Teamwork

Judges seldom act alone. At large tournaments, teams of judges are organized with a Head Judge as a leader and some judges as team leads in specific roles. Teamwork is an important component of judging at events, both for the sake of the judges and for the players. It is far more likely for complex situations to arise at larger events that either need a new precedent established or require an involved and creative fix to maximize the integrity of the tournament. Many times, the experience of a single judge is not enough to correctly assess and fix every situation, even when it comes to simpler ones. In a team, judges may rely on one another's knowledge, experience, and other skills, such as communication, that may result in a far better result during a call than acting alone. While judges should take ownership of a call and attempt to resolve it on their own, judges are expected to recognize when a call is too involved for only their presence or when they lack the knowledge needed to apply an appropriate ruling and/or fix.

By working in a team and relying on the proficiency of fellow judges (especially a Head Judge), not only will individual skills as a judge grow appreciably, but players and tournament organizers can be more confident that an event was handled as fairly as possible and with as much circumspection as possible.

Teamwork is a must at Premier-level events, such as Nationals and Ascents. In these settings, judges can expect that they will be organized into teams for specifics tasks. For example, you might be tasked with performing routine deck checks between rounds at randomly selected tables, or you might be selected as one of the stream judges for media coverage. These specific roles might hone specific skills related to judging and builds on the expectations of judging for Grand Archive. Higher-tier judges may be selected to lead these teams or be assigned as a Head Judge or Assistant Head Judge for these types of events.