Amita pauses. “Four? Launch Party only causes two. Guttersnipe is in your graveyard.”
Norm says “No, I talked with a judge about this before. I’m 100% sure you take four.”
The world echoes with the unanimous “Judge!” call.
Judge Jay walks over, “How may I help you two?” He takes a seat by the players and listens as both players explain the situation.
Norm: “…so Amita takes four damage, right?”
Jay responds, “Well, no, she doesn’t. You see, the Guttersnipe is–”
Norm interrupts Jay. “Wait, WHAT level Judge are you?”
Jay, taken aback, stutters, “I’m a Level One J–”
Norm rolls his eyes and loudly bellows, “Can we get a REAL Judge over here?”
A shocked hush falls over the surrounding spectators and players.
What should Jay do in this situation?
Judges, please feel free to discuss this scenario here!
[expand title=”View Answer”]Judges, thanks for the great discussions! It looks like everyone spotted the USC-Minor right off the bat, with a few different ideas as to how to deal with it.
Of course, Jay is correct: Amita will lose two life. Abilities that trigger when a spell is cast don’t trigger until after all costs are paid, including the cost of sacrificing the Guttersnipe (See 601.2, specifically 601.2g and 601.2h). Therefore, when Launch Party is cast, Guttersnipe is no longer on the battlefield and will not trigger.
Norm’s behavior is a textbook case of USC-Minor. Norm’s actions are disruptive to the tournament and may affect the comfort level of those around him (though determining the latter is not a requirement). Norm has essentially asked for an appeal before waiting for Jay to issue the ruling. Norm needs to be aware that his behavior is unacceptable.
Jay should, calmly, but firmly, resolve the rules situation, including the inevitable appeal. “Judges should focus first on calming a situation, and deal with infractions and penalties afterwards.” (IPG, Section 4). In his side talk with Head Judge Harry, they should discuss how to apply the USC-Minor penalty. It may be best for the Head Judge to give the warning in this situation. If Jay gives the penalty, Harry will likely have a 2nd appeal to deal with, and Norm may escalate things to an unfortunate level. It’s a wise idea to get a read on the situation and act accordingly. In extreme cases, the judge may want to wait until the match is over and then sit down with Norm to explain the infraction and talk about how his behavior must be corrected.
The judges should use this opportunity to remind players that Judges of all levels should be granted the same basic level of respect as higher level Judges. In fact, players are expected to treat all tournament officials with a basic level of decency, whether they are certified or not. Allowing a player to treat a tournament official with disrespect sets a bad precedent and is unwarranted. The judges and other officials are there for the player’s benefit; treating them poorly is unsporting. If any player has an issue with a ruling that any judge has completed delivering, they may use the appeals process to resolve that. Browbeating, insulting, or otherwise hassling the judge as they attempt to make a ruling is not an acceptable course of action.[/expand]