Exclusive interview: Punkid [2023]

I'm JFA from GU Masters, and today I'm inviting you to learn more about a celebrated member of the Gods Unchained community: Punkid!

I want to clarify that this interview was conducted in a live broadcast and it has been edited for clarity and to adapt it to the written format. Without further ado, Let's go .

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Very good to everyone. I am JFA of GU Masters. And here we are one more Tuesday, like every Tuesday and Thursday to try to take a small step together towards mastery in Gods Unchained. And in this case, rather than commenting on the game's news, we have a special broadcast because we have a guest here who is Punkid, Sergio Ramadan.

Here we are two humble content creators to chat for a while about Gods Unchained, about card games and about this whole world that we are passionate about. The first question I always start with is what is your username on Gods Unchained? Which, in this case, we know. What we don't know is where it comes from.

It comes from an email account, now defunct. I listened to a lot of post-punk at the time.

Did you listen to post-punk from that one and then stop listening to it? Or have you continued to listen to him over the years?

I still listen to that kind of music, yes. What's more, generally in my live shows it's the music that is heard in the background. Very 2000s music, punk, pop, nu-metal, a lot of music of that style. It becomes part of the Streams , but it doesn't necessarily mean that you have to listen to music all the time or that it won't change eventually. It is the setting of the Stream .

Correct. Correct. Okay, in this case, just to confirm it with you, out of pure personal curiosity (it has nothing to do with Gods Unchained). When we talk about post-punk, are we talking about bands like Bauhaus and Siouxie and the Banshees and the like, or are we thinking of other proposals?

No. More than punk, pop punk. I mean, Green Day style, The Offspring, a bit of Bad Religion. Post-punk I'm not listening to much, but I'm slowly getting into that wave of post-punk pop music with clean guitars and a little calmer music.

 Okay, perfect. Cleared up, my curiosity is satiated. Another question that I always ask myself is in which country do you reside? If I'm not mistaken, in this case the answer is Argentina, right?

Exactly. Argentina, yes.

 Another question that I also always like to ask, now to start talking about card games: what was your experience in collectible card games when you discovered Gods Unchained?

When I discovered Gods Unchained I had already gone through several card games. He had already started playing Magic The Gathering (MTG) with a distant cousin in 2000. I started to get to know Pokémon TCG, the early stages. I have gone on to play Yuggi-Oh with another group of friends who suddenly went up and I always wanted to investigate and understand a little more about the context of card games.

I was also playing Hearthstone. Also Eternal Card Game, which is a mix between Hearthstone and MTG, but much more similar to the Magic The Gathering style of play. I've tried games like Shadowverse and several more. I generally play a lot of card games based on mana economy. There is another game that I have also played, which is Myths and Legends. It is a game created in Latin America, a card game that did not come out much beyond Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Paraguay, I think. It is also a very similar card game. It's more like a mix between MGT and Yuggi-OH in some things.

Let's just say I already had an extensive portfolio of card games that I had been playing before I came across Gods Unchained.

There is no doubt that you have extensive experience playing card games. An experience of more than 20 years, which is said soon but there are a few.

Yes, there are a few.

 You told us about your journey in this world of trading card games before discovering Gods Unchained. How did you discover this game?

Gods Unchained was discovered by a friend I met when I got to college. We were always very addicted to card games and always tried new games. We've been through several games, even buying cards for testing casually and he just told me: "You, I know you liked Hearthstone. A very similar game called Gods Unchained has just come out, which is an NFT game."

At the time, it didn't catch my attention because of the prejudices about NFT games, Axie Infinity, economics, and volatility. It didn't catch my attention until I started playing it and found a pretty cool game. I started playing when I was just about to release Divine Order and I came across a game that, although it had certain similarities with Hearhstone, I liked the idea of the sanctuary (in fact, it was not easy to understand it).

I adapted to the game and I got hooked, I play every day.

As they say, "and the rest is history".

Exactly.

