Mentoring Morsels

An interesting thing about the judge program is that a lot of the best practices are not codified in policy anywhere; instead, institutional knowledge is spread by word of mouth and direct mentorship. 

-Joe Wiesenberg, Feedbag #2: Tips of New Judges, The Feedback Loop

This past weekend I attended Dreamhack in Austin and worked as a part of the judge staff running Magic events.  In this role I ended up learning many things, but the most poignant lessons involved mentoring.

On Friday a local judge, Spin Rodriguez, took and passed his L1 test.  As a judge who had been certified for less than a month, I hardly qualified as a mentor; however in that month I had handled some very busy and complex FNMs, floor judged a PPTQ, attended a regional judge conference, and worked a Grand Prix. I was also studying for my L2 exam and working with several judges who had mentored me. So as strange as it seemed, I was able to pass along a few things I learned and hopefully make his introduction to the judge program a little bit smoother.

Our staff also included John Carter, an L3 from Seattle. Carter, as he prefers to be addressed, has worked for Wizards, head judged Grands Prix, invented new formats, and much more.  The opportunity to work closely with a Hall of Fame judge is pretty rare, therefore I was excited (and a bit nervous) for the opportunity.

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On Saturday, Carter told me to study state-based actions that he wanted to talk about them on Sunday. So Saturday night, after working the floor all day and getting to bed around midnight, I pulled out my phone and read (and re-read) the SBA section.  I quizzed myself and recited the rules out loud so that I would be completely prepared.

The next morning the staff reported 2 hours before our first event started, so Carter called me and Spin over and sat us in chairs facing him.  While I felt a little bit like a nervous middle schooler at a parent teacher conference, I also felt good about my knowledge and ready for the usual judge-style grilling. Then Carter turns to me as says, "Since you are working on your L2, part of your role will be mentoring new judges.  I want to hear you work with Spin on SBAs." Wait!  What!  That's not the questions I studied for! I felt a wave of terror course through my body and I briefly contemplated hiding under a nearby skirted table. I wanted to scream, 'you were supposed to be the one asking the questions! I only studied the answers!' Internally my fear, frustration, and anxiety threatened to overwhelm me, but I knew that the judge program relies on individuals who can preform under pressure so I suppressed the panic, took a deep breath, and turned to Spin. I started to walk him through the basic concepts of SBAs roughly following how the CR is written. I paid careful attention to his answers attempting to get a gauge on his understanding. It quickly became clear that Spin had a good grasp of SBAs and how they functioned, but his explanations lacked the detail and precision that higher level judges often demand. I felt like I handled the situation well with Carter interjecting as needed to ask the really good questions like, "Why are SBAs checked at those times?" Once we had completed a review of the basic SBA rules, then Carter hit me with, "Can you explain the philosophy behind state-based actions?"  Again, not in the CR! Luckily with a bit of quick thought I correctly articulated the 'janitor' concept.  I was quite shocked when Carter confirmed my correctness, and breathed a sigh of relief. Even as our discussion wrapped up my heart continued to race.

My takeaway from the conversation centered not on the mechanics of state-based actions, but on the importance of understanding the philosophy behind them. That subtle shift in my study tactics has proven to be the difference between frustration over the minute details and a deeper understanding of the concepts at hand.

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On Friday I seated my first ever (in my short judging career) draft. I received my list of players, counted and stacked my product, checked our assigned table number, collected my players and walked them over. I carefully seated each player going around in a circle, went through my zone draft spiel, then watched as they popped the first pack and began passing. After collecting trash and supervising all 3 packs, I left them alone to build their decks.  Carter called me over to where he was working and informed me that we usually seat drafts in a clockwise fashion.  (Note about me: I struggle with spatial concepts like left/right, clockwise/counterclockwise, etc.) I must have looked really lost, because he detailed that clockwise means it goes around in a circle like a clock.  I still had no idea what he was talking about. I didn't want to appear stupid, but he had inadvertently found a real challenge for me. I struggled to wrap my mind around what he was saying.  A flicker of understanding finally emerged and I questioned him about where I might find that information. He explained that many things, such as how to seat a draft, aren't actually written, but instead are best practices passed down from one judge to another.

One one hand, how frustrating!  The things I need to learn aren't available to me in a form that I can consume without assistance.  I hate appearing poorly in front of judges I am working with and I like to do everything 'right.' Not knowing what to do (and not being able to look it up) makes that pretty much impossible! On the other hand, I really enjoy working with my judge mentors. The lessons that they pass down to me each carry more than just information, they provide a framework for understanding the intangibles of judging. So after getting over being annoyed, I appreciated Carter helping me out with how to seat a draft.

On Sunday, I seated another draft.  I stood behind each chair announced the player's name, then moved clockwise around the table seating each one.  I felt pretty proud of myself as I took my place at the end of the table, standing between players 4 and 5.  (The rest of that draft turned out to be a disaster.  Read about it here.) Later that evening, Carter asked me about how I seated them. I explained what I had done and he added that it's customary to seat player 1 next to the judge and then go around the table such that players 4 and 5 are at the far end.  *sigh*  So much to learn.  I again thanked him for his assistance and made a mental note to be more observant of these details when I work with other judges.

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Sunday morning, I was selected to Head Judge a Competitive REL event for the first time in my judging career. Spin acted as my floor judge. Before the event I reminded him that since this is Comp REL, we don't intervene unless we plan to issue a penalty or the players are playing in a way which is unclear.  Due to the number of very new players we had been working with in our Regular REL events, this would constitute a drastic change from how we had been judging throughout the weekend.

