Nick has been a veteran Magic player, and more recently became a store owner. He has numerous years of the experience in the game, playing mostly competitive Magic, thus he is aware of not only the advanced rules of the game, but also of tournament policy and the penalty guideline. As he never stopped considering Magic his passion, combined with his professionalism as a store owner, he would like to offer his support to the local community by also being a judge. I am certain he will be able to fulfill this role.

Endorsement for L1

David has judged multiple events before, I\'ve been in those event by playing or spectating. He\'s doing a great job of taking calls and the rules knowledge is good.

Do you recommend the evaluated subject is tested for Level 1 based on your interaction with them at those events?

Yes, I think he\'s ready for the L1 test and as a judge.

Salut Nicolas,

Bienvenue au niveau 1 🙂

Rapide résumé des points que nous avons évoqué hier :

• Tu sais t\'auto-évaluer, pense toutefois à également mettre en avant tes points forts (qui étaient moins précis que ce que tu as perçu comme des choses à améliorer)
• Demande à être associé à l\'organisation d\'un tournoi pour te faire la main et pouvoir remplacer l\'organisateur s\'il est malade
• On peut toujours progresser dans le domaine des règles : Se fixer des objectifs atteignables pour qu\'ils ne soient pas décourageants est une bonne idée.

Enjoy 🙂

Kevin.

I endorse Peter for promotion to Level 1

Shon has been judging events at his local store for quite some time now. He has expressed interest in becoming a certified judge so that he can better assist his store with events, especially competitive-level events like RCQ\'s. He has also shadowed judges to learn more skills. Based on my conversations with him, I feel confident that he would make a good L1 judge at this time. 

Jorge has been playing Magic for 23 years. Most of the time he plays formats with Eternal cards, like Legacy and Commander. These are formats with the most variety of advanced rules and corner case scenarios, leaving him with some experience in this field.
He has some short and long-term goals about his future career as a judge and he is the kind of person that strives to learn and be always better.
He has great social aptitudes and I am completely sure he can be welcoming to players and to work on a team.

He has not judged tournaments yet and he prefers the more \"casual\" aspect of the game, but I am pretty sure he will be a great addition for his local community.
In order to strenghten this, I will advice him to ask his local tournament organizer to help him run a couple tournaments, to get familiar with the tournament logistics.
And don\'t forget to read the Judging at Regular document! It has just a couple pages and it covers most common situations that can happen at a local tournament.

I have no doubt that, with time, Jorge will become one of the pillars of his community.
I hope you pass your L1 test soon and join the Spanish and Iberian communities!

Ivan has been a judge for a long time and I endorse you. 

Timothy demonstrated good a competent level of Rules Knowledge during his learning. He is able to exercise his passion in Magic and apply it into his determination to study the CR, MTR and JAR in detail which is demonstrated in-person as he acts as a regular go-to person for rules and basic events knowledge for his EDH playgroup. 

One positive trait of note is that Timothy is that he is helpful and positive towards anyone even to people outside of his playgroup and is willing to help with answering rules questions easily. Although he may have demonstrated sufficient rules knowledge, he will need more field experience under his belt especially as he has only been helping a small group of players. It is important for him to not only understand the documents academically but to also apply it in actual judging environments. This can be easily done by tagging along with your fellow L1s, doing more judging practice with FNMs in your LGS or request a L2 to take you on for floor judging as events begin to reopen.

Do read up on judge blogs and watch more judge training videos that are published on Youtube as these lessons will ultimately set a solid foundation for solving many interaction problems with players on-site especially when it involves cards with complicated rulings. I wish you all the best for your L1 Exam and looking forward to welcoming you into the Judge Academy family!

Rodrigo se acercó conmigo durante el último evento grande, la MegaXP-CommandFest.

He podido platicar extensamente con el y he podido constatar que tiene un conocimiento bastante bueno sobre las reglas tanto en cuestión de Ruling como en Policy. 

Ha sido paciente y atento en cuestión de su proceso, considero que será un gran juez. 

Como L2, tiene mi apoyo total para concluir su proceso de certificación.

Is this person a real person who is not already a certified judge?

Yes, Jacob Bryant is indeed a real person who has been a part of the game for over a decade in his local community

How did they hear about Judge Academy, and why do they want to become a judge?

