Benelux Bulletin

BENELUX BULLETIN 1 MARCH

2016

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INTERVIEW WITH RICHARD JUDGE DINNER CHANGES IN THE DOCUMENTS WELCOME TO THE FAMILY PROJECTS IN THE BENELUX

A WORD FROM OUR REGIONAL COORDINATOR Richard Drijvers level 3

Dear BeNeLux Magic Judges, As your Regional Coordinator, it is my honor and privilege to welcome you to our first BeNeLux Bulletin.

This newsletter for Magic Judges in the BeNeLux region, with all the ins and outs concerning our community, will be appearing every three months.

2015 was a terrific year for our region. In this BeNeLux Bulletin we s hall be talking to you about some of the

projects that we started, the Annual Judge Conference, make you more acquainted with some extraordinary Magic Judges and introduce you to the newest members of our community.

I would like to thank Victor Truong for starting this initiative and I hope you enjoy reading this Bulletin.

If there’s anything specific you’d like us to cover in the next newsletter, feel free to send in your suggestions.

Best wishes, Richard

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Newsletter 2016

INTERVIEW WITH

RICHARD DRIJVERS

by Sander De Quick

Regional Coordinator Benelux Age 33 Occupation Mechanical Engineer FIR S T O FF, A Q U E S TI O N YO U ’ V E PRO B A B LY B EEN A S K ED PLENT Y B EFO RE , WHEN DID YOU S TART PL AYING MAGIC ?

Hmm, Revised Edition was still in stores, so probably around ‘94. I think 4th Edition was due to come out over the summer, so I was around 12 years old.

A LRI G HT, I A S S U M E YO U DID N ’ T B ECO M E A J U D G E S TR AI G HT AWAY ?

No, no, in fact, I didn’t play in my first tournament until ‘98.

S O W H EN DID YO U FIR S T D ECID E YO U WA NTED TO B ECO M E A J U D G E ?

I think that was in 2002. See, back then the judges at my local LGS’s prerelease were terrible. I be-

lieve it was “Invasion” prerelease, I had a great card called Fertile Ground (Whenever enchanted land is tapped for mana, its controller adds one mana of any color to his or her mana pool), but the judge didn’t quite agree on how that worked. He claimed my land just made one mana of any color, rather than in addition to the mana the land produces.

A N D N OW YO U A RE A L3 J U D G E YO U RS ELF, A N D TH E REG I O N A L CO O RDI N ATO R FO R TH E B EN ELU X TO B O OT, CO U LD YO U E XPL AIN W H AT YO U R TA S K S A RE A S RC ?

You could say I’m a cog in a machine. I relay questions from judges and sometimes TO’s to Wizards of the Coast and the other way around.

" "

I’m a cog in a machine. I relay questions from judges and sometimes TO’s to Wizards

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Newsletter 2016

CO U LD YO U S H A RE S O M E M EM O R A B LE J U D G IN G M O M ENT S WITH U S , G O O D O R BA D?

A RE TH ERE A N Y J U D G E S YO U ’ V E PA RTI CU L A RLY ENJ OY ED WO RKIN G WITH O R J U D G E S W H O LEF T A

THE MOST IMPORTANT

Don’t forgot to candidate on JudgeApps if you want to judge a WMCQ or a GP !

Stay connected : judges find each others on the J u d ge A p p s or Fa ce b o o k .

ONLINE RESSOURCES

Well, my L3 exam is a memorable moment that will haunt me to the end of times, but that’s not really interesting. GP Brussels 2004 on the other hand, where I went out with the Scorekeeper in Antwerp on saturday night, causing me to not get there on time on sunday morning, however I was still there before the Scorekeeper. Who was supposed to be there several hours earlier for the Main Event. I still like going out, but I’ve learned to control it better these days.

D O YO U S TILL H AV E TIM E TO PL AY M AG I C YO U R S ELF ?

I get around, I play prereleases, I draft at a local pub on Tuesdays and I very infrequently play a PPTQ Limited. But mostly, I enjoy going away with some friends for a weekend and Cube Draft from sunrise to sunrise the next day.

W E M O S TLY K N OW YO U A S A J U D G E A N D RC , W H AT D O YO U D O O U T S ID E O F M AG I C ?