In the middle of the first round Spin asks me to step away from the table with him. He explains that a creature with vigilance is attacking each turn and being tapped each time. I ask him what he did about it, and he replied, "Nothing. You said not to intervene except to give a penalty." I explained that it's a Game Rules Violation and should carry a penalty of a Warning. "Oh. I didn't think a warning was a penalty."  I quickly realized that as a new L1 his understanding of the IPG had not yet developed very much. While telling him that a Warning is a formal penalty that is issued and recorded, we were interrupted by a player in another match calling for a judge.

We went to the table together and the player explained that he had accidentally seen the 2nd card in his library while drawing a card. Both players agreed that the card sitting on top of the library was the card that he should draw and that the second card had been inadvertently seen. I followed the steps in my head: infraction, penalty, fix. I told the player, a grinder type who demonstrated familiarity with the situation, he would get a GPE-LEC penalty. I then walked him through the fix by placing the top card in his hand, and shuffling the unknown portion of his library. Both players agreed that no cards were legally known, so he shuffled the entire thing and presented it for the opponent to cut. I picked up their match slip, flipped it over to the back and demonstrated to Spin how to record a penalty.

Then Spin and I left the table together.  The interruption had provided an excellent opportunity for him to see issuing a penalty from the judge perspective. We went to the table where the vigilance creature had been tapping to attack, but unfortunately it was no longer on the battlefield.

The incident overall taught me that I needed to be more careful talking to newer judges. Details like that a Warning is an actual penalty, not just a simple verbal thing require a much better explanation from me. Thinking about it, the word warning carries a pretty clear meaning in the English language and it carries a different and much more specific meaning in the IPG. Since Spin's previous experience was solely at Regular REL events, he wouldn't have known that. I realized that learning to be a good mentor might be as important of a skill as delivering a correct ruling.

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The weekend ended as all good judging weekends should, with me and Spin in a bar having a drink and debriefing. We talked about rules, and the draft, and events we hope to work together at in the future. It reminded me of sitting in a bar in Albuquerque a few weeks ago with Carter when he asked me if I had any feedback about that weekend. That conversation began a wonderful friendship and mentorship and I hoped that this conversation would as well. Spin and I have plans for a game of Judge tower when he's in town in a few weeks!

Carter and I

Magicversary

One year ago today was the beginning of my Magic journey.

Now technically I had played Magic before.  I had tried it out with some of my husband's buddies, and I had been to a grand total of 4 FNMs. All of those times involved me cluelessly piloting decks through a bunch of interactions of which I possessed no comprehension. It felt like "magic" because my opponents did all kinds of crazy things that I couldn't explain and that made no logical sense.

A year ago today, my husband and I attended Grand Prix Las Vegas.  I actually went to watch him play, and then decided to sign up because he had paid for Platinum Planeswalker Registration. This entitled him to use a VIP lounge.  I literally entered the tournament so that I could accompany him into this lounge.  By 'lounge' I actually mean a mostly curtained off area on the floor with a few tables and chairs.  The best surprise of the weekend is that this 'lounge' also contained a nice lady with a small oven who handed out freshly baked cookies all day. Additionally popcorn provided the salty complement to the sweet cookies. The cookies alone made the extra $70ish worth it!

Because I didn't want to embarrass myself too badly at this event, my husband helped me study beforehand.  We looked at spoilers and he explained to me the deck archtypes in the set.  Luckily, this sealed event didn't require me to bring (or own) a deck. It did however require me to know enough to build one in 45 minutes given a pool of cards.

Also, to add to the fun, my husband's team graciously gave me a T-shirt. I in no way earned this shirt, but I had at least met one of the guys before. It may be a silly thing, but wearing the team shirt made me feel important, and thus I felt more inclined to play better.

We signed up for a Sealed Trial, which would simulate the Grand Prix conditions. It required building a deck from a pool of cards. but no one told me that we had to open the packs and register a list. So while opening 6 packs of cards and marking them on a sheet of paper sounds simple enough, it proved to be enough to place me in a panic. I followed the instructions for opening, sorting, alphabetizing, and marking the cards on the list, but I did so at a snail's pace.  I focused on the wrong things because I had no idea which things mattered. When we were supposed to be finished, I had to raise my hand and wait for a judge to watch me as I did the last cards. (Waiting for the judge made me take even longer, and that guy was intimidating!).  By the time I tried to start building a deck, I was more likely to have a coronary condition than to clearly evaluate a card pool.  I at least got colors I knew how to play (Bant) and managed to put together a decent deck. When I won the first match, I was elated! I had already exceeded my wildest expectations.  I lost round 2. I won 3 and 4, and drew in round 5 for a record of 3-1-1. That led to significant prize tix and me leaving with a sense of accomplishment.

As we returned to our hotel that afternoon, my feelings about the game had changed. It went from something foreign and difficult to something I could do. That tiny taste of success left me with a longing that could not be easily satisfied.  That evening we attended a broadway show, but my mind wandered to the cards and I contemplated ways to optimize my deck.  Over dinner, we talked about playing in more events the following day and planned how to spend our days at the GP.  In bed that night, I drifted off to sleep with artifacts and Tarmagoyfs dancing in my head.

I wish I could tell you that the rest of the weekend I played well . . .  but beginner's luck ran out rather quickly. I only amassed a total of 3 more wins over the next 3 days combined. It didn't matter though, when we returned home, my passion remained and I attended the next 2 FNMs before taking a break to have a baby.

