Swashbuckler Zombie is a premiumuncommonzombiecard in Plants vs. Zombies Heroes and a member of the Sneaky class. He costs 2 to play and has 2/2. He has the Gravestone trait, and his ability gives a pirate zombie, including him, +1/+1 when it does damage to the plant hero. This ability stacks with each Swashbuckler Zombie on the field and persists until all Swashbuckler Zombies are removed from the field.
He is based on the zombie in Plants vs. Zombies 2 with the same name and appearance. However, he holds a wooden sword instead of being empty-handed in this game.
Statistics
Class: Sneaky
Tribe: Pirate Zombie
Trait: Gravestone
Ability: When a Pirate hurts the Plant Hero, that Pirate gets +1/+1.
Set - Rarity: Premium - Uncommon
Card description
Buckles his swash like no other.
Update history
Update 1.2.11
Set - Rarity change: Premium - Rare → Basic - Common
Update 1.14.13
Set - Rarity change: Basic - Common → Premium - Uncommon
Strategies
With
By himself, this zombie is a bit weak. His ability to give pirate zombies a small, minor boost is similar to Zombot Drone Engineer's, but only activates when a pirate zombie does damage to the plant hero.
With a measly 2 health, it is often fronted by Plants that costs 1-2 at the turn it is played. While some opponents may assume it is another gravestone like Monkey Smuggler, common 2 plants will either make a good trade, as in the case of Black-Eyed Pea, or make an even trade, as in the case of Corn Dog. In addition, these cards do not lose against any unagumented turn 2 cost zombie gravestone, so Swashbuckler should be included in decks with caution. Pirate decks would rather get Strikethrough from Captain Flameface, since using strikethrough to hit face quicker fits the aggressive archetype of Pirates better than using control cards to get rid of plants fronting your Swashbuckler.
Due to his ability, Swashbuckler Zombie should be used in tandem with other pirate zombies. A notable one includes Quickdraw Con Man due to his ability to make a guaranteed hit to face each turn, meaning the Conman will also get a free boost each turn if there is a Swashbuckler on the field. However, this is not recommended since Captain Flameface has much better synergy by letting every pirate hit face as long as the Flameface is alive rather than giving a mediocre reward for hitting face without help (assuming there is also not a Flameface on the field), which may not happen for quite a few of your pirates on the field due to the opponent not wanting to have multiple zombies get boosted or get hit to face.
Using Smoke Bomb on him can greatly help as he will gain +1 and be moved away from the plants blocking him, if there are any. Captain Flameface gives all pirates the Strikethrough trait, so he can work very well with Swashbuckler Zombie too.
Another good zombie to use Swashbuckler Zombie with is Pogo Bouncer, as he can Bounce a plant blocking him or another pirate's lane, allowing them to hurt your opponent and be boosted in the process. But it isn't recommended since Swashbuckler dies too easily.
Here is the list of pirate cards for easy reference:
Each Sneaky hero has their own ways to use Swashbuckler Zombie effectively:
Brain Freeze can give stat-boosting cards such as Vitamin Z and Area 22 to make him last longer (which will also most likely allow Swashbuckler to tear through plants blocking his way and strike the plant hero, boosting himself) or destroy plants blocking his way with tricks such as Locust Swarm.
Impfinity can use cards such as Final Mission, Exploding Fruitcake or Bungee Plumber to destroy plants that block Swashbuckler Zombie, or play this on Moon Base Z to trigger his ability right away before combat. He can also use this in tandem with Quickdraw Con Man to boost it heavily, as Quickdraw Con Man will do 1 unblockable damage whenever the plant hero draws a card, thus letting Swashbuckler Zombie give it +1/+1 easily. However, his ability damage will be unchanged.
Since he appears from a gravestone, Headstone Carver can boost him, making him more of a threat.
Against
Because this appears via gravestone, Grave Buster or any plant with 2 or more will deal with this with ease. However, this may not be the case of Brain Freeze or Impfinity, as they have the most 2 brain cost zombies with the Gravestone trait. Neptuna might also use Sumo Wrestler, Since he starts out with 2, a Potato Mine can destroy him unless he is boosted. Whack-a-Zombie will also work if his strength is below 4. Spikeweed Sector is another great counter if you predict correctly, as he will not be able to boost himself or other pirates to his right. Rotobaga is a great counter, as the opponent will usually put him in lane 4, so you can eliminate him safely, with rotobaga still on the field. You can also play Soul Patch to shut his ability down completely, but it is a late-game play.
If you don't have any cards that can front it either, you may wait until the next turn to use Berry Blast to kill the 3/3 Swashbuckler (assuming the grave was, in fact, a Swashbuckler).
If he and other pirates are overwhelming you with their high strength, consider either using Doom-Shroom or Shamrocket to destroy them or Bounce them to reset their stats.
Gallery
Plants vs. Zombies Wiki has a gallery for Swashbuckler Zombie.
Sneaky class. He costs 2
to play and has 2
/2
. He has the Gravestone trait, and his ability gives a pirate zombie, including him, +1
/+1
at the turn it is played. While some opponents may assume it is another gravestone like Monkey Smuggler, common 2
Strikethrough from Captain Flameface, since using strikethrough to hit face quicker fits the aggressive archetype of Pirates better than using control cards to get rid of plants fronting your Swashbuckler.
Brainy
Crazy
Hearty
Sneaky
