J-E Depraz
@jedepraz.bsky.social
Dreamer, (planes)walker, professional Magic player. 2018 team world champion, 2023 world champion. Je streame en français ici : https://www.twitch.tv/jirock
Reposted by J-E Depraz
Il y a enfin la clarté (et là je parle tant au socedem qu’à LFI) : Israël commet un génocide, la Russie est un État voyou qui n’a aucun droit d’envahir l’Ukraine, les vaccins doivent être obligatoires pour les soignants, et l’immigration n’a jamais été un problème.
November 11, 2025 at 4:36 AM
Il y a enfin la clarté (et là je parle tant au socedem qu’à LFI) : Israël commet un génocide, la Russie est un État voyou qui n’a aucun droit d’envahir l’Ukraine, les vaccins doivent être obligatoires pour les soignants, et l’immigration n’a jamais été un problème.
C’est aussi irrelevant, on s’en fout des motivations ou du patrimoine de Zucman si sa taxe représente un pas (même petit) vers plus de justice sociale.
November 8, 2025 at 11:07 PM
C’est aussi irrelevant, on s’en fout des motivations ou du patrimoine de Zucman si sa taxe représente un pas (même petit) vers plus de justice sociale.
That’s good to hear, I hope it holds for other judges :)
It still feels weird to request action from someone who is watching the same game you’re playing with less bias, but I’ll try to do it more when something feels very wrong.
It still feels weird to request action from someone who is watching the same game you’re playing with less bias, but I’ll try to do it more when something feels very wrong.
November 5, 2025 at 11:20 PM
That’s good to hear, I hope it holds for other judges :)
It still feels weird to request action from someone who is watching the same game you’re playing with less bias, but I’ll try to do it more when something feels very wrong.
It still feels weird to request action from someone who is watching the same game you’re playing with less bias, but I’ll try to do it more when something feels very wrong.
Yeah, in other cases the rules can help shape the culture but regarding slowplay it feels like any real change is going to happen bottom-up.
November 5, 2025 at 7:51 PM
Yeah, in other cases the rules can help shape the culture but regarding slowplay it feels like any real change is going to happen bottom-up.
And as competitive players, it's also our responsability to train so we can make good plays without spending hours on them. I'm currently thinking about ways to train to process the most complex turns faster, and I just need to be able to trust that my opponents will be held to the same standard.
November 5, 2025 at 6:33 PM
And as competitive players, it's also our responsability to train so we can make good plays without spending hours on them. I'm currently thinking about ways to train to process the most complex turns faster, and I just need to be able to trust that my opponents will be held to the same standard.
Anyway, to sum it up, my request to judges is "please, don't be afraid to take responsability and when in doubt, speed us up". We might not like it in the heat of the moment, but it's best for everyone involved.
November 5, 2025 at 6:33 PM
Anyway, to sum it up, my request to judges is "please, don't be afraid to take responsability and when in doubt, speed us up". We might not like it in the heat of the moment, but it's best for everyone involved.
It was FINE that I messed up! I wasn't able to find the right play in an appropriate amount of time. But I wish the judge would have told me to speed up earlier and/or I wish they would have told that brazen spectator that they were on the slowplay case and that it wasn't his place to speak.
November 5, 2025 at 6:33 PM
It was FINE that I messed up! I wasn't able to find the right play in an appropriate amount of time. But I wish the judge would have told me to speed up earlier and/or I wish they would have told that brazen spectator that they were on the slowplay case and that it wasn't his place to speak.
What ended up happening was that a spectator openly asked the judge to intervene, which I didn't find acceptable, but noone (including the judge) reacted to it!
Confused and not knowing what to do, I sped up, messed up my line and got lucky that my opp didn't find Flood Maw for lethal on turn 5.
Confused and not knowing what to do, I sped up, messed up my line and got lucky that my opp didn't find Flood Maw for lethal on turn 5.
November 5, 2025 at 6:33 PM
What ended up happening was that a spectator openly asked the judge to intervene, which I didn't find acceptable, but noone (including the judge) reacted to it!
