Here is the second, and final, installment of those notes, compiled by Charles Hartford. Missed part one? Find it here!

Deck checks
The deck check is perhaps the least glamorous of the judge’s duties. (That actually involve the enforcement of rules. It is marginally more glamorous then pushing in chairs and picking up pack wrappers. All of which, glamorous or not, are important.) This doesn’t make deck checks any less important. In fact, it may even lead a person to under appreciate the way they approach deck checks. Here are a few quick tips to help do your deck checks better and faster.

• The first step of the deck check is commonly referred to as “the swoop”.
• This must be done while both players are presenting their decks to be cut by their opponent. This way, there can be no claim that they are not done de-sideboarding their decks and that you are checking the deck as it is intended to be played.
• Approach the table and politely let the players know you need both their decks and sideboards for checking.
• If either player seems a little annoyed, don’t take it personally, they were about to do something they were looking forward to and just got told,” you have to wait.” It’s a little frustrating. They generally appreciate why you are doing this, they just wish you could have picked someone else.
• After you have finished checking the decks the players will get a time extension equal to the number of minutes you took to check +3 minutes. The three minute extension is done so the players have a chance to shuffle their decks up without getting penalized for time.
• Getting the decks back into the hands of the players is extremely important. There are many different approaches to sorting to increase speed, and ultimately you have to find something that works for you. I like to sort the cards into three piles, creatures, noncreature spells and lands. Then as I go through the deck list it is quicker to find the cards I’m looking for. Plus it avoids our next topic.
• When you are doing a deck check many novices’ first instinct is to make piles of every individual card. This is problematic for two reasons:
  1. It’s slow.
  2. It shows the entire deck to anyone walking by. And that’s not a good thing. As much as possible you want to do deck checks in a place or in such a way that as little knowledge as possible is exposed to other players. Now, depending upon the number of judges working the event and the layout of the venue, this can only be accomplished to a certain extent. Just be mindful of it when doing a deck check. You wouldn’t want someone spoiling your super secret tech would you??

Helping other judges
“We must hang together, or we most assuredly will hang separately.”

This is as true in judging as it is with staging a revolution against a tyrannical King.

Judges have to communicate to make sure the event runs smoothly.. A few things to remember are…

• Deck checks are a part of judging that run twice as smoothly done by two! Once the table has been chosen one judge can swoop while the other gets the deck lists together so the decks can be checked. Team work for the win!
• It is always important to make sure there is a judge available to take calls or perform any other task that might need doing. So if you are going to step off the floor make sure there is another judge available to keep things running.
• And obviously, if you are the only judge present, you will still need to step of for one reason or another. This is ok. Find as good a time as you can, let the T.O. Know where you are going, and ask them to keep an eye out, so if someone does need you they can be informed of why there is a delay. That way it doesn’t look like you just wandered off in a daze.
• Judging can be intense and requires a lot of focus. It is easy to lose track of those simple, but oh so important things, like eating, drinking, and grabbing some rest when possible. Keep an eye out for your fellow judges and make sure they are taking care of themselves. If you notice that bottle of water they showed up with 3hrs ago hasn’t been touched, you might want to make sure they are doing ok and don’t need a moment to recoup.
• Another important thing to remember to consider when preparing for judge duties is your footwear. Make sure you wear something comfortable, with good support. Even small tournaments can go for 8+hours!
• Taking proper care of yourself and each other can greatly increase everyone’s ability to make proper judge calls. So make sure your staff stays fueled up and ready to go!

Mistakes (DUN DUN DUNNNNN)
No one can remember all those rules and interactions. None of us likes it, but you will make mistakes. We all do. We make as few as possible and try to always learn from the ones we’ve made. In doing so, even in failure we can succeed.

• Rebounding from a blown call is extremely important. You have to be careful after a mistake happens. Never let it get to you, or throw you off.
• Try not to focus on the error. You’ve learned the lesson, now move on.
• Don’t let the mistake spiral into further mistakes or let it make you question the things you know.

The one moment in judging that terrifies me more than any other??

Having to stop a fellow judge mid call, take him/her aside and explain what is going wrong. It’s awkward, it’s uncomfortable, and it nearly gives me a panic attack thinking about it. But, if I was going to make a mistake I would want someone to stop me before I did something wrong. And we are a team. And the most important part of being a team is making sure we have each other’s backs.

Try to be as discreet as possible. Tell the judge you need to ask them a question. This makes it look like you what clarification about what’s going on, as opposed to correcting what they are about to do. Also, while discussing the situation speak so only those directly involved can hear. Take the judge to the closest spot where no one else should be able to overhear, if one is possible, and calmly explain what you saw and what the fix is. Handle the situation politely and I’m sure everyone involved will be thankful for your vigilance.

And there you have it
That’s it. Some things to bare in mind when you take the floor.
Keep your cool, stay positive and you will do great!
Now I’m out.
Be excellent to each other!!!!