Iceberg Lettuce


 * For the version in Plants vs. Zombies Heroes, see Iceberg Lettuce (PvZH).

"Don't get lost staring into Iceberg's adorably cute eyes. If you do, it will be your last step... but only if you're a zombie."

- Iceberg Lettuce's Almanac entry

Iceberg Lettuce is the third plant obtained in Ancient Egypt in Plants vs. Zombies 2. It freezes the first zombie that comes into contact with it, exploding in the process. If the frozen zombie is attacked by a fire-based plant such as the Snapdragon, the zombie will be thawed and will continue to advance. Unless the freezing effect is interrupted, it lasts 10 seconds. Zombies from Frostbite Caves and most of them from Sky City are resistant to the freezing effect, as they only become chilled instead of being fully frozen by Iceberg Lettuce.

In Plants vs. Zombies Online, its effect only lasts for five seconds.

Origins
Iceberg Lettuce is based on the real life iceberg lettuce, a variant of the plant Lactuca sativa, known as lettuce in English. The name also refers to the fact that Iceberg Lettuce is made entirely out of ice, and how it freezes zombies.

Plant Food effect


When given Plant Food, Iceberg Lettuce will glow from the inside and cover the entire screen in a blue flash before freezing all grounded enemies for 10 seconds.

Iceberg Lettuce will not disappear after this, and will turn into the regular Iceberg Lettuce until it is dug up or used. Airborne enemies are not affected, while zombies from Frostbite Caves are merely slowed instead. Using fire based plants will thaw the frozen zombies.

Costumed
When given Plant Food, all zombies will be frozen for ten seconds and some Power Snow snowballs will be thrown to them.

Level upgrade
Note: Iceberg Lettuce cannot be upgraded to level 4.

In Adventure Mode
Attacks all enemies every 3 turns with a chance to freeze them.

Strategies
Iceberg Lettuce allows the player to delay a single zombie, giving them time to produce sun to purchase additional plants. It can also be used to stun tough zombies in place, allowing more time for the plants to deal damage before the threat can move to near the plants. Overall, Iceberg Lettuce will be rendered redundant by Stunion if Plant Food and sun cost is not taken into the equation, as Stunion can stun more zombies at a time and works better with fire plants and versus Frostbite Caves zombies. Once it reaches Level 11, however, it becomes more or less equal to Stunion as it can now stun an approximate 1x2 area of zombies.

The Plant Food ability is perhaps Iceberg Lettuce's most useful aspect. While Stunion's can only disable enemies in a limited area, Iceberg Lettuce can freeze all zombies present, effectively halting the entire level for a while. Because of this, Iceberg Lettuce can stay relevant in higher levels in Endless Zones, most notably in tandem with Tile Turnip.

In Ancient Egypt, Iceberg Lettuce will be the first option available to put out Explorer Zombies' torches. It can also freeze a whole line of Camel Zombies, if it managed to freeze any zombie in the line. Iceberg Lettuce can also be used as a countermeasure against Chicken Wrangler Zombies, as they cannot release Zombie Chickens when frozen. However, Iceberg Lettuce should not be used in tandem with fire-based plants such as Snapdragon, Fire Peashooter and Pepper-pult, as they will thaw frozen zombies and render Iceberg Lettuce useless.

The player should make Iceberg Lettuce a priority in all Endless Zones except for Icebound Battleground. Its use is very helpful from there. From stalling zombies to minimizing the lag (in higher levels), the Iceberg Lettuce is a plant not to be conserved. Though, using its Plant Food ability maybe detrimental to the next level, the player should bring Power Lily as well in order to use the Iceberg Lettuce's full potential for the subsequent waves. Timing is necessary since the arrival of the next batch of zombies is sometimes unpredictable.

Avoid using this plant in Frostbite Caves, as it only slows zombies in this world instead of freezing them, making plants like Stunion and Stallia more optimal choices.

Trivia

 * It cannot freeze Zombot Sphinx-inator, but it can slow it down.
 * Before the 2.3 update, if a missile from the Zombot hit it, it would disappear and would still somehow slow down the Zombot.
 * After the 1.9 update, it will not activate when a zombie is frozen, stunned by Chili Bean or Stunion, buttered by Kernel-pult, or disabled by E.M.Peach.
 * However, this still happens in the Chinese version.
 * In the Plants vs. Zombies: Official Guide to Protecting Your Brains book and the Almanac, it is referred to as "Iceberg."
 * In Plants vs. Zombies Online, it can stop the fireball of Sphinx.
 * In Plants vs. Zombies Online, it can stop more than one zombies that step on it. However, the freeze time is much shorter.
 * It sometimes is not fast enough to freeze a zombie, and will simply disappear without exerting its effect. This usually happens with faster zombies.
 * Crazy Dave keeps the Iceberg Lettuce in his fridge in the trailer, referring to how it is made of ice.
 * Placing Iceberg Lettuce at the Gargantuar's back will force it to smash it, but instead of being crushed, it will freeze the Gargantuar.
 * Its Plant Food ability functions nearly identical to the ability of Ice-shroom from Plants vs. Zombies.
 * The difference is that Ice-shroom deals 1 normal damage shot when freezing the zombies, while Iceberg Lettuce does not. Also, Ice-shroom freezes zombies for a shorter period of time, but leaves a chilling effect.
 * If the player manages to freeze 20 zombies at once via its Plant Food ability, the player will earn the 20 Below Zero achievement.
 * This could be a reference to the first PvZ game's achievement of the same name.
 * If it shoots an iceball in the Chinese version of the game, it will look slightly different. This will last then until it dies or get used up.
 * Its Plant Food ability doesn't freeze the zombies that are protected by Glitter Zombie's rainbow trail during its jam.
 * In the Chinese version of the game, it is possible for this to cost a negative number via Plant Families.
 * According to its costume description in the Store (formerly), it was said that its white earmuff costumes was "made from real Yeti fur."