First or Second — Combo Decks Done Right (Featuring Exodia) By: Grant Manley Posted 9 months ago to Premium Article Hello everyone! Recently, I’ve been working on a couple of Expanded decks as I’m having more fun with the format, even though most online tournaments are currently running Standard. Rebel Clash introduced a few powerful cards into the game. Dragapult VMAX ruins the Standard format by gatekeeping anything that has an evolution or low HP in general, especially combined with multiple copies of Marnie. Because of this, my attention has shifted to the Expanded format. Another card that everyone has their eye on is Scoop Up Net. This card is neat because it allows extra uses of cards such as Galarian Zigzagoon, Mewtwo, Jirachi, Jirachi Prism Star, etc. It doesn’t work with Pokemon V or Pokemon-GX, but this restriction does not apply to Pokemon-EX in the Expanded format. Naturally, Shaymin-EX is the best partner for this card. Scoop Up Net allows for many extra uses of Shaymin’s Set Up Ability, which is a huge boost for combo decks. I enjoy coming up with broken decks and I’ve been refining two first-turn-kill (Exodia) decks that heavily rely on Scoop Up Net. ContentsHonchkrow-GX LockHow to play Honchkrow-GX LockLatios-EX DonkHow to Play Latios-EX DonkConclusion Honchkrow-GX Lock My first idea was to build a combo that locked my opponent’s hand on turn 1. However, the carefully crafted ban list invalidates about every hand-disruption card you can think of. There are very few options, but among the cards that aren’t banned are Honchkrow-GX, Dusk Stone, and Marnie. This combo can reliably work on turn 1 if you go second. If your opponent wins the opening flip and chooses to go second, you’ll have to wait a turn to pull it off. If you'd like to continue reading PokeBeach's premium articles, consider purchasing a premium membership! It grants you full access to PokeBeach's premium articles and allows you to submit your deck lists and questions to our writers for advice! If you're not completely satisfied with your membership, you can request a full refund within 30 days! Simply cancel it in Paypal and then PM Water Pokemon Master for a full refund. No questions asked! Each subscription automatically renews at the end of its cycle, but you can stop or change it before then. 5.95 USD per 7 days Subscribe Weekly Subscription 5.95 / week. 14.97 USD per month Subscribe Monthly Subscription 14.97 / month. You'll also get a special subscriber badge under your avatar. 41.70 USD per 3 months Subscribe Quarterly Subscription Averages to 13.90 / month. You'll also get a special subscriber badge under your avatar and an Advanced Member banner.