I've got an interesting one to share with the class today. (In this case I'm pretty sure I know what the answer is, but think it's worth sharing, since neither I nor any of the staff at the event knew what to do.) I was head judge of a City Championship yesterday and, in a random deck check at the end of round 3 of 5, discovered a player with a 59-card list and matching 59-card deck. (They borrowed the deck and there was presumably a card left in the other player's deckbox. Oops!) The resolution seemed pretty clean --- they found a matching sleeve and inserted the basic energy of the choice, I updated their decklist to include the basic energy, and I assigned them a prize loss for the beginning of their next game.
However! They ID'ed their next game, as well as their final round game, to guarantee a top 8 slot at 3-0-2. So... what happens to the prize penalty? I couldn't find anything on this in the penalty guidelines or other resources, and the more experienced judge who happened to be around and the PTO didn't know what to do either. We phoned an even more experienced judge and followed that judge's advice: First, because the player didn't set up for a game in round 4 or 5, there was no chance to assign the penalty that they had earned; the penalty shouldn't just go away, so I assigned it at the first chance I had, which was game one of their top cut match. Second, I did not communicate to the player that the penalty would follow them; I think they would have ID'd regardless because it guaranteed them top 8, but the logic behind not doing so was to avoid having them game the system. I didn't and don't love either possible solution to the second issue --- either saying "hey, just so you know, you'll now get this penalty next round unasked" or surprising them at the start of their top 8 match --- but the logic of avoiding altering their behavior is compelling. (Had the player directly asked, I don't think I would have been comfortable lying. I might have given a non-answer of the form "If you ID your next match also, you will get to find out!" but that feels disingenuous. Luckily, that did not come up.)
Is this documented somewhere that we couldn't find at the time? If it isn't, should it be? I'd be surprised if it hadn't come up before and didn't come up again.
(My experience level: Cities head judge, States/Regionals judge)
However! They ID'ed their next game, as well as their final round game, to guarantee a top 8 slot at 3-0-2. So... what happens to the prize penalty? I couldn't find anything on this in the penalty guidelines or other resources, and the more experienced judge who happened to be around and the PTO didn't know what to do either. We phoned an even more experienced judge and followed that judge's advice: First, because the player didn't set up for a game in round 4 or 5, there was no chance to assign the penalty that they had earned; the penalty shouldn't just go away, so I assigned it at the first chance I had, which was game one of their top cut match. Second, I did not communicate to the player that the penalty would follow them; I think they would have ID'd regardless because it guaranteed them top 8, but the logic behind not doing so was to avoid having them game the system. I didn't and don't love either possible solution to the second issue --- either saying "hey, just so you know, you'll now get this penalty next round unasked" or surprising them at the start of their top 8 match --- but the logic of avoiding altering their behavior is compelling. (Had the player directly asked, I don't think I would have been comfortable lying. I might have given a non-answer of the form "If you ID your next match also, you will get to find out!" but that feels disingenuous. Luckily, that did not come up.)
Is this documented somewhere that we couldn't find at the time? If it isn't, should it be? I'd be surprised if it hadn't come up before and didn't come up again.
(My experience level: Cities head judge, States/Regionals judge)