Howdy all. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Chris Richter and I'm a level 3 judge from Madison, WI, home of beer, cheese, The Onion, Bob Maher, Adrian Sullivan and the 'the best limited jank'. As Sheldon pointed out a few weeks ago in his 2004 US Nationals tournament report I'm a new level 3, in fact I still have that new judge smell.* But don't worry, I think I can handle this. Sheldon wouldn't let just any of his barns guest write his column while he's off at PT Seattle.

So here we go, on to the first question...A: My opponent controls a Humility and I play a Volraths' Shapeshifter with a Phyrexian Dreadnought as the top card in my graveyard......

Huh? What's a 'Feature Friday?' OK, so should I talk about the rules as opposed to just answering questions about them? What do you mean it's not necessarily about the rules? You do realize that I'm a judge and all that entails is knowing the rules, right?

To anyone who has spent anytime actually judging an event they know the answer to this last question is an emphatic no. The actual amount of time spent by judges on rules 'related program activities' during any event is actually very small. Most judges will tell you that they are more likely to hear the question ' Where is the bathroom?' as opposed to ''Can I play Misdirection and target the Coercion that is targeting me?'**

I tend to think of a judge's rules knowledge to be like a police officer's gun. It's there but not really used that often, or at least as often as is commonly perceived. However everyone knows it's there and that alone helps keep the peace. Occasionally it has to be brandished, and you do need to make sure its in working condition for when you do have to use it. But for the most part the judge / cop just strolls around providing an official presence, sometimes helping people, and occasionally telling some teens to move along.

So what it is it that we do it if we are not just focused on the game rules? Most tournament regulars probably have some idea. Once you play for a while you get to know various judges and you will occasionally get a good inside view of things. But it's always surprising when I learn what some of the perceptions of what we do. Or when a player assumes that judge duties are limited to only a few certain areas. Not that I intend to brag about how great judges are or how much we do. But just as it is beneficial for judges to play in events to learn what it is like to play competitively, I think it will help players if they knew what being a judge entails.

To do this I'm going to take a look at some of the things judges do by continuing to compare judge duties to other occupations. Consider it a 'Who are the People in Your Neighborhood,' with respects to judging.*** Now there are a lot of roles that judges do fill, but today I'm going to focus on just three; Garbage Man, Enforcer, and Actor.

Garbage Man

I think that this is one of the tasks that new judge-lings are most surprised by. They come in all excited about being the lawman and end up spending a lot of time picking up trash. Even players who have plenty of tournament experience might not notice the effort that judges put into keeping the tournament area clean. So often players are focused on the draft, deck building or playing the game that they don't notice the black and white stripes come up behind them to pick up the booster wrapper, ripped sleeve or used piece of score-keeping paper. I have a couple of pair of black cargo pants that I wear only for judging. The lower left pocket is the trash pocket and it is filled and emptied several time a day when I work, and even more often at limited events

OK, so we keep the tournament area clean. Why? There are two major reasons for this. The first is as a customer service / best appearances reason. For parents, a casual player checking to see what an event is like or random spectator that walks by it obviously gives a much better impression to see a somewhat clean space, as opposed to the messy areas that players would usually allow the tables and floor to degenerate into. (And I don't mean to give the impression that I think all players are slobs. A lot of players just become so focused on the game that they do not notice the trash that builds up around them.)

The second reason judges make every effort to keep trash off the floor and tables is because this trash can actually get in the way of playing a game. I've seen or heard of booster drafts where individual cards, or even entire packs get lost underneath the pile of booster wrappers in the center of the table. Or, occasionally a player may misplace a card or one will fall on the floor. It's a lot easier to notice when a card has accidentally fallen, or to find a missing card if it is visible and not lost amongst scattered remains. Think of it as preventative medicine; by keeping things clean we can avoid potential problems that can be very difficult to correct.

