Cards are the main collectibles available in Plants vs. Zombies Heroes. They are the main methods used by Plant and Zombie Heroes to combat the opposing side.
Cards are divided into three major categories: fighter cards, trick cards and environment cards. A fighter card spawns a friendly fighter on the field when it is played, which in most cases attack enemy fighters or the opposing hero, and is destroyed and removed once its health reaches 0. A trick card can do a variety of things when it is played, ranging from making additional friendly fighters, modifying their attributes or destroying enemy fighters, to gaining or adding cards from or into the player's deck. After the ability ends, the trick card is automatically removed for the match. Finally, an environment card is played similar to a trick card that affects a selected ground lane and all compatible fighters on it while it is present, and is overridden and removed once another environment card is played on the same lane.
Each card also has a set of attributes, such as cost (/), strength (), health (), class, and tribe - one of which is a superpower, a special kind of card that is costs 1 only, is gained at the start of the game and every time the hero successfully blocks an attack, unless otherwise specified.
At the start of the game, each player is given four cards to their hand, and is also given the chance to replace each card once with another random one taken from the player's deck. Each player is also given a random superpower card from the player's list of available cards, which can't be replaced. The player also draws a card from their deck starting from the second turn, and there are certain abilities that can give the player additional cards, either from or outside the deck. Each player can only have ten cards in their hand at once before the game stops giving them cards. The player that exhausts their card supply first loses the game.
Decks are required to have forty cards, and four of a single type of card can be put in at most. Therefore, it is very important to consider what cards are needed. Superpowers do not count to the deck's total number of cards, bringing this technical number to 44.
A card can be played providing that the card's cost does not exceed the player's currency stockpile balance, and that there are valid targets (for trick cards) or lanes (for fighter cards) for the card. Once the card is played, the player's currency stockpile balance is decreased by an amount equal to the card's cost. Plants can play fighter, trick, and environment cards all at the same time since they only have one play turn before the "Fight!" phase occurs. Zombies have two separate phases, the first exclusive to fighters and the second for tricks and environments, before the "Fight!" phase occurs.
Tribes[]
Each side has unique tribes that can allow cards to create synergizations. Each class has a main tribe, as well as a number of cards that can form synergization with the main tribe of the class. An example of a plant synergizarion is Buff-Shroom boosting Shroom for Two, both part of the mushroom tribe, the main tribe of the Kabloom class, and an example of a zombie synergization is Zombot Drone Engineer boosting Space Cadet, both part of the science tribe, the main tribe of the Brainy class.
Note that there are also examples of fighters within main tribes outside of the class, such as Fume-Shroom being a mushroom plant in the Solar class, and Disco-Tron being a science zombie in the Crazy class.
Turn order[]
The zombies' fighter turn comes first, followed by the plants' combined turn, followed in turn by the zombies' trick turn, after which the "Fight!" phase occurs during which fighters engage in combat against the opposing side. Destroyed/used cards are removed and the turn order starts over from the beginning.
In the "Fight!" phase, zombie fighters attack first, then plant fighters attack afterwards (even if the plant fighter has its health down to 0 after being attacked). Because of this, the game immediately ends if a Strikethrough zombie defeats the plant hero, even if there is a plant in the same lane with Strikethrough that is about to finish off the zombie hero.
Attribute
Description
Class
Determines the hero(es) that can play the card. In deck construction, a hero can only include cards from the 2 classes it leads with no exception. However, off-class cards can be obtained through card effects such as making or Conjuring.
Tribe
Normal
Determines the effects that the card can be subjected to. Every card is in at least one tribe, and some are in two or more tribes at the same time. Several abilities only affect fighters in certain tribes: For example, all plants in the pea tribe gain bonus strength points when they are played behind a Torchwood. However, some tribes do not interact with any abilities and are purely cosmetic.
Superpower
A superpower is a special tribe of card that can only be obtained at the start of the game, when you block an attack, or Conjured by other cards.
Environment
An environment card is a type of card that creates a special rule on the lane it is played on, and lasts permanently unless another environment card is played on that lane. Note that cards in this tribe do not count as a trick, thus not activating abilities that are related to tricks.
