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. This ability stacks with every Sportacus on the field, and persists until all Sportacuses are removed from the field.

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: 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.

Update 1.14.13

 * Sound change: Now uses the same sounds as Fume-Shroom and Punish-Shroom again.

Update 1.16.10

 * Sound change: Now uses its sound effects from update 1.12.6.
 * Sound change: Now uses its sound effects from update 1.12.6.

With
Sportacus has the same stats, cost, and class as Vanilla, but unlike Vanilla, its ability makes it powerful. It functions like Punish-Shroom, but its ability comes into effect every time your opponent plays a trick. Its ability deals 2 damage to your opponent for every trick they play, which is great if your opponent focuses on playing tricks. 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 or Zombot's Wrath.

A clever strategy is to play this in Planet of the Grapes. If your opponent plays a trick, not only will they take damage, but you will also draw a card.

Each hero can use it effectively in their own ways:
 * and Beta-Carrotina can use it in their nut deck alongside Mirror-Nut and Smackadamia, due to Sportacus being a nut plant.
 * Nightcap can boost it with Buff-Shroom or pressure his opponent from just recklessly destroying it with Punish-Shroom due to it being in the mushroom tribe.
 * Green Shadow can use this alongside Black-Eyed Pea as part of her anti-zombie trick deck to punish her opponent severely for playing tricks with a boost to Black-Eyed Pea and two damage to them from Sportacus. She can alternatively boost Sportacus' stats, although opponents might destroy it with Rocket Science to put an end to it at the cost of 2 health.
 * can heal it with 2nd-Best Taco of All Time to allow Sportacus to stay longer. She can also destroy zombies in Sportacus' way, letting it live 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, but there are better options to use this on, such as Nibble then Rolling Stone, though this is not recommended either. 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 and Beta-Carrotina, 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.

In addition, if Sportacus is on board and you get a superpower, you must be careful of playing it for free as it still counts as playing a trick (unless the superpower is either Ice Moon, Teleportation Station, or Iron Boarder), so be wary if you are low in health.

You can also play environments such as and Total Eclipse to weaken Sportacus without activating its ability.

Trivia

 * The shield it is holding is alive, as well as opening 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 and Go-Nuts are the only nut plants in the Smarty class.
 * Its description "I am Sportacus!" references the famous quote "I am Spartacus" from the film Spartacus.
 * It is the third mushroom card to be in the Smarty class, with the others being Smoosh-Shroom and Mush-Boom.
 * It is the first event card in the Smarty class that does not have the Amphibious trait, with the second being, the third being Go-Nuts and the fourth being.
 * It is currently the only plant to be in both and  tribes.