tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38381269182128500782024-03-14T01:31:55.537-07:00Your Mileage May VaryI love Magic: the Gathering, frequent flier programs, and art. I also opine about movies, books, music, and sports.Rikipediahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13298713777587444856noreply@blogger.comBlogger100125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838126918212850078.post-18235355049077584872020-06-27T08:55:00.000-07:002020-06-29T06:14:44.024-07:00Elder Gargaroth is the New Monarch of ReachI'm back to tell you which creatures have reach in Magic Core Set 2021, so that you can avoid the embarrassment of attacking your flying creature into them. Let's start with three simple green creatures.<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMHNzAXTTY_HLwv0rdrjsAHNa5Hf4eML1yxUITo6DBZSbDtwPRG-nLQa_7ZCZsCUTybgj3kzCr5fjtZNEDBcpmtNv6YcLwES5uAFZ_pBapv3jjQy18ZlvVcYCEa8Uh304HzRb-LoYCoyxL/s1600/Skyway+Sniper.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMHNzAXTTY_HLwv0rdrjsAHNa5Hf4eML1yxUITo6DBZSbDtwPRG-nLQa_7ZCZsCUTybgj3kzCr5fjtZNEDBcpmtNv6YcLwES5uAFZ_pBapv3jjQy18ZlvVcYCEa8Uh304HzRb-LoYCoyxL/s200/Skyway+Sniper.jpg" width="144" height="200" data-original-width="672" data-original-height="936" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXS6zigjYdI9f9MKIhn57jtS7B_3i0JC-XXukrEwXkKGQeSzeQ8B0vI980FfCZUE8NaZ_aAtYhKvh2HrrOtwtWTEHFwEnt6c8zRTbzcFmpvoBanuWxmt8anY2y4U5V4jzHlz-J8LgAZUHb/s1600/Snarespinner.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXS6zigjYdI9f9MKIhn57jtS7B_3i0JC-XXukrEwXkKGQeSzeQ8B0vI980FfCZUE8NaZ_aAtYhKvh2HrrOtwtWTEHFwEnt6c8zRTbzcFmpvoBanuWxmt8anY2y4U5V4jzHlz-J8LgAZUHb/s200/Snarespinner.jpg" width="144" height="200" data-original-width="672" data-original-height="936" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvnhPxBB3zQc4_bLeyw279OGFP25aOz8LjXa4zmJ7JzRrm0Pd1tDBA7Knz5BExD-6vte2KS_tUNHYBbRh05QopOxtmriT1NjKFORTub5rJRttcCxOHZs8anisks2cIVdM1cKqn9KoyV5mM/s1600/Sporeweb+Weaver.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvnhPxBB3zQc4_bLeyw279OGFP25aOz8LjXa4zmJ7JzRrm0Pd1tDBA7Knz5BExD-6vte2KS_tUNHYBbRh05QopOxtmriT1NjKFORTub5rJRttcCxOHZs8anisks2cIVdM1cKqn9KoyV5mM/s200/Sporeweb+Weaver.jpg" width="144" height="200" data-original-width="672" data-original-height="936" /></a><br />
<b>Skyway Sniper<br />
Snarespinner<br />
Sporeweb Weaver</b><br />
<b>Rating: 0.0</b><br />
These are the reach creatures we need. They all have higher toughness than power, a classic creature type, and both art and name that are highly suggestive of their anti-air use. While I usually approach this list in color, then alphabetical order, I wanted to start with this trio to emphasize how important all of these flavor hints are as we enter an increasingly digital game where card text is shrunk or absent until you hover. If you are staring at the Skyway Sniper on your opponent’s side of the screen, you can see in the art that they are getting ready to shoot an arrow at that passing Thopter. And spiders are spiders with the added benefit of having web-focused names.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHPPtIUxGd7D0KjGO_-TKe0KF-6NFp5weIiXVP1ToP5RE1nwL6cWh1ky1a-SuIWsBvJzOw3kXP3ry9uFHHp1qTagEkLWhI-B9f6-xS2Hr0405ycu-avH_8l3bH7A3GIk3tUkGJGDciRvKe/s1600/Gnarled+Sage.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHPPtIUxGd7D0KjGO_-TKe0KF-6NFp5weIiXVP1ToP5RE1nwL6cWh1ky1a-SuIWsBvJzOw3kXP3ry9uFHHp1qTagEkLWhI-B9f6-xS2Hr0405ycu-avH_8l3bH7A3GIk3tUkGJGDciRvKe/s200/Gnarled+Sage.jpg" width="144" height="200" data-original-width="672" data-original-height="936" /></a><br />
<b>Gnarled Sage<br />
Rating: 3.0</b><br />
While Gnarled Sage is not the most problematic card on this list, I do need to highlight that this card also exists in the set:<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9UlmeavNNY52_RK6w38sE7-MIq3jGKH6tl5zC23OKVc8GlsC2M72WbDOwoH4vZdWXAVirBBla2gpfwc5nHbX31DeBi5GlDurF_L3Haz-rLxiPPFnGWuG-7Nywv2hbjXC_P_7kUzMKu-hj/s1600/Warden+of+the+Woods.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9UlmeavNNY52_RK6w38sE7-MIq3jGKH6tl5zC23OKVc8GlsC2M72WbDOwoH4vZdWXAVirBBla2gpfwc5nHbX31DeBi5GlDurF_L3Haz-rLxiPPFnGWuG-7Nywv2hbjXC_P_7kUzMKu-hj/s200/Warden+of+the+Woods.jpg" width="144" height="200" data-original-width="672" data-original-height="936" /></a><br />
<br />
Look at these two cards, just the artwork, and tell me which of these is supposed to have reach. Heck, go beyond the art. The latter card is a warden, “a person responsible for the supervision of a particular place or thing or for ensuring that regulations associated with it are obeyed.” The Warden of the Woods does have vigilance, and that ability has been associated with sentries and guardians in the past, and now that I'm thinking about that, I don't know that I understand the flavor there either. What does that have to do with being able to attack and block? You still have to leave your post in order to attack.<br />
<br />
It’s also noteworthy that this is the third treefolk with reach in Magic’s history, and that the previous two were oak trees (per their names, Cloudcrown Oak and Great Oak Guardian). There’s also no consistency in secondary typing with a warrior, druid, and single-typed treefolk. Oak is actually the most common type of tree to be in a card name, and based on my very rudimentary understanding of trees, appears to be the default treefolk in Magic.<br />
<br />
What if they introduced a different type of tree as the treefolk with reach? I would suggest pine trees because they have a distinct look to them, and the flavor could be that they shoot their pine needles as anti-air projectiles akin to arrows. This would lean less on the trope of “tall things have reach,” which doesn’t make much sense when we start comparing treefolk. The other way to go would be redwoods, which are renown as super tall trees.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmG2HMmHbH_Spd1pmSesIWqzwX1RhcQNc7MZ93OqVM1mMCumfwwUg5YGYmHagXDSfkUc3utgkPLuYixo4wCc-R9tEdpi3-nvHQCBcd5nCTpCQR62NpwqNBGYUD3TrDDsJFIIiS4lqRUgiM/s1600/Turret+Ogre21.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmG2HMmHbH_Spd1pmSesIWqzwX1RhcQNc7MZ93OqVM1mMCumfwwUg5YGYmHagXDSfkUc3utgkPLuYixo4wCc-R9tEdpi3-nvHQCBcd5nCTpCQR62NpwqNBGYUD3TrDDsJFIIiS4lqRUgiM/s200/Turret+Ogre21.jpg" width="144" height="200" data-original-width="672" data-original-height="936" /></a><br />
<b>Turret Ogre</b><br />
<b>Rating: 3.0</b><br />
Second time’s the charm? During its first printing in War of the Spark, I rated Turret Ogre a 3.0. There’s only one subtle change this time around, the reminder text on the reach ability itself. While that helps new players understand what the ability does, I think that it is a small hindrance for others as it adds some word soup into the mix, making the ability itself stand out less.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizZ7Vxu7yT5lll_5Tn4pzBSeLaMN-nu3Qey63a-q4WYGG__r3bdmPDJE1J7BDItsKD-trAfrCNkfCKxxdFzxUAU8EjgFlsmC31cgj06UeboQqdzUI2TAl4rdR2rNtKTmYijWEUFo8G4hOi/s1600/Elder+Gargaroth.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizZ7Vxu7yT5lll_5Tn4pzBSeLaMN-nu3Qey63a-q4WYGG__r3bdmPDJE1J7BDItsKD-trAfrCNkfCKxxdFzxUAU8EjgFlsmC31cgj06UeboQqdzUI2TAl4rdR2rNtKTmYijWEUFo8G4hOi/s200/Elder+Gargaroth.jpg" width="144" height="200" data-original-width="672" data-original-height="936" /></a><br />
<b>Elder Gargaroth</b><br />
<b>Rating: 5.0</b><br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Word soup, especially multiple keywords on the same line with reach buried. Even p/t. "Tall" flavor that isn't reflected in the name, and only somewhat reflected in the art. Luckily a mythic rare, but may have Constructed implications. Probably a 4.0 or 4.5 reach ambusher. <a href="https://t.co/ikgyEP7vxw">https://t.co/ikgyEP7vxw</a></p>— Riki Hayashi (@mtgRikipedia) <a href="https://twitter.com/mtgRikipedia/status/1269972170958143488?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 8, 2020</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
<br />
Excuse me?!<br />
<br />
This card is ridiculous. Word soup with multiple keywords on one line, including having vigilance, so this will always be on defense to ambush you.<br />
<br />
And while we’re on those keywords, what’s up with the order that they are printed on the card? I feel like there is some hierarchy of keywords, and this might be something that I spend some more time investigating. Totally get why trample is last. It only matters at the end of combat when it attacks. Basically every other keyword ever printed will be relevant before it. But if we’re talking about relevance of timing, surely reach should precede vigilance. Unless you give this haste through some outside means, Elder Gargaroth is going to be on blocking (and potentially reaching) duty before it goes on the attack and vigilance matters.<br />
<br />
My ratings are made on a combination of how likely a creature is to reach ambush based on its flavor and art, and how punishing it is for said ambush to happen. With a 6/6 body, Elder Gargaroth is going to eat your flyer, and that’s plenty punishing enough to warrant a high rating, a 4.0 or 4.5 as I initially Tweeted, but what puts this card over the top is the triggered ability, which yes, triggers on attacking and blocking, something that I actually missed upon my first look.<br />
<br />
Not only will Gargaroth eat an attacker, it will also generate an extra card’s worth of value in the deal. The old two-for-nothing. I’m stunned that I started writing these pieces because of Shifting Ceratops one year ago, and I thought that was one of the worst cases of this phenomenon ever. From the ambush side of things, it still might be because the reach is buried in an activated ability. But Gargaroth is now the top… elephant(?) for the maximum punishment it inflicts if you do fly into it. People talk a lot about power creep for things like Planeswalkers. I just never thought that I would see it so starkly in my niche genre.<br />
Rikipediahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13298713777587444856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838126918212850078.post-76484469954700079322020-04-15T08:35:00.000-07:002020-06-29T06:14:57.002-07:00Don't Get Ceratopped: Ikoria, Lair of BehemothsHere we are again for my usual installment of Don't Get Ceratopped*, where I examine each creature with reach in the new Magic: the Gathering set <i>Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths</i>, and rate it on its likelihood of pulling off a reach ambush, as Shifting Ceratops did so many times during M20 Limited season. Here's the original <a href="https://mtgrikipedia.blogspot.com/2019/09/the-shifting-ceratops-scale-creatures.html">blogpost</a>. Roughly at around a 3.0 I would expect even veteran players to send a flyer unwittingly into the creature with reach and for that ambush to cost you a full card.<br />
<br />
*Astute readers will note that this is a new title for this series. I may or may not go back and edit my older posts at some point to Mandela Effect y'all. Credit to Nick Prince for pointing out what a great phrase this is.<br />
<br />
<b>Cloudpiercer</b><br />
Rating: 3.5<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7mlVEnicRhJ7usj8XP9jH0670_yteI0j8xhDcq1oBqGhn2vHbGIJ18geBOye-jAsmqJgdgXv-1EYURR4RfkIsuQYhsm8onzYZ8QCXjOrTNbbo6pl-cxkCmUXLH9hd7Upp9HcEZnJBitbm/s1600/Cloudpiercer.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7mlVEnicRhJ7usj8XP9jH0670_yteI0j8xhDcq1oBqGhn2vHbGIJ18geBOye-jAsmqJgdgXv-1EYURR4RfkIsuQYhsm8onzYZ8QCXjOrTNbbo6pl-cxkCmUXLH9hd7Upp9HcEZnJBitbm/s320/Cloudpiercer.png" width="229" height="320" data-original-width="265" data-original-height="370" /></a><br />
Here we have our one-per-set red common with reach. These often rate pretty high because they have unusual creature type and higher power than toughness, as is the case on Cloupiercer. The red reachers also tend to have more word soup, as the reach isn't their primary function. In this case, the word soup is mutate, and that adds an additional level of surprise factor since Cloudpiercer could be hiding underneath the creature it mutates onto.<br />
<br />
This is also the space where I will make my regularly-scheduled complaint about the flavor of reach, specifically the notion that tall things can block flyers. This card tries to reinforce this via its name and the scale birds flying around its long neck. So on Ikoria, these tall brachiosaur types can block flyers, right?<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2Dv_do0LvF3cD9ITWuP1k9LjaM50OqmC1NsLmVe-Q0hhKYtdU24dYFGD-IxD-HTOeKDnHZWEC1eGdsa4EI9p-RuUb0C_eFvZZi2RizpsswPjM3dpRWP9Ih_0upAs8fmNvD-4vFPbvvCRo/s1600/Imposing+Vantasaur.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2Dv_do0LvF3cD9ITWuP1k9LjaM50OqmC1NsLmVe-Q0hhKYtdU24dYFGD-IxD-HTOeKDnHZWEC1eGdsa4EI9p-RuUb0C_eFvZZi2RizpsswPjM3dpRWP9Ih_0upAs8fmNvD-4vFPbvvCRo/s320/Imposing+Vantasaur.png" width="229" height="320" data-original-width="265" data-original-height="370" /></a><br />
<br />
...<br />
<br />
I guess the vantasaur should have reared up on its hind legs.<br />
<br />
<b>Crystalline Giant</b><br />
Rating: 4.5<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzzJeT5QNomVvIsd_W5f4Yr8KgavOck2Oi1Od_oU40Q7LXIfo_PwiPzwV9fIrk5S7IQkKOUSvSm8c4t4qzSmSm-QxBO911sqUTkwjlWKrRKkhYNG8fj-2DV_9HBu91rGe5uK_iEx-P_N4O/s1600/Crystalline+Giant.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzzJeT5QNomVvIsd_W5f4Yr8KgavOck2Oi1Od_oU40Q7LXIfo_PwiPzwV9fIrk5S7IQkKOUSvSm8c4t4qzSmSm-QxBO911sqUTkwjlWKrRKkhYNG8fj-2DV_9HBu91rGe5uK_iEx-P_N4O/s320/Crystalline+Giant.png" width="229" height="320" data-original-width="265" data-original-height="370" /></a><br />
This is a card that plays much worse in paper than online, what with needing to roll a die, sometimes multiple times. This ability points to a new direction for card designs using this design philosophy, and it opens up a host of memory and/or token visibility issues when playing it in paper. This card is going to be a nightmare to play and track.<br />
However, the likelihood of an ambush goes up online by several magnitudes. In paper, you'll have to make a chart, roll a die, say the ability out loud, and write the ability on a scrap of paper. That's a lot of steps that will reinforce in your brain when it gets reach. Online, the program will handle all of that, and if you aren't paying attention and just click through the upkeep trigger, you're very likely to miss what actually happened. The flying counter basically plays the same way as reach on defense, and other abilities like deathtouch and first strike can combine to make the ambush even worse, which is why I've bumped this card to just short of Shifting Ceratops based on this heinous online interaction. The way the abilities are displayed on the card may influence the chances of an ambush as well. Will the words of the added abilities be prominent enough to see, or will they be shrunk down and invisible?<br />
<br />
<b>Flycatcher Giraffid</b><br />
Rating: 3.0<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheF4RQoMxm5IRp2f3CLXEj4lv-iSaMsYr8s-GQ06e7uhfpMVf6Rn9D2px1YnKeHBkMzzmsTOdi_EpjNgU-KKeCcsmdc2fH2fa3rXvJAIcGkPbJC_zAbOt12ibSarUxK_Jk499CObaLNgS6/s1600/Flycatcher+Giraffid.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheF4RQoMxm5IRp2f3CLXEj4lv-iSaMsYr8s-GQ06e7uhfpMVf6Rn9D2px1YnKeHBkMzzmsTOdi_EpjNgU-KKeCcsmdc2fH2fa3rXvJAIcGkPbJC_zAbOt12ibSarUxK_Jk499CObaLNgS6/s320/Flycatcher+Giraffid.png" width="229" height="320" data-original-width="265" data-original-height="370" /></a><br />
Yikes. Yikes. This set is going to get a lot of people ambushed. There are some decent flavor things on this card that hint at reach. "Flycatcher" is a good sign that things that fly should watch out. "Giraffid" not so much. I guess it's trying to fill the "tall things" space, but doesn't quite get there for me. And all of these things don't come close the the cues from the usual spider/archer flavor.<br />
The real culprit for the unusually high rating for a common is the ability counter. Burying the keyword so that you won't see it at a glance is always a problem. Second, and more important, it's variable. Some games, this will have reach and some games it will have vigilance. So there will be some games where you can safely push your flyers right past the strange Antelope Lizard (it's not even a Giraffe?), making it hard to develop the visual connection between the art and reach. And like Crystalline Giant, the ability is something that you are much more likely to click through and forget compared to paper Magic, where your opponent will have to make a verbal declaration and scribble on a piece of paper.<br />
A 3.0 is unnaturally high for the simple, green common in the set, and along with some of the other things going on, makes this a very dangerous set for flyers. The ability counter also has the potential to be moved (albeit via rare cards Ozolith and Bonders' Enclave), and that can make for completely new and unexpected combinations for ambush.<br />
<br />
<b>Gemrazer</b><br />
Rating: 4.0<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3-2kB_c7P1uiUmw2k5T-HeZARzoMyF6d3PIJM7knowMr_1Y8G9U5gr6J-Tou9IeTyVfyq1MSHSxJ_yiuWXhBLuAA1Wiehok98PLUfvO6d51PLJgRb7vpGI7z8XcbT1btveKzBYVofZ1uD/s1600/Gemrazer.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3-2kB_c7P1uiUmw2k5T-HeZARzoMyF6d3PIJM7knowMr_1Y8G9U5gr6J-Tou9IeTyVfyq1MSHSxJ_yiuWXhBLuAA1Wiehok98PLUfvO6d51PLJgRb7vpGI7z8XcbT1btveKzBYVofZ1uD/s320/Gemrazer.png" width="229" height="320" data-original-width="265" data-original-height="370" /></a><br />
I don't understand this card. It's breaking these gems for whatever reason. That's fine. You do you. Flavorwise, this fits fine with the ability to destroy artifacts... and enchantments why? Are enchantments "gems"? But why does this have reach? Do the gem shards fly up into the air and hit flyers? It's not a regularly-supported reach creature type, has equal power and toughness, and like the Giraffid, has the potential for mutate to hide the reach ability. Fs in chat for the first Dreamtail Heron that flies necklong into a Gemrazer.<br />
<br />
<b>Glowstone Recluse</b><br />
Rating: 1.5<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlZWeUbIbVPSvz8zNHHWkQ1Ew_3T0M8PjjAHKqncEh_AgBQBGlYw5RGcQ7ngrc39hVHhhhCDLleBoncqGr6ax-EOV_kedJ3ZUPIEzDOwHRPYZPmqfJPSKm2O3qT2oxcErJCUMAY_by3hPs/s1600/Glowstone+Recluse.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlZWeUbIbVPSvz8zNHHWkQ1Ew_3T0M8PjjAHKqncEh_AgBQBGlYw5RGcQ7ngrc39hVHhhhCDLleBoncqGr6ax-EOV_kedJ3ZUPIEzDOwHRPYZPmqfJPSKm2O3qT2oxcErJCUMAY_by3hPs/s320/Glowstone+Recluse.png" width="229" height="320" data-original-width="265" data-original-height="370" /></a><br />
Classic spider with spider art and higher toughness than power. The 2/3 body at least allows this to threaten to outright kill or trade with a lot of flyers. This gets a slight bump due to mutate potentially putting this on the bottom of a mutation, denying you some of those visual clues.<br />
<br />
<b>Sudden Spinnerets</b><br />
Rating: 2.0<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6Nrh7eMvIBi3XkglBHOxTn6S7usMGNck9dk6RYKMvIEjwqy3TH6BqfogGBO7vLtyuXIDAUJaS4zmaGsFPp_0vJy5fc63zIKtJrk1siDMDp9zHmDPiyuhTTPNNEJWf10W-xruw3d1DKzfo/s1600/Sudden+Spinnerets.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6Nrh7eMvIBi3XkglBHOxTn6S7usMGNck9dk6RYKMvIEjwqy3TH6BqfogGBO7vLtyuXIDAUJaS4zmaGsFPp_0vJy5fc63zIKtJrk1siDMDp9zHmDPiyuhTTPNNEJWf10W-xruw3d1DKzfo/s320/Sudden+Spinnerets.png" width="229" height="320" data-original-width="265" data-original-height="370" /></a><br />
I usually don't rate the green combat trick every set that gives reach, because if that's going to eat a flyer, there's not much that can be done to avoid that outcome. Like with many combat tricks, you just have to hope that they don't have it. But this spell has the potential to eat a follow up flyer because the reach counter sticks around on the creature, and I'm rating it a 2.0 solely on that follow up of "Oh, it <i>still </i>has reach."<br />
<br />
<b>Vivien, Monsters' Advocate</b><br />
Rating: 5.0<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2ogSBqm2f4W6vee1dggqdZFE3jSIiL-8W02XUwXmGuJid1EE6_CmwvVfhni2KCqlh-_tnhLjTICMea-GDmtSMKcb1lvNy0ECvGCWvL7zJKau2hj8Gto0hqx77Cn8a6sWTIXM4Ydhz7b0t/s1600/Vivien%252C+Monster%2527s+Advocate.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2ogSBqm2f4W6vee1dggqdZFE3jSIiL-8W02XUwXmGuJid1EE6_CmwvVfhni2KCqlh-_tnhLjTICMea-GDmtSMKcb1lvNy0ECvGCWvL7zJKau2hj8Gto0hqx77Cn8a6sWTIXM4Ydhz7b0t/s320/Vivien%252C+Monster%2527s+Advocate.png" width="229" height="320" data-original-width="265" data-original-height="370" /></a><br />
