Wasabi Whip

Wasabi Whip is a premium plant in Plants vs. Zombies 2, released in the 4.8 update as part of the Time Twister 2016 event. It is a melee attacker that hits zombies (or destructible environmental modifiers) rapidly two squares ahead or behind it. It can be considered an upgraded version to Bonk Choy. While its attack is only triggered by targets in its own lane, it deals some damage to targets in the rows above and below. Due to its whip being fire-based, it is immune to freezing and can heat plants surrounding it in Frostbite Caves.

In the Chinese version, it was released on the 2.2.1 update as part of the 4th anniversary event along with Explode-O-Nut. He can be only be unlocked by the Lottery System.

Origins

Wasabi Whip is based on the real life wasabi plant (Eutrema japonicum) and a whip with the flaming leaf at the end of its whip suggesting the spiciness of this plant.

Almanac entry

Wasabi Whip	SUN COST 150 RECHARGE Fast SUN COST: 150 RECHARGE: Fast TOUGHNESS Typical DAMAGE Heavy TOUGHNESS: Typical DAMAGE: Heavy RANGE Close RANGE: Close Wasabi Whips lash out with their flaming whips, delivering whuppings to zombies both in front and behind. Special: resists cold and warm plants around it. "The trick to proper whipping is all in the wrist," says Wasabi Whip. "Well, not the wrist, exactly, since I don't have any. You have to, like... BE the wrist."

Wasabi Whip

		SUN COST 150			RECHARGE Fast

SUN COST: 150
RECHARGE: Fast

		TOUGHNESS Typical			DAMAGE Heavy

TOUGHNESS: Typical
DAMAGE: Heavy

		RANGE Close

RANGE: Close

Wasabi Whips lash out with their flaming whips, delivering whuppings to zombies both in front and behind.

Special: resists cold and warm plants around it.

"The trick to proper whipping is all in the wrist," says Wasabi Whip. "Well, not the wrist, exactly, since I don't have any. You have to, like... BE the wrist."

Upgrades

Plant Food effect

When fed Plant Food, Wasabi Whip will spin his flaming whip around in a 3x3 radius, similarly to Bonk Choy. The effect is same as Bonk Choy's, doing 1500 damage per shot.

Enforce-mint effect

When boosted by Enforce-mint, Wasabi Whip will do an additional 200 DPS, and its plant food effect will do an additional 300 DPS per tick.

Level upgrades

*Per hit. Plant Food effect does 20 hits in total.

Level upgrades  (China only)

Level	Upgrades	Description
	Hot Combustion	Enemies got hit will take damage over time.
	Combat Training	Wasabi Whip gains 50% more attack power and health (150% of initial).
	Burst Awakening	Increases the damage enemies take over time by 100%.
	Cell Activation	Wasabi Whip gains another 50% more attack power and health (200% of initial).
	Ability Awaken	Wasabi Whip may be boosted when planted.
	Fighting Power	Wasabi Whip gains another 50% more attack power and health (250% of initial).
	Angry Fire	Has a chance to release far-ranged fireballs to inflict huge damage on enemies.
	Fighting Power	Wasabi Whip gains another 50% more attack power and health (300% of initial).

Costumed  (China only)

Its costumed Plant Food effect now forms seismic waves at the end, which deals damage to nearby units, as well as increases thawing rate while in Frostbite Caves.

Strategies

This plant can be considered an upgrade to the Bonk Choy, considering the equal sun cost, the slightly increased range, and how much damage it deals. Wasabi Whip does 40 damage per shot every half a second while Bonk Choy does 20 damage per shot every 0.5 seconds. Bonk Choy can reach one space in front of him and one behind him, while Wasabi Whip can reach two spaces in front of it and behind it. Another difference is that Wasabi Whip gives priority to the zombies behind it.

Wasabi Whip's main downside is that it is a fire plant, meaning that it cannot be used well with ice plants like Winter Melon, so non-icing slowing plants like Sap-fling or Stallia should be used in conjunction with Wasabi Whip. However, its fire attacks are useful to heat up surrounding plants in Frostbite Caves, making it even more useful than Bonk Choy, and as it is a close range attacker, it is a good defrosting plant to keep the defensive plants warm.

To take the most advantage of it, the player should plant more than one column, otherwise it would not be effective against strong zombies. On levels where lots of zombies come together, Snapdragon or its cold variant are more advised, as Wasabi Whip can only target one zombie at a time. However, it should be kept in mind that Wasabi Whip has a higher damage per second.

In Big Wave Beach, Wasabi Whip is an excellent counter against Octo Zombies, as a group of them can easily destroy his octopi with fast rate of attack.

Wasabi Whip can be used against Prospector Zombies. Although its fire-based attack relights the dynamite, when a Prospector Zombie comes behind the plant, it will be killed quickly due to Wasabi Whip's high damage and rate of fire. Even if a Wasabi Whip is planted in the third column from the right and there is no zombie other than Prospector Zombie, the plant may kill the zombie because the latter con jump. In addition, they can be used to catch Relic Hunter Zombies and flying zombies like Jetpack Zombie, Dodo Rider Zombie, Bug Zombie, and Balloon Zombie if they do manage to pass the plant.

Against specific zombies, remember that Wasabi Whips cannot damage Imp Dragon Zombies, as they are immune to fire damage. However, Wasabi Whip is still useful in normal nights in Dark Ages for defeating Jester Zombies, due to the fact that Imp Dragon Zombies only appear in Arthur's Challenge and Night 20 - the level that Wasabi Whip can't be played. They are also useful against Hunter Zombies due to their immunity to snowballs. Therefore, you can block this zombie to prevent your plants from being frozen. This plant is highly useful when fighting Zombie Chickens and Ice Weasels due to its high attacking rate and high damage, allowing it to take out Weasels or Chickens in one hit. However, these said zombies can defeat this plant if there are too many of them unless you put a Lightning Reed behind, due to their absurdly low health and Lightning Reed's extreme chain attacks preventing Wasabi Whip from overwhelmed.

In Jurassic Marsh, Wasabi Whip can be used to fight zombies carried by Pterodactyls, similar to Prospector Zombies.

Related achievement

	So Thawful Thaw 13 ice blocks in a single level

Gallery

Plants vs. Zombies Wiki has a gallery for Wasabi Whip.

Visit this page to see it.

Trivia

• It attacks backwards faster than forwards.
• Its flame does not go out once watered in the Zen Garden.
• In its Zen Garden animation, Wasabi Whip pulls out some sushi and snuggles it, as wasabi is a common condiment on sushi. The sushi looks similar to the one after an octopus is defeated.
• Its idle animation alludes to the art of fire dancing, in which flames are twirled around on sticks or wheels, generally in a circular or spiral motion.

See also

• Bonk Choy
• Match Flower