This past year has brought me form clueless Magic novice to L1 judge looking to test for L2. I have learned so much about the game, but also about myself. My judge mentor and I chatted one day about my history and his comment was, "I'm surprised you stuck with it."  In truth, I am too!  It was a rocky road faced with challenges due to having a family and trying to find time to play, being a minority (female), and a complete lack of understanding or experience.  I've developed my rules knowledge, but also my perseverance over the past 12 months. Through the ups and downs of winning and losing, and passing and failing, through crazy trips with even crazier roommates (GP Houston), through late nights, early mornings, good pulls and bad plays, this first year of Magic has been a year of growth, learning, and change.  The lessons I have learned and the friends I have made will last a lifetime, and I hope that my Magic career will as well.


A special thanks to my Magic friends: Cole, Jackson, Shannon, Avery, Michael, and pretty much everyone at FNM. To Chris at Area 51 for giving me that first chance to judge a FNM. To my judge friends: Ben Zeero, Antonio Zanutto, Mitchell Nitz, Trevor Nunez (daggers!), Spin Rodriguez, and everyone in USA South Slack. To the Cascade Games guys for the fun times in Albuquerque and Austin: Tim Shields, Kyle Knudson, and John Cater. To my judge mentors: David Carroll, Jim Shuman, and especially Josh McCurley. And most of all to my husband: Brian Leonard. Without these guys I might have made it this far (ok, unlikely), but it certainly wouldn't have been as much fun.  Looking forward to many more years of making Magic memories with you guys!

I messed up the draft!

A few weeks ago I judged Magic events a non-Magic convention. We were kinda a sidenote, and not many players knew of our presence. We had a lot of folks drop in and say, "Wow, I wish I had known. I would have brought my stuff." Even so, we ran quite a few events and had a lot of fun. Most of our events were casual and run at Regular REL. However, we offered 1 premier event . . .

On Sunday, we held a championship event consisting of a draft for the Top 8 players from Saturday's 2 qualifier events. Competitive REL was used since this was a major event for very significant prize support (5th-8th got a box . . .). As a new judge, I hoped to be selected to run this event and gain some experience at Comp REL. Our Event Manager started to run it himself, but then asked if L1s could do it. I volunteered that I could run a GPT, so I should be able to do this too. (Probably reaching a bit here, since I had never even been on the floor at a Competitive event, but excitement got the best of me.) Luckily, he told me I could!

I had prepared the night before by looking over the IPG, and after seating a draft incorrectly on Friday, I had been taught how to do it correctly. I gathered my product, prepared the table, and printed seatings.

A diverse group of players greeted me. A 12 year old, 2 guys who had never played in a competitive event, a guy who had never drafted, a guy whose English was not strong, a grinder type, and an L2. All were excited to be there and eager to get started. I seated them clockwise around the table as I had been instructed and carefully explained how a draft works. I asked if there were questions, and answered them. They seemed eager to get started.

I instructed them to open the first pack and remove the basic land card, token, and/or checklist card and set those aside. Then I asked them to verify that they had 14 cards. Most nodded or mumbled affirmatively. I collected the trash while they announced their double faced cards. Then instructed them to select a card and place it in facedown in front of them. Then they passed to the left and the draft began. I watched closely as they selected a card and passed the remaining ones. They were careful to zone draft and not let any packs get messed up along the way.

Then a player stopped and started counting cards. He had passed 2 cards twice in a row. Somehow a card was missing. We checked and the other packs remaining all had the correct number of cards. The players counted their piles of drafted cards. All were correct. Finally we located the missing card in a pile of lands and tokens. Unsure of what to do, I consulted a nearby L3. He told me to return the card to its proper pack and continue drafting. I looked at the card and it was a common that likely would not have been drafted by this point anyway. I still felt terrible about the mistake, but didn't know what to do but make the best of things.

After that pack, I repeated my instructions about verifying that there were 14 cards before passing the pack and reminded the players to keep their drafted cards in a single facedown pile in front of them.

We opened the 2nd pack and the Event Manager sent an L1 judge over to Floor Judge for me. I stationed him at the other end of the table so that we could see everything better. The players opened pack 2, verified 14 cards and revealed the DFCs. L1 picked up the trash and walked to the trash can to toss it. This pack seemed to be going more smoothly. I focused on my 4 players leaving the far end of the table to L1. Somehow it happened again. Around the 4-6 cards left in each pack point, players started pointing out that cards were missing. Investigation revealed 3 missing cards from 2 different players. Another L2 came over to investigate. A player then told him that he had seen some cards on an opponent's playmat and had told the opponent to put all the cards in his drafted pile. We asked all the players to count their cards, and the player who had misplaced the card in pack one reported have 3 too many cards in his pile. The L2 examined the player's pile and easily identified 3 cards that would not have been drafted given the rest of the cards. L2 took those cards, randomized them, and gave them to the players missing cards. The draft continued, but it had a more ominous feel to it.

Pack 3 went without incident, but 4 judges camped at the table. Then we let the players spread out for deck construction. We worked to explain how decklists functioned and supervise the players as necessary. After the construction period ended, the FJ and I handled the rest of the event with no other major incidents. Overall the players seemed a bit miffed by the draft, but pleased as they left with their boxes of cards and other goodies.

I, on the other hand, felt sick over the entire incident. I couldn't identify my mistakes in handling the draft. Frustration over it happening twice overwhelmed me. I replayed each moment over and over in my head trying to see what I could have done better. Self-evaluation is both a blessing and a curse sometimes.

That evening I met with L3 to talk about what happened. He walked me through the event step by step. His conclusion was, "You didn't mess up the draft. The players did." As the judge, I felt responsible for the players, so wasn't that still me?  He stated that I had done everything correctly including seating them properly, instruction them to count the cards, and watching them closely. He also pointed out that every player had passed the defective packs at least once each time. Now noticing that you passed 12 cards twice in a row might be hard. But players passed 3 cards twice in a row and didn't mention it. I started to feel a little better, but deep down it still ate at me.