They heard about Judge Academy through the FLGS he works at. He was recommended it because of his interest in the intricacies of the game. He doesn’t get a chance to play the game as much as he would like so this is a path to help him remain a part of the community he already works to grow and foster

If you already knew this person, what kind of a community member are they? Are they a helpful player? Are they toxic to the community?

Jacob is helpful and the antithesis of toxic. He’s always helping out Commander players during there crazy rule interactions and is very helpful and informative to new & experienced players during every level of event.

If you didn’t already know this person, why did they come to you?

Jacob came to me because I’ve helped run some awesome events at his FLGS, The Gamers XP. I was the easiest point of contact due to the relationship I’ve built with The Gamers XP. I was also recommended by Chance, the owner at The Gamers XP

Are there other judges in their community that could give you some insight?

Not really, his area is not supported by a healthy group of judges. In Shreveport/Bossier, Louisiana there is a need for judges due to the fact the FLGS there The Gamers XP is very event oriented as holds numerous competitive style events a month

What would you need to know about this person and their knowledge, attitude, or reputation to feel comfortable working with them at a future event?

While articulate and detail oriented, he is still fairly green in real world experience. He takes direction and is always interested in learning more. He would be an asset for sure in most any situation even ones that he has no experience in due to his nature and willingness to provide a great experience for the MTG community.

Do you believe that this person understands how to run a safe and welcoming event for their community?

Yes, very much so. He has worked with Chance, the owner, at The Gamers XP for over 2 years and has helped the store become a pivotal establishment for competitive MTG events in Louisiana. His attitude, work ethic & interests all align to make a great candidate for becoming an official judge and helping grow and boost the already healthy MTG community in the area he works!

In the brief time I have known Nikki she has attended a judge conference on her own accord accompanying her fiancée and she took extensive notes and contributed when she was able.

She has completed all the L1 candidate modules with little to no guidance as has shown she has what looks to be the beginning of a the attributes we like to see in an L1.

This is my endorsement of Nikki Callanta and I hope to see her at events here soon as a certified judge.

Mauricio is a young player who has been heavily involved in Magic in recent months; he has a great passion for customer service, and he wants to offer both a comfortable welcome to new players and the best experience to the members of his community (including friends at local store). Another reason he is now on L1 road, is that he would like to travel to many conferences as he can, participating not only as attendee but also as a speaker.

Stephen is an enthusiastic local RA, committed to uplifting our community and running great events. I think Stephen is ready to make the jump to L1 because of his sincerity, maturity, resourcefulness, and game knowledge. I look forward to having another very capable L1 nearby.

