Card

Unreleased

Cards are the main collectibles available in Plants vs. Zombies Heroes. They are the main methods used by Plant and Zombie Heroes to combat the opposing side.

Overview
Cards are divided into two major categories: Fighter cards and Trick cards. A Fighter card will spawn a friendly unit on the field when played which will in most cases attack enemy units, and will be destroyed and removed once its health reaches 0. A Trick card generates a variety of effects when played, ranging from spawning additional friendly units, modifying their attributes or destroying them, to gaining or creating additional cards in the player's deck. After the effect ends, the Trick card will automatically be removed. Each Card also has a set of attributes, such as cost, strength, health, class and tribe (tribe) - one of which is a Superpower, a special kind of Trick card that is only gained at the start of the game and every time the Hero successfully blocks an attack.

At the start of the game, each player is given four cards in their hand, and will be given the chance to replace each card once with another random one taken from the player's deck. Each player will also be given a random Superpower card from the player's list of available cards; this card cannot be replaced. The player will also draw a card from the deck each turn, and there are special effects that can give the player additional Cards, either from or outside the deck.

A card can be played providing that the card's cost does not exceed the player's currency stockpile balance, and that there are valid targets (for Trick cards) or spots (for Fighter cards) for the card. Once the card is placed, the player's currency stockpile balance will be decreased by an amount equal to the card's cost. Plants can play both Fighter and Trick cards at the same time since they only have one play turn before the Fight! phase occurs. Zombies have separate Fighter and Trick phases, giving them two play turns before the Fight! phase occurs.

Turn Order
The Zombies' Fighter turn comes first, followed by the Plants' combined turn, followed in turn by the Zombies' Trick turn, after which the Fight! phase occurs during which friendly units attack enemy units, defeated/used cards are removed and the turn order starts over from the beginning.

When Fighting: Zombies attack first, then Plants attack later (unless that Zombie (or Plant) is frozen.)

Traits
Although every card is unique, many of them share common traits, which the player needs to know them to use the cards the best way. Present here is a list of traits that many Character cards have and share along with an explanation of them:

Afterlife
"When this is destroyed, you can play it a second time"

- Game Description

Exclusive to the zombie side. Any Fighter that has this trait will, when destroyed, return to the owner's hand as a "ghost" version of itself. The ghost version has identical stats to the original card, but without the Afterlife ability.

Amphibious
"Play on Water or Land"

- Game Description

Zombies or Plants with this trait are not restricted to just land lanes in terms of placement, but can also be placed in aquatic lanes.

Anti-Hero
"+(Number of Strength Points) Strength against Heroes"

- Game Description

Any Fighter that has this trait will deal higher damage if it hits the opponent's hero. This only applies if the lane is clear of obstructions so placing anything in front the Anti-Hero character that blocks attacks will remove the Anti-Hero damage bonus.

Armored
"Reduce damage to this by (number)"

- Game Description

Any Fighter that has this trait will suffer reduced damage when attacked, with the number specifying the amount of damage that is resisted. If the damage dealt is less than the resistance number, the Armored Fighter will not take any damage. However, this effect does not protect its owner from any effect that reduces health by a set amount.

While not exclusive to either side, Knight of the Living Dead is the only card with Armored 2, a stronger version of Armored, which is exclusive to the Zombie side.

Bounce
"Push it off the board. It can be replayed"

- Game Description

Any Fighter or trick that has this trait will, once played, either force the user to choose one of their own active Fighters and return it to their hand without affecting its stats or choose one of their opponent's active Fighters and return it to their hand, again, without affecting its stats. This effect is used to balance some powerful cards, as sometimes the targets are restricted to Plants/Zombies of the same side.

Bullseye
"Doesn't charge the opponent's Block Meter"

- Game Description

Any Fighter with this trait will be able to damage the opponent's hero without filling up the hero's block meter, potentially avoiding attacks/abilities from the hero.

Deadly
"Destroy any Plant it hurts"

- Game Description

Exclusive to the Zombie side. Any Fighter with this trait will destroy the card it targeted in one hit if at least one point of damage was dealt. Heroes are not affected by this, and Armored Fighter can survive the attack as long the Deadly Fighter's damage doesn't exceed their damage resistance.

Freeze
"That (Zombie/Plant) skips its next attack"

- Game Description

Any Fighter or trick with this trait will immobilize its target, causing it to go through its turn without attacking. Using a card that gives the immobilized Fighter a bonus attack will cancel out the Freeze trait's effect.

Frenzy
"When this destroys a Plant, it attacks again"

- Game Description

''Exclusive to the Zombie side. ''Any Fighter that has this trait will attack one additional time if it destroyed its target and survived without being defeated itself. Against weak-enough targets, Fighters with this trait can chain up multiple attacks, making them dangerous if not dealt with.

Gravestone
"Hides in a Gravestone until it's time for tricks"

- Game Description

Exclusive to the Zombie side. Any Fighter with this trait will not be revealed until the user's trick stage begins, they are instead concealed by a gravestone. While concealed, the Gravestone Fighter is immune to most attacks and tricks, with the Grave Buster being the only exception.

Shielded
"A Shielded (Zombie/Plant) can't be hurt"

- Game Description

Any Fighter with this trait will not receive any damage until the trait expires. The Shielded trait however, gives no protection against instant kill or stat-reducing effects, the latter of which may also result in the owner's death if they reduce its health to zero.

Splash Damage
"When it attacks, it also deals (number of damage) damage to Zombies next door"

- Game Description

Exclusive to the Plants side. Any Fighter with this trait will deal damage in adjacent lanes in addition to the lane it targeted when attacking. Heroes do not receive additional damage if the adjacent lanes are empty though.

Strikethrough
"This hits the Zombie here and the Zombie Hero"

- Game Description

Exclusive to the Plants side until the 1.2.11 Update. Any card with this trait will, when it attacks, damage all enemies in the lane it targets, including the opposing Hero.

Team-Up
"You can fit two Plants here"

- Game Description

Exclusive to the plants side. Fighters with this trait can be placed in a lane that is already occupied by an ally, causing them to either be protected from damage by its comrade or protect its comrade from damage.

Crafting
Sometimes you end up with too many duplicate cards. When you recycle these cards, they break and give you Sparks. Collect Sparks and use them to craft new cards that you don't own.

Trivia

 * As stated above, some effects are exclusive to either side:
 * There are no Plant fighters that have Gravestone, Deadly, Frenzy or Afterlife as traits.
 * There are no Zombie fighters that have Team-Up or Splash Damage as traits.
 * Prior to the 1.2.11 update, there were no Zombie fighters with Strikethrough either.
 * Brain Freeze has the only Zombie card that has the Freeze trait, Frozen Tundra, his signature superpower.
 * Prior to the 1.2.11 update, cards were referred to as Teammates.
 * Prior to the 1.2.11 update, Bullseye was named Truestrike.
 * The spark symbol is similar to the Power Zap symbol except being blue instead of purple.
 * If a zombie has two or more traits, it will have a green star in place of the strength symbol.