« Ashcan » Pete
Le Vagabond

Survivant
Investigateur

Vagabond.

Willpower: 4. Intellect: 2. Combat: 2. Agility: 3.
Health: 6. Sanity: 5.

Vous débutez la partie avec Duke en jeu.

Défaussez une carte de votre main : redressez un soutien que vous contrôlez. (Limite d'une fois par round.)

: +2. Redressez Duke.

« Viens là, garçon. On a du boulot. »
Jake Murray
L'Héritage de Dunwich #5.
« Ashcan » Pete

« Ashcan » Pete - Back

Investigateur

Taille du Deck : 30

Construction du Deck : cartes Survivant () de niveaux 0 à 5, cartes neutres de niveaux 0 à 5, jusqu'à cinq cartes de niveau 0 prises dans les autres classes (, , et/ou ).

Exigences du Deck (ne comptent pas dans la limite de taille du deck) : Duke, En Proie à des Cauchemars, 1 faiblesse de base au hasard.

La nuit, « Ashcan » Pete dort là où ses pas le mènent : dans un champ, dans un train voire, s'il est chanceux, dans une grange. Il est accompagné d'un côté par son fidèle compagnon, Duke, et de l'autre par sa guitare. Et parfois quand Pete dort, il rêve. Il rêve de tourments, de lieux torturés et d'horribles créatures. Quand il se réveille, il est certain que quelqu'un a besoin de son aide car ses rêves sont réels. Il ne pourrait pas dire depuis combien de temps il erre sur les routes, vivant d'expédients, mais il sait à coup sûr qu'aucun lieu n'est trop éloigné pour aider une personne dans le besoin. Et tant que Pete peut aider les gens, il ne risque pas d'arrêter de vagabonder de sitôt.
« Ashcan » Pete
FAQs (taken from the official FAQ or FFG's responses to the official rules question form)
  • NB: ArkhamDB now incorporates errata from the Arkham Horror FAQ in its card text, so the ArkhamDB text and the card image above differ, as the ArkhamDB text has been edited to contain this erratum (updated January 2022): Erratum: Ashcan Pete's Deckbuilding Options should read: "... up to five other level 0 cards from any other classes (, , , and/or )." - FAQ, v.1.5, April 2019

  • You don't need to pay Duke's cost when you start the game with him in play.

Last updated
Reviews

Hey Duke, don't feel so bad

You take that Ashcan and make him better

Remember resetting you isn’t that hard,

It just costs a card , to make you better

.

Hey Duke, don’t be afraid,

Your so much bigger than an Irish Setter,

The minute you see the bad men start to grin,

Sink your teeth in , and they`ll regret-ya

.

You have space to take some pain

And two spare brain,

Protecting Ashcan’s poor fragile shoulders

Youve given him a second pool

Which is so cool

You’re making his world a little bolder

Na-na-na, na, na

Na-na-na, na

.

Hey Duke, don’t let Pete down

He needs clues found, so go and get ‘em (he’ll pet you out and pet you in)

Remember you get a move that is part, (hey Duke)

Of the start, of your clue getta

.

Pete pets you out and pets you in

Hey Duke, begin

You need no one else perform with

And don't you he`s shaggy too

Hey Dukey-doo

He`s all that you need to make you bolder

Na-na-na, na, na

Na-na-na, na, yeah

.

Hey Duke, its not that bad,

Pete`s got no cash-man but you know better

Remember to go look inside of those bins

Those old shoes within, taste so much better!

Better better Better better Better, ah!

.

Nom, Nom, Nom, Nom-Nom-Nom Nom (yeah! Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah)

Nom-Nom-Nom Nom, hey Duke

Nom, Nom, Nom, Nom-Nom-Nom Nom

Nom-Nom-Nom Nom, hey Duke

Nom, Nom, Nom, Nom-Nom-Nom Nom

Nom-Nom-Nom Nom, hey Duke

Nom, Nom, Nom, Nom-Nom-Nom Nom

Nom-Nom-Nom Nom, hey Duke (Duke Duke, Dukey Dukey Dukey Dukey, ow wow!)

