Card

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 three major categories: fighter cards, trick cards, and environment cards. A fighter card spawns a friendly fighter on the field when it is played, which in most cases attack enemy fighters or the opposing hero, and is destroyed and removed once its health reaches 0. A trick card can do a variety of things when it is played, ranging from making additional friendly fighters, modifying their attributes or destroying enemy fighters, to gaining or adding cards from or into the player's deck. After the ability ends, the trick card is automatically removed for the match. Finally, an environment card is played similar to a trick card that affects a selected ground lane and all compatible fighters on it while it is present, and is overridden and removed once another environment card is played on the same lane.

Each card also has a set of attributes, such as cost (/), strength, health , class and tribe - one of which is a superpower, a special kind of 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 is also given the chance to replace each card once with another random one taken from the player's deck. Each player is also given a random superpower card from the player's list of available cards, which cannot be replaced. The player also draws a card from their deck starting from the second turn, and there are certain abilities that can give the player additional cards, either from or outside the deck. Each player can only have ten cards in their hand at once before the game stops giving them cards.

Decks are required to have forty cards, and four of a single type of card can be put in at most. Therefore, it is very important to consider what cards are needed. Superpowers do not count to the deck's total number of cards.

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 lanes (for fighter cards) for the card. Once the card is played, the player's currency stockpile balance is decreased by an amount equal to the card's cost. Plants can play fighter, trick, and environment cards all at the same time since they only have one play turn before the "Fight!" phase occurs. Zombies have two separate phases, the first exclusive to fighters and the second for tricks and environments, before the "Fight!" phase occurs.

Tribes
Each side has unique tribes that can allow cards to create synergies. Each class has a main tribe, as well as a number of cards that can form synergy with the main tribe of the class. An example of a plant synergy is Buff-Shroom boosting Shroom for Two, both part of the tribe, the main tribe of the  class, and an example of a zombie synergy is Zombot Drone Engineer boosting Space Cadet, both part of the  tribe, the main tribe of the  class.

Note that there are also examples of fighters within main tribes outside of the class, such as being a mushroom plant in the  class, and  being a science zombie in the  class.

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 fighters engage in combat against the opposing side. Destroyed/used cards are removed and the turn order starts over from the beginning.

In the "Fight!" phase, zombie fighters attack first, then plant fighters attack afterwards even if the plant fighter has its health down to 0 after being attacked. Because of this, the game immediately ends if a Strikethrough zombie defeats the plant hero, even if there is a plant in the same lane with Strikethrough that is about to finish off the zombie hero.

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

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

- Game Description

Exclusive to zombies.

Any fighter with this trait returns to the owner's hand as a "ghost" version of itself when it is destroyed. The ghost version has identical stats to the original fighter, but without the Afterlife trait.

On update 1.16.10, this trait was removed.

Amphibious
"Play on Water or Land"

- Game Description

Any fighter with this trait is not restricted to just the ground or heights lanes in terms of placement, but can also be played on aquatic lanes.

Anti-Hero
"+(number of Strength points) Strength when no (Zombies/Plants) are here"

- Game Description

Any fighter with this trait gains a set amount of strength when no enemy fighters are in their lane. Playing anything in front of an enemy fighter with the trait de-activates its Anti-Hero trait.

Armored
"Reduce damage to this by (number)"

- Game Description

Any fighter with this trait takes reduced damage when it is attacked, with the number specifying the amount of damage that is subtracted. If the damage done is less than the resistance number, the fighter does not take any damage. However, this trait does not protect the fighter from any tricks or abilities that reduce its stats by a set amount.

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

- Game Description

Any fighter with this trait does not fill up the opposing hero's Super-Block Meter upon a successful attack.

Deadly
"Destroy any Plant this hurts"

- Game Description

Exclusive to zombies.

Any fighter with this trait always destroys any fighter it does damage to. Heroes and Shielded fighters are not affected by it, and Armored enemy fighters can survive the attack as long the fighter's damage does not exceed their damage resistance.

Double Strike
"After combat here: This does a Bonus Attack"

- Game Description

Any fighter with this trait does a bonus attack after combat in its lane, but only if that fighter is not destroyed during combat.

