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Pojo.com's Yu-Gi-Oh! Interviews
11.16.07

Interview with skey23 by Ally

 

Pojo Screen Name: http://www.pojo.biz/board/member.php?u=38646  

 

Person I’m interviewing: Simon Key

 

Ally: Before we get started, I would like to thank you for taking some time out of your life to do this interview with me. It's always a pleasure to interview some of the best judges in the country (USA).

 

Simon: It’s a pleasure!

 

Simon: Good…yes…but not one of the best!

 

Ally: Eh don't be modest now. Can you tell the readers a little bit about your judging career? Like, for instance, what made you want to judge the card game, Yu-Gi-Oh!?

 

Simon: Well my son got into the game when he was five.

 

Simon: Naturally, I wanted to be involved with what he was doing, so I started playing as well.

 

Simon: I quickly figured out the game was waaaay more complicated than I initially thought, so I decided to actively learn the rules so I could help teach my son how to play better.

 

Simon: After going to a few events, it was unfortunately clear that not all of the Judges in my area kept up with the game 'properly', IMHO.

 

Simon: So I volunteered my services to the PTO so I could help make the Judges better and make the gameplay better for the players.

 

Simon: It blossomed from there...lol.

 

Ally: What was your first judging experience like?

 

Simon:  It was a blast!

 

Simon: It was a Sneak Peak though.

 

Simon: What I remember most was all of my friends freaking out seeing me there working instead of playing...lol

 

Ally: Oh? Did you enjoy playing a lot before you judged?

 

Simon: Yes, I still do!  I just don't have as much time as I used to for playing.

 

Ally: What did you enjoy playing when you had/have the time?

 

Simon: I always played off the wall decks.  I've never been the one to run 'cookie' decks.  I've always been a fan of theme decks.  Basically, I'd just sit down and go through my collection and find a card or two, then build a deck around those cards.  It's quite fun actually.

 

Ally:  What was the most fun deck you built?

 

Simon: I'd probably have to say my "Batteryman AA"/Thunder deck.

 

Simon: My most fun deck right now would have to be my Volcanic deck.

 

Ally: Can you explain what both decks are please?

 

Simon: Sure. The "Batteryman"/Thunder Deck was basically designed to get all 3 "Batteryman AAs" on the field at 3000 ATK each for the OTK!

 

Simon: My Volcanic Deck is just a burn deck designed around the Volcanic Monsters. No Monarchs, nothing but Pyro monsters (except Marshmallon).

 

Ally: That's pretty interesting. Do people look to you for strategy ideas? You make some interesting decks from what I seen. What is your most strategic idea you came up with?

 

Simon: Strategy?  Me?  Not on your life!...lol.  Yes, I may build some interesting decks, but they are far from being competitively strategic.  The decks I build are always for fun, because that's how I play.  I don't play to win, I play to have fun!

 

Ally: Fun decks = strategies too, so I thought I would ask. When did your "passion" for judging start to grow? How was the sneak peak you judge? Did you make a lot of messups?

 

Simon: I had so much fun at that first Sneak Peak that I knew it was what I wanted to do.

 

Simon: Me....mess up?  How dare you!...lol.

 

Simon: Of course I did!...Who wouldn't!...

 

Simon: I'm just glad I had the resources available to me so I could study the rules and get better each day.

 

Ally: Nice. What was the sneak peak you judged?

 

Simon: It was the set after Flaming Eternity believe it or not.

 

Simon: That would be...The Lost Millennium I believe…

Simon: But I had been involved with online forums for almost a year before that.

 

Simon: Answering rulings questions and whatnot.

 

Ally: How was your first regional experience for you?>

 

Simon: It was very scary to be honest.  If I remember correctly, it was a Convention in Dallas.  We ended up having none of the other Judges show up, so it was just me and the Head Judge for close to 200 players!

 

Simon: It all worked out though, and I'm still here.

 

Ally: Wow, was that regional hell for you?

 

Simon: Yup. But it was fun seeing all the CosPlay folks parading around checking out the game and stuff.

 

Ally: Cosplay? You had an anime convention there or something?

 

Simon: Yes, that regional was during an Anime Convention in Dallas.

 

Ally: Oh nice. Glad you made it through the regional. When was your first head judging experience?

 

Simon: My first Head judging experience was a Regional in Austin, Tx. in 2005.  It was the same weekend as a VS 10K event.  I think we had 60 people total for the event, so it wasn't very exhausting.

 

Ally: That's a very small event. How was your first SJ judging experience?

 

Simon: Believe it or not, my first SJC Judging experience just happened to be my very first SJC Head Judging experience as well!

