Judge Academy is proud to be a part of a judge’s journey to becoming a certified Magic: The Gathering Judge. We have designed a curriculum to help develop their game knowledge, tournament familiarity, and interpersonal skills – all things that combine to form an effective judge and community leader.

There are four levels of Magic certification, each designed to allow judges to follow their passions in the Magic community:

Rules Advisor

The Rules Advisor certification allows for a player to set themselves apart in their communities with a heightened understanding of Magic rules and interactions. This certification is perfect for a individual who wants to offer additional assistance in resolving complicated game situations or answers rules related questions from other players.

Level 1

A Level 1 judge has demonstrated sufficient knowledge of the Comprehensive Rules, as well as the Customer Service and Regular REL policies to run a small store-level event such as an FNM or Prerelease. They are trained in the basics of fostering a positive and welcoming environment, as well as many other community building skills that make them a great asset to stores that work with Judges, whether employed or contracted.

Level 1 judges are not tested on more complex sections of the rules, or on Competitive REL policies. Some Level 1 judges may be capable of floor judging a Competitive REL event unsupervised, but this is not a default expectation of the role.

Level 2

A Level 2 judge has been certified to run events at Competitive REL. They are responsible for most in-store Competitive REL events, and represent the bulk of judges on the floor of a Grand Prix and other large-scale tournaments.

The requirements for this level reflect the expectation of greater diplomacy and involvement for someone who will often be moving from location to location, judging for multiple Tournament Organizers and sharing their knowledge of rules and tournament practices with other judges.

Level 3

Premier judges are experts in the field and the leaders of Premier Organized Play. They are the leaders on the floor of large Competitive and Professional events, run many other Premier Events, and share their expertise and knowledge with other judges. They are involved with the global Judge Program and you will often see them participating in and/or leading program projects.

Becoming Level 3 is a demanding process that requires the candidate to demonstrate exceptional commitment, skill, knowledge, and diplomacy. It is a substantial achievement and the highest recognized level of judge.

To see where the certification path can take lead you there is a complete breakdown of the requirements of each level here!