cost but also as a part of the consistent combo involving the mate. Chatnoir, the other G3 commonly played in Legion builds, plays well with the foxes, giving you a turn of very solid burst in both power and advantage. The main drawback here is the mate itself. When you are in Legion, Researcher Fox is a phenomenal card. However, prior to being in Legion, the card is a complete vanilla. A small drawback in most cases, but there are times where you will really wish that fox was something like a Greybelly instead.

I do not know that there is much to say about some of the other GN builds. Arusha still does what Arusha has always done. The deck’s following has dwindled significantly, but all the reasons to play the deck before are still there. All that is left after that are Hammsukes. Hammsukes are…very cute. Maybe the next set of support will turn them into the next Nociels and break them wide open. Unlikely but hey, stranger things have happened.

One last thing I would like to touch on is the issue of some of our tech G Units. For the most part, Great Nature’s G Units are incredibly niche, but they do have their uses. Afanc is still a popular choice at 1-2 to play around cards like Denial Griffin. The GB8 unit, Veera, remains somewhat underpowered as you will likely not have a big enough hand to truly abuse it by the time you are able to Stride into it, but with a G Zone as wide open as Great Nature’s, many players still find the space to include it. A card that has become a personal favorite tech of mine thanks to the prevalence of Chaos at my locals is Fernyiges. Due to the way End Phase order works, Fernyiges creates a floating effect that goes on standby and does not actually retire your units for the draw/CC/SC until after they have been unlocked. Thanks to this, you put the Chaos player somewhat on their heels. Either they have to go ahead and retire everything themselves or they let you gain advantage off of the cards they choose to leave alone. Whatever they choose, you end up going into their turn with a completely empty field, leaving them with nothing to lock.

Great Nature is in an interesting spot as a whole right now. The clan certainly isn’t taking the meta by storm, but it is by no means bad. With a patient and dedicated pilot who has a knowledge of their matchups, a Great Nature deck can do wonders. Great Nature is a clan that requires some level of patience on the part of the pilot. If you stick with the deck and make changes to your build as your meta demands, you can see a great (again, pun very much intended) return on your investments into this clan. And of course, new support is on the horizon, bringing untold buffs to our plethora of build variants.

Remember, if you want to keep up to date with past, present, and futures articles published on this website, we have a Facebook page that will update whenever something new is posted here. Give it a like or a follow to make sure you get a notification when important things happen in the world of Great Nature! Also, if you want to interact with your fellow Great Nature players, GNU has a Facebook Community where you can talk about tournament results, decks builds, and more!