JudgeCast #369 – Secrets of Strixhaven Release Notes

Join Bryan, Charles, and Marcos as we Prepare for the upcoming release of Secrets of Strixhaven by going over the release notes! Our witty Repartee will Converge into a new Paradigm... Incrementally of course as we stay mindful of the past by injecting our discussion with Infusions of the past, via Flashbacks and ... Books? Seriously though, we have a LOT of stuff to cover in this set, including a pretty complex mechanic in Prepare that lets you cast literal power nine spells in standard. Let's get to it. SOS Release Notes: https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/feature/secrets-of-strixhaven-mechanicsSOS Update Bulletin: https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/announcements/secrets-of-strixhaven-update-bulletinAmbitious Augmenter Bluesky Post: https://bsky.app/profile/wotcmatt.bsky.social/post/3mj5v5edcbs2oSocial Media Links Join JudgeCast on our Discord server!   https://discord.com/invite/hQd48guKFRJudgeCast: BlueSky – @Judgecast.bsky.social / Twitter: @JudgeCast Bryan: BlueSky – @Bprill.bluesky.social Charles: BlueSky – @MTGDad.bsky.social Marcos: BlueSky – @MJ6Music.bsky.social / Twitter @MJ6Music Intro & Outro Music: “Seed” by Carbon Leaf. Used with permission. @carbonleafofficial    • Carbon Leaf - Seed  (OFFICIAL AUDIO)

There are two things that are certain in the world; Death and Taxes. No. Not the deck. In this episode Bryan, Charles, and Marcos are joined by Former Judge and current Tax Attorney Patrick Evans. Here we talk about the extremely important topic of taxes as it pertains to judging. Whether you work FNM and the occasional RCQ, or are a weekend road warrior, or even visit the US for an event, Uncle Sam wants his cut. You, on the other hand, want to keep as much as you are entitled to. We talk about expenses, deductions, and what expectations are.And while we can give lots of Judging advice; none of this is tax advice. Reach out to tax organizations in your state if you have any specific questions.Check out: https://www.unitedway.org/our-impact/financial-security/my-free-taxesfor information about the VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) program to assist folks with their taxes for free. Show Notes Social Media Links Join JudgeCast on our Discord server! https://discord.gg/hQd48guKFR JudgeCast: BlueSky - @Judgecast.bsky.social / Twitter: @JudgeCast Bryan: BlueSky - @Bprill.bluesky.social Charles: BlueSky - @MTGDad.bsky.social Marcos: BlueSky - @MJ6Music.bsky.social / Twitter @MJ6Music Credits Editor & Intro VFX: Marcos Sanchez @MJ6Music Artwork by Tobias Vyseri: http://www.vyseri.com/ and on Etsy at https://www.etsy.com/shop/VyseriArt Intro & Outro Music: "Seed" by Carbon Leaf. Used with permission. @carbonleafofficial https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxDb4ydae50

A shortcut is a way to get one or more things done quicker, and if you have ever tried to play a technically precise game of Magic, you will know there's a lot of things that can be done quicker.Join Bryan, Charles, and Marcos as we go over the tournament shortcuts found in the Magic Tournament Rules. These shortcuts are the default behavior in many situations that may arise in a game of Magic, and are designed to reduce ambiguity and protect players from other players that might want to use that ambiguity to their advantage. We go into detail for each one, even the wibbly-wobbly-timey wimey ones. Show Notes Social Media Links Join JudgeCast on our Discord server! https://discord.gg/hQd48guKFR JudgeCast: BlueSky - @Judgecast.bsky.social / Twitter: @JudgeCast Bryan: BlueSky - @Bprill.bluesky.social Charles: BlueSky - @MTGDad.bsky.social Marcos: BlueSky - @MJ6Music.bsky.social / Twitter @MJ6Music Credits Editor & Intro VFX: Marcos Sanchez @MJ6Music Artwork by Tobias Vyseri: http://www.vyseri.com/ and on Etsy at https://www.etsy.com/shop/VyseriArt Intro & Outro Music: "Seed" by Carbon Leaf. Used with permission. @carbonleafofficial https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxDb4ydae50