Sun/Brain cost (/)
Determines the cost of the card.
Strength ()
Fighter exclusive. Determines the amount of damage the fighter does to the opposing hero or fighter(s).
Health ()
Fighter exclusive. Determines the amount of damage the fighter withstands. A fighter is destroyed and removed once its health reaches 0.
Traits/Effects
Determines the traits a fighter has, or the effect a card's trait or ability gives. See the Traits and Effects section.
Abilities
Determines the abilities of the card, if any are present.
Rarity
Determines the chance of that card being obtained through card drops or booster packs. Superpowers are unobtainable via such methods, but they do have their rarity listed; hero-specific superpowers are legendary cards, while all other superpowers are super-rare.
Traits[]
Although every fighter is unique, many of them share common traits, which the player needs to know to use them the best way. Present here is a list of traits that many fighters have, along with an explanation and a few examples of them:
Afterlife(Archived content)[]
“
When this is destroyed, you can play it a second time
”
—Game Description
Exclusive to zombies.
Any fighter with this trait returns to the owner’s hand as a “ghost version” token of itself when it is destroyed. The ghost version is much identical to the original fighter but without the Afterlife trait.
This trait was removed on update 1.16.10; instead, the zombies with this trait now explicitly state in their ability description that the appropriate card is gained upon them being destroyed.
Any fighter with this trait is unrestricted to just the ground or heights lanes in terms of placement, but can also be played on aquatic lanes. If not played there, it can also be moved to the aquatic lane.
Any fighter with this trait gains a set amount of strength when no enemy fighters are in its lane. Playing anything in front of an enemy fighter with the trait de-activates its Anti-Hero trait.
Any fighter with this trait takes reduced damage when it is attacked, with the number specifying the amount of damage that is subtracted. If the damage done is less than (or equal to) the resistance number, the fighter doesn't take any damage. However, this trait doesn't protect the fighter from any tricks or abilities that reduce its stats by a set amount.
Any fighter that has this trait does a bonus attack if it destroys an enemy fighter and survives without being destroyed itself. Zombies will only do a bonus attack if they destroy a plant with their attack, and not through their abilities. For example, although Supernova Gargantuar can destroy several plants with his ability, he won't do any bonus attacks for destroying those plants. This also doesn't apply if Soul Patch is destroyed without being attacked directly.
Any fighter with this trait is unrevealed up until the zombie hero's Tricks phase begins - it is instead concealed by a gravestone. The opposing hero can't see how many brains are spent on that fighter up until the next "Zombie Tricks" phase. While it is concealed, the fighter is immune to all methods of damage and card abilities (from both the plant and zombie side), except cards such as Grave Buster and Grave Mistake.
Zombies with this trait can't be played on a zombie with a Fusion ability, but may appear without a gravestone if it is obtained by another card's ability. Additionally, playing a gravestone doesn't count as playing the fighter itself up until it is revealed normally in the "Zombie Tricks" phase, and this extends to "When played" abilities as well. Any passive abilities, such as Defensive End's, won't activate while that zombie is in a gravestone. Lastly, if any zombies in gravestones are destroyed, the "When destroyed" abilities won't activate.
When a (Zombie/Plant) is played, this (Plant/Zombie) moves there
”
—Game Description
Any fighter with this trait moves to where an opposing fighter is played or made most recently, unless that lane is already occupied by either a non Team-Up plant or a zombie.
Before combat here, do (amount of damage) to the Plant Hero
”
—Game Description
Exclusive to zombies.
Any fighter with theOvershoot trait does a specified amount of damage to the enemy hero, provided that it lives after any environment effects before actual combat. As long as the fighter is alive, this will always occur. This attack isn't tied to strength, nor is it considered as a standard attack, so Freezing cards and Wing-Nut do not affect it.
Overshoot doesn't stack. Only the trait with the highest damage is applied.