Nom, Nom, Nom, Nom-Nom-Nom Nom (my, my, my)

Nom-Nom-Nom Nom, hey Duke (Duke, Duke, Duke, Duke, Duke)

Nom, Nom, Nom, Nom-Nom-Nom Nom (yeah, yeah, yeah)

Nom Nom-Nom-Nom Nom, hey Duke (yeah, you know you can make it, Duke, Duke, you're not gonna break it)

Nom, Nom, Nom, Nom-Nom-Nom Nom (don't feel so bad, you, take a rad song and make it better)

..

.

StartWithTheName · 57180
Why tho — MrGoldbee · 1337
That's so touching — cbrcbr · 1

(Edit: Fixes and adjustments)

No Ashcan review after several years? Why? What? Lets fix that!!

----TL;DR. "Ashcan" Pete is perhaps the fastest solo investigator, he can obtain clues in bulk right from round 1 and defend himself from smaller threats, also resistant to the mythos phase, he tends to choke on tough enemies that don't go down after 4 damage.----

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"Ashcan" Pete and Duke are the romantic duo of Arkham Horror the card game, together they make up an exceptional character who can start every scenario strong. "Ashcan" is flexible, since he's able to kill dangerous things and get clues right from round 1.

First, check out his stats:

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4 is a great great number, it means that you can circumvent a lot of painful and problematic effects such as discards, lost actions and horror, it even means that via Ashcan's out-of-faction splash slots he can tech spell assets to cover his bases when Duke is tired.

The relative safety afforded by this strong stat gives you leeway to play fast and risky without having to slot dedicated horror tanks like Cherished Keepsake or Peter Sylvestre. It gives you freedom to pursue Accessories like Grisly Totem or Rabbit's Foot and allies like Madame Labranche or Stray Cat.

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An of 2 can be problematic, some scenarios might force these tests on you for scenario purposes, for clue purposes though Dog got ya covered buddy, an of 4 is outright great. Grab powerful events like Lucky!, Trial by Fire or Will to Survive to sneak successes through those scenario tests. Ashcan's nonreliance on XP items also makes early Stroke of Luck a fine choice.

You can support Duke's investigating with Newspaper, which is pretty good on Pete, and bonuses via skill cards and Grisly Totem, I wouldn't hesitate to say that Guiding Spirit is all but printed for "Ashcan" Pete. With Duke as an initial shield you're guaranteed to keep the Guiding Spirit in play for a long time, the trick is not to start allocating horror on Duke until the spirits show up.

You can also build a combo with Scavenging, Rabbit's Foot and Newspaper, add Grisly Totem to profit even more! Newspaper with Duke is outrageously good in two to three player.

Note that I left out "Look what I found!", this card is rarely required for Pete in standard unless you're playing duo specifically. It's still great in harder modes regardless of squad size.

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The measly 2 is a nonissue, it's rarely a scenario specific test and you fight with Duke anyway. Duke needs help to get you through combat, again skills are a good choice and Grisly Totem empowers all of that.. Scrapper is helpful down the line but it's not a high priority because there really is no reason at all to run economy in Pete decks, the natural trickle fuels most of his spending, leaving very little leftover for talent use.

Pete is also one of the characters that makes great use of the Fire Axe and Dark Horse combo. He can cover Dog with axe chops and by staying poor he buffs Duke's investigation attempts. If you go this route keep your events cheap and assets lean. Will to Survive is an interestingly consistent crowning jewel to this build, it can be used to dump your resources enough to get into dark horse range and murder/investigate the crap out of whatever you encounter.

That said, Duke and Fire Axes arent deadly enough to beat multiplayer bosses, Pete is'nt particularly impressive fighting at 5 with Old Hunting Rifle, meaning that outside solo Ashcan is significantly stronger at clues than combat.

Vicious Blow is not a terrible 1 or 2-off, it can help you survive tricky fights, especially in Forgotten age where 3 health foes are common.

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3 isn't bad, it gives you a small gateway through which you might escape from threats you cannot kill, this stat isn't worth much mention and "Ashcan" Pete isn't particularly inclined to use Track Shoes, Peter Sylvestre or Ornate Bow. He does enjoy a flexible cardpool so if you do decide to try this route out, you will find that it works "okay".