 

Simon: It was the Arlington, TX. SJC.

 

Simon: It was definitely a new experience for me as I had never Head Judged an event with that many players before.

 

Simon: It was a good event and a fantastic learning experience for not only myself, but for my staff as well.

 

Ally: How was SJ Houston '07 was for you?

 

Simon: The 2007 Houston

 

Simon: SJC was by far the best SJC I'd Head Judged so far.

 

Simon: I had 2 other SJC HJ experiences under my belt, plus Nationals, plus tons of other Regional and Sneak Peak HJ experience.

 

Simon: I had way more confidence in my abilities.

 

Simon: And it was also quite fun doing the YGO Abridged stuff on the microphone!...

 

Simon: "Attention Duelists!...My hair welcomes you to the 2007 Houston SJC!"...

 

Simon: That was priceless!

 

Simon: I was more relaxed and just had more fun doing the event than before.

 

Ally: That was the best part of your announcements. You should do it again at the next SJ you head judge ;P.

 

Simon: We'll see. If and when I get that opportunity again, I'll probably try to work something into the announcements again...lol.

 

Ally: Your announcement should be like "Yu-Gi-Oh! is not serious business!" Haha that was funny when Simon Sangpukdee said that at Durham, SJ. Got any Hjing events coming up?

 

Simon: Just a couple of Yugioh Regional events, a WoW Sneak Peak, and possibly a couple of WoW Regional events...lol.

 

Ally: Wait, you Head judge WoW too? How much of an experience is that for you?

 

Simon: I absolutely LOVE the World of Warcraft TCG!

 

Simon: I'm in the same boat with WoW that I am with Yugioh, I just don't have enough time to play as I'd like to...lol.

 

Simon: How much experience do I have? Well, I've Judged/HJd several regional Events.  I Judges/Shadow HJd the Austin Darkmoon Faire; I worked Nationals and I am working Worlds in a few weeks.

 

Ally: WoW worlds? Oh! Please do tell what you will be doing there?

 

Simon: Whatever Edwin Teh and UDE wants me to...


Simon: Edwin because he's the HJ, and UDE because...well...they're UDE...lol

 

Ally: Are you nervous about it? This your first time judging anything to do with worlds?

 

Simon: Yes, I'm nervous about it. Who wouldn't be? This is the World Championships after all. The expectations for the Judging are way higher than any other event before.

 

Simon: And yes, this will be the first World event I've judged. Yugioh Worlds doesn't need too many judges seeing as how there's only like 30 players involved.

 

Ally: What's harder to judge? WoW or YGO!?

 

Simon: Yugioh..by far....lol.

 

Simon: WoW doesn't have any of the translation issues that lead to one-off rulings that don’t follow the known mechanics of the game.

 

Simon: You don't have to have a scientific calculator to figure out if a card targets or not.

 

Simon: If it targets, it says 'target'.  If it doesn't target, then it doesn't have the word 'target' on it....lol.

 

Ally: Why can't YGO! be like that XD. Which out of the two games do you like judging the most?

 

Simon: I like judging both events equally.  I'm not going to pick one over the other!....tsk..tsk..tsk....lol

 

Ally: You know how the readers are going to want to know ;). Was there a time when you judged (either event) that you just wanted to leave the room? What were some of your toughest calls?

 

Simon: I've never been 'fed up' enough to want to leave the room, at least not as a result of any rulings issues.  The closest I've ever come to leaving an event was when somebody came behind the Judge Station and stole my stuff, and only my stuff.  They left all of the other bags, laptops and backpacks there.  I was a bit upset about that to say the least.

 

Simon: The toughest calls are almost always Life Point disputes..

 

Simon: Especially when both players are only using calculators and something like "Pot of Avarice" has been played.

 

Ally: I'm sorry that happened to you. Did you ever find the culprit? What was the most challenging ruling you ever had when judging an event?

 

Simon: Yes, I know who did it.

 

Simon: I'd say one of the most challenging experiences was trying to explain to a player how Priority worked quickly enough so he understood why he wasn't able to get the effects of his "DMoC", "Stratos" and 2 "Diamond Dudes" after being Special Summoned by "Return from the Different Dimension" when his opponent responded with "Bottomless Trap Hole"....lol.

 

Simon: I should say...get the effects of all of those monsters before being removed by "RftDD".

 

Ally: Yikes! What's the funniest part about being a judge in your opinion?

 

Simon: For me, it's knowing that I'm helping to make the events that I work more accurate (rulings wise) and enjoyable for the players themselves.

 

Simon: Plus, I like traveling so that's a good 'perk' as well...lol.

