Imp Porter

*For other uses, see Imp (disambiguation).*

Drops pack on Gold Tiles; pack becomes tent from which zombies emerge.

### Weakness

  (kills Imp but won't drop backpack and will create new Spore-shroom or Puff-shroom)
  (shrinks imp to oblivion, killing him instantly)
  (eats both imp and tent)           (targets all zombies in their lane or in their damage area)
     (electrocutes or burns him, preventing it from dropping backpack)
 (Kills him instantly)
   (hypnotizes zombie, causing him to fight against the zombies and drops friendly backpack.

### First seen

Lost City - Day 17

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

**Imp Porter** is the eleventh zombie encountered in the Lost City. He has the ability to set up tents on Gold Tiles that will spawn the three basic zombies of Lost City, however after setting, the Imp Porter also gets crushed by the tent (along with a plant that was planted on them if timed properly). The time between two zombies spawning from a tent is approximately ten seconds. If an Imp Porter is killed before establishing a tent, he drops a backpack on a tile and it acts as an obstacle. In the Chinese version of the game, the Imp Porter can set up tents on tunnels that appear when the Lost Guide Zombie opens them, making all zombies that spawn from the tent go straight into the tunnel, appearing on the other side.

## Origins

His name is a play on the word "importer."

## Almanac entry

**Imp Porter**

TOUGHNESS: Protected

SPEED: Basic

Drops pack on Gold Tile; pack becomes tent from which zombies emerge.

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

## Overview

Imp Porter absorbs 350 damage per shot and degrades upon absorbing 175 damage per shot before dying at 350 damage per shot.

## Encounters

* Player's House: Piñata Party
* Lost City: Days 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, Temple of Bloom, "Rescue the Gold Bloom" Epic Quest - Step 8, and "Aloe, Salut!" Epic Quest - Steps 6, 7, and 8
* Modern Day: Days 6 and 34

## Strategies

With the right strategies, Imp Porter 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. Garlic 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. Shrinking Violet is a good choice as it can instantly kill him, like other imps encountered in the series.

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-kills. To counter this, you can go to the Zen Garden to take the Imp Porter away from the seed selection screen. Be wary that this may cause Gargantuars to show up, though. As a quick defense, using Chomper or 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 Adventurer Coneheads and Adventurer Bucketheads, they can block the projectiles of most straight-shooting plants and even overrun defenses. The spawning rate of zombies is also not slow, so the player should act fast. Instant-kills are good, but they are not reliable due to their usually slow recharge. Imitater may be able to slightly remedy this, but in Temple of Bloom, not even instant kills may be viable. If possible, once Imp Porter deploys his tent, immediately use a Coconut Cannon, Banana Launcher, Strawburst or Missile Toe to get rid of the tent before the Adventurer variants 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. Bowling Bulbs are also effective as they can deal massive damage to many spawned zombies or the tent, due to their bouncing shots. 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. Guacodiles and Parsnips are also effective as their rush attacks can deal damage to both tent and spawned zombies. Laser Bean is another plant that can hit both the spawned zombies and the camp.

Using Spore-shroom and Witch Hazel are a good idea against this zombie. Because of its ability to spawn newly Spore-shrooms or Puff-shrooms instead of letting them drop their backpack 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.

Due to his ability to set up its tent on tunnels in the Chinese version, it has become even more dangerous should the player should see the Lost Guide Zombie in a level. If this happens, block off the tunnels opened by the Lost Guide Zombie using a Jackfruit, to prevent zombies from appearing from the other end.

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 knocked back by Primal Peashooter.

## Trivia

* He has the most health and slowest speed of any Imp variant.
* His noises are different compared to most Imps. The sounds he makes are similar to when a Zombie Bull Rider is about to be launched by the Zombie Bull.
* If he gets killed in the last column or before, where the zombies enter the lawn, the backpack will be destroyed instantly. This also happens when there is a backpack or tent already behind it and the player plants any single use plants while they are setting a tent on a Gold Tile or on a tile where the backpack will drop.
* A hypnotized Imp Porter will not set up a tent. The backpack dissapears also disappears when a hypnotized Imp Porter is defeated.
* It is similar to Arcade Zombie, as both summon the basic trio with an object (in Imp Porter's case, it is his tent. In Arcade Zombie's case, it is his arcade machine).
* If the player uses a Hurrikale when the zombie is dropping his backpack or switches to another lane and touches a Gold Tile by only a few steps, the tent could spawn on a regular tile.
	+ This can also be done by Primal Peashooter's knockback effect.
		- The player can also kill the Imp Porter while he is dropping his backpack and setting up his tent.
* In the Travel Log, he is called "Imp Porter Zombie."
* His backpack will not drop if he is killed with an explosive plant such as Cherry Bomb or with electrical plants such as the Lightning Reed or a Power Zap.
* He will keep going while walking on the Gold Tile if there is another tent already occupying that tile.
* It, along with the Zombie Bull Rider are the only Imps to carry Plant Food.

## See also

* Imp
* Gold Tile
* Tent

fr:Diablotin Porteur