Enforcer

While not exactly a single occupation in real life, this responsibility would most closely resemble an actual judge, parole officer and occasionally executioner all rolled into one. This is when the judge steps in because something is not right, corrects the situation if he/she can, and applies a punitive measure to one or both parties involved. It is this role that sometimes causes players to quake in fear when we approach their table.

Let me start off by saying I see the enforcer as being separate from the role of investigator. Being an enforcer is about taking charge of the situation because there is a problem, where the investigator just wants to figure out what the situation is and find out if there is a problem. (Maybe I'll talk about investigations if I ever get to hijack Sheldon's column again).

Fulfilling these duties can be one of the hardest things to do, regardless of how long you've been a judge. The reason is that the majority of penalties we give out are due to mistakes as opposed to cheating. Dealing with cheating is easy; if you are positive cheating has occurred it's a black and white issue. Correcting mistakes is a much greyer area. Having to tell a young kid who is in one of his first events that he is getting a game or match loss just because he filled out his deck registration sheet incorrectly is not easy or fun. And it really doesn't get any easier when you have to do it at larger more important event like a Pro Tour or Nationals, where everyone playing is far from being a new player. Judges are players too, and we would like nothing more than to have every game, match, and tournament decided by actually playing the game.

I hope I don't have to go into much detail as to why we do give penalties for mistakes. Basically we penalize players for mistakes because these mistakes can often end up benefiting the person who made the mistake. For example, knowing the top card of your library is obviously very advantageous, even if you learn what it is by accidentally bumping the top of your deck. So we correct the mistake by showing this card to your opponent and giving you a warning. Here's another example. Writing just 'Circle of Protection" on your sideboard list gives you the opportunity to change which COP you are using depending on an individual opponent or what the tournament field is like. Odds are this is just a mistake and this player probably meant COP: Red, as that's the only one that is played on a regular basis. But we don't know that for sure so we must step in, find out what exactly is in this player's sideboard and give the recommended game loss. If we didn't give penalties for mistakes then some players would cheat to gain advantage and defend themselves by claiming that it was just a mistake.

One of the reasons that giving penalties for mistakes is difficult is that the end result is often a confused and / or upset player. When told that these penalties are given in part to prevent people from cheating, most players will react defensively and state that they are not cheating. When I usually tell them that I believe them, but must give the penalty anyway they sometimes get more confused and / or upset. Generally if I have the time I will then give them a more detailed description of why the penalties are the way they are.

While I may sympathize with the players that I am penalizing, I have to do it in a calm and unemotional manner. Occasionally I may express sympathy, but I have to make sure that doesn't get in the way with doing what I have to. Learning how to do what needs to be done and not let your personal feelings or mood get involved leads to the next judge occupation, acting.

Actor

Acting is basically pretending to be someone else and filling a role (and this article has been about nothing else but the various roles judges do fill). While most players do not realize it, and I'd bet that many judges don't either, judging an event is a performance. It's not exactly reciting poetry or putting on a short play. It's more akin to the performance given by a master of ceremonies.

Now an MC's job falls down to two main responsibilities; make the event / roast / award ceremony run smoothly and to make everyone involved happy, especially when the event is not running smoothly. The first part is what judges do anyway, we run the event and want it to go and quickly and easily as possible. The second part can be a bit more difficult

When I think of a judge controlling the mood and making players happy I think of the instructions head judge Mike Guptil gave the staff at US Nationals this year. He told us to have fun. His reasoning was that if we were having a good time and were energetic and excited about our job as judges then this would carry over to the players. And he was right. I've noticed that when a judge is surly or upset the players and other judges react to that and respond in a negative manner. Conversely a judge that is cheerful will be more likely to be thanked by players, even those he is forced to give penalties to.

