Sportacus

Sportacus is an event plant card in Plants vs. Zombies Heroes, and a member of the class. It costs 3 to play, and has 3/3. It does not have any traits, and its ability does 2 damage to the zombie hero every time a zombie trick is played, unless it is destroyed by one.

It was introduced in the 2017 Valenbrainz event, along with and Stupid Cupid. It became craftable as of update 1.12.6.

It was made available in the Weekly Event event and was available from 21 February 2017 to 28 February 2017.

Origins
It is based on a mushroom, the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, and a gladiator, an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire.

Its name is a portmanteau of "spore", a reproductive cell or group of cells produced by some plants, and "Spartacus", a Thracian gladiator who was one of the escaped slave leaders in the Third Servile War. It also shares its name with a main character from the TV show LazyTown, which was made a meme when this plant was in development.

Statistics

 * Class: Smarty
 * Tribes: Mushroom Nut Plant
 * Trait: None
 * Ability: When a Zombie Trick is played, do 2 damage to the Zombie Hero
 * Set: Premium - Event

Card description
"I am Sportacus!"

Update 1.10.22

 * Added to the game.

Update 1.12.6

 * Became craftable.
 * Sound change: Previously the same as and Punish-Shroom.

With
Sportacus has the same stats and cost as Vanilla, but unlike Vanilla, its ability makes it powerful. It functions like Punish-Shroom, but its ability comes into effect when your opponent plays a trick. Its ability can do 2 damage to your opponent, which is great if your opponent focuses on playing tricks such as Immorticia, Professor Brainstorm, and. This is even useful if the opponent gets a Super-Block and plays their superpower for free, due to it being a trick. It is also immune to most instant-kill tricks like Rolling Stone, Rocket Science, and Weed Spray as long as its strength is not lowered or raised, though it is not immune to Locust Swarm. If you combine Sportacus with Black-Eyed Pea, you can rack up a lot of damage to your opponent very quickly due to the abilities of both of those plants, especially against heroes.

If you are using this as, Sportacus can synergize with Mirror-Nut and Smackadamia since it is in the nut tribe, and if you use Sportacus as Nightcap, you can use Buff-Shroom and Punish-Shroom with it since it is in the mushroom tribe. Green Shadow can boost Sportacus, though it can put it at risk of Rocket Science or Cut Down to Size. may use healing tricks to restore health to Sportacus and allow it to stay longer.

Against
Like Black-Eyed Pea, using tricks while Sportacus is in play is not a very good idea. Its base strength makes it invulnerable to Rolling Stone, Rocket Science, Cut Down to Size, and Weed Spray unless its strength has been altered. Locust Swarm can be used to destroy it, but it is expensive. If you are The Smash, you can use Slammin' Smackdown if it has not been boosted, but there are better options to use this on, such as Nibble then Rolling Stone, though this is not recommended either. If it is not boosted, Cakesplosion and Zombot's Wrath can also destroy it instantly. While Sportacus is on the field, it is recommended not to play tricks unless it is necessary, as the more tricks you play, the more damage you take. This can even be more dangerous the more Sportacus' are on board. Instead, aim on using powerful zombies like Drum Major or Tennis Champ to destroy it. Squirrel Herder is very useful, as Sportacus is classified as a nut plant, but watch out for Citron, who may counter her with. Electric Boogaloo is the most efficient at taking Sportacus out due to his wide range of zombies and tricks to use. Those include Stayin' Alive, Electrobolt, Cakesplosion, Locust Swarm, Squirrel Herder, Abracadaver (assuming it hits the plant hero and targets Sportacus), and other usages. However, it is better to use zombies rather than tricks so that Sportacus' ability won't trigger.

Trivia

 * The shield it is holding is alive, and opens its eyes during its idle animation.
 * When Sportacus attacks, the Wall-Nut shield will look angry as well as opening its eyes.
 * Strangely, the Wall-Nut held by Sportacus is smaller than its actual plant counterpart.
 * It is the only nut plant in the class.
 * Its description "I am Sportacus!" references the famous quote "I am Spartacus" from the film Spartacus.
 * It is the second mushroom plant to be in the class, with the first being Smoosh-shroom.
 * It is the only event card in the Smarty class that doesn't have the Amphibious trait.