When this attacks, it also deals (amount of damage) damage to Zombies/Plants next door
”
—Game Description
Any fighter with this trait does a specified amount of damage to fighters on adjacent lanes, in addition to the lane it is on when it attacks. Heroes, however, do not take Splash Damage if said lanes are empty. Splash Damage can't be increased or decreased in any way, even if the fighter's strength has altered. Splash Damage can be suppressed if the fighter has 0 strength, but comes back once its strength is reboosted to at least 1.
Against Team-Up Plants in adjacent lanes, Zombies' Splash Damage will only damage the plant in front, not the plant behind.
Any fighter with this trait can be played on a lane that is already occupied by an allied fighter. Likewise, any other allied fighter can be played on the lane occupied with a fighter that has Team-Up. The position doesn't matter, but up to two fighters are allowed on each lane.
Some abilities either have, or afflict other fighters with certain effects. Present here is a list of effects in the game, along with an explanation on each of them:
Any fighter that receives this effect attacks again as long it manages to survive combat on its lane. Any plant fighter with the Double Strike trait, as well as any zombie fighter with the Frenzy trait, gets this effect.
Any fighter that receives this effect is returned to the owner's hand, with its stats reverted to the base stats and all given traits removed, e.g. a zombie boosted by Maniacal Laugh loses the Frenzy trait and the stat boost when Bounced. If the stats are directly altered while the fighter is in the hero's hand, however, Bouncing won't reset its stats and given traits.
Instantly remove a fighter on the field. It doesn't count as doing damage (thus not activating "When hurt" abilities), but it will activate "When destroyed" abilities. For example, if the plant hero plays Squash on Gas Giant, it won't do 1 damage to all other plants and zombies ("When hurt" ability), but it will do 5 damage to the plant hero ("When destroyed" ability).
Any fighter that receives this effect is immobilized, forcing it to skip its next attack. Playing a card that makes the immobilized fighter do a bonus attack instantly cancels out the Freeze effect. Plant fighters with the Double Strike trait will attack once after being thawed if they survive combat.
Any fighter that receives this effect is unable to take damage in any way. This effect can't nullify instant-kill and stat-lowering tricks and abilities as they do not count as doing damage.
While there are a plethora of ways an ability can activate, there are some that are officially named and categorized. Present here is a list of named abilities, along with an explanation of them and examples of fighters with them:
This ability activates whenever a turn starts or whenever its owner Conjures, Draws or Gains a card. If multiple cards are Conjured, Drawn or Gained at the same time, Dino-Roar activates for every card obtained.
Play this on a (name of tribe/Plant/Zombie) to use this ability
”
—Game Description
This ability activates when the fighter with this ability is played on a fighter that meets the criterion, if any. The fighter that meets the criterion immediately transforms into the fighter with the Evolution ability and gains a sparkling green aura. Fighters on aquatic lanes can also be selected, even if the fighter with the Evolution ability doesn't have the Amphibious trait itself.
This ability activates when any fighter is played on the fighter with this ability. The fighter with the Fusion ability glows green if it is a plant, or purple if it is a zombie, and goes underneath the fighter played on it. In this state, the Fusion fighter is basically non-existent, and disappears when the fighter played on it is Bounced or destroyed. Almost all fighter cards can be played on a fusion fighter, with the exception of zombie fighters with the Gravestone trait.
Note that if a fighter with an Evolution ability is played on a Fusion Fighter, the Evolution ability will also activate on top of the Fusion ability. It is also possible for a Fusion fighter to be played on another; however, any fighter played after that will only benefit from the ability of the last played Fusion fighter.
The crafting interface displayed at the bottom of the screen, under the card being viewed.
Crafting is a feature that can be accessed by tapping the desired card in the Collection or the Deck Building section. It allows the player to directly create new cards without having to purchase Packs.
Crafting a new card requires Sparks, a special kind of resource that can't be purchased with money and can only be gained by recycling cards and completing certain Hero Quests. Currently, most collectible cards in the game can be crafted and recycled, with the exception of certain event cards that are stated to become craftable in the near future. In addition, all basic - common cards cannot be recycled, and cards you already have 4 of will have their crafting option disabled.