We did it. We rated another card besides Shifting Ceratops as a 5.0, and here's why. When I first started writing this blogpost, I didn't have Vivien on my list. I missed it while scanning the visual spoiler, and it was only upon a final Scryfall check that I came across it. As a Planeswalker, you know it's going to be word soup. On top of that, the reach comes on an ability counter, and that counter has three different options. At some point, you are going to look across at this sea of beasts and forget that one of them has reach, and you will be sad. And while my ratings are for Limited play, this card is also going to get people in Constructed where Vivien will combine with Nissa to put counters on ALL THE THINGS. And while the 3/3 body isn't the worst thing you could run a flyer into, the token doesn't cost them a card, and this interaction is bound to happen even though you "know" they can have reach, because sometimes they won't and you'll forget.<br />
<br />
--------------<br />
<br />
This set is bad for those of us who want to avoid the displeasure of foolishly running a flyer into an opposing creature with reach. Even the boring old spider in the set has the ability to mutate and hide underneath another creature, in addition to two other mutate reachers, including a red reacher that has all the usual problems with red reachers (power > toughness, inconsistent "tall" flavor). Then there's the ability counters. Two of these are commons, and the instant can give the counter to any creature. And once that counter is out there, there are ways to move it around. All in all, there are multiple things that make it very difficult to develop the usual mental and visual shortcuts for what has reach. Good luck to all of you on avoiding getting Ceratopped.<br />
Rikipediahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13298713777587444856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838126918212850078.post-60182328548726077842020-04-10T08:30:00.003-07:002020-04-10T08:30:41.640-07:00The Bird is the Word: Tips on Using Articuno in Ultra League(This is a copy paste of a reddit post I made on TheSilphArena, saved in this form for posterity. It's also my first foray into writing about Pokemon Go PvP.)<br />
I started Season 1 Ultra League at Rank 8, 2017 rating, and after going 157-102-1, I made it to Rank 9 with a 2510 rating. 60% win rate, or 3-2 sets, doesn’t seem like much, but positive is positive, allowing me to rank up when I was basically treading water at the end of Great League. Anyway, here’s Wonderwall--I mean my team:<br />
<br />
Articuno (Lead)<br />
(Shadow) CP 2494, 5/10/13, Ice Shard, Icy Wind, Ancient Power<br />
(Regular) CP 2496, 11/11/14, Ice Shard, Icy Wind, Hurricane<br />
Swampert CP 2490, 0/11/15, Mud Shot, Hydro Cannon, Earthquake<br />
Registeel CP 2401, 14/12/12, Lock-On, Flash Cannon, Focus Blast<br />
<br />
I ran the Shadow Articuno from the beginning until the Ancient Power nerf, then switched to a legacy version with Hurricane. The Swampert is a decent stat product that will lose the mirror CMP, but that’s okay since I usually line up Articuno against opposing Swamperts. The Registeel is pretty bad, but it was a lucky, so I maxed it, and it still goes to work doing its Registeel things (beep, beep, beep).<br />
<br />
Like any lead Pokemon, Articuno has good matchups (Giratina, Togekiss, Grass types) and bad matchups (Steel and Fire). What makes it such a powerful lead is the way it plays in the neutral part of the field. These are matchups where the outcome isn’t obvious based simply on type advantage, and in some cases, the typing may be unfavorable (looking at you, Poliwrath with its Ice resistance). And yet, Articuno can come out ahead in these matchups, giving you the switch advantage, and overall control over the way the rest of the game plays out.<br />
<br />
Shield the first move<br />
Swampert, Poliwrath, Snorlax, Clefable, and Alolan Muk are all favorable matchups in the 1v1 shield scenario, but it’s important to shield the first charge move, especially if it comes out before the Icy Wind. Any subsequent charge moves will be debuffed, so shielding the opening charge move will save you the most HP, giving you more play in the mid-game. Yes, even against Snorlax and its relatively weak Body Slam, shielding that first 35 damage is the difference in the 1v1.<br />
The key to this strategy is to win the switch advantage in these neutral leads, even at the cost of losing the shield advantage (but only going down 1 shield). Between Swampert and Registeel, I have most of the rest of the field pretty well covered, and in some of the most common back-end matchups, I can win with a 1-shield deficit (Swampert vs. Registeel and Registeel vs. Giratina), so it’s just a matter of staying in a favorable matchup. It might be tempting to switch out your Articuno and bank an Icy Wind for later, but it is usually correct to just let it go down to maintain switch advantage.<br />
If they switch out, there’s a quick decision to be made. For safe switches like Snorlax, I generally just stay in with Articuno and follow the 1-shield strat. The exception might be if their lead was a Grass type. Since Swampert has such a bad matchup there, I want to bring it in against their safe switch to get some use out of it. In that case, I might not shield the first Body Slam, but leave the Snorlax with a parting Icy Wind before bringing in Swampert to save some damage.<br />
<br />
Be patient<br />
If you watch your respective HP bars, it often looks like you are losing as you will hit yellow first. Be patient and trust in your Icy Wind debuffs. Many matchups turn in your favor after the second one takes effect. Playing with Articuno is a test of wills. Run through a couple of common matchups on PvPoke.com to reassure yourself that you can win these matchups. For me, Poliwrath was one that I kept switching out of until I ran the 1v1 sim and saw that it favored me (and that was before using Hurricane instead of Ancient Power, which makes the matchup even easier).<br />
The come-from-behind aspect of Articuno’s wins can also have a psychological effect on your opponents, as they notice they are starting to fall behind in the damage race. This can result in panic shielding, as they try to get off one more charge move on you. This is great for you. As I said, you still win most neutral matchups in a 1v1, and they are using their shield to launch a heavily debuffed charge attack that does little damage and still won’t flip the lead. Heck, in some of these matchups (Swampert, Snorlax), you win even if they shield twice and you only shield once. That’s how deceptively powerful Articuno is.<br />
<br />
Stand back; there’s a Hurricane coming through<br />
For most of the Ultra League, I’ve used my Shadow Articuno with Ancient Power. I liked that the shadow bonus flipped a few matchups in my favor (Armored Mewtwo being the most notable). When Ancient Power got nerfed, it was overall good news for Articuno, since the Giratina Altered matchup got a lot easier, but I also lost my best weapon to fight back against Charizard. The day of the nerf, I powered up a legacy Articuno with Hurricane and tested it out. The move doesn’t come up too often, but the one place where it made a huge difference was against Poliwrath. This used to be real tough. As I said, I was actually switching out because of the Ice resistance. Even staying in, the matchup is a slog that leaves you with no HP or energy.<br />
Until I tried Hurricane. It’s almost a One-Hit KO with the Ice Shard chip damage. However, I think charging up to it as your first charge move is a mistake. Poliwrath players who know the timing of your Icy Winds will smell this from a mile away and shield. My preferred play is to use an Icy Wind first (still shielding their first charge move). I’ve never had anyone shield the first one. You can even overcharge by one Ice Shard to throw off their move count. The Icy Wind will still connect before their second charge move. Then tank their second charge move and launch the Hurricane. I’ve done this four or five times now, and thus far never been shielded, coming out of the matchup with almost half of my HP.<br />
It’s possible that there are other situations where a surprise Hurricane will do some work. But for now, just the way that it has turned my Poliwrath matchup into an easy win has been worth it compared to the number of times Ancient Power did anything (I killed a Charizard once…)<br />
<br />
Taking the L<br />
“But you lose to Fire and Steel leads.” Yes, I sure do, although I have had hard-fought wins against both, by and large, those are likely losses assuming they have a Grass-type to eat my Swampert after I switch. This is the reality of the meta, and despite all the conspiracy theories about the pairing algorithm, by keeping track of all my matchups, I can tell you that I’ve faced a Fire or Steel lead 52 times in 262 Ultra battles to date (not counting Steelix, which is actually neutral due to its Ground typing). Over that same period, I’ve faced 51 Giratina Altered, Togekiss, and Grass leads, the things that I would consider to be hard-countered by Articuno (Giratina matchup was a bit more difficult before the Ancient Power nerf, but still favorable albeit requiring matching shields--now it usually induces a switch).<br />
So yeah, don’t fall into the confirmation bias when you happen to face a Charizard and a Registeel lead back-to-back. Keep track of your matches and look at the big picture. For Articuno, the hard losses and wins have evened out for me, I have found ways to win the soft middle ground, and a good team to deal with most of the back, which is how I’ve (slowly) climbed up the ranks.<br />
You will have bad luck where you run into fire and steel 3 times in a set of 5. You can panic and change your lead, then cry “conspiracy” when you start facing Venusaurs with your Swampert lead, or you stay the course, trust the regression to the mean, and Ice those Grass leads.Rikipediahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13298713777587444856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838126918212850078.post-39877581748620520572019-11-06T04:40:00.000-08:002019-11-06T04:40:31.018-08:00"It's in Karate"“Can I get Oracle text for this card. It’s in karate.”<br />
<br />
At SCG Atlanta, a player said this to a judge, asking about Oracle text for their opponent’s Japanese Saheeli, Sublime Artificer. The judge, in addition to providing the Oracle text, issued an Unsporting Conduct Minor to the player. After consultation with the Head Judge and tournament staff, which included myself, the infraction was changed to Unsporting Conduct Major, a more serious infraction as the penalty goes from what was a Warning to a Match Loss. Before going any further, I want to post the definition of USC Major from the Infraction Procedure Guide.<br />
<i><br />
“A player takes action towards one or more individuals that could reasonably be expected to create a feeling of being harassed, threatened, bullied, or stalked. This may include insults based on race, color, religion, national origin, age, gender, disability, or sexual orientation. Threats of physical violence should be treated as Unsporting Conduct – Aggressive Behavior.<br />
It is possible for an offender to commit this infraction without intending malice or harm to the subject of the harassment.”<br />
</i><br />
Furthermore, the first example for the infraction is: <i>“A player uses a racial slur against their opponent.”</i><br />
<br />
Given all of this information, I want to start by acknowledging that this phrase is not a slur. However, the example is just that, an example, and it should not be used as a demarcation line of what is acceptable. That is to say, just because the example states that a slur is an example of USC Major, that doesn’t mean that anything below a slur is not. There is a wide sampling of unacceptable behavior, and no document could hope to document and categorize all of it, and even less so of coming up with a widely accepted scale with an established minimum line.<br />
<br />
If not a slur, I would characterize this phrase as is a racial charicature based on historical stereotypes. Karate obviously isn’t a language; it’s a martial art form from Japan. That the card was also in Japanese could be an indication that the player knew this and was drawing a direct line between them in this way. In some ways, this would have been better, and in others worse. Also, it isn’t the correctness of the relationship between the word karate and the language of the card that is of importance here.<br />
<br />
I’m going to talk a little bit about my personal experiences growing up in the United States as a Japanese person. For East Asians (Japanese, Chinese, and Korean), there’s a blending that tends to take place in the eyes of Americans. Of course, the same no doubt happens to Southeast Asians as well, but in my personal experience, there is this divide, probably because of an overall difference in skin tone (Yay! America), similarities/differences in language and culture, and historical patterns of immigration. A few examples of this blending that I’ve dealt with all my life:<br />
“You all look the same.”<br />
“Are you Chinese/Korean?”<br />
Attributing things that are culturally or historically a part of another nation’s heritage to yours. Given the ascent of Japanese manga and anime, I imagine this was a bigger problem for non-Japanese Asians.<br />
<br />
In the eyes of Americans, we all fit neatly under one umbrella and share certain traits. We like anime. We are shorter. We are good at math. We know martial arts.<br />
<br />
Ah, yes. Here we are. All Asians know martial arts. This is a pervasive stereotype. It didn’t help that I grew up during the prominence of the original Karate Kid movie series. Hence, “Do you know karate?” was all too common of a question, often accompanied by an open palm kata and a “Hi-ya!” Not only is this a really broad brush to paint with in general, but recall that karate is a Japanese martial art. Kung fu is Chinese, and tae kwon do is Korean. Despite these distinctions, it isn’t outside the realm of possibility for people of any of these races to be asked about a martial art from another country because “we’re all the same.”<br />
<br />
This blending is so bad that the remake of the Karate Kid starring Jackie Chan and Jayden Smith took place in China and featured kung fu rather than karate. But due to the strength of the brand, they kept the name of the movie and saw no problem in the complete erasure of cultural distinction. Can you imagine if a King Arthur movie inexplicably took place in France? This is what it’s like to be Asian, where “Asian” takes precedence over an individual national/cultural identity.<br />
<br />
This blending erasure is by no means exclusive to Asians. The Unites States’s original sin of slavery completely obliterated any connection that many black Americans can have to their nations of origin in Africa. And “Middle Eastern” is another broad stroke that is currently used to cover dozens of unique cultures.<br />
<br />
Returning to the original statement, and the definition of the infraction, some of you may be asking whether this is an insult. If this is an insult, who was the player insulting? The opponent was not Asian. Neither was the responding judge. Is the player insulting the card? (No.) Or are they insulting all Asians? (Maybe closest to the truth.) It’s a stereotype, and a very bad faith one at that.<br />
<br />
Stereotypes hurt. It is an insult to be lumped and judged, and especially so for immutable traits, which is why the whole idea of protected classes exist. I can’t help being Japanese, and thus I will always be a target for this type of thing. This can be true even for supposedly positive stereotypes. “Asians are good at math” is one I mentioned earlier. This one was even true for me growing up as I took college-level calculus courses while still in high school. But again, accuracy isn’t the benchmark of harm here, and even though it is positive to be good at math, my white classmates who also took college math classes didn’t have to deal with this type of stereotyping. They were good at math on their own merits, not because of a broad categorization of their race. This doesn’t begin to address how harmful the stereotype is to an Asian who isn’t good at math.<br />
<br />
It’s already an erasure to be stereotyped as Asian, a category that already erases one’s individual nationality. Calling an Asian-language card “in karate” takes that erasure one step further, not even giving it the dignity of a real language, but calling it by a stereotyped trait that itself has a long history of harmful usage as a blending agent against Asians.<br />
<br />
One thing that people might bring up is that this seems like a joke, that it was said in jest. No doubt. I spoke to the player after the (revised) ruling was given, and they said as much, that it was something that they said around the kitchen table with their friends, and it slipped out. Recall the last sentence of the definition for USC Major: “It is possible for an offender to commit this infraction without intending malice or harm to the subject of the harassment..” After speaking to the player, I believe that they did not have a malicious intent, that it was just a joke.<br />
<br />
I get it. I myself have made jokes like this about myself. That doesn’t make it okay, and in fact it points to a larger issue with these types of caricatures. When minorities make self-deprecating jokes about themselves, they are reinforcing and justifying the bigotry of the majority in order to fit in. “Hey, look, I can laugh at myself. You should laugh at me too. Just don’t oppress me in a more malicious way please.” The United States has a complex history of this wherein various racial or ethnic minorities have gone through periods of mockery prior to being assimilated into the general white hegemony. Think about groups like Poles, Italians, and Irish. The remnants of these jokes may seem harmless now, but there were times when they were much more malicious.<br />
<br />
Bad taste jokes will likely always be a part of our culture, and I don’t care much what you do in your private circles. But I will say that this player’s admitted normalization of such jokes among their friends led directly to this slip up that came at the cost of a Match Loss. Like any habit, if you make a habit of shitty behavior, it’s more likely to come up. People who use slurs say that they slipped up. That’s true to an extent, but what it means is that they use those slurs in private, and slipped up in using it in a more public setting. And if you use slurs or make bad taste jokes about race, gender, religion, etc at a Magic event, you can expect a penalty.<br />
<br />
Postscript: After writing this, I sent a draft to the player, and I’ve been engaged with them in a dialogue about race, self-deprecating jokes, and where the lines are for acceptable behavior at Magic events. To me, this is the most important aspect of this story, that this player can slip up and be punished, but be able to turn around and focus on becoming part of the solution. My publication of this isn’t meant as an attack on the player. I have intentionally kept their identity out of it, and if you are aware of those details, I would ask that you do the same.<br />
<br />
<br />
Rikipediahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13298713777587444856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838126918212850078.post-10968097235190171522019-10-05T08:29:00.000-07:002020-06-29T06:14:56.918-07:00Shifting Ceratops Scale: Throne of EldraineWelcome back to the Shifting Ceratops Scale, where I take a look at all the cards in a set with reach and rate them on a five-point scale named after the greatest reach ambusher. Throne of Eldraine has six entries, five creatures and one aura, and overall this is a very dangerous bunch of cards. Be careful and don't get Ceratopped by these cards with reach!<br />
<br />
Brimstone Trebuchet<br />
2.0<br />
There is a lot of text on this card, and reach coming after another keyword is a good indicator for a potential ambush, but being only a 1/3 makes it lower impact ambush. Anecdotally, I also think that players tend to read defender text a little more often when they go to attack into them, since there’s more of a likelihood of those abilities mattering to blocking. But it’s still a pretty weird package in all: red, defender, trebuchet?!<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0H2srC4uDiK8GNF1QY3lOacJfCDmJSbUbukR8pzDgaYecG1nn3Wqgmab3lLKH5wdrnTm5OGzeOZJOgFmOh2dM6cTPnxETCKaVB1EvoqZGYHoQeli2JqpK-tn-mjJdFBONrDYnwtQxU-86/s1600/Brimstone+Trebuchet.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0H2srC4uDiK8GNF1QY3lOacJfCDmJSbUbukR8pzDgaYecG1nn3Wqgmab3lLKH5wdrnTm5OGzeOZJOgFmOh2dM6cTPnxETCKaVB1EvoqZGYHoQeli2JqpK-tn-mjJdFBONrDYnwtQxU-86/s200/Brimstone+Trebuchet.jpg" width="143" height="200" data-original-width="265" data-original-height="370" /></a><br />
<br />
