Grand Prix Los Angeles 2018

| Io Hughto

This weekend, there are two GPs on opposite coasts of the US. This one on the west coast has six new judges to Welcome to the Fold!

Terrance Armstrong

  • Name: Terrance Armstrong
  • Level: Level 1
  • Location: Walnut, California, United States of America
  • Region: USA – Southwest
  • Approximate date/month/year you started playing Magic: January 94
  • Favorite thing (e.g., card, deck, group of people) about Magic: I like combo decks in mtg. My favorite was eggs. My favorite format is far and away EDH (Commander for the new judges)
  • Occupation: I drive for Lyft when not judging.
  • Random fact about yourself: Wife passed away July 8 2017
  • Why did you become a judge?: At first it was to run tournaments and the foils. Now I stay a judge for the people around the world to play and talk to
  • What excites you most about this event?: Getting to know more people.
  • What worries you most about this event?: Traffic to and from the event
  • What are you hoping to learn at this event?: More CFB names and faces
  • Who are your mentors?: I have a buddy that was a judge named Monopoly (I gave him that name) James Grover!
  • What challenges have you faced or are you facing to become a better judge?: Memory is my biggest hurdle.
  • How have you worked to overcome those challenges?: Trying to answer some of the questions that are on the L2 test
  • What is the best part about your local Magic community?: People from all over the world. We may not speak the same language but we all speak magic
  • What is your favorite Magic memory?: Playing eggs at a PTQ where I knew 25-50% of the staff and just about every judge was watching my games.

Diego Bolaños

  • Name: Diego Bolaños
  • Level: Level 1
  • Location: México, Mexico
  • Region: Hispanic America – North
  • Approximate date/month/year you started playing Magic: September 2012
  • L1 Certification Date: December 2, 2017
  • Favorite thing (e.g., card, deck, group of people) about Magic: Combo decks in general
  • Occupation: Student
  • Random fact about yourself: I try to like a song from every genre
  • Why did you become a judge?: To learn more about the game and help my LGS
  • What excites you most about this event?: Start formally working as a judge
  • What worries you most about this event?: English not being my first language
  • What are you hoping to learn at this event?: How to become a level 2 judge and what to improve to be one
  • Who are your mentors?: Raul Pineda and Alvaro Ibañez
  • What challenges have you faced or are you facing to become a better judge?: Not wanting to judge events so I can play them
  • How have you worked to overcome those challenges?: Applying for GPs that I won’t be able to attend as a player
  • What is the best part about your local Magic community?: How easy is to be part of it (friendly)
  • What is your favorite Magic memory?: Playing a weird deck that by accident cause my opponent to shuffle his deck to the library and seen how the judges fix it

Joctan Gutierrez

  • Name: Joctan Gutierrez
  • Level: Level 1
  • Location: Ensenada, Mexico
  • Region: Hispanic America – North

Ismael Pallares

  • Name: Ismael Pallares
  • Level: Level 1
  • Location: Tijuana, Mexico
  • Region: Hispanic America – North

Adam Reback

  • Name: Adam Reback
  • Level: Level 1
  • Location: Northridge, California, United States of America
  • Region: USA – Southwest

Frank Zazanis

  • Name: Frank Zazanis
  • Level: Level 1
  • Location: simi valley, California, United States of America
  • Region: USA – Southwest
  • Approximate date/month/year you started playing Magic: June 1998
  • L1 Certification Date: February 13, 2018
  • Favorite thing (e.g., card, deck, group of people) about Magic: Leaving UU untapped during my opponents turn
  • Occupation: Sales Manager
  • Random fact about yourself: I am also a stage magician
  • Why did you become a judge?: I enjoy running events, introducing new people to Magic, and ensuring a good time is had by all in a fair manner
  • What excites you most about this event?: Being surrounded by people who love this game too
  • What worries you most about this event?: messing up a judge call
  • What are you hoping to learn at this event?: How to be a better judge
  • Who are your mentors?: Angela Chandler, Daniel Lee, and Jeremy Fain
  • What challenges have you faced or are you facing to become a better judge?: I am a really bad test taker
  • How have you worked to overcome those challenges?: Practiced test taking strategies my mentor suggested
  • What is the best part about your local Magic community?: Great sense of humor and strong players
  • What is your favorite Magic memory?: Casting upheaval followed by psychatog with force spike back up