You've already teased a little bit what has hooked you the most about Gods Unchained, what you think it brings you. You have highlighted its freshness, influencing some of its mechanics. I don't know if you want to expand a little more on this, maybe there is something else you want to comment.

Yes, I like the issue of the game economy, because many times it happens that you invest money to play a card game and you find yourself in the situation of wanting to leave it and Gods Unchained gives you the possibility to exchange your assets , to sell them.

I also found the issue of collectibility interesting, which in Gods Unchained is not as simple as in other games. Let's just say it has more difficulty and more value than in other games where you can crafting as many cards as you want.

That's right, I agree with you and I think that many of us who are here and play also value that factor of web3 games of having ownership of the assets that one has achieved, which is something that not all games offer. It is undoubtedly an important factor.

Yes, absolutely.

Gameplay and Metagame

Let's discuss issues of playstyle, the meta we have right now, etc. What are the three words that describe your style as a player?

I don't think there are three words that describe what I'm looking to do more than "good, nice and cheap". I think it's the phrase that best represents me because when I started playing card games I never had an economic position to invest and start playing competitive decks, but I was always in that of trying to innovate and improvise with the options I had at hand. In a way, they led me to acquire a certain level of competitiveness because a style of play of my own is not really obtained by always playing the best cards. I'm not saying that this means that you don't have to get the best cards to play, but that not having them gives you a perspective on how to play and how to approach certain games since you have limited resources compared to other players playing the game. At least you know that you can play, that you can look for alternatives to try to maintain a high level as much as possible.

Yes, of course. In this case I think you are a true example of how to do more with less and how to make the most of the available resources, which is not always the entire collection that exists. You have to know how to do that and it has a lot of merit. In addition, I think that there are many players who are interested in that factor that we mentioned, since not everyone will always have access to all the cards. I have the feeling, correct me if I'm wrong, that you usually play a lot of Aggro because it's a dynamic, fast style that you like. Is that so?

I generally play Aggro for two reasons: the first is that in almost all card games, for some reason that I don't know, the aggressive archetype is always the most accessible. I don't know why that's why, maybe it has a lot to do with the fact that, in terms of game design, the more aggressive style allows you to play more games in less time. Of course, you have to understand that many times the slightest mistake can cost you the game. You first need to have the experience of how a game's agro archetype works to learn how to play a Control archetype. Let's say that you can't control the threat that you don't know.

And on top of that, Aggro is also a more economical archetype and is often the choice of new players when starting out in a card game. If I want to write or create content, I find it much more interesting to create content that can help new players to get into the game and then start exploring it.

In any case, I've played all kinds of archetypes because I think all archetypes have their interesting side and I recommend players to explore them all when they have the chance.

I totally agree, I always recommend it. It's good to try to play different types of archetypes. First, because it gives you a broader perspective and, second, because it helps you understand how to play against all of them. And that, logically, is key in the end. As always, knowledge is power. It is true that for players who are starting to take their first steps, proactive decks, more Aggro are somewhat more intuitive than control decks, which are more reactive and depend on surviving until you can play your winning conditions that usually arrive already in the Late game . One more question: do you apply any methods, or systems, or routines to improve your skill as a player?

It depends on the moment you are playing. For example, if I want to improve my ability to create decks or read the Meta, I try many options and ideas looking for parallels with other games. I test whether or not the concepts are viable to verify if they are worth exploring much more. Or play a new deck long enough to find your deck weaknesses and how they can be avoided, either in play or in the deck design itself.

Perfect. On the one hand, experiment with deck building, look for variations that are more effective, etc.; and, on the other, playing enough to really dominate the deck in question. I think it makes a lot of sense.

It has to do with mastering the deck, on the one hand, and understanding the context, on the other. If the game was lost by a Misplay , should I play it differently? Or was the game lost? There are many variables to analyze and it is good to be introspective to understand how to improve. Many times the mistake is from you as a player and not from the deck; Sometimes you lose because of a questionable play and I know that for many players it is hard to take that position, but part of what makes us grow as players is always looking for something that motivates us to want to improve.

