Face to Face with a Pro: Pajabol

Introduction

ESC is pleased to present a new column, entitled “Face to Face with a Pro: Pajabol“, a clear reference to a famous song by Daft Punk. During this series Fritzdecat will interview some of the most famous Top Players in the competitive landscape of Gwent. The questions will revolve around some curiosities relating to the game mechanics themselves, will contain useful advice to the many players who follow us, and some will also try to highlight the human side that lies behind the player in question. We want to introduce you to those faces that are making the history of the game.

The second guest in this column is Pajabol. You all know the fame of this Polish player, is an extraordinary player, who has achieved incredible results both in Ladder and in the official and most important tournaments of Gwent. Winner of several Qualifiers and Open, latest Gwent Master winner, Pajabol is a backbone of the game, a source of inspiration for many of us. His playstyle is impeccable, is able to develop his idea of gameplay without letting himself be influenced by the most common opinion.
Behind this great player hides an extraordinary person, nice and very helpful towards all those who follow him. That he is in Live he is always very kind in answering the questions that are asked, when he is contacted in private for advice he is always willing to answer. Pajabol fully represents the spirit of the Gwent Community, based on solidarity between players and sportsmanship. A truly splendid boy, a unique face in the Gwent landscape.

Enjoy this first interview in the column Face to Face with a Pro: Pajabol !

Q1: Looking at the latest expansion and the recent Patch Notes, are you satisfied with the current status of Gwent’s Meta?

I think the current meta is pretty enjoyable, we obviously have 2 very strong decks with Arachas Swarm and Lined Pockets being much better than the rest of the field. But thanks to the nerfs to Viper Witcher Mentors and Kolgrim ladder is no longer infested with clog decks which is what I really disliked about the previous meta.

Q2: Do you think that a mechanic like Madoc’s is healthy for the gameplay state of the game? Plus, in general, do you find the designer’s choice to push mechanics like the No Unit ones correct?

I’m not a huge fan of no unit decks, they add some variety to the game, but they are also usually extremely binary and unfun to play against. I think that, while introducing Madoc definitely helped with some of these bomb cards seeing more play. It also created a problem when it was too easy to just put a couple of bombs into any non-devotion deck and include Madoc in it.

Q3: Do you feel like giving some advices to the players who are recently approaching the competitive side of Gwent?

I remember when I was starting to play Gwent competitively, I used to spend a lot of time discussing with other players and trying to learn from their experience. It’s also important to try to analyse your performance and learn from your mistakes. I often like to check videos of people casting my tournament games to try to find out what I could have done better.

Q4: You must know that you still are one of most known player in the competitive world of the game, how do you relate to your fan base?

I really appreciate the support that I receive from my viewers, it’s just a nice feeling to have people rooting for you and hanging out with people in the chat during my streams helps me with putting up with the exhausting ladder grind.

Q5: One of your main skill as a player is the ability to think deeply and to get the most value out of any hand at your disposal. But, which skills do you think matter the most for a competitive player to achieve a significant quality improvement in his game-play?

I think the most important thing is to always keep your mind open for all different and unconventional lines of play. I often see even some good players taking the same lines every game which usually works out fine most of the time, but sometimes you need to find a different way to win.

Q6:  How do you prepare for a big competition? Would you share some of your secrets? How do you start building your lineup? How do you test for it?

Before the Gwent Open and World Masters tournaments I spent over a week preparing with my scrim partner Qnerr, we were testing a lot of different decks and practicing different matchups. I usually start building my lineup by trying to predict what my opponents could bring for the tournament and try to have good matchups against the decks that are most likely to appear.

Q7: Most players complain about the Blue Coin problem, considering it the main cause of the bad state of the game.
What is your thought about it? Do you think it’s really that relevant in a game like Gwent?

I think right now blue coin is not that big of a problem in itself. A lot of decks want to be played on blue coin right now, so that they can win Round 1 easier and get round control which is usually very important in a lot of matchups. Obviously some decks can still abuse red coin, but I don’t think it’s a huge issue in this meta.

Q8: Do you like Italy? In our country you are very much appreciated and there are many Italians who cheer for you in every Gwent competitions.

In our country you are very much appreciated and there are many Italians who cheer for you in every Gwent competitions.
Yes! I have been to Italy four times so far, three times on holidays with my parents on the Amalfi Peninsula, Sardinia and Sicily and once in Lucca when I participated in the tournament organised by your team ESC Card Gaming. I had a great time there hanging out with guys from your team and I also really love Italian food like pizza or spaghetti.

Q9: What do you think about the game?  Is the design missing something right now?

I think that right now there are a lot of cards in the game that are completely unplayable, because they just got powercrept throughout all the expansions, so I would like to see some of these cards receive some buffs. I’m also not a huge fan of echo cards since they punish you for missing them in Round 1 and Round 2, because then you end up paying a huge provision cost for a very underwhelming effect when you are not able to play them twice in the same game.

Q10: Is there a match or a tournament series that impressed you particularly?

Well, if I had to pick one game it would probably be the last match of my series against Kolemoen in Gwent Open #4 when I killed my own unit with Gutting Slash to make his Keltullis burn itself and that way secured my spot in the semifinals. It was a pretty hyped moment and a lot of people really enjoyed that play even though it was a pretty obvious line.

Q11: What do you do to make yourself relaxed when you are not playing Gwent?

I like to hang out with my friends and play some other games with them like Dead By Daylight, Valheim or Fall Guys. I noticed that when I am relaxed and I am in a good mood, I end up performing much better, so I often spend a lot of time doing that.

Q12: Which of the new Leader cards is your favorite? And why?

I think my favorite leader card is Emhyr, even though it’s not the strongest card from the ones released and I wouldn’t put it in a competitive deck. The synergy the card has with the spies package and being able to set up a Coup de Grace on a card played by opponent or ping off some of the spying units with Impera Enforcers, to then steal them to your side are pretty cool interactions and I had fun experimenting with it for a while in the beginning of the patch.

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