Good day! It’s the best part of the week – Friday! (Also, Judge of the Week :))

Today’s featured judge comes from the good ol’ US of A – it’s Jeremy Behunin! A level 2 judge from Utah, USA, Jeremy found that he couldn`t afford to play as much Magic as he wanted, but he could still get to events easily. So he decided to become a judge, passing his L1 test in June 2005, and then leveling up in May 2009. He’s hoping to test for L3 some time this year, so let’s all wish him good luck!

Occupation: Quality Assessment Engineer

Favourite card: Pernicious Deed

Least favourite card: Counterspell

Commander General: Numot, the Devastator and Karador, Ghost Chieftain

Best tournament result: 4th or so in some GPT… He stopped trying to win tournaments long ago. 😉

Random fact about him: Typically cuts his hair once a year.

Tell us your favourite judge story:
Who can pick a favorite? Do you go with the time you spotted some guy drawing extra cards? Or helping a little kid through his first game? Maybe it’s certifying a new judge, the first time as head judge, or leveling up? They’re all my favorites.

You were nominated by David Hibbs because he always finds you on IRC answering rules and judge questions. What attracts you to IRC?
I find IRC to be the best way to stay in touch with a huge variety of people without the delay, or disconnect that can come from email. If I can’t interact with someone in person this is the next best thing. It’s also been a great way to share what I’ve learned and learn from others. Or even just get a different perspective on the program, situation, ruling, policy and so on. I find that listening to the ideas and perspectives of others really helps me think about my own views and sometimes consider them in new ways. My username is ‘blah-‘.

What motivates you to continue being a judge?
Community. There’s a real sense of friendship that builds between very different kinds of people in the judging community There’s something for everyone here and a common ground we can all share. The number of different types of people at any given event still amazes me. Without Magic and judging it’s likely we’d all be strangers that never would even think of speaking to each other. Not to mention spending hours upon hours traveling, talking and supporting one another.

What character in Magic represents you the best, and why?
Wow that’s quite the question. There are so many characters to choose from and different corners of Magic to look into. Is a character limited to someone in a story arc like Urza or Karn? Or do the Aaron Forsythes and Matt Tabaks that make and shape the game count? Maybe even people like Andy Heckt and Scott Larabee helping organize, develop and run all the programs we enjoy? In the end though I think we’re each a Magic character already. We may not be in the novels or on the cards but we shape the Magic world in our own way.

What is your favourite non-judging moment that happened with other judges?
My favorite moment still happens from time to time. Dinner and cube at a (now former) judge’s house. It doesn’t happen as often as I’d like but those times to catch up on life outside of events is an event all on its own. Of course those times of dinner and drinking after a large event are a very close second. The judge dinners always give me some of the best memories from an event. And occasionally the hangover or half empty bottle of rum as further evidence.

What would you be doing now if Magic no longer existed?
The first thing that springs to mind if there’s no Magic is how happy my wife will be that I would travel less and spend fewer weekends away from home. The second is how much more time I would likely spend playing video games instead. I’d end up being even more of a hermit that wonders why the sun is so bright and when it got to be so late in the year. How is it spring already anyway?

You can certainly tell that Jeremy is very passionate about being a judge! Leave questions or comments for him down below, and as always, nominate a judge today!