My apologies if this has already been answered; the search function is still down, so I cannot find if it has.

Typically as matches finish in a given event, a judge may watch a match in progress, especially if it is the only match still going. If the judge notices a player missing a triggered ability, is the correct course of action at Regular REL to do nothing until one of the players in the match points it out?

Hello Jacob!

Generally, the judge should not point out the trigger unless it is a detrimental trigger or the judge wants to investigate for an intentional missing (i.e. cheating). However, at Regular REL it all depends on the player community and the level of “seriousness” you want at the events you are judging.

Originally posted by JAR:

Magic is a complicated game. While we can’t prevent players from making mistakes, we should do our best to fix situations as fairly as possible. It is important that players know that when help is needed or something goes wrong, calling a judge is the best course of action. Our solutions should focus on educating the players and keeping the game going rather than worrying about the impact on the game. You should intervene if you see something illegal happen in a match, but beyond this you can exercise your discretion. For example, whether you step in when you see a player miss a trigger should be determined by the tone you want to strike for your event – it may be appropriate to provide this extra help in a more causal environment, but less so if your play group is more competitive.

My concern about pointing out the triggers is that it seems to serve as a green light for players to do the same, which creates a possible situation where someone's buddies can help them because they are able to spectate during the match. If it is only allowed for tournament officials, then it might be seen as favoritism if you were not there earlier when one player missed their trigger, but you remind their opponent when you are. Even if a more casual atmosphere is desired, is it not prudent to apply a standard that can be adhered to uniformly with ease? I suppose this is probably more of a judgement call.

I personally have it set in a way that I try to teach players that they should not help others playing out their matches (because Magic is a game of skill). So I do not provide such outside assisstance either. However, it is OK to tell the player about his/her mistake after the match, so there is a lesson learned (which is one of the purposes for Regular REL).