2. What is FNM?
● It stands for Friday Night Magic (duh)
● It's run at Regular REL
● Lots of players use this as their first tournament
● It gives shiny cards to players
● It can be any* format
3. Why does Regular REL exist?
● Run tournaments without policy overhead
● Emphasis on fun vs tournament integrity
● Player education
● Short policy document for non-judges
● Writing out penalties intimidates players
4. What is Regular REL Not For?
● Sucking fun out of Magic
● Seriously, chill out. This isn't Competitive REL.
5. Slow Play
Why is this a problem?
● Watching your opponent do
nothing is boring
● Takes time away from both
players
● Drawing when they
shouldn't
● Talking to a spectator about
non-advice can cause this
How to help?
● Watch Magic
● Watch faces
● Nudge players
● Talk to players off to the
side if they are problematic
6. Poor Shuffling
Why do we shuffle?
● The rules say so.
● Shuffling adds variance.
How should we shuffle?
● Multiple riffle/push + Faro
shuffles
● Pile counting isn't shuffling
● Mana weaving is bad; it
does nothing or it leads to
suspicions
How do we deal with this?
● Watch some Magic
● Educate on how to shuffle
● Ask them to shuffle some
more
● Follow up with them
7. Bad Sleeves
Why do sleeves exist?
● Take damage in place of
cards
● Make shuffling easier
● Show off individuality
● Not to reach into
players' pockets
What issues do we look
for?
● Damaged sleeves
● Old/mismatched sleeves
● Lack of SB wear marks
● Inappropriate art
8. Bad Language
What isn't cool?
● Threats
● Harassment
● -ist jokes/statements
● Foul language
Judges have a huge
ability to work with
players and make
stores a friendly place
for people to play in.
Work with the
owner/TO to
determine what's
acceptable.
9. Giving Advice While Playing
What does this entail?
● Tell people about paths of
play
● Remind people of forgotten
things – triggers,
blockers...
● Add time to the round
How can we help?
● Pay attention to spectators
● Ask spectators to let them
play
● Remind spectators that it's
a match loss at Comp
● There is no fix
10. Messed-up Drafts
What could possibly go
wrong?
● Extra/missing picks
● Packs out of order
● Packs getting merged
● Packs stacking up
How to prevent?
● Speak with new players
● Encourage zone drafting
● Watch the draft
● Talk to slow drafters
How to fix?
● Carefully
● Here be dragons
11. No Shows
Why is this bad?
● Waiting 10 minutes to not
play Magic sucks.
● No, really, it sucks.
How can we help?
● Teach players to check
Drop on result slips
● Talk to problematic players
● The TO has cool powers
that we don't have –
involve them
12. Losing Their Stuff
Why is this bad?
● Players losing stuff sucks
● Losing decks delays
tournaments
● More work for event staff
How to help?
● Remind players to check
tables when done
● Bag under table, wrapped
around a leg
● Work with TO to address
problem people
