Judge Academy members unlock and receive badges for their educational accomplishments. You may have seen various badges on user profiles and you may be wondering what exactly they all mean? This page is a handy guide to all existing Judge Academy badges! The Judge Academy team will update the Badge Glossary page as new badges are created. Check back regularly!
Magic Judge Badges
These badges can only be earned by Judge Academy certified Magic: The Gathering judges.
Magic Judge Badge Categories
Event Experience Badges
Level 1+ Badges
Level 2+ Badges
Level 3 Exclusive Badges
Specialist Badges
Magic TO Badges
These badges can only be earned by Judge Academy certified Magic: The Gathering tournament and event organizers.
Magic TO Badge Categories
Community Building
Coming Soon:
Judge | Event Experience Badges
These badges can be earned by Magic judges who are accepted to event staff positions.
(These badges only reflect events listed on JudgeAcademy.com by event and tournament organizers. The actual number of events a judge has worked may be greater.)
Regular REL
Event Experience
Common – 1+ Regular REL Event
Uncommon – 5+ Regular REL Events
Rare – 15+ Regular REL Events
Mythic – 25+ Regular REL Events
How to Earn This Badge:
Apply and get staffed on regular REL events listed on the JudgeAcademy.com Events page.
Competitive REL
Event Experience
Common – 1+ Competitive REL Event
Uncommon – 5+ Competitive REL Events
Rare – 15+ Competitive REL Events
Mythic – 25+ Competitive REL Events
How to Earn This Badge:
Apply and get staffed on competitive REL events listed on the JudgeAcademy.com Events page.
Professional REL
Event Experience
Common – 1+ Professional REL Event
Uncommon – 5+ Professional REL Events
Rare – 15+ Professional REL Events
Mythic – 25+ Professional REL Events
How to Earn This Badge:
Apply and get staffed on professional REL events listed on the JudgeAcademy.com Events page.
Alternatively: Submit a verifiable history of professional REL events worked in the past to Judge Academy staff for review.
Judge | Level 1+ Badges
These badges can be earned by Magic judges certified at level 1 or higher.
Advanced Comprehensive Rules
Typically, the Advanced Comprehensive Rules badge will be earned on the pathway towards level 2 certification or by a level 1 judge that desires a deeper understanding of Magic’s rules. This badge indicated that the judge has familiarized themselves with the more complicated rules, interactions, and situations that may arise during high level play.
How to Earn This Badge:
Explanation coming soon!
Competitive REL Policy
Similar to the Advanced Comprehensive Rules badge, this badge is often earned during the path to level 2 or by a level 1 Judge that wants to understand the foundations and philosophy behind the policies of running competitive Magic events. This badge demonstrates an understanding of the Infraction Procedure Guide (IPG), and a level of proficiency in identifying the infractions, penalties, and game/tournament fixes that occur at Competitive REL.
How to Earn This Badge:
Explanation coming soon!
Judge | Level 2+ Badges
These badges can be earned by Magic judges certified at level 2 or higher.
Small Event Team Lead
New description coming soon!
How to Earn This Badge:
Explanation coming soon!
Medium Event Team Lead
New description coming soon!
How to Earn This Badge:
Explanation coming soon!
Policy Expert
New description coming soon!
How to Earn This Badge:
Explanation coming soon!
Judge | Level 3 Exclusive Badges
These badges can only be earned by Magic judges certified at level 3.
Level 3 Evaluator
An advanced role for level three judges who are interested in being involved in the L3 process. The evaluation is the last step in the path after the candidate completes a day one team lead practical examination. Evaluators review self-evaluations, recommendations and the results of various practical examinations and participate in a panel interview with the candidate.
How to Earn This Badge:
This role requires having held a level three certification for a year. More information coming soon!
Level 3 Evaluation Lead
The L3 Evaluation Lead role takes more responsibility in the L3 Evaluation. The lead is in charge of determining the direction of the interview as well as writing the evaluation of the candidate at the end of the discussion, and either recommending or not recommending the candidate for advancement.
How to Earn This Badge:
This role requires having been an active L3 evaluator and having been a part of at least three prior evaluations. More information coming soon!
Large Tournament Head Judge
All level 3 judges are expected to have the skills to head judge mid-sized events. However, some events are much larger, more logistically complicated, and/or have greater prize support. The skills needed needed of a head judge to ensure all appeals, investigations, round turnovers and breaks are handled appropriately are above and beyond the typical expectations of level 3 judges. The Large Tournament Head Judge badge ensures that level 3 judges have had practical experience as the head judge or appeals judge for an event with 410+ players and/or an event that takes place over two days.
How to Earn This Badge:
Explanation coming soon!
Judge | Specialist Badges
These badges can be earned by Magic judges certified at level 1 or higher.
Specialist badges are earned by judges who are interested in showing off their expertise in unique or niche gaming topics.
Digital Events Specialist
The Digital Events Specialist badge is available to judges who have studied a variety of tools and logistics required to run digital events. This includes events that are run using official tournament software such as Arena and MTGO as well as virtual paper tournaments and events.
How to Earn This Badge:
Complete the modules and tests in the Magic Digital Events Specialist category.
Commander Specialist
New description coming soon!
Tournament Organizer | Community Badges
These badges can be earned by event and tournament organizers with JudgeAcademy.com accounts.
Endorsement Writer
New description coming soon!
How to Earn This Badge:
Explanation coming soon!