The Adventures of Pete and Pete

Yes. Another solo Pete deck. I'm convinced that this character was practically made for soloing considering that he has a mini-Roland of sorts as a free asset while still being able to do survivor things. That's pretty cool.

What this ultimately means is that Pete has probably the strongest early game of any character in the game, requiring minimal setup to get things going. If you've seen my previous deck, then you already know what I'm going to say: the ability to compress movement and investigation into a single action is extremely valuable. Having a built in +1 damage is extremely valuable. Having a combined 8/8 health/sanity is extremely valuable.

The weakness of Pete is that the thing that makes him so strong is a vulnerable asset. There are enough effects in the game that force you to discard assets that can make Pete's life very difficult. While he CAN complete a game without Duke, he will be massively hobbled.

This deck eschews silly combos in favor of just having a strong, dependable toolset with multiple potential uses. The few super specialized tools that are in this box (like Vicious Blow) are there to shore up his personal weaknesses, and to end scenarios before things get desperate. Since this deck is made with solo in mind, it also means that the inflated values of group scenarios aren't considered nor is cooperation.

This deck is also beginner-friendly in the sense that everything you draw just makes sense when you draw it. The cards have clear uses, and the interactions that do exist (Peter Sylvestre+Painkillers as an example) are obvious.

A few play notes, mostly geared toward newer players who want to pick this up as their first deck:

• Rabbit's Foot can be used as an Unexpected Courage-lite. It's also good fodder to ready Duke, and can be equipped as a buffer to protect against asset-discarding effects. Its actual effect isn't bad, and it's cheap, but you generally will be using Lucky! to try to avoid failures.

• Working a Hunch can be used as your second and third Perception. These both play well with "Look what I found!" since Duke's base Intellect allows for high values. Any failures when committing these cards are going to be by small margins. This can be even more useful than just using them straight vs. high shroud locations.

• Survival Instinct will save your life. Pete's turn structure against bosses (or tough monsters in general) is practically built for Duke->Duke->Evade. In situations with multiple monsters engaged on you, the ability to evade all of them at once is more valuable than slotting something like Dodge. Evaded monsters become exhausted, and exhausted monsters don't attack nor retaliate. On the subject of evading...

• Don't be afraid to evade to start or end your turn against bosses if it's feasible to do so. While Pete's base agility is exactly average, with Peter Sylvestre out, it becomes a little bit better combined with a few skill cards to help. Evaded mobs don't swing back nor Retaliate. You can avoid a lot of damage doing this!

• The Baseball Bat is a stop-gap measure until you find your Fire Axe. That said, don't be so quick to slot the axe if you find a bat first. You're better off waiting until the bat breaks. Weapons, in any case, are a last resort. They're there in case you need to finish off a monster right now or if Duke somehow ends up dying or otherwise discarded. Don't be afraid to pitch weapons to ready Duke or for skill tests early on. Just be aware of how many are left in your deck when you do.

• Vicious Blow and the Newspaper are somewhat 'specialty' cards that don't have many uses other than what's printed on them. You also don't want to feed either of them to Duke unless you're absolutely sure you won't need the extra damage or the extra Intellect for the rest of the scenario. The Newspaper especially is great at the beginning of scenarios, or right after spending your clues to complete an act. Try to utilize it against high shroud locations rather than go for the low-hanging fruit with it; you often can use Look What I Found in situations where you only barely miss the check.

Your upgrade path is very open with this deck. An obvious upgrade is for Peter Sylvestre to the upgraded Peter Sylvestre. Shortcut and Survival Instinct should be upgraded to 2x Will to Survive as the campaign goes on. This will free up one of your off-class slots for another tool of your choice. Charisma is also a nice thought if you want a second ally, such as Dr. Milan Christopher (replacing something like 1x Working a Hunch or 1x Rabbit's Foot.)

I'll be chronicling my own adventures with Pete (and Pete) to give you some other ideas. Any feedback on this deck is absolutely welcome!