I think the flavor of a trebuchet is supposed to suggest some kind of anti-air ability, like archery, but a trebuchet is actually a siege weapon, more akin to a catapult. It’s meant to hurl heavy objects at stationary castle walls, not fast-moving, flying targets. Maybe the flavor is that it’s so tall of a structure that it just gets in the way of a flyer, but in that case, it should probably have zero power.<br />
<br />
Robber of the Rich<br />
2.0<br />
Although archers have become the defacto secondary reach creature type to spiders, just having the word in the type line isn’t enough of a tip off, especially when there are multiple other creature types present. For something to truly resonate as an archer, it needs to have the classic “bow pose.” It also helps if the card name itself references the fact that it is an archer. Robin Hood has his bow on his back, and both the name and the artwork reflect more on the robbing aspect of the card than the archery.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh3mqz3elrwkwanpAzjCFR3eOn8KdJJz4n1rnRtoQPaRG4QcBYsf9hhvygV647GQLI8_7vvsPF4xQabd1iyhXM8gdMsdC8-jpxQtcTTm7wqI8s78WqbBQ7_HP67Xe-l_kTBj17-QlFqGo4/s1600/Robber+of+the+Rich.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh3mqz3elrwkwanpAzjCFR3eOn8KdJJz4n1rnRtoQPaRG4QcBYsf9hhvygV647GQLI8_7vvsPF4xQabd1iyhXM8gdMsdC8-jpxQtcTTm7wqI8s78WqbBQ7_HP67Xe-l_kTBj17-QlFqGo4/s200/Robber+of+the+Rich.jpg" width="143" height="200" data-original-width="265" data-original-height="370" /></a><br />
<br />
The other abilities on the card, focusing on attacking rather than blocking, also serve to draw attention away from the trap laying in hiding here. Similar to the Trebuchet, what keeps Robber of the Rich’s rating so low is its rather pedestrian 2/2 stats. It’s likely to trick you, but that trick probably won’t be a blowout where you lose one of your valuable flyers. Nonetheless, there are a lot of smaller faeries in this set, so maybe it might have more of an impact in this format than most.<br />
<br />
Sporecap Spider<br />
0.0<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFSlUx_pPLiwGqE0rURvKb0KiRfi5CbjT8WUeaYXiDZ1vTuX95_K67Ee85KIHlw_drZHusTT0iA9Zwrtf3QyF5mzvM1k7132qRUgjasgjIH8PkifMc4_mY9qwoxO0VsPL-tFFa6kOoOkmZ/s1600/Sporecap+Spider.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFSlUx_pPLiwGqE0rURvKb0KiRfi5CbjT8WUeaYXiDZ1vTuX95_K67Ee85KIHlw_drZHusTT0iA9Zwrtf3QyF5mzvM1k7132qRUgjasgjIH8PkifMc4_mY9qwoxO0VsPL-tFFa6kOoOkmZ/s200/Sporecap+Spider.jpg" width="143" height="200" data-original-width="265" data-original-height="370" /></a><br />
Surprisingly, the only spider in the set. It has typically “spidery” art, and low power, so it’s a low-probability, low-impact ambusher.<br />
<br />
Tall as a Beanstalk<br />
4.0<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggSjyIem1JM7McF_r1dZcIuMGx4v7oXV6HrtqOguO5dlqGVgd1IeiJa-aKpp8HHGn99hjkDxy_1xRpO-7MZFjicCi8x2R7o6b3ds6_lQw3dGcnvfnpIff08ViVrtNorXpmWIN4FNytpZR3/s1600/Tall+as+a+Beanstalk.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggSjyIem1JM7McF_r1dZcIuMGx4v7oXV6HrtqOguO5dlqGVgd1IeiJa-aKpp8HHGn99hjkDxy_1xRpO-7MZFjicCi8x2R7o6b3ds6_lQw3dGcnvfnpIff08ViVrtNorXpmWIN4FNytpZR3/s200/Tall+as+a+Beanstalk.jpg" width="143" height="200" data-original-width="265" data-original-height="370" /></a><br />
Explain this one to me. Tall as a Beanstalk gives reach, but literal Beanstalk Giant does not have reach, nor do any of the other giants in this set, so this one card is playing into the “tall things have reach,” but nothing else in the set does.<br />
<br />
It doesn’t help that this is an aura, and thus the text will usually be hiding behind the creature it enchants. Hopefully, what will happen is that players will read the aura to confirm the p/t boost and when they do that, see the reach. But beware of sneaky players who may try to subvert this when they cast it by omitting that information: “it gets +3/+3 and becomes a giant.” Derived information! Yay! This card might actually lead to the opposite of an ambush, where a card like Beanstalk Giant deters an opponent from attacking a flyer into it under the misattribution of reach.<br />
<br />
Wildborn Preserver<br />
3.0<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQSAfjJx_vKVGxFs1I7KYTzljLbFMBA8AgXCOtrktKKcsVtEZXItJzh_ojn-I-C__LYG08idKwcOIyWZgEUdQpEiXB0CA6KfnbVvSMRwy8tT0TRL1iGkbwbyLlmjT13YczpLv0WQwa9KHF/s1600/Wildborn+Preserver.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQSAfjJx_vKVGxFs1I7KYTzljLbFMBA8AgXCOtrktKKcsVtEZXItJzh_ojn-I-C__LYG08idKwcOIyWZgEUdQpEiXB0CA6KfnbVvSMRwy8tT0TRL1iGkbwbyLlmjT13YczpLv0WQwa9KHF/s200/Wildborn+Preserver.jpg" width="143" height="200" data-original-width="265" data-original-height="370" /></a><br />
It’s an archer, but if you look at the artwork, you might not know it. The most prominent thing is the fox, and the rider is wielding a sword with their bow slung on their back. In terms of gameplay, the triggered ability is going to garner more attention, and it’s very likely that this creature could be 5/5 or larger when it ambushes your flyer because the play pattern with this card will be to cast it on two, attack once or twice, have it sit on the sidelines accumulating counters, then “Surprise, reach!” It does take a bit of setup for this to be an effective ambush, which is why I don’t rate it as a 4.0.<br />
<br />
Stonecoil Serpent<br />
4.0<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBvN60LUNx0Ny2zjruejQ5of30qYz01c081LOso3jSyt0ZBaa0SfIjzT-tOORrao8YEWCI6et4pGAGlaJPZmwR_51xK_t6bzoFhx0Cv93LcDDjEZBxaTkgKpUuWRxQaMT8fQb39SsXk-Z8/s1600/Stonecoil+Serpent.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBvN60LUNx0Ny2zjruejQ5of30qYz01c081LOso3jSyt0ZBaa0SfIjzT-tOORrao8YEWCI6et4pGAGlaJPZmwR_51xK_t6bzoFhx0Cv93LcDDjEZBxaTkgKpUuWRxQaMT8fQb39SsXk-Z8/s200/Stonecoil+Serpent.jpg" width="143" height="200" data-original-width="265" data-original-height="370" /></a><br />
I don’t get it. I don’t understand why snakes have reach in Magic. The “giants are tall” thing makes more sense to me than what appears to be “snakes are in the trees.” This one isn’t even in a tree; it’s a statue. Nothing in the name suggests reach here either.<br />
<br />
Stonecoil Serpent is likely to enter the battlefield with significant size, probably 4/4 or larger in most games, and it has a lot of abilities, particularly other keywords on the same line as the reach. Along with Tall as a Beanstalk, I consider this the most likely to ambush a flyer in Throne of Eldraine. But of course now that you’ve read this list, none of these reachers will take you by surprise.<br />
Rikipediahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13298713777587444856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838126918212850078.post-77394217273308388532019-09-28T07:27:00.000-07:002020-06-29T06:14:57.030-07:00The Shifting Ceratops Scale: Creatures with Surprise ReachHave you ever attacked with a flying creature only to be completely surprised when your opponent blocks with their reach creature? This typically happens to me at least once per set. It’s a sheepish and humbling moment as a Magic player, right up there with trying to use a sorcery as an instant. In the past, I’ve referred to this as the Nessian Asp Problem (a snake with reach?!), in honor of one of the first times I remember being ambushed, but that reference is a bit dated, and M20 actually had what might be the most egregious “surprise, reach!” blocker in Magic’s history, so I’ve named this scale in honor of the mighty dino-spider, Shifting Ceratops.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdMo-7smqm69yxMCmXD1KcOX90adKEXwgYObtqDTqsjRbTOSuGxDZsmVgonza4s_gBrQ5Rdavk36u_WSKFnr-KwK-OKJacOeXLCxiH5EhmcI0MOr6KWVyYkoSr3uLzxlonmalpQzS8Wj4T/s1600/Shifting+Ceratops.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdMo-7smqm69yxMCmXD1KcOX90adKEXwgYObtqDTqsjRbTOSuGxDZsmVgonza4s_gBrQ5Rdavk36u_WSKFnr-KwK-OKJacOeXLCxiH5EhmcI0MOr6KWVyYkoSr3uLzxlonmalpQzS8Wj4T/s200/Shifting+Ceratops.jpg" width="143" height="200" data-original-width="265" data-original-height="370" /></a><br />
<br />
This five-point scale balances both the likelihood of a creature with reach ambushing your flyer and the impact of said ambush on the game. I’m only rating things for Limited play because that is where this is most likely to happen. I've rated all the reachers for the last year of Limited to establish some baselines, and will be writing updates every set. My hope is that by writing about this, I'll avoid the problem, and maybe save you from the same.<br />
<br />
<b>0.0 Netcaster Spider, Mammoth Spider</b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj6wwR3Trzuv57bCyCzrqJzhuw7Rd-GoPLBPg8hFEmty0VNjauLtlRf4ySa_o7LTAQ8PC80i7CV9OSzk7uHQBz-ElW-K40ZXkitI6PBmvSIqym9TziDu_IDvQYTDd425CNDdm0SRNxoM18/s1600/Mammoth+Spider.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj6wwR3Trzuv57bCyCzrqJzhuw7Rd-GoPLBPg8hFEmty0VNjauLtlRf4ySa_o7LTAQ8PC80i7CV9OSzk7uHQBz-ElW-K40ZXkitI6PBmvSIqym9TziDu_IDvQYTDd425CNDdm0SRNxoM18/s200/Mammoth+Spider.jpg" width="143" height="200" data-original-width="265" data-original-height="370" /></a><br />
Most spiders and many archers fall into this rating. These are iconic creature types that we have been trained to associate with reach. Hence, it’s unlikely that they will ambush your flyers. It’s possible that for newer players who haven’t developed the shortcut of “spider = reach” that some spiders might rate higher.<br />
<br />
Archers are a funny lot. The very first archer in Magic, Elvish Archer, actually had first strike, keying off of an archers ability to attack from a distance. For much of Magic’s history, its archers played off of this “remote strike” capability with various damage-dealing abilities, either in combat or against flyers. But more and more, archers have consolidated into the secondary reach creature type for the humanoid races.<br />
<br />
<b>1.0 Arboreal Grazer, Grappling Sundew</b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjnv7ZLmLJxQbLqRzLMOGkaf8YVb7dJql0fsp6ekJKqVBj1s69yT08JaXPAsfbRHuTf7KrI5CHFYzhPJopl4ft4D39pjEx36a6fdmBPUbe27z2NqAoVqs7_yHOysFOTuM2x-dk7gI0zBgD/s1600/Arboreal+Grazer.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjnv7ZLmLJxQbLqRzLMOGkaf8YVb7dJql0fsp6ekJKqVBj1s69yT08JaXPAsfbRHuTf7KrI5CHFYzhPJopl4ft4D39pjEx36a6fdmBPUbe27z2NqAoVqs7_yHOysFOTuM2x-dk7gI0zBgD/s200/Arboreal+Grazer.jpg" width="143" height="200" data-original-width="265" data-original-height="370" /></a><br />
These have a low impact due to the zero power. You might accidentally attack a flyer into one of these, but it won’t cost you your creature, and you can play it off as “reach-checking” your opponent. <br />
<br />
Historically, this is probably where I would rate spiders and archers with power equal to or higher than their toughness. In addition to creature type and art, the p/t stats have been another strong shortcut for identifying reachers. It wouldn’t surprise me if Sentinel Spider got someone at some point, especially since reach isn’t the first word in its text box, another factor that could play into an ambush. Such balanced p/t spiders are unlikely to ambush, but if they do, there’s a good chance they eat or trade with your creature as well.<br />
<br />
<b>2.0 Rubble Slinger, Grazing Whiptail</b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4OFT6A7yICBR38ncNu0wTAvbbCvjcsrpaKenAB5VW6AuvRJ_dYA8kN_V6wRnSpk0IUJkekTh1PQhAXy9GJ6ujhFqBqVLU2zwX4DXOu4s54-9oMTgLsE01q5chybjY4rKbApE0ePjk51Se/s1600/Rubble+Slinger.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4OFT6A7yICBR38ncNu0wTAvbbCvjcsrpaKenAB5VW6AuvRJ_dYA8kN_V6wRnSpk0IUJkekTh1PQhAXy9GJ6ujhFqBqVLU2zwX4DXOu4s54-9oMTgLsE01q5chybjY4rKbApE0ePjk51Se/s200/Rubble+Slinger.jpg" width="143" height="200" data-original-width="265" data-original-height="370" /></a><br />
If these were spiders or archers, they wouldn’t rank here. I actually thought that Rubble Slinger was an archer, but it appears that what is being slung is rocks, not arrows. Meanwhile, the Whiptail fills out a dinosaur quota in Ixalan.<br />
<br />
Both rank this low because they are French Vanilla, so if you do bother to read them, you’re likely to notice that they have reach. Plus they have the all-important toughness > power, which can be a good secondary tipoff.<br />
<b><br />
3.0 Turret Ogre, Kraul Harpooner</b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM8mQBeOLqDip_L9b171yXRFZ-h8383at9nrSYkT71uS70346gHE0F2SofMqN_1OoZ2pRj_WJRcMY1Bha0DcvotXS_uTUuDl0p_O5AIyjvynSjX2mdXdKePt0AZ3hfIV3xA6X295CopwoQ/s1600/Turret+Ogre.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM8mQBeOLqDip_L9b171yXRFZ-h8383at9nrSYkT71uS70346gHE0F2SofMqN_1OoZ2pRj_WJRcMY1Bha0DcvotXS_uTUuDl0p_O5AIyjvynSjX2mdXdKePt0AZ3hfIV3xA6X295CopwoQ/s200/Turret+Ogre.jpg" width="143" height="200" data-original-width="265" data-original-height="370" /></a><br />
This is the point on the SCS that I would personally expect to get tricked into a reach ambush early in a Limited format. You’ve got non-typical creature types, power greater than toughness, and what I like to call “word soup,” long abilities that distract you from the all-important keyword ability. The Harpooner is probably slightly less likely to pull off the ambush because it has the triggered ability that fights with a flyer, but most of the time, that fight ends up in a trade or just does nothing, so it’s quite possible to forget that it interacts with flyers.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglkclYxmC4pO_SmIVOGBEjKJT2mdblBn_rLmycMkHPoZVM-Kv7IaThfARA8FMh5ugcQM2uZA8RmmwJTg4VKJ3pKlBHCyj_L504jjS-8kI5M53aSLAMsXZs0l3mL4ofZj8pSt3U5xTVmhVZ/s1600/Kraul+Harpooner.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglkclYxmC4pO_SmIVOGBEjKJT2mdblBn_rLmycMkHPoZVM-Kv7IaThfARA8FMh5ugcQM2uZA8RmmwJTg4VKJ3pKlBHCyj_L504jjS-8kI5M53aSLAMsXZs0l3mL4ofZj8pSt3U5xTVmhVZ/s200/Kraul+Harpooner.jpg" width="144" height="200" data-original-width="224" data-original-height="311" /></a><br />
Flavor-wise, they are both more of a stretch than your typical archers. I usually think of throwing harpoons at whales, so it’s weird to see it touted here as an anti-flyer weapon. Although Kaladesh did have flying whales…And I’m not sure what’s going on with Turret Ogre. It’s standing on a turret so it’s high enough to throw rocks at birds? I mean, that’s what is going on in the art.<br />
<b><br />
4.0 Howling Giant, Cavalier of Thorns</b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji3kbsPtXJoDLyxoE2cqda2cN9I-9NFlfDtb3VG6xoYxUts9eRgBpoPQZBNQdKjbvRkRPpv4g_jD71uIt2Dx7MkOwJRxNwz49KSraz_Q_cZMx0_88lIB3yOzrxtV0ZZmcPFs95ypgEoX4r/s1600/Cavalier+of+Thorns.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji3kbsPtXJoDLyxoE2cqda2cN9I-9NFlfDtb3VG6xoYxUts9eRgBpoPQZBNQdKjbvRkRPpv4g_jD71uIt2Dx7MkOwJRxNwz49KSraz_Q_cZMx0_88lIB3yOzrxtV0ZZmcPFs95ypgEoX4r/s200/Cavalier+of+Thorns.jpg" width="143" height="200" data-original-width="265" data-original-height="370" /></a><br />
Both of these creatures also rate so high because they are more likely to eat an ambushed flyer for free rather than trade with them, making the mistake all the more punishing. This is the class of creatures where they do so much else that you focus on those things before the reach. Cavalier of Thorns is obviously a word soup; you first focus your attention on the enters-the-battlefield ability, then read the leaves-the-battlefield ability, note the synergy between the two, and completely forget that it has reach. The creature type doesn’t lend itself to assuming reach (but I’m just now noticing that all the Cavaliers are Knights--cross set synergy with Eldraine!), and while it has more toughness than power, it’s still beefy enough for the reach to slip by. In my head, +2 toughness to power is the point where I start looking for reach. Cavalier of Thorns is also the most likely to get someone in Constructed.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi52DGl7c6sGy_sSh9bl9LSlpRnkTW57ZovjCGLCAGmpbj9LWMf3mLyBi-0QmzDEoEDLFmfiQQA04XgNKe8on2aP3GuhUb8RXDGc7_0ueHWY-C8wL24G4wI4Jok20-KvsWWmyA64vKjR3Zd/s1600/Howling+Giant.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi52DGl7c6sGy_sSh9bl9LSlpRnkTW57ZovjCGLCAGmpbj9LWMf3mLyBi-0QmzDEoEDLFmfiQQA04XgNKe8on2aP3GuhUb8RXDGc7_0ueHWY-C8wL24G4wI4Jok20-KvsWWmyA64vKjR3Zd/s200/Howling+Giant.jpg" width="143" height="200" data-original-width="265" data-original-height="370" /></a><br />
When a Howling Giant hits the battlefield, you tend to focus on the 9/9 worth of stats that just gummed up the ground. Suddenly the air is your path to victory... except that it isn't. It’s possible that Howling Giant should be rated 3.0. Someone on Twitter noted that giants are a somewhat supported reach type, but there are only 5 such giants in the history of Magic (compared to 51 spiders and 27 archers). There are also 6 snakes with reach (2 of them gain reach from an activated ability). I guess what trips me up is the flavor behind giants with reach. Are they just really tall? This tracks with what was going on with Turret Ogre standing on the high turret, but the lack of consistency on this over the years means that the giants with reach are likely to pull off a reach ambush.<br />
<b><br />
5.0 Shifting Ceratops</b><br />
This dinosaur is in a class all its own, as it ticks off multiple boxes.<br />
Unusual creature type not known for reach<br />
Power greater than toughness<br />
Word soup (37 words!)<br />
The word “reach” itself is buried in an activated ability that does multiple other things<br />
<br />
The fourth point of toughness is key here as it means that common flyers Dawning Angel or a single-pumped Griffin Protector can’t trade with it. The protection from blue adds an addition kick to the teeth against four and five-power flyers Air Elemental, Atemsis, and the blue Cavalier. The protection also makes Shifting Ceratops extra lethal as it eats blue flyers for free without any worry of pump spells or follow up burn to finish it off. The activation nature of the reach, and the word itself being buried in said ability, makes this such a lethal ambusher that I’ve now named the entire scale after the dinosaur.<br />
<br />
A lot of players like to focus on learning the various removal spells and combat tricks in a set in order to play around them at Prerelease. Those things are important, but there’s no more sinking feeling than throwing away a flying creature to a reach ambush. My plan is to make new posts every set to identify all the cards with reach, and to rate them on this scale. Don’t get Ceratopped!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Rikipediahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13298713777587444856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838126918212850078.post-68488998660863728182019-04-12T06:26:00.003-07:002019-04-12T13:57:03.703-07:00Casting Spells for Free and ProfitRecently a few fun rules interactions came to my attention. These are useful not only to know as they are reasonably common Standard card interactions, but it's also good to know the underlying rules behind them.<br />
<br />
AP connects with a Thief of Sanity and chooses to exile a Rix Maadi Reveler from NAP's library. Can the Reveler be cast for its Spectacle cost, and can mana of any color be used to pay for the black and red mana in its cost?<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsEAHxqKpl04S1oPf31yYmwNy30469TcQRvpOJUibd2QfHo_p5gEA37CPkDw11tejReFL8Sf4ajN_PrpS9EEZpjZl8vcJoVxUSBhWXY-3kht3L9XuZ-IU5AXPMKzwiR748yeHke1WNGjmG/s1600/Thief+of+Sanity.jpeg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsEAHxqKpl04S1oPf31yYmwNy30469TcQRvpOJUibd2QfHo_p5gEA37CPkDw11tejReFL8Sf4ajN_PrpS9EEZpjZl8vcJoVxUSBhWXY-3kht3L9XuZ-IU5AXPMKzwiR748yeHke1WNGjmG/s320/Thief+of+Sanity.jpeg" width="230" height="320" data-original-width="224" data-original-height="311" /></a><br />
AP casts Hostage Taker and exiles NAP's Venerated Loxodon. Can AP cast the Loxodon using Convoke? If yes, what combinations of creatures and mana can they use?<br />
<br />
Effects like this are interesting to me because of how they've evolved over the years, and the rules implications therein. Older cards would let you cast spells without paying their mana cost. Think Cascade. Casting a spell without paying its mana cost is a subset of alternative costs, rule 117.9:<br />
<br />
Some spells have alternative costs. An alternative cost is a cost listed in a spell’s text, or applied to it from another effect, that its controller may pay rather than paying the spell’s mana cost. Alternative costs are usually phrased, “You may [action] rather than pay [this object’s] mana cost,” or “You may cast [this object] without paying its mana cost.” Note that some alternative costs are listed in keywords; see rule 702.<br />
<br />
The mana cost of a spell is whatever is in the top right corner of the spell, just as its Converted Mana Cost is the generic sum of its mana cost. Casting a spell without paying its mana cost means not paying for what's in the top right corner, essentially turning it into a 0. You'll still have to pay for any additional costs, whether they are imposed by the card itself or by other effects. If you Cascade into a Harrow, you'll still need to sacrifice a land in order to cast it. If you Cascade into a Lighting Bolt, you must pay 1 for Thalia, Guardian of Thraben. While this might feel like a negative, it also gives you the ability to pay for optional additional costs like Kicker.<br />
