Card

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.

Overview

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 only gained at the start of the game and every time the hero successfully blocks an attack.

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 cannot 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.

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.

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 synergies. Each class has a main tribe, as well as a number of cards that can form synergy with the main tribe of the class. An example of a plant synergy 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 synergy 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 not obtainable 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 identical to the original fighter but without the Afterlife trait.

This trait was removed on update 1.16.10; instead, both zombies with this trait now explicitly state in their ability description that the appropriate card is gained upon them being destroyed.


Haunting Zombie	Octo Zombie

Amphibious

“	Play on Water or Land	”
—Game Description

Any fighter with this trait is not restricted to just the ground or heights lanes in terms of placement, but can also be played on aquatic lanes. If not played there, they can also be moved to the aquatic lane.

Plants

Sea-Shroom

Zombies

Snorkel Zombie

Anti-Hero

“	+`(level)` when no `(Zombie/Plant)`s are here	”
—Game Description

Any fighter with this trait gains a set amount of strength when no enemy fighters are in their lane. Playing anything in front of an enemy fighter with the trait de-activates its Anti-Hero trait.

Plants

Poison Mushroom

Zombies

Mini-Ninja

Armored

“	Reduce damage to this by `(level)`	”
—Game Description

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 does not take any damage. However, this trait does not protect the fighter from any tricks or abilities that reduce its stats by a set amount.

Plants

Gravitree

Zombies

Conehead

Bullseye

“	Doesn't charge the opponent's Block Meter	”
—Game Description

Any fighter with this trait does not fill up either (for Galacta-Cactus' case) hero's Super-Block Meter upon doing damage to them.

Plants

Cactus

Zombies

Pool Shark

Deadly

“	Destroy any Plant or Zombie this hurts	”
—Game Description

Exclusive to zombies.

Any fighter with this trait always destroys any fighter it sucessfully does damage to. Heroes are not affected.


Barrel Roller Zombie	Super Stench

Double Strike

“	After combat here: This does a Bonus Attack	”
—Game Description

Exclusive to plants.

Any fighter with this trait does a Bonus Attack after combat in its lane given that it survived their combat.

Cosmic Pea

Frenzy

“	When this destroys a Plant, it attacks again	”
—Game Description

Exclusive to zombies.

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 will not do any bonus attacks for destroying those plants. This also does not apply if Soul Patch is destroyed without being attacked directly.


Energy Drink Zombie	Maniacal Laugh

Gravestone

“	Hides in a Gravestone until it's time for Tricks	”
—Game Description

Exclusive to zombies.

Any fighter with this trait is not revealed until the zombie hero's "Zombie Tricks" phase begins - they are instead concealed by a gravestone. The opposing hero cannot see how many brains are spent on that fighter 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), with Cool Bean, Grave Buster, Spyris, Grave Mistake, Blockbuster, and Winter Squash being the only exceptions.

Zombies with this trait cannot be played on a zombie with a Fusion ability. Additionally, playing a gravestone does not count as playing the fighter itself 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, will not activate while that zombie is in a gravestone.

Pied Piper

Hunt

“	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.

Plants

Corn Dog

Zombies

Dog Walker

Overshoot

“	Before combat here, do (amount of damage) to the Plant Hero	”
—Game Description

Exclusive to zombies.

Any fighter with this ability does a certain amount of damage to the opposing hero before combat. When it happens, it does not interfere with the Freezing effect, nor does it count as a bonus attack. It cannot be supressed, even if the fighter has 0 strength.

Loose Cannon

Splash Damage

“	When this attacks, it also deals (amount of damage) damage to Zombies next door	”
—Game Description

Exclusive to plants.

Any fighter with this trait does a certain 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 cannot be increased or decreased in any way, even if the fighter's strength has been increased or decreased. Splash Damage can be suppressed if the fighter has 0 strength, but comes back once its strength is reboosted to at least 1.

Lightning Reed

Strikethrough

“	Hits the Zombie here and the Zombie Hero	”
—Game Description

“	Hits all Plants here and the Plant Hero	”
—Game Description

Any fighter with this trait does damage to all enemy fighters in its lane, as well as the opposing hero.

Plants

Fume-Shroom

Zombies

Hot Dog Imp

Team-Up

“	You can fit two Plants here	”
—Game Description

Exclusive to plants.