 

Ally: Where was the farthest place you been to judge?

 

Simon: Yugioh Nationals 2006 in San Francisco, California I believe is the farthest away from where I am.

 

Ally: Did you drive or fly there?

 

Simon: I flew.I've made that drive a few times and I wasn't looking forward to attempting it again..lol.

 

Ally: I can imagine it was a long drive XD. Moving on, how do you go about teaching the new duelists that start in the game? Also, what tips do you give out to new judges who want to get started?

 

Simon: For new duelists, I simply teach the basics and then start playing with them.  I always suggest they stick with one deck until they know each and every card inside out w/o having to read it. Once they've done that, then they can move on to the bigger and better cards...lol.  Of course, they are free to do what they want, those are just my suggestions.

 

Simon: For new Judges, my biggest piece of advice is to stay active on Forum sites.  Ask questions, answer questions (whether you are right or wrong), and know where to find the rulings.

 

Simon: Simply knowing where to find the rulings can make your life so much easier.

 

Simon: Especially for those that don't have photographic, or semi-photographic memories...

 

Ally: That's some helpful advice. When you started judging was there ever times you doubted yourself on anything at all or just about to give up on something?

 

Simon: When I started, I doubted myself constantly.

 

Simon: So, I started looking everything up before I answered any questions

 

Simon: After a while, my confidence grew and now I only look things up when I need to 'prove' something, or to show folks that the rulings are out there, you just need to know where to look.

 

Ally: What was the toughest thing you had to do while being a judge?

 

Simon: Probably my first DQ.

 

Ally: What were your feelings on your first DQ?

 

Simon: It was pretty difficult.

 

Simon: He was one of my friends that just had a bad day and did the wrong thing.

 

Ally: Wow I'm sorry. What was taking the judge test like for you? Did you feel like you want to topple over after taking all three of them or fairly easy for you?

 

Simon: I'm not a good one to gauge the judge tests.

 

Simon: I completed each test in 30 mins or less.

 

Ally: Good timing. Alright, do you think a judge level means anything when it comes to judging?

 

Simon: Yes and no.

 

Simon: Your ability to judge, and how good you are, is pretty much based on how much experience you've got, IMHO.  Rules Knowledge does not make you a good Judge.

 

Simon: You have to know how to deal with players and organizers and other judges as well.

 

Simon: You have to be able to do the little mundane tasks as well as the rulings w/o difficulty.

 

Simon: While having a higher level Rules Knowledge usually means more respect; it doesn't mean you can work a Regional to save your life...lol.

 

Simon: I know quite a few Level 1 Judges in both WoW and Yugioh that can run circles around some RK 3 Judges I know.

 

Ally: What advice do you have to any new judges that will read this interview?

 

Simon: Stay active in the forum community. It's more help than you may realize.

 

Simon: Stay current on the rulings, including the Judge List.

 

Simon: Don't be afraid to ask questions, no matter how silly they may seem to you.

 

Simon: Don't be afraid to be wrong.  How else can we learn to improve if we're never wrong?

 

Ally: What do you think you improved over time as a judge?

 

Simon: My ability to manage other judges and delegate duties to them.

 

Ally: Hm, here's a new set of questions for you. What do you think about the forbidden list?

 

Simon: I like the forbidden list.

 

Ally: Would you make any changes? If so what would they be?

 

Simon: Foolish Burial to 1.

 

Simon: Cyber Jar unbanned!

 

Simon: Cyber Jar FTW!!!

 

Ally: o.o you're nuts XD. Do you play in regionals anymore?

 

Simon: No. I wish I could, but sadly, I can't.

 

Ally: How did you get modded for the UDE forums?

 

Simon: I was asked by a UDE member if I wanted to help out.

 

Ally: Were you jumping up and down in excitement?


Simon: Absolutely!

 

Ally: Did you do the same when I got you modded for Pojo LOL?

 

Simon: See, that's a trick question...lol…

 

Simong: I was happy, yes, but not as happy as I was to get modded for the official UDE Forums.

 

Ally: Oh I see :P. Where do you think the direction of the metagame is heading to?

 

Simon: I honestly have no clue.

 

Ally: Got any new deck ideas planned out?

 

Simon: I've got a few...

 

Simon: I'm looking forward to building a Gladiator Beast Deck

 

Simon: And a Cloudian Deck.

 

Ally: Thank you Simon. Well that concludes the interview can you please give a closing statement?

 

Simon: Ok

 

Simon: Just to be true to yourself.  Have fun playing and Judging. And remember, this is just a crazy kids card game after all!

 

 

 

 

 

 


 


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