Peter Sylvestre

Is the star-quarterback of the Miskatonic University football team also the star in an Arkham Horror LCG deck? Let's find out.

Peter Sylvestre adds a lasting +1 to your investigator's agility. If I'm not mistaking, he is the first and only lvl 0 ally/asset in the current cardpool who does this, making him a useful asset for a lot of investigators.

His repeatable horror removal ability however is where he really shines. Als lot of other horror removal cards like First Aid, Clarity of Mind and Liquid Courage have limited uses due to them using charges, but Peter can go on all day. This ability is especially useful when playing low sanity investigators. In my games playing as "Ashcan" Pete, Peter Sylvestre really kept Pete out of the nuthouse. Peter's horror removal ability pairs also really nicely with cards that require taking horror to trigger its beneficial effect like Forbidden Knowledge.

The upgraded version of Peter Sylvestre is even better, though he is not as accessible to many investigators due to their deck building restrictions. For an investment of 2 xp and the same resource cost big Peter gets an extra point of sanity and, more important, a lasting +1 to willpower. Especially in solo games, where a single investigator gets to eat all the nasty treacheries the encounter deck throws at them, having a lasting +1 to willpower is really nice. Upgraded Peter Sylvestre is really awesome when paired with an investigator who relies on willpower driven spells like Shrivelling, Rite of Seeking and Blinding Light. Usually ik put Holy Rosary in my spellcaster decks to boost those spells, but why use Holy Rosary when you can get the +1 willpower AND +1 agility AND the horror mitigation ability.

Downside is the fact that Peter fills the ever usefull ally slot, But luckily there is Charisma in an upcoming mythos pack that offers a way to use multiple allies.

I'm no football talentscout, but if Peter is as good on the football field as he is in the right Arkham Horror LCG deck, I'd recommend signing him for sure.

Heyenzzz · 7460
Extracurricular Activity

How come there is no effect for the "Broken Tablet" chaos token? Is this a mistake?

Edit: There is no "Broken Tablet" or "Elder Thing" chaos token when you start the campaign, these might be added during the campaign.

Barif · 2
Very simply, yes. If this is your second mission (meaning, you started the campaign with The House Always Wins) you might now have this token. — masonproulx · 70
I was surprised when this card came up when I searched for Basic Weaknesses. Perhaps change it? :-) — Peloquin · 1
The bug report has been open on Github for two and a half years; I don't think it's high on the priority list @Peloquin. Source: https://github.com/Kamalisk/arkhamdb-json-data/issues/171 — BlankedyBlank · 23
Dynamite Blast

This seems to be a staple in many protector decks, but truly this card is better used by evasive characters who can disengage or use teleportation cards (such as Elusive or Survival Instinct ) to launch Dynamite from an adjacent room.

While it certainly feels heroic to use Zoey or Roland to draw aggro then blow themselves up, it's often detrimental to the party's success to willingly subject them to 3 damage. Sure, it can sometimes save the scenario, but just as often it can place your best monster-hunter on death's doorstep.

It's far more effective to place it in the decks of the swifter investigators who have resources to spare (Skids, Jenny, Rex) and let them play with the explosives. If the enemies survive then the protectors job is to come back in the room and do clean up.

masonproulx · 70
I take Elusive on Zoey for this reason, and now Leo and Mark can also do it. In fact, poor Roland (and Carolyn) are the only Guardians who can't pull off this combo — Chitinid · 14
How does this work with swarming enemies? Does it do 3 to each separate instance? — Erdjo · 328
@Smeshnik It does! Each swarm card under the host counts as a separate enemy. Similarly Storm of Spirits works the same way. — SGPrometheus · 847
Guard Dog

Under the 'Asset Card' section of the rules it states if an asset card has health and/or sanity the investigator may assign some, or all, damage to it. This means if the investigator has other cards to soak damage, or is willing to take some damage themselves, the guard dog could do up to 3 damage to attacking enemies.

Be aware that most cards that boost damage either require 'Fight' or an attack, these will not boost the damage of guard dog.

I think You can only assign 2 damage instead of 3, because as soon as the dog soaks the third, it dies and is trashed, so it can't activate its reaction. — cybercujo · 1
You can use it even when you assign lethal damage to him. Since it's "when" rather then "after". — Yury1975 · 1
Understood. I did't see the difference between "when" and "after". Thanks for the clue :) — cybercujo · 1
Rite of Seeking

We're one core set and one deluxe expansion into this LCG and already certain paradigms are taking shape. Certain classes (like Guardian, or Seeker) are well equipped to focus on a specific task (monster hunting, clue seeking) and corner that task completely. Other classes, like Mystics, are not as clear. Cards like Scrying and Clarity of Mind suggest that magic can be used specifically to support your group by watching their backs, but there are alternative uses to mysticism.

Rite of Seeking and Shrivelling do something different, they can turn Mystics into makeshift clue hoovers or damage dealers. They won't be able to take on the role forever due to the limited charges, but in the meantime you can have Jim quickly suck up clues in low shroud places while Rex tackles the darker locations, or you can have Agnes pierce the mysteries that Roland Banks cannot.

Of course the card comes stacked with downsides that trip it up. First of all its expensive, and it takes an action to play it as an asset so the 'extra clue per investigate' isn't as strong as it sounds. If you're using this just to try and hoover up clues quickly you're trading 4 resources for 2 clues. Furthermore if you search multiple times in your turn (or as first or second action for any reason really) you risk triggering the end of your turn, which further adds to the chance that you will rob yourself of the action economy you're trying to save.

That being said if you're awash in resources, really need to move quickly, want to stay away from a dangerous clue ridden location, or need help piercing that 4 shroud location Rite of Seeking will allow you to get those difficult to grab clues. Probably the best use however is just allowing you to nab clues at the end of your turn while doing something productive with your other 2 actions. Combined with Drawn to the Flame you can those last sticky clues and make sure your team is done with the act before the threats really begin to mount.

Difrakt · 1325