Cowabunga Judges! It's another release notes episode, and Bryan, Charles, and Marcos are here to cover new cards, rules interactions, and perhaps sneak in a pop culture reference or two while they're at it. Keep an eye out for those Mutagen canisters though before they disappear. Um... Alliance. Okay, that should do it. Stay tuned to the end for a special news bulletin from Charles regarding tournament fraud, and try to keep count of exactly how many other IPs we can mention while discussing everyone's favorite turtles. Show Notes Release Notes: https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/feature/teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-release-notes Social Media Links Join JudgeCast on our Discord server! https://discord.gg/hQd48guKFR JudgeCast: BlueSky - @Judgecast.bsky.social / Twitter: @JudgeCast Bryan: BlueSky - @Bprill.bluesky.social Charles: BlueSky - @MTGDad.bsky.social Marcos: BlueSky - @MJ6Music.bsky.social / Twitter @MJ6Music Credits Editor & Intro VFX: Marcos Sanchez @MJ6Music Artwork by Tobias Vyseri: http://www.vyseri.com/ and on Etsy at https://www.etsy.com/shop/VyseriArt Intro & Outro Music: "Seed" by Carbon Leaf. Used with permission. @carbonleafofficial https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxDb4ydae50

Join Bryan and Charles as we return to policy episodes and talk about Game Rule Violations (GRVs) from the Magic Infraction Procedure Guide.  Magic is a complex game, and there are many things that players can do to cause problems in the game.  As Tournament officials we need to know how to recognize and, if possible, fix the situation.  However, how can you fix a mistake that happened 3 turns ago, and has had its impact build over three turns. In this episode, we talk about how to recognize a GRV, how to recognize if you can fix the problem, how to fix the problem if you can, and then why you shouldn’t just make up your own fixes.  GRVs are among the most common infraction given at Competitive tournaments, and definitely something any judge working an RCQ or higher should understand.

“It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.”As a player who is used to casual commander pods and the occasional Wednesday night draft, you might be curious about other events, and look to try something different. Maybe your store's RCQ, maybe traveling to a nearby SCG CON. Either way, you'll be surprised to see that things work a little differently when serious prizes are on the line. Join Bryan and Marcos, as we give you our top 12 things we (as Judges) believe you (as Players) should know when going to your first Competitive REL events. Many players have the same questions, and similar problems when they are used to the ultra-laid back vibe of casual play, and run up against structures with more rigidity. Number 6 will shock you. Or maybe it won't. I didn't look up what number 6 was before writing that sentence.

Just like the plane of Lorwyn/Shadowmoor, our release notes episode is also divided in 2, as Bryan couldn't join us for this episode. Having said that, Charles and Marcos run through Lorwyn, attempting to evoke some emotions (and seriously force some segue puns) for one of our favorite Magic planes! Join us as we travel the vivid landscape, avoiding the blight on the paths, and behold our kindred brethren - the goblins of Lorwyn. Wait, no, that's just a changeling. I always confuse them for... well everything. Also, which cards will ruin CEDH? Which cards excite us the most? How many times can we talk about the +1/+1 and -1/-1 counter state-based action in one show? Take a listen to find out! Update Bulletin: https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/announcements/lorwyn-eclipsed-update-bulletin Release Notes: https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/feature/lorwyn-eclipsed-release-notes

In this episode Bryan, Charles, and Marcos do NOT tackle complex rules interactions, or deep dive into tournament operations. Instead we each choose one or two smaller topics, ones not worth a full show, and instead talk about those. Will it be coherent? Probably not. Will it be entertaining? Definitely not! Will it be over an hour? Absolutely.

In this episode Bryan, Charles, and Marcos are joined by Brandon Welch, the Head Judge of the recent Regional Championship in Vegas to talk about a topic many HJs care a lot about: "End of Round". This episode goes deep into the tournament logistics of reducing people's least favorite part of the tournament: Waiting for the next round to begin.Turns out a lot more goes into making sure the next round starts as quickly as possible than harassing players to enter their results. But lets be clear, that absolutely *is* part of it.

"It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to." Join Bryan, Charles, and Marcos as we talk about attending your first big event. Maybe its a MagicCon, or an SCGCon, or a Regional Championship, or maybe, your first large event isn't even Magic related. Judges new to these events have a lot of questions, and the JudgeCast crew take a stab at pre-answering many of them, or letting you know where to find the answers. While our background is in Magic Tournaments, many of these questions/answers are common across all game IPs, and as other games are entering the tournament space, we are having more and more folks staffing these events for the first time.