worst and funniest calls you heard at nationals

[bobakitty]

Just the title of this thread is mean.

I am all in for constructive criticism, but poking fun at players/judges because of the mistakes that were made is just mean and takes the "Fun" out of the game.
Last time I checked, Pokemon was meant to be a fun game and a learning experience for both players and judges.

Most players/Judges want to learn from their mistakes, not be ridiculed for them

 

[Patsfan112892]

i dont understand the rule if u forget to write a card u must replace it with basic energy my argument there is that basoc energy isnt written on my list either so it would still be an illegal list and if a basic energy can just be added why cant a card u just forgot?

we are human we make mistakes

---------- Post added 07/16/2011 at 06:42 PM ----------

or id even understand being given a round loss but to basically take away any chance of winning you have is just wrong

---------- Post added 07/16/2011 at 06:44 PM ----------

and i do not agree with that penalty whether it be me or another player

 

[baby mario]

i dont understand the rule if u forget to write a card u must replace it with basic energy my argument there is that basoc energy isnt written on my list either so it would still be an illegal list and if a basic energy can just be added why cant a card u just forgot?

If a card isn't on the list, then how does the Judge know what it was supposed to be? For all they know you could be putting in a different tech for each round.

Say I deliberately put 3 Collector on my decklist when I play 4.

After a couple of rounds I might decide that a Bouffalant tech would be nice, so I replace the Collector with one.

When I get deckchecked, I say, 'oh yeah, I forgot Bouffalant'.

See the problem?

we are human we make mistakes

And when people make mistakes, you start a thread so they can be laughed at, right?

 

[ShuckleLVX]

I have no issues taking constructive criticism. But blind accusations like those in this thread aren't constructive, and aren't criticism, they are just mean. As Judges, we never have 12 pages threads about what we do right. But if there's a mistake - Or, more commonly, if there ISN'T a mistake but a player just doesn't like the penalty they earned - We DO get 12 page angry rants. There's nothing constructive about that. I made my comment as a probably too subtle jab at the fact that Judges are expected to take this sort of "criticism" laying down, but players more often than not will flip when they make mistakes, and those mistakes earn them penalties.

 

[vegitalian]

I do not judge a lot - mostly pre-releases and battle roads. As a player, I believe that judges should be constantly learning the rules (hopefully before they make bad calls), but should be willing to adapt if they do make mistakes, instead of being stubborn about the ruling. I also think that there shouldn't be any 'witch hunting' when they do make a bad ruling - judges are human, humans make mistakes.

My problem with this thread is that it's an open invitation for some jabs at people that work very hard to make a very large and successful event. It takes a lot of hard work to run these events - some hard work that I'm sure most of the people blindly complaining couldn't do.

It's very easy to complain.

 

[Prof Clay]

I made more than 1 player mad at Nats by upholding a call to replace cards with basic energies.

Sorry if you cannot complete an easy task like placing an IDENTICAL CARD LIST on a deck list to the cards in your deck.

The rule is not a secret...it has been the same for years...AND it is probably the 1 RULE that judges do not have to guess on....YOU the player messed up...We do what we do...

Getting mad at a Judge about incorrect decklists is pointing the finger in the wrong location...Get a mirror and talk to yourself

Thanks for your input everyone

 

[Trican]

For what it's worth:

My friends and I only had positive experiences with judges during Nats. Apparently they had a run in with a poor SotG player one round and the judges got the guy straight. My only semi run in with a judge was when I misread Rescue Energy and thought that the Rescue was optional. When my opponent pointed it out I simply said "My bad" and went to add the card to my hand. She called a judge and the judge just said "Yeah he's not arguing with you whatever." I mean it could've been a warning or what not, but yeah.

I also had the joy of having ShuckleX judge my pod at the Mutant Draft. I must say it was pretty great!

 

[Jaeger]

I usually have a whole list of stupid things I see players do... I don't have any this year that I can think of

 

[TLesky]

I did observe 1 player getting very upset with the judging staff about a deck issue. The player forgot to write down a very important card on their list that they had in their deck. Now as the judges met to make a decission about what the ruling would be, they player talked about the different possible senarios that could play out. This tells me that the player knew that the mistake was theirs and that there would be consequences. After the judges returned and gave the player the bad news, he/she blew up at the judges, throwing things and screaming.

Now I get why the player was upset. I mean having to remove key cards from your deck at nationals is pretty much the end for you. But the deck and list are ultimately the players responsibility, not the judges. And for the players to blame the judges and tell them, "you dont understand! this was an accident!!!", doesnt exactly seem fair. I mean why take it out on the judges if these things are on the players shoulders.

I dont think that judges are "out to get players". In fact, I think that most if not all judges would rather not issue penalties to any players. I, for 1 would much rather spend my time watching the best players in the city/state/country/etc play then write out all the paperwork. I will, however, issue penalties to players that have "earned" them.

Sorry this is so long and most of it has been covered but I felt it was important to have another judges opinion.

