Grand Prix Memphis 2018 - Welcome to the Fold

This week, join us in Welcoming the following six new-to-GP judges to the Fold!

Steven Hill

Name: Steven Hill
Level: Level 2
Location: Snohomish, Washington
Region: USA – Northwest
Approximate date/month/year you started playing Magic: Spring of 2012
L1 Certification Date: March 6, 2016
Favorite thing (e.g., card, deck, group of people) about Magic: I love that I can go just about anywhere with an EDH deck and have something to do.
Occupation: Composite Fabricator
Why did you become a judge?: A lot of reason, some more noble than others. Helping run events in a region that is fairly devoid of judges, the great community, recognition, getting to flex rules knowledge on people. I like to tell people I prefer to get paid in Magic rather than pay for Magic.
What excites you most about this event?: It’s my first Grand Prix as a judge (obviously). Mostly meeting judges from other parts of the country, and getting into the GP scene.
What worries you most about this event?: It’s a long way from home, and I only know one other person on staff and ~3 people going to play. If anything goes wrong, its kind of amplified by that.
Who are your mentors?: Jon Munck, Frank Stanley, and Stephan Classen. These three have done a lot to get me where I am.
What is your favorite Magic memory?: I once borrowed a Modern Affinity deck from a friend for an event at our LGS. It only had a 14 card sideboard, so before the tournament I looked around the room and noticed that the Mill player was there. I went up to the counter, bought one Psychic Spiral, and put it in the sideboard. It was a 30+ person event, and it wasn’t very likely I’d be paired against him, but in round 3 as luck would have it, I was sitting across the table from him. In the third game of the match, he mills the rest of my library, and extends the hand and says good games. I let him know the game isn’t over until I draw a card, then I cast my Psychic Spiral. I keep it in my personal binder as a reminder of when I milled out Mill with Affinity.

April Miller

Name: April Miller
Level: Level 2
Location: Knoxville, Tennessee
Region: USA – Midatlantic
Approximate date/month/year you started playing Magic: June 2015
L1 Certification Date: October 15, 2016
Favorite thing (e.g., card, deck, group of people) about Magic: Tribal elves in Modern (but not legacy) and tribal cats in Standard
Occupation: Middle school teacher
Random fact about yourself: I really enjoy End of Round procedure and other logistical tasks.
Why did you become a judge?: As a teacher I love to share my passions with others, and judging is the role in Magic that serves this purpose best. I love helping players understand weird rules interactions, introducing them to competitive play, and running events where they can have a good time.
Who are your mentors?: CJ Crooks and Riki Hayashi
What challenges have you faced or are you facing to become a better judge?: My appearance and temperament tend to bias players to believe I am less experienced or less knowledgeable than I am. I have gotten appealed (and upheld) frustratingly more than I can count, on questions I felt confident in but the players “”just wanted to be sure””.
How have you worked to overcome those challenges?: I’m finding that volume, hand gestures and posture have a huge impact on how I’m perceived by others, so I have been trying out other judges’ suggestions with body language to find what works best for me. I have been very thankful for the kindness and sensitivity with which many male judges have handled this concern because a non-zero percent of this issue is due to my femininity. Major props to Nate Hurley for pointing this out to me so respectfully at SCG Dallas last month; he did a wonderful job handling a player situation related to an appeal he (as head judge) addressed and I was very grateful for his response to the situation.
What is the best part about your local Magic community?: Everyone at my store knows me personally and asks me directly about judge questions because they know I’m there to help them. It’s super special to me that I have such a positive reputation in my Magic community. Many of these players helped teach me to play and saw me grow into who I am today, so their respect for me is very special.