I think it's very difficult to grow as a player if you're not open to admitting that you're not perfect and that, logically, there's always room for improvement, you can always play better. It is key to have a certain capacity for self-criticism and to recognize when one makes mistakes, that we all make mistakes. The top players make fewer mistakes, that's clear, but in the end it's essential to be able to do that introspective and analytical exercise, to say okay, "hey, here I might have a variant that was better and maybe I didn't see it at the time". That work seems fundamental to me in any strategy game such as trading card games. We're talking about part of your improvement process, as it involves testing deck design, so the question is what does your deck design process look like? Are you inspired by decks that other players have built? Or maybe there's a card that gives you an idea, you say, "around this card I could explore possibilities." How do you approach it?

I propose several variants and try to try them all. Sometimes you say to yourself "I want to build a deck around this card" and you put it together, as has happened with players who have tried The Gods Unchained in Ranked when it is a card that not many people would try because of the difficulty of meeting the requirements for it to work. It happens a lot when new expansions come out, like when Band of the Wolf came out. It gave us the chance to try out a lot of cards, from Raneko Hearthmother to the nerfs , or the card that puts two Olympians into play. There you start trying to determine what works and what doesn't, testing the cards many times.

Sometimes it's grabbing someone else's deck and saying "ok, I have this deck and I'm missing six cards, what do I use to replace them efficiently?". A Sometimes this is very straightforward, sometimes you have to look for alternatives based on the mana curve, sometimes they are cards that are a little more expensive or cheaper. These cards always give you another approach to certain games, and compared to the original card, they often give you better prospects against some decks and worse against others.

I say to myself, "If the metagame fluctuates in this way, I can change this card for this one that will work better." What happens a lot when playing Aggro is that it is the deck that, in general, will propose the development of the game through the threats it puts into play and any Control has to find a way to respond. It's about exploring and trying ideas: some work and others don't go anywhere, no matter how many good cards one can throw at a certain idea.

It is advisable to have ideas in mind to look for opportunities when there are changes to the cards or new sets are released, so that you can test an idea again by creating

I would say, although I'm sure there will be players who may not share this point of view, that this process of trial and error, of verifying which cards really work best for you or which don't, is a big part of the fun of this type of game.

For me it's the most fun. In fact, it's what allows you to explore the creative side and your playstyle.

While there are good multi-deck lists, I believe that whether a card works better or worse also depends on the style of play and the plan laid out to make it work. That's why there isn't a single list of Aggro War or Control Magic. In other words, there is no single irreplaceable list. Sometimes there are cards that can be more questionable than others, but it also depends on the context and the split games you encounter, and that also depends on the opponents. There is not a single way, there is not something carved in stone that says this has to be so because it continues to be like this always having the option to explore and to search. Many times that difference can be a surprise that leaves your opponent out of the game and gives you an advantage.

Play & Earn

We're going to continue to move forward with other areas of the game, we can talk about the aspects Play & Earn . Here's a first question about this: does it make sense from your point of view to use Gods Unchained as an investment vehicle?

I don't have the experience in the crypto world to talk about this, but I do have the knowledge of having played Magic online. We could say, that in a way, it is the NFT version of Magic because the cards are bought with game money and can be sold, they can be obtained with the game token, which are tickets with an approximate value of one dollar, and with that you can build decks or sell them to another player, huh? And get money about it. The way this economy works is similar to Gods Unchained, and many of my analyses are based on my experience with Magic Arena and Magic Online.

I think it can be a very good investment, as long as you can play the game and enjoy it. I see no reason to say I put money, buy cards and hope that one day my cards will be worth a fortune. I think that moment is over. On the other hand, there is some investment that can be made in the game if you enjoy it and that you can have a good return on the game. Play & Earn . However, in most parts of the world it is not a significant gain to say "I'm going to stop working, I'm going to invest and I'm going to live from playing Gods Unchained". What I do think is a good idea to have some stability and the possibility of enjoying a game and getting money, whether for the daily Play & Earn and through tournaments. If you are a good card game player, you can have a chance to get some extra money in tournaments and in that aspect I think it is a good decision, I don't know if it is a good one, but it is very interesting.

