This is not even an accurate title. This is my report as head judge for the Saturday event, but i didn't want to clutter the title.

Pre-Event
Thanks to my continued involvement with Regional-level WoW judging, I received an invitation to head judge the Los Angeles Mega-Weekend Silver Age event. Part of the challenge of putting on events like Mega-Weekend is that it's been so long since there's been high-level Vs. play in our area. There simply aren't that many folks who are capable, willing, and available to volunteer for the weekend. Unfortunately for me, all but one of the regular judges from the PCQ days had opted to play.

Erick Reyes served as TO for the entire weekend, and Chris Wong, the PTO himself, served as scorekeeper. I've worked with Chris and Erick for my entire judging career, besides PC and Worlds-level events. Erick needs no introduction, being one of the most enthusiastic boosters of the game on Vsrealms and in the TO community. Even at Worlds, Chris makes the heads-up plays that keep judges alive and events running-- as scorekeeper at sides, he ordered pizza for the ENTIRE judge staff after a grueling 15-hour day, ensuring that each of us could go home to crash instead of wandering the streets of San Diego in search of late-night food. Though the other PTO's putting on Mega-Weekends may be as good, i can't imagine you'll find better than Chris and Erick.

With staff like that, an event doesn't need a ton of judges, but there should still be 1 judge for every 32 players. Reyes put out the call for floor judges to some of the folks who had done work locally, and we got together a great staff of 5 folks with complementary skill sets. Unfortunately, a sequence of unfortunate events knocked out our staff-- one judge called in on account of laziness, his alternate had to work on Saturday, my brother (who had flown down from San Jose on his own dime to volunteer) fell to the flu, and another had to meet the parents for Chinese New Year.

We ended up going into Saturday with myself and two floor judges, Omar and Erik. I won't say more about their overall preparedness beyond noting that it had been a LONG time since any of us had judged a high-level event. They served above and beyond the call of duty, and all the participants of the Mega-Weekend owe them a debt of gratitude. At 105 players, we were short-staffed, and they handled extra responsibilities and work with aplomb.

I spent Friday night having dinner with my family and preparing my head judge notes. I find this practice incredibly helpful for making sure i don't miss any announcements, communications with the staff, and verify that my philosophical mission statement is clear for the event. I always use a wiki, so i have a change history of my notations and preparation as i go from event to event. In the spirit of sharing information, the wiki page is here:
http://wiki.vs.chimpshack.org/index....ad_Judge_Notes
(Please make your own copy and make sure it matches your own event's philosophies and policies before using it!)

Working a large event involves getting up early. Real early. I woke up at 6:45 to shower, throw a few clothes in a duffel bag, and get to the Marshall Reddick Center shortly after 8. I brought my awesome Aussie hat which i'd acquired in Melbourne, because one of my local players promised me a standing ovation if i judged wearing the hat on Saturday to signify my "head judge" status. (Alas. I lost the hat at the Center. If you picked it up, drop me a line-- i'll pay to get it shipped back to me, as it has tremendous sentimental value for me.)

We had a busy morning with the usual pre-event work, which kept us busy all the way up 'til 10. Probably of most interest to non-judges is the "secret" judge meeting noted in the photo coverage. The head judge has a responsibility to both gather and disseminate information to the judge staff. In this case, we covered a few issues:
- Judging philosophy and customer service
- Educating players on HOW the game engine works without giving strategic advice
- Limiting bystander interaction with matches
- Judge confidence and authority-- how do you communicate to players that you are "the authority" for the match, and prevent them from bickering or turning a rules dispute into something nastier?
Rules
- "If you recruited" super-Legends (Wolverine/7, Juggernaut/7, etc.) and Mystique-- these don't trigger if you only recruited Mystique (and not any other copies of that character)
- Bizarro World - power-ups (work), uniqueness (doesn't happen), Family of Four (only worth +1/+1)
- Only Human, Mr. Sinister vs. triggered effects at the start of the combat phase. Vs. stunned characters' rules text (eg., Ahmed Samsarra).
- Characters refer to objects in play with ATK, DEF, etc. Character cards refer to the cards with red or black borders which are in any zone other than in-play-- the resource row, hand, removed from game, deck, or KO'd pile.
- Hats and clouds. [For a good explanation of this, check out The Ring Has Chosen Episode #41] The canonical example is playing At Their Finest, letting it resolve, and then searching up a copy of Superman or Batman and then recruiting it. The new Superman will still get the +2/+2 from ATF.

