"Scrapper" Pete - Co-op/Solo

The base of this deck is a fairly standard "Ashcan" Pete deck built to generate extra resources with Lone Wolf and spend those resources on Scrapper (and Fire Axe). This deck should work well in both solo and co-op, but I would imagine that Lone Wolf's usefulness diminishes significantly with more players (my play so far has only been solo or co-op). I've been testing variations of this deck since the release of Blood on the Altar and this is the one I've found I like the best.

Scrapper fills a useful role for Pete since it allows him to easily and consistently pump Duke's Attack value beyond the base 4. Otherwise, Pete has difficulty dealing significant damage to higher attack enemies. You should have enough cash to pump Agility as needed to Evade or pass Agility based skill tests. The deck is designed to have a low resource curve and you will be swimming in cash after you get your base assets into play and your basic engine running.

2x Lone Wolf obviously gives a consistent, action free, flow of resources, provided you are not with another investigator. In solo, this is a given and is free money. In co-op, this will largely depend on your team's play-style and the layout of the particular scenario, but you should see a pretty regular benefit. You and your partner can plan your turns around it if the extra cash is needed (note that the card says, "when your turn begins", meaning if you go second and your partner moves away during his or her turn, you get the resource even if you started the Round at the same location). It might be possible to run 1x Lone Wolf, but I like the extra insurance of getting it into play and the dead copy can be used to ready Duke or to commit to an Agility test.

2x Magnifying Glass is a standard and obvious choice in Pete and I really like it over the alternatives. Bumping up your investigations with Duke to 5 is extremely helpful and makes those 4 Shroud locations look a lot less scary on Standard difficulty (with Lucky! and "Look what I found!" as insurance). The fact that it's cheap, fast and we don't have a lot of competition for our hand slots just makes it all the more appealing. Again, you could think about taking only 1x Magnifying Glass in the deck to free up another splash slot, but I like the consistency and having an extra doesn't hurt for Scavenging.

1x many, many, many, options... The last splash slot is really personal preference and you have many options based on your play-style and co-op partner. You can also take 2x of the following if you opt for 1x of either Lone Wolf or Magnifying Glass. Here are just a few thoughts:

• More damage: Vicious Blow, Double or Nothing, Backstab, Dynamite Blast all help kill high HP enemies with fewer actions, which is one of Pete's weaknesses. With Scrapper, you shouldn't have too much trouble pumping Fight (or Agility in the case of Backstab) to try and ensure an attack lands
• Clue Gathering - Working a Hunch, Drawn to the Flame are both helpful if you feel you need more clue gathering potential. Both can help get around annoying Locked Doors and Obscuring Fog.
• General Utility - Ward of Protection, Delve Too Deep are both solid options. In a co-op, I'd start a campaign with a 1x Delve Too Deep and sub it out after racking up some extra experience in the first few scenarios.

Skill cards

• I like the flexibilty of Unexpected Courage, but realize that many people prefer the card draw. It's all personal preference.
• I don't like having Guts in my hand and waiting for a Willpower skill check from the encounter deck. Since Pete has a higher than average base Willpower and Peter Sylvestre gives him a boost to 5, I feel pretty comfortable with what the encounter deck might throw at me (most of the time...).
• Since we can easily boost Agility as needed with Scrapper, I opt not to take Manual Dexterity. If I really need to Evade or pass a skill test, I'll spend the resources.
• We'll be doing a lot of fighting and a lot of investigating, so Overpower and Perception seem pretty obvious. Even with the ability to pump Fight on Scrapper, it's nice to have the option to save some resources and draw a card.
• I've grown to really like Survival Instinct, despite not being very impressed with it at first, and it combos well with Scrapper (allowing you to almost guarantee an Evade+Move if you really need it). I find that if I'm Evading, I really don't want to be at my current location and compressing 2 actions into 1 is really helpful. It's also really nice to commit to your partner's skill test and when they move away from your location, you are more likely to reap the benefits of Lone Wolf (synergy!).

Upgrades

I'd recommend your first 3 upgrades as follows:

• +1x Scrapper
• +2x Peter Sylvestre

Then any of the following depending on your personal preference:

• +2x Lucky!
• +2x Emergency Cache
• -2x "Look what I found!"/Leather Coat/Survival Instinct/Painkillers +2x Will to Survive - Take out a combination of cards based on your play-style or in game experiences. I would lean toward cutting a -1x Leather Coat and -1x Survival Instinct (but I really love Survival Instinct...).
• -1x Leather Coat +1x Bulletproof Vest not necessary and more expensive resource-wise, but has some nice skill pips and the extra health may be worth it
• Charisma if you are lead investigator and end up having a large number of allies you would like to get out at once
• Close Call, Flare, Fire Extinguisher are all interesting options that are worth considering