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

- Game Description

Exclusive to zombies.

Any fighter that has this trait does a bonus attack if it destroys an enemy fighter and survives without being destroyed itself. Zombies will only do a bonus attack if they destroy a plant with their attack, and not through their abilities. For example, although Supernova Gargantuar can destroy several plants with his ability, he will not do any bonus attacks for destroying those plants. And finally, if a zombie with this trait destroys a Soul Patch due to it redirecting damage from the plant hero, it will not do a bonus attack.

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

- Game Description

Exclusive to zombies.

Any fighter with this trait is not revealed until the user's trick stage begins, they are instead concealed by a gravestone. The opposing hero cannot see how much brains are spent on that fighter until the next "Zombie Tricks" phase. While it is concealed, the fighter is immune to all methods of damage and card abilities (from both the plant and zombie side), with Cool Bean,, Spyris, Grave Mistake, and Blockbuster being the only exceptions.

Hunt
"When a (Zombie/Plant) is played, this (Plant/Zombie) moves there"

- Game Description

Any fighter with this trait moves to where an opposing fighter is played or made most recently, unless that lane is already occupied by either a non Team-Up plant or a zombie.

Overshoot
"Before combat here, do (amount of damage) to the Plant Hero"

- Game Description

Exclusive to zombies.

Any fighter with this ability does a certain amount of damage to the opposing hero before combat. This trait still activates even if the zombie is frozen.

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

- Game Description

Exclusive to plants.

Any fighter with this trait does a certain amount of damage to fighters on adjacent lanes, in addition to the lane it is on when it attacks. Heroes, however, do not take Splash Damage if said lanes are empty. Splash Damage cannot be increased or decreased in any way, even if the fighter's strength has been increased or decreased. Splash Damage can be suppressed if the fighter has 0 strength, but comes back once its strength is reboosted to at least 1.

Strikethrough
"Hits the Zombie here and the Zombie Hero"

- Game Description

"Hits all Plants here and the Plant Hero"

- Game Description

Any fighter with this trait does damage to all enemy fighters in its lane, as well as the opposing hero.

Team-Up
"You can fit two Plants here"

- Game Description

Exclusive to plants.

Any fighter with this trait can be played in a lane that is already occupied by an allied fighter, regardless of whether that fighter already occupying the lane has the Team-Up trait or not.

Untrickable
"Unaffected by Plant/Zombie Tricks"

- Game Description

Any fighter with this trait is unable to be affected by the opposing hero's tricks. This does not grant immunity to tricks from the same side.

Effects
Some abilities either have, or afflict other fighters with certain effects. Present here is a list of effects in the game, along with an explanation on each of them:

Bonus Attack
Any fighter that receives this effect attacks again as long it manages to survive during combat. Any plant with the Double Strike trait, as well as any zombie fighter with the Frenzy trait, gets this effect.

Bounce
"Put it back in its owner's hand"

- Game Description

Any fighter that receives this effect is returned to the owner's hand, with their stats reverted to their base stats and all given traits removed. For example, a zombie boosted by Maniacal Laugh will lose the Frenzy trait when Bounced.

Conjure
"Gain a random card of this type"

- Game Description

Add either a specified card (which is called Gaining instead), or a random card(s) of a specified cost, tribe, rarity, or set from the entire game, excluding superpowers unless specifically stated.

Draw
Add a random card(s) from your deck to your hand, unless your hand is full.

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

- Game Description

Any fighter that receives this effect is immobilized, forcing it to skip its next attack. Playing a card that makes the immobilized fighter do a bonus attack instantly cancels out the Freeze effect. Plant fighters with the Double Strike will attack after being thawed unless they were destroyed in combat.

Heal
Restore health of a damaged fighter, the hero, or both. Certain restrictions may be present on some cards.

Make
Immediately play either a specified fighter, or a random fighter of a specified cost or rarity, if any, from the entire game for free. Fighters made do not affect the card number in your hand or deck, and count as playing it yourself, thus activating any abilities that activate by playing a fighter.