 

[annisarich]

So I check this deck and o-O wow 55 cards on list and look it over... 55 cards in deck!
Warning was issued and may have also been a prize penalty. (memory bad) . But this player was feeling short on energy in previous rounds and was happy to add 5 more to his deck.

That was funny IMHO

 

[PokeMedic]

Not at Nationals, but I once had a player draw his prize cards from the bottom of his deck during set up. When I went to stop him, he immediately started in with me on how he knew it was wrong, but he had to do it because of.... something? It didn't make any sense so I forgot it.

I participated in an event once long ago, far from my state so don't even think I mean those of you in my state, where there was a judge who was just a very mean, bitter person. I don't mean he made a call that ruined my day or made me change sleeves or something -I mean he was just an unpleasant person to just about everyone. Going by the book is what you have to do, but tact and social skills are just as helpful as grasping game nomenclature and mechanics.

And let me be clear so that no on needs to say it in reply to my story: judges are not state troopers looking to make their quota.

 

[PokePop]

And for the players to blame the judges and tell them, "you dont understand! this was an accident!!!"

My favorite response from a player.
I tell them, "of course we know it was an accident. If we felt you did it on purpose, you wouldn't be getting a Warning (or whatever it is), you'd be getting a DQ!"

And note: Replacing the missing cards with Basic Energy is NOT a Penalty!
It is just the mandated fix.
The Warning or Caution is the Penalty.

 

[gurellia53]

And note: Replacing the missing cards with Basic Energy is NOT a Penalty!
It is just the mandated fix.
The Warning or Caution is the Penalty.

New idea: Make players with bad decklists replace the missing cards with Woobats.

 

[DukeFireBird]

I would like to thank all of the positive comments towards the judging staff for nationals. This makes me feel great, and one of the main reasons I help the game out!

Also, a reminder to all players. Judges do not give penalties, players EARN them. Judges just assess them.

New idea: Make players with bad decklists replace the missing cards with Woobats.

What if there are 5 missing cards, then the list is illegal (more than 4 of a card in the deck) =P

 

[butlerforhire]

New idea: Make players with bad decklists replace the missing cards with Woobats.

Woobat should be in every competitive deck anyway. It isn't the judges' responsibility to make a player's subpar deck better.

 

[Jahikoi]

I would like to thank all of the positive comments towards the judging staff for nationals. This makes me feel great, and one of the main reasons I help the game out!

Also, a reminder to all players. Judges do not give penalties, players EARN them. Judges just assess them.


What if there are 5 missing cards, then the list is illegal (more than 4 of a card in the deck) =P

The funny thing is you question the Woobat.

 

[Ice'Cold]

On a constructive criticism note: Several times I raised my hand to turn in our match slip to have a judge clearly look at me, keep walking and wait several minutes for a "runner" to finally come over. Seriously, it is that hard to say "So player X won and player Y lost" and take our slip?

 

[evil psyduck]

On a constructive criticism note: Several times I raised my hand to turn in our match slip to have a judge clearly look at me, keep walking and wait several minutes for a "runner" to finally come over. Seriously, it is that hard to say "So player X won and player Y lost" and take our slip?

Judges are there to judge. If they run slips then they are not available to answer questions and make rulings. Runners are to run the slips. Seriously, is it really that hard to wait for a runner?

 

[secretsof2113]

On a constructive criticism note: Several times I raised my hand to turn in our match slip to have a judge clearly look at me, keep walking and wait several minutes for a "runner" to finally come over. Seriously, it is that hard to say "So player X won and player Y lost" and take our slip?

There was also a reason judges did not pick them up. Runners are supposed to be doing that, running slips. Judges are supposed to be free to make judging calls. If I'm collecting a slip from you, I can't make a call should someone need help. Also, we were trying to stay in our sections for judging, not constantly having to run up to the stage to turn in match slips.

 

[ShuckleLVX]

On a constructive criticism note: Several times I raised my hand to turn in our match slip to have a judge clearly look at me, keep walking and wait several minutes for a "runner" to finally come over. Seriously, it is that hard to say "So player X won and player Y lost" and take our slip?

As a first time Nationals Judge, I can tell you that this was just weird for me as it was for you. At many local events 'Judge' and 'Runner' are the same person, because you're looking at something like 50 people, instead of 1500.

However, with Nationals, there are too many games to tie Judges up picking up slips. When you get to the middle of the round it wasn't uncommon to find 10 match slips in the air. With something like 7 judges watching something like 250 games, having every Judges head down for a match slip would not only still leave hands in the air (meaning this wouldn't be a perfect solution), but it would also mean that no Judge had their attention on the floor.

Judges are responsible not only for making rulings and assessing penalties when they are called to a table. We also have to keep our eyes open for other issues - things like slow play, or cheating, or players who just generally look distressed. With all the sour grapes about Judges not catching things like that, I would assume you would want our focus to remain on the floor whenever possible.

As I said, it was as weird for me to be passing up slips as it was for you to watch me wander by. But the size of the event effectively mandates that distribution of labor.