After returning home, I discussed the incident with my judge mentor. His exact words, "You didn't mess up the draft."  Ok, he didn't say 'mess,' but for the sake of this blog . . . .  He even pointed out that the L2 and L3 judges in attendance had already told me it wasn't my fault. My husband (L2) and a couple of other L2 friends all told me the same thing. But it didn't matter, no amount of people telling me not to blame myself took the guilt off my shoulders. L3 later pointed out that the players still had fun and that perhaps I hadn't been set up for success with that particular group of players. While all of their words made sense, I just couldn't shake the feeling that I was missing something.

Fast forward 3 weeks: While studying the IPG before running a GPT at my local store, I found the answer I had been looking for . . . *lightbulb moment.* If this were a movie you would see a bright light and hear that "ahhh" otherworldly sound right now.

That's what I should have done.  I could have given the player who misplaced the first card a warning. That would have emphasized to him that he needed to be more careful and it would have given the other players a sense that the player had received an appropriate penalty. It would have demonstrated that I as the judge had the situation under control and that it had been dealt with.  Then when it occurred again in the second pack, it would have been upgraded to a Game Loss. While issuing penalties is never fun, it does provide a way to 'right the wrong' that has occurred in an event and allow the players to see that a solution is taking place.

When I asked my judge mentor about it he agreed that I should have given the penalties. He also said, "I cannot explain why I did not mention that to you previously." I also find it odd that none of the 6 judges (all L2+) with whom I have spoken about this draft mentioned this particular rule to me. One suggested that it's so rarely used that most everyone forgets about it.  Perhaps he is right?

In the end, I'm glad I found it.  I feel a measure of pride in being able to find the answer to a question that has haunted me for weeks now. It affirms my worth as a judge when I am able to evaluate my own failure and create a plan for future success. Mostly, I'm just glad to have the closure I needed and to allow my brain to let go of this incident and move on.

I'd like to add a special thanks to all of judges that have listened to me rant about this draft.  I appreciate your listening ears and your kind words. However, despite what all of you said, I DID MESS UP THE DRAFT!

Judging with Your Spouse: A tournament report of sorts

A bit of backstory

A few weeks ago I passed my L1 test. The same day my wonderful husband passed his L2 test. We are both very excited to be able to judge together, but it also brings up some interesting questions when working together at events. My judge mentor and I discussed some aspects, but we found that very little has been written about judging with those who are close to you (best friend, roommate, significant other, person you are dating). My goal with this tournament report is to provide you with some insights based on our first event working together.

The application

I noted a solicitation on JudgeApps in which a local store was seeking a HJ and FJ for a PPTQ. Neither of us had worked with this TO before, and we both decided to apply.  We applied separately and did not mention one another in our applications.  Either of us would have been willing to work whether or not the other was selected.

Tip: If you want to work together, say so.  Don't leave a TO guessing.

When the TO contacted my husband to HJ, he immediately asked about me since we share a last name.  My husband told him that yes we are married and would be happy to both work his event, but that we handle our own judge agreements. This lead to some awkward texts between me and the TO where he repeated to me a bunch of things I had already heard from my husband.

Tip: Make it easy on your TO; have 1 of you serve as the point person for negotiations.

After that, we let my husband handle our communications and things smoothed out.

The day of the tournament

The day of the tournament we rode together.  This could be dangerous if something unexpected happens such as a flat tire or traffic jam. I know that many judges carpool and extenuating circumstances can occur unexpectedly, but hiring a couple to judge is certainly 'putting all your eggs in one basket' for a TO.

Tip: Take extra precautions to be prepared, leave early, and know of a backup judge you can call in case of a catastrophe.

My husband and I met while leading a World of Warcraft guild together.  I was the Guild Leader; he was the Raid Leader. So we have some experience working together and separating the personal and the professional.  In front of the players we never mentioned our relationship and in his HJ announcement, he introduced us using only our first names.  Many of the local grinders know us already, so it's not really a secret, just something that we don't make a big deal about.  We already work well together and know how our strengths and weaknesses overlap, so it provides a strong unified front to the players when we work together as judges.

Tip: Don't make your relationship a part of the event, but don't hide it either.

My husband and I had our 'judges meeting' in the car on the way to the event. Since it was my first time working with him as my HJ, he outlined his specific goals for the event and the duties he preferred me to focus on. He asked me to watch for slow play and to ensure that players near the end of rounds turn in their slips promptly to ensure that rounds end in a timely manner. He asked me to be the first point of contact for players who call a judge during play in order to preserve the chain of appeals. He also outlined our deck check procedures and how he wanted to run the Top 8.

Tip: Make sure that you both have the same expectations for your respective roles. Those roles may or may not correlate to the roles you each normally fill in your non-judge lives.

Swiss rounds

We had 31 players (mostly the local grinder crowd), so we played 5 rounds of swiss. During play, things went really well. As a new judge, I took a lot of basic floor calls. (After all my studying for the L1, I was surprised how straightforward most calls actually were.)  As time allowed, I reviewed each call with my husband afterwards to confirm my rulings and to ensure that he knew of potential problems before they arose.  He demonstrated how he likes penalties to be noted and set the tone he wanted us to use with players.

Tip: Communicate often - just like you would with any other judge.

Deck checks
We planned to do deck checks at the beginning of several of the swiss rounds. I handled the decklists. After the player meeting I alphabetized them, and checked over them when I had time between rounds.  During the second round, he selected a random table, told me the number, then swooped.  I pulled the decklists and had them waiting at the station when he returned with the decks. We had agreed to use the Polish method and it worked well. When a judge call came, we had predetermined that I would answer it, so I dropped the deck and went. Luckily it was fast!  We finished the checks with no problems and an 8 minute time extension.