<br />
Because "casting a spell without paying its mana cost" is an alternative cost, you cannot then choose to cast the spell via some other alternative cost. If you Cascade into Nourishing Shoal, you can only choose to cast it for X=0, and you do not have the option of trying to exile a green card in order to get an X-value. Another good example of conflicting alternate costs is when you give a spell flashback with Snapcaster Mage. You can only play the spell via its flashback cost. You can't pitch for a Force of Will, for example.<br />
<br />
So what of Thief of Sanity and Hostage Taker? Neither of these cards offers an alternate cost to cast the spells. You are still on the hook for paying a cost of some kind. For the vast majority of cards, that means paying their mana cost. However, it does mean that you can cast these spells for alternative costs. You can pay a Spectacle cost (if you've met the damage criteria), and the mana clause will apply as well, so you can pay for Rix Maadi Reveler's Spectacle with all blue mana if you want.<br />
<br />
Convoking a Venerated Loxodon yields one slightly different result. Since you are casting it, you can use Convoke to help pay for the spell, but the color-filtering only applies to mana spent to cast the spell. You cannot Convoke with a non-white creature for that portion of the spell. You will either need a white creature to Convoke with, or you will have to pay that portion with mana, which can be any color.<br />
<br />
Both of these are good examples of how getting something for free comes with some opportunity costs. By being "forced" to pay for these spells, you can get the additional bonus of the Spectacle trigger upgrade on Rix Maadi Reveler, or the counters on creatures that help Convoke your Venerated Loxodon.<br />
<br />
When you are evaluating effects like this, remember that "casting a spell without paying its mana cost" is an alternative cost, and will preclude any other alternative costs like Spectacle and Madness, and any associated benefits from casting spells that way. If you are just asked to cast the spell (under normal circumstances to spend mana on it) you can instead apply an alternative cost, which includes casting variants like Spectacle and Evoke, or mana free options like on Force of Will or Archive Trap.<br />
<br />
Addendum: While writing this post, another interesting card with this type of effect was spoiled, God-Eternal Kefnet.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUHoHcE0FNMaLBsvuo-GIUSGAfVUZtwJjyF7b1TJCPuLsozKLWHvlwHnakonpw3xyh1FnzxyTzZpQGN-MXM29w4wgdpnybg87xiBebcogWpPTty0oHQUYB5ic2sCHXcZZ_oZJIZpOYYT0Y/s1600/Kefnet-Card.webp" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUHoHcE0FNMaLBsvuo-GIUSGAfVUZtwJjyF7b1TJCPuLsozKLWHvlwHnakonpw3xyh1FnzxyTzZpQGN-MXM29w4wgdpnybg87xiBebcogWpPTty0oHQUYB5ic2sCHXcZZ_oZJIZpOYYT0Y/s320/Kefnet-Card.webp" width="229" height="320" data-original-width="265" data-original-height="370" /></a><br />
<br />
You can see that this follows in the footsteps of Thief of Sanity and Hostage Taker in that you are casting the spell. It's a little different because you are casting a copy of a card. But if you've met the casting condition for things like Spectacle, you can cast this via alternative costs. Whatever alternative cost you choose will get the benefit of the cost reduction.<br />
<br />
One of the more common questions about effects like this is "Can you just float this copy in limbo until you need it? It doesn't give a duration for when you can cast it." The latter part is true enough. Thief of Sanity and Hostage Taker tell us "for as long as it remains exile." Kefnet doesn't. In the latter cases, when no duration is listed, the card can only be cast immediately during the resolution of the triggered ability. And yes, you can cast a sorcery even tough it isn't your main phase. Why? Because the trigger lets you. Technically, you couldn't even cast an instant at this time (during the resolution of a triggered ability) if the ability did not let you.<br />
<br />
Finally, I've seen questions about whether you can Miracle cast this copy. Seems possible because Miracle is an alternative cost, right? The problem here is the part about fulfilling the casting conditions. Just like you would need to have damaged your opponent to be able to Spectacle a copy off of Kefnet, you need to meet the requirements for Miracle, which are a bit more complicated. In fact, the only way to cast something for its Miracle cost is during the resolution of its own trigger. If you reveal a Miracle card for both Kefnet and its own Miracle ability, you could cast the original card for the Miracle cost and the copy for its regular mana cost minus 2.Rikipediahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13298713777587444856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838126918212850078.post-70231370584266979162019-01-24T13:21:00.000-08:002019-01-24T13:21:27.512-08:00The Battle for InformationJudges often use the phrase “every judge call is an investigation” to emphasize that we should always be vigilant to evaluate for potential cheating vectors even in the simplest of rulings. I agree with the general sentiment that we should approach every judge call with this thought in the back of our head. However, what does it really mean for every judge call to be an investigation?<br />
<br />
I don’t think it means that we should assume ill intent in any given ruling; but at the same time we should not assume innocence. What we have is more of a Schroedinger’s Cheater and our investigation is the act of opening the box. The problem is that it isn’t as simple as just opening a box. Discovering whether a player is innocent or guilty of cheating means determining their intent, something that even a bad cheater will keep close to their chest. No one is going to outright tell a judge “I did this illegal thing on purpose to gain an advantage and I was hoping that you wouldn’t notice.” Their intent is going to be shrouded in mystery under layers of information.<br />
<br />
The phrase “playing close to the chest” is apropo for this discussion. It comes from card games like poker and refers to keeping your cards hidden from the view of your opponents. For an investigation, think of information as those poker cards. You obviously want to know what information the player is holding, but equally important is that you don’t want the player to know what information you have in your hand. Put another way, <i>if the player doesn’t know what information you’re looking for, they don’t know what to lie about.</i><br />
<br />
One important piece of information that you don’t want the player to know early on, and something that I see far too many judges offer up for free, is the fact that the player is under investigation at all! An astute player should realize that something is up any time the Head Judge talks with them, but this is a piece of information that you want to hold onto for as long as possible because as soon as a player knows, they will get defensive, clam up, and become more careful about what they share with you.<br />
<br />
This is why some Head Judges will start with some light small talk. “Hi. I’m Riki. What’s your name?” *shakes hand* “Where are you from? What’s your record?” These aren’t questions that are critical to the investigation, but they serve as a low key conversation starter. They’re more useful when you’re coming into a situation somewhat cold. This is common in a shuffling or marked cards investigation that happens away from the match table, possibly even between rounds. Obviously if it’s an active match and you’re investigating the player’s intent on an illegal play, you want to keep the small talk much shorter, both because the FJ has already spent some amount of time with their initial investigation, and also because it is much more obvious to the player that the Head Judge is trying to suss something out.<br />
<br />
(As an aside, it can be equally important to lead with “You’re not in trouble” when approaching a player outside of a match while investigating the actions of one of their past opponents.)<br />
<br />
The nature of the infraction or error under investigation is another key piece of information that you want to keep under wraps. For example, when investigating curved foils, you don’t want to just flip over all the curved foils and say “Look at how badly these are curved” because part of the calculation to determine cheating here is whether the player realized the problem at any prior point.<br />
<br />
At one event, I watched a judge perform a brief investigation triggered by a deck check. The player’s decklist was missing one card, Darkblast, that was in the physical deck (Legacy Dredge). When the player was brought over, the judge started right in with questions about “What singleton cards are you playing?” Not only did this immediately let the player narrow their scope for determining what the investigation was about, but the judge also left the decklist out in front of the player. Instead of working purely off of memory, the player scanned the decklist a couple of times and rattled off some card names before naming the Darkblast that wasn’t on the list.<br />
<br />
Even if you want to lead off getting the player to talk about their singletons cards, it’s better to get them to talk more generally about them. The question “What singleton cards are you playing?” is a dead end question. They will name the cards, and that’s it. Instead, get them to talk more about the strategy. Something like:<br />
“I noticed that you have a couple of singletons. I guess with the dredge mechanic you’re more likely to see them if you dredge a bunch of cards. How often have you seen [card name] today How relevant has it been?”<br />
In fact, my recommendation here is for the first card named to be one of the non-Darkblast singletons. Ask a few metagame questions about the card. Then ask about the Darkblast in the same manner. Now you’ve masked that your intent is to find out about Darkblast. Get the player to talk about what matchups Darkblast is good against.<br />
<br />
“Have you faced many of those decks today? How often has Darkblast been relevant?”<br />
<br />
The thing with this investigation is that you have to consider what the potential cheat is. Ask yourself why would it be advantageous to not list Darkblast on the decklist? The likely answer is to use that card slot as a “flex slot,” trying out multiple cards throughout the day depending on the metagame. In a meta with a lot of Death and Taxes, Darkblast can be an all-star in taking down Mother of Runes and Thalia, Guardian of Thraben. Against a field of Show and Tell decks, it’s just a bad dredge enabler.<br />
<br />
Another good question might be to ask how long they’ve been maindecking Darkblast as a singleton. Obviously this question is getting very specific. At this point, you are trying to gauge the truthfulness of their answer. If they say that the card has always been in their deck and explain their reasoning, it becomes more believable that it was a simple error of omission rather than a sneaky way to try out different cards in this slot.<br />
<br />
One unfortunate way that information can leak is from the opponent. I’ve had several judge calls where a player has said right at the table “My opponent is stacking their deck/ looking at my cards while they shuffle.” This is another dead end scenario. The player now knows exactly what they are accused of, can set up their story to refute or lie about what’s happened, and will not taking the offending actions any more for the duration of the match (or possibly the tournament) because a judge’s attention has been called to their shuffling.<br />
<br />
From the perspective of the player who called it out, this might be a favorable outcome--the opponent is no longer cheating against them. However, from our perspective, we’ve effectively lost the ability to investigate the situation unless a spectator can corroborate the story or the offending player is really bad at lying. This is why for players I always advocate a more discrete conversation with the judge like “I have a question about a card away from the table” and then tell the judge your concerns out of earshot of the opponent. This way we have masked the key piece of information from the opponent, that we suspect them of some kind of shuffle cheat. We can then watch them shuffle from a distance and try to catch them in the act.<br />
<br />
Finally, I want to address the issue of time management. Beating around the bush asking set-up questions can take time, so there’s only a limited amount of it that you should be doing. This isn’t a technique for every investigation out there. I used them as an example of how to use information, or the lack of it, to make investigations more effective and focused. Know what information you want to know, and what you don’t want the player to know, then strategically maneuver around those axes to further your investigation. I hope this was useful to you. Best of luck in your investigations!<br />
Rikipediahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13298713777587444856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838126918212850078.post-83578147648442430942018-05-27T08:11:00.003-07:002018-05-27T08:11:52.158-07:00Good Practices #7 - When Did You Look at Those Cards?The first example for the infraction Looking at Extra Cards (L@EC) is "A player accidentally reveals (drops, flips over) a card while shuffling their opponent’s library." This is straight forward enough, and it is probably one of the two most common ways that this infraction occurs. The other being the second example: "A player accidentally reveals (drops, flips over) a card while shuffling their opponent’s library." It's almost like these are good examples or something!<br />
<br />
As a Scorekeeper, I see judges write descriptions for infractions on the backs of slips, and the first example for L@EC is one I've seen variations of plenty of times. But "flipped over card while shuffling opponent's deck" as a description tells less than half the story. Think about it this way. Seeing a card in your opponent's deck confers an information advantage, but the potential for that advantage can vary wildly depending on when this infraction takes place.<br />
<br />
The most impactful timing is when a player shuffles their opponent's deck prior to the first game of the match. Barring information from scouting, which could be intentional or just from sitting next an opponent in the previous rounds, players don't have knowledge of what deck archetype their opponent is playing at this point in time. Early game decisions, particularly mulligan decisions, are made in this haze of ignorance.<br />
<br />
Flipping over a card while shuffling prior to Game 1 can lift that haze. Imagine this happening in a Modern match and a Baral, Chief of Compliance gets flipped over. Aha! U/R Gifts Storm! This information can certainly inform a player about the kinds of hands they should keep. Even something as innocent as a land can provide information. For example, Horizon Canopy is featured primarily in creature-based strategies.<br />
<br />
This type of information gain loses effectiveness the deeper you get into a match because a player will naturally see more cards from their opponent's deck through game play, and the deck archetype will reveal itself somewhere in the middle of the first game.<br />
<br />
Any time we speak of the potential for advantage, we should also consider the potential for cheating. Generally, more advantage means more potential for cheating. A player committing a L@EC infraction for flipping a card while shuffling their opponent's deck during Game 3 has almost zero advantage, and we can quickly dismiss cheating based on context. But when this happens prior to Game 1, it deserves more scrutiny. So what does that scrutiny look like?<br />
<br />
First off, ask about the timing in the match. Sometimes this is obvious. If you get called over at the beginning of the round and there are no permanents out, you know that it's prior to Game 1. But specific timing still matters here. Is this during a mulligan shuffle? Did the opponent keep? If the answers are "yes" and "yes," you can tick the advantage bar down a notch because the player can no longer use this information to help with their mulligan decisions. These are small pieces of information that can help you during a quick investigation.<br />
<br />
The thing with this type of investigation is, it's highly unlikely to yield a guilty verdict. For one, most of these infractions <i>are</i> innocent mistakes. Second, a player intentionally committing L@EC to see opponent's cards most likely looks like all the innocent players. Unless you happened to be watching and saw a very suspicious shuffling style, it's hard to sort the malicious from the innocent via a post-incident interview.<br />
<br />
Thus, our best line of defense becomes recording the infraction and looking for a pattern. And this is where I return to my original point; judges need to write down when the "card flip L@EC" takes place. Was it during a mid-game fetch? Was it shuffling up before Game 2? These both rate on the innocent side. But if we are recording infractions to look for patterns of potentially malicious behavior, this is an absolutely important one to record in more specific detail. If a player commits multiple L@EC infractions, all while shuffling prior to Game 1, that's a lot of potential advantage, and someone that I'm a lot more interested in talking to or watching while they shuffle before their next Game 1.Rikipediahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13298713777587444856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838126918212850078.post-79373066331417634392018-02-23T13:18:00.002-08:002018-02-23T13:53:25.207-08:00Good Practices #6 - Clomp AroundOf all the strange things that I do in judging, this might take the cake. I couldn't even tell you when I decided upon this course of action. This good practice comes from Professional REL called drafts that take place at Grand Prix and Pro Tour tournaments. During these called drafts, players are seated in pods of 8, and follow the directions of a draft caller judge to pass packs, pick up packs, and select cards. These drafts are run this way to reduce the possibility of draft errors, and to make sure all draft tables finish at the same pace.<br />
<br />
One of the biggest concerns during any draft is peeking. If an unscrupulous player catches a glimpse of their neighbors pick(s), that knowledge can give them a huge advantage. Instead of having to read signals via cards in the pack, they just know what color(s) their neighbor is on. Judges on the floor during a called draft, focus their attention on watching for peeking. They stare intently at players, scrutinize the position of the player's eyes, and sometimes even crouch to get a "player's eye view" of the situation. I've seen judges park on a particular table for the duration of a pack, just staring. Sometimes this results in a DQ, and if you're a judge who thinks you've seen some suspicious eye movement, by all means let the stare down begin.<br />
<br />
But here's the rub. There are a lot of players. I took a look at a Limited GP that I Head Judged (Milwaukee 2016). 368 players qualified for Day 2. That's 46 pods. Excluding myself and the draft caller, there were 16 judges available on the floor during the draft. That's almost 3 pods per judge. So if you park on one table, that's opening up two others tables that are going unwatched.<br />
<br />
This is why my preferred mode when I'm on the floor of a called draft is to be on the move. If a judge near me is in park-and-watch mode, that means I have five pods to patrol. With that many pods to monitor, the efficacy of me being able to watch any particular player is pretty low, but if you can't actually catch a cheater, you can deter them. This is why I intentionally clomp around my patrol zone with heavier than usual footfalls. No, I don't stomp like I'm crushing grapes. Just enough to put it into player's ears that "there's a judge walking around."<br />
<br />
One thing I do is pick up the paper wrapper garbage from the packs. (GP and PT packs are opened, stamped, and rewrapped with slips of paper indicating the event.) This is a bit controversial among judges. Some will say that judges shouldn't pick up garbage because they aren't watching for peekers. But I've found that leaning in here is a good way to establish the presence of a judge and deter peeking. Heck, some players will even help you out by passing you their refuse.<br />
<br />
