Welcome back, another week means another judge in the spotlight! This time, it’s our friendly neighborhood judge, Angela Chandler. While she may not spin webs, she does like to knit, and we’ll pretend that counts.

Name: Angela Chandler Level: 2
Location: Culver City, CA
Judge start date: March 19, 2013.
Occupation: Certified Pharmacy Technician
Favorite card: Priest of Titania Least favorite card: Counterspell Favorite format: Lately it’s been Limited.
Commander General: Rhys the Redeemed Favorite non-Magic Game: Settlers of Catan

Best tournament result: Honestly..I’m terrible at big events. The best I can claim is winning FNM a couple of times and making Top 8 of a couple of competitive events.

How did you get involved in magic in the first place?
I was working at a private school as a playground supervisor and I made friends with a couple of others who worked there with me. They were playing Magic and I remember people playing in high school. I showed interest and they taught me. I was a kitchen table player for a few years. I then started working at Gamekeeper and learned a lot about the tournament side of the game. I had a coworker who was a competitive player and he started taking me to bigger tournaments (PTQs, Regionals, etc..) From then on I wanted to know everything about the game and tournaments.

How has being a Judge influenced your non-Magic life?
I’ve taken more of a leadership role in my workplace. I’ve been willing to accept more responsibility for my co-workers and I am not as shy about stepping up and helping. I think being around large crowds of people and being seen as a representative of the community has helped with that a lot.

What is one tip you have for other Judges?
Never back down. Be persistent and show people how motivated you are.

Why did you become a Judge?
I used to work for Gamekeeper (the retail Wizards of the Coast stores) many moons ago. I would run tournaments in the store and really loved that side of the game. I stopped playing in 2003 and after a 9 year hiatus, I started playing again at Comic-Con 2012. I met a ton of judges there and when they heard that I wanted to be a Judge back then, they encouraged me to go for it now that I was back in the game.

What’s the best part about your local Magic community?
The same thing that is the greatest about Magic communities around the globe…the people you get to meet!

What is your favorite non-Magic hobby?
As I mentioned before, I knit. I don’t do it as much as I used to but I did start trying to design stuff and I love surprising special people in my life with something hand knitted.

What is your favorite non-Judging moment that happened with other Judges?
The Judge army arranged for putting together sealed product for GP Vegas. That was the first time I was ever really introduced to Judges outside my local community. I had never seen such a large group of people bond over an almost mind-numbing task. It was the first time I really got to meet a lot more Judges and see what lengths we are willing to go to for an event to be successful

What’s the biggest rule-breaking play you’ve ever made as a player?
This is so embarrassing but one of the greatest lessons learned. I was in the Semi-Finals of a Sealed GPT. I was playing a blue/white evasion deck (M13 I believe) and we both had a bit of a stalled board. We were in game three and he had me dead on board next turn. I had to push through 11 damage somehow. I kept looking at the math and trying to figure out the best way. I just kept coming up one point shy of killing him. I swung in hard and prayed. We did blocks, went to damage and I announced that he was at 1 life. He agreed. Almost instantly a spectator behind me pointed out the trigger for a griffin I had on board that “gained +1/+1 until end of turn”. I attempted to then tell the player he was dead and the Judge stepped in a ruled missed trigger. So not only was I accepting outside assistance but I tried to wiggle my way out of a missed trigger. It’s a really low point in my Magic playing career. Now whenever I’m in an intense game, you will probably hear me chanting to myself “read your cards”.

What is your favorite “after event” story?
Having dinner with artists Drew Baker, Steve Argyle and his wife. This was a very rare opportunity that presented itself after Saturday Comic-Con events in 2013. It was such a treat to talk about the a totally different aspect of the game and to see how they influence our community through their artwork.

Proudest moment of your Judge life?
Becoming a Judge. It was something I had wanted to do for so many years. It’s all been a series of amazing events since.

Is there anything else you’d like to add?
I know my husband will read this and I want to acknowledge him and the sacrifices he has made for me over these last few years. We have a 3 year old son (and a daughter on the way). My husband is a very dedicated father who is willing to go entire days/weekends without seeing me or having my help at home with our son Ben. I love and appreciate him more than he will ever realize.

Two Truths and a Lie
Two of the following statements are true and one is false. Figure out which!

1. Angela had a pet possum when I was a teenager
2. Angela was a theatre major in college
3. Angela’s first car was a 1970 Ford Mustang Fastback with a 302 engine.

Judges! We would love to hear more about some awesome stories and awesome judges! If you believe one of your local colleagues is doing Exemplar work, this might be your chance to make them an upcoming Judge of the Week, so nominate a Judge TODAY