Cob Boss

Cob Boss is a premium plant added in the 11.6.1 update of Plants vs. Zombies 2 a as part of "Cob Boss' Crooked" Arena Season.
Cob Boss is a spawner plant that lets out henchmen of various ranks to fight against the zombies. The ranks of the henchmen are determined on the amount of kills that the Cob Boss has had in total; initially Cob Boss calls in Cobsters. After reaching 10 kills using Cobsters, he would begin to summon Kernel Capos and then when the next kill bracket is reached, Cornsiglieres would be spawned. Each rank of minion deals melee damage that scales up depending on their rank, in addition to their attacking speed and toughness increasing slightly aswell. However, each rank takes a bit longer than the rank before it to spawn in.
== Origins==
Cob Boss is based on a mafia boss. As his name suggests, he is the leader of a Mob, more specifically from a traditional Italian Mafia. His attire is similar to that of a gangster, with a fedora to top it all off. The plants he is based on are corn cob, with his name being a portmanteau of "Mob Boss" and "Cob".
His minion spawning ability is based on how Mafia members often order their henchmen to do the dirty works for them, especially how Cob Boss himself does not fight, leaving the works for his minions to handle to works.
His different minions are based on corns and various members of a mafia. Cobsters are the lowest ranking member, like how regular mobster are just the normal member. Kernel Capos are the second tier, just like how capos are leader within their respective groups. And Cornsiglieres, based on consiglieres are the advisor to a mafia, often being the "right-hand man" of the boss. Each member are at higher position than the other, adding to the theme of ranking in the Mafia. Their ability to upgrade is a reference to how outstanding performance can earn someone a higher position within the Mafia, which is why defeating zombies make them stronger, as they get better performance and therefore get promoted.
Additionally, the minions being the corn kernels is a reference to how they're seeds for a corn cob, and their ability to grow is also similar to how the kernels can grow into a corn plant as they're seeds. Their weapon of choice - a crowbar, is referencing gangster's common weapon of choice in a Super Hero comicbook, such as The Joker's henchmen in Batman who are often associated with crowbars.
Cob Boss' almanac entry mentioned Mob Cob, another corn related plant in PvZ with a Mafia theme.
Cob Boss and his henchmen's Mafia theming relating to the contest theme being "Evil" is referencing how real life Mafia are corrupted and often perform terrible actions like killing, taking over lands etc.
== About ==
Cob Boss has 3 variations of minions it can call in; Cobsters, Kernel Capos and Cornsiglieres. All 3 of them have varying stats and each one has better stats than the previous one.
Cobsters are the generic type of crook that Cob Boss spawns in with one Cobster gets summoned every 18 seconds which is the same as Zoybean Pod. A Cobster attacks once a second and deal 15 damage per hit which is slightly less than the 20 damage per pea of the Peashooter. A Cobster has 250 toughness which again is less than the Peashooter but more than plants such as the Puff Shroom. The range of a Cobster is 2 tiles meaning that it can only attack any zombies on the same tile as himself or the one ahead. Visually, Cobsters look like low level crooks with a lack of any sort of prestige as they only wield a crowbar.
Kernel Capos begin to spawn in after Cob Boss has killed 10 zombies. Kernel Capos are a significant upgrade on Cobsters as their damage and attack speed are increased. Kernel Capo now deal 20 damage with each hit which is now level with the attack of a Peashooter and it's attack speed is now 0.8 seconds per attack. Kernel Capo also has 300 toughness which is now level to plants such as Sunflower or Bonk Choy. However, its spawn speed is slower than Cobster's respawn speed as it now takes 22 seconds for a single Kernel Capo to be spawned in. The range of a Kernel Capo is still 2 tiles meaning that it can only attack any zombies on the same tile as himself or the one ahead. Visually, Kernel Capos are now taller than their previous counterpart with them also now looking more modest and slightly more respectibale.
