Grave Buster

Grave Busters remove Graves and Zombie Gravestones, letting the player plant where they could not previously, and also reducing the amount of zombies that emerge from the ground during the final wave. Simply plant a Grave Buster on a grave to remove it. Be careful, however, as zombies can eat the Grave Buster while it is working - it takes about 4.5 seconds to destroy a grave, and if it is destroyed, the process has to be started over again. Once the Grave Buster has finished eating the grave, the player will be rewarded with a silver coin (or, less frequently, a gold coin, a diamond, Chocolate, or a Zen Garden plant). It can only be planted on graves. Note that despite its fearsome appearance, it has no ability to defend itself.



Suburban Almanac Entry
Grave Buster  Plant Grave Busters on graves to remove the graves.

Usage: single use, must be planted on graves

Special :  removes graves

Despite Grave Buster's fearsome appearance, he wants everyone to know that he loves kittens and spends his off hours volunteering at a local zombie rehabilitation center. "It's just the right thing to do," he says.

Cost: 75

Recharge: fast (  very slow in  Versus Mode  )

Standard Levels
Only select the Grave Buster on Night levels (Even though it isn't a nocturnal plant, as proved by Vs. Mode) when you can see the graveyard in the background, as graves never appear on the Roof, the backyard nor in the pool. Which graves you choose to remove first depends entirely on your defensive strategy. Usually, getting rid of the leftmost ones first is a good idea, as is evening out the number of graves in the rows. Removing graves from the places you need to put a specific plant (such as a Wall-nut or Spikeweed) is also a good plan. Be careful when you plant Grave Busters, however, as they can be eaten by zombies. It is a good idea to plant them before a huge wave of zombies come. It is possible to defeat Whack a Zombie without it though.

You might want to get rid of all the graves when you have Sun to spare, and try to do it before the final wave. If you haven't gotten rid of them all by the end of a level (before you click on the item), zombies will come out depending on which types and if there are still graves left you can continue to destroy them as long as you have Sun, you will still be rewarded with coins or a chocolate or even a Present.

Whack a Zombie
Grave Busters are almost essential in the Mini-game Whack a Zombie. If they are not planted, the zombies will probably overwhelm you near the final wave, as there will be a huge number of Graves, each rapidly spitting out zombies. At the final wave, there will be a huge number of zombies, and you will probably lose if you have a Lawn Mower and Potato Mine-less row. Also, if a Grave has a Grave Buster on it, it will not produce zombies (unless the Grave Buster is eaten). One of the best times to plant Grave Busters is when there is a lull in zombies coming out of graves, but you should try to plant them at other times as well. This is because one or more new grave appears during each lull, and so if you do not plant them at any other time the amount of graves will never decrease (at least not until the level is over).

The best idea is to plant Grave Busters on the Graves farthest to the left, slowly taking care of the most dangerously-placed ones. You may also want to plant Potato Mines in front of the Lawn Mowers in case a Grave near your house releases a zombie and you can't reach it in time. You can plant more in when there are no more zombies, until you can't plant anymore. You can win this Mini-game without using it, though.

Versus Mode
In Versus Mode, Grave Busters play a large role in destroying the Zombie Gravestones the Zombie Side must create in order to produce Brains. They work just like they would on a normal Grave, but there is no coin produced when they destroy one. Your opponent could summon a zombie to eat, crush, bomb or steal the Grave Buster, so be careful.

Trivia

 * When a Grave Buster is eating a Grave, Zombies can still come out of that same grave on the final wave. The Grave Buster will continue to eat the Grave unless the Zombies eat it before it finishes.
 * If the grave a Grave Buster is planted on is slightly to the right or too big, the right side of the grave just disappears because it is not hidden by the Grave Buster, this is probably a glitch or bug.
 * There's a glitch that can occur, When you plant a Grave Buster that it's not finishing eating the grave and show the seed selection click Shop or Suburban Almanac and exit back to the seed selection, you will hear a Grave Buster sound eating a grave, Also when this glitch happens and you finish picking seeds the Grave Buster will continue eating the grave without sounds
 * The name may be a reference to the popular movie Ghostbusters.
 * Although Grave Busters can be used on any level, the only levels you can make a use for them are 2-1 through 10, Versus Mode, Survival: Night and Survival: Night (Hard), Co-op Night and Co-op Night (Hard), Survival Night (Endless) of both PC and online versions and Whack a Zombie. The other levels are not recommended, as there are no graves in them.
 * There is a noticeable border in place where Grave Buster's teeth start.
 * This is the only plant received in the Night (not Fog) levels which is not a mushroom.
 * The Grave Buster is one of the four plants that has a name that does not involve plants, the others being Gold Magnet, Chomper and Spikerock.
 * When the Grave Buster is flat, you can hear the sound of the Grave Buster removing the Grave after being crushed by a Gargantuar or Vehicle Zombie.
 * Even though the Grave Buster is only used at night, it is not considered a nocturnal plant and can be raised in the normal Zen Garden, and sold for $8000 instead of $10000.
 * This also happens with the Plantern.
 * The Grave Buster is one of the two non-mushroom plants that have a Night background in the Suburban Almanac, the other being the Plantern.
 * This is due to the Grave Buster only being used in the night, and the Plantern only being used in Fog.
 * The Grave Buster and the Chomper are the only plants that can eat (not including their Imitater versions).
 * The Grave Buster recharges slower in Versus Mode.
 * The Grave Buster is the only plant that can be planted on a grave.
 * The Grave Buster and Cob Cannon are the only plants (according to the Suburban Almanac) that are currently doing work of some kind outside of the arsenal.
 * It is possible that the Grave Buster is a carnivorous mold growing on a grave.
 * There is a glitch in the DS version when a new Grave appears and you place a Grave Buster a square away from the Grave, the Grave Buster can be used and it'll "bust" nothing.
 * If you use the Imitater Grave Buster, you will see that the Imitater planted in front of the grave.
 * The Grave Buster has a resemblance to a skull, probably to help it look scary.
 * Grave Buster is the only Night obtained plant that is not a Mushroom.