Judges’ skill sets vary, just as players’ do. Some are pros, some are beginners, and no one—player or judge—is 100 percent right all the time. Questions about rulings and procedure do come up when you’re participating at an event, and the day may arrive when you think the judge may have given you an incorrect order. Take heart: you aren’t stuck in situations like this, because you can appeal the ruling. This is a specific right, but a lot of players don’t realize it, don’t know how to go about it, or feel intimidated by the idea. Today I’m going to explain the process to you, tell you how to go about your appeal, and remind you of what you shouldn’t do when you don’t agree with a judge’s answer.
First off, you will not get penalized for correctly making an appeal. This is a common fear of many players. The appeal is a right granted to you by the tournament policy. You will not lose time in your match, either. If the process takes more than a few minutes, you will get an appropriate time extension. Your opponent might disagree with your decision, but it is still your decision to make. All you need to worry about is ensuring that you lodge your appeal correctly. Since I’m about to explain that in detail, you should find yourself with next to no worry at all.
The first thing you need to remember is this: you may not refuse to listen to the judge who takes your question. Yes, I’m serious. You don’t get to say, “I don’t want you . . . I want to talk to [insert judge’s name here] instead.” You have to listen to the ruling given by the judge who answers your call, and then you may appeal to the head judge if you disagree with the ruling. But you can’t begin the process by refusing to listen to the first ruling.
Don’t insult the floor judges. Even if they make a wrong ruling, or seem like they don’t know what they’re doing, you don’t have the right to make denigrating or insulting comment about their abilities. You’ll probably rate a penalty if you do, and it will serve you right. Your conversation with the judge should be civil and respectful, and the judge’s conversation with you should be the same.
Make sure that the floor judge understands what is going on. You and your opponent should speak in turn, not at the same time, and it’s helpful to back up the game and demonstrate card by card, if a series of actions are involved in the question. Plenty of misrulings come about because the question isn’t absolutely clear, so make sure you explain exactly what happened. You can always ask the judge to repeat what you’ve said just to make sure you’re communicating effectively.
If you disagree with a ruling or penalty once the floor judge has delivered it, thank the judge, then say, “I would like to appeal to the head judge, please.” The floor judge is then obligated to convey the appeal to the head judge. He or she may not refuse your request. Don’t be intimidated by the floor judge, your opponent, or any spectators in the area—if you are not in agreement with the ruling, you should appeal, especially if it has a major impact on the outcome of the duel. This is the only opportunity you’ll have to appeal a ruling. You can’t go look for another judge later, explain the situation to him or her, and expect a correction to be made to your tournament standings. Griping about it on a forum later on won’t change the situation, either. If you are not in agreement, civilly and calmly ask to appeal.
Once the head judge arrives, he or she may ask you to explain the situation. Repeat what was told to the floor judge, again making sure that the head judge understands what you are saying. He or she should repeat it back to you, to make sure that he or she has it right. Once the head judge delivers his or her decision, that is final, and no one can overrule the decision. If the affair took more than a few minutes, don’t forget to ask for a time extension.
What do you do if you still feel you’re getting an incorrect ruling? Well, the head judge is the absolute authority at the event. He or she could declare that [insert absurd ruling here] and it would have to stand. You’ve got two options—accept it and move on, or if you have access to reliable rulings info, respectfully present the information that will support you.
This is a tricky line to walk. Reliable rulings info include Upper Deck Entertainment’s rulings FAQ (preferably via the Internet), judge list mailings, and other official sources. It does not include your buddy who is a level 2 judge, your assertions that you read on a forum that the card does do that, your mother who thinks they’re plotting against you, and so forth. You get the idea. If you have reliable source information, remember that I said to present it respectfully. If you tell the head judge, “You are a moron, and you have no right to be judging events. Read that, you idiot!” then things are not likely to go your way. Make sure you actually know what you’re talking about and that you’re not just hoping to fake your way out of a bad situation.
When a judge (either floor or head) makes an incorrect ruling, then takes it back to issue a correct one, thank them and move on. Do not turn to the player next to you and ask them, “Can you believe the monkeys they’ve got judging this thing?” Especially in front of the judge!
If the judge is wrong and sticks to the incorrect ruling, there’s not much else you can do at that point. It happens—I’ve yet to meet a judge who knew absolutely everything. I can guarantee you that arguing about it or insulting the judge will not get you anything other than a penalty. You know (or should know) the cards in your deck quite well, but the average judge has to know a lot more, and there will always be gaps in that knowledge.
Regardless, you should treat the judges civilly. You don’t have the right to mouth off to or insult them, even though judges can and do make mistakes. So do players. It’s no more appropriate for you to stand around and say, “What an idiot! I can’t believe they’re letting him judge!” than it would be for a judge to stand around saying, “What an idiot! Did you see how he just totally blew that game?” If you stand around disrespecting the staff, you will probably get thrown out of the event, and you’ll deserve it. That kind of behavior doesn’t solve anything.
Flat-out incompetence or mistreatment of players by a judge should be reported, however. If you feel a judge is doing a shoddy job, go and talk to the tournament organizer. Emailing Upper Deck or complaining online won’t accomplish nearly as much as talking to the person who’s hiring the judges. Reporting a judge out of spite or for a minor mistake isn’t appropriate, and make sure that when you do speak to the TO, you are polite and accurate. You should also make sure that you are right before you say anything! Realistically speaking, you’re no more infallible than anyone else, and I’ve dealt with lots of angry players ranting about “that stupid judge who cost me the match” when in fact the player was wrong. If you’re going to raise a fuss, remember to check your facts.
If the situation ever arises where you feel justified in making an appeal, go for it. Head judges want you to appeal if you aren’t satisfied with a ruling. We’d much rather deal with the situation when it’s still correctable, before it can cause any potential problems. What your opponent thinks or what the spectators think shouldn’t sway you from an appeal if you honestly think you’ve been given an incorrect answer. The appeal process is there for a reason, so don’t shrink from using it.