Was last week’s article on table judging useful to you? I’m going to continue like that over the next few weeks by discussing various judge jobs. This week, we’re going to dive into one of those jobs that can’t be avoided—deck checks!
Most of the judges I know are divided on their opinion of deck checks. Some judges can’t stand to sit there and deal with the repetitive detail, and others rather enjoy it. I don’t know if it’s a Type A or Type B kind of thing or not, but personally, I think that any job that lets you sit down on a tournament day, however briefly, is a job worth doing.
Now, last week’s article was a long one, but I didn’t want to separate it into parts since there wasn’t a logical place to divide it. Deck checks are easy to split, though. This week’s article is going to focus on checking the decklists, and next week we’ll talk about checking the actual decks. I’ve been lucky enough to work with a lot of other judges, and the information I’m going to offer you here comes from our combined experience. This should help you out a lot if you get dropped into deck checks for the first time at your next large event, or perhaps it will give you ideas to streamline the process you already use. It’s a big job, so anything that can make it easier, faster, and more enjoyable for the judges involved is worth learning, right?
Checking each decklist to make sure it’s legal can be a daunting task, especially at a Shonen Jump Championship or a very large Regional tournament. Hundreds of duelists register for these events, so reading over all those lists is going to take time and coordination. As much judging staff as can be spared should work on the checks, to get the job done as quickly and accurately as possible.
Before you can check the lists, they need to be collected. Different tournament organizers have different protocols for decklist collection, but one that I’ve found works well is to seat the players for the player’s meeting in alphabetical order, then have the judges walk down the rows picking up the decklists. As long as the judges collect them in order, the lists are automatically sorted alphabetically (by player’s last name) and that makes it much easier to file them. As you collect the lists, glance at each one to verify that the player has written their name on it. There are always a few players in each event that forget to write their name on their decklists, and it’s easiest to catch it when the list is still actually attached to the player. Carry a pen with you in case someone needs to borrow it.
The head judge should have delegated a team to take charge of the deck checks, so once the decklists are collected, it’s time to look them over. The more judges who can help out, the better, since this job should be done before the first round is over. It’s no joke to read over hundreds of lists, many of which were written out in a hurry by players who were late for registration, so it’s not a job that many judges like to do. It’s a job best suited to judges who can read quickly, stay focused on a repetitive task, and quickly add numbers in their heads. Deck checkers also need to know the forbidden and limited lists. Anyone can learn to do this efficiently, though, if they work at it and make the effort.
The team leader should divide up the decks alphabetically, and hand them off to the other team members. The leader should also find out from the TO and head judge what they want out of the checks. Some only really care that all decks have at least 40 cards and that side decks are exactly 15, while others want to ensure that all cards in every deck are legal. It’s a lot less trouble to deal with incorrect or illegal decks before the tournament has moved out of the first round, so be as careful and as quick as you can be when you’re reading through the list.
Make sure that each decklist has at least 40 cards. Sometimes players will note the total numbers of monsters, spells, and traps, but if you have time, count the cards. I’ve caught a lot of errors that way. Make sure that side decks contain 15 cards. Read over the cards, looking for any that are not allowed, whether it’s too many copies of a particular card, a card that is forbidden, or cards from a set that’s not yet legal for play. Even though there are announcements at events that tell players that such and such set is not legal, or that the tournament is using the Advanced format and all decks must adhere to the format, there will be players that were late, not listening, or just plain not aware of anything. If you have decklists containing an unusually high amount of cards, pay close attention. I don’t mean to sound prejudicial, but in my experience those kinds of lists are more likely to contain illegal cards, and you don’t want to miss them. I recall an event where a child managed to slip through a decklist check with all three Egyptian God cards in his deck.
Once you’ve checked a deck, you need to mark it to indicate it’s been checked. The team lead should choose a spot for the decks to be marked so they all correspond, and then the checker should initial the list, indicate the number of cards, and make an agreed-upon mark indicating that the list is fine. A check mark, “OK,” or anything similar will work. Just make sure that all the team members are using the same marks and putting them on the same spot on the decklists.
If there is a problem, the checker should initial the list, write the specific problem on the top of the list (14-card side deck, 36 cards in the deck, four copies of Dust Tornado, cannot read this person’s handwriting at all and have no idea what is in this deck), and set it into a pile of other “problem” decks. The team leader or head judge can call these players up to the stand in a group, and the decks can be compared to the submitted decklist to sort out the problems.
Any activity involving the decklists should always be done away from the general play area. It keeps players from interrupting you to ask you questions that another judge can answer, and it prevents decklists from falling under the eyes of competitors in the event. If you are dealing with players (checking their deck against their decklist), always turn any visible decklists face down. Never leave decklists or the file of decklists sitting around where players have access to them. You don’t want to give anyone an advantage by letting them have a peek at someone else’s decklist, or give anyone grounds for suspicion that a player gained inside info on someone’s deck by hanging about the deck check area. There can be a lot of paper and fuss and clutter on the judge stand, so be careful and keep track of the decklists. It’s a serious problem if a decklist gets lost.
