All-Star Zombie is the fourth zombie encountered in Modern Day in Plants vs. Zombies 2. Upon entering the lawn, All-Star Zombie lunges at full speed and tackles the first plant he meets; however, if he dies before tackling the plant, the player will get an achievement. Upon a successful attempt, the tackle deals an equivalent of a Gargantuar's smash. After tackling the first plant, All-Star Zombie's speed will be reduced, and he will eat any plants he comes in contact with, like most other zombies. Additionally, if All-Star Zombie comes into contact with a Super-Fan Imp, he will kick the Super-Fan Imp into any column past the fourth column.
His tackling ability is based on the Sprint Tackle or the Ultra Tackle and his ability to kick the Super-Fan Imp a long distance is based on the Imp Punt or the Long Bomb.
It can also be just a name change from Football Zombie to All-Star Zombie, but this is unlikely, because All-Star got a new ability.
Almanac entry
All-Star Zombie
TOUGHNESS
Hardened
SPEED
Flighty
A heavy-duty zombie who charges your defensive line.
Damage: charges like a flighty zombie upon entering the lawn and destroys the first plant he meets Special: slows down and becomes a stiff zombie after tackling a plant
All-Star Zombie is a third-round draft pick and shows a lot of promise, but come on, his salary demands are beyond ridiculous. Ten million brains per year? For FIFTY YEARS?
All-Star Zombie
TOUGHNESS
Hardened
SPEED
Flighty
A heavy-duty zombie who charges your defensive line.
Damage: charges like a flighty zombie upon entering the lawn and destroys the first plant he meets Special: slows down and becomes a stiff zombie after tackling a plant
All-Star Zombie is a third-round draft pick and shows a lot of promise, but come on, his salary demands are beyond ridiculous. Ten million brains per year? For FIFTY YEARS?
All-Star Zombie absorbs exactly 1100 damage per shot. His appearance changes upon absorbing 575 damage per shot when his arm is lost, before dying at 1100 damage per shot.
Strategies
As All-Star Zombie's tackle is equivalent to a smash from a Gargantuar, any wall capable of resisting Gargantuar attacks such as Primal Wall-nut should be effective against All-Star Zombie. If you have the Explode-O-Nut then try using them on this zombie, as one tackle can easily defeat them and clear any zombies in its area, it is even better if it is boosted or if you use Plant Food on it since it can destroy the zombie and still survive to be triggered once again. Using a Lava Guava is also effective, as the tackle will just trigger the Lava Guava, with the added bonus of leaving a lava puddle. Plus, because of the stiff speed of All-Star Zombies after tackling, this zombie will receive a lot more damage from the lava puddle than zombies that move at a normal speed. Unlike most cases, Ghost Pepper will be defeated if an All-Star Zombie comes in contact with it, so it is not recommended to use Ghost Pepper in levels with this zombie.
If the player wishes to defeat an All-Star Zombie quickly, instant-use plants like Cherry Bomb can do well to defeat him instantly. Magnifying Grass can also work, as it takes only two shots from Magnifying Grass to defeat an All-Star Zombie. Cactus, Spikeweed, Spikerock, or Celery Stalker are effective in front of hard-shell plants as All-Star Zombie cannot tackle underground plants.
Iceberg Lettuce and Stallia are effective in taking away the All-Star Zombie's charge, as they can still give out its slowing effect when absorbing the zombie's tackling attack when they are hit. Furthermore, they have a cost of zero sun.
Be warned, as All-Star Zombies can punt the Super-Fan Imp right into the player's defenses, even as far back as to the first column. Like Pirate Captain Zombie, Chicken Wrangler Zombie and Weasel Hoarder, All-Star Zombies can also use the punt ability even before he enters the lawn, making him much deadlier. Use Blover or Hurrikale to prevent this from happening, similar to what you used against Pirate Captain Zombie. It is best to make sure Super-Fan Imps are not in a row with All-Star Zombies, or take care of them properly so the All-Star Zombie cannot get a chance to punt them.
It is a good idea to use Plant Food on the plant that All-Star Zombie is about to tackle, because then the plant will survive and waste his tackle and will turn him into a normal zombie without getting one of your plants destroyed. A good idea is to use Plant Food on plants that have a long-duration Plant Food effect, as it will have a higher chance of surviving the tackle.
Some instant-use plants will trigger him to tackle. Potato Mine, Primal Potato Mine, and Squash will force a tackle if planted in front of him.
Infi-nut's force field can absorb up to seven tackles since it can absorb seven smashes from Gargantuar. This is because each tackle damages the same as a smash, so remember to use it.
He can also tackle the first evil potion he comes across, but only in a Piรฑata Party and when trying a premium out.
If an All-Star Zombie kicks a Super-Fan Imp to a specific column and reaches that exact column, after tackling a plant, he will be stuck in an endless loop in which he will keep kicking the imp and not move at all, thus preventing the Super-Fan Imp from actually exploding.
When he is sprinting, the player can hear a stomping noise.
In the Chinese version, when the player goes to the screen to buy Sumo Melon's Puzzle Pieces, there is artwork of him in a pose of kicking.
If he runs into a stegosaurus, he will stop charging. Regardless of whether he is redirected to another lane, he will be walking instead of continuing to charge.
Due to a bug, if the player plants Cherry Bomb near him, then a raptor kicks him out of range (observed in Modern Day), he will still die from the explosion.
Due to a glitch, if he falls after losing his head, his broken arm will expand to a longer arm without the hand and bone.
In the Big Brainz Event, his hand goes through his head. This is a layering error.
He does not directly destroy Guacodile. When he runs into a Guacodile, it will rush and bite him instantly, but this bite does no damage to him. Also, he still keeps charging at the player's plants.