Event start
Numerous interesting rulings came up throughout the weekend that i had not anticipated during our judge meeting. As noted before, the judges always, always read the card, and if necessary, pull up the Official Card Reference before making a ruling. You can look at these rulings all you like, but the way to really UNDERSTAND them is to read the cards and understand how they interact with the rules engine.
1. Change of control and Ahmed Samsarra. If Ahmed is KO'd while under someone else's control, the "lose the game" effect applies to his last controller, not his owner. (even though he goes to his owner's KO'd pile)
2. Q: Why does Monster Island not negate an effect after it's been targeted, the way BPRD Signal Device does?
A: Monster Island creates a modifier on a PLAYER, rather than an in-game object. As a result, it does not make targets "illegal", but restricts what a player can or can not do-- ie., putting effects on the chain. If the effects are already on the chain, they exist independently of their source, and thus, will NOT be negated on resolution. You can not meaningfully flip Monster Island in response to a plot twist being put on the chain to negate it.
3. a.) Pathetic Attempt vs. Pathetic Attempt - doesn't work!
b.) Pathetic Attempt vs. Flying Kick - doesn't work!
c.) Pathetic Attempt vs. All Too Easy - WORKS! (read All Too Easy carefully!)
4. Mimic/6, Exile, and Wolverine/7, Bloodlust. Mimic copies Wolverine's abilities, and you haven't previously recruited a Wolverine. Assuming Wolverine/7 was recruited normally, you may use the payment power as Mimic. The wording "another Wolverine" is not replaced by "another Mimic". The other instances of "Wolverine" in the rules text ARE replaced with "Mimic".
5. Ultimate Nullifer-- this card works on anything that says "when" or "whenever" as long as the effect is controlled by your opponent.
6. Galactus planets-- since these are not "game cards" and are not generated by an "opposing" player, triggered effects printed on the planets are not targetable by the Ultimate Nullifer. This was a judgment call on my part.
7. Galactus's 3 printed payment powers-- these ARE payment powers, so they can be cancelled by Batman/6. Some have argued that the Coming of Galactus rules state the "Alliance players can not interact with Galactus in any way", but interacting with payment powers is not a subset of interacting with Galactus. Again, a judgment call on my part.
8. Punisher, Guns Blazing can be equipped with a Desert Eagle when there is a Desert Eagle and another (non-Desert Eagle) piece of equipment already attached to him. (bringing the total to 3) This is in the FAQ, i just blew the ruling, and thought it was worth repeating. Fortunately, this was on Sunday, and the floor judge who called me over for the consult looked me in the eye, and asked, "Are you sure? I thought i read something..." and all the appropriate bells went off. He stopped the game, we looked up the ruling, and we got it corrected before any permanent damage was done.

Deck checks
We ran deck checks through most of the rounds of the Silver event. Being slightly understaffed, we did not check as many decks as we would have liked. We still gave out numerous game losses for illegal deck, illegal decklist (less than 60 cards), or decklist not matching deck. Basically, if we catch the error before you do, the standard penalty is a game loss, which translates to a match loss in Vs. System play.

We always deck check top 8. Verify your deck after each match with a pile-shuffle count, and you'll be in good shape.

Running Events
Running multiple events is extremely complicated. Judges now need to keep track of two separate sets of clocks, groups of tables to watch at the end of time, and judge calls from all sides of the room. Integrity of the super-crossover sealed was important, too-- making sure that players register the cards they open, and play with the cards which are registered, is a substantial challenge. Our goal was to get rounds turned around on time. Although the Super-Crossover event consisted almost entirely of people who had played in the Silver Age tournament, the overhead of managing two simultaneous tournaments was a geometric increase in complexity. All of the critical judging errors that i saw or heard about were at the end of the day-- when judges were tired, stretched thin, and being asked to cover the entire floor.

Care and feeding of judges
Some people are curious about the compensation that judges receive for their hard work. I'm going to leave you curious, but i assure you that judges (even head judges) receive something along the lines of minimum wage for the number of hours they put into preparing for the event, staying current with rulings, and the long days. For this event, because of the shortage of Marvel Legends and DC Legends product, the judges deferred their product compensation to make sure the players, had sufficient product to prize out and run ALL the events. Thank you, judges! =)

Chris did put the two of us who worked both days up in a nice suite up the road, saving us considerable driving and wear and tear, as well as feeding us all generously throughout the weekend. It's a significant sacrifice on the part of judges who give up their weekend (i missed my cousin's engagement party, Chinese New Year celebrations, and Sunday worship at my church), so the gesture was most appreciated. (Again, calling out the other PTO's who are putting on a Mega-Weekend event!)

He also made SURE that i was off the floor and eating during the noontime hour. It's easy to get caught up in things, or to be a head judge martyr, and make sure EVERYONE on staff has eaten before you do. This is not the right thing to do. The head judge, like everyone else, is mortal, and will make more mistakes when he or she is low on blood sugar, hungry, or dehydrated.

