Imp Porter

*Drops his trusted backpack on nearby Gold Tiles for a nasty surprise.*

Imp Porter is stronger than he looks. He's also more charming, smarter and has a better education.

**Imp Porter** is the third special zombie encountered in Lost City in *Alternate UniverZ*. When he comes across a Gold Tile, he falls with his backpack which crushes him and any ground plants on the Gold Tile such as Spikeweed, and drops a tent that absorbs 700 damage and spawns either a Adventurer Zombie or a Conehead Adventurer Zombie every 12-18 seconds. If Imp Porter is defeated before reaching a Gold Tile, he drops his backpack which absorbs 700 damage and crushes any plant in the tile behind him.

## Almanac entry

**Imp Porter**

TOUGHNESS: Solid

SPEED: Speedy

Drops his trusted backpack on nearby Gold Tiles for a nasty surprise.

Health: 290
Speed: 1.62
Special Ability: drops a 700 hp tent and disappears if he reaches a Gold Tile; drops a backpack upon death otherwise
Tent Ability: Lost City Basics and Coneheads emerge from it every 12-18 seconds

Imp Porter is stronger than he looks. He's also more charming, smarter and has a better education.

## Overview

Imp Porter absorbs 290 damage and degrades upon absorbing 145 damage before dying at 290 damage.

## Encounters

* Player's House: Piñata Party

* Lost City: LC-III, LC-IV, LC-VII, LC-X, LCX-II, LCX-III, LCX-V, LCX-VIII and LCX-IX

* Volcanic Lost City: VLC-I, VLC-II, VLC-III and VLC-VIII

* Summer Splashdown: SS-II

* The Breakroom: TB-VI

* Heroic Showdown: HS-VI, HS-VII, HS-VIII, HS-IX and HS-X

* Plant Showcase: Natural Medication

* Timeless Avenue: Roguelike Hunt and Ice Temple

* Invaded Levels: Invaded FFX-III and Invaded DA-VII

* When Worlds Flourish: 3

* Endless Zones: Temple of Bloom

## Strategies

Imp Porters can be very problematic if you do not prepare. However, with the right strategies, he ends up being one of the easiest zombies in Lost City to tackle. Certainly the best solution is to kill him before he deploys his tent. Gold Tiles in later Lost City levels, while close to the right side of the lawn, still give the player enough time to get rid of Imp Porter before he becomes a bigger threat. Ghost Pepper or Lava Guava are particularly good at dealing with him this way. Also, Blover can blow away him and his backpack if he is in the air. Sweet Potato can direct him to lanes where there are no available Gold Tiles, making his special ability useless. You also could use an Iceberg Lettuce or other plants with the ice effect to stop him, or simply slow him down.

It will be a rare situation where the player kills an Imp Porter before he encounters a Gold Tile. As this rarely happens unless the player has very strong plants, it is bound to leave his backpack behind which acts like a tombstone. It is not deniable that they are a smaller threat than camps, but the player should still take notice, especially if they are using straight-shooting plants without an area-of-effect. In higher levels of Temple of Bloom, however, they are one of the most dangerous things that can cause a game over, even in non-Gargantuar levels. The way to stop this is to set up a strong defense as soon as possible, even if it is limited to the left side of the lawn such as Winter Melons or instant-kill plants. As a quick defense, using Toadstool is a good idea as they can devour both the Imp and the pack. Plant Food is especially needed if groups of these zombies appear on the same lane.

Lastly, the camps Imp Porter sets up are his main highlight and most dangerous ability, as they can spawn Conehead Adventurer Zombies, blocking projectiles of most straight-shooting plants and even overrunning defenses. The spawning rate of zombies is a bit tight, so the player should act fast. Instant-kills are good, but they are not reliable due to their usually slow recharge. If possible, once Imp Porter deploys his tent, immediately use a Coconut Cannon, Holly Barrier or Boom Balloon Flower to get rid of the tent before the Adventurer Zombies start to spawn. More expensive plants like Winter Melon deal excellent splash damage which takes care of them rather quickly. Area-of-effect plants are great choices for destroying the tent and the zombies in front of it. Electric Currants can damage the tent while other offensive plants deal with the zombies spawned by it. A group of Phat Beets, Starfruits and Rotobagas in adjacent lanes can quickly destroy the tent. Alternatively, the player should use slowing plants like Stallia or Stunion to delay the incoming zombies while their regular defense has enough time and firepower to destroy the camps. Laser Bean is another plant that can hit both the spawned zombies and the camp.

Using Spore-shroom and Void Orchid are a good idea against this zombie. Because of their abilities to spawn new Spore-shrooms or gravity spheres instead of letting them drop their backpacks, they will make good use. However, in Spore-shroom's case, you should watch out for Parasol Zombie. You should also use Lava Guava to help you support Spore-shroom.

Defensive plants such as Wall-nut can blockade the Gold Tile, making it not be able to get to the tile, unless the plant is removed. Infi-nut's Plant Food effect is a good choice for this, as it also stops other Lost City zombies from going past the force field.

***Note***: Never place a Spikeweed, Spikerock, Cactus, Celery Stalker or any plant that cannot be eaten on the frontmost Gold Tiles when an Imp Porter is approaching as they will be crushed when the Imp Porter sets up his tent unless he is sent backwards by Spring Bean, Chard Guard or Hocus Crocus.