Warning: The example described here are meant to be at the ends of the Backup spectrum. Most situations won’t be as clear cut and small alterations in the presented scenarios may already affect the decision to backup or not. Take this article as it is: A presentation of some core reasonings you can use before making a ruling of yours!   If you make a ratio between complexity and recurrence, Backing up is certainly the most complex thing a judge has to do. I have already given some

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Welcome back to What’s Up Docs?!   As you may have read in this announcement, one of the reasons I’ve resigned from being a Program Coordinator was that I could not find the time to enjoy talking about tournaments and policy situations on What’s Up Docs. It took me some time to in my life but, well, the fact I’m actually writing this while making a pause from dismantling my furniture before permanently moving to Paris tomorrow seems a good sign. So what exciting has happened

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As of recently, I’ve been involved at all possible degrees with the new process of the Day 2 Deck Check Procedure: Creator, Head Judge, Team Leader, Floor Judge. Having experienced the process from each of these positions taught me an incredible amount of things I’d like to share today.   Warning: This article is only quickly mentioning the global concepts about the Constructed Grand Prix and Pro Tour Deck Check Procedure. Give it a look or you may fail to understand some of the things

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Life totals are something special. While each player needs to track their own, the fact they’re generally tracked on each player’s own life pad may lead to discrepancies which may be discovered sometimes way too late to be safely backed up. As a judge, you will need to make a decision that may be game decisive. Actually making a decision whose consequences you're aware of is important. I’ve expanded a bit on this topic in this article already, which you should probably read first. During

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