While reviewing the decklists I noted that a player had registered 64 cards in his deck, but written 60 as the total number of cards. His deck included 13 plains, but due to his handwriting I initially read is at 17, thus listing 68 cards on the decklist. After some close scrutiny the HJ and I agreed that it was a 13, but due to the 64 cards decided to target his table for a deck check in round 3. My husband swooped again while I pulled his opponent's decklist. The deck ended up having the correct 64 cards, so we spoke with the player about the situation and issued no penalty.

We also recruited the TO and our scorekeeper to join us in deck checking the entire Top 8.

Top 8

Our Top 8 cut yielded a field of regular grinders who knew each other well. Since we have played and traveled to events with many of these guys, maintaining our role as judges was important.  My husband had to remind them about their language, but he also overlooked some minor jokes. During a quarterfinal, another player whose match had ended started to discuss sideboarding strategies with a player still competing. I quickly put a stop to that until after the match. (Note: He mentioned a hypothetical situation against a different deck, not the game in progress, so I did not consider it OA.)

Tip: Be conscious of the level of professionalism you want for your event.  It is easy to let things get too casual with people you know well.

Conclusion

After the event the TO thanked us and handed me our compensation. He stated that he would love to have us back again. We pointed out that we would enjoy working for him again, together or separately as his needs dictate. While working with my spouse was fun, during the event it really felt much like working with anyone else. Since we both enjoy judging, it's a great way to spend a day together with our friends in the player community.

Tip: Don't forget to have fun when you work together.

Welcome to the family!

A bit of backstory

I certified as a judge 6 days before I was on staff at Grand Prix Albuquerque.  I applied 3 months in advance and was (not surprisingly) declined.  While saddened, I understood and decided to attend as a player instead.

Eight days before the event I received the following e-mail from Kyle Knudson, the judge manager:

Hey Erin,
We had some Judges drop out and I was hoping we could have you on Staff instead of playing.  I know it's pretty close to the event, but if you are still interested let me know.
Thanks :)

Now I'm not the girly type, but I think I may have actually giggled when I read that message.  I might have also jumped from my chair and preformed a most unladylike dance.  Then I had to settle down and write a chill response like "Sure, ok, I guess I can do it if you really need me; I don't mind too much." Then it hit me: he asked ME. Not my husband, the soon-to-be L2 (who would have probably been a much wiser choice). I verified this fact with my husband, and we both chuckled at the fact that I was staffed at a GP before him.

The fact that I HAD to pass my L1 exam in 2 days also hit me like a ton of bricks. As if re-testing at the Judge Conference in front of everyone wasn't bad enough!
Note: To read about my L1 tests, click Failed or Passed.

My husband was added to the GP staff as well, and thanks to a lot of great judges who helped us along the way, we both passed our exams at the conference.  As the week progressed, another local judge, Jim Shuman, was activated and he became an addition to our room.  While we drove to Albuquerque on Thursday, we got a call from another last minute addition, and Ben Quasnitschka joined our crew. He caught rides along to way to meet up with us at the event.  I drove the 10 hours on Thursday, and we made great time, arriving in Albuquerque to enjoy dinner at the Frontier Diner and got settled in our cozy room.

Friday 

Friday we embarked on a reconnaissance mission to scout out the event.  We had an awesome shuttle ride over with artist Steve Argyle's wife Kat, and we helped unload the items for his booth.  My husband and I found this to be especially cool since a large piece of his artwork serves as the focal point of the decor in our study at home.


Then, we spent the day at the venue scoping things out in preparation for our first day of work.  We met Dawna the accountant, signed our paperwork, and picked up our compensation.  I did find it interesting that we were paid before we even owned a judge shirt, but I guess we judges engender a certain level of trust. (Either that or everyone just knows that we love what we do so much that we would never no-show.)

We introduced ourselves to our team leads, found out where we would be working, and received our judge shirts.  So I had asked for an XL . . . little did I know it was a ladies cut.  Let's just say that I'm not exactly a 'ladies cut.'  I ended up with a men's cut 2XL that fit a bit like a tent, but on the plus side, it would fit pretty much anyone.

We also played mini-masters and a draft, just to scratch the 'player' itch that never truly leaves most judges.  I set a personal record by making it to round 3 of mini-masters.  We walked to a local sushi bar for lunch with a friend, and had a New Mexican dinner at a local place called Las Cuates where we dined with a bunch of judges.  We attempted to put our excitement on hold and went to bed at a reasonable hour.

A glance into our closet made me smile. Crisp black judge shirts and pressed black slacks filled its hangers. Comfortable black shoes lined the floor.  Ben started singing, "I've got a lov-e-ly bunch of judge shoes. Do-do-do-do There they are just standing in a row . . ."

Saturday

I couldn't sleep! Not that I'm a great sleeper to begin with, but the anticipation (and possibly the nachos from dinner) kept me up all night. Ben's alarm went off at 5:30, a leftover from the previous weekend's judge conference.  Jim's went off at 5:57 - early shift! After Jim, I got up and showered and joined him for breakfast.  In the lobby we saw a parade of judges, mostly high level ones. All the folks in black pants and black shoes either wearing a hoodie or a T-shirt were clearly my soon-to-be co-workers. Since the shuttle was full, Jim agreed to drive his personal car and take judges to work.  I joined him on his last trip over and arrived at the convention center about 8:30.

My schedule for the day placed me at the registration desk beginning at noon, and after registration ended for the day I would move to the prize wall until the evening's last event concluded.  I felt lucky to have been selected for the extended shift but a little disappointed that I would have to wait 3 long hours to get started.

