Gentle Misstep: Days of Judgment

'Welcome Magic players to tonight's FNM! Today, we have..'

Judging for Magic: the Gathering this past year has been quite an experience to say the least. In a way, it taught me a lot about myself and reveals how much more I have to learn.

I didn't have the opportunity to write as much as I would have liked last year, but I'm hoping to change that this year by keeping myself accountable to writing at least once a month. For most of 2013, I dedicated my time to judging events, learning policy, and refining my rules knowledge so I didn't have the opportunity to compete to my 'full' potential at PTQs and didn't have any noteworthy finishes to talk about past the PTQ Dragon's Maze season. So.. how did I become a judge and what are its responsibilities?

Early last year, I tried to setup a Casual Net Gaming tournament working with a local store, Coliseum of Comics in Kissimmee, Fl. Unfortunately, the event didn't gain enough traction as I had anticipated and it ended up firing with only 28 players. However, planning the logistics of the event and discussing it over with tournament organizers and judges I had met before was pretty exciting. Shortly afterwards, I started speaking with L2 and owner of Armada Games in Tampa, Michael Fortino about judging. He recommended that I start looking into rules knowledge and eventually take my L1 test. I was definitely very skeptical about the endeavor because I wasn't confident that I could be a good role model to the Magic community. Although I had played in PTQs and wrote articles about my experiences there, I didn't feel like they served as a real reflection on leadership. 

After I started judging at FNMs and working for Campus Cards and Games, Bryan Prillaman (L3) and Travis Coffman (L2) came to visit. They brought with them encouragement and rules questions that challenged me and I was frankly thrilled. I consider myself somewhat competitive and I enjoy being challenged and pushing my limits, so their mentoring satiated that particular drive. After a few weeks, Bryan recommended that I test for L1. Quite frankly, I was afraid. Not exactly about passing the content portion, but becoming a representative of the judge community and the responsibility that entails. Could I really be a judge for Magic? After playing Junk Reanimator to a 4-3 finish in Standard at PTQ Theros in Maitland, Fl I dropped before Round 8 and tested for my L1. And I passed. I was super excited and my teammates and friends all gave me hugs and congratulations messages; I truly felt on top of the world.

After a month or so, I decided to embark on my first competitive REL event judging a Grand Prix Trial at CCG. Before the event, I don't think I prepared as well as I could have an felt uneasy with a lot of my rulings and my announcements during the tournament. By this time, I still hadn't developed the confidence necessary to both enforce the rules on a competitive level and be comfortable with making mistakes. Although my first GPT was a shaky start, I felt like it was important to 'fall down' so to speak before I could really start working towards becoming a better judge. 

I started studying policy more closely to ensure that I knew how to recognize infractions and deliver rulings/penalties clearly and appropriately. I also practiced my organization of announcements before FNMs and finding ways to communicate rules interactions more clearly and with precision to players. After a couple months of self-imposed training and a drive to better, I was Head Judge of a Star City Games Invitational Qualifier and worked with fellow teammate, Brandon Kohrs to run the event. After the event was completed and a winner crowned, we received countless compliments on our professionalism and ability. I was very proud of the event we hosted and its well reception. After the SCG IQ, I started looking into becoming an L2. I started working on practice exams and completing the prerequisites but I hit a pretty sturdy speed bump. I stumbled on the exam questions; I couldn't consistently pass and I couldn't figure out why. 

One of the most difficult things I've learned over the past few years is to accept that I can't do it all. Growing up, I've never really faced anything that was particularly daunting or stood in the way of my success. Once I had to deal with unemployment, heart break, and losing loved ones I faced problems that were very real and became overwhelming. Now, I'm slowly learning to communicate my feelings with people and be better about feelings and other mushy stuff. But anyways..

I enlisted the help of others. I asked for help from friends and other judges on questions I was confused about and started to feel less embarrassed about asking a question and more assertive in doing so. I still have some ways ahead, but I feel like I'm making progress. After the IQ, I judged under Ben Mcdole (L3) at Fl States a few months later and Bryan at PTQ Journey into Nyx in Maitland, Fl last weekend. I had a blast doing both and had the opportunity to work with many awesome judges from across the state. 

One of the biggest takeaways from being a judge is learning that the program is dedicated to helping us become better people. I noticed that my level of maturity and confidence has increased and that I have more respect for others and myself. I know that I'm not perfect, but the mentoring of the judge program helps me strive to become better. 

I wish this article were more analytically and technically driven, but I haven't actually played much Magic since this past summer at Grand Prix Miami xD I do have some updates to my life though...

So first and foremost, I no longer work at Campus Cards and Games. I was let go last week because their vision for the store's future did not include me. There are no hard feelings. Strangely enough, I feel somewhat liberated. Other than having my Fridays free again, I can travel for Magic more freely and I can focus on other projects, which is a welcome change. What about judging? I plan to take some time to work towards L2 again and focus on passing the exams and judging more comp REL events. I'll miss judging at CCG, but I'll visit from time to time to say hello to my favorite local players. 

As for the projects, I can share a few with you. 

1) Casual Net Excursions - I want to PR for Casual Net much more aggressively this semester and that includes CNG trips to other local stores both in Central Florida and to its extremities like S. Florida and Gainesville/N. Florida. I'd like to go in a large group to network with tournament organizers and judges, meet the local players, and be both a present and positive force in Florida Magic. I'm also hoping that these trips will bring us closer together as a group and reinforce team solidarity. I'm scheduling the first excursion for January 31st next Friday at Game Changers in Orlando, Fl (once I have officially contacted their store owner). 

2) Judge Classes - This is more of an idea at the moment, but I spoke with Ryan Dowdy (L2) at the Maitland PTQ and he suggested that I look into running classes designed to teaching players about the finer mechanics behind steps in combat or layers, which is geared not only at players looking to become judges but also players who are looking to refine their technical play. I'm hoping to personally design a curriculum in the upcoming month and start a schedule for those interested. On a related note, if you were curious about the judge program, I can answer any questions you might have or defer you to someone who can. 

3) New website, channel, and content! - We're moving away from the blog-style site to a new/proessional looking one next month! We're also moving to refine the YouTube channel and produce quality videos/interviews, modify the Facebook fan page, and have a ton of sweet content scheduled to be released. Personally, I'm really excited to be back to working on promotion and content for CNG and I'm hoping we'll enrich the Magic community in the following year.  

Although this article is somewhat vague and I'm discussing ideas from all over the place, I hope there's at least one takeaway: Do the things you love and love doing them. Embrace extraordinary. 

I'd like to personally thank Michael Fortino for taking the time to talk to me and pushing me to complete the first steps to becoming a Florida Magic Judge.

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-David J.