Magic Judges Facebook 2016 Annual Report

David de la Iglesia aka DLI has published on his personal blog the annual report for the official Magic Judges Facebook page. Complete with additions to the team, statistics of demographics reached, and a summary of just what DLI’s aim to achieve each year. Check it out if you’re unfamiliar or just want to recap this awesome year in judging.

Education Sphere

The Education team is hard at work at improving the program and a full explanation of what they aim to do can be found in this article, written by Sphere Lead Benjamin McDole. The star studded cast of this project and a brief introduction of its members can be found here.  

Exemplar 7 Posted

Wave 7 Nominations have been posted!  No major changes, but a short article has gone up detailing where to go if you’re interested in checking out your nominations or other Judges in the program.  Also, if you had a nomination deferred keep your eyes peeled for a email on how to proceed.  

Judge Article and Blog Posts December 2016

1. Articles: Communication in Magic Tournaments – Part II, Communication in Magic Tournaments – Part III, Card of the Month – Remand, Level 2 Frequently Asked Questions, Investigations – Counting Cards
2. Path to Exile:  Magic Judges Facebook page — 2016 Annual report
3. Bearz Repeating: Guest Post: Working on the Farm, Cultivating the Stories
4. Mystical Tutor: New Lessons
5. Judge Conferences: USA-South Autumn Conference Report
6. Battlefield Forge: Laura’s First Modern PPTQ, Thunder Bay’s Face to Face Open, GP Montreal Team Leader’s Tournament Report and Lessons from a Super IQ
7. GP Travel Guides: GP Vancouver 2017 and GP Prague 2017
8. The Feedback Loop: Refresh Your Advancement Reviews, My Review Year in Review, Feedbag #9: The Other Side and The Carrot and the Stick
9. Other blogs: The Elvish Farmer,  Story Time with Uncle Scott. 

You can find more judge blogs on the Blog Portal. In case you would like to discuss an article, visit our Judge forum. Don’t forget to regularly check the Magic Judge News blog.

Judgecast  

JudgeCast #162 – E-mail Soul Brother
Judgecast #163 – 2016: A Judge Retrospective

Happy Anniversary! December 2016

2016’s last batch of anniversaries are in. See if you’ve got New Year greetings to upgrade with congratulations after seeing December’s list of celebrants. While you’re at it, check out features on Akira Seno and Frank Chafe. Also featured is Fabian Peck

Judge of the Week December 2016

186 Top Regional Exemplar Recipients – Wave 6
187 Matteo Callegari level 3 from Italy
188 Emmanuel Gutierrez level 2 from France
189 Jurgen Baert level 3 from Belgium

Relocating as a Judge

Moving out is always a pain. Thank goodness Magic is a game played all over the world so we are all sure to end up somewhere we can enjoy the game. So wherever life may take you, it is likely you can continue your career as a judge. But doesn’t everybody want things easier and smoother? See how geographical transition for William Van Veen became fruitful and enjoyable as he made his move from Ontario to Kingston.

Exemplar for Isolated Judges

One consequence of popular games like Magic is the fact it will be played even in far-flung areas which will still need the services of judges. And true enough, some of our colleagues deal with issues of relative isolation but still manage to make ends meet and provide great player experience, with or without recognition. See what they are saying about the Exemplar Program and judges in isolation in this thread.

Questions asked in the month of December and an [O]fficial answer, just for you!

[expand title=”1. What happens if a player reveals a card exiled by Bomat Courier when exiling it? What if they see a card already exiled face down by Bomat Courier (either their own or an opponent’s)?”]

A: For the first question: this is Looking At Extra Cards- apply the remedy, then resolve the Bomat Courier‘s effect. Those who noted that L@EC doesn’t include a backup are correct – but the Courier’s effect never got resolved, an infraction occurred instead, and we continue.

For looking at cards already exiled: This is a simple GRV. Same for the Pithing Needle twist.

In a way, that’s unfortunate, as we don’t have a remedy that can really repair the damage done. For that reason, be sure you investigate carefully about intentions- I worry that the risk/reward calculation is a bit skewed, in this example, and some may be very tempted. Once you decide it was an honest mistake, issue the GRV and leave things as they are.

Approved by Scott Marshall.
[/expand]

[expand title=”2. AP crews Smuggler’s Copter and attacks, NAP says OK, then AP changes NAP’s life first and then tries to looter. When AP drew a card and did not discard yet, NAP called judge and said since AP had marked a life total change, that meant go into damage step and the AP missed the triggered and should not get to draw.  Isn’t this Out of Order Sequencing?”]

A: AP takes two actions which are legal to take after the point the game is at, but out of order. They do not involve the opponent in them, and gain no information that they wouldn’t normally have. The opponent has to pass priority before they can loot.
“OK” from NAP cannot pull the game ahead. It’s a priority pass, but there’s a trigger on the stack. As long as there isn’t a substantial break between the declaration of damage and the loot, it looks like OOOS to me.

Answered by Toby Elliott

Smuggler’s Copter
[/expand]

[expand title=”3. How should we consider the number of energy counters on a player according to the Communication Policy (MTR 4.1)? Is it considered to be a free information or a derived one?”]

A: It’s Derived, and can be “derived” from the game state and progress to that point – not always easily! – but, like any other sort of Counter, Energy Counters must be accurately and visibly maintained.

It’s not as scary as it might seem, at first; after all, an incorrect representation of Energy Counters would be a Communication Policy Violation.

Answered by Scott Marshall
[/expand]

[expand title=”4. Is Bomat Courier’s trigger detrimental?”]

A: Yes!  Why is Bomat Courier‘s ‘when ~this~ attacks’ trigger considered Detrimental? Because you’re losing access to a resource. Yes, you might get that resource back later – but that’s uncertain. What’s certain about this trigger is that you’re losing a card each time it attacks.

Answered by Scott Marshall
[/expand]

Update on the WER on Linux and Mac

There has been some beta testing performed on the new WER for the purposes of adapting the Crossover emulation. Using the newest Crossover (v.16), the WER beta will install and run. However, it will not sanction events, making it not-viable for a complete replacement. The installer will not be published until  this problem is resolved.

Timers in Magic

A new discussion has sparked up regarding the use of timers in official tournaments. Feel free to chime in sharing your thoughts on the topic!

Conspiracy Draft

Here you can find some useful ideas when running a Conspiracy Draft and aiming to improve the players’ experience within this casual format.

Find out which Judge Conferences, Grand Prix and SCG Opens have available worldwide staffing positions! You still have time to apply for Grand Prix San Antonio 2017 and Grand Prix Kobe 2017.

Check out the Grand Prix Solicitations and Selected Staffs for more details on individual tournaments.

Public projects such as The Panda Project, Presenters Training Team, Player Surveys, Mystical Tutor, MJM Translation, Judge Achievements, Flash Cards, Conference Guidelines and Policies and others are looking for help.

If you wish to get more out of your Judging experience and give back to the community, sign up to something that interests you!