My wife and I participate in dog shows, we also breed dogs ourselves, Bull Terriers. We have a successful dog that has won a lot of prizes lately.

A RE TH ERE A N Y J U D G IN G PITFA LL S YO U WA NT TO WA RN TH E RE A D ER S A B O U T ?

It’s better to pay more for the hotel and get close to the venue so you can get those 30 minutes extra sleep and most importantly, make sure the breakfast bar is open before you leave, because you will need the energy throughout the day. Back when I was a student, I didn’t always follow that advise, but in retrospect I always wished I had done it.

G RE AT IM PRE S S I O N O N YO U TIM E A N D TIM E AG AIN? That is a very difficult question. Of course, Frank Wareman and I go way back, we’ve judged together on countless GP’s and his skills are without a doubt rock solid. Other names are Jaap Brouwer and Gijsbert Hoogendijk, who were important in getting the BeNeLux were it is now.

FRENCH LEAFLET ENGLISH LEAFLET JUDGE BOOKLET

H A S J U D G IN G IN FLU EN CED H OW YO U D O THIN G S IN YO U R DAY TO DAY LIFE ?

Mostly social skills, I’ve learned to talk to difficult people, people with a different angle on things than I do.

IS TH ERE A N Y THIN G YO U WA NTED TO S H A RE WITH O U R RE A D ER S ?

Firstly, attend the Judge Conference 24-26 June! But mostly, enjoy judging. When you’re just doing it for financial gain, there’s better ways to make money. You should be judging because you like doing it.

Alright, that is a wonderful sentiment to end this interview with. Thank you, Richard Drijvers!

Sander De Quick

FRENCH BOOKLET ENGLISH BOOKLET

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Newsletter 2016

JUDGE DINNER

by Stéphane Van Cauwenberghe

O

n Wednesday January 13th the first Belgian Judge Diner took place. Every Wednesday before the prerelease of a new Magic: the Gathering expansion, the Belgian Judge community tries to get together in a restaurant or a store in order to take stock of the previous months. We take this opportunity to discover new tournament venues, initiate contacts with organizers, get to know each other better, debrief on points of obscure rules, and exchange ideas on various topics that are close to our hearts.

More and more women enter the competitive Magic scene such as GP’s. Unfortunately a certain percentage of the whole MTG-playing women population don’t enter such big competitive events. There are a lot of different factors that could contribute to this. By providing a safe environment, and not allowing harassment of any sort (be it psychological or physical), we can all help by making Magic even more enjoyable for all, no matter the race or gender. As judges, we can support in raising more awareness, and paying more attention to Unsporting Conduct infractions.

This time, at the beginning of the year marked by the release of Oath of the Gatewatch and its monstrous Eldrazi, we gathered in Leuven in the famous store Demo Spel.

The manager Robin Jehaes warmly welcomed us and booked three-quarters of his back room just for the judge community. He also graciously offered us foil gifts. We couldn’t expect a better and heartwarming welcome for a first event.

After settling in and getting a short introduction from our regional coordinator Richard Drijvers, our colleagues Jonas Drieghe & Niels Viaene presented us their plans to organise a “Road to L2” workshop in the near future. Due to the absence of larger multi-judge events, current L1’s often have a hard time learning important L2 skills on the job. This project aims to fill some of those holes.

However, the main theme discussed during the judge dinner was the presentation of the Lady Planeswalker Society (LPS). Miss Natalie Heylen & Miss Anouk Burny introduced us this concept coming from the USA. Created in 2011, the LPS aims to create welcoming, friendly environments for women to learn and play Magic. Breaking down the barriers of entry into Magic is the number one goal of the group, but they also aim to provide a stepping-stone into tournament play.

Natalie & Anouk are extending the LPS into Belgium in order to specifically promote the competitive field to girls.

After this last subject, the community was rewarded for its great efforts with high quality belgian food provided by the nearest frit-kot frittoerist. We ended the event after drafting a Modern Masters 2015 box offered at a discounted price by Robin. The Demo Spel is definitely a place-to-be.

The next Belgian Judge Diner will be held in Namur on March 30th, shortly before the Shadows over Innistrad prerelease events. Sign up now and see you then!

