It is already past two weeks late on the posting since the Magic: the Gathering Judges Conference Philippines but I think it is important for me to share my first-hand experience of this event. To recall, I’ve already known of this yearly event of the MTG judges here in the Philippines but I couldn’t get to find the right schedule or a promo ticket. that is maybe because they announce the date a little bit too late. this time though they were able to set it early and so I am happy to arrange my schedule and find a promo sale plane ticket as soon as possible.

It was set on the second weekend of July, one week before the Philippine Nationals and also the release weekend of Core Set 2019. I booked my ticket for the Nationals last February 14 because of the promo sale but I then followed the booking the week after wherein the base fare wasn’t that discounted. Their chosen venue was in Villa De Oro in Tagaytay.
Tagaytay is well known for the view of the majestic Taal Volcano and of course a home for their famous food, Bulalo. I saw the preview pics posted by Ms. Aly and somewhat liked their setup, looking to be a place of nature and relaxing environment.

I expected it to be much like the previous conferences and workshops that I’ve attended at work, though I’ve thought that it would be more than just listening to talks and open forum. I had ideas running in mind with similarities from what I saw on Grand Prix side events.

I arrived Saturday morning from the first Cebu Pacific flight from Iloilo, thankfully without delays and with a fair weather with slight rains. We’d expected Monsoon rains to affect the rest of the day sourced from the PAGASA weather forecast. There will be a van that will fetch me along with some of the judges from the Makati area that was their first meetup point. The same van will service us to the conference venue in Tagaytay. I think I was the last person that they would fetch before going to the main road SLEX. They arrived past 7:30 am and I recognized a few judges specifically Judge Reuben seated near the back of the van. I also saw two ladies which I did not recognize who they were and I assumed that the service van is more of a shared ride type. The travel on the highway was somewhat long and we only had one stopover for the bathroom break and bought some bottled water. I am slightly sleepy that time as I only had about two hours of sleep so I could go to the airport on time that early morning but their conversation about their past judging experience caught my attention. I also shared my comments on their rulings on certain situations.

It was already past 9:30 am when we arrived at Villa de Oro and there was a slight drizzle. I took some pics of the garden and other areas after settling our bags and while waiting for the registration and for the other groups to arrive.

The listing for the event registration started around 10:00 am and each of us was given a Judge Pilipinas t-shirt along with a Judge Conference ID and a copy of the programme.

I already saw beforehand the lineup of the speakers for the event in a pdf document uploaded by Ms. Aly in the MTG Judge Philippines group. I had my interest in all of the topics to be discussed but I had my attention centered on the Card Effects on Layers. I knew and experienced difficulty explaining the possible outcomes in these type of scenarios so I really had to listen well and try to answer as correct as possible.

To be continued…