Lime Guard

Lime Guard is a seedium plant in Plants vs. Zombies 2 and was first introduced on the 10.4.1 update. He is an amphibious plant, meaning he can be planted on both land and water. 
When tapped, an aiming reticle appears and once a tile has been selected, Lime Guard will throw a buoy on that tile. These buoys can protect plants and, on water, keep them afloat like a Lily Pad. Note that only one buoy can be on a plant.
If there are no plants on a buoy, it can also trap zombies and will continue to do so until it is broken by other plants' attacks or by zombies, freeing the zombie. However, only three zombies can be trapped by buoys on the lawn at the same time. Also note that buoys will still have the same toughness when trapping zombies.
When Snorkel Zombies get trapped by Lime Guard's buoys, they resurface, allowing the player's plants to target it.
Lime Guard can be unlocked by getting 500 crowns during his Arena Tournament named "Lime Guard's Summertime Season!" which runs from June to July 5th, 2023, or by getting 250 seed packets for him, that can be obtained through his Arena Season, Big Wave Beach piñatas, or during a Plant of the Week feature.
==Origins==
Lime Guard is based off of citrus aurantiifolia, commonly known as key lime or acid lime, a citrus hybrid native to Southeast Asia.
Lime Guard's name is a portmanteau of lime, the plant he is based on, and lifeguard, an expert swimmer employed to rescue people who get into difficulty in a swimming pool or at the beach.
Lime Guard's first costume, Donut Buoy, is an accidental pun on the words "donut boy" and buoy.
==Almanac Entry==
 
==Upgrades==
===Plant Food Effect===
Lime Guard throws three tougher buoys (500DPS) on random tiles on the lawn with. His normal buoys are also permanently buffed, gaining +200DPS toughness. Note that the buff does not stack, and when he is given plant food again, he will just throw buoys.
===Reinforce-mint Effect===
Lime Guard activates his plant food effect. Lime Guard's buoys gain +250DPS toughness (550DPS), and his plant food and buffed buoys gain +300DPS toughness (1050DPS total, +500DPS buff)
== Strategies==
Lime Guard can be quite useful in the early game, as his buoys can stall zombies while the player sets up their sun production. And during the late game, the extra protection he grants could be useful, esprcially when his buoys are placed on melee, defensive, or plants that have low toughness.
If the player has a vine plant, they can combine it with his buoys (even better if plant fooded) to give plants even more toughness. The vines also add extra damage, and if they are on water, the buoys can keep them afloat.
Lime Guard shines in Big Wave Beach, as he can be used as a replacement for Lily Pad and also serves as a counter Snorkel Zombie, forcing them to resurface when trapped by his buoys. The added protection he gives to allies can aslo be quite helpful, especially in the later levels, due to the increased amount of zombies per wave.
== Gallery ==
=== General ===
File:LimeGuardHD.png|HD Lime Guard
File:LimeGuardCostume1.png|Costumed Lime Guard (Donut Buoy)
File:LimeGuardCostume2.png|Costumed Lime Guard (Whistle)
File:LimeGuard3x3.png|Lime Guard on a premium background
File:LimeGuardSP.png|Lime Guard Seed Packet (without mint) 
File:LimeGuardBuoyHD.png|Lime Guard's buoy (HD)
File:LimeGuardAimReticle.png|Lime Guard's aiming reticle (HD)
File:LimeGuardExample.png|A Leafrechaun in a Lime Guard's buoy
File:LimeGuardPOTW.png|Lime Guard featured as Plant of the Week
=== Animations ===
File:LimeGuardIdlev2.gif|Lime Guard's idle animation (1)
File:LimeGuardIdle2.gif|Lime Guard's idle animation (2)
==Trivia ==
*His almanac entry refers to him being demoted from a support-melee to a support plant because the rope attached to his buoy snapped. This is a reference to and old concept where other than Lime Guard's supportive abilities, he can use his buoy like a yoyo to attack zombies. When tapped, he could also use his buoy to drag zombies in his lane to him. 
**To throw a buoy, the player had to press and hold instead.
*Lime Guard was supposed to be in the Contain-mint family due to his ability to trap zombies.
**His mint family was changed to Reinforce-mint because of his buoys' ability to give extra protection to plants. And when trapping zombies, they act as a barrier for other zombies to eat through.
*There is a bug where if the user gives plant food to a plant on a Power Tile and taps on a Lime Guard that is connected to it, Lime Guard will not activate his plant food effect.
Category:Reinforce-mint Family plants
Category:Support plants
Category:Non-attacking plants
Category:Trapping Plants
Category:Aquatic plants
Category:Manually controlled plants
Category:Plants with Elevated Toughness
Category:Uncleared page