MagicFest Tampa Bay 2019

| Io Hughto

This weekend in Tampa Bay, we have 7 new judges to Welcome to the fold!

Apollo Appolito

  • Name: Apollo Appolito
  • Pronouns He/him/his
  • Level: Level 1
  • Location: Savannah, Georgia, United States of America
  • Region: USA – Southeast
  • Approximate date/month/year you started playing Magic: September 2007
  • L1 Certification Date: November 15, 2016
  • Favorite thing (e.g., card, deck, group of people) about Magic: Brainstorm for sure
  • Occupation: Teacher
  • Random fact about yourself: I go rock climbing as a hobby
  • Why did you become a judge?: It excites me to help others learn interactions in the rules
  • What excites you most about this event?: I get to experience working with a large judge team.
  • What worries you most about this event?: I worry that my knowledge won’t be enough and my lack of experience at GPs will show.
  • What are you hoping to learn at this event?: I’m hoping to learn how to effectively work together with judges to minimize the impact of unexpected events on player.
  • Who are your mentors?: David Homan
  • What challenges have you faced or are you facing to become a better judge?: I am struggling with trying to find a balance between being too hard on players and not being hard enough
  • How have you worked to overcome those challenges?: I have talked to other judges about what an adequate stance to take concerning issuing penalties and how much leeway I should give the infracting player.
  • What is the best part about your local Magic community?: My favourite part of the local magic community in Savannah is how welcoming and nice all of the players are, and how hospitable many of our players are towards new players.
  • What is your favorite Magic memory?: My favourite memory is probably playing miracles before the sensor’s divining top ban, the deck was a lot of fun and it was always rewarding to set up next level counterbalances, though I’ve kind of shied away from the deck in favour of grixis control recently.

Dakota Cone

  • Name: Dakota Cone
  • Pronouns He/him/his
  • Level: Level 1
  • Location: Tifton, Georgia, United States of America
  • Region: USA – Southeast
  • Approximate date/month/year you started playing Magic: June 2013
  • L1 Certification Date: February 5, 2017
  • Favorite thing (e.g., card, deck, group of people) about Magic: Casting Thoughtseize
  • Occupation: College Student
  • Random fact about yourself: I am training to become a professional opera singer
  • Why did you become a judge?: To better support my local community
  • What excites you most about this event?: The chance to learn from judges more experienced than I am
  • What worries you most about this event?: My relative lack of big tournament experience
  • What are you hoping to learn at this event?: How to implement policy as effectively as possible
  • Who are your mentors?: Adam Blaylock, Michael Starr, and David Homan
  • What challenges have you faced or are you facing to become a better judge?: Very few Comp REL events worked, so less chance to reinforce Policy
  • How have you worked to overcome those challenges?: Applying to work more events and more regimented study of the IPG (the flashcards have been great)
  • What is the best part about your local Magic community?: The camaraderie between players
  • What is your favorite Magic memory?: The first GP I went to as a player. GP Atlanta 2015. I walked into the event hall and knew I was hooked for life.

Jose Alberto Estrada Diaz del Castillo

  • Name: Jose Alberto Estrada Diaz del Castillo
  • Level: Level 1
  • Location: Ciudad de México, Mexico
  • Region: Hispanic America – North

Thomas Fletcher

  • Name: Thomas Fletcher
  • Pronouns He/him/his
  • Level: Level 1
  • Location: Port Orange, Florida, United States of America
  • Region: USA – Southeast
  • Approximate date/month/year you started playing Magic: November 2015
  • L1 Certification Date: August 12, 2018
  • Favorite thing (e.g., card, deck, group of people) about Magic: General Prison Deck Stuff: Turn 1 Trinisphere on the play, Lantern Control, Manabarbs in EDH
  • Occupation: Student
  • Random fact about yourself: I have hiked to the top of Yosemite Falls
  • Why did you become a judge?: I was someone who usually had the rules answer in my local shop; I enjoy knowing intricacies of the rules and wanted to pursue both further.
  • What excites you most about this event?: Judging at my first Magic Fest/Grand Prix and getting to meet lots of people.
  • Who are your mentors?: Elliot Gafter has helped me most in preparing me for L1 and getting better since
  • What is the best part about your local Magic community?: I have multiple shops around with players that challenge me to get better at the game but are also great people.
  • What is your favorite Magic memory?: I have had some crazy pre-release decks in the past: 2HG with 3 walking ballistas in AER, 2HG with Chandra and Nissa in KLD, Solo HOU with 2 Gates and a God Pharaoh’s Gift, Solo GRN with 2 Doom Whisperer, and more

Jay Marcus

  • Name: Jay Marcus
  • Level: Level 1
  • Location: Delray Beach, Florida, United States of America
  • Region: USA – Southeast

James Templeton

  • Name: James Templeton
  • Pronouns He/him/his
  • Level: Level 1
  • Location: Ripley, West Virginia, United States of America
  • Region: USA – Midatlantic
  • Approximate date/month/year you started playing Magic: 2005
  • L1 Certification Date: July 27, 2018
  • Favorite thing (e.g., card, deck, group of people) about Magic: I love the social aspect of MtG. Digital platforms can never replace the face to face social interactions.
  • Occupation: Fulltime dad
  • Random fact about yourself: I have a fully stocked tiki bar in my garage.
  • What worries you most about this event?: I am woefully under experienced in competitive magic. However, the most direct way to fix that is to gain experience in competitive magic.
  • What are you hoping to learn at this event?: I am most looking forward to seeing MagicFest from a professional view. I have attented many GP’s and MF’s in the past, but this will be my first as a staff. I strive to become a dependable and fair judge, with a solid understanding of the IPG in addition to rules knowledge. Becoming a judge was a challenge, but I am interested in taking that effort to the next level.
  • Who are your mentors?: Vince Roscioli, Hank Wiest, Eric Dustin Brown
  • What challenges have you faced or are you facing to become a better judge?: I live in the center of rural West Virginia. Finding competitve magic is an enormous difficulty but it is also incredibly fun! West Virginia has only a handful of L1’s and no L2’s or L3’s to my knowledge. Because of the lack of high level judges, competitve REL events are nearly always a several hours drive away. This needs to change, and I hope to be instrumental in making that happen.
  • How have you worked to overcome those challenges?: A willingness to travel and be a part of larger events that need more than a single local judge. I try and keep open communication with experienced judges who express a willingness to mentor a new-ish L1.
  • What is your favorite Magic memory?: Nothing can top kitchen table magic with all my friends, both old and new.

Curtis Vincent

  • Name: Curtis Vincent
  • Level: Level 2
  • Location: Venice, Florida, United States of America
  • Region: USA – Southeast