.

"Ashcan" Pete has some pretty useful abilities, you might even consider his effective statline to be 4 - 4 - 4 - 3. Which becomes an impressive 5 - 5 - 5 - 4 with Dark Horse, this statline is then well supported by judicious use of skill cards and tricks like Lucky!, simple classics like Guts, Overpower and Perception work wonders for this guy and even when you don't like whichever skill you're holding you can just chuck it at Dog to refresh him.

Access to good talents to boost Ashcans skills is limited to start, but Plucky and Scrapper combine to cover every base, Plucky wont blow up immediately thanks to Duke, make sure to bring Emergency Cache to fund these cards. Without the XP talents to spend cash on, dont waste deckslots on Emergency Cache.

........................................................................

"Ashcan" Pete's abilities are: Duke, plain and simple. The main ability is to be used on Duke, the refreshes Duke. That said you can do sneaky things with that , for example:

The isn't always good, but sometimes it can grease your gameplay to godlike speed, picking up 3+ clues and moving 3 locations in a blizzard of action efficiency.

"Ashcan" Pete has less printed health and horror then most folks do, but it's made up for by Duke. netting you a more then average 8 / 8 damage and horror capacity.

........................................................................

Duke is one of the greatest strengths in the game, only one other asset is as equally capable of netting you kills and clues, Agency Backup, and that thing costs 7 resources and 5 XP! Of course "Ashcan" Pete revolves around this card like the earth around the sun, feeding it cards and keeping it safe from pain. Certain campaigns do kick you in the shins a bit, its imperative that you tech in solutions to the problems that might arise when that happens.

  • A few scenarios will bump off an asset (Crypt Chill for example), mulligan for something that can cover Duke.
  • Circle undone sometimes directly damages allies, don't assign optional damage to Duke and bring cards like Inspiring Presence to heal him. Perhaps tech A Chance Encounter in this campaign.
  • A scenario in Dunwick can... yeah.... If this happens, cry. Mulligan for allies in this particular scenario.

Because of Dukes free move, Ashcan is among the fastest clue gatherers in the game (his ability to start working right from round 1 with, often, no setup, might actually make him the fastest), building him in this direction in a team is a good idea. Note that while he is fast, he might have a little trouble with high volume, high shroud, locations, I.E he's still not necessarily a better cluehunter then the average , he's just harder to pin down.

This is also true for as mentioned far above. In general when the going gets tough, "Ashcan" Pete may crumble and stop being able to survive or contribute. It's rare for things to get sufficiently tough in solo, but a multiplayer "Ashcan" Pete generally needs his friends, who he's been dragging through the first half of any given scenario, to now take over and pull him through the latter half. In short, Ashcans unique niche is to carry a team through the early part of a scenario so that his teammates, who have now had peace and quiet to deploy all their assets, can power through the remainder.

Starting with Duke in play makes "Ashcan" Pete the most consistent character in solo, the reduced health totals also makes the hard fights more doable. That said you still should'nt go around picking fights with Eztli Guardians.

When you're working around Duke's downtime, use it to play the few assets you need and to refresh your hand, you might sometimes wind up chucking half your cards at Duke in a scenario so drawing cards is usually better than resources. Typically however, if Duke is up, find something to use him on! Don't wait around and allow the scenario get ahead of you.

Keep in mind this interaction of mechanics: When you trigger the Duke investigate, if you move to a new location as part of Duke's mechanic any enemies at the new location will not Opportunity attack you. This is because the action cost has already been paid at the old location and the effect is now underway and therefore the window has closed. Please correct me if wrong.

Wracked by Nightmares is a crippling problem, but as weaknesses go, this one is mild. The obvious nightmare is to draw it while you're fighting or a scenario is winding down while you race after clues. Chancy but manageable at just 2 lost actions in most cases. Trivial in multiplayer when a friendly fighter might remove it for you.

........................................................................