RCQ 3 July 2022 36 Players Pioneer AMazing Discoveries - Head JudgePrep- Weeks before the tournament I began researching Pioneer, its top decks, and possible interactions. I asked other judges in the US community for advice and if there was anything I should look out for. Since this was the first week of RCQs, Pioneer is a new format and the return to sanctioned/supported competitive play was just returning, I found it difficult to get information or direction. I knew there were a lot of  interactions that were possible and would require look ups so I decided that I would look up all rulings (within reason) before giving a final ruling. I had the experience of judging the day prior to help prepare me for the challenges of a second similar event. Tournament Organizer Communication-  I met with the owner and general manager a week before the tournament to discuss potential size, compensation and other aspects that may be important to a successful event. The day of I briefed the store staff on how to help with deck checks, asked about store announcements and asked if there were any special considerations. I asked the Staff for feedback from the day prior. I was told to make it clear to players that I was taking all rules calls and the TO would be working with all other tournament issues. Before the event the store staff and I repeatedly asked people to make sure they were registered and verified their name on the screen, I asked all players to check their decklists and make sure they were accurate and had their name one the form. I reinforced my announcements, this time making seven individual announcements which included an announcement every minute for the five minutes leading up to the event. I asked all players, table by table, if they had registered and verified that their name was on the screen. I asked them to again check their deck lists. I notified the room multiple times that not registering for the event would result in a match loss and that they would be forced to start in round 2 with a match loss in round one per the Event Link rules. Player meeting: I made the general announcement letting players know their was 35 players, 6 rounds, cut to top 8 (seeded), 50 min rounds, play quickly, communicate and that Competitive Rules enforcement was in effect. There would be warnings and game losses for infractions. I asked all players to again look over their deck list and ensure it was complete and their name was on top. After pairings, a player who had failed to register approached me and said he was not on the screen. I asked if he had registered on the app and he said no. He spoke with the TO and then before I could start the event he approached me, visibly upset, and said it was not fair that he would get a match loss. I explained to him that I gave repeated announcement and that every other player successfully signed up without an issue. I explained that this was COMPREL and that I am unable to manually pair in Event Link. I explained that I made an excessive amount of announcements because I would not be able to manually fix issues after the pairings have been made without having to repair the entire room. Mitchell (the player who did not register on time) used several arguments ranging from  “he has kids and no one else in the room does” to he “didn\'t know he needed to use the app to register.” Later I found out that he is a regular player with 25 years of MTG experience and knows all to well how to register for an event. I followed the rules for a competitive event and did not provide Mitchell with unfair treatment. His protests became aggravated and close to requiring me to remove him from the event. I had to ultimately ignore him and start the event - the other 35 players were in their seats watching him argue with me about irrelevant excuses for his failure. Deck Checks- During deck sorting/counting/review we found five decklists with errors and pulled them aside for deck checks starting in round 2. We issued  two game losses and was unable to deck check all five players before the Top 8. During round 6 the top seat had a decklist error that would have resulted in a GL. Because the players had already IDed I was not able to deck check a presented deck so I converted it to a courtesy deck check and notified the player as to their error and corrected it. In the same round I needed to check another top8 potential player but I was unable to get to them before they sideboards and presented for game two. I waited until the end of the round and the player who had the error did not make the Top8. I notified the player of their error but issued no GL. Stand out rulings:Sleeves- The rules on sleeves say the deck needs to be identical but does not mention the sideboard. A player was resleeving between games. I let them know they would need all the same sleeves next time.Replacement effects applying to the same card and triggered abilities and how they compare with replacement effects. Most of the day this applied to Kalitas. There was one interaction where a player wanted to know how a cavalier of thorns worked with a kalitas on the field. Initially I had thought that the Cavalier also had a replacement effect but it did not so the resolution was just that kalitas has a replacement effect and the cavalier just goes to exile. Intervening if only applies to some triggered abilities and not replacement effectsAreas for improvement- I could benefit from watching more online (recorded) play to dig out interactions before an event but I think now that I have worked a major Pioneer event, I am more or less in tune with the cards and decks. I continued to look up all rulings or ask an L3 (stephan classen) to make sure that I was issuing the correct ruling. I feel the number of new cards and interactions is extreme and unlikely to be memorized before more are added and things (may) change. I would have liked to handle the irate player in a more systematic way. For example, I should have stated, I have to get the event started, We can discuss this in a minute rather than just starting the event and then dealing with it. I was somewhat flustered since I was on the spot in front of the entire event attempting to quell the players concerns. Areas done well- Overall I handled the irate player well. I put the rules of the event first which ultimately lead to the majority of the players to have a better experience. I knew procedure well enough (after having a long pandemic break) to ensure the event ran smoothly. Steps to reinforce and improve - Continue using my notebook to write down success and failures. Issue warnings as needed in Top 8. Start searching for an L1 to shadow and assist in later events.   

Justo

Aprecio el apoyo que me brindaste durante mi primer torneo como juez nivel 1, el formato era competitivo y me diste indicaciones claras que me permitieron aprender, si bien cometi algunas equivocaciones siempre estabas para corregirme y darme los consejos necesarios para no volver a cometerlos.

Gracias por entender que estoy en una curva de aprendizaje y por aconsejarme en cada momento asi como explicarme las razones por las cuales se tomaron algunas decisiones por tu parte y ayudarme a familiarizarme con el compendio de reglas competitivas

Muy buen trabajo Augusto, hoy demostraste que puedes manejarte como Juez Lv1 a pesar de ser tu primer torneo competitivo, siempre el primer torneo competitivo de un lvl 1 suele ser dificil (ya certificado).

Referente a tu desenvolvimiento: muy bueno, tuviste buena comunicación con los jugadores, y supiste (en su medida) responder las preguntas que te respondieron. 

