Character Guide: Pixie Pete

Character Name: Pixie Pete.

Inspired by: No clear inspiration.

Life Points: 3.

Ability Type: Neutral.

Ability: During phase 1 of his turn (his drawing phase), he draws 3 cards instead of 2.

Activation: During his drawing phase.

Cards enhanced by Pixie Pete's ability: Volcanic, Duel (when he plays it).

Cards more powerful when played against Pixie Pete: Jail, Dynamite, Duel (when played against him).

Ideal role: Sheriff.

Characters that counter Pixie Pete well: Jesse Jones (removing a card from his hand nullifies Pixie Pete's ability somewhat), Slab the Killer (his BANG! take 2 Missed! to avoid; it is unlikely that Pixie Pete as a 3 lifepoint character without a defensive ability will be able to evade the attack), Belle Star (the defensive cards that Pixie Pete has a knack at drawing and playing in front of him will not protect him against Belle Star's attack)

2-player value: Excellent. Drawing 3 cards is especially important at this point in the game, helping Pixie Pete find the right cards to protect himself and finish off his opponent.

General Strategy as Pixie Pete: Pixie Pete is somewhat like Black Jack, but he always draws 3 cards and never has to show any of them. Given, the possibility of drawing Wells Fargo, Stagecoach, etc., Pixie Pete can draw and play many cards on his turn. On the flip side, Pixie Pete has only 3 life points, which also means he has a 3 card limit. This places Pixie Pete in the strange position of being able to play more cards, but unable to store many cards up. Fortunately, Pixie Pete can use the blue cards and green cards from Dodge City that he can play in front of himself to his advantage (as they do not contribute to his card limit). So Pixie Pete should try not to make himself more of a target than he already is (players tend to see a character that draws 3 cards a turn as a threat): Pixie Pete should play as few offensive cards at this point as possible. He may opt to discard excess BANG! in the early game. In the mean time, Pixie Pete needs to gather cards to play in front of himself. Pixie Pete should also be able to nigh ensure that he has a BANG! and Missed! in his hand by the end of his turn (to protect Pixie Pete from the random BANG!, Indians!, or Gatling).

Once Pixie Pete has some defensive base in play in front of him, he can alter the mix in his hand to contain offensive combos. Pixie Pete may try to store a Volcanic, and hope to draw several BANG! during a future drawing phase, but this is a difficult thing to do with the 3 card limit. Once Pixie Pete have a decent offensive mix from the cards in your hand and in play in front of you, he should use an attack combo on an opponent. He doesn't need to worry too much about expending cards as he has a good chance of replenishing them on his next turn. Pixie Pete just needs to try to have some defenses in place once he unloads. If a player throws out a Dynamite, Pixie Pete will have a good chance of drawing a Cat Balou or Panic! (or other of their type), which he should seriously consider using on the Dynamite.

Playing against Pixie Pete: Pixie Pete one has a few clear weaknesses. First, he is a 3 life point character, which makes him much more vulnerable to Dynamite, offensive attack combos, and having cards discarded or stolen from his hand. Also, unlike most 3 life point characters, Pixie Pete's ability is not clearly defensive. This makes Pixie Pete far more vulnerable during the early game, before he has a bunch of blue and green cards in play in front of him to protect him. So you may choose to try to eliminate Pixie Pete at this time, because he will quickly gain the cards needed to protect himself with drawing 3 a turn. However, it is not wise to just eliminate a possible team mate because you fear his ability. Pixie Pete's ability does allow him to have a more powerful offense with drawing 3 cards a turn, but the card limit does curb the effectiveness of him storing up a Volcanic. Pay close attention to Pixie Pete's number of cards in his hand, and make sure to attack him when he is below what his limit allows. If you coordinate well with team mates, you should be able to knock off one of his life points. Pixie Pete's ability, like other card drawing abilities, is only active during his turn. Thus, Jail is more effective in neutralizing Pixie Pete than many other characters.

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