Grand Prix Oklahoma City 2017

| Io Hughto

This week we have eight new judges in Welcome to the Fold in Oklahoma City.

Sara Anderson

  • Name: Sara Anderson
  • Level: Level 1
  • Location: Wichita Falls, Texas
  • Region: USA – South
  • Approximate date/month/year you started playing Magic: June 2011
  • L1 Certification Date: 6/18/2017
  • Favorite thing (e.g., card, deck, group of people) about Magic: Hanging out with friends
  • Occupation: Customer service manager
  • Why did you become a judge?: I became a judge because I wanted to help build the magic community in my town.
  • What excites you most about this event?: I’m excited about working with more experienced judges and learning from their knowledge.
  • What worries you most about this event?: The size is a little intimidating.
  • What are you hoping to learn at this event?: I’m hoping to learn how to be more self confident around large groups of people.
  • Who is your mentor?: Erin Leonard
  • What challenges have you faced or are you facing to become a better judge?: Distance from other judges
  • How have you worked to overcome those challenges?: I use social media to communicate with other judges. I also travel to events as much as I can.
  • What is the best part about your local Magic community?: Enthusiasm for building the community
  • What is your favorite Magic memory?: Making day two at SCG Open playing Pox in Legacy.

Cory Ashline

  • Name: Cory Ashline
  • Level: Level 1
  • Location: Topeka, Kansas
  • Region: USA – Central

Joseph Edens

  • Name: Joseph Edens
  • Level: Level 2
  • Location: Springdale, Arkansas
  • Region: USA – South

Anson Henthorn

  • Name: Anson Henthorn
  • Level: Level 1
  • Location: Canyon, Texas
  • Region: USA – South
  • Approximate date/month/year you started playing Magic: Summer 1998
  • L1 Certification Date: 8/6/2016
  • Favorite thing (e.g., card, deck, group of people) about Magic: Variance. Matchups are not an exact science, and even the variety of people you can meet makes it more exciting!
  • Occupation: Software Applications Developer
  • Random fact about yourself: When I was younger, I played the Pokemon TCG, a little bit of Yugioh TCG, and also a Harry Potter TCG. I even was writing articles for a website called Pojo for the latter two. I put away my Magic collection while at college, but dug it out again when M13 was launched on Steam.
  • Why did you become a judge?: I started by helping answer player questions in the Facebook AAJ group, searching the CR for answers, and learning that citing the CR is just as effective (if not more so) as citing a judge. Eventually my mentor noticed this and urged me to test, and so I did!
  • What excites you most about this event?: Hanging out with judges I’ve met at conferences, and actually getting the opportunity to work with many different judges and get various viewpoints and feedback on how each person tackles a task.
  • What worries you most about this event?: I’m always afraid I won’t take good notes throughout the day, which makes recalling the day at a later time more of a challenge.
  • What are you hoping to learn at this event?: I’m hoping to learn more specifically how I can best serve the TO at large scale events such as this, to take full advantage of the opportunity afforded to me by being staffed for this event, so I can articulate why I would be a good candidate to staff at a future event.
  • Who is your mentor?: Kenny Perry
  • What challenges have you faced or are you facing to become a better judge?: As a family man, finding competitive judging opportunities can be a challenge
  • How have you worked to overcome those challenges?: I apply for local events as soon as I can (usually after putting the kid to bed), but I’m usually a perfectionist on my cover letter. I’ve even expanded my event search area as far as Dallas to get competitive experience.
  • What is the best part about your local Magic community?: The community is a welcoming and friendly group, with stores generally having the players’ best interests at heart (and trying to avoid scheduling conflicts when possible).

Jason Pitts

  • Name: Jason Pitts
  • Level: Level 1
  • Location: Alma, Arkansas
  • Region: USA – South

Aaron Reed

  • Name: Aaron Reed
  • Level: Level 1
  • Location: Norman, Oklahoma
  • Region: USA – South

CoriAnn Theroux

  • Name: CoriAnn Theroux
  • Level: Level 1
  • Location: Hubbard, Iowa
  • Region: USA – Central
  • Approximate date/month/year you started playing Magic: Spring Break 1999
  • L1 Certification Date: 10/7/2017
  • Favorite thing (e.g., card, deck, group of people) about Magic: The amazing people I have met through the game and all the crazy fantastic moments which are entertaining
  • Occupation: Quality Control Specialist
  • Random fact about yourself: I am also a certified Kansas City BBQ Society judge.
  • Why did you become a judge?: I enjoy the structure of the game and being able to help players understand the game.
  • What excites you most about this event?: I get to meet more amazing judges I have been virtually chatting with and new judges I have never met.
  • What worries you most about this event?: The blank out moments. Those ones where you know the answer but your brain malfunctions and all you can do is stare blankly at the player until it reboots.
  • What are you hoping to learn at this event?: The structure and divisions of judge responsibilities in larger scale events.
  • Who is your mentor?: There are a wealth of judges who have helped me along my journey, both in small and large measures. I will never be able to convey the whole of my thanks to them. The US Central region and the Collected Company Project have an amazing group of judges who have answered my questions with patience and thoughtfulness. Thank you, everyone!
  • What challenges have you faced or are you facing to become a better judge?: It is the continuation of knowledge I work on. There will always be something I don’t know. I study to better understand the rules of the game and how I apply those in the role of a judge.
  • How have you worked to overcome those challenges?: One of the great parts of the judge program is how judges share their failures and learned lessons to the collective. When I read about an L2 or L3 learning from a problem or asking for help on answering a question, it reminds me that it is ok to make mistakes. They happen. What I cannot forget to do is to learn from them, understand why the mistake happens, and move forward. Every mistake I make, I ask myself where I went wrong and how I could have done better. Being honest with yourself is hard. I cannot grow as a judge if I don’t learn from my mistakes.
  • What is the best part about your local Magic community?: The willingness to help those who are new or wanting to learn to be better. My LGS has many competitive level players, who take the time to look at decks and help another player critically analysis their play style or deck.
  • What is your favorite Magic memory?: My favorite card is Crypt Rats, which is part of my Rats deck. I was at a Ren Fair, playing magic. I killed all 6 of my opponents at the same time with Crypt Rats. It was a memorable win.

Alexander Wallace

  • Name: Alexander Wallace
  • Level: Level 1
  • Location: Norman, Oklahoma
  • Region: USA – South
  • Approximate date/month/year you started playing Magic: Summer 2005
  • L1 Certification Date: 6/28/2017
  • Favorite thing (e.g., card, deck, group of people) about Magic: The art and the instant common ground with a group of people
  • Occupation: Analytical Chemist
  • Random fact about yourself: I make jewelry out of glass beads I make
  • Why did you become a judge?: I got back into magic because of a friend, and with a limited budget I couldn’t get too into it. When I learned I could judge to improve the community and funnel my extra time into cards instead of money, my interest grew.
  • What excites you most about this event?: First GP! The most exciting thing is getting to work with 80+ people, 8 times more than I’ve worked with previously.
  • What worries you most about this event?: I’m wary about making wrong calls.
  • Who is your mentor?: Matt Hoskins, Sydney Townley, Aaron Reed
  • What is the best part about your local Magic community?: I’ve truly felt I was welcomed in with open arms when I started and the community seems to keep that a constant for those who apply themselves.