In the end, this is mostly just theatrics. Another judge compared it to "parking your state trooper car on the side of the highway with the headlights on." It's very hard to actually catch a cheater this way, but if other judges are parked and focused on that, go for a stroll to fill that space.<br />
<br />
Rikipediahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13298713777587444856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838126918212850078.post-43841711915832160402017-06-19T12:14:00.000-07:002017-06-19T12:50:26.948-07:00Be the Shield!(Minor scene spoilers for Wonder Woman and Mad Max: Fury Road abound.)<br />
<br />
The movie Wonder Woman is chock full of what could be described as “powerful moments,” scenes that make you feel good about humanity and inspire you to go out and slay your enemies, whether they are Imperial German troops or the social injustices of our own time. For me, the scene that resonated the most was from the battle in the French town. Towards the end of the battle, a German sniper in a clock tower has pinned down the heroes. The tower is too tall. The sniper is too high up.<br />
<br />
Steve Trevor sees a large piece of flat metal, perhaps a piece of armor from the tank that Wonder Woman leveled earlier, and comes up with a plan of attack based on a maneuver he saw the Amazon general execute in the Themiscryia battle. He calls his teammates around the metal sheet, and the group of men struggles to lift it up. “Diana, shield!” shouts Trevor, to alert her to what they are doing. She gets it. She runs at them, jumps on top of the metal sheet, and the men push it and her upward towards the tower.<br />
<br />
The top of the tower crumbles into ruins as she collides with it.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0F5AifQ22KVxqm0cgptPDZQuHqOliU3JHcHPAblG5SjMUYbyZu0JLFh3cIZlxm4s_8x23-81NlFv86Wjxh55xhGNCgh6om0iSLq8PRSiftXQIr0g9MLbb2YdRLfa8rPr8XW0gvOdk5ExC/s1600/WonderWoman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="180" data-original-width="320" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0F5AifQ22KVxqm0cgptPDZQuHqOliU3JHcHPAblG5SjMUYbyZu0JLFh3cIZlxm4s_8x23-81NlFv86Wjxh55xhGNCgh6om0iSLq8PRSiftXQIr0g9MLbb2YdRLfa8rPr8XW0gvOdk5ExC/s320/WonderWoman.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
The scene reminded me a lot of the movie Mad Max: Fury Road, and in particular a scene where Max is trying to shoot an oncoming foe with a sniper rifle. He takes a shot, misses, and is told that he has two bullets left. He takes another shot. Another miss. Furiosa (played by Charlize Theron) comes over, and the two of them exchange glances. It looks like she wants to offer him some advice, but then says nothing. Max looks back at her again and silently hands her the rifle. She is, after all, an accomplished warrior in Immortan Joe’s army and he’s already missed twice.<br />
<br />
Not only does Max wordlessly acknowledge her superiority, but he also stays crouched in front of her and offers his shoulder as a support base for her to place the rifle on. “Don’t breathe,” she says. She takes the shot and hits.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHR2WVUMfRrz7M5hx4VBxQeUFe1fEgAIIsfp7pBYkuRSE5d81lRWSocSjnzmRw_5EtHNAuBdPOOOWI02r41K1pOmhVcuKIu9ufHY_f27TBYQ_JiwV9Tmb4yo0nJJcEprMauxcifl52cEZ4/s1600/MadMax.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="191" data-original-width="448" height="136" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHR2WVUMfRrz7M5hx4VBxQeUFe1fEgAIIsfp7pBYkuRSE5d81lRWSocSjnzmRw_5EtHNAuBdPOOOWI02r41K1pOmhVcuKIu9ufHY_f27TBYQ_JiwV9Tmb4yo0nJJcEprMauxcifl52cEZ4/s320/MadMax.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
I’ve said in the past that the Judge Program talks a good talk when it comes to diversity, but we lack action. To me, these two scenes provide dramatized examples of what the men in the Judge Program need to do. We need to give up the rifle, and let the superior warrior take the shot. We need to be a platform to lift the women who are stronger than us, and let them crash the tower.<br />
<br />
In these examples, the woman is notably superior to the man, through training or actual superpowers, and it’s easy to dismiss the real life implications on those ground. “Of course I would actually lay down for an real life Amazon.” Being the shield shouldn’t just be about laying down for the best person for the job. That’s a perspective for a more Utopian time than we live in now, a time when a pure meritocracy might take hold.<br />
<br />
Men have held the proverbial rifle for the entire existence of the Judge Program. Even as we’ve made some reasonable strides in representation, women only comprise 8% of the L3s in the world, and a cursory glance at other levels show similar percentages. Under a meritocracy, giving women 8% of the opportunities in the Judge Program is perfectly fair, but there’s a difference between equality and equity, as this illustration shows.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9CbfiJv-E5fhxg3ajgtpxlkJ5o1ufFSkF9bcm0U46Rueefn6qUH_58pEjptpYjibdU6S3-YipzRdhpAwX7y2LqQr3bGme4K_wZG3d4Nnmy-GV8tInxPuUCiZOnK1a_HybnW3y_-icBvHG/s1600/EqualityEquity.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="327" data-original-width="433" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9CbfiJv-E5fhxg3ajgtpxlkJ5o1ufFSkF9bcm0U46Rueefn6qUH_58pEjptpYjibdU6S3-YipzRdhpAwX7y2LqQr3bGme4K_wZG3d4Nnmy-GV8tInxPuUCiZOnK1a_HybnW3y_-icBvHG/s320/EqualityEquity.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />
The shield analogy is an embodiment of this image. Women have been underrepresented in superhero movies, especially as central, powerful characters who stand on their own. To get to a place of equality, men have to lay down as the shield to provide this taller box, and I don’t think it’s an accident that both of these movies have these scenes in them. But putting this into practice will be a difficult thing for a lot of men. Recognizing your position of privilege is one thing. Giving it up willingly is another story entirely. <br />
<br />
One of the most direct moments where you can be the shield is during discussions and/or meetings. In group discussions, it’s been shown that women are interrupted, talked over, and marginalized on a regular basis. Think about how much you’re talking during your next team meeting. Be willing to talk less, or use your voice to provide an opening for someone else.<br />
<br />
I’ve talked to women who have had other judges take over calls from them. This type of behavior is generally frowned upon among judges, but it’s not too difficult to imagine how if this is going to happen, it’s more likely to happen to women. It’s like the moment in Wonder Woman when Steve tries to protect Diana from the German spies, only to find out that she can deflect bullets. That scene is a part of the setup for him to eventually shout “Shield!” It’s his moment of enlightenment. But if you never have that moment, if you never stop trying to protect women from danger, you might never know how great they are.<br />
<br />
If you’re in a position of some authority, a Head Judge for example, who can make decisions about team assignments, it’s worth taking some time to think through your choices. I don’t like the ideas of quotas, but when you are dealing with an historically underrepresented group, it’s important to give due consideration. The National Football League has a rule to this effect called the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rooney_Rule">Rooney Rule</a> that requires teams to interview at least one minority candidate for any head coach or senior football operations position. Unlike affirmative action, there’s no requirements for hiring said minorities, but since the implementation of the rule the percentage of African American head coaches in the league has tripled.<br />
<br />
I’ve mentioned in the past that if Magic: the Gathering can overcome its misogynistic stigma, we could double our attendance and audience. The same applies to the Judge Program. Think about it; we’re just hitting 8% after what feels like a few years of progress? We’ve basically operated all these years at half strength, and it makes you realize why you hear the words “burn out” get tossed around a lot. There are so many more “best and brightest” that we could be incorporating into our Program and its leadership, our Wonder Women and Furiosas. But to find our Wonder Women, the men who may have been the primary heroes in the earlier parts of the story, like Max and Steve Trevor, must be prepared to lay down and be the shield. I look at those stories and I see the kind of hero that I want to be, someone who is okay letting the women be the stars for once.<br />
<br />
(Thanks to Meghan Rickman and Megan Holden for the proof-reading and feedback.)Rikipediahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13298713777587444856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838126918212850078.post-27906045972106339862017-04-04T20:21:00.001-07:002017-04-04T20:21:23.217-07:00Hello from your new Program CoordinatorThere's so much I want to say, and so many ways I want to say it. I've started multiple drafts of this post since I found out, and none of them seemed quite right. I think that it never really sunk in until the announcement today, so now that it is public, I'm just going to start writing and stop when it feels done.<br />
<br />
Program Coordinator. PC. It's the most mysterious advanced role in the Judge Program. Grand Prix Head Judges administer events, Regional Coordinators run communities, and Program Coordinators... coordinate the program? All of it? A lot of people want PCs to be the true leaders of the Judge Program, the "monarchs" or what the Level 5s used to be. At least those are the kinds of analogies I've heard. But if asked the PCs, they would frequently deny being the true leaders of the Judge Program. "We coordinate, not lead." It's been a consistent refrain from the PCs, one where they focus on administration, but one that has frustrated those people looking for more monarchy, more leadership.<br />
<br />
So here I am. Do I lead or do I coordinate? Am I a monarch or an administrator? None of these fit me well. I'm actually a pretty bad administrator, and I've found the most success when I've had better organized planners to work with. I am a strong leader, but I've done better as a leader of individuals and not of projects. To lead individuals on a global scale seems exhausting.<br />
<br />
The word that appeals to me is facilitator. That word and coordinator occupy similar spaces, but coordinator still feels too much like someone telling everyone what to do, the monarch, whereas a facilitator listens to what you want to do and helps you accomplish it. This is a big part of what I want to do. I want to listen to you. <br />
<br />
I recently had a conversation with someone where they used the phrase "I'm willing to die on this hill." I never liked this phrase. First off, I don't want to die. As a runner, when I think of hills, I see a challenge to overcome, a goal to accomplish. I see a hill and I say "How do I conquer this hill?" There are a lot of hills in the Judge Program, and recently it feels like people are choosing which ones to die on. I want you to help me conquer them, to run up them together, and enjoy a Rocky-esque moment of celebration at the top.<br />
<br />
I want to inspire and enable. That said, I do have some ideas and a vision. You can't get to be PC without some ideas for what the Program should do. I'd like to share that vision with you because I would like your buy-in and your help. With that in mind, I've also published my answer to the 3rd Program Coordinator application question in a separate <a href="http://mtgrikipedia.blogspot.com/2017/04/program-coordinator-application.html">blog post here</a>. If I were a politician, I would consider this to be my platform, and when the question asks "how will you help?" this is when I ask for your help in making these ideas into a reality.<br />
<br />
Here's the part where I give thanks. Many people have helped me to craft my ideas and my words. It's cliche, but there are too many to name here, so I will focus on Nicholas Sabin, Eric Dustin Brown, Jacob Milicic, and Fabian Peck who helped edit my PC application. I particularly want to call out Fabian as the person who was my personal cheerleader throughout the application process. It is doubtful that my ideas would have been so fully formed and well-written without his encouragement and accountability. When I talk about facilitating the success of others, he did that for me.<br />
<br />
Finally, I want to say how bittersweet it is for me step into this new role as Toby Elliott leaves it. Toby has been a lot of things to me over the years. Even as I applied for PC, I knew that Toby would not be staying on. A part of me will always think of it as Toby's seat, and as I have always done while following in his footsteps, I will work hard to make him proud. (btw Kim Warren is great as well, and I'll miss her, but it's hard to compare her impact on my judge career to Toby.)<br />
<br />
So there we have it. It's getting late and I've said most of what I wanted to say. I'm excited for this new opportunity, and I'm really excited that people are excited.Rikipediahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13298713777587444856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838126918212850078.post-47556924293486699142017-04-04T20:07:00.000-07:002017-04-04T20:14:45.269-07:00Program Coordinator Application Question 3<b>Question 3: What should the Program Coordinators accomplish in the next 18 months, and how will you help?</b><br />
<i>Feedback</i><br />
Judges love to talk about feedback. They don’t like to give it, and probably hate receiving it even more. This is the dark truth of the Judge Program. Like the Fellowship of the Rings, the feedback culture in the Judge Program is broken. What’s wrong with it and how do we fix it?<br />
<br />
I think that feedback culture is upside down right now. So much of it is focused on how best to give feedback, and there’s no discussion about how to receive it. People clamor for feedback, saying that they don’t receive enough reviews, but when they receive an unexpected review, or feedback that contradicts their self image, the response is to attack the giver. This is creating a culture where people are afraid to give feedback.<br />
<br />
There are artifacts of this everywhere in the Judge Program. For example, the “best practice” of clearing your feedback with the subject, either via face-to-face or a draft. I do agree that it is a best practice, but many have raised to the level of a canonical requirement, and get upset when it doesn’t happen. Putting the burden of clearing the feedback beforehand hurts the cause of the giver. Meanwhile, we aren’t doing anything to help train the receiver on how to take the feedback.<br />
<br />
Yes, we can always educate and train judges to be better at how they give feedback, but we need to acknowledge the other end of these feedback dynamics and at least begin to make people aware that feedback is a relationship.<br />
<br />
Relationships are an aspect of feedback culture that is underdeveloped in the Judge Program. All the instances of asking for feedback are random and disorganized. Even L3 recommendations, which should be the paragon of strong relationships between judges often fall to a “whoever will do it” basis rather than finding the people that matter to you most.<br />
<br />
The most easily internalized feedback comes from those people who care about you. We should emphasize this and seek to create avenues for these strong bonds between judges to drive our feedback, and not the random chance of “you happened to be on my team.” Part of the above problem of judges not being accepting of feedback is that they aren’t accepting of feedback from certain people. We should seek to find the people the people that we will accept feedback from, and engage them to help deliver the feedback. This might take the form of something like the old judge pyramid or listing trusted feedback mentors in our profiles.<br />
<br />
When it comes to the feedback culture, I believe that I am one of the most vocal leaders (other strong voices are Riccardo Tessitori and Dustin de Leeuw). In the past, I’ve been more focused on reviews, but I’ve made a push to change the conversation to feedback in general, and more recently to emphasize strong relationships and holding each other accountable. If feedback is going to be a core principle of the Judge Program again, my track record makes me one of its best spokespersons.<br />
<br />
<i>Diversity and Representation</i><br />
Like feedback, the Judge Program talks a big talk (probably bigger) when it comes to diversity. The Judge Program is, on the surface, a welcoming and inclusive organization. However, there is a difference between merely promoting diversity as a general culture and focusing on changing the balance of representation, and this is where we need to focus more of our efforts on.<br />
<br />
Changing the balance of representation often brings with it concerns that the bar is being lowered to let disadvantaged groups in. However, when there is a lack of representation in general, it takes extraordinary individuals to break through the glass ceiling. These people work even harder than the standard to fight against the inertia that is present, and it is my belief that reaching out to help more such people would not compromise our standards of quality.<br />
<br />
Magic currently has a gender imbalance issue. Mark Rosewater once released a statistic that 38% of Magic players were women. This stat seemed wrong to a lot of people because when they looked around, they didn’t see that many women playing. Look no further than PT Aether Revolt, which had 2 women playing out of 424 players (less than 0.5%). SCG Tour events hover somewhere in the single digits. That’s a stark drop off from 38%.<br />
<br />
This disparity in numbers has everything to do with the often unwelcoming environment of Magic tournaments, and this is where judges enter the picture. We are the ones responsible for these environments. We need to have more women at the front lines of the Judge Program (L1 store judges) to serve as gatekeepers and role models for more women to play the game. And for that to happen, we need to present role models among our high level judges as well.<br />
<br />
To achieve this end goal, I propose that the Judge Program have dedicated avenues by which we recruit women to judging. There are two primary ways to do this:<br />
Publicly showcase women in judging. Judge of the Week, other blogs and publications, putting women in key public positions. This normalizes the presence of women in judging and provides examples and role models for aspiring women to follow. These efforts don’t have to be directed “look at all the women” efforts. We can simply alter the ratios without necessarily bringing attention to it.<br />
I want to address the fact that showcasing women, no matter how subtly done, will face sexist comments and actions. For example, when women are on camera in the feature match area as players or judges. It is important that efforts of representation are accompanied by both broad and specific messages condemning such actions swiftly and diplomatically. I had heard that there was a group of judges who were moderators in Twitch chat. Such a group should be supported, educated, and empowered to act on behalf of the Judge Program.<br />
Have programs that encourage women to become judges or advance in the Judge Program, either vertically (in level) or horizontally (leading projects). One specific idea is a “women mentoring women” program that can put geographically disparate judges in contact with each other. I also think that we should be doing more than passively hoping certain strong L2s decide to advance to L3. the path to L3 isn’t an easy one. The path to L3 as a woman is even harder. We should have more direct and personal mentorship for those candidates, and more open channels of communication to listen to the issues that they face in the workplace.<br />
<br />
I also want to emphasize that gender diversity shouldn’t be the only thing on the agenda, but currently it is the most glaring, and highlighting representation in other ways should not be ignored. <br />
<br />
<i>Growth Check</i><br />
The general sentiment is that the Judge Program is nearing the end of its growth phase, and that we can no longer operate in the same ways that we have before. One example of this is the L3 forum. The collective number of L3s recently passed Dunbar’s number. While the merits of this theory or the exact number of people that can be in a sustainable network can be debated, the fact that we’ve crossed this threshold indicates that we should at least entertain the notion that our old methods of organizing and communicating might need an overhaul.<br />
