Judge

A judge is the most intrinsic unit of the judge program. A level 1 judge has passed the initial certification test for judging, which (currently) is comprised of rulings questions, game mechanics and interactions, and hypothetical scenarios. Once a judge has passed the certification, they are granted Judge status on the Omnidex, the digital hub that records information regarding competitive Grand Archive, including events attended, won, and the accrual of experience from each event.

Judges, at a minimum, can register for events at non-premier events (Store Championships and lower) to participate as event judges. Events are listed on Omnidex and posted by tournament organizers, whether they are stores or other entities. As judges participate in events, they gain experience, which may grant them a higher level and the possibility of being accepted to judge premier events. Premier events can host hundreds of players, require a larger staffing to run smoothly and effectively, and have a greater need for competent judges.

Judges typically attend calls during a round when a player either calls "Judge!," raises their hand, or otherwise signals for a judge's presence throughout the round. When a judge attends a call, they should be the only judge present to interview players unless there are extenuating circumstances that require the presence of other judges. A common example would be for translation assistance, in which the translating judge may take over the judge call. After an initial ruling is issued, the course of the call and how the ruling was issued may be discussed at the liberty of the judge who attended the call. If the judge feels that they need to appeal the call, they may ask for a Head Judge's opinion on the call and how to handle it.

Typically, areas in which Judges will attend calls will be zoned out according to the tournament organization or at the discretion of the Head Judge. Judges should exert authority principally over their region unless there is a compelling reason to temporarily move to another region.

Judges are also expected to solve their judge calls in a timely fashion to maintain the pace of play and keep the tournament running on time. Tournament regulations allow time extensions up to 5 minutes to be granted to players in a match for time taken in judge calls cumulatively for a round, despite how many judge calls happen in a game. Having resource documents on hand during events can help keep judge calls proceeding in a timely fashion and reduce the burden on judges to have perfect recall of important information. That said, it is useful for judges to have studied the materials well enough to know corrective procedures, infractions, and penalties by memory so that the lookup of this information does not significantly detract from time in a round.

To facilitate tournament proceedings, judges may assist with or be delegated tasks necessary to carry out the tournament. This can include the distribution of paper match slips or their collection, registration, scheduled deck checks, collecting decks for safekeeping (typically for top-cut players), giving instructions, or reminding players of time in the round (if delegated by the Head Judge).

Judges also serve as an important timekeeper for tournaments and can remind players of time in the round, particularly during end-of-round procedures or overtime. Judges are expected to track any extra time given for attending judge calls and communicating these extensions with the team. When a match is finished, judges authenticate the match result verbally with players before acknowledging the result and submitting it to the scorekeepers for processing.