Judge Terminology

Magic players use many terms of art, and judges are no different. Being inundated with unfamiliar words and phrases can lead newer judges and judge candidates to feel overwhelmed or out-of-place in the judge community.

There's a glossary of Magic acronyms and slang on the MTG Wiki, but it unfortunately doesn't include most judge terms.The IJP also has a glossary of technical terms in use within their certification program. This page is an attempt to compile a comprehensive list of the terms you might hear judges use, current and former. If there's anything I missed, please let me know so I can add it in.

Acronyms

• 1K/2K/3K/etc: A CREL tournament with the specified amount of prizes in the local currency. For example, a 1K in the US would have $1000 in prizes. Sometimes the given number is only a lower bound, or is dependant on attendance.
• 2HG: Two-Headed Giant. A format where two players play together on the same team.
• AIPG: The Annotated IPG. A judge-maintained resource that provides additional context to what's said in the IPG. (Not Official.)
• AMTR: The Annotated MTR. A judge-maintained resource that provides additional context to what's said in the MTR. (Not Official.)
• AC: 1) Area Communicator. A Judge Foundry role underneath RAs, in charge of some portion of a region. 2) Area Captain. Basically the same thing, but under the old judge program.
• AP: The active player; the player whose turn it currently is. Contrast to NAP.
• AR: Academy Ruins. A website that hosts old versions of Magic's rules and policy documents, a convenient display of the differences between them, a hyperlinked CR, and other useful tools.
• B&W: Bribery and Wagering. One of the infractions that players can commit at Competitive and Professional REL. See the IPG for more details.
• CC: Community Consultant. Judge Academy's old version of Regional Advocates.
• CCTTCAP: An easy-to-remember mnemonic for the 7 layers: copy, control, text, type, color, abilities, power/toughness.
• CFB: ChannelFireball. A former PTO.
• CFBE: ChannelFireball Events. A former PTO. May have been three CFBs in a trench coat, unknown.
• CMC: "Converted mana cost", an outdated term for mana value.
• CO: Conference Organizer. Someone who's in charge of running a judge conference.
• CR: The Magic Comprehensive Rules. These dictate how the game itself works, no matter where it's being played.
• CPV: Communication Policy Violation. One of the infractions that players can commit at Competitive and Professional REL. See the IPG for more details.
• CREL: An abbreviation for Competitive REL.
• CQ: City Qualifier. A type of small CREL event, used only in the Oceania region.
• D2TL: Day 2 Team Lead. A defunct certification from the old judge program that showed an L2 judge was trusted to be a team lead on day 2 of a Grand Prix. (All other team lead positions were L3+ only.)
• DCI: Duelists' Convocation International. The organization that used to be in charge of organized play. Mostly superseded by the WPN.
• DCIR: DCI Reporter. Very old tournament software used prior to WER.
• DABT: A more elegant and more accurate version of the DEBTmnemonic, since the "E" in the original has to stand for both "enchanting" and "equipping", and also doesn't account for fortifications. Has the slight downside of not being a word.
• DDLP: Deck/Decklist Problem. An old infraction that no longer exists, having been split into separate Deck Problem and Decklist Problem categories.
• DEBT: A mnemonic to remember what protection does: it prevents damage, enchanting/equipping, blocking, and targeting. (There's also a song.)
• DIPG: The Digital IPG. Like the IPG, but for events run on Magic Arena.
• DOJ: Development of Other Judges. One of the L3 Qualities.
• DMTR: The Digital MTR. Like the MTR, but for events run on Magic Arena.
• DLP: Decklist Problem. One of the infractions that players can commit at Competitive and Professional REL. See the IPG for more details.
• DP: Deck Problem. One of the infractions that players can commit at Competitive and Professional REL. See the IPG for more details.
• DQ: A disqualification.
• E1/E2/E3: Shorthand for a judge under the OJA who has attained the requisite level in the Event Management Competency track.
• EDB: Eric Dustin-Brown.
• EDH: Elder Dragon Highlander. An old name for the Commander format.
• EL: Eventlink. The current tournament software that WOTC maintains. Replaced WER. Infamous for being extremely buggy.
• EMC: Event Management Competency. One of the certification tracks used by the OJA.
• EOR: End-of-Round. The period of time starting 5-10 minutes before the round ends, and continuing until the next round starts. Judges are often busy during this period performing sweeps and sitting on tables.
• EOY: End-of-year. Primarily used back when Judge Academy would run regular end-of-year conferences.
• EtB: Enters the Battlefield. Usually used to refer to replacement effects that replace a permanent entering the battlefield, or triggered abilities that trigger upon a permanent entering the battlefield.
• EW: Eternal Weekend. A yearly convention for Legacy and Vintage players.
• F2F: Face-to-Face Games. A PTO.
• FJ: Floor Judge. The rank and file of judge staff at an event.
• FCE: Fixing Common Errors at Regular REL. The old name for the JAR.
• FLGS: A synonym for LGS. Stands for "friendly local game store".
• FNM: Friday Night Magic. The most common type of tournament, run at Regular REL by LGSs.
• FtMGS: Failure to Maintain Game State. One of the infractions that players can commit at Competitive and Professional REL. See the IPG for more details.
• GL: Game Loss. A type of penalty that can be issued at Competitive REL events. See the IPG for more details.
• GRV: Game Rule Violation. One of the infractions that players can commit at Competitive and Professional REL. See the IPG for more details.
• GP: Grand Prix. Used to be the premier type of large Magic convention, with 1-2