Greetings Judges! This week’s Judge of the Week is Charlotte Sable, L2 from Guelph, Ontario, Canada!

Charlotte was nominated by Rob Hayes from Kingston, Ontario, Canada.  He had this to say about her:

I have never had a negative experience with Charlotte as a judge. She is constantly punctual, well organized, and very knowledgeable. It is because of Charlotte that I was inspired to be a judge. The constant positive aura she brings to the events she attends is simply astonishing, and makes the room a better place.

Charlotte was certified at the 2009 Canadian Nationals, and achieved L2 at GP Toronto in 2010.  She’s been prevalent throughout the judge community online, and has committed a large amount of time to her community!  She claims to have an “unhealthy obsession with the rules”, which has brought about her goals to foster this obsession in others as well, with a strong dose of self-improvement!  She also runs a rules tip blog: Ask a Magic Judge!,  and helps manage content for the rulebook, which is linked to the Judge Center’s exam questions.

An all around awesome sounding judge!  Lets hear her story!

Occupation: Department Manager at a Big Box Retailer
Favourite card: Painter’s Servant – So innocuous, but capable of doing so many broken things. Alternately, Great Sable Stag for obvious reasons.
Least favourite card: Batterskull – While I respect the card and its power, it’s the antithesis of what I want to be doing in constructed Magic. Also, I had to judge a few too many Caw-Blade mirrors back in the day…
Favourite format: Legacy, because playing fair decks is boring!
Commander general: Uril, the Miststalker Favourite non-Magic Game: Ascension or Cards Against Humanity. It’s hard to choose!
Best tournament result: I Top 8’ed a GPT, but dropped before the cut because I was judging the GP.
Random fact about yourself: I attended my first sanctioned event in part to get a DCI number so I could take the Rules Advisor exam.

Tell us your favourite judge story.
Back in 2011, I was headed down to Baltimore to judge a Star City Games Open Series event.

I left work on Friday afternoon, and had barely enough time to get home, grab a shower, a bite to eat, and finish packing before getting on my first bus to Baltimore at 7pm.

After arriving (an hour late) at 10am Saturday morning, another judge picked me up and drove me to the venue. I changed my clothes in the convention centre bathroom and went straight to judging the event.  That night, I shared a 1-bed hotel room a mile (by foot) from the venue with about 5 other judges.

The next day, I was Head Judge of the Draft Opens, where there was so much demand that we crammed in a third Draft Open! At the end of another day, I had just enough time to change my clothes in the convention centre bathroom (again), award the third Draft Open winner his plaque, and head back to get my bus home.

Needless to say, once I got home I spent the rest of that Monday sleeping.
It was an insane, wonderful, hectic, and insane weekend that I’ll never forget. I’m glad I did something like that once, but I highly doubt I’ll ever do an event weekend quite that crazy again.

How has being a judge influenced your non-Magic life?
Immeasurably. Judging has helped me with my confidence, my social skills, my ability to handle stress, my ability to lead, etc. etc. etc.  I have become a much more well-rounded human being and made countless wonderful friends through my participation in the judge program.

Also, I have significantly less “non-Magic life” now that I’m a judge.  As Jeff Morrow once told me, “The Judge Program is a self-improvement cult that runs Magic tournaments on the side.”

Tell us an embarrassing story that you’re not afraid of everyone knowing.
At the last PTQ I played in, I was in a very close round 2 match that I ended up losing in extra turns.  I asked my opponent if he would concede to me, he said no, and so I just filled out and signed the match slip, not wanting to press the matter. In the next round, I noticed that my points were wrong, and it turned out that I’d accidentally filled out that match slip in my favor and my opponent had signed it without looking at the entered result. I felt extremely guilty, but there was nothing I could do to correct the matter.

You were nominated Rob Hayes because you are extremely positive, knowledgeable, and an inspirational judge!  What do you bring to your events to make them that much better?

First of all, they’re not my events, they’re the players’ events.  Players can play Magic without a judge around, but judges can’t judge without the players. As such, I do my best to provide the fairest, most efficient event possible so that the players, the TO, and the judges can all walk away having had a good time. If I can walk away after an event having accomplished that, I know I’ve done a good job.

What is your favourite non-judging moment that happened with other judges?
Going for a midnight swim on the Waikiki beach with a group of other judges at Pro Tour Dark Ascension. There wasn’t anything epic or super memorable about it, it was just another great time spent with amazing people in one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been.

What motivates you to continue being a judge?
Honestly, a lot of what I do boils down to having the right attitude. The Magic community is such an amazing collection of people that just being able to be a part of it in any capacity is amazing. Being able to help foster and grow that community through my work as a judge is doubly rewarding. Make the most of what you do, and make sure others can see that you’re having a good time. We all judge because we love this game, so let that love and passion show to others.

What’s the best part about your local Magic community?
The great mix of skill levels from players new to the game to players who’ve played on the Pro Tour. Everyone is nice, for the most part, and the community as a whole does its best to help everyone get better if they want to improve.

On the judge side of things, it’s amazing watching new judges come up and grow and learn, as well as seeing those who helped mentor me initially moving on to bigger and better things. The Canadian judge family is on the verge of something great, and I can’t wait to see where we go in the next little while.

If you could chat with one person, real or fictional, dead or alive, who would it be and why?
It’s hard to say, really… so many to choose from… but if it’s something Magic related, I’d love to talk to someone and get a good sense about what early judging was like.

More generally, I think it would have been absolutely fascinating to spend a day or two with Nikola Tesla…

What would you be doing now if Magic no longer existed?
I would be very very sad, and not know why. Honestly, I’d probably be almost a completely different person, since this game has been such a huge part of who I am. I’d probably be pursuing other geeky and gaming-related hobbies, though.

What character in Magic (real or fictional) represents you the best, and why?
I’ve been a big fan of Chandra ever since she first appeared, and while I’m not quite as impulsive as she is, I feel that I share her indomitable attitude pretty well. I suppose she inspires me more than she represents me, though.

Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Yes. I want to say a huge thank you to every judge who’s ever offered me advice, kind words, or constructive feedback. I wouldn’t have been able to do half the things I’ve done as a judge without the help of each and every one of you.

To all the judges out there: Keep being the amazing, diverse, and inspiring people that you are. This community needs each and every one of us as much as we need them.

Also just a shout out for Judgecast North, (which I cohost) our podcast on judging!

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

1. I quit Magic when 8th Edition came out because I really disliked the new card frame. Most of my friends had already stopped playing, so it was reason enough to stop too. I didn’t get pulled back into the game until I saw some Time Spiral cards and had a huge attack of nostalgia.
2. At one point early in my judging career, I had answered the entire pool of questions for both the Easy and Hard Practice exams on the Judge Center.
3. I have an unhealthy love for, and knowledge of, the theme songs for all the James Bond films.