"Ashcan" Pete operates very well without having to play many assets. A heavy sack of skill cards can get him through a map just fine. Pete struggles for cards however, which is why Rabbit's Foot, Madame Labranche and Scavenging can all be good for him, they net him a few extra cards even if it's only to feed Duke.

One you've spent 20 or so XP as Ashcan, you'll probably run aground and struggle to find good stuff to spend XP on. Key of Ys is always a thing, but more interestingly there's Stroke of Luck, Alter Fate and Fortune or Fate. Other characters, even , don't have all that much leftover XP, Deckspace or resources to work with, Ashcan does tend to have leftovers of all of these!

There's a lot of cool out of faction options, it'd be hard to mention all of them, and i've already mentioned a few, here are some more highlights:

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In summatum, "Ashcan" Pete is a strong character. He's one of the greatest solo characters in the game and a very powerful earlygame powerhouse in team compositions. When hitpoint total go up and clue-counts on difficult locations in multiplayer he'll start to run out of steam, he's therefore best teamed up with powerhouses that can make up for his modest skill values by tackling the hard spots with supercharged skill bursts (such as a with Streetwise or a using a bulked up and some spells to do it). He's also significantly stronger at chasing clues then killing big enemies, therefore teaming up with someone who can tackle and kill or delay bosses is a good idea.

Tsuruki23 · 2385
I’m extremely confused - how are you getting six clues with either his elder sign Effect or Inspiring Presence? Duke doesn’t discover additional clues, so I’m not sure where the extra three are coming from? — Death by Chocolate · 1269
3 Actions, all using Duke. You can do this by chucking cards at duke and using Inspiring Precense or his elder sign. — Tsuruki23 · 2385
Example round where you get 6 clues: Midnight masks. Duke move to Easttown, use Inspiring Presence on test and succeed. Second Duke move to Downtown, succeed. Chuck a card from hand at Duke. Third move to Northside. 3 moves and 6 clues in one round! — Tsuruki23 · 2385
Yeah colour me surprised, WTF, somehow 4 people read Duke and got the idea that he has 2 clues per success — Tsuruki23 · 2385
Even so, still strong. — Tsuruki23 · 2385
Between good skill access, Look what I found and Newspaper he still has great clue speed. — Tsuruki23 · 2385
Yeah, Duke is fantastic - but not free move plus bonus clue fantastic, lol. Also, I think Newspaper 2 is solid, but I’m not convinced it is outrageously good unless you aren’t a primary investigator since it requires you to have no clues for both the bonus and the extra clue. It’s really dependent on how frequently the act takes yours clues, and probably only triggers 2-3 times per scenario depending. — Death by Chocolate · 1269

TLDR: David Renfield and Well Connected are good level 0 card options

The Dunwich investigators just get more and more complicated to build decks for. As more cards come out, the possibilities for their 5 level 0 cards just keeps increasing. Two fun ones to consider are David Renfield and Well Connected.

Ashcan's ability lets you ready an asset once per turn. Now of course most of us see Duke as the 'real target' for that ability, but it does work for any asset. David Renfield is a very powerful way of piling up money, and even better when you can use him twice a turn to really fine-tune the amount of time before the doom threshold goes over.

Once you've amassed loads of money, you can now use well connected to easily be at +4 to any test, twice a round. Considering Duke gives an effective +2 skill, once you hit 15 resources, then well connected becomes a better option in a lot of cases. This doesn't mean Duke does nothing though, they're still useful for a 2 damage attack or a 'Move-stigate', and they still also give you that +2 skill.

There are many level 0 card options, here's a couple I tried together, enjoyed, and wanted to share :)

KakuRainbow · 49

Amazing investigator for beginners and for true solo players like me! I have played Ashcan & Duke in all official campaigns released until 2022, including TFA, TCU and TSK. If you look for a deck that is simple to learn, does not require many upgrades and that gives you tempo, consistency and adaptability to any situation, try this one arkhamdb.com

walla · 176

I need some piloting tips for Ashcan. I played this deck in Return to Dunwich Legacy, on Standard. arkhamdb.com

I stopped playing after the WORST Miskatonic Museum experience I ever had. Duke could barely discover a clue because I kept pulling -3 and -4 tokens. When he managed to succeed, Ashcan needs to discard cards to try investigating again. Duke only gets 1 clue per Investigate.
When the Hunting Horror appeared, Duke's fight of 4 is not good enough.
It takes multiple rounds (6-10) to get Well Connected to give you a minimum +2 bonus, presuming you draw your Investments in your opening hand. After a few rounds, the skills in your hand are used up and you've got nearly no stat boosting effect.

