Magic: The Gathering is getting some major changes for the first time in a very long time when it comes to the judge program. The program that handled all previous judging in competitions around the world will be coming to an end, effective later this year. In its place will be an all new MTG Judge Academy.

What Is the MTG Judge Academy

The new judge program appears to be an interesting evolution of the system for fans, pro players, and current official judges alike. The MTG Judge Academy is an independent company that is operating on its own and will be taking over the duties of judging tournaments and events around the world.

The MTG Judge Academy is run by folks who know what they are doing, as they themselves are an integral part of the current and soon to be nonexistent judging program. It is led by current judges like Nicolette Apraez who is a level three judge and the current regional coordinator for the United States Southeast Region.

Apraez posted the initial letter, detailing everything about the MTG Judge Academy. Apraez will act as the Judge Program Manager in the company. The purpose of this move is to make a global judge program that will make the judges and community events be better than ever before.

Though the duties of the judge program, including contracts and the like, will not be handled by Wizards of the Coast moving forward, that doesn’t mean that the company won’t be an integral part of what’s happening. The company is still supporting this new group with the help of its associate community manager Sara Mox.

What’s New and the Same With the Judge Academy

What’s going to be new with the MTG Judge Academy is teased in its name already. Players and fans who wish to be judges can do so by learning and taking courses to certify themselves as one. Like before, there will be three levels in addition to the entry level rules advisor position that judges can move through.

These various levels operate on different scales from simply able to handle local events at the game shop in your area to actually judging major competitions in your specific region. The certifications and education of the Judge Academy is being taken seriously, providing as little or as much for judges who want to just do it for fun or do the gig full-time.

What isn’t going to change, though, is your specific judge level. If you are already an official judge for Wizards of the Coast, contracts will come to an end later this year but you will be able to keep your level. This may mean that you will need to take certain exams or learn something new but you should be able to transition over easily.

Since the regional coordinator contracts are coming to an end, those who will be overseeing the regions moving forward will be the community managers, of which there are 10 currently. They will not deal with staffing events or the local stores, which allows them to focus on feeding into the community in their area.

When and Where the Judge Academy Will Begin

This will all begin on October 1 as the contracts of the current program end and the MTG Judge Academy officially begins. However, the one key point that players will need to keep in mind is that not all regions will be immediately supported on day one but the majority of them will be.

Currently, there are 27 regions that work under the current judge program around the world but they will be consolidated with the Judge Academy. There are 10 regions under this new program and those regions cover around 20 of the 27 regions that we have right now.

According to the Judge Academy, that’s around 75 percent of the judges covered worldwide. The launch of the academy is a work in progress so it does plan to incorporate the program into the missing regions as soon as possible. Of course, there is a reason behind this.

Being that the Judge Academy is an independent company, it is starting things out like any new business. Being that this is an official business and a global one at that, it needs to comply with the local laws and regulations for each specific region.

So, what will be covered when the new MTG Judge Academy launches its program on October 1? Well, all of the United States and Canada will be covered, Japan, and most of Europe. In addition, because the company is independent from Wizards of the Coast but officially supported by it, it opens the door for more opportunities.

There will be other games that the company will be responsible for judging, and judges will have the chance to cover those games as well if they like. As of right now, the only other game that we know of officially is KeyForge. For more on the MTG Judge Academy as we near its official launch, be sure to keep an eye right here.