In the developed world, it's clear that nowadays no one can consider saying, "Well, I'm going to play Gods Unchained, which is going to be my way of life." That is clear. And I agree with you that the great virtue of this type of game is that you can play and later, if you want to disengage, you can sell your assets and recover, at least, a part of what you have spent.

On the other hand, there are people who take card investment differently than a player would. For example, there are apps like Lootrush that you can use to rent cards. This company is making an investment in Gods Unchained in pursuit of profit. In short, I think there are ways and maybe many of those ways are not what we expect by default.

If I always say that for me the economic dimension of the game is another game, let's say, it's a game within the game. In other words, Gods Unchained is also the market and seeing what opportunities it offers is interesting, without a doubt. It gives play. Speaking of which, do you consider yourself a collector? What role do you think collecting should play in a game like this?

I don't consider myself a collector, based on what card game collecting would be in the real world. I know there are people who like to have all the cards in a complete set, should it exist? That depends on each person, there are many ways to enjoy the game.

There are people who like to play decks on a budget, like me, and there are players who enjoy playing competitive decks, with the best cards. There are players who like to play Free to play and they would never consider spending money on the game, just as there are players who are willing to spend $5,000 or $10,000 on packs or cards from different sets to get the full experience. That's very personal, depending on your preferences, how you like to enjoy the game, and what your engagement no? How hooked you are, or how confident you are or how much love you have for the game when it comes to investing in it. But come on, the collector must exist and everyone must have the option to decide what they want.

If so far the truth is that right now there are no incentives to collect, beyond the personal interest that one may have in having all the cards or enjoying that flexibility that comes from having a very wide collection that allows you to experiment with whatever you want, because of course, you have all the options on the table. We will have to see what incentives the Gods Unchained team proposes to encourage collecting, if they want to encourage it, something that I think would make sense for a game of this type. I imagine that this autumn they will give us some news in that sense, since they have in the roadmap the review of the strike And I think that there they also want the cards to play a role. We have to wait.

Something that stands out to me: In Magic Online, when you get a copy of each card in a set you can pay a small amount and they send you a physical copy.

Aha, that's good.

So it kind of has a way of motivating you to collect cards, at least if you're interested in getting a hard copy. Gods Unchained doesn't have that possibility, so I'm fine with strike sets to generate some incentive to collect.

Equipment

We're going to keep moving forward, how about we talk a little bit about teams? You have first-hand experience in this area since, if I'm not mistaken, you're part of Top Cat Gaming. How was the team born?

Top Cat Gaming was born on the initiative of Alien Villager, a member of the community that not only plays, but is also Streamer . His idea was to create a team of players with different profiles to create a team that is not only able to play and have online exposure, but also create community. There are teams that are only looking to achieve better competitive results, but the goal here was to help the community. At the moment the team is in Stand by , I am its most active member.

I think you have had some sponsorship or sponsorships, I imagine it will be complicated. In your experience, what are the main challenges in finding and managing sponsors?

Perhaps the procedures were not so complicated. In some cases it was the sponsors who approached. Sponsorships are usually exposure-based because that's what sponsors are looking for.

Top Cat Gaming never had a sponsorship like Perion's, for example, which was looking for good players to keep them active and support them financially in some way, such as with in-game assets (cards like Demogorgon, which are not available to most players). Many sponsorships are from companies that try not only to show their brand, but to contribute something to the game. Sometimes I have been approached by companies that did not go with my ideas and I chose to stay out of it. The personal factor has a lot of influence... There are good players who would not fit in with the image that some brands want to project. Sometimes it is the players who move and look for sponsorships, which is also legitimate. Sometimes you have to show interest in the projects you would like to be sponsored by.

