Space Cowboy

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Space Cowboy
Statistics
Strength	3
Health	5
Cost	4
Set	Galactic
Rarity	Legendary
Class
Tribe	Imp Pet Zombie
Traits	Amphibious Strikethrough
Abilities	This Zombie moves to the right when it hurts the Plant Hero.
Only in the big wide sky will he find Serenity.

Space Cowboy is a galactic legendary zombie card in Plants vs. Zombies Heroes and a member of the Sneaky class. He costs 4 to play and has 3/5. He has the Amphibious and Strikethrough traits, and his ability moves him onto the adjacent lane on his right every time he does damage to the plant hero, unless that lane is already occupied by another zombie.

Origins

He is based on a cowboy, an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks.

His name and him being related to space may be a reference to the 2000 American space film Space Cowboys, starring Clint Eastwood. His description is a reference to the Mare Serenitatis, a lunar mare which is also known as the Sea of Serenity.

Statistics

• Class: Sneaky
• Tribes: Imp Pet Zombie
• Traits: Amphibious, Strikethrough
• Ability: This Zombie moves to the right when it hurts the Plant Hero.
• Set - Rarity: Galactic - Legendary

Card description

Only in the big wide sky will he find Serenity.

Update history

Update 1.16.10

• Added to the game.

Strategies

With

Space Cowboy can be an extremely powerful finisher despite his low strength, thanks to his Strikethrough trait and ability. Once he attacks on his lane, he will then move to the right and attack again, repeating the same process until he is no longer able to move to the right or if your opponent blocks his attack. Under ideal circumstances, Space Cowboy will be able to dish out 15 damage on the turn he is played, which is a huge chunk of health taken from your opponent, either putting them in critical condition, or straight out defeating them. Not only that, Space Cowboy is cheap, so while you will still need to maintain control, you don't have to do so as long as you would with the other finishers.

But Space Cowboy, as devastating as he is, has his own drawbacks, primarily due to his ability. A drawback of Space Cowboy would be how he has to face multiple plants in a single turn of combat. While his health is decent, it will be depleted much more quickly. An even bigger drawback, however, would be the fact that you essentially have to rely on Space Cowboy alone to make an impact, as the field needs to be empty for him to move; since you play your fighters before your opponent plays their cards, playing Space Cowboy can be a big gamble, as your opponent can see your play and remove Space Cowboy whether by direct or indirect means, leaving you with nothing else to defend yourself.

Therefore, while Space Cowboy can theoretically turn the tables by himself, it is highly recommended to support him nonetheless. There are two ways to do so: tricks (since Space Cowboy doesn't go well with environments) and zombie synergy.

Tricks should be your main way of assisting Space Cowboy, and there are a variety of tricks that excel at doing so.

• Stat-boosting tricks are arguably the most viable options, with strength boosts enabling him to finish the game earlier and health boosts allowing him to take more hits so that he doesn't fall during combat.
• You can also opt to play tricks that grant Space Cowboy extra traits (or effects). Frenzy (via Possessed, Maniacal Laugh, or Going Viral) allows him to attack your opponent again for every plant he destroys, allowing him to execute a massive combo of bonus attacks; even if your opponent blocks, they won't be able to stop all of his bonus attacks. Deadly (via Barrel of Barrels or Super Stench) doesn't grant Space Cowboy any bonus attacks, but it ensures total plant destruction at the very least, and can be granted by all Sneaky heroes. And finally, shielding him via Escape through Time as Neptuna will allow him to attack and move, all while ignoring the plants' attacks - perfect for opponents who like rushing with glass cannons.
• Smoke Bomb gives him extra strength and also moves him back to the left so that he can restart the attack cycle. What makes it even better is that Smoke Bomb can be used by all Sneaky heroes.
• Teleport doesn't benefit Space Cowboy offensively or defensively at all, but it gives you insight on when to play him; if your opponent is saving their cards, it is a perfect opportunity to rush out with Space Cowboy.

Zombie synergy should be treated as a secondary option; as mentioned before, a field with no zombies is ideal for Space Cowboy. Therefore, zombie synergy should be kept to as few key zombies as possible; if you have to play some, play them on the leftmost lanes so that they don't block Space Cowboy's movement, and even then, they must not outweigh the value of doing more damage Space Cowboy would have done without them.

• Space Cowboy, despite being a pet, is highly not recommended in a proper pet deck if Brain Freeze wishes to get the most out of his ability, as an ideal pet setup is a swarm of many zombies, which hinders, or even nullifies, Space Cowboy's moving ability. Instead, use Zookeeper only to steadily increase the damage he does as he moves.
• Imp synergy is a bit more lenient than pet synergy, as neither Imp Commander nor Toxic Waste Imp needs a swarm of Imps with Space Cowboy around, since he will be attacking on multiple lanes. Imp Commander lets you draw lots of cards which is a huge help, while Toxic Waste Imp allows Space Cowboy to destroy every single plant as he moves, provided he survives. However, Imp Commander would be the more recommended zombie, as Toxic Waste Imp can be substituted by Barrel of Barrels or Super Stench.

Fusing him with Disco Dance Floor, as well as playing him on Moon Base Z, are also perfect ways to activate his ability. Impfinity can only do this naturally.

Against

Space Cowboy may not seem like much, but in fact, he is one of the more dangerous legendary zombies due to his ability to hit you multiple times. And if he is given Frenzy or extra strength, he becomes even more dangerous. Hence, he must be destroyed as soon as he is played. Instant-kills like Whack-a-Zombie and Chomper work the best, and if you don't have them, get as many plants on the field as you can; since Space Cowboy will fight multiple plants in a single turn, destroying him in combat will be easy.

You can also prevent Space Cowboy from activating his ability by protecting yourself from his attack with Soul Patch or Uncrackable, or moving him to the rightmost lane using Whipvine. Garlic's ability nullifies Space Cowboy's ability, and Body-Gourd will fill up your Super-Block Meter to enable you to block his attack, but unlike the former two, it is only a temporary solution. Or, if you are a Smarty hero, you can Freeze this zombie using Iceberg Lettuce or Chilly Pepper to stall him for a turn.

Note that unless you block his attack, he will move first before plants with "When hurt/destroyed" abilities like Guacodile, Hothead, and Prickly Pear activate them, rendering them useless.

You may also want to get rid of environments that activate his ability, like Moon Base Z.

Gallery

Space Cowboy's statistics

Space Cowboy's card

Space Cowboy's grayed out card

Space Cowboy's card image

HD Space Cowboy

Space Cowboy's textures

Space Cowboy's hat texture

Space Cowboy attacking

Space Cowboy activating his ability

Space Cowboy destroyed

Space Cowboy about to do an Overshoot attack

Gigantic Space Cowboy due to a glitch

Small Space Cowboy due to a glitch

Space Cowboy with a star icon on his strength

Space Cowboy shielded

Space Cowboy while Pecanolith is on the field

Brute Strength being played on Space Cowboy

Escape through Time being played on Space Cowboy

A glitch where a Bounced Space Cowboy plays his animation in the player's hand

Space Cowboy being the featured card in the menu for the September 3rd, 2017 Daily Challenge

Trivia

• When he is played and attacks, he says "yeehaw," which is the stereotypical Cowboy catchphrase.
• When he is played in a lane and the lane to the right is Area 22 and it destroys a plant, it would do 2 bonus attacks in Area 22.
• Excluding superpowers, he is the only legendary Imp card in the game.

V · E	Zombies in Plants vs. Zombies Heroes

Unobtainable
Tokens	Zombie · Returned Octo Zombie
Superpowers	Flick-a-Plant · Get Well · Motivate