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 does not matter, but only two fighters are allowed on each lane.

Wall-Nut

Untrickable

“	Unaffected by Plant/Zombie Tricks	”
—Game Description

Any fighter with this trait is unable to be affected by the opposing hero's tricks, but not those from the allied hero.

Plants

Apotatosaurus

Zombies

Parasol Zombie

Effects

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:

Bonus Attack

Any fighter that receives this effect attacks again as long it manages to survive during combat. Any plant with the Double Strike trait, as well as any zombie fighter with the Frenzy trait, gets this effect.

Plants

Repeater

Zombies

Electrician

Bounce

“	Put it back in its owner's hand	”
—Game Description

Any fighter that receives this effect is returned to the owner's hand, with their stats reverted to their base stats and all given traits removed. (For example, a zombie boosted by Maniacal Laugh will lose 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 will not reset its stats and given traits.

Plants


Rescue Radish	Jumping Bean

Zombies


Firefighter	Pogo Bouncer

Conjure

“	Gain a random card of this type	”
—Game Description

Add either a specified card (which is called Gaining instead), or a random card(s) of a specified cost, tribe, rarity, or set from the entire game.

Plants

Cosmic Bean

Zombies

File:Cosmic Sport StarH.png

Cosmic Sports Star

Destroy

Instantly remove a fighter on the field. It does not 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 will not 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).

Plants

Three-Headed Chomper

Zombies

Zombot 1000

Draw

Add a random card(s) from your deck to your hand, unless your hand is full.

Plants

Flourish

Zombies

Cell Phone Zombie

Freeze

“	That (Zombie/Plant) skips its next attack	”
—Game Description

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 after being thawed if they survive combat.

Plants


Snow Pea	Chilly Pepper

Zombies


Frosty Mustache	Ice Pirate

Heal

Restore health of a damaged fighter, the hero, or both. Certain restrictions may be present on some cards.

Plants

Venus Flytrap

Zombies

Nurse Gargantuar

Make

A fighter is played automatically, activating any abilities relevant to playing a card, if possible.

Plants

Sunflower Seed

Zombies

Portal Technician

Move

Any fighter that receives this effect changes its position to another lane. Certain restrictions may be present on some cards.

Plants

Gardening Gloves

Zombies

Smoke Bomb

Shielded/Can't be hurt

Any fighter that receives this effect is unable to take damage in any way. This effect cannot nullify Instant-kill and stat-lowering tricks and abilities as they do not count as doing damage.

Plants


Root Wall	Peel Shield

Zombies

Trash Can Zombie

Shuffle

Add a specific card(s) into your deck.

Plants

Clique Peas

Zombies

Leprechaun Imp

Transform

Any fighter that receives this effect immediately transforms into a random fighter that meets a certain criterion, if any.

Plants

Transfiguration

Zombies

Interdimensional Zombie

Abilities

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:

Dino-Roar

“	Use this ability when you draw a card	”
—Game Description

This ability activates whenever its owner draws or Conjures a card. If multiple cards are drawn or Conjured at the same time, Dino-Roar activates for every card drawn.

Plants


Bananasaurus Rex	Tricarrotops

Zombies


Mondo Bronto	Stompadon

Evolution

“	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. 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 does not have the Amphibious trait itself.

Plants


Cro-Magnolia	Elderberry

Zombies


Primeval Yeti	Gizzard Lizard

Fusion

“	Play a (Plant/Zombie) on this to use this ability	”
—Game Description

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 gravestones.

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 plant played after that will only benefit from the ability of the latest Fusion fighter played.

Plants

Eyespore

Zombies

Buried Treasure

Crafting

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 cannot 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.

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. Cannot 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

Trivia

Despite not used until Galactic Gardens , the icon for Overshoot existed in the game files since the initial released.
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, Splash Damage, 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 named 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 similar to the Power Zap symbol except being blue instead of purple.
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.

Fourofabean — The number "x4" flashing red if the player tries to add another Navy Bean

Fighter traits were not shown on their card’s stats 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 green instead of black. On the other hand, if its cost is increased, the number is shown red instead.
Bringing four of the same card cause the "Add" button to appear gray for the remaining ones. Tapping "Add" causes the number "x4" to flash red, indicating that no more of that card can be added anymore.