Frostbite Caves - Day 16

"Me Zomboss. Me write you another threatening note. You in trouble. Biiiiig Trouble. Gargantuan trouble, in fact! Sloth Gargantuar smash! Smash your tiny, shivering plants! Sloth Gargantuar deliver prehistoric plague of Imps! Have bad day. Sincerely,"

- Dr. Zomboss

Frostbite Caves - Day 16 is the 16th level in Frostbite Caves. Like all the other Gargantuar battle levels, the player has to survive without any lawn mowers. When this level is finished for the first time, the player gets a World Key.

There are six sliders pointing down in this level.

Difficulty

 * Icy winds, sliders, snowstorms, and organization of attack patterns provided by zombies are the player's mortal enemy. Sloth Gargantuar also adds in this because it can throw three Yeti Imps deep within the player's defenses providing the other zombies enough time to charge through without causing casualties. The winds are more frequent to pass by and can freeze even the most protected section of the player's lawn.

Strategy 1

 * Created by See the Walkthrough section and the picture below for more information


 * First, let us have a look at the picture above. The green boxes mean the safe positions for plants. The red lines mean the way zombies (not counting the Dodo Rider Zombie) will go. The "!" means a Sloth Gargantuar will appear after the first flag. The "!!"s mean two Sloth Gargantuars will appear in final wave.
 * As you can see, the tile 1, 2, 4, 6, 10, 15, and another tile I marked are safe. If you remember correctly, the freezing wind will come twice a row right after the first flag, meaning almost all the plants will be chilled and three of them will be frozen because of it. Even we have Hot Potato and Pepper-pult, there may not be enough time to free all the plants. However, Pepper-pult can be effective if you keep them until the battle ends, so I suggest planting them on the tile 2, 6, 9 (optional, but still needing), 17, and 15.
 * The result is that your plants will be warmed in the brown areas I marked. The main objective is that you need to protect the Pepper-pults in those tiles.
 * Do not plant them immediately, because the ambush may cause troubles.
 * Chard Guard will be the most helpful plant in this battle because it will not only stop the Sloth Gargantuars, but also will prevent the zombies from merging into one large group on the last lane. It can be extremely dangerous if there are many Cave Buckethead Zombies and Blockhead Zombies in that group, so planting Chard Guards on the tile 3, 7, and 19 (or 20) (13 and 11 can be the best choice too). However, do not waste choices because of the zombies troubling it, making it hurling them instead of the Sloth Gargantuars.
 * Do not plant Chard Guard on the tile 18, because the Yeti Imp thrown by Sloth Gargantuar will make it useless.
 * We don't need the Chard Guard on the tile 17 warmed, because it will just help you to stop the tough zombies from merging.
 * The strategy "Delaying time to get as many plants as you can" will be needed in this level. Luckily, we have Spikeweeds, and the first zombies will always appear in the last lane, so planting one of them on the tile 18 will not only have time for you but also can stop the Yeti Imps and protect the Pepper-pult in the tile 17. The rest, plant them in front of Chard Guards to make them more useful.
 * Do not forget the Repeaters, because they are needed to kill the first zombie, and a good choice at the first stage. They may be planted on the tile 1, 4, 8, 12, and 16. They are also good to kill the Dodo Rider Zombies, which can cause your defense.
 * Once we start the battle, do not kill the first zombies immediately until a Cave Zombie encounters a slider. Plant the Spikeweed on the tile 18.
 * Save the Chard Guards after the first huge wave.
 * Plant Repeaters on the tile 1 and 12 first, then plant Pepper-pults on the tile 17, 2 and 9.
 * Survive until a Sloth Gargantuar appears. Plant a Chard Guard on the tile 19. Keep using Spikeweeds to stop it.
 * If you have a hard time killing the Cave Buckethead Zombie which is in the first lane, plant another Chard Guard on the tile 3.
 * Plant Repeaters on the tile 4 and 5, a Pepper-pult on the tile 6, and a Chard Guard on the tile 7, to stop the Blockhead Zombies.
 * Plant another Pepper-pult (if you have it) on the tile 15. Remember to keep using Hot Potatoes and Chard Guards. If the Gargantuar kills all the Chard Guards in its way and you don't have them, use Plant Food on a Repeater.
 * Do the same in the final wave.

Strategy 2

 * Created by .

It is possible to complete this level without Plant Food, as long as the player knows when and where to plant.

Generally: Spikeweed in front and below sliders, Pepper-pults behind sliders, Chard Guards behind the leftmost Spikeweed, Repeaters behind everything else.
 * First row: Repeater on the first tile, Pepper-pult in front of it, Spikeweed in front of the slider.
 * Second row: Repeater behind the leftmost slider, Spikeweed in front of this slider, Pepper-pult on the next tile, Spikeweed in front of the rightmost slider.
 * Third row: Chard Guard on the leftmost tile, Spikeweed in front of it, two more Spikeweeds directly in front of each slider, Pepper-pult or Repeater behind each slider (if you are using Repeaters, keep an eye on them and make sure they do not freeze, especially the frontmost one; ideally a Pepper-pult should go in the frontmost position)
 * Fourth row: Repeater on the first tile, Pepper-pult on the second, Chard Guard on the third, Spikeweed on the fourth, Pepper-pult on the fifth behind the slider, Spikeweed in front.
 * Fifth row: Either four Repeaters in a line from the farthest left (devastating to Gargantuars) or three Repeaters and a Pepper-pult in the front (helpful against Hunters and crowds). At the fifth and sixth tile is a Chard Guard and Spikeweed.

Once the battle starts, delay the first zombies as much as possible, even spending a Chard Guard to do so. Set up the first row, then work downward securing each row. The goal is to have Spikeweeds, Chard Guards, and Pepper-pults in place quickly, especially Spikeweed. If the zombies are forced into multiple Spikeweeds by sliders and Chard Guards, the ranks will thin out quickly, even Blockheads and especially Yeti Imps hurled into your defense. Also, even if a Chard Guard is spent of leaves, zombies eating it will still be trapped on Spikeweed in front of it. The bottom row is the lowest priority for Spikeweed as Gargantuars will just smash them, but it is still helpful for killing crowds stuck trying to eat a spent Chard Guard if you have a surplus. You can also use surplus Spikeweed to kill Hunters hiding behind crowds.

Keep an eye out for anything frozen (especially Spikeweeds) and thaw them if needed. By the time the first Gargantuar appears you should have enough Repeaters to down it, while the Spikeweed gantlets will work to keep the crowds around it manageable. Replace any plants killed by its Yeti Imps immediately. When the last two Gargantuars appear, dig up Chard Guards and Spikeweed you do not need, so a fresh Chard Guard can be planted ahead of the topmost Gargantuar and more offensive plants behind it.

Trivia

 * This is the first Gargantuar battle level which does not feature Wall-nut as a defensive plant, being replaced by Chard Guard.
 * Day 16 of Lost City is the second, which uses the Endurian instead.