Como te comente en el evento, debes repasar un poco las bases de las reglas para no confundirlas y estar claro de lo que uno esta diciendo, poder analizar bien el estado de juego; y estar seguro de lo que te preguntan y de lo que respondes. Todo es un proceso, y uno aprende en el camino.

Uno debe respetar bien las indicaciones de su HJ, se que puede sonar poco importante, pero tomarse un descanso es parte de proceso de juecear, somos seres humanos y nos canzamos (no somos robots), asi que tomarse un break es muy importante. Uno puede pensar que puede estar las 8 horas jueceando, pero al final, el cuerpo te pedira un poco de reposo y comida. Asi que no le quites importancia a tu break.

Finalmente, un punto que debes tener claro, desde el momento que te pones la camisa, debes tratar de cambiar el chip de jugador a juez (es dificil lo sé). Pero debemos tratar, de la mejor manera posible, ver el juego, y las jugadas como un juez. Por otro lado, debes estar seguro de tus respuestas, decir \"asi es\" y no \"creo que es asi/se supone que es asi\". Buen trabajo!

Julian was a L1 judge many years before Judge Academy. He worked in many store events with me at that moment. Now he wants to re-certificate. He was a skilled judge, he knows about rules and he has been practicing to became a judge again. I recomend him for L1.

Since working with Jill, we have judged 4 competitive events together, as well as a RCQ on Saturday, July 2nd 2022. Jill has impressed me with her eagerness to have worked very hard to understand the IPG and handle various judge calls. I believe Jill will make an excellent L2. It\'s time to spread the wings and fly!

Bonjour David,

To summarize our post-event conversation from the Topdeck Hero RCQ, the next step in your studies is to review the advanced comprehensive rules.  While all the sections are important, we strongly recommend you focus on the interaction of continuous effects a.k.a. layers (CR 613).  While much of these advanced rules may not apply in the Pioneer nor Modern format, we are very likely to see them pop up in commander games.

As a level 1 judge, we encourage you to be involved with helping to run local prereleases.  With more and more new players coming into organized play, prereleases will keep getting larger and thus require more management.  If you would like help from a level 2 judge for talking to a tournament organizer to request if they want assistance at their next prerelease, we are here for you 🙂

Enjoy yourself.  You did a great job at the RCQ.  We are all looking forward to working with you again!

Cheers,

Eric P.

After talking with Cody and interacting with him on Discord and in 2 online conferences, I feel comfortable endorsing him.

We had a great discussion about both rules and policy, and Ethan displayed a go-getter attitude that\'s much appreciated in the judging community and the rules know-how to go along with it. As of this review, he hadn\'t taken a deep dive into the Layer system beyond Layer 7, which is understandable, but I recommend that\'s a good first step after completing L1. I\'m confident that Ethan will be an excellent judge for his local game store and look forward to seeing where his judging career leads. 

AJ has been a dedicated employee at Cardboard Castle for quite a while, and I have seen him develop at running events for several years. This is honestly long over due. I can attest to personally seeing him properly run store level events, and his co workers also endorse his abilities. AJ will be a fine L1, and exactly what Augusta needs.

I\'ve only known Mitchell for about a month, but during that time I\'ve had the pleasure of mentoring, judging with, and getting to know him. He has a solid understanding of Magic, and is always looking to learn and improve. He\'s also very personable and friendly with store staff and players, working to ensure that everyone has the best experience possible. 

In a relatively short period of time, Mitchell has fully committed himself to becoming a Magic judge. He\'s built a great foundation on which to continue learning, building, and becoming better and better as time goes on. He has the self-awareness to recognize his strengths and weaknesses, takes mentorship and feedback well, and learns from his experiences. The enthusiasm Mitchell shows for playing and judging Magic is wonderful to see, and I\'m happy to endorse him. I believe he\'s already a good judge, and he\'ll only continue to grow and improve over time.

Sam has been mentored by Ed Mitchell of New Wave Comics in Pennsylvania. When he reached out to me, I was immediately impressed by his knowledge and grasp of the basics.

We covered two general questions about events. The first, a matter that I bring up regularly now is what to do when players call to say they are going to be late to an event (borrowed from BPrill). The other was the basic mechanics of taking a call, inasmuch as can be answered virtually without physical demonstrations.