Sometimes it's really hard to be in a good mood, and that's where the acting comes in. Here's an example of judge / TO Steve Port who pretty much faked a good mood, or at least faked one until it actually became one. It was the first day of a prerelease and the venue had much to be desired. Steve was told that the place was an 'unfinished retail space.' As I recall this space was found by a game storeowner who told him that it would be suitable for a tournament. (I also seem to remember that arranging for the space was almost a last minute deal as he was having great difficulty finding a space large enough to hold a prerelease this time around). Anyway the store ending up being unfinished in the way that a field is an unfinished parking lot. The walls were completely unfinished, the rafters were bare and the floor was bare concrete with piping sticking out in a few places. It was poorly lit, had terrible tables to play on and the bathroom wasn't even directly connected. To go to the restroom you had to leave the building and reenter at the back. Oh yeah, and it was raining. But you'd never know that by Steve's attitude. If you talked to him you would hear his measured and fairly upbeat description of the place as 'sub-optimal.' I saw an incredible performance that day where he decided to crank up his exuberance in order to compensate for the environment. There were still complaints about the location, but even more compliments on how we managed to run a good event even with the poor surroundings.

You don't need to be a good actor to be a good MC. It doesn't take that much of a range of emotional control; you just have to be positive and energetic. That's way I'm comparing judging to acting as opposed to just being an MC. Judging takes a bit more expression than just being in a good mood or faking one. Sometimes you have to call up other emotions on cue or repress your emotions altogether. Let me give two more examples.

Once I had a player who was borderline unsporting during an event. In an early round he was given a warning by another judge for his behavior. Towards the end of the day he became upset by a ruling I gave and started grumbling about it under his breath, but still audibly, when I turned my back. Now I really don't let stuff like this bother me on a personal level. This player was upset, and vocalizing it. I'm much more likely to be affected by constructive criticism from someone I respect as opposed to vague comments from someone who can't even approach me.

So anyway, here was someone whom was either trying to vent or get a reaction from me. And even though it didn't bother me, I couldn't let it slide because he made this comment publicly. So I had to become angry, not raving mad, but sufficiently angry. In gruff voice I reminded him of his previous warning for unsporting conduct and told him that he was heading for another one. I then asked him if there was anything he would like to discuss regarding the situation. He said no. As I said I wasn't really angry on a personal level, but I had to become angry in order to show this person and the other players around what would or would not be tolerated.

Now that was an example of using my emotions and acting to judge effectively. What happens more often is that you have to repress your emotions in order to take a step back and distance yourself from the situation. There really is not much to say here other then point out an article on the subject by a Mike Bahr on the judge's web pages called 'Being the Iceman'. The article is basically about how to steel yourself and remain aloof even when the players you are dealing with are upset or angry. (If you are a judge or interested in becoming one I suggest you read it).

Whew, there you have it the breakdown of just three of the roles that judges fill. And I didn't even cover when we are IT technicians, investigators, coaches / role models, managers, teachers and cocktail waitresses. Ok so we're never really cocktail waitresses, but I know Sheldon would make a really great head judge / sommelier at a tournament / wine tasting. (If I can only get the DCI recognize that as a sanction-able event). Speaking of Sheldon, I'm sure he's in Seattle right now feeling a great disturbance in the force over my prattling on too long in his column, so I guess that's it for now. Maybe I'll be able to continue this discussion of the various roles judges fill the next time Sheldon is too lazy unavailable. See ya, and remember to have fun.

-Chris

------------------

Christopher Richter

aka kriz_riktr

DCI Level III Judge

Moderator MTGNews.com

*In that article Sheldon pointed out that I became the head judge of a Grinder that I didn't expect to. I knew I was going to run one, however it was earlier than it should have been. The true kudos should go to Mike Goodman, who ran the Grinder I was supposed to but couldn't because I was running this other one. Mike had no idea he would be a head judge that day and did a great job with zero prep time.

**Answer: Yes you can play Misdirection and target the Duress. But assuming this is a two-player game when the Misdirection resolves you can't change the target of the Coercion as it specifically states target opponent, and you are the only legal target for this Coercion. Ha, I got one rules question and answer in!

*** Can you tell I have twin 5-year-old daughters at home?