<br />
Moving back to spheres provides a renewed ability to subdivide L3s into various interest groups. This could be a way to continue discussions in smaller groups. The danger in breaking up the leadership is that you still want there to be some upper management communication and coordination. I don’t know that the PCs alone would suffice for this, and creating a second tier of management here starts to smell a lot like L4 and 5 again. To counteract that, I believe that more project management should fall to L2s and L1s. L3s are experts at a lot of things, but project management isn’t necessarily one of them. I believe this is a similar divide to the way L4 was split up between events and program. It’s a split that we should continue to embrace down the line.<br />
<br />
Various policies that encourage unbridled growth should be reevaluated. One such policy that was recently brought up is the “train 2 judges in the last 12 months” requirement to advance to L3. While the actual number of new judges that comes about because of this may be small, it sends the message that growth is a priority.<br />
<br />
An important consideration is that not all communities are at the same place in growth, and the Program should be sensitive to these differences. However, I believe it is more important to send the general message of slow growth now and deal with those communities on a case-by-case basis to encourage the local leaders to pursue independent courses of action that differ from the overall message. Having slow growth policies ready to go would also be helpful for when those communities catch up and reach a point of oversaturation.<br />
<br />
My three core points have a lot of interplay. If we seek to slow down growth and emphasize making judges better, then feedback and emphasizing strong mentoring relationships plays a role in that. If we want to increase representation, that is going to lead to a swell in the number of judges, something that we should prepare for by slowing down growth in general.<br />
<br />
Rikipediahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13298713777587444856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838126918212850078.post-14660683150082998732017-04-01T15:33:00.002-07:002017-04-01T15:33:48.525-07:00Whitewashing in my LifeThere's been some chatter lately about the movie adaptation of the "Ghost in the Shell" anime, and in particular the topic of whitewashing with regard to the casting of Scarlett Johansson as a Japanese character. I've never watched the original anime, but I have been Japanese all my life, so I thought I would share my personal perspective on whitewashing in general.<br />
<br />
One of my earliest memories of feeling like something was wrong, way before I knew that the term whitewashing even existed, was watching the movie "Rising Sun." It featured a bunch of Japanese characters who spoke broken Japanese, as if they were just reading words from a script without even knowing the language. In fact, looking at the cast, there are a bunch of Hawaiian-born actors, so this is probably very true. These people may have been of Japanese descent, but they were being asked to play Japanese Yakuza (mafia) members, and their accents were worse than Kevin Costner's in "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves." It was jarring, and it made the movie unwatchable for me.<br />
<br />
This would be a pretty consistent theme throughout my life. Japanese would be spoken by supposedly native speakers, but it would be stilted and awkward. It's been a few years since I've watched it, but "Karate Kid: Part II," a movie that takes place in Japan, is rife with bad Japanese and even bad English spoken with fake Japanese accents. Just look at <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jM-u9BkRPTk">this interview</a> with two of the actors who were called upon to play Japanese characters, and try to imagine them speaking Japanese.<br />
<br />
Speaking different languages is hard. I grew up speaking Japanese with my family, so I have a pretty authentic accent, but without much practice, my vocabulary has atrophied a bit. I could live in Japan, and immersed in the culture, I would probably revert pretty quickly. Asking actors who don't speak much Japanese, if at all, to pull off movie dialogue works out about as well as <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krtnt191Drg">this</a>. This scene was played for some quick laughs, but this has been my life with Japanese characters in movies. I am shown people who look like me, mostly Hawaiian actors with Japanese ancestry, but who don't speak like me.<br />
<br />
Along comes the "Ghost in the Shell" controversy, and multiple people have posted about this street interview with Japanese people who are okay with Scarlett Johansson playing the main character, Motoko Kusanagi. It's stunning that people are holding this up as... what? I'm not even sure, but it bothers me a lot, because it feels like it is a denial that whitewashing has existed at all, or at the very least a rebuttal against the condemnation of "Ghost in the Shell." Oh, these Japanese people said it was okay. I must be wrong to feel offended.<br />
<br />
Let's be clear. I've experienced something completely different from what Japanese people in Japan have experienced when it comes to movies and TV. They get to watch hours and hours of entertainment featuring genuine Japanese actors and voices. For the most part, I've gotten the equivalent of Brad Pitt speaking Italian, except that it has been presented to me without irony. I hope that this puts things into better perspective. Thanks for reading.Rikipediahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13298713777587444856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838126918212850078.post-29076214350734028482017-03-17T12:50:00.000-07:002017-03-17T13:44:53.733-07:00Rocks and Rocks - What to do When You're the ReachIn the past, I wrote a post about <a href="http://mtgrikipedia.blogspot.com/2014/06/head-judging-scg-open-rocks-and-reaches.html">Rocks and Reaches</a>, a theory on how to select your Team Leads when you are a Head Judge. The basic idea is that you want to balance between (solid) rocks and (people who are) reaches. But what do you do when you, as Head Judge, are the reach?<br />
<br />
The first part of the equation is to recognize when this is the case. The easiest scenario to imagine when you are the reach is when you are the HJ of your first large event that actually requires you to divide up your judge staff into teams. Beyond that, you should think of tournaments in tiers based on complexity, expected attendance, and the quality and quantity of judges on your staff.<br />
<br />
Recently, Paul Baranay went with a "rocks and rocks" setup for his TLs. Now, Paul has been there and done that. He's certified as a Grand Prix Head Judge. He has head judged multiple Opens, including a 677-player Standard Open.<br />
<br />
But this event was set to be something special, a Team Constructed Open, the first of its kind. At the time Paul chose his TLs, we were already trending towards reaching our seating capacity of 300 teams (900 players), and indeed it happened a few days later. Also, being Teams introduced plenty of uncertainty in terms of how the event would run. I would not necessarily call Paul a reach, but the entire situation was so. And that's why Paul chose the TLs he did and sent them the following message:<br />
" 'Rocks and reaches' works great for lots of events.<br />
This event, however, is a 'rocks and rocks' situation.<br />
I chose you for these roles because I knew you would do a great job in spite of any challenges that the event throws at us."<br />
<br />
It was a cute turn of the phrase that emphasized exactly the right things for this event. A Head Judge's time and bandwidth is already constant assault at this kind of event, and every strong leader that you put into place to reduce some of your burden will help you.<br />
<br />
As a counter-example, I was talking with Jacob Milicic, who recently head judged his first ever SCG Classic in Indianapolis. Jacob is someone who is big on feedback and judge development, and with those interests in mind he went with two less experienced TLs. There's nothing inherently wrong with that rationale, but according to Jacob, "Looking back on it, I should've gone with two rocks for my team leads, or even a rock and a reach. Selecting my leads the way that I did set me up for a more-challenging day than I would've liked for Head Judging my first SCG Classic."<br />
<br />
The next time you're set to be the Head Judge of something that you expect to be a challenge, consider surrounding yourself with a bunch of rocks.Rikipediahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13298713777587444856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838126918212850078.post-44702904590310814522017-01-27T13:32:00.002-08:002017-01-27T13:38:11.205-08:00Changing the CultureYesterday, discussion broke out on Twitter about the fact that there were zero women on any of the #PTAER <a href="http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/organized-play/2016%E2%80%9317-pro-tour-team-series-rosters-2017-01-26">Pro Tour Team Series Rosters</a>. Many people were quick to cite the fact that there are currently zero Gold or Platinum level women in the game. Discussion then began about <i>why </i>that is the case, and it's at least a credit to those involved in the discussion that I didn't see any arguments about women being worse at the game itself. But there is a participation problem.<br />
Two years ago, I did some quick eyeball counts of the number of women playing in SCG Opens. Across nine events, the average was 12.7 women per Standard Open, or a hair over three percent of the field. Participation in Legacy and Modern Classics was slightly less, but those tournaments have such small sample sizes per weekend that it's hard to put much stock in them. I haven't taken any counts recently, but my gut says that it is more. I'll ask someone to do a count this weekend in Richmond.<br />
While there's always room for improvement, I like to think that SCG Tour events are a friendly and welcoming environment for women. It helps that our stage staff and judge staffs always have a strong representation of women among them, and we take matters of harassment seriously. Like I said, things could be better though. One thing I'd like to see is a sign that more directly addresses this, as has been displayed by other TOs and event organizers. While our Tour regulars know us and our values, newcomers don't, and placing a sign that addresses and allays concerns right up front can send a powerful message and establishes a tone. I'm also going to bring it up to add this to our opening announcements.<br />
Education among judges could be better too. Judge conferences often feature a "Women in Magic/Judging" seminar. I've attended a few of them, and even among what a consider to be a more enlightened crowd, there are cringeworthy moments, especially of audience men-bers mansplaining things to the women giving the talk. Yeah.<br />
But we need to move forward in education beyond just "this is a problem" into "this is how we address the problem." We have reached a decent level of saturation of awareness in the Magic community, but we don't know how to deal with it. This is most evident in the number of Twitter posts that shifted the discussion from the #PTAER team representation to the issues at LGSs.<br />
Yeah, those Local Game Stores aren't always friendly. I recall one FNM in a city where we were holding an Open that weekend where a random person came up beside me while I was watching a match and said, "Are you, Chinese? (Me: 'No.') Korean? ('No.') What are you then?"<br />
In that moment, I was speechless. I was powerless. I've felt that way at other LGSs as well. Nothing as personally dramatic as this, but the all-too-familiar phrases "that card is so gay!" or "I got raped by Affinity." We've been at a place <a href="http://fivewithflores.com/2012/12/words-mean-things-by-patrick-chapin/">for years</a> where we know that these are unacceptable things to say, so it can be demoralizing to constantly fight against it over and over again.<br />
A few people on Twitter mentioned that they feel more comfortable at larger events than an LGS. I feel the same way, and I wanted to explore a few reasons why.<br />
* Smaller spaces, same faces - If you run into an unpleasant person at a GP, you walk away, and chances are good that you never see them again. At an LGS, if you meet a bad seed, you're likely to be within earshot of them throughout the night, and there's a strong possibility that you flat out get paired against them. If you run into that same person week in and week out, it becomes much easier to just walk away from the store.<br />
* Their house, their rules - At a GP or SCG Tour event, I am in charge, or at least in a position where I have agency over the environment, and there's something to be said for having that kind of power. There's also a responsibility to use that power wisely and compassionately, which I try to do. At a random LGS, I am a visitor, and in that kind of environment, it can be difficult to speak up against hurtful words. If it's this hard for me, I can imagine how hard it is for others.<br />
I don't get out to local events often, but for the game as a whole, they are the lifeblood of our community. Players find and play the game there, and some percentage of them get invested and graduate to the higher tiers of competition. It's painful to think about how many players we lose at the LGS level because of the issues we keep hearing about. If you're reading this, it probably means you survived the meat grinder. Something, or maybe a someone kept things going for you. If you're a store owner or a local judge, you have direct control over the kind of environment that your store fosters. But you also have control if you're a regular at your store. Other players know you and the example you choose to set can help everyone to be more thoughtful with their words.<br />
For my part, I'll continue to keep my house in order at SCG Tour events and the GPs I make it out to, and also continue to work on educating judges, not only in speaking up, but how to speak up, because the messenger matters a lot in turning the tide of the culture. I've <a href="http://mtgrikipedia.blogspot.com/2014/10/please-put-your-playmat-away.html">written more about this in the past.</a> You're no good as an authority figure if you're isolated from your audience.<br />
In closing, this is important to me, now more than ever. In America, we were subject to a rude awakening with the election of that guy. There's nothing we can do about that. This is what we can do. We can win the small battles. People think that attendance at large events have plateaued. Sure, maybe for now. But imagine what attendance would be like if we had more than 3% women at these things.Rikipediahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13298713777587444856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838126918212850078.post-36158005876583336912016-08-30T04:42:00.001-07:002016-08-30T04:42:08.222-07:00Thank you for Grand Prix IndianapolisWhat an amazing event. So many people stopped by or used social media to congratulate me and comment on what a well-run Grand Prix it was. And it really was, wasn't it? The player meeting got started at 9:02 and we finished in 10 minutes, prompting David Ochoa to Tweet:<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">A 12-minute player meeting at <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/gpIndy?src=hash">#gpIndy</a>. Is that a record <a href="https://twitter.com/mtgRikipedia">@mtgRikipedia</a>? <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/magic?src=hash">#magic</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/mtg?src=hash">#mtg</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/teamCFB?src=hash">#teamCFB</a></p>— David Ochoa (@_DavidOchoa) <a href="https://twitter.com/_DavidOchoa/status/769523242948300800">August 27, 2016</a></blockquote><script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
<br />
Things hummed along from there. The last match of Day 1 finished at 8:09pm. That's 73-minute rounds on average, when I've been told that anything under 75 is good. Day 2, even better. 9:03 to 3:31 for 65-minute rounds, and the Top 8 finished at 6:04pm with a flurry of Lightning Bolts from Brandon Burton.<br />
<br />
It helped that the Modern format is in a fast place. Burn decks like the one that Brandon won with are all the place, and in general, aggressive strategies like Affinity, Valakut, and Infect are favored over true control decks. Heck, even the control decks have fast closeouts with Bolts and Snapcasters, or a quick Nahiri/Emrakul finish. But there were two other Modern GPs this weekend with fewer players, and we kept pace or better with both.<br />
<br />
It takes more than one person to make an event like this happen, and while I'm happy to be the front man for the band, I have to thank all of my band mates.<br />
<br />
First of all, Alan Hochman, the TO. I'm sure that it's never a comfortable feeling to have your event be someone's GP Head Judge debut, but he was supportive and encouraging all the way through, looking to make it a celebration of this milestone. He and I share a birthday, and that kind of random detail made this feel like it was meant to be. The staff he put together, both for his stage staff and the judges, was integral to the event's success. This can't be said enough. When you have people like John Alderfer and Rob McKenzie devoted to TO business instead of floor judging, that's a small loss to get a huge gain. I didn't interface with those two much, but I felt their constant presence, making things run smooth in the background.<br />
<br />
Speaking of those judges, CJ Crooks, as Judge Manager, helped me navigate through staff selection and scheduling. At this event, CJ reminded me that I had tested him for Level 2 in 2011, and I'm proud of what influence I've had on his judging career. CJ gave me a lot of leeway in putting together the squad that I wanted, and I thank him for having faith in my selections. CJ is another great judge in his own right, one of my favorites to work with on the floor. In his role as Judge Manager, he was usually pretty close by on the stage with me, and his attitude was a constant uplifting factor for me.<br />
<br />
Jeff Morrow and Jared Sylva, my two Appeals Judges in burgundy. Fun fact. These two were the ones who recommended me for Level 3 way back in 2009. They have been constant mentors, friends, and partners in my long career. Back in May, I told Jeff that I would HJ of this GP and asked him to come. Despite the fact that he was already planning on being in Indianapolis for GenCon just a few shorts weeks prior to this event, he made the quick turnaround. Jared never let there be any doubt that he would be there, despite having a Pro Tour in Australia and the New Jersey Invitational on his docket in the weeks leading up to Indy. Those are the kinds of friends I have.<br />
<br />
Kali Anderson. In 2010, at the Atlanta Open where I interviewed for my job with StarCityGames (the first time around), Kali certified for Level 1. Our paths became pretty intertwined since then, and I enjoyed watched her blossom first as a judge, then as a scorekeeper, and now I get to have lunch with her almost every week day as her coworker. Having her as the main event scorekeeper was reassuring from a skill perspective first, but also from a familiarity perspective. It was like being a pitcher who has a personal catcher. You can get so much done without even speaking about it.<br />
<br />
Jarrod Feight. He's a new one to the roster. I worked with him last May at a Dallas Open that I attended basically to "cycle" for miles. He caught my attention, and we've struck up a friendship and working relationship. He recently had a baby, but he came out from Dallas to support me. He came through big by delivering one of the best Day 2 Team Lead performances on his first try.<br />
<br />
I could keep going and going. Eric Dustin Brown and Patrick Vorbroker came out despite Head Judging their own tournaments the following week in Richmond. CJ Shrader, who doesn't venture out of the Southeast all too often. Jeff Higgins and Scott Neiwert from Portland, following in the wake of their own GP there a few weeks prior. A lot of people made choices and sacrifices to be here, to be here for me.<br />
<br />
