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This week, Studio X (the folks who make Magic: The Gathering) announced that they were forming a union with the Communications Workers of America. Join Bryan, Charles, and Marcos as we welcome former GP Head Judge, previous JudgeCast guest, and current member of the Wizards Rules Team Eric Levine to talk about the new union, its goals, and what comes next. We discuss what unionizing means for the people who work on Magic, what the team hopes to accomplish, and why having a voice in the workplace matters. Magic has enjoyed many many successful years, and we support those that make the game we love. You can read the Studio X employees’ announcement and learn more about their goals here: https://unitedwizardsofthecoast.com/studiox-letter Want to show your support? You can sign the petition here: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/uwotcpetition/ Also, on October 10th, Eric will be on a Wizards of the Coast fundraising stream for Trans Lifeline participating in a trivia battle game show over at twitch.tv/magic between 10am 5pm PST Oh, and Wizards announced God Packs and have a Judge Program announcement at MagicCon Atlanta 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 Intro & Outro Music: “Seed” by Carbon Leaf. Used with permission. @carbonleafofficial https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxDb4ydae50

Join Bryan, Charles, and Marcos as we try to figure out what’s what in this tipsy turvy world that our Empowered Jace has created, as we cover all the new mechanics in this set. And…Heartwood Tokens. Also, we Prepared to revisit some returning mechanics, all of which are flashbacks from some of the greatest mechanics of all time. We also ponder Jace’s choices in creating this alternate universe, and how fixing things that are wrong results in creating acid spewing boar robots. Show Notes Reality Fracture Release Notes: https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/feature/reality-fracture-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 Intro & Outro Music: “Seed” by Carbon Leaf. Used with permission. @carbonleafofficial https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxDb4ydae50

Just sit right back, and you’ll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful…uh…section of the IPG. Join Bryan, Charles, Marcos, the Professor and Mary Ann as we tackle the parts of Unsporting Conduct not covered in the previous episode. Improperly Determining a Winner, Bribery and Wagering, Stalling, and Cheating are all serious infractions that often get exaggerated and confounded in online discourse around the penalties. In this episode we talk about what each penalty is, what it is not, and how to recognize it. You might be surprised at some of the tests judges have to use to determine if something is or is not a more serious infraction. 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 Intro & Outro Music: “Seed” by Carbon Leaf. Used with permission. @carbonleafofficial https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxDb4ydae50

The best part of Magic is The Gathering, the people. However, the people can often be the worst part as well. In tournaments, judges dont just deal with mistakes and miscommunication. We also deal with misbehaving, misanthropes, and miscreants. Join Bryan, Charles, and Marcos as we take a meander through the jerky parts of Unsporting Conduct. We talk about USC-Minor, Major, Aggressive Behavior, and Theft. We discuss how to recognize the infractions, what the penalties are, how to deal with them, and how to make sure that we provide players a safe environment to enjoy their favorite game, (or at least the game they have spent so much money on, they cant afford to start playing another) 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 Intro & Outro Music: “Seed” by Carbon Leaf. Used with permission. @carbonleafofficial https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxDb4ydae50

Join Bryan, Charles, and Marcos as we trek through the misty mountains to retrieve the release notes for the latest MTG set, The Hobbit. We delve too deep into the newest mechanics of Storied, and Recruit, as well as a new type of counter, the Hone counter. Then we talk about new cards, and they keep coming, like uninvited dwarves to a party. We’ve got something for everyone, even if you are a Sackville-Baggins. Well, Not Lotho. He knows what he did. (but if you didnt read the books, you might not know) 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 Intro & Outro Music: “Seed” by Carbon Leaf. Used with permission. @carbonleafofficial https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxDb4ydae50

Whats better than playing Magic side by side with an elf? Playing Magic side by side with a friend. Yes, but what about second friend? Ok, enough of that, its not even the right IP. Join Bryan and Marcos as we talk to the Head Judge of Magic Spotlight Marvel Super Heroes Team Trios event, John Brian McCarthy. Sealed events can be a challenge, but Team Sealed events can be even challenginger. We talk about what makes team Trios different from regular events, and what preparation goes into ensuring they run smoothly. These are a fun and unique event that are rather rare at the LGS level, but you can learn a lot from the larger events and bring the fun home with you. Show Notes If you are looking for a professional photo in a judge uniform or want to see professional photos of judges from various games making the magic (lowercase) happen, check out John Brian’s website at: www.judgesatwork.com John Brian McCarthy’s Head Judge Event Briefing: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MaCSTFCgwGocE2YR2LqoSJQzHYDymFnEt9aKcJ52GYg/edit?usp=sharing