The truth is that I think exactly the same as you. The values of sponsor and sponsor have to be aligned. If not, something is surely not going to go well. Depending on the ability of a content creator to give visibility and generate dissemination, it will be more or less easy for them to access sponsors. This also applies to teams, of course. In any case, Gods Unchained is still a tiny game and, if it grows, there will be more opportunities in this regard. And if not, there won't be any big changes, I think.

Another interesting example is that of Infinite Mana and AQUA, although I don't know the story well.

Yes, AQUA is the most professionalized team example we have in Gods Unchained and many people who don't know that Infinite Mana is one of the oldest teams, since it was created, at the time, by one of the big investors. At a certain point they chose to change their name and more or more sponsors entered. But in reality it is a piece of equipment that is operational almost from the beginning.

I didn't know it was an investor-sponsored team initially.

Yes, that's right. That's the origin of Infinite Mana and today it's perhaps the mirror in which I think most teams would like to look at themselves. Not all of them either, because others will have other objectives, but in terms of looking for competitive results it is clear that right now they are a benchmark.

Yes, in the competitive field Infinite Mana has two things going for them: having played from early times, so they have a lot of experience, and the level of investment. I try to help the community and I think there should be groups of players who can come together to collaborate.

In any case, you don't have to be part of a team to be at the top. There are many examples, such as Mepo, Ryhan or Ms7n, who came looking for them because they wanted to help them maintain their ability to continue competing at the highest level, without the economic aspects becoming an obstacle. And I think you can get, uh, this level with or without investment. You can even assemble.

That's right, and the truth is that we have a very good example with another of the oldest teams that exist in the game: Team Stream Team, with players like CautionFun, Mirage, the Professerf... It is a very difficult team to beat that is born from a relationship of friendship. It is clear that having financial support helps in many areas, but there are different examples.

There's also the fact that having people close to you, who you consider friends even if you're not part of a team, can help you test decks and even share cards. That can be almost as valuable as a piece of equipment. It all comes down to time, effort, game knowledge, and having the opportunity to play tournaments with the right tools. That can come out of the community, there is not even a need for external investors.

That's right. And what does it mean to you to be a member of a team? What role do you think teams should play in Gods Unchained?

As I mentioned before, there are many types of teams, from people who come together to generate change in the community or who join out of mere friendship. We all play this game and enjoy playing it, but not all of us have a vocation to compete at the highest level. There is no single team concept and sometimes the most important thing is the community.  

What do we do with Immutable? What measures could or should be implemented by Gods Unchained to ensure that teams have the relevance they deserve, whether in the competitive scene of the game or simply to create community? I believe that in this area everything remains to be done, to be honest.

I can think of creating a tournament only for teams, identifying its members by their wallets , so that they can share letters with each other. I suppose that changes will be necessary to give identity to the teams, I think some are very visible and others that go more unnoticed.

Some things can surely be done... another thing is that we are at the right time to do them or that it is later on. For example, there's something I've been missing for a long time: that there's at least the option to use, apart from your username, a Tag Optional for equipment to monitor results in competitions more easily. But hey, I think the team has other priorities at the moment.

I think of teams as groups of individuals coming together for a purpose. I would find interesting the possibility of there being tournaments by geographical areas, as happens in other card games. Many times that segregation or in geographical areas is due to the need to play in person or due to the location of the servers. Hearthstone, for example, has servers in the Americas, Europe, and Asia, and they also host in-person tournaments. There are also cultural affinities that facilitate the introduction to the competitive environment. Managing tournaments on a global scale is very complicated due to the time difference, although it is interesting that there is a global, semi-annual or annual tournament.

Competition

I totally agree. The time difference is an obstacle and the way to get around it is precisely to make geographical divisions, because if it is not it is hell. Speaking of competitions, what do you do before a tournament to prepare?

I try to get together with friends the two weeks before, if possible. While I can't always get it, this is the ideal way to talk about strategies, analyze the current meta, what's supposed to be more popular considering the most played decks, and get an idea of both the type of opponents you're going to come across and the types of decks they're playing. And, of course, to be able to test decks, test ideas, etc.?