I offered to shadow in Jim's morning event just to get in some floor experience.  What an experience it was!  Due to a miscommunication, I loaned my judge shirt to another judge who forgot his, planning to have my husband bring over a replacement shirt from Jim's closet before my shift started. Good thing we all wear the same size!

Since I was there early, I observed the setup for a side event from checking out the room to obtaining product.  I was grateful to Adena's list of things to bring, as the scissors, sticky notes, and sharpies came in handy!

Another judge asked Jim, "Is she one of yours?" to which Jim replied, "No, but she's a grandbaby judgeling." Jim certified my mentor, Josh McCurley. How funny to hear that 'judge family trees' are well known in the community.  I felt so proud that Jim claimed me as a product of his teachings.

As the players started to arrive, I truly felt the role of a judge settle on my shoulders.  Players treated me with that standoffish level of respect and called me ma'm.  They asked a lot of questions - but they were all easy.  "What time does the event start?" "Where is the restroom?" "Can I use my own basic lands?"  Nothing like the crazy scenarios judges ask each other. While I was supposed to be a shadow, the players didn't know that, and Jim certainly didn't treat me like one, so I stepped into character and answered their questions with a smile.  I enjoyed these initial interactions and realized that I was setting the tone for the event with my approachable demeanor. I wanted them to know that judges are there to help and would be happy to interact with them no matter their need.

When the event began, I joined Jim in watching the players and a nearby hand shot up as a player called, "judge."  Jim nudged me and we walked to the table and greeted them.  Andy explained that he had mistakenly cast an instant spell on his own turn as if it were a sorcery spell. A quick mental check of the game state, life totals, board state, and players' attitudes revealed that nothing else was going on and it was a straightforward call. I looked to Jim and he said, "Make your ruling." (Me? Me? My brain screamed! I get to make a ruling. A real ruling on the floor of a side event at a real GP. OMG!) I looked at Andy and explained that while I understood his situation and that it was not the way he would have liked to play it, he had cast the spell legally and that it would remain cast. I was not 100% sure that my ruling was correct, but since my Head Judge was standing next to me, I hoped that he would consult with me if necessary.  I really appreciated Jim letting me make that call, supporting my decision, and debriefing me privately afterwards.

I took a few more calls, and learned a few more things.  I got teased by a player when I didn't have a pen in my pocket.  Darn it!  I had specifically purchased new, multi-color pens perfect for deck checks, and then left them in my bag at the front of the room rather than putting one in my pocket. Rookie mistake - easy fix.

Midway through the round, Jim sent me to fetch coffee for himself and another judge.  A third judge requested a drink from upstairs and on my way out I added my team lead's water bottle to refill.  I laughed all the way to Starbucks about the cliche-ness of sending me to fetch coffee at my first big event. I carefully ordered and labeled each drink (yay sharpies!) paying attention to detail in even this task. Details are what make the difference in most cases. When I returned, I dropped off the beverages and it was time to transition to my work at the registration desk.

While I was a bit disappointed to be staffed in a non-judge role, I completely understand the logic of not assigning a new, not even certified at the time of application, person to work the floor. Also, I indicated in my application that I could "rock registration" and that "there will be no line." So I set out to make that happen! Joe Sapp, my team lead, turned out to be amazing and his people-first mentality really resonated with me. The two ladies with whom I worked proved to be excellent teachers and I soon mastered my tasks.

I spent most of the next 7 hours registering players for scheduled side events.  I enjoyed the interactions and being able to help. For the most part the players were awesome, looking for a fun experience, sharing jokes, and enjoying themselves. Some of them came back several times, so we discussed how they had fared in each event. My team lead sent me on multiple breaks and took great care of all his staff.

During my dinner break, I relaxed in the judge room munching a granola bar.  Then several guys bounded in and announced that it was time for the judge picture.  I grabbed my shirt and quickly buttoned and tucked as I followed them up the stairs. We all convened on a large staircase in a massive sea of black. A player jokingly asked if he could take a picture with us.  I loved seeing the judges respond by playing along with this man's idea and snapping some hilarious shots. The number of hugs, high fives, and greetings gave it a party atmosphere.  When the burgundy shirted Head Judges arrived, we took a few pictures, and then dispersed like a hive of black bees buzzing off to our work. Someone gave a high-five and said, "You're it!"

I returned to registration and got back to work.  A hour or so later, Joe Klopchic, the judge who started my husband into judging before me, walked by to pass along the high-five. What a fun way to make someone smile! David Hibbs, a local L3 who attended as a player dropped by to give me periodic updates on his play in the main event as well. Then Trevor Nunez came by with Jim. Meeting Trevor was a treat because he's in our regional USA South Slack judge chat and he had spent the last 2 months helping me study for my L1 exam. The community feel of being a part of a GP staff really helped me get past the first day jitters and preform at my best.

When registration closed, I moved to the prize wall. While it sounded fun, it proved to be quite a challenge for me.  Since I had no experience with the prize wall set-up and am new-ish to the Magic community, I found myself unable to answer most players' questions about items' cost or contents. Basically a player and I would start talking, but I could not find what they needed or inform them about our products.  I felt useless. Friendly, willing to help, and useless. Luckily they decided to reopen registration for the Super Sunday Series. Many of my players from earlier events came by to sign up and I was back to doing what I did well.

At some point, a few of the judges still on the floor ordered pizza. They sent a representative to the prize wall to ascertain our pizza preferences, but gave no additional information. About an hour later, we were summoned to grab a slice.  While the order turned out to be woefully small, it included a special gluten free veggie pizza.  Each judge received exactly one piece, but no one took extra until every judge in the building had been located and served a slice. There's something about pizza that just brings a team together.

