GP San Jose – Go team, episode three

Hey sports fans! This is the third in my series on what I expect out of GP San Jose. In my first episode, I discussed player pairing and Tardiness Ad Nauseam. In my second episode, I focused on communication and deck construction/pool registration. In this third episode, I’d like to wrap up by talking about some of the things I noticed while playing in a Team Sealed event recently.

Jess Dunks and Superstars Game Center in San Jose (the Channel Fireball  guys) put on a Comp REL Team Sealed event a few weeks back, with M13 as the product and with Zack Levine assisting on judge duties. This was done in an attempt to give their customers a simulated “GP San Jose” feel. While I’m unconvinced that Comp REL was the best choice, it was a great opportunity to look for any hiccups and kinks in the system. The all-star team of myself, Toby Elliott, and my friend Scott (Foundry Hiring) dared to take the challenge.

So onto the lessons we learned while 2-2 dropping!

Lesson the First: After you drop, go get barbecue at the Smoking Pig Barbecue Company. So good.

Lesson the Second: There will be plenty of mistakes on deck registration forms. We will miscount the total, as it’s a big number. People will not count their cards correctly and their math will not make sense. We should be wary of this and let players know that they will need to pay extra attention during deck construction and registration. I’m not usually one for marking decklists, except for my initials and “OK”, but I think that writing totals at the bottom of each column will greatly help in this instance, so that we can check and re-check math quicker.

Lesson the Third: The day is going to be very long. Ten rounds Saturday, more than likely, which means an end time of midnight is not out of the realm of possibility. Likewise, Saturday will be featuring a ton of drafts. Not only will this be logistically challenging, but it will be draining. Watching drafts takes a lot of manpower and focus.

Hey look at that segue! This means we are going to have to look after the wellbeing of our fellow judges assiduously during this event. Days will be long and tiring. It will be every judge’s job not only to look out for themselves, but for each other. What can we do to make sure we stay energetic all day? Apart from the usual sleep/food/water triad, we can 1) make sure people get timely and frequent breaks, starting early in the day and ending late at night, 2) save interesting topics of discussion for later, when people are starting to zone out and turn into zombies, and 3) make sure that the judges are having a fun time. Fun times equal excitement which equals more awake. Trust me, I’m a scientist.

Lesson the Fourth: Slow play has the possibility of making this long day even longer. What do we know about slow play from two-headed giant? Being part of a team raises the possibility of having lengthy discussions about the right play. You and your other head are both intently focused on the same game, and figuring out a much more complicated board state than is typical for a game of Magic. In team sealed, at least until one player is finished and observing his teammates, you’re playing a regular game of Magic. Your teammates are also playing games of Magic, which limits their ability to get into long, drawn-out discussions about which land you should play on the first turn. I would be surprised if there were many slow play situations caused by teammate discussion in the middle of a match, while all the games are going on.

Teammates finishing matches and getting more involved in the remaining games opens increases the chances for slow play. People always slow down at the end of the match, we’re just going to have to be as vigilant as we usually are. Additionally, stepping in and reminding people having lengthy discussions that the clock is ticking is a good way to get them to come to some conclusion before things get out of hand. Stay vigilant, judges!

Lesson the Fifth:  Team sealed is a blast to play. Playing Magic with your friends is about a million times more fun than playing with random strangers. Team events allow people to do just that. Let’s help everyone to enjoy this event as much as I know we can.

Cheers,

-Louis

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