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AuthorPaul Baranay

Paul "Bearz" Baranay is a Level 3 Judge from New York City. He is the author of the blog Bearz Repeating, where he shares a variety of big-picture ideas and fun stories about judging. His passions include creating great experiences for Magic players, mentoring other judges, and green vanilla 2/2s.

Ask A Judge: Modern Masters 2017 Edition!

What happens when an Izzet Charm on the opponent’s end step finds a Bonfire of the Damned as its first card? Paul “Bearz” Baranay and guest judge Kaylee Mullins have that Modern Masters 2017 answer and many more!

Ask A Judge: Aether Revolt Edition!

Ready for the Prerelease this weekend? Not until you’ve read Ask a Judge, you’re not! Get the rulings you need to know from Paul Baranay and get to know his guest, Level Two Judge Jeff Higgins!

Ask A Judge: Conspiracy: Take The Crown Edition!

Reveal this card as you draft it? Put this into the command zone at the beginning of the game? What even are these cards?! Conspiracy: Take the Crown is an insanely fun set, but it also has some insane rules! Judges! Help!

Ask A Judge: Eldritch Moon Edition!

When you have a mechanic that involves half a card being on the backside of another card? Yeah, there’s bound to be some confusion. Luckily, Paul Baranay is back to sort out the details of Eldritch Moon’s lunar lunacy!

The Eternal Question

As fun as Eternal Masters is to draft, old cards are…well…weird. Need help with those bizarre interactions that nobody saw coming? Paul Baranay and his guest are here to sort out the craziness!

Ask A Judge: Shadows Over Innistrad Questions!

Wait. Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy does what to madness cards? How do madness cards interact with the ingest mechanic? Double-faced cards are changing which rules this time around? We need some judges over here!

Ask A Judge: Legacy Rules!

Paul Baranay hung out with some of the Judge community’s finest at #SCGPHILLY a few weeks back. What strange Legacy questions arose? Find out how to solve some of Legacy’s strangest interactions!

Ask A Judge: Colorless Conundrums

The Eldrazi are here and they’re bringing some strange rules with them! Paul Baranay and his guest judge columnist stop in to help you with all your rules questions!

Ask A Judge: Tom Davis

Oath of the Gatewatch has colorless cards with colors in their mana cost. It has Reflector Mage messing with morph creatures. It has…well…it has a lot going on. Paul Baranay and Tom Davis stop in to sort out the latest in Magic’s crazy rulebook!

Ask A Judge: Oath Of The Gatewatch Edition!

Brand new mana symbols? What could possibly go wrong! Paul “Bearz” Baranay knows you may have a question or two about Oath of the Gatewatch’s clever little rules tweaks, and he’s here to help!

Ask A Judge: A Tale Of Two Levels

Today Paul brings us the heartwarming story of a recent Judge Level upgrade! Then the team answers your remaining Commander 2015 rules quesitons, as well as a few about the importance of judge levels!

Ask A Judge: Commander 2015 Rules!

No format creates crazier and more confusing rules interactions than Commander! To help us navigate some of the strangest new cards and interactions from Commander 2015, Paul Baranay and his special guest have created yet another exciting edition of Ask a Judge!

Ask A Judge: Foreign Exchange

What do you do if you’re playing Magic in a country that doesn’t speak your language? What do you need to know to travel abroad for Magic? Can Dragonlord Atarka choose zero when her ability triggers? The answers to these and more are included in this week’s Ask a Judge!

Ask A Judge: Sky’s The Limit

With Battle for Zendikar producing all kind of strange creatures, there are some unusual rules interactions. Judge Paul Baranay and his special guest sort out the tangled stuff so that you can know your BFZ rules and responsibilities!

Ask A Judge: Fostering Discussion

With new sets come a lot of new mechanics and new interactions? Read about some crazy Zada, Hedron Grinder tricks and some Undergrowth Champion tips with Paul and special guest Jeph Foster!