Shielded/Can't be hurt
Any fighter that receives this effect is unable to get hurt in any way. Most cards will only be invulnerable for that turn only, with the exception of plants in . However, they are not immune to instant-kill tricks like Lawnmower, or stat-degraders like Nibble.

Shuffle
Add a specific card(s) into your deck.

Transform
Any fighter that receives this effect immediately transforms into a random fighter that meets a certain criterion, if any.

Abilities
While there are a plethora of ways an ability can activate, there are some that are officially named and categorized. Present here is a list of named abilities, along with an explanation of them and examples of fighters with them:

Dino-Roar
"Use this ability when you draw a card"

- Game Description

This ability activates whenever its owner draws or Conjures a card.

Evolution
"Play this on a (name of tribe/Plant/Zombie) to use this ability"

- Game Description

This ability activates when the fighter with this ability is played on a fighter that meets the criterion. The fighter that meets the criterion immediately transforms into the fighter with the Evolution ability and gains a sparkling green aura. Fighters on aquatic lanes can also be selected, even if the fighter with the Evolution ability does not have the Amphibious trait itself. It’s important to not, however, that evolving a plant or zombie does not count as destroying it.

Fusion
"Play a (Plant/Zombie) on this to use this ability"

- Game Description

This ability activates when any fighter is played on the fighter with this ability. The fighter with the Fusion ability glows green if it is a plant, or purple if it is a zombie, and goes underneath the fighter played on it. In this state, the Fusion fighter is basically non-existent, and disappears when the fighter played on it is Bounced or destroyed. Fighters without the Amphibious trait can be played on Fusion fighters on aquatic lanes, even if the Fusion fighter does not have the Amphibious trait itself. You cannot, however, play a Gravestone zombie on a Fusion fighter.

Crafting
Crafting is a feature that can be accessed by tapping the desired card in the Collection or the Deck Building section. It allows the player to directly create new cards without having to purchase Packs.

Crafting a new card requires Sparks, a special kind of resource that cannot be purchased with money and can only be gained by recycling cards and completing certain Hero Quests. Currently, most collectible cards in the game can be crafted and recycled, with the exception of certain Event cards that are stated to become craftable in the near future. In addition, all Basic - Common cards cannot be recycled, and cards you already have 4 of will have their crafting option disabled.

The number of Sparks required for crafting, and rewarded with recycling, is determined by the card's rarity. Crafting a new card will always require more Sparks than the amount given by recycling a card of equal rarity, making the process generally extremely inefficient.

1. Cannot be recycled 2. 10 prior to update 1.8.23 3. 2000for cards released on the previous update or only available through buying with real-world currency; only applies to cards that have been released 4. 75 prior to update 1.14.13 5. 500 for event cards that require 2,000 sparks in order to be crafted

Trivia

 * As stated above, some traits are exclusive to either side:
 * There are no plant fighters that have the Gravestone, Deadly, Frenzy, or Overshoot traits.
 * There are no zombie fighters that have the Team-Up, Splash Damage, or Double Strike traits.
 * Prior to update 1.2.11:
 * There were no zombie fighters with the Strikethrough trait either.
 * Cards were referred to as Teammates.
 * Bullseye was named Truestrike.
 * Can't be hurt was called Shielded.
 * Prior to update 1.16.10, Frozen Tundra, 's signature superpower, was the only zombie card that gave the Freeze effect to plants.
 * Still, Frozen Tundra is the only premium card that gives the Freeze effect to plants.
 * The spark symbol is similar to the Power Zap symbol except being blue instead of purple.
 * If a fighter has two or more traits, it uses a green star in place of the strength symbol.
 * A fighter can also have a green star in the health symbol if it has two of the three traits/effects: Armored, Untrickable, or Shielded. However, since Shielded negates the practical effects of Armored, having only both of them will only show the Shielded icon.
 * Prior to update 1.6.27, if a fighter had a trait, it wasn't shown on their card stats.
 * If a card's cost is reduced via any card abilities or gimmicks in some missions, the cost number is colored green instead of black. On the other hand, if its cost is increased, the number is shown red instead.
 * Bringing four of the same card cause the "Add" button to appear gray for the remaining ones. Tapping "Add" causes the number "x4" to flash red, indicating that no more of that card can be added anymore.