In the event that the tournament is in a single day, sleep well the night before, try to prepare all the drinks and snacks for the day, because generally these are days that one spends locked in one's room and it is good to be hydrated and have water, as well as something to eat (ask for deliveries It's not ideal because it can interrupt you at the worst time). And if you have friends who also compete, it's nice to have them on hand to chat between games and de-stress. And it doesn't hurt at all, if there is a moment, to take a walk or get some air, even if it's from the window.

Speaking of stress, the reality is that in the competitive field there is always pressure, perhaps a point of nervousness. How do you manage your emotions during the game?

After many years playing card games I think I control my nervousness quite well, although it is true that there can be pressure depending on the results (for example, if I lose this game I am out of the tournament or if I win I enter the top 8). The key is to remember that games are played one at a time, you can't think about the future or get nervous about the future. You have to be focused on the moment.

The important thing is to take into account the decisions that were made, especially the bad ones to learn from them. And not to mortify oneself, which is more counterproductive than anything else. I am more in favor of playing the games until the end because you never know what can happen, if you can draw the card you need or not. And of course a tournament should never affect your mental health; if so, it's better to leave it.

I totally agree. And what advice would you give to beginner players who have a lot of ambition? What aspects of the game should they focus on in order to aspire to some competitive success?

The first thing is to arm yourself with a lot of patience, because I think all card games depend on having a lot of patience. You learn little by little, although if you already have experience in similar games that helps. When starting from scratch it is advisable to look for content creators to learn from, I think that most people who create content want the community to grow. And, above all, enjoy the game. If you are only going to play for an economic interest you will not enjoy it so much and my recommendation is that you play something else, since you will make better use of your time.

Content creation

I share that philosophy 100%. For me it's a game and it's first and foremost fun. And if that fails, well, as I said, it is almost better to dedicate yourself to something else. Taking advantage of the fact that the issue of content creation has come up, you are Streamer . When did you start live streaming and why? What motivated you to do it?

My first streams were in 2013, from Magic Online. They were very sporadic, when I had a free time and simply shared what I was doing. My other goal was to meet new people with the same hobby. I started with Magic Online, switched to Hearthstone when I was on a team, and the truth is that my most consistent stage is Gods Unchained.

You're a veteran, 2013 is already a long way behind.  So, in your activity as a Gods Unchained player, how would you synthesize the role played by the streaming ?

The streaming I think it's very good, a space to create community. During the Streams Attendees can share moments, chat, talk about strategies... In the end, a Streamer he's playing the game and sharing his ideas, his approach... And it's something that happens on both sides: viewers learn from the Streamer and, as it is real-time communication, the Streamer You can also learn from feedback that they provide.

Apart from live streaming, you also have a podcast in which I, by the way, have had the pleasure of participating on more than one occasion. It's a podcast that you started with Bruto and that you now carry out with gNova4. How did it come about and what is your goal with Godcast Unchained?

I started with Brutus, talking almost weekly about Gods Unchained, the results of the Weekend Ranked, the tournaments... I've known him since 2012 because we played Magic the Gathering together and went on to play Hearthstone together, and we were always jumping from game to game together. Brutus doesn't mince words, he's not one to shut up, and I was a little more political. Since we were talking about these issues with each other, we thought about having those conversations public in case they might interest other players. We evolved it into something shared, let's say, where people can maybe learn something new, maybe be part of it. Maybe they are interested or maybe not, but if we don't we will never know. And the idea of the podcast was liked. Bruto has not been able to continue due to lack of time and with gNova4 the option of doing it in video has arisen, which also changes the audience's perspective a little because it is a slightly different way of interacting.

Event organization

I take this opportunity to congratulate you on the podcast initiative, because it is a format that I have always liked. We change gear, come on. We've talked a lot about the competitive scene in Gods Unchained, and I know you have some background organizing tournaments. What motivated you to organize a tournament? Because organizing a tournament is not trivial.

