Homing Thistle

Homing Thistle is a premium plant that was released in the 2.9.1 update of Plants vs. Zombies 2. The way how it attacks is similar to the Cattail. However, Cattail shoots two spikes, but each spike is only one damage per shot while Homing Thistle shoots one thistle instead, but each thistle deals two normal damage shots. Like the Ghost Pepper, Sweet Potato, Fire Peashooter, and Dandelion, it costs 109 gems.

Almanac Entry
Sun cost: 250

DAMAGE: Moderate

RECHARGE: Mediocre

Homing Thistles fire seeking shots at targets that are closest to home.

Range: anywhere on lawn

Don't even think about trying to pull one over on Homing Thistle. He's got a bead on you. He sees right through your facade. It's like he has a laser beam ... aimed at your soul.

Plant Food
When given Plant Food, it spins and shoots blue needles that target zombies on the screen, or tombstones, if there are insufficient zombies. The blue projectiles deal 12 damage each, and they sometimes encircle zombies for a long period of time. If there are no zombies present on the screen, it will fire the projectiles in a spiral shape.

Level upgrade

 * Level 2
 * ???: Homing Thistle has a 25% chance of firing two thistles at a time.
 * Combat Training: Homing Thistle has 50% more attack power and health (150% of initial).
 * Level 3
 * ???: Homing Thistle has a 50% chance of firing two thistles at a time.
 * Cell Activation: Homing Thistle has 50% more attack power and health (200% of initial).
 * Level 4
 * Ability Awaken: Homing Thistle can be boosted sometimes when planted.

Costumed
Its Plant Food ability now mixes normal blue projectiles with fire projectiles, which do more damage.

Strategies
Homing Thistle, in groups, can thin out the ranks of lesser zombies very quickly and pile on damage on single targets, making them a good compliment to any offensive. Their flying thistles can target just about any enemy type from anywhere, including Snorkel Zombies while they are swimming, Prospector Zombies after they have jumped, and even Swashbuckler Zombies while they are swinging (the thistles will wait in ambush where they will land). Since they always target the enemy closest to the Lawn Mowers first, enemies closing in on the Player's House can expect to take additional damage even if their row is unoccupied.

Homing Thistle, however, requires mass planting for them to be effective by themselves, as groups of enemies with high toughness, such as Buckethead Zombies, can tank through a storm of thistles. This is complicated by their slow recharge time and, ironically, their priority on targets furthest ahead on the lawn, which often causes them to target lesser enemies while ignoring real threats like Buckethead Zombies, or especially high-level enemies such as Gargantuars or Wizard Zombies. If the player is using them exclusively as their only offense, it's best to support them with defensive plants such as Spikerock and Tall-nuts, while using plants such as Cherry Bombs, Chili Beans, Iceberg Lettuce, and similar plants to stall or pick off higher-level enemies.

Trivia

 * It first appeared in the shop on November 5, 2014.
 * Its name is a portmanteau of "homing missile" and "thistle".
 * Homing Thistle is the only plant so far to have two different Plant Food effect animations.
 * Its projectile resembles the Cattail's in Plants vs. Zombies.
 * It prioritizes zombies over stationary objects like surfboards and Tombstones.
 * If a Swashbuckler Zombie has not yet landed, the Homing Thistle's needles will circle around the tile it will land on until it touches ground.
 * If the player puts Plant Food on it after the final wave, it will shoot normal projectiles instead of the blue glowing ones.
 * This and Spikerock are the only plants that have a sun cost of 250. However the Tile Turnip will cost 250 sun after it has been planted once.
 * This, Pea-nut, Pepper-pult and Dandelion are the only projectile-shooting plants that do not have a fast recharge speed.
 * Its projectile can be deflected by Jester Zombies. However, they will not home on plants but rather go in a straight line.
 * It is the first gem premium plant that is not a limited-time offer. The second one is Hurrikale and the third one is Fire Peashooter.
 * If there are no zombies and Plant Food is used on Homing Thistle, there is a bug where the spikes will loop around in a circle.
 * Its idle animation resembles that of Hurrikale.
 * A Valenbrainz advertisement of the Homing Thistle states "Homing Thistle is where the heart is", a pun on the classic saying "Home is where the heart is".