Greetings Judges! This week’s Judge of the Week is Miguel Angel Fernandez Diego, L1 from Germany, NRW (in Unna, near Dortmund)

(Parentheses[] indicate areas of translation)

Occupation: Oracle Administrator
Favourite card:Underworld Dreams Least favourite card: Dream Halls Favourite format: Legacy
Commander general: Scion of the Ur-Dragon Favourite non-Magic Game: Settlers of Catan
Best tournament result: Never played professional!
Random fact about yourself:  I’ve played Magic since Mercadian Masques.

Tell us your favourite judge story.
My favourite story was the “Stifle” cast on “Wrath of God” and no sense from the player, [not noticing] that he can´t do that ^^

 How has being a judge influenced your non-Magic life?
I have much more to DO than before! I judge a minimum of 2 to 3 events each week.  And I do the job of a L2 judge. That’s a lot work. But fun!

What’s the best part about your local Magic community?
Someone knows me and it is a very great community, I currently judge therefore in many shops around [my area] and also because all the players and TOs are very sympathetic.  [Because] of this variety, lots of formats [can] be played.

Tell us an embarrassing story that you’re not afraid of everyone knowing.[Translated from German]  During a Judo tournament in ground combat, when the tension was at an absolute peak, I suddenly had to fart frighteningly loud!  Unfortunately, I was one of the fighters in the match! *@^*^%  It wasn’t me!

You were nominated by Michael Wiese because he believes your work ist just enlightened. How you achieve it, when you visit so many countries attending tournament venues and also have to attend your work and family at home?
[Translated from German] Sadly, I’m currently only judging in Germany.  I would gladly judge all over the world, but that will hopefully come with time.  I am, however, very active in Germany!  I judge every weekend, and recently I’ve been so busy that I’m even judging GPTs on weeknights, because there aren’t any other judges available!

I just take my kids with me! 🙂 They feel welcomed by the players, and everyone knows them by now too!  🙂 I applied a few times for international tournaments, but no luck so far.  I think Michael Wiese nominated me to show that even L1s can do a lot in the judging and magic community work!  Currently I’m working with 7 stores, and several tournament hosts.  I’ll test for L2 soon, and then hopefully be able to judge internationally too!

What motivates you to continue being a judge?
[Translated from German] It’s a ton of fun and getting recognition from other players is nice too.  Sadly, I don’t get to play as often because of it.  But I’m glad Magic Online exists, though as a judge, it’s hard to see that the programmers don’t always take the rules as seriously!

What’s the biggest rule-breaking play you’ve ever made as a player?
[Translated from German] Once I had to think way too long about a specific rule in a game, and almost lost the trust of my players that way!  Since then, I’ve studied all the FAQs before every Prerelease very carefully, so that doesn’t happen again!

What would you be doing now if Magic no longer existed?
I don´t know. I think it is not a problem for me. I’ll have a bigger problem if the community no longer exists!

What character in Magic (real or fictional) represents you the best, and why?
If I must choose, I would say “Bosh, Iron Golem”.  He has a similar character as I do!

If you could chat with one person, real or fictional, dead or alive, who would it be and why?
[Translated from German] Leonardo da Vinci would probably be the person who has most impressed me.  He was multi-talented and invented so many things.  Also, despite some minor setbacks of legality, he developed a lot of things that brought humanity forward.  What a visionary.  If I could have, I would have tried to become his assistant! 🙂

Is there anything else you’d like to add?
[Translated from German] Honestly, you can’t believe how honored I feel to be nominated!  Even more so, that I’m also the first judge from Germany who has received this honor!

Two Truths and a Lie
Two of the following statements is true, and one is false. Figure out which!

1. I started collecting the Pokemon card game before I started with Magic.
2. I currently judge as an L1 judge in 7 different stores.
3. My daughter can participate in standard tournaments and she’s only 7 years old.