Confused and not knowing what to do, I sped up, messed up my line and got lucky that my opp didn't find Flood Maw for lethal on turn 5.
Confused and not knowing what to do, I sped up, messed up my line and got lucky that my opp didn't find Flood Maw for lethal on turn 5.
I'll end this thread with a third, different and very recent example. This w-e, in day 2 of Spotlight Series Liverpool, I was playing a Vivi mirror. Time was called, and on my turns 2 and 4, I had very hard calculations to make.
Did I take too long? Probably.
Did I take too long? Probably.
November 5, 2025 at 6:33 PM
I'll end this thread with a third, different and very recent example. This w-e, in day 2 of Spotlight Series Liverpool, I was playing a Vivi mirror. Time was called, and on my turns 2 and 4, I had very hard calculations to make.
Did I take too long? Probably.
Did I take too long? Probably.
I'm not always comfortable making plays under time pressure, and I don't believe anyone is, we want to feel in control of what we're doing and not have regrets afterwards. But that's why we have judges and slowplay rules. I'm grateful that the judge rushed me there and I thanked him after the game.
November 5, 2025 at 6:33 PM
I'm not always comfortable making plays under time pressure, and I don't believe anyone is, we want to feel in control of what we're doing and not have regrets afterwards. But that's why we have judges and slowplay rules. I'm grateful that the judge rushed me there and I thanked him after the game.
And that's ok. And we need to collectively learn to be ok with it. And it MUST, MUST apply in feature matches too, where the will to let the spectacle unfold often leads to moments of slowplay that would never be tolerated elsewhere.
November 5, 2025 at 6:33 PM
And that's ok. And we need to collectively learn to be ok with it. And it MUST, MUST apply in feature matches too, where the will to let the spectacle unfold often leads to moments of slowplay that would never be tolerated elsewhere.
Was I happy about it? Ofc not! In the moment, I knew I was able to find the perfect line given 10-15 more seconds. All the data was there before my eyes, I just needed to compute it. But that's the deal in competitive Magic! Sometimes you have to make imperfect, not fully thought-out plays.
November 5, 2025 at 6:33 PM
Was I happy about it? Ofc not! In the moment, I knew I was able to find the perfect line given 10-15 more seconds. All the data was there before my eyes, I just needed to compute it. But that's the deal in competitive Magic! Sometimes you have to make imperfect, not fully thought-out plays.
As is often the case in the m-u, our libraries were almost empty and I wanted to count copies of a few cards in both graveyards to make a safe, winning attack.
So I started going through graveyards and counting, and at some point the judge watching the match told me I was taking too long.
So I started going through graveyards and counting, and at some point the judge watching the match told me I was taking too long.
November 5, 2025 at 6:33 PM
As is often the case in the m-u, our libraries were almost empty and I wanted to count copies of a few cards in both graveyards to make a safe, winning attack.
So I started going through graveyards and counting, and at some point the judge watching the match told me I was taking too long.
So I started going through graveyards and counting, and at some point the judge watching the match told me I was taking too long.
... and as the opponent, you're not in the best position to assess time objectively either. So you just sit there as time flies by and hope for the best. It's disheartening.
Now, as a counter-example, in R14 of RC Bologna, I was playing the Phœnix mirror against a friend in Pioneer.
Now, as a counter-example, in R14 of RC Bologna, I was playing the Phœnix mirror against a friend in Pioneer.
November 5, 2025 at 6:33 PM
... and as the opponent, you're not in the best position to assess time objectively either. So you just sit there as time flies by and hope for the best. It's disheartening.
Now, as a counter-example, in R14 of RC Bologna, I was playing the Phœnix mirror against a friend in Pioneer.
Now, as a counter-example, in R14 of RC Bologna, I was playing the Phœnix mirror against a friend in Pioneer.
I want to emphasize that as a player, you really can't do much about that when there's already a judge watching. You can look at them from time to time, but if you verbally request action, it feels like you're questioning their ability to do their job...