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Newsletter 2016

CHANGES IN THE DOCUMENTS

by Pascal Gemis

W

ith the new IPG, comes a m ajor change Goodbye Improper Drawing at Start of the Game and Drawing Extra Cards.

Say hello to Hidden Card Error.

A player commits a Game Play Error that cannot be corrected by only publicly available information and does so without his or her opponent’s permission. This infraction only applies when an unknown card is in a hidden location both before and after the error. If cards are placed into a public zone their order is known and the infraction can be handled as a Game Rule Violation. Order cannot be determined from card faces only visible to one player unless the zone in question contains only a single card. .

W H AT D O E S IT M E A N? If a Game Play Error implies one or more unknown cards in a hidden location before and after the error, it is and Hidden Card Error.

S O M E E X A M PLE S ? >> A player casts a Dig Through Time and picks up the top 8 (instead of 7) cards of their library. >> A player activates the +1 ability of Nissa, Sage Animist and puts the top card of their library into their hand without revealing it. >> A player takes a mulligan to 6 and draws 7 cards again. >> A player has more cards in their hand than can be accounted for.

W H AT ’ S TH E PEN A LT Y ?

A warning.

B U T H OW D O W E FIX IT ?

First, if a pending ability would result in an legal overall outcome, continue to resolve that part of the stack to restore the game state.

For example, if a player activates a Rummaging Goblin and draws before discarding or if a player resolves a Serum Visions by Scrying 2 and then drawing, the result is a legal overall outcome. Assuming in both cases the players are not cheating, just issue a Warning and move on.

Otherwise, the player reveals the complete set of cards that contains the unrecoverable information and their opponent selects a number of card equal to the number of excess or unverified cards and those cards are returned to their original zone. If the zone is the library, those cards are shuffled in the random portion of the library instead. Once this fix has been applied, the player does not repeat the instruction that caused the error. A player may concede or mulligan (if we are in the mulligan procedure) to avoid this fix.

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Newsletter 2016

LE T ’ S S EE H OW W E H A N D LE IT WITH TH E 4 E X A M PLE S FRO M B EFO RE

»» A player casts a Dig Through Time and picks up the top 8 cards of their library The player reveals the 8 cards picked up. The opponent chooses one of the cards to shuffle into the unknown part of the library. The player continues to resolve the Dig Through Time. »» A player activates the +1 ability of a Nissa, Sage Animist and puts the top card of their library into their hand without revealing it The player reveals their hand. The opponent chooses one of the cards to shuffle into the unknown part of the library. »» A player takes a mulligan to 6 and draws 7 cards again The player reveals their hand. The opponent chooses one card to shuffle into the library. The player can choose to mulligan to 5 cards to avoid the fix. »» A player has more cards in their hand than can be accounted for Determine how many cards the player has in excess. The hand is revealed and the opponent chooses that many cards to shuffle into the unknown part of the library.

IS TH ERE A N Y U P G R A D E ?

Yes. If a player cast a face-down card using a morph ability and that card doesn’t have morph, the Penalty is a Game Loss.

If the player discovers the error themself, has a card with morph in hand and has not added the card in their hand since casting the « morph », just swap the two cards and the upgrade does not apply.

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Newsletter 2016

WELCOME TO THE FAMILY! CONGRATULATIONS TO THE NEW LEVEL 1 Anton Valkenberg - Level 1 - Netherlands - Maastricht Bas Melis - Level 1- Netherlands - Neunen Ben Gusenburger - Level 1 - Luxembourg - Luxembourg Bert D’Huyvetter - Level 1 - Belgium - Zaffelare Corentin Daujeumont - Level 1 - Belgium -Sombreffe David Juric - Level 1 -Belgium - Brussels Emmanuel Pierrard - Level 1 - Belgium - Dinant Harm Tacoma - Level 1 - Netherlands - Arnhem Jonathan Ellen - Level 1 - Netherlands - Groningen Joris van den Oever - Level 1 - Netherlands - Delft Marijn Jansen van Doorn - Level 1 - Netherlands - Blaricum Perry Kerkhofs - Level 1 - Netherlands - Veldhoven Ramon Allard - Level 1 - Netherlands - Eindhoven Stefan Weijers - Level 1 - Netherlands - Hilversum Stijn Bogaert - Level 1- Belgium - Ghent

By Alex De Bruijne

PROJECTS IN THE BENELUX

by Mark Dragstra Did we forget to mention your project ? Send us an email!

