Drk opener as mt

[tremor24]

[Grit+Darkside] Unmend > Low Blow > Hard Slash > Spinning Slash > Power Slash
[Grit+Darkside] Unmend > Plunge > Scourge > Hard Slash > Low Blow > Spinning Slash
Same amount of time has passed. I even give you a Low Blow there, and count 1 Scourge tick per gcd.

An alternative is unmend, wait about half a second, then plunge into hard slash. The boss will run to the position you plunged from, you will not clip a gcd, extra burst enmity, and you don't lose a fraction of plunge potency from waiting. The differences are very small obviously, but it is misleading to say that using plunge at the start is always wrong. From a melee dps perspective it is the same for the case I mentioned because the boss will move at the same speed and end up in the same location.

I agree about opening with scourge in grit being weaker; it is a mistake I make too often out of reflex because of its priority in general.