Welcome One and All to the Mock Tournament for Aspiring RCQ (and RCQ-esque events) Judges (or Guru’s as Dream Hack likes to say)!

With RCQ Round 3 happening (or maybe already happened, idk), I’d like to provide a low-stakes environment where judges can become more familiar with rules, policy, and event procedure by simulating a Competitive REL event. We’ll be playing with the Modern format  and will have a four-round “event.”

(As a side note, this conference is not structured to be a Garbage Fire event – while we do want scenarios to come up, we’d ideally prefer to simulate what an event is actually expected to look like, rather than craft a hellscape to torture Floor Judges.)

Date: April 2, 2023

Schedule (Subject to change):

10:00 a.m. – 10:45 a.m.: Judges Call Time/Player Meeting
11:00 a.m. – 11:50 a.m.: Round 1
12:00 p.m. – 12:50 p.m.: Round 2
1:00 p.m. – 1:50 p.m.: Lunch
2:00 p.m. – 2:50 p.m.: Round 3
3:00 p.m. – 3:50 p.m.: Round 4
4:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.: Discussion of Cut & MTR
4:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.: End of Conference & Foil Distro

Roles:

In order to make this mock tournament run smoothly, there will be four different roles for attendees. Please make sure you indicate in the application which roles you would like to perform at this tournament.

Floor Judge: Ideally, the reason this conference exists. This role is perfect for those looking for more experience for judging at Competitive REL. In this position, you’ll be answering calls on the tournament floor that player-presenters create and reflecting on those calls after delivering a ruling. The only prerequisite here is a basic understanding of the IPG and its structure.

Player: This role is for attendees that would like to assist in the tournament but are not looking for more experience judging at Competitive REL. In this role, you’ll be playing in the event as a regular player. You won’t be constructing scenarios for players to answer, and this is not a presenter role. Still, players are needed for a tournament! We ask that you stay “in-character” throughout the call, but feel free to add your input after the ruling has been delivered. The only prerequisite is to bring your own modern-legal deck, preferably one that an average player would bring to a Competitive REL event, and a decklist that you’ve already filled out.

Player-Presenter: This role is for attendees that have an in-depth understanding of tournament policy, would like to generate scenarios, and perform those scenarios to provide experience for Floor Judges. You’ll want to stay in-character throughout the call and give feedback out-of-character when the ruling has been delivered. We also want to create scenarios that are realistic and things that one would expect at a Competitive REL event. This is a presenter role. Prerequisites include bringing a modern deck (that an average player would bring to a Comp REL event), a decklist that you’ve already filled out, and intense knowledge on tournament policy. Once assigned the player-presenter role, you’ll need to work with us on generating scenarios that you’ll perform in the tournament.

Team Lead: This highly-selective role is for attendees that also desire to mentor Floor Judges, with rock-solid understanding of policy. We’re looking for this role to help add feedback after calls and assist when needed. You’ll also be coaching at least one deck-check round. This is a presenter role.

Event Structure

We’ll be dividing Floor Judges into 2-4 groups, with each group being assigned a Team Lead. Throughout the four rounds, we’ll give each group the opportunity to perform a deck check rather than be on the tournament floor for calls. During this time, player-presenters will be performing scenarios for Floor Judges to answer and deliver rulings on.

Information will be added here as needed.

Application Process

The application for presenter roles will close roughly three weeks before the conference (3/13/23).

Mask Policy

Masks are not required at this time. However, if the store owner and I decide that it’s a good idea, then we’ll be requiring them. There’ll be a definitive answer the day before. I will have disposables with me to use at your leisure.

Event Notifications

Much of the discussion for this event will be on the Alabama Magic Judges discord (discord.gg/MMPbNMM2Ga). If you have a presenter role, I’ll ask that you join it so that we can be in close communication, since a bit more is needed than a traditional conference.

As far as official announcements pertaining to it though, please keep up with the Judge Academy event forum for all announcements pertaining to this event.

This event is foil supported. In order to receive support, you must:

Apply and be accepted to this event.

Be a JA certified L1 or higher at the time of application close (3/20/23).

Attend all four rounds and briefings of the conference.