The follow document and video contain information originally provided by Blair Simpson

(Video Part 1, Part 2)

The Elements of Harmony

Honesty

• Always be honest with your players
• If you’re unsure about a ruling, tell them and go confer with another judge. Pro-tip : you can add valuable time to your rulings and avoid making the wrong call , by just reading the card.
• If you make an incorrect ruling, own up to it!

Kindness

• No one likes a jerk
• That said, be very careful to understand the boundaries of what you can and cannot tell a player.
• If you have to give out a game loss, chat with the player after the round. (for some new players, try this with warnings too)

Generosity

• Tournaments are long. You’re thisrty. Your feet hurt. Share your time anyways.
• If you’re on the floor, you’re going ot be bombarded with question from players and spectators. “I got a games loss for “x”, is that right? “how does humility work?” “why is that giraffe Drunk?”

Loyalty

• We are a community, both of players and of judges. Be there for each other.
• Has Riki not had a break in 6 hours? (probably not!) Help him out!
• Does your local card shop not have someone with rules knowledge? Be a part of your community!

Laughter

• Have fun!
• Unless you’re judging the pro tour, relax, joke around – remember it’s a game.

Magic

• We don’t judge for free product
• We don’t judge for the foils
• We don’t judge because we like penalizing people
• We judge because we love this game!
• Let that show to everyone that you interact with

Magic Don’ts

(There’s no crying in Magic!)

• Don’t be afraid to ask for help
• Put yourself out there – Do things that help impact the community and yourself
• Don’t like to do the dirty work? Too bad!! – Do what needs to be done and do it well.
• You’re always one person on a team, remember that!
• Know how to focus when you need to!
• All the studying in the world is no substitute for experience. You need to put in the time to become better at everything, including judging