I use Mortar pretty often, in my experience it doesn’t get stuffed that much but it does get blocked a lot.
If you saw more Pauls online i’m guessing you would see more players looking to stuff it on reaction though.
mortar is one of paul’s best tools, don’t get me wrong, I abuse it too. it’s just once you face an experienced player who KNOWS how to deal with paul (and I mean who knows the matchup well), you won’t land it once on block, unless it wasn’t in a neutral game position. it’s easier to stuff than a jump in, since any button will do. experienced players don’t get hit by chun’s flip kick either, unless it was done during another move (whiff throw etc), but paul’s is actually easier to stuff due to the hurtbox. I played a paul mirror and after I taught him how to deal with mortar (I stuffed his with s.lp the whole time) he did the same, resulting that neither of use ever scored a blockstun hit. it’s still somewhat practical after c.hp xx and the like, other then that, it’s too foreseeable as a reliable pressure tool. occasionally, yes - but it ain’t a jaguar kick (better arc, better hit box, 20 frames start up). and 3 frames can mean the world x)
soooooo…just wondering:
What gives Paul problems?
What does Paul excel at ?
Does Paul have heavy damage combos from a boost combo / DP tag cancel ?
Im kinda soul searching for a teammate for my Cammy and I want a good anchor character who can deal some beefy damage off of cammys boost combo or off her DP.
In the current version, Paul can make up space for a zoner character since smasher propels the opponent to the other half of the stage. He can’t make use of meter outside of supers really, so you can team him up with a meter hungry mate. he deals okayish damage, but nothing top notch and struggles against pressure and zoning. can’t play footsie effectively either.
with v2013, his damage will go up a good chunk, links get easier, he gets two reversals, unbeatable anti air, is quicker (therefore better footsie), his moves become faster, and he can spend his meter more often (still mainly on super, but you have another set up for it and of course ex reversal). He’ll be a decent anchor imo. might still struggle against zoning without meter, but gets in easily once he has some. we need to test how he fares after a launcher - he might can do a ryu like CADC combo. otherwise, he has with f.mp a ground bounce after a DP cancel and does decent damage.
What gives Paul problems ?
Based on my own experience, rushdown characters and smart zoners.
Paul is free on wakeup, his backdash is really short and the only reversal option he has is EX scissor kick. The problem with EX scissor kick is that it whiffs on crouching opponents, so not only are you risking that you’re reversal gets blocked, you’re also risking that it gets whiffed.
Paul has 2 moves that goes through fireballs, but both have some flaws.
Mortar punch is too slow to use on reaction, and is heavily punishable if it gets whiffed, the good thing about the move is that it’s positive on block.
Mountain raze is faster than Mortar punch so you can use it on reaction, but the problem is that it’s heavy punishable on block, so if you reacted too slow you’re screwed.
His jump in attacks are great, but it will still lose against well placed anti airs so zoners like Ryu, Guile, Poison, Jin, Sagat etc. are difficult matchups.
What does Paul excel at ?
Mixing up the opponent. He’s is really strong upclose and forces the opponent to take risks. He has a variety of overhead moves, and some are even cancelabe. On top of his great mixups he also has a below average jump arc with a great cross up attack, making it really hard for characters to block him.
*Does Paul have heavy damage combos from a boost combo / DP tag cancel ? *
He has low juggle points so don’t expect to be able to do a lot of combos with him. However he CAN deal a lot of damage, his phoenix smasher is one of the most damaging move in the game so it’s not a bad idea to finish a combo with him.
I hope this answered your questions, this is all based on my own personal experience and based on the current version of the game, not 2013.
Damn it, guess I was too slow, Zukuu beat me to it XD
Oh well, now you have a confirmation 
always here to ruin your christmas
I use a fair bit of meter with Paul but I play for fun and use him on point lol.
I use chains like cr mk ~ fs hp if it hits i’ll do launch or ex smasher into combo, if it’s blocked i’ll ex cadc out.
Pauls Strengths - OSU!!
Pauls Weaknesses - None 
But in all seriousness I agree mostly with what Ralenzo and Zukuu have said.
When I want to troll ppl I Alpha Counter their hadoukens from a bit far away. Really screws them over whenever it hits.
Paul will team up with Asuka as point for my new team. I’m not gonna use him that often since I have another team as well: Xiaoyu and Lei, as long as I don’t fail to learn Asuka, a situation in which I’ll end up alternating Lei and Paul occasionally.
I just realized that the Paul board is higher tier when it comes to posted messages. x)
“AAAHHHHH YEAAAH”
Well we have some knowledgable people and a few zealous fanboys (me) trying to discuss ways to make Paul as effective as possible, whereas what is there to discuss on a Ryu or Heihachi board?
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So I think it is about time I pick up Paul again and get ready for all his mad buffs. So I am going to outline what my gameplan in learning and using Paul is gonna be real quick, as a beginner, and it’d be nice if people tell me whether I am approaching the character correctly or not.
- Pepper opponents with his lps and mps to apply pressure and good frame advantage, which sets up for his bazillion counterhit setups later or simply hit them into easy combos (So learning how to link these consistently is my top priority).
- Once they get testy from that kind of pressure I can start working in his easiest mixups and frame traps, aka things involving f.HP, df.HK, and cross ups (so learning reads better and how to jump cancel my strings, I see newbies even doing this and it gets me every time).
And really that’s it for now, should be enough with Paul at the beginning, and saving meter for supers and EX Smasher for extended combos. I’m thinking once Patch hits I’ll be experimenting most with the teams of Raven, Elena, Bob/Paul.
Thinking of picking up Bison/Paul for a secondary team.
You shan’t be disappointed once 2013 rolls out. Paul is already a strong partner for zoning characters because of his damage, mixups, pressure, and ability to give them backfield/space when they tag back in. Also you couldn’t find better people to help you learn a character here.
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Awww here goes!
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They discuss if Paul is Top Tier.
Just for the lolz, I’d love to see mike picking him up x)
While it used to be said that Paul is a pretty easy character to use because of his simplistic, straightforward style (the issue before was more how bad he was), I now think he actually takes a good deal of game knowledge and skill to operate. A shame really since that means I am up the creek without a paddle compared to when I use my herpderp team of Guy/Christie.
I guess I just need to know how frame advantage/CH setups, and a basic oki plan all work before I can start using Paul. How does one work in moves like his overheads and Bone Breaker outside of EXCADC combos and the like? I guess it is harder when one only plays D rank mashers who do not respect anything.
Updated the thread to fit the 2013 patch. Added complete juggle data to all specials.
So I think I came up with a trick for Paul, but it could be already established.
When you connect with a j.MP in the air, immediately do st.HP xx MP Mortar. If you connect on counter hit, it’ll all combo for 280-ish damage. If not, the reset into a frame trap, which will cancel into Mortar, which’ll combo on counterhit for st.HP. If not, the mortar will go for overhead. IF THAT counter hits, then you got a combo: Mortar, dp.HK, st.HK
Potentially these series of resets can lead up to 600 damage minimum. Thoughts?
I played this team. Not much synergy to honest with you.