CO M M U N IT Y B U I LD I N G N I E L S VIAE N E , ALE X D E B RU IY N E A N D NATALI E H E Y LE N B EN ELU X T h ey t alk ab o ut s trategie s an d p ossibilitie s to b uild an d maint ain co mm unitie s . T h e goal is to develo p a do c um ent that g uide s a ju dge w h o want s to b uild a co mm unit y. T h e do c um ent co uld b e a kin d of W PN s trateg y g uide fo r ju dge s .

LE VE L 2 LE S S O N S J O NA S D RI EG H E A N D N I E L S VIAE N E B ELGIU M T h ey p rep are an d plan wo rk sh o p s fo r level 1 ju dge s w h o want to p rep are th ems elve s fo r ju dging co m p etitive to urnam ent s . T his p roje c t is lo oking fo r e x tra h elp .

J U D G E CL A S S E S TH I BAUT CL AU S S E , VI C TO R TRU O N G A N D M I CHAE L S I M O N B ELGIU M T his is a class fo r ju dge c an didate s to h elp th em un ders t an d th e r ule s . At th e m o m ent th ere are ab o ut s even c an didate s following th e class .

FI RS T AI D FO R J U D G E S N I E L S VIAE N E B ELG IU M T his is mainly a s eminar to e du c ate ju dge s o n f irs t aid . T h e p roje c t is c urrently o n hiatus sin ce alm os t ever y ju dge was overe x p os e d to it in 2 01 2 /2 013 . T h e s eminars c an p robably s t ar t up again in th e n ear f uture .

JUDGE DINNER TO BY HA Z E S D U TCH E M I LI E N WI LD, J O NA S D RI EG H E A N D PA S C AL G E M I S B ELGIU M To s treng th en th e co mm unit y of ju dge s an d players . A dinn er is h eld at a gam e s to re o r a re s t a urant . A variet y of to pic s are dis c uss e d an d gam e s are playe d .

J U D G E APPS PI C TU RE S TO BY HA Z E S B EN ELU X T h e aim is to have a pic ture of ever y a c tive ju dge o n J u dge A p p s . Toby is lo oking fo r s o m e o n e w h o c an join this p roje c t in B elgium .

P O D C A S T “ D E Z E B R A’ S” JAN JA AP VE RM E I RE A N D TE U N ZIJ P D U TCH T h ey t alk ab o ut th e r ule s an d intera c tio ns of ever y n ewly releas e d s et . S o m etim e s th ey als o t alk ab o ut change s in th e IP G / M T R . T h e t arget a u dien ce are players an d ju dge s (b ut th e level is ver y basic).

ARE A C AP TAI N TE U N ZIJ P, S TE VE HAT TO, AMAN D D O S I M O NT, PA S C AL G E M I S, M I CH I E L KL APWIJ K, ALE X D E B RU IJ N E , RO E L JAN S, FR AN K RO E LO FS, TO BY HA Z E S A N D D E S M O N D S CH O LTE N S B EN ELU X T h e ten area c apt ains of th e B en elu x ea ch co o rdinate th e level 1 cer tif ic atio n of ju dge c an didate s in th eir area . R ichard dire c t s ju dge c an didate s to th e ap p ro p riate area c apt ain , w h o th en f in ds a m ento r fo r th em .

B E N E LUX FACE B O O K G RO U P / FRE N CH S PE AKI N G J U D G E C AN D I DATE S FACE B O O K G RO U P E M I LI E N WI LD B EN ELU X / B ELG IU M Fa ceb o ok g ro up s w h ere ar ticle s are share d an d s o m etim e s dis c uss e d . Q u e s tio ns c an b e p os te d h ere as well an d are usually ans were d quickly.

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This newsletter was made with love by Alex De Bruijne, Alex De Blécourt, Natalie Heylen, Sander De Quick, Mark Dragstra, Jonas Drieghe, Pascal Gemis, Stéphane Van Cauwenberghe, Victor Truong and Richard Drijvers.

NEWSLETTER 2016 Benelux Bulletin