I had to leave early on Sunday, so my regrets to everyone i didn't get a chance to say good-bye and thanks to. I just want to shower some praise: Alex Bykov is a superior judge, and his role as head judge on Sunday was executed to a T. We sometimes give him a hard time, but i'll be the first to share that his promotion to head judge on Sunday was in no way connected to my early departure. It was an opportunity for him to grow in experience and knowledge, and he acquitted himself admirably.

Surviving and prospering at an event
- Fill out your decklist the night before. Print legibly, or, if the site allows it, turn in a pre-printed decklist. (just make sure it has your name and UDE number on it!)
- If you don't have all the cards for your decklist, don't write them down until you get them. Count your deck. Total your decklist. These are two SEPARATE activities, and they should arrive at the same number of cards.
- Call a judge. If you have a misunderstanding between yourself and your opponent about the game state (whether or not someone passed), how cards work, or what endurance totals are, call a judge.
- The correct way to call a judge is to hold up your, yell "judge!", and keep your hand up until a judge makes eye contact with you. If you don't see a judge starting to make his or her way over, yell "judge" again, and keep that hand up.
- Appeal. If you receive a ruling which you think MIGHT be wrong, appeal. Erick correctly notes that a player can never say, "Your floor judge cost me that match." Perhaps that player will be saying "The head judge cost me that match," but we endeavor to prevent that scenario under all circumstances.
- Bring food. If you are doing well in an event, you may find it nearly impossible to get food, especially if the only food available is off-site. It's a sad day when your best shot to eat hinges on one your buddies scrubbing out of the event.

Quotable Quotes
PTO A: "What do you want to eat from Panda Express?"
Judge B: "I'm Chinese, Chris. I've never been inside a Panda Express."

Player A: "I... i don't know what to do! I think he's got me, guys."
Bystander B: "You just lost to Ben Seck."
TBS: "Embarrassing."

Player A: "Merlyn IS the MVP of my deck!"
Judge B: "Can you imagine? Merlyn wasn't even the 2nd-best card in the Titans deck."

Player A: "I Skree Jem, does that resolve?"
Opponent B: "It's hella gay, but yeah it resolves."

TBZ: "I just dropped the elbow!"

TBZ: "Galactus is sleepy. Come back tomorrow."

"Do any of you guys want Chipotle?"

Closing Thoughts
I hope this gives the reader some insight into what goes into the process of judging from a judge's perspective. It is by no means complete, or authoritative, but i trust that it's of interest if you made it this far.

Philosophically, the key to good judgecraft, even above rules knowledge, is proper player management. By listening carefully, reading the cards, and understanding how to consistently and correctly apply UDE's tournament guidelines, judges can help make for an extremely positive player experience at events like this. I truly enjoy interacting with players and helping them to a higher level of understanding of the game, the tournament, and why we do the things we do... but ultimately, my job is to get out of the way and let you all play.

Thanks once again to everyone who came out to Mega-Weekend LA and made it the tremendous success that it was.

that is a beast of a report.

Player A: "I Skree Jem, does that resolve?"
Opponent B: "It's hella gay, but yeah it resolves."


I lol'd at this one: Who said it!

Eric you did a great job thanks for being the judge for Erick

Now I wish I'd had the ability to come out and judge. I miss the high level competition from the panda side.

wow and i thought you just walked around and said "yeah sure why not" all day
All kidding aside I have been to several different card game events and you did an awesome job professionally answering mundane, bizarre, complicated, and even WTF questions.

Wow... HJ report?

Is the pre/post tournament information getting better or what?

_Now_ I know why people thought you could negate Galactus on Sunday. I disagree with your call... I believe I read somewhere that you cannot interact with him OR his effects. That would be too good for the players no? Especially if the Alliance just packed Pathetics? But that's okay, Saturday was Negate Galactus Day... and Sunday was Galactus Pwns Day.

Are you SURE you can't Pathetic Attempt a Flying Kick? Seems like if my opponent played a Flying Kick targeting my own character I ought to be able to stop it (though I might not WANT to...).

Just wanted to be clear.

if it targets a card you control you can PA it.

Can't I play my own PA to stop my own Flying Kick, though? Supposing i just wanted to get cards out of my hand.

Great report (i wish i could write like that) thanks for the positive feedback its nice to hear it once in a while.
You did a great job saturday, and although i had 1 more judge sunday i know how hard and exhausting it is to track multiple events as well as the other judges.

I agree that galactus's powers can be negated by batman because he can negate any payment powers and the rules say you only can't interact with galactus.
i dont really understand the ultimate nullifer question thou.

Ultimate Nullifier vs any of the Planets that generate a triggered effect.

It has also been clarified by Paul Ross that Planet effects cannot be modified.

This is the same reasoning why Galactus' effects should be untouchable.

You guys need to understand the spirit/intent of the Giant-Sized concept... you can already play any deck you want and are crossed over... how many more advantages do you want?

The ability to play proxy cards