Every so often, a deck comes along that truly meshes with who you are. It seems like the perfect fit. It’s a style you enjoy, it’s a strategy you are used to, and it gives insight into who you are. If I thought that any deck described me adequately, it would be the Mental deck.

 

The Mental deck takes two of my favorite things in the world—drawing lots of cards and the inability to maintain a grip on reality—and meshes them into an oatmeal-like paste. I’m not alone, though. A self-described “loose collection” of southeast players, including Billy Postlethwait, Donnie Noland, Joe Carey, Dan Bridy, and “The” Jebailey, brought the Mental deck to the PC with the intention of blasting their way to Day 2. It might not be as easy as they thought, though.

The deck works as an interesting combination of aggressive characters and defensive plot twists. Its goal is to maintain the endurance race with the opposing deck while using Sage, Tessa to build up an enormous number of defensive plot twists for a big stand that usually takes place on turn 5 or 6. “You want to stonewall them on a turn,” Joe Carey explained to me. “Yeah,” Jebailey chimed in, “You just mess up their attacks one turn and then kill them on the next.” However, their deck admittedly has a bit of a rough time with Squadron and Faces. “They’re like a 45/55 matchup,” Joe replied when I asked him about the odds. “If they have four characters on turn 3, you pretty much can’t win. But if they miss any drops, you can’t lose.”

Despite the sketchy matchups with the two most prevalent decks in the tournament, the team feels confident in their chances. Jebailey has managed a 3-1 record so far, dodging the big decks for the most part. If his luck holds out, you may be seeing a Mental deck in the Top 8. Who knows . . . maybe Alex Jebailey can use his reality-altering powers to force his way into the Sunday dance. If he does, remember that it isn’t really happening; you’re just being Jebailey-ed.