What motivated me to create tournaments is what we were talking about segregating by geographical areas, in this case by language since the tournaments I have organized so far are Spanish-speaking. It is a way of integrating Latin American and Spanish players in a "friendly" context (it is more difficult for a player to meet a top player in the first round, which is something that can always put some people off) and without the barrier of the English language. I think it's necessary, like traditional store tournaments, so to speak. Those tournaments where people get to know each other, have a good time, that generate experiences... especially for players who are intimidated by big tournaments.

Well, I think it's commendable, I think it's something that the community needs. And well, in your experience, what are the main challenges that the organizer of a tournament of this type needs to solve?

I think that the most difficult are, on the one hand, finding a date and a time that adapt to the entire community that one wants to cover. For example, the tournament you were part of had a suitable schedule so that the people of Europe did not finish at 04:00 h, but perhaps it was a little early for the community of America.

On the other hand, the format of the tournament; In that case I chose the Swiss format, because I thought it is the one that most represents a store tournament, but you have to analyze the feedback of players to see if it really is the type of tournament they would like to participate in on a recurring basis.

Another delicate point of the format is the restrictions, as they define the audience you are targeting. If you prefer it to be a friendlier format where we all play with cards from the Welcome Set and of the Core Set , and then it's interesting for new players, or allowing more cards to attract veterans as well. You have to look for a space where the community feels comfortable and it seems that it is clearly a middle ground where there are no cards that are difficult to access and that allows new players to be able to with a minimum investment.

Finally, the purely organizational part of having the rounds, the games, the control of the decks, etc. I think these are the most difficult things to bear when one is alone in the organization.

Oh, and another thing I noticed is that in case the tournament is going to last more than five hours, try to separate it into two days. What would seem ideal to me is that there is a group of people who can organize these tournaments and generate a positive impact on the community.

Very interesting learning, Punkid. Do you have any future events in mind?

At the moment I have it in mind. I'm considering submitting a project to Eclipse for a series of tournaments, organized by content creators, with the goal of strengthening the community with a continuing initiative. Anyone who is interested in collaborating, should contact me. In this way we could enjoy a more constant competitive scene in Spanish and give more visibility to the game thanks to the content that would be generated.

I have to say that sounds interesting. In fact, it reminded me of a cycle that made a Streamer Australian, a kind of mini-tournament between different content creators. I think there was a requirement that was a minimum number of followers and hours of viewing per month or something like that, but well, they were relatively low thresholds. I remember it because at that time I thought it was very interesting. Well, we'll talk about all this calmly.

You can do both tournaments in which the players are content creators and tournaments for the community where different content creators are the host main of the event, on a rotating basis.

Questions from the GU Masters Community

Before entering the final question block, it is time to enter the community question block. First question, I think a bit of a joke: "Do you consider yourself a little whale?"

If it's because of my weight, a little. And if it's because of my collection of letters, so too (laughs).

Well, I think it was. It was more about the collection of letters than anything else. But the question is answered. Another question: "since JFA will have to leave the Council of Mortals soon, would you dare to run and be the representative of the Spanish-speaking players?"

I know it's a very big responsibility, but I would like to. I would try to provide a closer vision of the needs of the community, as well as ideas that can be used to improve the game. That will depend on the will of the community, but if it were to happen, I would like to.

It will not take long for the electoral process to open, so go ahead. And well, I just make an aside... when someone joins the Council, they represent all the players, not just the Spanish-speaking ones. Although, well, I think we are all clear about this. AnimoKaimán asks two questions and with this we settle this block of questions from the community. "Would you play Gods Unchained if it was Web2?"

It's hard to answer because if Gods Unchained were a Web2 game, the crafting it would be different. The concept of buying and selling cards has already been implemented in Magic Online, where you can send cards, trade and sell. There are We2 games with a I craft that I'm not interested in and Web3 games that I don't find interesting even though they have blockchain and NFTs. I think I would play it, yes, I like Gods Unchained as a game.

Well, you've already clarified it yourself. Carlos asked "what is Web2" and clarified that Web2 games are those that do not have a blockchain component, let's say. Web3 games are the ones that do incorporate this factor.

