I’ve taken the plunge again.

Not only have I just spent my first weekend judging (ready for my level 1 re-test at States), I’ve been buying collections locally and finding out that there were a hell of a lot more people who play this game than I thought there were.

But back to that later on – let me tell you my experience as a judge. Now, you may be wondering what the hell I was doing there in the first place. I mean, I’ve only been playing for a while and my skills suck, but I wanted to try it out. If anything, it would give me valuable experience for later on in my Magic career (if there ever will be one), so I contacted Steve Port of The Legion (he who runs all the events in this area of the Mid West) and asked if I could help out…

“Sure,” came the response “But you have to bring your Fiancée’ too to keep my wife occupied!”

While random (naughty) thoughts flashed through my mind, I asked Allie if she’d be willing to come along. She was all for it, even though she hates the game and couldn’t see any real point except that we would get to spend the whole day together – something that is getting rarer and rarer these days what with our present commitments.

Up at 5am, three hours of driving and I arrived at the hall to discover I was VERY early. Allie was asleep in the front seat of the car, so I waited around and talked to a few guys about Invasion, the new T2 format and asked for any playing tips.

The actual judging was very easy – I spent most of my time answering simple questions (to which even I know the answer) and watching games. I did end up being the “official photographer” for the two tourneys that day (Yes, there were two – a PTQ and a Grand Prix trial) and took some half-decent shots of the drafts and subsequent matches.

One thing I did learn is that Invasion Limited is a slow format. The PTQ was still going at 10pm (after starting at 10am) and the Grand Prix had just finished the Swiss-pairs section of the event. Allie was asleep on the floor, but woke up when Marcie (Steve’s Wife) suggested they go out to eat and “let the boys play with their toys” – I have no idea what she meant.

I never got to play all day, and by the end of the day I was just itching to play one match – alas we really had to start the drive home. Steve gave me a box of invasion for our time, and we set off into the night with me behind the wheel and behind the largest cup of coffee I could find.

I did learn a lot, however. I learnt that you should always watch your opponent when he draws and that you should always read the card twice before playing it. One of the top 8 in the PTQ ended up loosing his semi-final match because he played a card that he thought had a cantrip ability, and suffered a match loss when he drew the “extra card”. Not a nice way to go.

I must admit that I enjoyed the day immensely. The guys that I know who all attended (and are seasoned and very good players) all failed to do well, with the best record among them being 2-2 drop. My meager playing skills just weren’t up to the test that day, so I’m content to wait for states and try there.

Or so I thought – I’ve just learned that I might now be able to play in States as I am an immigrant from the UK. There are higher forces trying to sort this out for me, but if I can’t I’ll be judging – I like the idea of another free box of cards J

On another note, I’ve started playing a lot of WWF raw Deal – in fact I won my first tournament in the game tonight. If you haven’t already tried this game, I urge you to do so – it’s a lot of fun, the cards are still quite cheap and it’s very simple to play. Tonight’s eight-player Royal Rumble was just a blast J

Anyway, I’ve run out of things to say for now – until next time….

Banzi

__________________
My Have/Wants:Here
Reflist:here