\n“Irina was the person who motivated me in becoming a judge. I know a lot of people who became interested in judging the same way. She has been writing judge and rules articles for a long-long time. I had read her articles and became a rules geek! She is an active judge in our local comunity, she HJs large events, certifies newcomers, helps them to become active members and to grow as judges. She also runs different ask-a-judge columns, where she gives answers to players’ questions. She does not provide players with “yes\/no” answers – she gives them an explanation on how particular things work in general, to help players not only receive an answer, but to understand rules.”<\/em><\/p>\n
![\"Vyacheslav](\"http:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/jotw\/files\/2012\/10\/2005.jpg\")
<\/a>Favourite card<\/em>: \u00a0Dear Maro, please print more kittens! Funny little fluffy kittens! Foil, of course!<\/p>\n Least favourite card<\/em>:\u00a0\u00a0Humility<\/a>. I think each and every judge in the world should buy a playset of this card and burn it! No more questions about Humility!<\/p>\n Favourite format<\/em>:\u00a0 Commander, Vintage Tribal War and Legacy Team Trios<\/p>\n Commander general<\/em>:\u00a0 Oh\u2026 I ‘ve got 5 Commander decks and it\u2019s really difficult to choose the favorite one. Let it be Sharum from my EDH-infect!<\/p>\n Favourite non-Magic game (card\/board game)<\/em>:\u00a0Potions (Zel\u2019evarenie) \u2013 nice Russian card game. It\u2019s very easy from first sight and very funny. Later you will understand it\u2019s not so easy. Does it sound familiar?<\/p>\n Best Tournament Result<\/em>: \u00a0The winner of two GP Paris Trials for two different GP Paris.<\/p>\n There is famous Russian joke about Paris: Tell us your favorite judge story.<\/strong> Tell us an embarrassing story that you\u2019re not afraid of everyone knowing. How has being a judge influenced your non-Magic life?<\/strong> You were nominated by Dmitry because of your article-writing skills. What do you write about, and how do you make your articles interesting?<\/strong> The second is for players. It\u2019s card of the week<\/a>. Like any other real woman I can make three things out of nothing: a salad, a dress and a scandal. I\u2019m a female judge, so I can write an article about any card, even Grizzly Bears<\/a>. \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n What motivates you to continue being a judge?<\/strong> What\u2019s the best part about your local Magic community? <\/p>\n What is your favourite non-judging moment that happened with other judges?<\/strong> What\u2019s the biggest rule-breaking play you\u2019ve ever made as a player?<\/strong>
\n– I would like to visit Paris again\u2026
\n– Have you already been there?
\n– No. But I have already wanted.
\nI did everything in the opposite way. I won GPT and went to GP. Twice.<\/p>\n
\nIt was my very first event as a certified judge. FNM (Friday NightMare), three tables daft in two adjoining rooms. 5th or 6th pick. \u201cJudge! I have been passed 4 cards!\u201d.\u00a0 Oop-s.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Long-long time ago in a galaxy far away\u2026 when I have just started playing Magic I thought that Soulshift was an activated ability (Why not? Some number is printed on it!). I\u2019m very grateful to Denis Mikheev (L2 Nizhny Novgorod, Russia) who spent a lot of time answering my stupid newbie questions.<\/p>\n
\nWhat life? :)Being a Magic player and a judge is sort of way of life. Your friends are bright, clever and funny people. You travel around the country and around the world. You meet lots of new people. And every day you study something new. It\u2019s amazing!<\/p>\n
\nActually I\u2019m running two columns. One of them is for judges, called Judge School<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/a>
\nCrazy people who play a funny game and take it all seriously.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>I really adore Russian Legacy community. They always provide me questions for my future articles.<\/p>\n
\nAfter GP Amsterdam 2011 one of the players came to me and asked:
\n\u2013 Did Ricardo tell you something about last night?
\n\u2013 No, why?
\n\u2013Imagine this: 2 a.m. Some judges are walking in the Red-light zone. We notice them, come close and cry loudly: \u201cReplenish, Opalescence, Humility!!!\u201d<\/p>\n
\nHa-ha! I\u2019m the best at breaking the rules! And do you know why?\u00a0 Because my opponents see me as a judge and they can\u2019t even imagine that a JUDGE can make mistakes. So\u2026 here goes a funny story about Mental Magic (or Jedi tricks):
\nIt was an extended tournament at Competitive REL. I piloted an elves deck. You know: Glimpse of Nature, a lot of elves, a lot of mana, finisher and\u2026 my opponent is dead. My opponent was playing an Affinity deck.
\nAt some point during the game two my opponent controlled only one creature \u2013 the Arcbound Ravager. On my turn I produced 4 mana and casted an elf, targeting opponent\u2019s Ravager with corner of the elf card (there aren\u2019t the droids you\u2019re looking for!). The opponent took his Ravager and put it into his graveyard (these aren’t the droids we’re looking for!). I put my elf on the battlefield and passed the turn. During my opponent\u2019s turn I decided to read my card (it was the perfect time!) and realized that my elf was Nullmage Shepherd<\/a> not Viridian Shaman<\/a>. Surprise! I told my opponent: \u201cIt seems we did something strange\u201d. He looked at my Nullmage Shepherd and said \u201cYes, we did\u201d. I called a judge.<\/p>\n