Hearthstone, Magic Online, Shadowverse, Eternal Card Game... Most games online of letters are Web2.

Last question in this block: "Considering your experience in competitive Magic The Gathering, how do you see the competitive scene in the future of Gods Unchained, considering that Genesis will never rotate?"

I think it's a great idea that Genesis doesn't rotate to give value to the cards that were initially started and designed in the game. I know that they are going to have a different and additional value with respect to those of the next sets that come out, due to their scarcity. On the other hand, as I think he said, Daniel in the last Council , the idea is that the next sets will continue to increase the level of power in the game. When a rotation system is implemented, some cards will have greater or lesser relevance depending on the context, depending on the format. Those who want to continue playing eternal format, where all sets will be legal, will always get the best cards, perhaps some better than the Genesis cards. I think the competitive part is not only on the sets, but also in the community, and it's still a little green for us to worry too much. First you have to grow.

Final Questions

Very well, so let's go with the last block, which is a short block: where do you see Gods unchained in three years?

I think the game needs more marketing to try to rescue players who have left and attract new players. I also hope that the World Tournament that was planned a long time ago will be held and, ultimately, that the game will grow.

I think that's the hope that all the regulars share, that the game will indeed prosper. Next question: what unexpected things has it brought into your life?

I think the most unexpected of all is growth as a content creator and Streamer . I started knowing that there weren't many people when I started playing and the possibility of a Hispanic community being generated was something somewhat utopian at that time. However, I was surprised because the Spanish-speaking community began to grow. You can tell that she is very friendly and quite united, willing to welcome new players, something that does not always happen. Two years later, having 700 followers on Twitch and 100 on YouTube is something I would never have imagined. I'm a small content creator and, apparently, what I do is relevant and generates interest in someone. It's something that fills me up a lot.

Well, yes, anyone who has dedicated themselves to creating content knows that it requires effort and we all like that effort to be recognized in some way, so nothing, congratulations on the results, because it is not easy. Not easy, so that's great. And speaking of content, where can members of this community learn more about you?

You can continue my Twitch channel , I'm broadcasting usually on Wednesdays and Saturdays. And maybe some other day of the week, like Thursday or Friday, with a different game. On YouTube we are uploading the episodes of the podcast with gNova4, in which JFA appears from time to time as part of the team, putting together the triad of evil (laughs). Or rather the triad of good, but I wanted to make the joke (laughs). The idea is that, to share information, chat, interact... sometimes we answer more directly, sometimes we take our time because we don't want to deviate too much from the topic of the episodes, but yes, they can also be seen on YouTube. My idea would be to recreate videos about strategies and game theory, but sometimes it's hard to find the time. And you can also find me on Discord and Twitter .

Reminder: the Punkid user is punkidtcg on all platforms, so you will find him everywhere.

That's right, my name on the different networks is punkidtcg.

That's right, it's easy. We're pretty much done with this, is there anything you'd like to say to the GU Masters community?

I would like to invite you to support the project because there is always a lot of effort behind it. Just as I have the podcast, it is good that different content creators generate content of different types, since they all contribute something. And, secondly, that they are good and compete with sportsmanship, as JFA always says. I always wanted to say that phrase because I don't have one of my own yet, I have to work on it.

You are in time, you are in time to forge a phrase that fits. I hope you enjoyed the interview, I have prepared it with great love and I hope that also, of course, everyone who has joined us has enjoyed discovering a little more about yourself, about your vision of card games and about your perspective on Gods Unchainedn. I've had a great time, to be honest, so I hope you did it too.

Yes, I have also had a great time.

Thank you very much, Punkid.

Thank you!

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Has this interview piqued your interest? I hope so. I want to take this opportunity to remind you that you can support GU Masters by purchasing your cards through the TokenTrove referral link (which has no cost for you) and invite you to join all the players who already receive the GU Masters newsletter to stay on top of what's new in the Gods Unchained universe: The Herald .