{"id":270,"date":"2017-02-01T18:40:00","date_gmt":"2017-02-02T00:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/usanorth\/?p=270"},"modified":"2017-02-01T18:40:00","modified_gmt":"2017-02-02T00:40:00","slug":"the-good-judge-judging-at-regular","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/usanorth\/2017\/02\/01\/the-good-judge-judging-at-regular\/","title":{"rendered":"The Good Judge: Judging at Regular"},"content":{"rendered":"

People hear that I am a Pastor, and they make assumptions that I am the typical Preacher <\/a> you see on The Dark card. \u00a0It\u2019s ok: I have fun telling newbies at the shops that I am a Pastor and watching their eyes go wide just like the Thoughtseize <\/a> I cast turn one while trying to Jund them out. \u00a0Then, just as they settle in to play intently, a call is sounded out, and I almost win the game on the spot as I set off to Judge the Unworthy<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Being a Judge is about knowing the rules and interactions, understanding the JAR, IPG, and MTR; but being a Good Judge is being able to navigate the social and relational interactions, understanding the roles of TO and Store Owner as well as their goals in holding events. \u00a0I would like to use this new series to help the average Judge to not just get by or muddle through, but become a Good Judge.<\/span><\/p>\n

Humble Beginnings<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Humble<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s say you have just become an L1 and you are asked to Judge your first solo event as your L2 mentor has a concert for some local band. \u00a0If you are anything like me you might be a little excited and glad to be trusted with an event. \u00a0You walk in like a normal FNM at your usual time and then realize that you only have 15 min to prep and fire the event. \u00a0What are you going to do? \u00a0What should you have done? \u00a0What am I responsible for?<\/span><\/p>\n

This questioning of logistics is not how things are supposed to go and this is not how a professional Judge expecting to get comp should act. \u00a0The purpose of Regular Rules Enforcement Level, that 95% of events are run at, is to provide a safe, fun and friendly tournament where learning and growth can occur. \u00a0As we judge these events our philosophy needs to shift from Strict Rules Enforcement, as all our studying and tests emphasize, to teaching players and developing community. \u00a0With this philosophy in mind we have a lot of communication with the TO and or Store to do in preparation for this event.<\/span><\/p>\n

First Contact<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Fruit<\/p>\n

First we need to understand the store\u2019s philosophy of relating to players, tournament play and the needs of the community at the store. \u00a0If you are a regular at a store and have been mentored well a lot of these questions and philosophies will already be understood, but if you move, find a different store to judge at or are asked to help with a new store this needs to be understood and communicated about.<\/p>\n

So what do we do? First off set up a meeting, during a slow time of the day and when the focus can be on understanding and being understood. \u00a0Ask about everything; be bold, but humble. \u00a0If the TO or Store Owner is unwilling to talk or doesn\u2019t have adequate answers you need to make a decision, will you stay and help or walk away? \u00a0This is a tough choice; I am willing to help once or twice but if things go bad or nothing changes after I offer advice I have to be willing to part ways.<\/span><\/p>\n

So what do we want to know going into an event? \u00a0Let\u2019s start with the easy ones that we all know. \u00a0Tournament Logistics \u2013 number of rounds, who has the round timer, who is running WER, how are rounds reported, are we firing rounds ASAP, what are the payouts?<\/span><\/p>\n

We should also ask about the gray areas \u2013 Can I play for free, will I get to keep my prizes, will there be judge comp and at what rate, what is the goal of the community, any problems in the community, are there any special needs players, are you expecting me to do anything beyond run the event?<\/span><\/p>\n

Final Expectations<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Sphinx<\/p>\n

Finally discuss the store\u2019s goals and the player\u2019s expectations this will allow you a chance to see if you are good fit or not. \u00a0If you have never watched a legacy game should you really judge one? What about Competitive Rules Enforcement Level would you be comfortable? \u00a0Don\u2019t lie to yourself believing you are better than you are or don\u2019t need to learn. \u00a0Remain humble and note when you need help, call another judge, hop on slack chat, or watch a little Mystical Tutor<\/a>. There is always a chance to learn. Don\u2019t allow your pride to stop a store from holding great events.<\/span><\/p>\n

Finally, you need to understand a deeper philosophy of Judging at Regular REL. As Judges we are the final word but we are also the first. \u00a0When a player walks in and see you are judging are they glad to see you? \u00a0Judges are there to teach and educate, correct and demonstrate self-discipline, communicate and bring clarity, be friendly and accepting of all who come to play this game we enjoy playing. Good luck and Good judging!<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

All images are property of either Wizards of the Cost or Wallpapervortex.com.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Join L1 Ken Andrs as he takes us down the path to becoming a good L1 judge. This week, we are dealing with introducing yourself to a store and your first steps to judging at Regular REL! <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":327,"featured_media":287,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"language":[],"class_list":["post-270","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-good-judge"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/usanorth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/usanorth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/usanorth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/usanorth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/327"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/usanorth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=270"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/usanorth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":286,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/usanorth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270\/revisions\/286"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/usanorth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/287"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/usanorth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=270"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/usanorth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=270"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/usanorth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=270"},{"taxonomy":"language","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/usanorth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/language?post=270"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}