Cards Updates from PopCap’s Devin Low

Hi! Here at PopCap, we’ve been thrilled to see so many thousands of Plant and Zombie Heroes battle through the Missions and fight each other in multiplayer! In this update, we have also updated a number of cards to make the game as fun and as balanced as possible. It’s important to us to ensure that every Hero and every Class (like Mega-Grow or Kabloom) has their own strengths, weaknesses, and a great chance to compete.

Since this update adds our new ranked multiplayer mode, it’s especially important to keep the game balanced for both our newer players and our most serious top competitive players. Look below for lots of improvements to Sneaky Zombies and some embiggening of key Guardian, Mega-Grow, and Hearty cards. Now use these card improvements to climb the ranks in multiplayer, and prove that you’re the best Hero there is!

Devin Low

Creative Director and Lead Designer, Plants vs. Zombies Heroes

• Each Hero now automatically comes with 4 specific Superpowers locked to that Hero, instead of players collecting individual Superpowers.
• The Super-Block Meter has been streamlined. Now when a Hero is hurt, that Hero’s Super-Block Meter randomly fills 1, 2, or 3 sections. When all 10 sections of the Meter are full, the Hero Super-Blocks just like before. Any time the Hero is hurt, there’s also a 5% chance the Meter will “Insta-Block,” charging all 10 sections at once.
• “Peashooter” and “Zombie” are no longer generic 1/1 cards that can be played by any Hero. (“1/1” means 1 Strength / 1 Health.) Instead, these have been replaced with different 1/1 cards with no abilities in each Class (like Mega-Grow or Kabloom). There is one for each of the ten major “tribes” in the game (like Pea or Mushroom). All players will receive 4 of each of these cards automatically. These cards don’t appear in packs. They are:
  • Small-Nut – Guardian: Nut
  • Button Mushroom – Kabloom: Mushroom
  • Peashooter – Mega-Grow: Pea
    
  • Weenie Beanie – Smarty: Bean
    
  • Bellflower – Solar: Flower
  • Skunk Punk – Beastly: Pet
  • Cardboard Robot Zombie – Brainy: Science
  • Backup Dancer – Crazy: Dancing
  • Baseball Zombie – Hearty: Sports
  • Imp – Sneaky: Imp
    • (“Imp” is now 1-cost 1/1, down from 2/2. There is a new card “Hot Dog Imp,” described below, filling a similar role as the old “Imp”.)
• Several cards have moved from the Basic Set to the Premium Set and vice versa.
• Several cards have adjusted rarities.
• The keyword "Truestrike" (This doesn't charge your opponent's Super-Meter) is now called "Bullseye."

Guardian

• Poppin’ Poppies is now bigger and costs more Sun: 6-cost 4/4, still says "When played: Make 1 Health Lil' Buddies with Team-Up here and next door." (Up from 5-cost 3/3)
• Soul Patch is now stronger: 7-cost 5/10, still says "Armored 1. If your Hero would get hurt, this gets hurt instead." (Up from 7-cost 4/10)

Kabloom

• More Spore, the Superpower, now says 1-cost "Make two 1/1 Button Mushrooms in random lanes." (Was “Make two 1/1 Puff-Shrooms with Team-Up in random lanes.”)
• Sergeant Strongberry is now cooler: 4-cost 4/3 “When another Berry does damage, do 2 extra damage.” This now powers up special ability damage from Berry cards like Berry Blast, Bluesberry, Cherry Bomb, Grapes of Wrath, and Sour Grapes. (Was 4-cost 2/3 “Berries have double Strength.”)

Mega-Grow

• Party Thyme is now cheaper and a new size: 1-cost 2/2, still says "When a Plant does a Bonus Attack, draw a card." (Was 2-cost 1/5)
• Potted Powerhouse is now bigger and costs more Sun: 5-cost 3/3, still says "While in your hand: This gets +1/+1 when a Plant gains Strength or Health." (Up from 4-cost 1/1)

Smarty

• Navy Bean is now cheaper and smaller: 4-cost 3/5, still says “Amphibious.” (Down from 5-cost 5/5)
• Smoosh-Shroom is now smaller: 5-cost 5/4 with no abilities. (Down from 5-cost 5/6) 

Solar

• Rose Thorn is now named “Briar Rose”
• Smashing Pumpkin is now smaller: 6-cost 6/5 with no abilities. (Down from 6-cost 7/6).

Beastly

• Kangaroo Rider is now smaller: 4-cost 4/3, still says "When hurt: This kangaroo bounces." (Down from 4-cost 4/5)
• Pied Piper’s ability now affects all Plants here: 2-cost 2/1 "Gravestone. When revealed: Plants here get-1/-1." (Was 2-cost 2/1 "Gravestone. When revealed: A Plant gets -1/-1.")