In some sense, the preparation for this event goes back years. The people I've met and the relationships I've made with them are what made this event the success that it was. I'm a fan of stacking my decks when it comes to judge staffs of events that I Head Judge. And for this one, I never stopped stacking. You should see the people I contacted who couldn't make it. Eric Levine, recently returned from Japan, had to make some hard cuts in events so as not to overload his schedule. Jacob Milicic attended a wedding. (Someone else who I can't recall at the moment also attended a wedding, but probably not the same one.) The good news, especially for Jacob, is that we are running it back at GP Milwaukee in December. Pastimes and Riki Hayashi, take two. This one's Limited, so the degree of difficulty goes up. Let's do it again.Rikipediahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13298713777587444856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838126918212850078.post-49050052051379273802016-06-15T20:37:00.000-07:002016-06-15T20:37:02.986-07:00Ichiro is my Hit KingIchiro Suzuki is one of my heroes.<br />
<br />
Growing up, I was bombarded with the stereotype of the weak, unathletic Asian. Popular culture said that I had to be good at math and science, but bad at sports because of my smaller body and bad eyesight. I played sports, but I never expected to be among the best. In high school, I played on the tennis team. Being a college town in California, there were quite a few other Asian kids on the team, and we did very well... but we weren't football or basketball players, so we weren't cool, and I didn't feel like an athlete.<br />
<br />
When Hideo Nomo came over from Japan to play baseball in the Major Leagues, it was a big deal for me, especially because he pitched for the Los Angeles Dodgers, the team that I grew up with. It meant a lot to me to see a Japanese player holding his own against Major League teams because it challenged the narrative of the unathletic Asian. But there was still the nagging doubt that "he was only a pitcher" and a Japanese hitter would never be able to cut it here.<br />
<br />
Enter Ichiro, the first hitter to cross the Pacific. He was a star in Japan, and like Nomo, he wanted to test himself against the best. He tested himself and he succeeded beyond imagination, becoming not just a star, but a superstar here. There was a period of time when he was frequently the lead story on Sportscenter. He broke records, stunned crowds, and inspired a nation.<br />
<br />
Especially as we've learned about the fraudulent stats and the records that fell during the Steroids Era of baseball, Ichiro represents a purity and a beauty of the game. He never hit for great power; his game was founded on speed, hitting, hustle, and respect for the game. I once watched an interview where he talked about how he took care of his equipment, despite being a millionaire who could buy more gloves and cleats a hundred times over.<br />
<br />
Today, Ichiro got 2 hits, moving his career hit total, combining those from Japan and the US, to 4,257. That's significant because it surpasses Pete Rose's career total, the Major League record. This doesn't mean that Ichiro has the record now. But his accomplishments are significant. They are significant to me, as a Japanese man. They are significant to the nation of Japan, proving that its stars can be your stars. It is significant to all of those nations and people who have been told that they can't. Growing up, I never would have believed that I would see someone who looked like me playing in, let alone dominating an American professional sport. Ichiro made me believe. Rikipediahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13298713777587444856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838126918212850078.post-24446156487905496932016-05-30T14:30:00.002-07:002016-05-30T14:30:44.542-07:00Calling a Professional REL DraftAt Professional REL events, PTs and GP Day 2s, the booster drafts are subject to a timed calling procedure where all of the draft tables follow along to a called script that is read over the microphone. This is done to get all of the players drafting in synch and make sure that nothing goes wrong. It's a lot easier for judges to spot problems when everyone is doing the same things at the same time. At Pro Tour Shadows Over Innistrad, I called both of the booster drafts to start the days, and I thought I'd share a few notes and tips from that. At this point in my career, I've probably called about a dozen such drafts, and I've gotten things down to a science.<br />
<br />
Always prep some water. Talking a lot makes your throat dry, and you'll want to have a glass or bottle of water at the ready so that you can take some swigs during the draft. Of course, don't drink so much that you will have to go to the bathroom.<br />
<br />
I like to write out a script with all of the times for picks written down, and make marks next to the times depending on what pack I'm in. I also write down some key script situations like the review period and any quick instructions that I want to give the players. Normally, this is stuff like removing sunglasses and turning hats backward so judges have clear line of sight to player's eyes to make sure that they aren't wandering. For PT SOI, there were additional instructions about the sleeved cards like not being allowed to remove the cards to look at the backs during the draft. For the timing, I just use my stopwatch. I've heard that an app exists for this, but I don't have it.<br />
<br />
Keep it short and simple and enunciate the key words. "Pick up," "draft," "pass," and the number of cards left in the pack are the keys. Everything else you say is close to filler that doesn't really matter.<br />
<br />
Proper enunciation is especially important at the PT where there are so many players for whom English is a second or third language. If all they have to listen for are the words "Pick up," "draft," and "pass" that's enough for them to get through this process. Adding more words, especially long and complicated words, is a recipe for potential confusion.<br />
<br />
Make eye contact with your Head Judge (or whoever is on the floor reacting to pack irregularities). When each pack is opened, the players are given time to count the cards face down and confirm that they have the correct number. They may also be looking for any discernible markings on the backs of the cards as well. If they discover any errors, the players will call for a judge, and the normal procedure is for the player to get a replacement pack. This might take up to about half a minute, and it's in the best interests of the entire process to just wait to start the clock on pick one while that table sorts this out because the alternative is to split that table off (more on this shortly).<br />
<br />
You should also keep an eye on the floor during the draft process. I like to scan the room to see if there are any judges who look like they are responding to a call of some sort. If the problem can be solved in a matter of a few seconds, again it's best to pause the entire draft between picks to keep everyone together. If you don't, that table with the problem may need to be split off with a judge on the scene calling their draft separately. The floor judges should communicate with you in some fashion if the table is okay and you can continue.<br />
<br />
At PT Shadows Over Innistrad, Riccardo had an unusual request that I had never considered before, but it led to me trying something new out. Shortly into pack three, he came over and told me that one table was a pick behind (about 30 seconds), and asked me to slow down to allow them to catch up. That way, the split off table can be synced back up with the rest. This usually means just holding the rest of the draft in between picks until the one table catches up. But because Riccardo used the words "slow down," I decided to try that instead. I added a couple of extra beats between actions, as well as slowed my pace of speech. I'm not actually certain that the one table managed to catch up properly, but I like how it played out for the crowd as opposed to the usual "We are going to wait for this one table to catch up" announcement that has happened in the past.<br />
<br />
Interacting with the caller. In general, don't do it. If you have to say something to the caller, the best time to do so is right after a pack is picked up and the time limit has been announced. Right there, there's a window of 10-30 seconds depending on where you are in the pack.<br />
<br />
I've seen a few questions about calling drafts at local events like PPTQs. This generally isn't a good idea. I once subscribed to the idea that since someone from the event is likely to go to the PT, it was a good idea to give them that experience. Well, now PPTQs are one step removed from the PT. Also, what experience? The experience of following instructions like "pick up the cards now"? Also, with PPTQs having smaller judge staffs, you're taking one judge out of commission during the draft, a judge that could be watching for wandering eyes. You're better off just letting the players zone draft.Rikipediahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13298713777587444856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838126918212850078.post-51508663074923328352016-04-12T18:37:00.001-07:002016-04-12T20:23:10.196-07:00To Four and BackBack in 2009, during my L3 panel, I memorably told my panel that I wanted to be L3 because it was the next step in the process, and that eventually I wanted to be L4, and then L5...<br />
<br />
Around the same time, at a Grand Prix, I told people that my judging goal was to become L4 so that I could Head Judge a Grand Prix someday. I also told them that my non-judging goal was to run a marathon...<br />
<br />
To understand these statements is to understand me. I'm driven. I'm passionate. I express those things openly and honestly. And I take the long view on things.<br />
<br />
It took me five years to meet my goal of running a marathon. During those years, I thought about it a lot. I trained for it. I thought about quitting on my goal, but ultimately I kept going because it was something that I was passionate about it.<br />
<br />
It took me even longer to get promoted to L4. During those years, I did roughly the same. Both took longer than I expected way back then.<br />
<br />
I see a lot of judges who have lofty goals. "This is how I must have sounded to people," I think to myself when I see these proclamations on Facebook. I can't blame people for doubting me, because I am now the doubter. But while I may doubt, I resolve to not stand in your way because you may be like me. You may keep trekking for years.<br />
<br />
Around 2011, two years after my promotion to L3, I thought that it might be realistic for me to get promoted. It wasn't. I didn't. There was also a point where I thought it might be realistic for me to get kicked out of the Judge Program.<br />
<br />
I had moved to Virginia to work for SCG for the first time, and I slotted into what I believe is my natural role in life, shadowy second to a strong first. My first in this case, as he has been for many years since, was Jared Sylva, my manager at SCG and Regional Coordinator for what was then the Southeast Region (basically what is currently the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic Regions combined).<br />
<br />
Florida, as is its way, was causing drama, and I started snooping around and asking questions, as is my way. Until I got a sternly-worded e-mail from the Godfather of Florida, Sheldon Menery asking me why I was meddling in his state. I thought that was it for me. The proverbial cement shoes. Ultimately, I didn't get the shoes, and somehow I became good friends with many of the judges that I was snooping on.<br />
<br />
I think it was in 2012 that I started to think that I didn't want to get promoted anymore. I'm not quite sure if that was true, but I certainly said so a lot. It was probably like when you are attracted to someone who you think is "out of your league" and you tell yourself that you aren't interested even though you are. It's a defense mechanism to keep yourself from getting hurt. It had taken three years, but I finally started to see the gap in where I was and where I wanted to be.<br />
<br />
The same was true for my other goal. Living on the East Coast, I had become lazy and fat, and nowhere near the shape I had been when I ran my first half marathon in 2010, just before leaving California. Two things happened and things started to turn around for me.<br />
<br />
First, I became Regional Coordinator for the Northwest Region at Pro Tour Return to Ravnica in October 2012. This happened while I was still living in Virginia, but a move to Portland, Oregon was already in the works.<br />
<br />
Shortly after that, I made a weight loss bet with Kali Anderson, the "Battle Cat Challenge" and started to take running seriously again.<br />
<br />
Both of these things changed my life, and really put my life onto the right tracks. Working as RC showed that I was willing to work for the Judge Program, and not just for my own goals. I believe that this has always been true of me, but I certainly haven't shown it, and I may very well have been lying to myself.<br />
<br />
In 2013, I settled into the region I was coordinating and ran my first marathon. I may not have thought about L4 all year. (Probably not true.) Being RC gave me the space to do the kind of Grand Architect-like planning that I enjoyed.<br />
<br />
Then it happened. IT HAPPENED.<br />
<br />
Kevin Desprez approached me about L4. I want to say that this was at Grand Prix Nagoya in April. He may have approached me about it at an earlier event, but I was more focused on my RC duties. But by April of 2014, the end was in sight for my two-year plan as RC. As an aside, I'm very happy to see the the 18-month terms in place the various leadership positions.<br />
<br />
By GP Chicago in June, I had said yes to the dress and several people congratulated me privately as we set up a plan to hand off the RC position and announce my promotion. In July, we started the process of vetting my replacement as RC, Jeremy Behunin.<br />
<br />
Then my world fell apart. I won't comment on my divorce other than to say that it happened.<br />
<br />
It led me a real dark time in my life. I received a lot of support from my friends. I owe them a lot, and I wouldn't be where I am today without them. One of those friends was Jeremy, who I asked to be installed as my replacement as RC immediately rather than wait. And I asked for my promotion to be put in indefinite hold while I worked through things. I was sad. I was angry. I did things that I am not proud of and got a warning letter. I also won't dredge up the details of that other than to say that I have apologized sincerely for my actions.<br />
<br />
I thought about quitting judging.<br />
<br />
I didn't quit. I can't quit it. I love it too much. But my relationship with the Program and my reputation had been damaged. For a long time, I shied away from asking if L4 was still on the table because I was afraid of the answer being no, and I again defaulted to a defensive position of saying I wasn't interested at the time.<br />
<br />
I was still interested. I still wanted it.<br />
<br />
I moved back to Virginia to take (approximately) my old position at SCG. I finally felt happy, and over the summer of 2015, I finally started to make noise (privately) that I was ready. But they weren't ready. This was about the time that discussions were starting on the future of the Judge Program. In fact, I participated in one such discussion at Pro Tour Battle for Zendikar (October). I was brought in on these discussions as if I was already on the inside, but I wasn't on the inside.<br />
<br />
By now you know that part of the discussion was about abolishing Levels 4 and 5, so while I was trusted to participate in this planning, there were people who felt that it would be disingenuous to promote me to a Level that wouldn't exist in a few months.<br />
<br />
This dragged on for months and I did my best to keep my stiff-upper lip. For the second time, I felt so close and yet so far. In some sense, I had the part that mattered the most, the respect of my peers. They had acknowledged (twice!) that I was worthy of promotion to L4, but for the second time I would be denied the public accolades. Was that important to me?<br />
<br />
Yes and no. Despite all of my big goal-setting and social media bluster, I am a rather shy person. I turn off my Facebook wall on my birthday because I don't want a thousand people all posting on it.<br />
<br />
But I talked with my girlfriend, Sarah, and we felt that a public showering of love was important less so for me, but more for the public. I am a known, public figure in the Judge Program, and we felt that they deserved to celebrate my promotion (and we wanted to celebrate with them).<br />
<br />
As the calendar turned to 2016, that seemed less and less likely. The changes were solidifying. 4 and 5 were going away. I resolved to travel less.<br />
<br />
That was when Grand Prix Vancouver hit my schedule. Originally, I hadn't planned on going, but they put out a call for more judges, and I thought "why not?" Then due to the expected attendance, Jared, the Head Judge, put me on the schedule as a Support Judge, meaning I would be wearing burgundy, something I had previously done only at Japanese GPs and the strange, all-burgundy World Championship event.<br />
<br />
I thought that would be it. I thought they would promote me there. Obviously it didn't happen. In retrospect, I suppose I could have asked (I was even rooming with Jared at the event), but again, gotta be coy.<br />
<br />
On Sunday of the GP, I sat down with Jared, Aaron Hamer (WotC Judge Manager), Kevin Desprez (L5), and Chris Richter (L4). We talked about the upcoming changes. We talked about me. They told me that they did believe in me, and that they would push for an answer to the question to finally be resolved by the following week at Pro Tour Oath of the Gatewatch.<br />
<br />
By now you know that this was the event where I was finally promoted to Level 4. Even as Aaron told me (on Wednesday?) that it would happen and that I should book a flight for Sarah to come to Atlanta, I didn't believe it. Even as Kevin, the Head Judge of the Pro Tour, told me that they would announce it on Saturday, I didn't believe it. (In fact, they announced it on Friday. I'm actually not sure if I misheard him, or if this was the final little fake out.) Even as Jared stood up and started to talk about me in front of the assembled judges, I didn't believe it.<br />
<br />
Was it self doubt? Did I feel like I didn't deserve it? Was it all of the twists and turns that this journey took? Do I believe it now? Yeah, I guess I do.<br />
<br />
The response was overwhelming. John Temple told me that the post announcing my promotion on the Magic Judges Facebook page got the most impressions in history (or something like that). My Twitter feed blew up with mentions and favorites. People in the hotel bar on Friday night kept coming up to congratulate me. It was everything I thought it would be and had wanted for so long.<br />
<br />
And it was all set to go away. The clock was ticking before I even picked it up. Yes, I knew that this was the reality, and I was okay with it. I needed this, more badly than I realized. Not because 2008 Riki needed to rack up this achievement. But because 2014 Riki needed this closure.<br />
<br />
So yes, I did know that I would be Level 4 for just a couple of months. The rug wasn't pulled out from under me. I made the most of my time by judging a single tournament as an L4, a 21-player IQ in Roanoke. Funny how things work out.<br />
<br />
I don't think the short tenure diminishes my promotion (or Matteo Callegari's, who was L4 for an even shorter time that me). This isn't about what I did as an L4, but what I did before it in order to reach that point, and what I will continue to do regardless of the number that is next to my name.<br />
<br />
I'm still in pursuit of big things. In fact, I want even bigger things. I want to run an ultra marathon (50+ miles). Yeah, that's crazy. For judging, my focus right now is to promote the cause of feedback and reviews, increase global participation in it, and on a more personal note, to help all the great judges around me get to Level 3. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t99KH0TR-J4">The show must go on</a>.Rikipediahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13298713777587444856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838126918212850078.post-58259832912400933102016-03-30T19:01:00.000-07:002016-03-30T19:01:08.866-07:00Jason Reedy, Southern GentlemanMy very first exposure to Jason Reedy was just before Grand Prix Atlanta 2008. I no longer have a record of the very first interaction, but I recall him reaching out to me prior to that event that we were both on staff for. This was somewhat unusual because he was from Virginia and I was from California and the event was in Georgia. Who was this guy asking me for advice and to work with me at the GP?<br />