Ideally, you want to have all the decklists reliably checked by the time the first round ends, so all problems can be dealt with and the deck check team can get out on the floor and help get the next round started. If you’re working with a group, resist the urge to chat if you find it impairs your ability to work quickly. Keep your comments to the job at hand. Some judges are more easily distracted than others, and you don’t want to slow everyone down. Don’t count out loud if other people around you are trying to count! You’ll throw everybody off.
Finally, the team lead should ask the scorekeeper (nicely) for a master player list, and verify that each player has handed in a decklist. Someone always seems to slip through the cracks, and it will be a problem later on if they get picked for a deck check, especially if there’s a problem with their deck. Verifying the master player list can be done by multiple checkers—just divide up the list, and pull the appropriate decklists. Go through the master player list in alphabetical order, and cross off the names of the players whose lists are present. Call up any player who doesn’t seem to have a decklist, and either get them to hand one in or take a look at their deck to match it up with any decklists that don’t have any names on them.
The head judge should make sure all decklist problems have been corrected and the appropriate penalties have been handed out. If you’re going to be the head judge, prepare yourself beforehand. Know the appropriate penalties for decklist problems so you can issue them quickly and accurately. There’s a lot going on before the event and in the early rounds, so you can’t count on having time to run back and check your penalty guidelines. You want to make sure you’re fair and accurate, so be sure you know what to do. You can find the penalty guidelines here.
If you’re on the deck check team, appreciate it! You’re sitting down, for goodness’ sakes, so luxuriate in it while you can. And the deck check team has all kinds of fun. Deck checkers get to look at the decks that will be played, and they can make predictions about what is going to win. They also get treated to the brand of humor that’s found only on a badly written deck list. I’ve gotten many a laugh out of a misspelled, barely legible or oddly nicknamed card. I think I laughed at least a minute when I came across, “Ancient Bear Blast” (Ancient Gear Beast), and “Homeless Trap Hole,” got us all going as well. You can start a collection of your own prize specimens of card-mangling.
Next week, I’m going to continue with information for the deck checking team. We’ll go over some different strategies for checking player’s decks efficiently and accurately. I know that a lot of the judges who read this column double as TOs (bless them, they work so hard), and these judges are in a good position to enable the judges who work alongside them to brush up their deck-checking skills. If you’ve got a few judges on staff and don’t normally collect or check decklists at your smaller events, try collecting them next time to give the judges a chance to improve their skills. And don’t forget to return in two weeks’ time to catch the rest of the series!
A special plea to players: I know a lot of you read my judging articles even if you don’t judge, so listen up! You’ll make the judges’ jobs much easier if you make sure to do the following things.
• Write clearly. If you have horrible handwriting, get someone else to write out your decklist for you, or type it out on a full sheet of paper at home.
• Put your name on your decklist. For goodness sakes, put your name on your decklist, put your name on your decklist.
• If you’re not a deckbuilding pro, please check the Forbidden list before you build your deck if your event uses the Advanced format. If it uses the Traditional format, check the Limited list.
• Don’t use shorthand or abbreviations when you’re writing down your cards. It’s often hard to tell what you mean, especially if you invent them yourself. Have some pity on the poor judges, as they have to read through hundreds of lists. Make it as easy as possible for them to know what’s in your deck.
• If you make a lot of changes or writing errors, please get a new decklist. Lists full of crossed-out cards or substitutions are incredibly hard to read.
• Learn how to make 2s that have no resemblance to 3s. Seriously, you have no idea how many players make a sort of generic squiggle to indicate any number that is not 1.
• Don’t write out “D. D. Assailant” three separate times. Write it once and put a “3” next to it.
• Don’t take your list and fold it up and fold it up again and put your drink on it and roll it up and scratch your ear with it and then put it in your pocket. Please.
• When you write out your list, use a decklist form. Not a napkin, not an index card, not a 4x6 sheet of notepaper, and never a Post-It note. Yes, I have seen all of these handed in as decklists.
• If you have more than one sheet, staple them together. Put your name on each sheet, and label the sheets as 1 of 2 and 2 of 2 and . . . please don’t have more than two sheets. I promise you, you don’t need that many cards in your deck.
• If you are not using a Fusion or side deck, then please write “no side deck” or “no Fusion deck” in the appropriate area. If you are using them, remember to include them on your decklist! Otherwise, there’ll be problems.
• I understand that you can now have a more or less unlimited number of cards in your Fusion deck. But if you plan on putting in 150 cards just for swank, please don’t. We have to check all those, and if you make the Top 8 and the reporter has to type them all out, he or she will be unhappy unless you make it up to them. Kris Perovic totally owes me a bag of candy from the Boston Shonen Jump Championship.