For the event question, Sam answered decisively and overall correctly. He didn\'t ask questions initially, but through conversation I showed him a few matters he should consider in the given situation. He pivoted well and we had a productive discussion that I feel will lead to him being more aware of what will and won\'t be important to consider. For the basic mechanics of a call, he gave a good overview of what he\'d do. I liked his observation about pulling a player from the table if he thought it necessary. We broke down the steps a little bit more and I gave him the tools to understand there are things that happen \'Pre-Call\', \'Call\', and \'Fix\'. He asked a couple of astute follow-up questions, one of which in particular allowed me to point to the importance of delivering the fix and not waffling in the face of questioning players (while still giving them the ability to appeal or for him to go back and do some more research on his own after the call).

I feel Sam will be an asset to the program and he should test as soon as he feels comfortable doing so.

I am ever-learning and forever understanding the world of MTG rules. I\'m an avid player and am actively wanting to become a judge so that I may be a local resource to my MTG community. I hope to bring more to this welcoming hobby.

Harry is an admirer of Magic the Gathering, actively playing multiple formats and eager to learn more and more about the game\'s rules, while engaging in a very positive way with his local community in Larissa. I\'m very happy to endorse him as a level 1 judge, and can\'t wait to judge with him at upcoming events!

Tengo poco de Conocer a Edgar, pero me a parecido una persona respetuosa, centrada, y con muchas ganas de trabajar para mejorar su comunidad y preguntando localmente, e escuchado muchas cosas buenas.

Espero este sea el inicio de una larga carrera como juez, y que consigas cumplir los objetivos que te plantes.

Takeda-san works for HARERUYA TC Tokyo for a long enough in good standing.

Chase would make an amazing judge. In working with him, he has showcased not just an excellent knowledge of the rules for an L1, but has asked questions related to the rules that are beyond the scope of L1 knowledge. Chase also has a love of magic in several formats and a background of teaching that will make connecting with players and taking calls at events a breeze for him. I recommend Chase Finley for L1.

I met Saul by trading some cards, and then I notice he was living in the same city as me. When I talk with him, I realized that his interest to become judge is to understand on a better way and improve his skills on the game, and at the same time, to be a reference to help his friends with questions and confused situations. No problem for me to help him to reach this goal.

I had the pleasure of knowing Amir a couple of years ago when I visited Valkiria Hobbies in Chiriqui.  He had been running events there not just for MTG, but for many other games as well.  It could be clearly seen that the community trusted and respected him completely.   Back then his brother was a certified MTG judge so I think that held him back a little.  I\'m glad he decided to move forward and take the jump himself.  Chiriqui can always need more judges, more with the return of Premium events, and him joining would certainly be a strong and welcomed event.  I can see him aiming higher in the program, so I\'m excited to see him and the community grow because of it.

Dylan is the owner of a WPN premium store has has done admirable work as both a judge and TO for many years. I trust that this will continue and improve as a certified Judge Academy member.

Kainalu has demonstrated the knowledge and soft skills that are necessary to become a judge. I believe he will make a great addition to the community.

I\'ve been playing since 1997 and have always enjoyed helping other players. About a decade ago I tried to get L1 to help out my LGS where I was stationed but the military had other plans for me 🤣. Fast forward to today I finally have the time to re-engage this and have been the magic guy for the last 2 years (until recently, had to step away due to transfer, but that fell thru and I\'m back in the shop as the secondary) out my current LGS. Really hoping to finish up the L1 and be able to officaly run things and help others out.

Shon and I have been running Magic the Gathering at our LGS for about 2 years together. Shon is knowledgeable and always looking to engage players and keep the fun going.

Gustav and me have judged Lincon during Ascension weekend along with multiple judges. This was the first event I judged with him. But he did a great job and have judged multiple competitive events before this event.

• Do you recommend the evaluated subject is tested for Level 2 based on your interaction with them at this event?

   Yes, I recommend he is tested for Level 2.

• Do you believe the evaluated subject will do a decent job at an average Regional Championship Qualifier?

   Yes, I believe he\'ll do a great job.