Travis Perusich

Name: Travis Perusich
Level: Level 2
Location: Location Hidden
Region: USA – South
Approximate date/month/year you started playing Magic: March 3rd, 2013
L1 Certification Date: July 4, 2016
Favorite thing (e.g., card, deck, group of people) about Magic: Getting to interact with, and meet, all the different people, especially those in the judge community!
Occupation: Teacher
Random fact about yourself: I used to make a living as a professional balloon twister.
Why did you become a judge?: I’m a teacher, as well as a mentor. I’ve always been the type to try and help people figure things out. I’ve also always been the studious type. I like learning and being the person with the answers. More importantly, I like being in positions where I can better help those around me and in my community.
What excites you most about this event?: I am most excited at the prospect of being surrounded by so many experienced judges from whom I can learn. I feel I learn the most by observing those around me and immersing myself in the environment. With so many experienced judges around me, I am going to have a wealth of knowledge at my disposal. Additionally, this is a bit of a milestone for me. I hope to work many more large events to come, so this is like the beginning of a new portion of my judge career.
What worries you most about this event?: I suppose I have the same worries most would have. This is a new beginning, will I be good enough? Will people like me? Will I like the experience? These are all questions I have had. I worry about making a good impression, or messing something up in front of my peers; or worse, making a wrong call that costs someone a game! I am inexperienced and I know it. But that just means I have a lot I can learn. Ultimately, it’s the butterflies in my stomach that accompany all things new. But, I will be surrounded by a ton of experienced individuals; that makes this exciting more than anything else.
What are you hoping to learn at this event?: I really want to get a good grasp of the organization involved in judging a large event. I want to better understand the moving pieces that go into making the whole function. I got a taste of this at my first SCG, but I keep hearing that a GP is vastly different and I am excited to dive in and see what it is like.
Who are your mentors?: Anthony Wood, Nathaniel Thompson, and Erin Leonard
What challenges have you faced or are you facing to become a better judge?: Judge Center being down for so long was pretty upsetting. It took away my practice tests, my biggest source of improvement. But, ultimately, I am better for it.
How have you worked to overcome those challenges?: JC being down forced me to get into the books, and, more importantly, it forced me to foster relationships with judges in my region I would otherwise not have spoken to. I participated, and still do, in our Regional Slack. I bounce ideas around with judges who are hundreds of miles away. Judge center going away was bad, but I am glad it did. I am such a better judge now as a result.
What is the best part about your local Magic community?: The dedication of the players to the game. We have players who drive an hour or more every week…sometimes multiple times a week…just to hit up weekly’s! Combine that with LGS owners who will do whatever it takes to give the players the types of events they want, I couldn’t be happier with our community.
What is your favorite Magic memory?: Winning 2016 TCG Modern States with my G/R Tron deck. I got to face off against one of my friends in the finals and, to this day, it’s my biggest mtg victory.

Kyle Richter

Name: Kyle Richter
Level: Level 1
Location: Saint Louis, Missouri
Region: USA – Central
Approximate date/month/year you started playing Magic: I played in the mid 90s but stopped for a long while. I restarted around the original Zendikar block.
L1 Certification Date: February 22, 2017
Favorite thing (e.g., card, deck, group of people) about Magic: Getting to play with my friends.
Occupation: Currently I am a delivery driver. However, I am teaching myself computer programming.
Random fact about yourself: I am an avid fan of thunderstorms.
Why did you become a judge?: Initially it was to become a better player and to build my knowledge base of different interactions within the game. Within the last year my priorities habe shifted interacting with other judges had definitely made judging seems as more of community than a tool.
What worries you most about this event?: I think my biggest worries are that my inexperience will result in a negative existence for someone.
Who are your mentors?: Several local or nearby judges. Zeke Davis, Eric Levine, Nat Graham, Avi Grinberg habe all been there when I’ve needed answers to questions I was unsure about and also just as encouragement.
What is the best part about your local Magic community?: The best part to me is just how welcoming everyone is especially to new players who are just starting. We all honestly try hard to be a supportive community to each other and to new players as well.
What is your favorite Magic memory?: Pulling off a (potentially) infinite combo at GP Milwaukee with a sealed pool. Overall I didn’t do well at the GP but that moment made it worth it for me.

Ryan Russell

Name: Ryan Russell
Level: Level 1
Location: Tyler, Texas
Region: USA – South
Approximate date/month/year you started playing Magic: 2001
L1 Certification Date: February 13, 2017
Favorite thing (e.g., card, deck, group of people) about Magic: I love a good game of competitive EDH
Occupation: Math teacher
Why did you become a judge?: To have a better understanding of the rules, and to help out my local gaming community
What excites you most about this event?: Getting the experience of a big event and meeting a lot of new judges that I haven’t worked with yet.
What worries you most about this event?: My two nightmares are showing up in my underwear and botching a call in the top 8.
What are you hoping to learn at this event?: Everything I can.
What is the best part about your local Magic community?: The balance of players that we have. We have a good mix of casual to tournament grinders to always keep things varied and new.
What is your favorite Magic memory?: Winning a commander game turn 1 while going first. Feels good lol

Jacob Smith

Name: Jacob Smith
Level: Level 1
Location: Corinth, Mississippi
Region: USA – Southeast