Template:HeropicAncient Vimpire is a colossalsuper-rarezombiecard in Plants vs. Zombies Heroes, and a member of the Beastly class. It has the Amphibious and Frenzy traits, and its ability gives any zombie with Frenzy, including it, +2/+2 when that zombie destroys a plant and survives. This ability stacks with each Ancient Vimpire on the field, and persists until all Ancient Vimpires are removed from the field.
Ability: When any Zombie with Frenzy destroys a Plant, that Zombie gets +2/+2.
Set - Rarity: Colossal - Super-Rare
Card description
Vimpirism - an ancient curse evolved from the dawn of time.
Update history
Update 1.22.12
Added to the game.
Strategies
With
Ancient Vimpire is a very powerful zombie. Not only does it have greater stats than a normal Vimpire and the Amphibious trait, but Ancient Vimpire gives +2/+2 to any Frenzy zombie that destroys a plant rather than only itself. A Vimpire will get boosted twice by it, provided it destroys a plant.
Being a member of the Beastly class, Ancient Vimpire's has synergy with Gargantuar decks with Smashing Gargantuar and Frenzy cards such as Maniacal Laugh and Area 22.
The Smash is the best hero to use with Ancient Vimpire as the Hearty class also contains Frenzy zombies, such as Wannabe Hero, or tricks which give fighters Frenzy, such as Going Viral. A deadly combo is using this along with Coffee Zombie as he will give all zombies Frenzy, making it much easier to activate Ancient Vimpire's ability and thus, dealing great damage to the plant hero.
Note that Ancient Vimpire will give boosts to zombies with Frenzy if they destroy a plant in any way, not just by attacking. An example of such a combo is playing Zombot 1000 with Smashing Gargantuar on the field, giving it +2/+2 for each plant it destroys. With extremely high stats and the Frenzy trait, the plant hero will be unlikely to stop it without hard removal.
However, just like Vimpire, it will be instantly destroyed if it attacks Template:PvZHLink, so either destroy Garlic or avoid playing Ancient Vimpire on the lane with him.
Against
Taking out Ancient Vimpire should be a priority. Much like a normal Vimpire, just destroying one plant can already give the zombie a huge boost. The simple fact that Ancient Vimpire's ability works with any and all Frenzy zombies makes this a huge threat, making already powerful zombies even more powerful.
There are not many early-to-mid game options to deal with this zombie if it is played in the water lane other than Template:PvZHLink, therefore it is recommended to use tricks instead. Due to its natural 3, it is vulnerable to Template:PvZHLink while unboosted. Shamrocket or Template:PvZHLink can dispose of it before other Frenzy zombies get boosted, and Template:PvZHLink or The Great Zucchini can help handle the situation if there are too many tough zombies for you to handle.
An alternate solution is to boost your plants to make them survive attacks from the Frenzy zombies, rendering Ancient Vimpire's ability useless. However, you will need great resources and powerful tempo from the start to use this strategy.
You could also Bounce Ancient Vimpire so it does not boost Frenzy zombies, but be warned that it can be played again the following turn.
You can also play Garlic on the lane with Ancient Vimpire so it will instantly be destroyed if it hurts him, but be careful as the zombie hero may have cards to help Ancient Vimpire survive.
Ancient Vimpire with 3/4 due to Pecanolith's ability
Trivia
During development, it lacked Amphibious, had 3/5, and could only use its ability for itself. Therefore it was essentially a Vimpire, but costed 1 more with +1/+2.
It, Template:PvZHLink, and Hunting Grounds are the only cards to activate a fighter's unused ability animation.
When this is played, every zombie with the Frenzy trait will have their icon pop up as if the zombies had gained Frenzy again.