Hello Canadian Judges! Our third judge spotlight is a longtime Eastern Judge, Pro Scorekeeper, and keeper of immense amounts of random facts.
Name: Sierra
Level: Two
Location: Toronto
Judge start date: May 27, 2012
Occupation: Administrator and Bookkeeper, Hairy Tarantula
Favourite card: Lightning Bolt
Least Favourite Card: Obliterate
Favourite format: Legacy
Commander: Zhulodok. I’ve been playing Eldrazi (predominantly in legacy) for a decade
What Single Colour, Two Colour Guild and Three Colour faction do you identify with personally?
Red, Izzet, Temur
Favourite non-Magic Game: Baseball
At a glance magic and sports are fairly different. What’s the overlap between the two that interests you?: Both have officials that have many logistical matters to handle
Best tournament result: 2nd at Legacy Champs
Random fact about yourself: I am Greek by descent and eligible for citizenship
Why do you judge? The people
Tell us your favourite Judge story.
Not as much my story but “Judge, I have pizza” as occurred to Joe Steet
What are some tips you have for other Judges?
When you see a really good idea, steal it.
Do you have any tips for judges looking to start travelling for judging?: Sometimes it is worth splurging a bit for comfort, but sometimes it’s lighting money on fire
Favourite non-judging moment with other judges: Getting to ring in 2019 in Vancouver with judges after a GP
Who have been some of your biggest mentors in the Judge Program, and what did they teach you? Alderfer taught me the above steal an idea, Jon Goud taught me so much that I’m forgetting what I can attribute to him.
What positive aspects has the Judge Program contributed to your everyday life?
I’ve become much better at speaking to crowds
What’s the best part about your local Magic community?
How welcoming to queer people we are.
Do you have any tips for judges on making their communities more welcoming?: Pay attention to what’s going on in your space. Don’t let hateful people use your space to espouse their hateful words and actions, and aggressively remove them from your spaces.
What is your favourite non-Magic hobby?
Baseball, and video games
How did you get involved in Magic in the first place?
I started with Duels of the Planeswalkers (Editor’s Note: They used to make a yearly magic game similar to those annual sports games) and then walking into LGS’s all around Toronto
If you were a Planeswalker, what would be your ultimate?
-7: deal 7 damage to each opponent and everything they control
Where would you go if you could take an omenpath vacation on any magic plane?
Ravnica (Editor’s Note: As a Torontonian Sierra would be at home in an endlessly sprawling city)
If you could have any magic character as your head judge, who would it be?
Elspeth
Proudest moment of your Judge life?
Got to HJ an SCG Classic in 2019 with all my best friends.
What character in Magic (real or fictional) represents you the best, and why?
Chandra, she’s a hothead
Two Truths and a Lie:
1. I played baseball in college
2. I was in choir in high school
3. I have Day-2’ed a GP (Editor’s Note: That’s a “Grand Prix” for you young folk!)
Last episodes answer:
Tob hasn’t quite Tob’d five continents yet.. soon though!