Join Bryan and Charles as we discuss Limited RCQs with Sam Philliber. Your LGS has just asked you to run a limited RCQ and you haven’t done one before. What should you expect? How do you do a “pool swap”? Do you need any special materials? What’s involved in running the top 8? Should I time the draft? With all the tips and tricks in this episode, you will be ready to pull off your RCQ without any [judge created] issues. Show Notes: Sam’s Article on Sealed RCQs – https://blogs.magicjudges.org/articles/2024/10/22/competitive-sealed-101/ 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 Intro & Outro Music: “Seed” by Carbon Leaf. Used with permission. @carbonleafofficial https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxDb4ydae50

Join Charles and Marcos as they drag Bryan, kicking and screaming, into a discussion around one of the newer tournament types: CEDH. Love it or hate it, players are willing to pay TOs to be asked ‘Did you pay the 1?” for seven hours. As a result, it’s a topic that judges should be somewhat aware of before their LGS TO says “I’m having a CEDH tournament in two weeks, are you available?” In this episode we talk about the different meanings of “CEDH”, the round structure, podding, penalties, how to deal with overly talkative players, and what special software or tools you might need to keep your event running smoothly. While we do predominately discuss CEDH within the convention setting, we also talk about CEDH at the local level. Show Notes: MTA Multiplayer Tournament Addendum – https://mtgmta.notion.site/mtgmta UK CEDH Document – https://cedh-uk.github.io/mtr-ipg/ EU CEDH Document – https://www.cedheurope.com/rules Pastimes MTR Multiplayer doc – https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pKRlowT4MssMllVFQVkOMAU_WcPvx22RourT1fy1GD0/edit?usp=drivesdk Pastimes IPG Multiplayer doc – https://docs.google.com/document/d/1j6kb1gkCqrUQPtgM06o_9PIfcjHkaXCo6z1Vm4amxfQ/edit?usp=drivesdk 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 Intro & Outro Music: “Seed” by Carbon Leaf. Used with permission. @carbonleafofficial https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxDb4ydae50

Join the canny Bryan and the credible Marcos as we discuss the new mechanics and cards from the most recent Magic: The Gathering Set, Marvel Super Heroes. We talk about Power-Up, Teamwork, doubleface cards and what the correct plural of “Spider-man” is. And, we even briefly discuss what to do at your prerelease if you get an influx of players that have never played Magic before and are really just there because they are Marvel fans. Missed Trigger Project Link: https://blogs.magicjudges.org/rules/mtg/standard-missed-triggers Annotated IPG Missed Trigger Link: https://blogs.magicjudges.org/rules/ipg2-1 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 Intro & Outro Music: “Seed” by Carbon Leaf. Used with permission. @carbonleafofficial https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxDb4ydae50

Join Bryan, Charles, and Marcos as we take an incredibly deep dive into the concept of Missed Triggers. Triggers are common and often invisible. In this episode we discuss how to recognize when a trigger is missed, what an opponents obligations are when a trigger is missed, and what to do when you are called to a table for that missed trigger. We briefly touch on triggers at regular REL before spending the bulk of our time talking about Competitive REL. Missed Trigger Project Link: https://blogs.magicjudges.org/rules/mtg/standard-missed-triggers Annotated IPG Missed Trigger Link: https://blogs.magicjudges.org/rules/ipg2-1 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 Intro & Outro Music: “Seed” by Carbon Leaf. Used with permission. @carbonleafofficial https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxDb4ydae50

Join Bryan, Charles, and Marcos as we talk about the April Rules update. A good chunk of it was housekeeping and clarifications, but we got a subtle rules change to Sagas that can have a big impact on modern and commander. Additionally we found something subtle with paradigm, and finally got to look at the nuts and bolts of how prepare works. SOS Update Bulletin: https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/announcements/secrets-of-strixhaven-update-bulletin Ambitious Augmenter Bluesky Post: https://bsky.app/profile/wotcmatt.bsky.social/post/3mj5v5edcbs2o Social Media Links Join JudgeCast on our Discord server!   https://discord.com/invite/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 Intro & Outro Music: “Seed” by Carbon Leaf. Used with permission. @carbonleafofficial    • Carbon Leaf – Seed  (OFFICIAL AUDIO)

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-mechanics SOS Update Bulletin: https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/announcements/secrets-of-strixhaven-update-bulletin Ambitious Augmenter Bluesky Post: https://bsky.app/profile/wotcmatt.bsky.social/post/3mj5v5edcbs2o Social Media Links Join JudgeCast on our Discord server!   https://discord.com/invite/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 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-taxes for 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