Specifically about Ashcan Pete....
Even on Standard, a 4 investigate and a 4 fight does not good seem enough to get the core tasks of a scenario completed. The first 2 Dunwich scenarios went mostly well, and that's because he mostly drew 0 and -1 tokens. The general consensus in the community seems to be that testing at +2 on Standard is suggested. I disagree; my experience has shown that testing at -3 is significantly better. On Standard, you have one -3, one -4, auto-fail, and usually 1 BS token that is worth -3. That's 22-26% failure rating. Still too high for my liking.

So, is Dark Horse Pete the only way to play this investigator? The decks I tend to play have a commonality: play permanent boosts to get key stat(s) at 6, and then use cards that provide action compression and more boost. Ex: Beat Cop + Ace of Swords + .45 Automatic = fighting at 7-8 test value with +1 damage.

I must be missing something with Ashcan, because the consensus seems to support Tsuruki23's review on this page. He's beloved by many, and I cannot see why after playing a few scenarios with him. Your feedback is appreciated! :)

VanyelAshke · 173
It would be easier to divulge into if you posted your deck, but essentially you should never be relying on just a value of 4 to pass anything on standard. You should be committing or stacking. Magnifying Glass and Fieldwork (both of which enhance Duke's investigates) are common takes with Pete, but there's also simple skills like Perception and Overpower that I still run with him since he is so card hungry. You're also a Survivor, so at worse you move and fail an investigate, which ideally you can recover some of that opp cost with Rabbit's Foot. Fights you should never be entirely dependent on Duke to cover for you, you need another weapon just in case Duke fails or you need a second (or third) hit. Fire Axe is a typical go to because most of Ashcan's cards require very few resources to play- Fire Axe, Glimmer of Hope, Live and Learn, even Madame Labranche. None of that requires you run Dark Horse, and realistically Dark Horse itself is the least important card to make that deck work (Labranche is the most important). You could also opt for Meat Cleaver (with some boosts, like the Desperate skills) or even take advantage of his willpower and use Shrivelling. — StyxTBeuford · 12787
I can see you went with an Investments and Well Connected type of deck, which is not I don't think a good way to play him now that Faustian Bargain exists. The Investments interaction is really dubious anyway, as you're discarding a card to gain a resource, which is odd. — StyxTBeuford · 12787
I apologize by the way as you did post your deck, I just didn't notice that was a link at first. — StyxTBeuford · 12787
The deck's at the beginning of the post, I think. From what I can see , it's built around emptying investments as fast as you can in order to set-up using Pete's ability on Well-Connected twice/turn. The rest of it is Labrance , Meat Cleaver, Rabbit's Foot and various skills and events that you mention, plus the Improvised cards and some other things that don't mind being discarded. My instinct is that the Investments/ Well-Connected/ Pete's ability combo is the absolute core of the deck and you need to be absolutely focused on making that happen as fast as possible. Testing 2x/round at +4 seems a lot more achievable. Then you've got Winging It + Perception to keep making progress on low shroud locations , Improvised Weapon for little enemies, Glimmer of Hope, Live and learn, various misc skills for makeshift boosts while you assemble the combo and Labranche/Take Heart/Rabbit Foot to actually assemble it. But it's very very much a deck built around a specific group of cards, and I think you want to be prioritising that above all else. It does make me think Dunwich Legacy's a fairly harsh campaign for this deck tho. Losing combo pieces to the constant milling would be painful... — bee123 · 25