The number of Sparks required for crafting, and rewarded with recycling, is determined by the card's rarity. Crafting a new card will always require more Sparks than the amount given by recycling a card of equal rarity, making the process generally extremely inefficient. Certain cards may have exceptions.
Rarity
Crafting
Recycling
Basic - Common
25
0 1
Uncommon
50
15 2
Rare
250
50
Super-Rare
1000
250
Legendary
4000
1000
Event
1000 3
250 4,5
1. Can't be recycled 2. 10 prior to update 1.8.23 3. 2000 for cards released on the previous update or only available through buying with real-world currency; only applies to cards that have been released 4. 75 prior to update 1.14.13 5. 500 for event cards that require 2,000 sparks in order to be crafted
Gallery[]
SD Strength icon
SD Health icon
HD Anti-Hero icon
HD Armored icon
HD Bullseye icon
HD Deadly icon
HD Frenzy icon
HD Strikethrough icon
SD Overshoot icon
SD Untrickable icon
HD "can't be hurt" icon
SD "attack using their instead of their " icon.
HD Multi-trait icon
HD Ability star-icon
HD Sun icon
HD Sun counter icon
HD Brain counter icon
Textures for various traits, effects, and other icons
Trivia[]
Despite not being used up until Galactic Gardens, the icon for Overshoot existed in the game files since the initial release.
As stated above, some traits are exclusive to either side:
There are no plant fighters that have the Gravestone, Deadly, Frenzy, or Overshoot traits.
There are no zombie fighters that have the Team-Up or Double Strike traits.
Prior to update 1.2.11:
Cards in general were referred to as Teammates.
They are still referred to as such in unupdated translations.
There were no zombie fighters with the Strikethrough trait.
Bullseye was called Truestrike.
Can't be hurt was called Shielded.
The Sneaky class is the only class without any Super-Rare, Event or Legendary Tricks.
The spark icon is much similar to the Power Zap symbol except being blue instead of purple.
The Freeze ability can be used on a plant or zombie even if it is already frozen, helping buff Snowdrop or Cryo-Yeti.
If a fighter has two or more offensive traits, it uses a green star in place of the strength symbol.
A fighter can also have a green star in place of the health symbol if it is both Armored and Untrickable or if it is Untrickable while Shielded, having the Armored trait while Shielded will only show the Shielded icon.
The number "x4" flashing red if the player tries to add another Navy Bean
Fighter traits weren't shown on their card’s stats up until update 1.6.27.
Similar to increase or decrease of a card’s stat, if a card’s cost is reduced via any card abilities or gimmicks in some missions, the cost number is colored light green instead of black. On the other hand, if its cost is increased, the number is shown in red instead.
When a plant or zombie card with reduced cost gets buffed (via the likes of Stompadon or Savage Spinach), its cost will become a dark green.
If said card gets its cost reduced once more, it will return to light green.
Bringing four of the same card in a deck turns the "Add" button grey for the remaining ones. Tapping this greyed out "Add" button causes the number "x4" to flash red, indicating that no more copies of that card can be added to the deck.
/
), strength (
), health (
), class, and tribe - one of which is a superpower, a special kind of card that is costs 1 only, is gained at the start of the game and every time the hero successfully blocks an attack, unless otherwise specified.
Kabloom class, and an example of a zombie synergization is Zombot Drone Engineer boosting Space Cadet, both part of the science tribe, the main tribe of the 
Brainy class.
Solar class, and Disco-Tron being a science zombie in the 
Crazy class.
Strikethrough zombie defeats the plant hero, even if there is a plant in the same lane with 
Anti-Hero[]
Anti-Hero trait.
Overshoot trait does a specified amount of damage to the enemy hero, provided that it lives after any environment effects before actual combat. As long as the fighter is alive, this will always occur. This attack isn't tied to strength, nor is it considered as a standard attack, so Freezing cards and Wing-Nut do not affect it.
Double Strike trait, as well as any zombie fighter with the 
Frenzy trait, gets this effect.
Freeze effect. Plant fighters with the 
Armored icon
Bullseye icon
Deadly icon
Untrickable icon