Judging and taking calls

Strengths: Your rules knowledge is amazing, both policy and the rules part. When unsure about an interaction, nothing\'s going to stop you to look after the answer. The way took call looks very proffesional. When handling tasks during the second day. You took responsibility that things are made and also checked so everything was running smoothly. You also checks with how everyone\'s doing, which is something I and also a lot of judges like, since we easy forget we\'re also humans and need to take breaks when judging long shifts.

Areas of improvements: This is a very common one. When unsure, you check with other judges. Which is correct. But you also mentioned when there\'s someone to double-check with, you also do it more often. This is seldom bad for the players. But don\'t get too comfortable with it, since it can hurt your confidence. But never stop to double-check, since it is useful.

After talking with Sergio and interacting with him on Discord, I feel comfortable endorsing him.

Ben has demonstrated the knowledge and soft skills necessary to be a fantastic judge. He is very personable and is passionate about the rules of the game. I believe he will make a fantastic addition to the judging community!

Cody has been an impressive judge candidate to work with. The first time he worked with me on an event, we had a player accidentally shuffle their hand into their library; Cody calmly and correctly handled the situation, helping both the player and their opponent understand what was going on and how best to fix things. This was done with a level of competency that I expect of well-seasoned judges; seeing it out of someone at their first event was impressive, to say the least. Cody has been actively seeking out scenarios and situations that they can use to improve their rules knowledge, as well as excited to get experience running events as well.

I\'m incredibly happy to endorse Cody for L1 certification. The only area for improvement that I see in him is with delivering announcements during events; but that\'s something that always improves over time, and as you get more familiar with the specifics of different formats (Cody and I worked together on limited events, whereas Cody has far more experience with constructed events).

Cody, I\'m glad to be able to recommend you for L1. When I first met you, I asked you why you wanted to become a judge, and you gave me one of the best answers I\'ve ever gotten - \"because I love the game and want to build a welcoming and safe environment for players\". May your love for the game spread to others, and may you help keep the game a welcoming and safe place for all who wish to come.

Nick has been an active member of the Alpha Omega Hobby (Quincy, MA) Magic community for several years, including hosting weekly Casual REL Modern events and serving as an L0 Judge for FNM booster drafts. 

I have observed Nick working with players of all skill levels and Nick has demonstrated excellent interpersonal skills and knowledge of the JAR. Nick is familiar with the rules of the game and has shown an enthusiasm towards developing as a Judge. 

I believe Nick is a strong candidate for L1 and has a lot to offer the Judge program and the Magic Community.

-Kenny Dungar, L2

Welcome back to Magic, good luck for your future activity as level 1 judge!

Josh is a great asset to his community and does whatever he can to ensure that his players feel welcome and have a great time at his events. I firmly believe he\'s ready to take the step to L1, and I\'m excited to see where he goes from here.

Earlier this year, Kayla reached out to be mentored in order to be an L2.  Especially with the path to the protour returning, there were once again solid reasons to seek the endorsement.  Kayla has demonstrated leadership by organizing conferences attached to the NRG series.  And, she also shows the personal responsibility that is only demonstrated when it comes with a cost.  Specifically, our Comp REL event that was to be together was stopped because she took a home test that showed positive for Covid 19.  Passing on that event, I did connect with L3 John Alderfer who confirmed Kayla worked a comp rel event with him to satisfaction.  Kayla brings a potent style to judging that fits with our current and growing sense of MTG/Judge culture.  Finally, Kayla has also shown the resourcefulness that speaks to her ability to run a small COMP rel event.  I\'ve seen her handle tech issues, last minute staff changes, and to stand tall in the face of enormous social pressures.  Kayla can work on program features and relationship.  There was an incident of failing to recognize a prominent L3 was L3.  Provided she passes the L2 test, I believe she ought to be elevated to the corresponding level.  

I have personally known Andy for somewhere in the 7-8 year neighborhood. He has always been a champion for the game of Magic and he and I have been on many trips to competitive level magic events. He\'s a very intelligent and thoughtful person and has the skills and knowledge to come to correct conclusions. I believe he will be a fantastic addition to the judge community and is able to offer much in that regard. I look forward to seeing him at conferences and local events!

I endorse Denis as a level 1 judge candidate.

After talking with Corentin, interacting with him on Discord, and going over his L1 practice test with him, I feel comfortable endorsing him.