The L3 Skillset & the Modern Judge Program

Higher certification is less about knowing more obscure rules and more about leadership, consistency, and event management. An L3 is expected to:

• Head Judge large Competitive events and own the final ruling on everything.
• Lead and mentor a judge team, giving feedback and developing others.
• Handle sensitive situations — investigations, disqualifications, player disputes — with sound, defensible judgment.
• Understand tournament logistics: pairings, timing, deck checks, appeals, and recovery from problems.

The classic DCI levels (L1/L2/L3) were run for years through the Judge Academy program, which closed in 2023. The judge community reorganized into independent programs: Judge Foundry in the United States and the International Judge Program (IJP) elsewhere. The documents (CR, MTR, IPG) and the underlying skill expectations remain the shared backbone across programs, which is why L1/L2/L3 is still a useful way to think about progression.

The Head Judge has final authority at the event. They:

• Hear all appeals and may uphold or overturn any floor ruling.
• May deviate from the IPG in exceptional circumstances if strictly following it would be a "significant and exceptional" injustice — but this power is used very sparingly and must be justified.
• Set expectations for the judge team and make final calls on DQs.