Arm Wrestler is a premiumuncommonzombiecard in Plants vs. Zombies Heroes and a member of the Hearty class. It costs 1 to play and has 2/2. It does not have any traits, and its ability gives it +1/+1 every time a plant is played on, transformed on, or moved onto its lane.
In the final mission of Rustbolt's Revenge!, Rustbolt starts with two Arm Wrestlers on the third and fourth lanes.
Origins
It is based on an arm wrestler, a person who participates in arm wrestling, a sport involving two players where each player places one arm, either the right or left, on a surface, with their elbows bent and touching the surface, and grips each other's hand. The goal is to pin the other's arm onto the surface, with the winner's arm over the loser's arm.
Its description appears to be an explanation of how it got its muscles.
Statistics
Class: Hearty
Tribe: Sports Zombie
Traits: None
Ability: This gets +1/+1 when a plant enters this lane.
Set - Rarity: Premium - Uncommon
Card description
Lots of carbs, lots of protein, and five brain shakes a day.
Update history
Update 1.2.11
▲ Health change: 1 → 2
▼ Ability change: This gets +2/+2 when a Plant enters this lane. → This gets +1/+1 when a Plant enters this lane.
Strategies
With
This is a very strong zombie early on. If the player gets the chance to play it, play it immediately. There are very few methods the plant hero will be able to effectively remove it on turn 1, which can give the upper hand in the early game. Giving him health boosts will make it extremely dangerous and difficult to destroy without the use of tricks.
Consider pairing it up with Sumo Wrestler or Terrify, which can move weak plants to its lane so it can activate its ability, or move dangerous plants out of its way so it can survive for longer. Black Hole can also be played on this zombie's lane, which not only moves any plants played to its lane, but also lowers their strength, possibly preventing them from destroying Arm Wrestler.
Because it is a sports zombie, Team Mascot will be able to boost it each turn in which both are alive, while Zombie Coach can shield this zombie from any damage for one turn.
Later on, however, it is usually very weak when played, as the opposing hero can play stronger plants that can outdamage Arm Wrestler. So the earlier you play it, the more effective it becomes in combat.
Note that giving it the Hunt trait via Hunting Grounds will no longer boost it, considering that it has moved to a lane with plants.
Against
Be careful when the zombie hero pulls this out on turn 1, as they can follow with Sumo Wrestler, which can ruin some strategies with plants like Torchwood or Wall-Nut.
One solution is to play superpowers. Sunburn, Power Pummel, Mush-Boom does just enough damage to destroy it, Tater Toss makes a Hothead that can get rid of Arm Wrestler, and finally, Transmogrify and Rose's Goatify can neutralize it regardless of its stats, although Transmogrify has the risk of transforming it into something stronger. If you don't want to play superpowers, you can play cheap damaging tricks such as Berry Blast or the cheapest one, Banana Bomb.
If Arm Wrestler is moved to a lane that already has plants, it will not receive a boost. Whipvine and Sweet Pea can easily handle Arm Wrestler, provided it hasn't gained too much health. Sweet Potato can do the same too, but it requires a plant that can take it out with Sweet Potato unless it is boosted. Gravitree can also move it to its lane automatically.
Bouncing it can simply force Arm Wrestler back into your opponent's hand, removing all of its stat changes. However, it is recommended to Bounce it only if it becomes too dangerous, as Arm Wrestler is naturally cheap and can be easily replayed.
Gallery
Plants vs. Zombies Wiki has a gallery for Arm Wrestler.
Some of its character design, especially its voice and black baseball cap, are a reference to the Sylvester Stallone film Over The Top, which centered around arm wrestling.
It does not activate its ability when Wild Berry moves to its lane.
When it is destroyed, it appears to punch its own head off.
Hearty class. It costs 1
to play and has 2
/2
. It does not have any traits, and its ability gives it +1
/+1
Brainy
Crazy
Hearty
Sneaky
