Screamer Zombie

:For similar zombies, see Bass Zombie and Beach Concert Zombie.
Screamer Zombie is a special zombie encountered in Arena, Penny's Pursuit, and Thymed Events in Plants vs. Zombies 2. Upon reaching the 4th rightmost column, Screamer Zombie will make his guitar scream, stunning all plants on the board for a few seconds like Boombox Zombie. The scream also terrifies his fellow zombies, causing them to speed up a la T. rex. After this audio attack, he gains one of three possible abilities.
* Bushwhacker Frenzy: Screamer Zombie starts violently headbanging while moving faster than normal. Any plants he encounters while headbanging will get knocked back in a similar fashion to Punk Zombie. Occasionally, he'll also play a short guitar riff while headbanging, sending a small percent-based damage-dealing shockwave at your defense. 
* Thriller Fright: Every few seconds, Screamer Zombie will play a riff. This riff revives the last couple zombies that have been vanquished at half health and heals all zombies on the lawn. 
* Solo Supernova: Screamer Zombie will stay in place and start shredding his guitar, providing a big damage, defense, and speed buff to all Zombies on the lawn for as long as he's playing. Screamer Zombie cannot be frozen or stunned while doing his solo.
Screamer Zombie will continue doing these abilities until he dies.
==Origins==
Screamer Zombie is based on a , a person who professionally plays guitar, usually at concert or the like. Screamer Zombie can always be seen holding and using an , more specifically a electric guitar judging from it's appearance.
A major part of Screamer Zombie's concept is the infamous genre of . From his appearance to his ability, he just screams hard rock. There is no exact person or figure he's based on, his getup is simply a stereotypical rock outfit and nothing more.
His name "Screamer Zombie" comes from two things. The first is his affinity with hard rock, as loud screaming and shouting are core parts of the genre. There's also the technique of "guitar screaming," a technique that allows a guitarist to create a long and loud squeal using their guitar. 
The second comes from one of the definitions of a screamer, being "something or someone that makes a screaming sound" alluding to his hard rock origin and the aforementioned guitar screaming. Screams in general are commonly connected to being scared, and Screamer Zombie terrifying his fellow zombies further support this.
==Overview==
===General===
By default, Screamer Zombie's speed is Hungry and deals 190 damage per bite. He absorbs 750 damage, degrading at 400 when his arm falls off, and dies at 750. 
His 4th column audio attack stuns every plant on the lawn for a full 3 seconds and increases the speed of all other zombies by 1.75x their normal speed, with the speed buff going away upon contact with a plant. Other Screamer Zombies, knowing their art, aren't afraid and thus don't receive the speed boost.
===Bushwhacker Frenzy===
If Screamer Zombie's ability becomes Bushwhacker Frenzy, his speed increases to Speedy and is now able to kick plants in a similar fashion to Punk Zombie, sending them to the next vacant space backwards and kicking them off the lawn if there are none. Every 4 to 6 seconds, he'll send a shockwave towards your defense, dealing damage equal to 15% of the target plant's health.
===Thriller Fright===
If Screamer Zombie gets Thriller Fright, he'll now move at Basic speed and, every 7 seconds, will play a riff so heavenly that it revives the 5 last defeated zombies at half health and heals all zombies on the lawn by 1/12th of their current health. Unfortunately, Screamer Zombie himself cannot be brought back through such means for unknown reasons, but he CAN be healed.
===Solo Supernova===
Arguably his most potent and powerful ability, Screamer Zombie begins shredding the most beautiful, most melodical guitar solo his fellow zombies have ever heard, thus filling them with so much inspiration and emotion that they begin giving it their all at the battle - or in simplified terms, they get buffed BIG TIME. Here's a full list:
* Zombies' damage gets increased by 1.5x.
* Zombies take 1.5x less damage from plant attacks that aren't poison.
* Zombies move 1.5x faster.
All these buffs last until all Screamer Zombies that are currently performing Solo Supernova are defeated. Like Thriller Fright, other Screamer Zombies aren't affected and can't be buffed. 
==Almanac Entry==
==Encounters==
* Inzanity Epic Quests
* Arena: Bean Sprout's Tournament
* Penny's Pursuit
* Rock Your World Thymed Event
==Strategies==
Due to the nature of his ability to, well, get a random ability, it's near impossible to counter this zombie unless you've adapted to all three. When you see him approaching, immediately divert your attention to him and stall him as much as you can with plants like Iceberg Lettuce and Stunion. 
The same strategy is heavily encouraged when facing Bushwhacker Frenzy. Either you keep him in place or your defense gets sent flying. Iceweed's a good pick here, as not only is he invulnerable to Screamer Zombie's kicking, but can also chill him to slow him down. 
In general, you'll want a defense that can hold up pretty well so that it's able to take Thriller Fright and Solo Supernova head on. Wall plants - especially heavy duty ones like Primal Wall-nut - are heavily recommended, as they'll prove essential when dealing with said abilities. As for offense, attackers that can slow zombies down like Dazey Chain are good against Bushwhacker Frenzy, group attackers like Melon-pult are good against Thriller Fright, and poison plants like Shadow-shroom are the only things that can effectively counter Solo Supernova. Goo Peashooter is recommended for his slowing and poison properties while also being pretty cost-effective. 
If you feel like you're getting overwhelmed, feel free to use Thyme Warp. Just be careful to not use it against Thriller Fright. Yeah, the up close and personal zombie revival may seem scary, but remember - they're only at half health, and sending them back means you're helping them regain their lost health. You're far better off with something like Grapeshot against Thriller Fright.
Screamer Zombie has many possible synergies with Solo Supernova. These include, but are not limited to: MC Zom-B, Jurassic Rockpuncher, Bug Zombie and more. The damage, defense, and speed boosts basically upgrade each zombie to the next level, so what if you took advantage of that? Hypno-shroom and Caulipower can hypnotize the inspired zombies, thus pitting buffed zombie against buffed zombie. Gumnut can utilize the defense buff to make his gum even harder. If you're feeling that it's starting to get a bit overwhelming, Ice Bloom can freeze all zombies on the lawn momentarily, buying you that sweet, sweet time.
==Gallery==
HD Screamer Zombie.png|HD Screamer Zombie
Screamer Zombie Almanac Icon.png|Almanac Icon
Rock Your World.png|Rock Your World's icon
Rock Your Banner.png|Rock Your World's banner
==Trivia==
* He is the only non-general zombie to have the ability to gain another ability at random.
* He's the third zombie in the international version that uses a guitar, the second being Beach Concert Zombie and the first being Hair Metal Gargantuar.
** Taking the Chinese version into account, he's the fourth zombie, with Beach Concert Zombie being the third, Bass Zombie being the second, and Hair Metal Gargantuar being first.
** A Neon Zombie on the Zombot Multi-stage Masher can be seen with one, however he is not his own zombie and therefore doesn't count.
* He borrows several assets from Punk Zombie, such as his pants and jacket.
* This is not a crossover I swear.
==See Also==
* Beach Concert Zombie
Category:DartenApproved