Around 11:30 as we were closing the registrations I noted a flash of burgundy as Sean Catanese, a Head Judge, walked out of the main hall. He looked tired and I know he had been working hard all day. I offered him a smile.  He walked over and introduced himself to me and thanked me for the work I was doing. He asked where I was from and mentioned that he had not met me.  When I stated that I was newly certified and this was my first time on staff he reached out to shake my hand and said, "Welcome to the family!"  At that point in a long day, those words meant everything to me.

I worked the prize wall for a while longer, and then helped break it down along with my husband who had been working the last match of the last event at the end of the day.  When we left at 1am we were literally the last judges out of the building. I am so grateful for Jim driving over to get us since our hotel's last shuttle left hours before.


We returned to our room, thankful for a fridge full of leftovers and roommates who waited up for us. We debriefed about the day, all swapping stories of our calls, both good and bad. Finally, around 2am, we crawled into our beds and drifted off.

Sunday

My insomnia continued and I was awake by 5am.  After 45 minutes of lying in bed not-sleeping, I gave up and took a long hot shower.  I dressed in my judge kit, grabbed my laptop, and headed downstairs for breakfast. A cup of hot chocolate and a breakfast biscuit later, I greeted many staff members and judges as they came down for breakfast.  One of the earliest was John Carter from Cascade Games who I had met the day before.  I smiled inwardly at the number of names I remembered and a roommate's mention of the "L3 parade."

Back at work, I spent a long day having a blast at registration.  My husband and I managed to take dinner breaks at the same time and met up with our roommate Jim and an L2 from Oklahoma named Joni Bailey.  We shared stories over gyros and left feeling refreshed.

Since registration had closed, I needed to speak with Kyle to receive my next assignment.  Much to my surprise, Jim accompanied me and asked if I could help him on the floor. Wow! Jim is the best! Kyle agreed and Jim assigned me to a 2 Headed Giant event where I worked with its Head Judge until it ended at 10:30ish.

My husband and I got off at the same time and decided to head over to the judge party and hang out with our friends.  We sat down with Jamie Brown (who I had taught to play Magic that morning) and her husband. Soon the Cascade guys arrived with some draft product and we quickly formed a pod for some more fun.  I enjoyed my first team draft, and even beat my husband (a rare occurrence!).

Earlier in the day, I had met a judge testing for his L1.  Since I was the newest judge around, I told him that I would buy him a drink later if he would take that title from me. Well, he passed, so he, my husband, our roommate Ben, and I enjoyed a drink together. What a great feeling of getting to repeat those words, "Welcome to the family!"

Passed

Since you already know the backstory (if not read Failed!), and I'm sure you guessed the result by the title of this post, I'll skip the announcement and cut right to the fun part.  The story of how it came about. The truth is, it was a group effort. I could not have passed that test without the support of a bunch of L2s, so here it is, a list of the most important things they said to me.

Jason Daniels: Our job is to make sure players play legally, not to make sure they play well.
As I contemplated preparing to be a Magic judge, I believed that I would first need to become an accomplished player.  I thought that I would need to be able to educate players on the proper plays in various situations and serve as a sort of 'coach' to new players. Since I was a new player myself, I had a long way to go towards that end. However, Jason explained that our role as judges is to ensure that players make legal choices and follow the rules. That makes the game fair and fun for everyone. Our job is not to help them actually play; their own skill will be needed for that. We serve as neutral arbitrators to help players with difficult situations and provide them a resource for resolving problems.
Thanks Jason for taking the time to chat with me at that GPT and open the door for me to become a judge.

David Carroll: I think it's fair to say I liked you from the start.
I played my first game of Legacy ever with a deck David let me borrow.  I also got my first penalty ever with a decklist David gave me.  Afterwards he taught me an important lesson: always verify your own decklist.  While he did apologize, he did not take responsibility. And he's right.  My deck and decklist are my responsibility, and I tried to take the lazy road and turn in the one he handed me sight unseen.  In every interaction with David, he has pushed me to be a little bit better.  Correcting my terminology in Slack, providing feedback on my cover letter, pointing out the 1 question I missed as room for improvement. David liked me enough to never let me settle for less than top tier.
Thanks David for holding me to the highest standards.

Jim Shuman: When are you taking your L1 test?
Jim walked up to me in the middle of a match at the Hunter Burton Memorial Magic Open and asked me that. I struggled to figure out how to play while having that conversation.  Ok, I struggled to play anyway, but trying to talk and play . . . almost impossible.  But when Jim walked away, my opponent looked at me in semi-awe and said, "You're a judge?"  I had wanted to judge that exact event, but couldn't because I failed my certification test. Playing in the event while my friends judged made that stand out to me even more. Jim helped me realize that while I'm not actually a certified judge yet, I am a member of the judge community and have the support of other judges.
Thanks Jim for giving me that boost of acceptance and encouragement when my frustration level was the highest.

Antonio Zanutto: You can't do math while running from a lion.
The night before my L1 test, coincidentally also the day I met Antonio, he was helping me study.  We stayed up late going over scenarios and I expressed my nervousness.  He explained that I would need to relax enough to think clearly while taking the test.  His poignant way of stating such a pragmatic fact really struck a chord with me and made me smile during the actual test.
Thanks Antonio for the last minute advice that made all the difference.

Josh McCurley: You ARE a judge. 
I don't think either Josh or I want to count the exact number of times he made that statement to me. After I failed my first L1 exam I fought the urge to give up.  Magic is a complicated game and maybe learning the rules was too much for me. I was also frustrated that my plans for judging upcoming events had been changed.  That I had learned some things wrong and needed to re-learn them.  That I'm a girl in a man's world of judging. That my husband was better than me - lots better.  Josh was there to talk me off that ledge-several times.  He offered me a listening ear, late night jokes, and answers to all of my million questions. No matter how upset I got, he was the level-headed one who reminded me that even at L0, I was a judge. He showed me a multitude of ways to get involved in the program and offered his name as a reference, and little by little, I stepped out of my box and into my new role.
Thanks Josh for all the good conversations and for never letting me lose sight of my goal.

