May 2018

May was a month characterized by updates and announcements!  From format changes to our next planar destination, Wizards of the Coast has not been shy about keeping things exciting.  And with the special guest presenter for the Great Lakes Regional Conference revealed, this past month has been a wild ride!  So buckle up and let’s recap the month that was.

Conferences

David Elden and the Conferences Project stole the spotlight this past month with the revelation of the special guest presenter for the Great Lakes Regional Conference: Caleb Scherer!  A pro Magic player and Storm archetype guru, Caleb has been kind enough to give his time to the Judge community.  Specifically, he will be giving a presentation based on his myriad player experience and will focus on the expectation divide between the judge and the player.  The Regional Conference will be held on July 21, 2018 in Ft. Wayne, IN.  The application deadline is June 8, 2018.  Space is limited, so apply today!

Also from the Conferences Project comes a series of videos from the Louisville Local Conference.  These conference videos are posted on Judging For the Win’s YouTube channel and include a great video in which David Elden breaks down a cheating investigation.

An update regarding distribution for the remaining Rules Lawyer Judge promos was released by the Conferences Sphere.  The Great Lakes Region’s plan has been to supply our Judges with these promos at in-region, foil-supported conferences.  After the Regional Conference on July 21, 2018, we will begin distribution via mail to those Judges who still have not received their Rules Lawyer promo.

And speaking of conference support, there is a new Judge promo packet for conferences moving forward.  The new packets will consist of: Spellskite, Pendelhaven, Merchant Scroll, and Commander’s Sphere!

• Regional Conference Application
• Louisville Local Conference Videos
• Rules Lawyer Update
• Conference Packet Update

Regional Town Hall Meeting

At our Regional Town Hall meeting this past month, we discussed a wide array of topics.  Among those were the unveiling of the first wave of items to be available in our Regional store and bearing the updated Regional logo.  Soon, you will be able to acquire Great Lakes Magic Judges branded polos, hoodies, water bottles, notepads, and sunglasses!  The full minutes from the meeting can be found at the link below:

• May 2018 Town Hall Minutes

JudgeApps Account Update

A recent update rolled out for JudgeApps accounts this month.  While many of the changes were administrative, the most noticeable one for users of the site appeared during the first login after the update went live.  All users are now required to verify the email address registered to their account.  And all users will be prompted to do so upon login.  This change has been implemented as part of an effort to ensure that communications sent through JudgeApps are indeed received by an active email address.  The full update notes can be found below:

• JudgeApps Account Update

Rules and Policy Updates

David Elden and Judging For the Win have released their New Set Digest for Dominaria!  This digest features a deep pool of questions and answers addressing new mechanics, rules updates, policy updates, and even card-specific interactions.  If you are playing with or Judging events with cards from Dominaria, you would be hard pressed to find a better resource to make you an expert on the new set!

Brawl fans rejoice!  Wizards of the Coast has released several updates to solidify and tune the format!  Of note, the banned list for Brawl consists of only Baral, Chief of Compliance, Smuggler’s Copter, and Sorcerous Spyglass.  Additionally, starting life totals for 1-on-1 matches are now 20 (starting life totals are still 30 for multiplayer games) and decks with a colorless commander can now include as many basic lands of a single sub-type as they like.  For example, if your commander is Karn, Scion of Urza, you could run 12 Swamps in your deck.  This does not mean that you could also run Fatal Push, as the commander’s color identity still determines what color cards can be included in the deck.

Battlebond, a set with a team-focused theme, releases in June 2018.  The mechanics for the new set were released recently.  Of note, Two-Headed Giant sealed events using Battlebond product will see teams receiving sealed pools of 6 packs instead of the normal 8 packs.

The Magic Tournament Rules (MTR) saw an abbreviated update this past month.  Though the updates were purely administrative, the most recent version of the MTR is the one dated May 18, 2018.

And finally, 2018 Spring Announcement Day!  The block after Magic 2019 will consist of 3 sets and will be returning us to the plane of Ravnica!

• New Set Digest: Dominaria
• Brawl Update
• Battlebond Mechanics
• MTR Update
• 2018 Spring Announcement Day

New Judges

The month of May saw 5 new Level 1 Judges certified in the Great Lakes Region!  We would like to extend a warm welcome to Logan Reinhardt, Mitchell Day, Karl Carpenter, Mike Degaro, and Richard Davis!  Congratulations!

 

Closing Remarks

This month saw a large number of rules and policy updates.  I advise everyone to arm themselves with the knowledge and understanding of these updates by leveraging the links above – especially Judging for the Win’s Dominaria Set Digest.  And, if you haven’t applied for the Regional Conference yet, please do so by June 8, 2018.  Speaking from personal experience, the gathering of this many Judges from so many different states is an experience that can not be replicated and should not be missed.  See you all in Ft. Wayne this July!

Pass turn.