<br />
It turns out that he was from Roanoke, Virginia, home of THE StarCityGames, and our fates would become inextricably linked by that store. He didn't work there yet; he was just a local Magic player interested in judging, and happened to hear great things about me from the two upstanding citizens who did work for SCG, Jared Sylva and Nicholas Sabin, whom I had befriended at separate events in the past year. I was intrigued. Any friend of theirs was a friend of mine, so I fired off an e-mail to GP Atlanta Head Judge Seamus Cambpell asking to be teamed up with Reedy (no one I know has every called him Jason).<br />
<br />
There are a few details I remember about our interactions in Atlanta:<br />
* Reedy was an L0, and my instructions as his floor mentor were to stick to him like glue and make sure he had adequate support on rulings. I abandoned this plan after 2 or 3 rounds, telling Seamus that "he doesn't need any help."<br />
* Reedy drove us from the staff hotel to the venue and vice versa. At one point we got seriously turned around and had a Labyrinthian moment where we could see our destination from the highway but couldn't navigate the proper off ramp to get there.<br />
* We also got a ride from the TO, Jeff Williams on one of the trips in his yellow sports car that we nicknamed Bumblebee.<br />
* At one point on the floor, we were competing to see who could get to judge calls first. I bent over to pick up some trash, and the match right next to me called for a judge. I stood up and took the call. From Reedy's perspective a few rows away, he said that I "appeared out of thin air" further cementing my legendary status in his mind.<br />
* We stayed up late in the hotel lobby drinking, playing EDH, and talking the night away. At one point we ran out of booze, and we bought some from a group of players that had a bucket of cheap beer.<br />
<br />
Over the next few years, Reedy and I crossed paths several more times until our stars collided. In 2010, I moved to Roanoke to take a job with SCG and help spearhead the fledgling Open Series, which had grown out of a 5K Series. As a local judge, Reedy was a pretty consistent face at those events, until a few months after I came aboard, the realities of running such an expansive tournament series caught up with us and we hired a few more people to join us on the road, including one Jason Reedy.<br />
<br />
Riding in a van with Reedy to a random city is a great experience. Look no further than the Driving with Judges podcast for the great stories and songs that can result from this. Rooming with Reedy is also quite the experience. Just make sure that you have powerful earplugs.<br />
<br />
The World Championships in San Francisco 2011 will be remembered for a lot of things. It was the last "public" Pro Tour, with a full expanse of Side Events that GPs are just starting to catch up to. It was also Sheldon Menery's last event as an active Head Judge. And players might remember this event as Planeswalker Points farming central. This was the very brief period when you could qualify for the PT via PWPs and the side events at Worlds were offering some ridiculous multiplier (8x?)<br />
<br />
But for those us from SCG and the Mid-Atlantic, this was Reedy's show, the event where he passed his Level 3 panel. I can't tell you how impressive of a feat this was. I mean, sure, becoming an L3 is quite impressive in general, but Jason Reedy had previously struggled to pass the L1 exam, taking it three times.<br />
<br />
I guess that's why nothing surprises me anymore when it comes to Reedy. A few years ago, he started to ask me questions about Japan, and made a couple of job/judging related forays to the country. So up and moving his family there? Sure. Sounds about right.<br />
<br />
And to be missionaries, no less. That's the other thing about Reedy. He loves his family and he is deeply devoted to his religion. We've never really talked about it, and I consider that to be a shame. I myself am not a religious person, but I have a lot of respect for those who are, and who walk their path without feeling like they have to drag me onto it. Still, if it's that important to this great friend, this rock of integrity, I feel like I missed out by not getting to know that part of his life better.<br />
<br />
Then again, our story isn't over. It turns out that I make semi-annual trips to Japan. This is just the next evolution of our saga. What's the saying? This isn't "so long"; it's just "until next time."Rikipediahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13298713777587444856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838126918212850078.post-67172514583417061062016-03-25T13:24:00.000-07:002016-03-25T13:30:39.482-07:00Pass the SaltI hate Exemplar Salt.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWzU_hdy4tUAC4PrGRoDCKZLZAtqnxjVSHxUFkbokGygMAFzzUXQB2LEDVQx2lN-yTsCxnOobuB01W72Lskbs71ehYWsX8WYxk_i3G7CWZqRzpAEFeuvVog2OhpuyNVK-iBW9GDIHko0Jz/s1600/Rain+of+Salt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWzU_hdy4tUAC4PrGRoDCKZLZAtqnxjVSHxUFkbokGygMAFzzUXQB2LEDVQx2lN-yTsCxnOobuB01W72Lskbs71ehYWsX8WYxk_i3G7CWZqRzpAEFeuvVog2OhpuyNVK-iBW9GDIHko0Jz/s320/Rain+of+Salt.jpg" /></a></div><br />
(Nuts and bolts for people not closely associated with the Judge Program. We have a system via which we recognize each other's great deeds. Many of us receive additional gifts as a result of these nominations. This is called the Exemplar Program.)<br />
<br />
Some people seem to be complaining about the system because they didn't receive any recognition. They compare themselves to others around them that do, and rather than turn the fire inward to find ways to be even better, they resort to jealousy and calls to cancel/overhaul the entire system since it is clearly broken.<br />
<br />
There are also accusations of what have been dubbed "circles of bros" by some, essentially meaning that we all just keep nominating each other. In a similar vein, some deride the entire enterprise as a popularity contest. I'm popular. I have a close-knit group of friends among judges that some number of nominations both ways comes out of. Am I part of the problem?<br />
Reading this type of stuff makes me sad. These people are so negative about something that has brought me so much joy, both in the giving and the receiving. There is usually one nomination per wave that brings a tear to my eye, and I've had people tell me the same about my nominations of them. It drives me to be excellent and to stay worthy of the esteem that is written in the nominations. I also use my own nominations to try to drive my friends to greatness as well.<br />
<br />
I know that I work hard, have an impact on the lives of many judges, and I deserve the nominations I've received, but it sucks to be told that it's just because I'm popular or because I know so many judges. It can really take the wind out of your sails. My reaction is to blow harder. (That sounds weird.) I didn't use all of my nomination slots this past wave. Partly this was because the nomination window closed on a Sunday when I was at an event. I had given this feedback in the past, and it got changed to something like a Wednesday, but then it changed back. I don't know why, but it took me by surprise, and I didn't have the energy to put in some more nominations.<br />
<br />
I now regret that. If my words and nominations have power, I should seek to use as many as I have. Even on a reduced schedule, I go to more events than most, and I spend more time than all but a handful of people reading Tournament Reports. I see greatness all around me, and I will say so. This extends to Judge Center reviews as well. With the advent of Flash Feedback reviews, I feel more comfortable just entering a review that says "This thing you did was great. Thanks." These might be placeholders for future Exemplar nominations, or they might not, but at least the thing was said to the person.<br />
<br />
To that end, I've also been entering nominations more proactively. As a newly-minted L4, I get 15 nominations. I've already entered 3. I intend to use all of them, and if I run out of slots, I will reach out to my RC as I have told others to do.<br />
<br />
This dish has too much salt for my liking. Complaining about the complaining is just adding more salt. Time to double down on the sugar. I acknowledge that the system is not perfect. But I refuse to believe that the answer is to take it away. It has brought me too much joy for me to believe this.<br />
<br />
Rikipediahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13298713777587444856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838126918212850078.post-11262942081538164422016-03-24T19:53:00.000-07:002016-03-24T19:53:43.520-07:00Fear and Restrooms in CharlotteWhat this blog post won't do: it won't answer your burning questions about Grand Prix Charlotte and what is going to happen there. Why? Despite the fact that I work for SCG, I don't make all the decisions. However, the people who do make the decisions are aware of the issue, and they are in discussions with WotC. That's all I can ask for in this situation, and as is my way, I will wait patiently. I ask you to do the same and have some faith in the leaders of our community who have, in my opinion, always shown sensitivity and respect on topics pertaining to inclusivity (if "exclusivity" is a word, why isn't that one, spellcheck?)<br />
<br />
While I can't tell you anything meaningful about GP Charlotte, I can share my personal thoughts. I'm upset. I've heard the reaction in our community to the situation in North Carolina referred to as "fear mongering." I think that's partly right. People are afraid. The climate in America seems to be shifting to one of intolerance and hate. The fear is that this type of intolerance will gain momentum in breadth and in depth. The fear is that the people who hate will feel emboldened to hate more, to hate bigger, and to act upon their hate.<br />
<br />
I don't understand that fear myself on a visceral level, but I absolutely respect it. I've had people look at me a little too long, probably because I'm Asian (or maybe because I had blue-colored hair!), but I've never been afraid that they would beat me up, or even kill me. So I consider myself to have lived a pretty safe and privileged life in that regard. Others aren't so lucky. They read news stories about cops shooting people who look like them. They hear about people like them being groped by TSA agents because they don't look like they are supposed to. Humiliation. Fear. It's real.<br />
<br />
I don't feel the fear, but I will not belittle others for feeling it. I will try to ease their fears. I will support them. I will stand with them on the Internet, I will stand up for them in person, and I will say that this is not okay.<br />
<br />
Ultimately, I think this Tweet sums up my feelings best:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I don't care who the person in the stall next to me is as long as they pass me more than a square of toilet paper when my stall runs out.</p>— Riki Hayashi (@mtgRikipedia) <a href="https://twitter.com/mtgRikipedia/status/713164666327830528">March 25, 2016</a></blockquote><script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>Rikipediahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13298713777587444856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838126918212850078.post-12461543392678991342016-01-28T14:16:00.000-08:002016-01-28T14:16:52.821-08:00The Fallacy of ExperienceHow many Grand Prix do you need to judge before you have enough experience to become a Level 3 Judge? Ten? Twenty?<br />
<br />
How many times do you need to be a Team Lead before you are good at it?<br />
<br />
When is good enough, well, good enough?<br />
<br />
Based on the title of this blog and my penchant for rhetorical questions (What's the point of all these rhetorical questions?) you might have guessed that I am coming down against the idea of "experience" being a useful measure of someone's judging ability. Clearly, if you try to reduce this to black and white, experience does matter; someone with ten years of experience judging is going to be much better at it than someone with one year of experience. However, what I am arguing against is the mentality that there is a linear progression between those two points, and simply piling on repeated "experience" is enough to become a better judge.<br />
<br />
My own history as a judge colors my position on this subject. Before making Level 3, I judged 6 Grand Prix, 3 Pro Tours, and a US Nationals. PTs were larger and crazier than they are today, and GPs were smaller (800 was considered large), while US Nationals was somewhere between the two. I think it's reasonable to average out those events and call the aggregate an equivalent of 10 GPs worth of experience by today's standards. Before getting into a comparison with today, I want to digress a bit.<br />
<br />
Seven years ago, Jeff Morrow wrote an article about the <a href="http://archive.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=judge/article/20080729a">growth mindset</a>. To sum up his article, there are two different mindsets, the fixed and the growth mindset, which he distinguishes as such:<br />
<br />
"A person with the fixed mindset believes that characteristics like intelligence, talent, and aptitude at a particular activity are essentially fixed qualities. A person with the growth mindset, on the other hand, believes that aptitude, talent, and even basic intelligence can be improved with effort and practice."<br />
<br />
As Jeff points out, the Judge Program is fundamentally built around the idea of the growth mindset. We are truly a cult of self-improvement. Jeff specifically calls out improvement as a result of effort and practice, whereas I think the current focus on experience incorrectly leans more heavily on existence and luck.<br />
<br />
Experience and existence are remarkably similar words, and they can look similar in application, but they aren't the same thing, and the differences matter quite a bit. Earlier I pointed out that I had 10 "GPs" worth of experience before testing for L3. These days, that's a drop in the bucket for a road warrior L2 in the United States, but that's partly because there are so many more GPs in this country, as well as the StarCityGames.com Tour, which while not the same as GPs today, do overlap somewhat with GPs from "back in the day."<br />
<br />
In fact, with the schedules of the GP and Open Series being what they are, judges in the US can easily get twice the experience that I did in a single year. But there I go using that word, "experience," in a place where I don't think it applies. What I mean to say is that a judge can exist at 20 GPs and SCG Opens in a single year, but that their experience doesn't increase in anywhere close to a linear fashion to match that.<br />
<br />
Abe Corson hit on this in his recent interview for his <a href="http://blogs.magicjudges.org/feedback/2015/09/18/review-milestone-abe-corson-100-reviews/">100th Review Milestone</a>. When I asked him why he had written so many reviews in 2012, he cited that there were fewer events that year and "...the only reason I had any hope of keeping up with this pace was that I just wasn’t as active as I am now. 2012 was before the increase in number of US GPs, so there weren’t as many entire-weekend-consuming things for me to get sucked into. There was at the same time fewer experiences about which to write and more leftover time for me to do it."<br />
<br />
I mentioned luck being a factor that people lean on in terms of their experience calculation. What I mean by luck is that judges exist at events and hope that something happens that tests them or teaches them. This is similar to the request to "give me feedback" in the hopes that someone else sees and comments on something you've done. It's a very passive approach to learning, and it's one that plays into a more fixed mindset because you aren't exerting your own effort and practice to grow; you are waiting for someone else or something else to come along and teach it to you. <br />
<br />
Existing at fewer events meant more time to think about those events, internalize lessons, write reviews, and yes, gain experience. It's counter-intuitive but you should go to fewer events to become a better judge.Rikipediahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13298713777587444856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838126918212850078.post-3665408912707741462016-01-22T12:55:00.000-08:002016-01-22T12:55:27.204-08:00Feedback as a ScorekeeperMatt Braddock recently asked me (and Jennifer Dery) for some tips on giving feedback from the tournament role of the Scorekeeper, a role that Jenn and I have both filled at StarCityGames.com Opens and Grand Prix. Matt was primarily asking about SKing local tournaments like PPTQs, but I think the concepts translate well because the types of interactions that you have don't change that much in scale compared to other aspects of tournaments.<br />
<br />
The most striking difference of the scorekeeping seat is that it is just that, a seat. Depending on the size of the tournament, you may be stuck in your chair for a majority of the round. Even if you aren't actively entering results, it behooves you to stay in the area to field questions like "How do I drop?" and those rare times that you do get away from the chair are better spent getting fresh air, coffee, or lunch.<br />
<br />
This means that you are going to be limited in the interactions that you have with judges in the event. You are rarely going to have the opportunity to shadow someone on a judge call or appeal. When you think about it, this is the lifeblood of judging: the intersection of rules and policy knowledge with customer service skills. What can a Scorekeeper provide feedback on without these things?<br />
<br />
One of the people that an SK can help the most is the Head Judge of the event. Your seat, while not ideally situated for floor interactions, is in a good place to see a lot of the things that the HJ does in the tournament, chief among them the HJ opening announcements. During these announcements, Floor Judges are often busy with other tasks like distributing player rewards, collecting decklists, or distributing match result slips (if the announcements happen at the beginning of Round 1). Unless there are some late registrants, the SK is generally free to listen to the announcements and provide some much needed feedback on them.<br />
<br />
Some things to consider when listening to announcements:<br />
* Are they too long? You can only hold players' attention for so long. Stick to the essentials. Consider what announcements could wait until later.<br />
* The use of humor in announcements can be controversial. I personally like them. Whatever your preference, if it is used, that's ripe for commentary.<br />
* Did the HJ sound good? This usually encompasses two things. First, do they have a good announcement voice? Generally, it is better to speak in the lower register when addressing a group, especially when not using a microphone. Second, speed is an important thing to monitor. People tend to talk faster when they are nervous, and this can be to the detriment of announcements.<br />
* On a related note to sounding good, were they prepared?<br />
<br />
If your event is using match result slips to record penalties that's a great route to interacting with judges about IPG policy. Especially as we transition into a new era of Hidden Card Error (HCE), we will all be exploring the nuances of this infraction. As the Scorekeeper for an event, you are the only person who sees all of the infractions that are issued, so you can spot trends and especially common mistakes that judges make. My scorekeeping and blogging associate Jennifer Dery makes it a habit of writing about such common issues <a href="http://www.mtgscorekeeper.com/">here</a>.<br />
<br />
End of Round procedure is another point of interaction between judges and scorekeepers. Smaller tournaments might not have much interaction here besides a quick check like "Table 10 and 14 are the last two playing." At larger events, there is definitely a lot more going on, making it ideal fodder for discussion and feedback.<br />
<br />
Those are just a few ways that you can think about feedback from the scorekeeper's seat. There are certainly other ways. For example, if you can negotiate one round to spend some time on the floor, it's a great mental break in addition to an opportunity to interact with judges in a more traditional manner. The point is that being a scorekeeper doesn't have to be the death knell to you giving feedback to others.Rikipediahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13298713777587444856noreply@blogger.com0