Reindeer Rider Zombie

Reindeer Rider Zombie is a zombie that appears in the upcoming Arctic Isles world in Plants vs. Zombies 2. Reindeer Rider Zombie is also the ninth new zombie encountered in Blizzard Peaks in Plants vs. Zombies: Lost World, first appearing on Level 20A. Reindeer Rider Zombie will progress normally at first carrying a gift in its antlers, which they will use as a shield for themselves to block incoming damage. Due to the gift being on Reindeer Rider Zombie's head, the zombie can orient the gift to shield themselves from both straight-shot and lobbed projectiles.
When Reindeer Rider Zombie's gift is destroyed, they will then get angered and charge towards the nearest plant or zombie that will then become disabled and get stuck in their antlers, acting as a replacement shield. Reindeer Rider Zombie cannot target single-use plants, Gargantuars or vehicle zombies, and can also aim for plants and zombies which are behind them or in a different lane (if they do aim for one in a different lane, Reindeer Rider Zombie will continue to progress normally on this lane after colliding with them). The health of the shield plant/zombie that Reindeer Rider Zombie uses depends on the plant/zombie itself (its remaining health determines how much damage the shield can withstand). Destroying the plant/zombie shield will not cause the zombie to become angered again.
If Reindeer Rider Zombie is attacked in a way that it is defeated before its shield is destroyed (e.g. Starfruits attacking the zombie from the sides or Spikerock attacking the zombie from below) the following will happen if they were carrying:
*A plant - The plant will be dropped as a seed packet that can be reused for planting.
*A zombie - The zombie will be set free and be allowed to continue progressing normally at their current location.
*Their gift* - The gift will be dropped and automatically opened to reveal a surprise that can be either of the following, where each of these surprises have an equal chance of occurring:
**Available in both PvZ2 and Lost World:
***A free Gold Bloom seed packet.
***A simulation of Starfruit’s Plant Food power, except the trajectories of the star projectiles will spin rather than stay fixed.
***A simulation of Potato Mine’s Plant Food power, except this time eight Potato Mines are launched.
***A random number of Plant Food power projectiles get launched into the air (these projectiles can belong to any plant in the respective game), landing on random zombies.
**Available only in PvZ2:
***A free Grapeshot seed packet.
***Three free Tile Turnip seed packets.
***Ten random Bowling Bulbs get released, each going either down the current lane or one of the lanes next door.
***A hypnotised Sunday Edition Zombie spawns at the location where the gift dropped.
**Available only in Lost World:
***A free Doom-shroom seed packet.
***Two free Marigold seed packets.
***Two bowling Wall-nuts and one bowling Explode-O-Nut are released down the lane in that order.
<choose uncached>
<option weight="4">***Hypnotised Electric Boogaloo spawns at the location where the gift dropped.</option>
<option weight="1">***A ticket to enter a draw to stand a chance to win the Lost World developer's sister's Sunflower nightlight!</option>
</choose>
*No surprise will be revealed if the gift was destroyed before it was dropped by the zombie.
==Origins==
Reindeer are animals classified under the genus Rangifer, which is the animal that Reindeer Rider Zombie is based on. They are quadrupedal, hooved, and the males are also known to have antlers. The gift that they carry is related to how reindeers in Christmas legends are known to help Santa Claus to pull his sleigh to deliver gifts.
==Almanac entry==
(Note: Reindeer Rider Zombie did not have their own almanac entry yet before they were excluded from PvZ2's Feastivus Thymed Event, so only their PvZ:LW entry is shown.)
Reindeer Rider Zombie
Toughness: Hardened
Speed: Stiff
Carries a gift in its antlers that acts as a shield. Breaking the gift angers the reindeer into ramming into the nearest plant or zombie to use them as a replacement shield.
Special: Dashes and picks up the nearest plant/zombie in its antlers as a replacement shield after losing its gift.
Special: Defeating the reindeer before the gift is broken causes the gift to drop and reveal a surprise.
<tabber>PvZ2=
This Zombie Reindeer right here has beef to pick with Rudolph. That's right, that's Rudolph's arch nemesis. The Zombie Reindeer's demands? Rudolph needs to give up his red nose so that Zombie Reindeer can know what it tastes like.
|-|PvZ:LW=
Rhudolph, the Red-Nosed Veggie's arch nemesis. That's it, this Zombie Reindeer right here has beef to pick with Rhudolph. Their demands? Rhudolph needs to give up his red cherry nose so that Zombie Reindeer can know what it tastes like.