Brian Leonard: I'm proud of you baby.
My husband, the L2. While it was a roller coaster of a ride, sometimes filled with frustration, jealousy, tears, or long study sessions, there is no one I would have rather been with than you.  You were the first person to support my goal, and you put up with me through the good times and the bad. You shared your knowledge while still allowing me to chart my own (albeit rocky) path. You never gave in to my fits of frustration, and you never let me win unless I was right.  The night I won my first rules debate against you was a turning point for me and since then you have let me build up a belief in myself.
Thanks baby for loving me, supporting me, and sharing this journey with me!


I'd also like to add a few quick "thank yous":
 . . . to Chris as Area 51 for letting me help with some FNMs.
 . . . to L2 Preston May, the guy who saw me fail and saw me pass, and encouraged me both times.
 . . . to Jessica Livingston, Mitchell Nitz, Trevor Nunez, Steve Wise, and all of the #trainingroom crew.

By His Side

We've been married for 5 years.  FIVE YEARS! I'd say 5 long years, but really, they have flown by so fast that if he hadn't reminded me, I wouldn't have known it was that long.


We met playing World of Warcraft online.  (If you are not familiar, it's a massively multiplayer online role-playing game, or MMORPG.)  I was the leader of a large, competitive raiding guild.  He was a player looking for a new guild home.  Three years of playing together later, he was the Raid Leader (a very prestigious role) in the guild and we worked together to run the group, along with the help of some exceptional officers (Penimus). I attended an unrelated conference in his city . . . and he asked me on a date.  He ended up moving to Texas to be with me.  We took a 3 week tour to drive around the country and stay with many of our raiders (Blizzazed). He proposed at Blizzcon in 2010 in front of some of our raiders (Paz).

Then, we retired from WoW and settled down to start a family.  Those were some good years in terms of our lives - we had 2 kids, bought a beautiful home, he found a great job and started working on a degree, etc.  But they were some tough years in terms of our relationship with each other.  The strains of daily life, kids, mortgage payments, college, etc. took their toll.  We drifted apart even while living together.  We shared common goals and both strove to meet them.  We both did our parts to make life work, but it was work.  Somehow, we lost the 'spark.'

Two years ago, some of Brian's friends invited us to play Magic: the gathering, a trading card game.  Brian took to it immediately and before long was attending (and winning) tournaments.  I was a bit slower to come around.  I tried to be supportive, but I think I only succeeded in being mildly resentful, and jealous.  He went to play every Friday night, and some weekend days too, leaving me alone.  It wouldn't have been as bad, but with work and school I barely saw him anyway.  I began to hate the game.

One day Brian and I talked.  More accurately, he called me out.  He reminded me that we met playing a game.  He was a gamer when I met him, and so was I.  He proposed at a gaming conference. Many of our best memories were from our gaming days.  Wow! (ok, pun intended)  That hit me pretty hard.  He was right.  And I changed.  I stopped giving him a hard time about playing and became much more supportive.

One Friday night, I went to watch him play.  It was fun.  Enough fun that I gave the game another try.  It still took almost a year of intermittent play for me to come around, but last May I played in a huge competitive tournament with him in Las Vegas, and my spark ignited.  After that trip I couldn't wait to play again.  The passion for the game began to consume me as I learned the rules, tried new decks, and attended every Friday night that I could get a babysitter. Now don't get me wrong, there were frustrations: complicated rules, lack of babysitting, expensive entry fees, and I am still not allowed in the group chat due to my gender.  But overall, the good outweighed the bad, and excepting the time I took off when our third child was born, I've played weekly since.

Which brings us to our 5 year anniversary, and our anniversary trip - to a Magic Grand Prix of course!  My wonderful mother agreed to keep all 3 kids for the weekend, so we entered the tournament.  We decided to cut costs by joining forces with some friends, so we and 3 guys rode together and shared a room.  Now if you are imagining a 4 hour car ride filled with beef jerky and fart jokes, you're right on the money. We piled into a decent sized hotel room where Brian and I were able to pay extra for the "bed spots" and all dumped our bags to head for the convention center.  After playing Magic until 9pm, we headed out for our anniversary dinner. I had originally hoped for sushi, but by that late was dying for pizza.  Brian managed to find a fantastic local dive-y place 12 blocks from the hotel, so after a brisk hike, we squished into this hole-in-the-wall and managed to order some food.  It was well worth it as the pizza was amazing!  And yes, for my anniversary dinner, I ordered pizza and beers and served them to table full of guys.  And I wouldn't have it any other way.

Saturday and Sunday we played a lot of Magic, and I overheard a lot of guys talking about their wives being mad at them for playing, or discussing what they had to do to get their wives to let them come.  It made me sad that these men had to beg, bribe, or sneak to enjoy a hobby.  Saturday night we piled into a too small Uber for a night of fajitas and margaritas, and had a blast.  Sunday morning came early, but we all survived the day.  As I drove home that night, with a carload of sleeping guys, it hit me . . . when we are gaming together we are sharing a passion, not just a purpose.

I'm so lucky to be married to a man that not only invites me to join him, but encourages me to pursue my own interests as well.  As with WoW, we each play our own way and do our own thing, but sometimes a mid-round shoulder rub, or holding hands in the registration line is a nice bonus too! So after some trial and error and a 3 year gaming drought, I realized that I where I most want to be is playing by his side.