Cornsiglieres are the highest rank of henchmen that can be spawned in by Cob Boss when he has killed an additional 20 zombies. Cornsiglieres are even stronger than Kernel Capos with an even higher toughness, damage and attack speed increase. Cornsiglieres now deal 25 damage per attack which is higher than a Peashooter's pea damage but still lower than plants such as another corn plant, Kernel-pult. Cornsiglieres also attack every 0.6 seconds which is even better than before. Cornsiglieres also have a toughness of 350 which puts it above the majority of plants but still less than the Cob Boss himself. However like before, Cornsiglieres has an even slower respawn time than that of Kernel Capos with a spawn time of 24 seconds for one Cornsigliere. The range of a Cornsigliere is the same as previous ranks with it still only having a range of 2 tiles meaning that it can only attack any zombies on the same tile as himself or the one ahead. Visually, a Cornsigliere now looks much taller which may suggest an age gap between ranks. A Cornsigliere also looks admirable while wielding the crowbar which may hint of wisdom.
The Cob Boss itself doesn't deal any damage relying on his minions to do his bidding. Cob Boss costs 350 sun to place which is the same as Citron and also has a recharge of 20 seconds which is the same as a Wall-nut. Cob Boss' toughness is also 400 which is the higher than Cornsiglieres. Cob Boss is a member of the Enforce-mint family as he summons minions that deal melee damage.
== Almanac Entry ==
== Upgrades ==
===Plant Food effect===
When fed with Plant Food, Cob Boss will instantly reach his max level and summon 2 Cobsters, 1 Kernel Capo and 2 Cornsiglieres. This will also permanently reduce the respawn time for each henchmen by 2 seconds.
===Enforce-mint effect===
When boosted by Enforce-mint, Cob Boss spawns an additional minion per respawn, increase henchmen health by 30% and his Plant Food effect will activate.
=== Level Upgrades===
Level	Seed packets	Coins	Upgrades	Upgrades 	Upgrades 	Upgrades 	Upgrades 	Upgrades
Level	Seed packets	Coins	Sun Cost	Recharge (Sluggish)	Minion Respawn Time	Minion Seconds Per Attack	Minion Damage Per Attack	Area
1 	0 	0 	350 	20 seconds 	18/22/24 Seconds 	1/0.8/0.6 Seconds 	15/20/25 Damage 	2 Tiles
2 	50 	0 	350 	20 seconds 	18/22/24 Seconds 	1/0.8/0.6 Seconds 	15/20/25 Damage 	2 Tiles
3 	100 	0 	350 	20 seconds 	18/22/24 Seconds 	1/0.8/0.6 Seconds 	15/20/25 Damage 	2 Tiles
4 	200 	0 	350 	19 seconds 	18/22/24 Seconds 	1/0.8/0.6 Seconds 	16/21/26 Damage 	2 Tiles
5 	300 	0 	350 	19 seconds 	17/21/23 Seconds 	0.9/0.7/0.5 Seconds 	16/21/26 Damage 	2 Tiles
6 	400 	0 	325 	19 seconds 	17/21/23 Seconds 	0.9/0.7/0.5 Seconds 	16/21/26 Damage 	2 Tiles
7 	500 	0 	325 	19 seconds 	17/21/23 Seconds 	0.9/0.7/0.5 Seconds 	18/23/28 Damage 	2 Tiles
8 	600 	0 	325 	18 seconds 	17/21/23 Seconds 	0.9/0.7/0.5 Seconds 	18/23/28 Damage 	2 Tiles
9 	800 	0 	325 	18 seconds 	16/20/22 Seconds 	0.9/0.7/0.5 Seconds 	18/23/28 Damage 	2 Tiles
10 	1,000 	0 	300 	18 seconds 	16/20/22 Seconds 	0.8/0.6/0.4 Seconds 	20/25/30 Damage 	2 Tiles
===Mastery upgrades===
*Chance of Double Minion Spawn
*Minion Toughness Bonus
==Strategies==
Cob Boss is a well-rounded offensive plant. Their unique ability to grow stronger when defeating more enemies plus their minion spawning power can't be underestimated. While they directly compete with Zoybean Pod for their power, they can easily hold their own from their higher strength and ability to be even stronger.