</tabber>
==Encounters==
Blizzard Peaks: Levels 20A, 21A, 22A, 25A, 1B, 4B, 3D and 5D.
The Sanctuary: Levels 7A, 10A, 5D, 3E, 35A, 38A, 12C and X.
Other than the encounters in Plants vs. Zombies: Lost World, Reindeer Rider Zombie can be encountered in the upcoming Arctic Isles world in Plants vs. Zombies 2, albeit the specific levels this zombie are encountered in have yet to be known.
==Strategies==
Depending on the situation, Reindeer Rider Zombie can become a threat to your defenses once their gift is destroyed. Unless there are other zombies nearby to distract them, Reindeer Rider Zombie might charge at one of your plants. Due to their Stiff speed, this usually causes them to lag behind other zombies that already act as meat shields for Reindeer Rider Zombie, allowing the zombie to eventually get closer to your defenses while their gift is still intact. This would then increase the chances of Reindeer Rider Zombie aiming for your plants when you destroy their gift. There are two ways you can approach this issue:
*One way is to use plants with area-of-effect or piercing attacks like Laser Bean to attack Reindeer Rider Zombie from afar even if they are behind other zombies, which can decrease the chances of them aiming for your plants once the gift is destroyed. Note that this would, however, require you to deal with another shield that Reindeer Rider Zombie will be utilising.
*A more preferable option is to prevent Reindeer Rider Zombie from charging in the first place (this also has benefits as the surprise that the gift would reveal when dropped may help your defenses in one way or another). Albeit tricky to do due to the reindeer's higher health compared to the gift, there are strategies which you can use to bypass the gift without dealing much damage to it*, with some examples including the following:
**Utilisation of multi-directional plants like Starfruit and Rotobaga that can shoot from the sides can bypass Reindeer Rider Zombie's gift. In big numbers, these plants can easily deal lots more damage to Reindeer Rider Zombie than to their gift due to how Reindeer Rider Zombie's horizontal size is larger compared to their gift.
**Using Spikeweeds and other similar plants to attack Reindeer Rider Zombie from below can attack the zombie without damaging their gift. Due to the relatively high health of the reindeer, however, it may make it trickier to properly utilise this strategy, as you would need to plant more Spikeweeds (or other similar plants) or stall the zombie while the plants attack them to defeat them.
**Attacking from the back using plants like Split Pea or Bonk Choy can completely avoid Reindeer Rider Zombie's gift shield. Using this strategy, however, would require you to use an awkward defense strategy as these plants would be easily exposed to other zombies when you position them to attack Reindeer Rider Zombie. Using Garlic in your defenses can remedy this by diverting zombies away from your backward-aiming plants first before diverting them again into their range to allow your plants to attack them, albeit this strategy may still be awkward to implement in some situations.
==Gallery==
Reindeer Rider Zombie.png|Reindeer Rider Zombie (HD)
Reindeer Rider Zombie without gift.png|Reindeer Rider Zombie without their gift
Reindeer Rider Zombie's first degrade with gift.png|The gift's first degrade
Reindeer Rider Zombie's second degrade with gift.png|The gift's second degrade
Reindeer Rider Zombie's third degrade with gift.png|The gift's third degrade
Reindeer Rider Zombie's first degrade without gift.png|Reindeer Rider Zombie's first degrade
Reindeer Rider Zombie's second degrade without gift.png|Reindeer Rider Zombie's second degrade
Reindeer Rider Zombie's third degrade without gift.png|Reindeer Rider Zombie's third degrade
Reindeer Rider Zombie angered.png|Reindeer Rider Zombie about to ram the nearest plant/zombie after getting angered from losing their gift
Reindeer Rider Zombie with Starfruit.png|Reindeer Rider Zombie with Starfruit within their antlers
Reindeer Rider Zombie idling.gif|Idling
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Category:Zombies
Category:Zombies with "Hardened" toughness
Category:Zombies with "Stiff" speed
Category:PvZ:LW content
Category:Animal Zombies
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