Thank you for the quick feedback! Yes, Dunwich's milling occasionally hurt when it hit core pieces. This deck has over 100 likes, so I thought I'd give it a try because I assumed it meant people have had good success with it. It does seem that this particular deck is quite combo-oriented, which requires a familiarity with the core plan. As a Magic:the Gathering player, I tend to avoid combo decks. I play Burn and linear "get the job quickly, efficiently, and as linearly as possible". Haha. I suspect this was a poor deck choice on my part, based on not knowing how to pilot it effectively. — VanyelAshke · 173
Regarding Ashcan specifically as an investigator, I recognize that it's important to boost Duke's investigation and fighting capacities. Magnifying Glass is a good card, yes. I guess Jessica Hyde to boost combat. The Survivor card pool doesn't seem to have as many permanent boosts or high-value items. Guardians get Beat Cop, Ace of Swords, Alice Luxley. Seekers get Mag Glass, Fingerprint Kits, Dr Milan, Death tarot. Each faction has a relevant Tarot to boost their significant stat, and items/allies that give permanent boosts. Survivors seem to have less of those. — VanyelAshke · 173
Yeahhhh, one of the big survivor gimmicks is around benefitting from failing tests and that obviously doesn't lend itself very well to permanent consistent boosts. So where they exist in the survivor pool, like say, Cornered , they do tend to be odder. That trick can be extended in some quite clever and powerful ways. Thinking for instance of Look What I Found in the Core Set, on a shroud 2 or lower location, you're sure to either succeed or to be able to play Look What I Found because you can't fail a difficulty 2 test by >2. And that's only scratching the surface , lol. Stella Clark is most built to function around fail-to-win, so if you're interested to how far the suite of fail-to-win cards can be pushed it might be worth looking at some Stella decks. For Pete in this deck tho, there's one fail-to-win card that's interesting and that's Drawing Thin. Did you consider spending xp on that? — bee123 · 25
Thank you StyxTBeuford for the breakdown on card selection in an Ashcan deck. Looking through a bunch of decks on ArkhamDB, the cards you listed are indeed in pretty much every Ashcan deck. Seems that the Fire Axe/Labranche/Dark Horse deck is almost unanimous as the most popular way to play (i.e. "best" way...?). There are some Yoatl skills decks, but there's less of those. Seems like Ashcan tends to run the same cards. — VanyelAshke · 173
Thanks bee123. Seems that Survivors are a faction that require a shift in perspective/play style. I do see that they have some neat design space; the fail-to-win concept is fascinating and sounds fun! Just may not be my personal playstyle. I compare decks to martial arts styles, in real life. Sure, you can learn 10 different martial art styles (decks). But you have personal strengths that make certain martial art styles (decks) intuitive and fitting your approach. :) Survivors are cool; they just may not be my style. Yorrick was a blast to play. Fairly straight forward; fight, recur items, repeat. — VanyelAshke · 173
You could do Drawing Thin, Rabbit's Foot, Take Heart, and Track Shoes- use that for draw to enable Pete's ability and Cornered if you want a boost. — StyxTBeuford · 12787
Is Drawing Thin worth the 6xp from Taboo? — VanyelAshke · 173
100% if you can't take rogue cards. — MrGoldbee · 1337
I like Mag Glass, Flashlight and Shovel in a Pete deck and then add either Jessica Hyde or Guiding Spirit (or both with Charisma) because taking a test at 4 is pretty risky. After that fill the deck with skill cards and Lucky/LiveLearn/LookWhatIFound. With all of those skill cards I like Grisly Totem but you probably want Relic Hunter so you can also take the Rabbit's Foot or the Teddy Bear. — TWWaterfalls · 893
It’s worth noting that Legacy is actually the worst campaign of any released for Pete. — MrGoldbee · 1337
Also for future reference, I wouldnt ask for deckbuilding advice here. It’s not an efficient place to talk about it. Try the reddit or the Mythos Buster’s discord instead. — StyxTBeuford · 12787
Ok. I'll ask around to find someone who can teach me how to use reddit. Is there a specific page, or group...? Sorry for my lack of knowledge. I use Google and Facebook, and even Facebook confuses me sometimes. haha. Thanks. — VanyelAshke · 173
Why does everyone like putting allies in this deck? He doesn't have a spare ally slot without Charisma, does he? — qbeam2 · 1