Brainy

• Gentleman Zombie now has more Strength and less Health: 3-cost 2/3, still says "Gravestone. Start of Zombie Tricks: You get 2 Brains this turn." (Was 3-cost 1/4).
• Hail-a-Copter now makes a smaller Copter Commando: 6-cost 6/5 (Down from 6-cost 6/6).
• Portal Technician is now cheaper and smaller: 6-cost 4/4, still says "When destroyed: Make a random Zombie here." (Down from 7-cost 5/5)
• Shieldcrusher Viking, after a philosophical meditation on whether a Viking counts as a Pirate, is now a “Mustache Pirate Zombie” instead of a “History Mustache Zombie.” This means it now works with Zombie Pirate abilities like Swashbuckler and Zombot Plank Walker. Viking is still 5-cost 5/5 “Bullseye. When this hurts the Plant Hero, empty their Block Meter.”
• Zombot Drone Engineer has gained Gravestone: Is now 2-cost 1/3 “Gravestone. When a Science Zombie does damage, that Zombie gets +1 Strength." (Was the same thing without Gravestone)

Crazy

• Fireworks Zombie is now worded differently, with nearly identical gameplay: 3-cost 3/4 "When played: Do 1 damage to all Plants and Zombies." (Was 3-cost 3/3 "When played: Do 1 damage to all other Plants and Zombies.")
• Zombot's Wrath now does more damage, can hit Plant Heroes too, and costs more Brains: 3-cost "Do 3 damage. If there is a zombie in every lane, this does double damage." (Up from 2-cost, “Do 2 damage to a Plant. If there is a Zombie in every lane, this does triple damage.”)

Hearty

• Arm Wrestler now has more Health with a smaller ability: 1-cost 2/2 "This gets +1/+1 when a Plant enters this lane." (Was 1-cost 2/1, "This gets +2/+2 when a Plant enters this lane.")
• Buckethead is now bigger and costs more Brains: 4-cost 3/4 “Armored 1.” (Up from 2-cost 2/3 “Armored 1.”)
• Conehead is now bigger and costs more Brains: 2-cost 2/3 “Armored 1.” (Up from 1-cost 1/3 with no abilities)
• Football Zombie is now named “All-Star Zombie.”
• Rodeo Gargantuar is now bigger and costs more Brains: 7-cost 5/9, still says "Gravestone. When revealed: Move a Plant." (Up from 6-cost 5/8)

Sneaky

• Do-Si-Do Zombie is now named “Line Dancing Zombie.” It now has Strikethrough and more Health, but less Strength: 3-cost 3/2 "Strikethrough, Gravestone. When revealed: Move this Zombie." (Was 3-cost 4/1 “Gravestone. When revealed: Move this Zombie.")
• Headstone Carver is now cheaper and smaller: 1-cost 2/1, still says "When a Gravestone Zombie is revealed, that Zombie gets +1/+1." (Down from 2-cost 2/3)
• Hot Dog Imp is a new Sneaky card, since the regular “Imp” Sneaky card became one of the ten 1/1 cards with no abilities. Hot Dog Imp is 2-cost 2/2 “Strikethrough.”
• Smelly Zombie is now stronger: 3-cost 2/4, still says “Gravestone, Deadly.” (Up from 3-cost 1/4)
• Surprise Gargantuar now moves and has more Health, but less Strength: 5-cost 5/6 "Gravestone. When revealed: Move this Zombie." (Was 5-cost 6/5 “Gravestone.”)
• Toxic Waste Imp is now stronger: 2-cost 2/2, still says "Amphibious. All Imps are Deadly." (Up from 2-cost 2/1)
• Zombot Plank Walker is now cooler: 8-cost 6/6 "Amphibious, Strikethrough. When played: Make two other random Pirates in random lanes.” (Was 9-cost 5/3 "Amphibious. All Pirates have +2/+2. When played: Make 1/1 Swabbies with Amphibious in every lane.")
• Zombot Sharktronic Sub is now slightly weaker: 6-cost 5/5 "Amphibious. This gets +1 Strength when a Plant is destroyed. When any Plant gets hurt, destroy that Plant." (Was 6-cost 5/5 "Amphibious. This gets +1/+1when a Plant is destroyed. When any Plant gets hurt, destroy that Plant.")
• Zombot Stomp is now stronger: 7-cost "Bounce all Plants on the Ground" (Was “Bounce all Plants and Zombies on the Ground.)

Heroes

• Goatify, Rose's signature Superpower, now hits the Zombie with the highest Strength: 1-cost "Transform aZombie with the highest Strength into a 1/1 Goat." (Was “Transform a random Zombie into a 1/1 Goat.”)
• Toadstool Takedown, Night Cap’s signature Superpower, is now named “Mush-Boom.”