November 5, 2025 at 6:33 PM
I want to emphasize that as a player, you really can't do much about that when there's already a judge watching. You can look at them from time to time, but if you verbally request action, it feels like you're questioning their ability to do their job...
The judge watching the match would make hand gestures, the player would react by (after 10 more seconds, let's not hurry too much) making a play, and I'd be left watching in disbelief as he ate (easily) 3/4 of the clock.
November 5, 2025 at 6:33 PM
The judge watching the match would make hand gestures, the player would react by (after 10 more seconds, let's not hurry too much) making a play, and I'd be left watching in disbelief as he ate (easily) 3/4 of the clock.
As an example, last PT, I've played a match against a well-known player who literally spent 10-15 seconds on every single decision point for the whole match (surveil lands, DRC triggers, any spell...). There were a couple long thinks, but mostly, everything was just incredibly tedious.
November 5, 2025 at 6:33 PM
As an example, last PT, I've played a match against a well-known player who literally spent 10-15 seconds on every single decision point for the whole match (surveil lands, DRC triggers, any spell...). There were a couple long thinks, but mostly, everything was just incredibly tedious.
However, I believe more emphasis on slowplay and more willingness to ACT when noticing it would already go a long way. At worst, you're going to rush players a bit too much, which can be unpleasant, and have to adjust in the other direction, but right now we are way too far in slowplay territory.
November 5, 2025 at 6:33 PM
However, I believe more emphasis on slowplay and more willingness to ACT when noticing it would already go a long way. At worst, you're going to rush players a bit too much, which can be unpleasant, and have to adjust in the other direction, but right now we are way too far in slowplay territory.
There isn't going to be a clear-cut solution to the slowplay issue, like a maximum number of seconds allowed for every decision point. The situations Magic presents are too diverse and the judges themselves are human beings, not clocks that can continuously count and reset.
November 5, 2025 at 6:33 PM
There isn't going to be a clear-cut solution to the slowplay issue, like a maximum number of seconds allowed for every decision point. The situations Magic presents are too diverse and the judges themselves are human beings, not clocks that can continuously count and reset.
So, what am I proposing instead? Aside from asking WotC to re-take responsibility for a centralized, well-funded judge program (which would make everything easier but is unlikely to happen), I think judges should be trained to take more proactive action in all slowplay cases.
November 5, 2025 at 6:33 PM
So, what am I proposing instead? Aside from asking WotC to re-take responsibility for a centralized, well-funded judge program (which would make everything easier but is unlikely to happen), I think judges should be trained to take more proactive action in all slowplay cases.
If you still believe in it, by all means, just try! I'd be delighted to see a video of two players playing an entire match while (properly) handling separate clocks. I want to believe it's possible.
The slowplay issue is BIG and has been for years, but that solution is nothing but a mirage.
The slowplay issue is BIG and has been for years, but that solution is nothing but a mirage.
November 5, 2025 at 6:33 PM
If you still believe in it, by all means, just try! I'd be delighted to see a video of two players playing an entire match while (properly) handling separate clocks. I want to believe it's possible.
The slowplay issue is BIG and has been for years, but that solution is nothing but a mirage.
The slowplay issue is BIG and has been for years, but that solution is nothing but a mirage.
Question naïve : ça montre donc que le vocabulaire de Trump n’est pas particulièrement pauvre, mais celui de tous ces dirigeants ne l’est-il pas malgré tout ?
Je demande par rapport à votre critique plus bas des élites intellectuelles.
Je demande par rapport à votre critique plus bas des élites intellectuelles.
November 4, 2025 at 3:46 PM
Question naïve : ça montre donc que le vocabulaire de Trump n’est pas particulièrement pauvre, mais celui de tous ces dirigeants ne l’est-il pas malgré tout ?
Je demande par rapport à votre critique plus bas des élites intellectuelles.
Je demande par rapport à votre critique plus bas des élites intellectuelles.