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edit 8/4/17: Don't use scrying. It's way too slow. Use 2xDrawn to the Flame, 2xWard of Protection, or 1x of each instead.

Who needs money to have a good time?

I've used this deck to dominate the core set scenarios on standard difficulty paired with a combat-oriented Zoey, but Pete's no slouch in combat himself. He could even be a good solo choice, though I haven't tested it yet - he's got most of his bases covered without any support.

The deck wins by drastically cutting the amount of clicks spent on superfluous actions compared to other investigators. It's fast, it's lean, and it's pretty good in almost any situation you get yourself into. You've almost always got the cards you need, and you've always got the money to pay for them. How is this? I'm glad you asked!

Money: Arguably the worst action possible in Arkham Horror is clicking for a supply. Every time you click for a supply, you're decreasing the action efficiency of every card in your deck.

For instance, if you were evaluating a card like Dynamite Blast, you'd say that it costs 2 actions (one to draw, one to play) for 3 damage. This is decent efficiency, since it would take an unarmed investigator at least 3 actions to do that much damage. But say you had to click for a supply to play the card. You've now spent 3 actions on 3 damage. If you clicked for all 5 supplies, you've spent 7 actions. This is still efficient if you're crap at fighting or you're blowing up a whole lot of enemies. But in general, it's starting to look like less and less of a good play.

Broke-ass Pete gets around this quite nicely. You can play every single card in the deck, excluding the duplicate assets that you wouldn't play anyway, for 19 supplies. This means each card you draw will cost you an average of .59 supplies. Statistically, your starting supply pool will pay for your starting hand as well as the next three cards you draw on upkeep. The money you got in those three upkeeps will pay for your next five cards. Etc., etc. All the extra supplies you end up with are for...uh... strapping to your Fire Axe to add extra weight? I'm not sure what's going on there thematically, but in practice, it works out really well.

A side bonus is, there's no need to pack the two Emergency Cache that are in every other deck, so you've got more room for two more skills!

Drawing cards: Drawing a card is slightly better than clicking for a dollar, but it's still a pretty boring use of an action. So hey, why do it? You're pretty effective and versatile right away with Duke, so there's not the same pressure to take build-up turns that there is with other investigators. And 9 of your 32 cards (ultimately 11 when you upgrade Lucky!) come with cantrips, with the 2 Rabbit's Foot giving you repeatable card draw. In a pinch, you've also got Scrying there to find a crucial piece of your build, though I prefer to use it on my less efficient buddies or the encounter deck instead.

Moving: Saddle up, Duke! Take me to the clues next door! Seriously, moving plus investigating at skill 4 (5 with the Magnifying Glass) in a single action is some superb efficiency, easily saving you 2 or clicks per scenario and often more. You've also got a Survival Instinct for a free move when you evade, and a Bait and Switch for when you really would prefer to stay put. Ramblin' Pete is plenty mobile.

Investigating: As mentioned above, Duke looks kind of funny using a magnifying glass, but damned if he's not effective. You can also fail your way into clues with "Look what I found!" or just cheat one out with Working a Hunch.

Defeating enemies: The Fire Axe is a beast. A Duke fight at skill 4 followed by an Axe fight at skill 6 or 8, both at +1 damage? Yes please. I've never had any problem with its resource requirements. You're running at 1-3 resources all the time anyway, and when you spend down to 0, the dollar you get on your next upkeep will be plenty enough to keep you productive. If you're up against something really nasty, you could always run away.

Skill checks: You have three attributes at skill 4 while Duke's awake. You get more value out of the cantrip skill cards than the other investigators, since the card you draw also works as smelling salts to wake him back up, and you've probably got more of them in your deck than they do. And if you can get the combo set up, Scavenging lets you toss your duplicate Rabbit's Foot in the bin over and over for a +1 to any skill. If you still fail, just get Lucky!

Things that will cause you problems: Pete can get himself out of a lot of scrapes, but he has a really hard time with high-HP, high-Fight monsters. When you're up against something with a fight of 4, Duke doesn't look quite as good as he used to, and you've only got one swing of the axe before you're tapped out.

I got around this by teaming up with a muttering, kill-crazy Zoey Samaras, but if you're playing solo, you don't have that luxury. I'd switch out the Working a Hunch and one or both of the Scrying for some more combat-oriented cards.

You'll also have one turn a game where your narcolepsy kicks in and you're Wracked by Nightmares. Generally you'll be pretty useless this turn, although after you spend two actions to wake up, you can burn a card to ready your favorite asset for action three. This is not so bad in the grand scheme of things; it could be much worse (cough Searching for Izzie cough).