Firstly, the minion spawning ability. It is similar to Chestnut Squad from PvZ2C, however with more offense than defense. The original Cobsters can deal great amount of DPS on its own, and since they have a faster spawn time than the other tiers, they are quite good in stalling zombies as they have to eat through all Cobsters in order to advance forward. This is especially useful against Gargantuars, since their slow attack speed allows Cob Boss to use a bunch of summoned Cobsters to stall them for a while, similar to Turkey-pult, who can also be paired with to stall them for even longer. This is even better in areas with obstacles, as the Cobsters will attack the obstacles and not leave the lawn early, allowing you to group them up before the rush of zombies appeared.
Secondly, the minion upgrades. After killing 10 zombies, Cob Boss will start summoning Kernel Capos, which are stronger and more durable than Cobsters. While their spawning time is slower, they make up for it by their power as they act like mini-Bonk Choys that travel forward. Kernel Capos' higher health can be devastating despite what looks like a minor increases, it boosts them to as much as a regular plant, meaning every time they were spawned, it will be like planting another plant of your own, except for free and without occupying any spaces. This can be compared to Hypno-Shroom, who has the same recharge time but requires zombies to eat them in order to work. While Hypno-Shrooms can be useful when fighting against stronger zombies, Kernel Capos are better at cleaning up lower health zombies, especially those with abilities to stun or transform, such as Hunter Zombie, Wizard Zombie and Octo Zombie, since these minions are not considered as a regular plant, they are forced to eat them and not using their ability, even if they fail to defeat those zombies, they still take time to eat and not performing ability, therefore giving you time to counterattack with other plants.
Thirdly, upgrading to Cornsiglieres. Following the killing of 20 zombies after the first upgrades, the minions will be a lot more powerful than they were before, albeit with slower spawn time, this can be helped with by using Plant Food since it negates their needs for killing zombies and makes them spawn faster. With Cornsiglieres, their damage output rivals that of Citron, with the added bonus of stalling zombies. While it seems like a total of 30 defeated zombies are a lot, this can be achieved in crowded levels, especially in places like Arena, Penny's Pursuit and Thymed Event where zombie spams are common. Do note that critters summoned by other zombies such as Zombie Chickens will not count, so they can't be easily upgraded.
In terms of worlds, there are some that you shouldn't use Cob Boss in. Pirate Seas is a major one as all of the minions will drown when they fall onto the water, limiting their ability to stall. This is the opposite for BIg Wave Beach, as those water are shallow enough for the minions to walk on, and they can be useful for dealing with water area and Octo Zombies. In Ancient Egypt and Neon Mixtape Tour, instant-killing zombies such as Explorer Zombie or Glitter Zombie can give them a run for their money as they can ignore the minion's melee attack. One specific area to notice are Trap Tiles in Lost City, while uncommon, can be activated by the minions, so be careful when using Cob Boss around those levels, that being said, Lost City is a good place to use Cob Boss as the gold tiles can negate Cob Boss other weakness, being their high sun cost compared to other plants. They can also consume the potions in Dark Ages, similar to Zomboids, so they can be a good choice in Dark Alchemy levels. Other than worlds, avoid using them against Zombie Medusa, despite not being zombies, they will still get turned into stones.
In terms of synergy, Cob Boss gain much value with plants like Gold Bloom who can ensure the player are able to plant Cob Boss in the first place, Enforce-mint who can boost Cob Boss as he is in their family, Turkey-pult as a bonus damage dealer and a faster staller and another stalling plant to slow the zombies down like Iceweed in order to maximize the minion's attack damage.
== In-game Example ==
==Gallery==
File:Cob Boss HD.png|Cob Boss HD
File:Cob Boss opened HD.png|Cob Boss summoning minions HD
File:Cobster HD.png|Cobster HD
File:Kernel Capo HD.png|Kernel Capo HD
File:Cornsigliere HD.png|Cornsigliere HD
File:Cob Boss Seed Packet.png|Seed Packet
File:Cob Boss Seed Packet Imitated.png|Imitated Seed Packet
== In other languages ==
== Trivia ==
* This is DMdarkmatter's second duo contest entry and ShogunyanMasterOFishCom's first duo contest entry.
* The original concept of Cob Boss was a moss plant named "Mob Moss", but was changed into Cob Boss later.
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Category:Corn Plants
Category:Spawner plants
Category:Melee plants
Category:Sho's Collabs