Celery Stalker

*Celery Stalkers wait until zombies pass, then pop up and bash them from behind.*

## Almanac statistics

### Unlocked by beating

NMT-I

**Celery Stalker resents that the implication that there's anything unsavory about his attack style. He simply believes that discretion is the better part of vegetation.**

**Celery Stalker** is the first plant available in Neon Mixtape Tour in *Alternate UniverZ*. When planted, Celery Stalker hides underground and waits until a zombie passes over it. At that point, he resurfaces and rapidly attacks the zombie from behind, exposing itself to other zombies' attack in the process. However, after about three seconds of having no zombies in his range, he hides again.

Celery Stalker is unlocked after beating NMT-I.

## Almanac entry

**Celery Stalker**

SUN COST: 50

RECHARGE: 30

TOUGHNESS: 1200

DAMAGE: 20

FIRING RATE: 0.2

RANGE: Close

Celery Stalkers wait until zombies pass, then pop up and bash them from behind.
Celery Stalker resents that the implication that there's anything unsavory about his attack style. He simply believes that discretion is the better part of vegetation.

## Plant Food effect

When fed Plant Food, Celery Stalker spawns three additional Celery Stalkers on random unoccupied tiles on the screen instantly.

## Strategies

Celery Stalker's main strength comes from his high damage dealing capability. This allows him to easily pick off zombies when in small numbers and greatly damage foes with large amounts of health. However, his small range and slow reaction times mean that Celery Stalker will fare poorly against groups of enemies.

Because of all the weaknesses mentioned above, the best way to use Celery Stalker is to treat him as an early-offense or end game clean-up plant. He can take out the initial zombies at low cost, but should be replaced as multiple zombies begin entering the same lanes at once.

At the end of large zombie waves, if the player's defenses and sun supply have been severely compromised, its low cost makes it suitable for picking off the last few zombies if the surviving plants are not sufficient. However, despite its low cost, it has a fairly slow recharge compared to other plants.

Celery Stalker can also be used as a counter for Punk Zombie or Glitter Zombie when their respective jam is playing, because they cannot affect him while he is underground. He can also be used as a counter for Bassist Zombie as he doesn't move, meaning that Celery Stalker can repeatedly damage him and destroy his speaker when planted right behind him without issues. However, he should not be used against MC Zom-B while the rap jam is playing, as MC Zom-B will attack and kill him before he can even start to attack him unless the MC Zom-B is stunned. He also should not be used against Hair Metal Gargantuars, as their shockwaves are bugged and can hit them.

A good plant to use with Celery Stalker is Stunion, since his stunning effect lasts 20 seconds, meaning Celery Stalker is capable of dealing 2000 damage total to a stunned zombie, which is higher than the total amount of health that most zombies have. Surviving zombies like Gargantuars, Cart-Head Zombies and Webhead Zombies will be severely weakened and can be finished off easily, making Celery Stalker and Stunion a deadly combo for most tough zombies as long as nothing else interrupts them in the process.

Keep in mind that robotic zombies like Robo-Cone Zombie or Mecha-Football Zombie cannot be stunned by Stunion, and E.M.Peach or Iceberg Lettuce should be used against them instead. While Celery Stalker is busy attacking, the player can use another defensive plant such as a Wall-nut or an Endurian to hold zombies in place, or to protect Celery Stalker from being eaten.

Kernel-pult and Celery Stalker also make a good pair. While Kernel-pult stuns zombies from a distance, Celery Stalker can inflict major damage on the stunned zombie. Combine the two with plants such as Melon-pult to weed out the weaker zombies, thus protecting the Celery Stalker from being eaten, while the stronger zombies get stunned by Kernel-pult, and are killed by Celery Stalker.

A good place to use Celery Stalker is in Frostbite Caves in levels where the ice floes directs zombies to another lane then back to the previous one. Just place Celery Stalker behind the space where the second ice floe directs zombies and it will be an invincible killing machine. Just beware of Ice Weasels and Dodo Rider Zombies as they can go over ice floes. This strategy can be used in other worlds with the help of Sweet Potato.

Another good place to use Celery Stalker is behind portals (preferably along with a defensive plant apart from Chard Guard), as they will attack as soon as zombies enter from the portal.

Celery Stalker should not be used against Imp Porters, since when an Imp Porter dies, he drops his backpack, which falls back and instantly kills it. It is also best to avoid using him in tandem with knockback plants like Spring Bean as they usually end up pushing the zombies out of its range or onto the Celery Stalker.