Celery Stalker

Celery Stalker is the second plant obtained in Neon Mixtape Tour in Plants vs. Zombies 2. When planted, Celery Stalker hides underground and waits until a zombie passes over it. At that point, it resurfaces and rapidly attacks the zombie from behind, exposing itself to other zombies' attack in the process. However, after about three seconds of having no zombies in its range, it hides again. It is also a defensive plant that can be replaced with another Celery Stalker if the player has Wall-nut First Aid.

Celery Stalker is considered an underground plant, meaning that it cannot be planted on planks in the Pirate Seas and Lily Pads in Big Wave Beach, nor can it attack objects such as tombstones and frozen blocks. It is unlocked after beating Neon Mixtape Tour - Day 5.

Origins
Celery Stalker is based on the plant Apium graveolens, commonly known as "celery." The plant's name is a portmanteau of the word "celery stalk," the stalk of the real-life plant this plant is based on and "stalker," referring to its ability to remain hidden from enemies and attack when the right moment comes.

Almanac entry
Sun cost: 50

TOUGHNESS: Elevated

DAMAGE: Huge

RECHARGE: Mediocre

Celery Stalker pops up and bashes zombies from behind.

Special: waits until zombies pass over it, then pops up and attacks

Celery Stalker resents the implication that there's anything unsavory about his attack style. He simply believes that discretion is the better part of vegetation.

Plant Food effect
When fed Plant Food, Celery Stalker spawns three additional Celery Stalkers on random unoccupied tiles on the screen.

Costumed
Spawns four clones instead of three.

Strategies
Celery Stalker’s main strength comes from its high damage dealing capability. This allows it to easily pick off zombies when in small numbers and greatly damage foes with large amounts of health. However, its small range, low health, and slow reaction times mean that Celery Stalker will fare poorly against groups of enemies. It also does not function well as a defensive plant due to its toughness.

Because of all the weaknesses mentioned above, the best way to use Celery Stalker is to treat it as an early-offense or end game clean-up plant. It can take out the initial zombies at low cost, but should be replaced as multiple zombies begin entering the same lanes at once. At the end of large zombie waves, if the player's defenses and sun supply have been severely compromised, its low cost makes it suitable for picking off the last few zombies if the surviving plants are not sufficient. However, despite its low cost, it has a fairly slow recharge compared to other plants.

Celery Stalker can also be used as a counter for Punk Zombie or Glitter Zombie when their respective jams is playing, because they cannot affect it while it is underground. However, it should not be used against MC Zom-B while rap jam is playing, as MC Zom-B will attack and kill it before it can even start to attack him unless the MC Zom-B is stalled by Stallia, chilled by Snow Pea, Hurrikale or Winter Melon, frozen by Iceberg Lettuce, or stunned by Stunion or Chili Bean's gas. It should also not be used against Hair Metal Gargantuars, as even their shockwaves can hit Celery Stalkers, even if they are underground.

A good plant to use with Celery Stalker is Stunion, since its stunning effect lasts 12 seconds, meaning Celery Stalker is capable of dealing 120 normal damage shots to a stunned zombie. And because Stunion stuns a group of zombies, the player can avoid stunning the wrong zombie, unlike if Iceberg Lettuce was to be used. Keep in mind that mechanical zombies cannot be stunned by Stunion, and E.M.Peach should be used against them instead. While Celery Stalker is busy attacking, the player can use another defensive plant such as a Wall-nut to protect Celery Stalker from being eaten.

Celery Stalkers also come in handy when the player has to battle a Gargantuar, as you can simply freeze or butter the Gargantuar, and use Celery Stalker on him. This will allow the Gargantuar to take major damage, which is good, because Gargantuar's health is high. Also, keep in mind that Celery Stalker doesn't only come in handy with Gargantuars, he also comes in handy with high-health zombies that shield other zombies, like Jurassic Fossilhead and Blockhead Zombies.

Kernel-pult and Celery Stalker also make a good pair. While Kernel-pult stuns zombies from a distance, Celery Stalker can inflict major damage on the stunned zombie. Combine the two with an column of area-of-effect plants such as Melon-pult to weed out the weaker zombies, thus protecting the Celery Stalker from being eaten, while the stronger zombies get stunned by Kernel-pult, and are killed by Celery Stalker.

A good place to use Celery Stalker is in Frostbite Caves in levels where the ice floes directs zombies to another lane then back to the previous one. Just place Celery Stalker behind the space where the second ice floe directs zombies and it will be an invincible killing machine. Just beware of Ice Weasels and Dodo Rider Zombies as they can go over ice floes. This strategy can be used in other worlds with the help of Garlic or Sweet Potato.

Another good place to use Celery Stalker is behind portals in Modern Day (preferrably along with a defensive plant apart from Chard Guard), as they will attack as soon as zombies enter from the portal. However, watch out for MC Zom-B as he will instantly destroy Celery Stalker.

Celery Stalkers can also be useful in Jurassic Marsh. Since some dinosaurs bring zombies to the 3rd column, using Celery Stalkers on the 4th and 5th lanes can do some massive damage to zombies brung close. In addition, there are no instant-kill zombies in this world, so the only thing the player should worry about are massive hoards of zombies and dinosaurs such as the Pterodactyl and Ankylosaurus.

Celery Stalker also should not be used against Imp Porters, since when an Imp Porter dies, he drops his backpack, which falls back and instantly kills it. It is also best to avoid using it in tandem with Primal Peashooter or Chard Guard as they usually end up pushing the zombies out of its range or onto the Celery Stalker.

Trivia

 * It can technically be planted on Lily Pads. It must be planted on wet sand first and Lily Pads on them afterwards.
 * Its Almanac makes reference to a Shakespeare quote, which roughly translates out to "discretion is the better part of valor."
 * Before the 4.0.1 update, it was glitched in Far Future, Dark Ages, Frostbite Caves, and Big Wave Beach. It came up to the surface before a zombie completely passed over it, allowing the zombie to eat it while it deals damage. Therefore, its range is moved slightly to the right, and because of that, it cannot damage zombies eating defensive plants in front of itself.
 * It is the strongest and the fastest attacking plant in the game, with the attack speed of ten normal damage shots per second.
 * It cannot be planted on planks in Pirate Seas, similar to Potato Mine, Bamboo Shoot, White Radish, and Primal Potato Mine.
 * If it is damaging a Prospector Zombie, and it is approaching the plant at a close range, the Celery Stalker will apparently stop attacking.
 * It and Shellery are only plant based on celery.