All-Star Zombie is the fourth zombie encountered in Modern Day in Plants vs. Zombies 2. He enters the field at high speed and tackles the first target with the equivalent of a Gargantuar smash, then slowy walks. He can also kick any Super-Fan Imps up to the 1-3th columns on contact.
His tackling ability is based on the Sprint Tackle or the Ultra Tackle and his ability to kick the Super-Fan Imp a long distance is based on the Imp Punt or the Long Bomb.
Almanac entry
All-Star Zombie
TOUGHNESS
Hardened
SPEED
Flighty
A heavy-duty zombie who charges your defensive line.
Damage: charges like a flighty zombie upon entering the lawn and destroys the first plant he meets Special: slows down and becomes a stiff zombie after tackling a plant
All-Star Zombie is a third-round draft pick and shows a lot of promise, but come on, his salary demands are beyond ridiculous. Ten million brains per year? For FIFTY YEARS?
All-Star Zombie absorbs exactly 1100 damage. His appearance changes upon absorbing 575 damage when his arm is lost, before dying at 1100 damage.
Strategies
As All-Star Zombie's tackle is equivalent to a smash from a Gargantuar. After neutralizing the charge, All-Star essentially becomes a weaker Buckethead whose helmet cannot be stolen. Any wall capable of resisting Gargantuar attacks such as Primal Wall-nut should be effective against All-Star Zombie. Using Explode-O-Nut can easily destroy both the All-Star Zombie and any nearby threats when it explodes. It is even better if it is boosted or if a Plant Food is used on it since it can destroy the zombie and still survive to be triggered once again. Using a Lava Guava is also effective, as it forces All-Star Zombie to stop and absorb heavy damage, which is usually enough to finish him.
If the player wishes to defeat an All-Star Zombie quickly, instant-use plants like Cherry Bomb can do well to defeat him instantly. Magnifying Grass can also work, as it only takes 2-3 hits for each. Cactus, Spikeweed, Spikerock, Celery Stalker or Iceweed are effective in front of hard-shell plants as All-Star Zombie cannot tackle underground plants, but they aren't as effective in terms of dealing damage, as All-Star is simply too fast when charging.
Iceberg Lettuce and Stallia are effective in stalling him as well, since they can waste his attack and still delay him.
Since All-Star Zombies can kick the Super-Fan Imp right into the player's defenses even when off-screen, you should either somehow keep these places protected or kill the Imps to deny him from doing so.
If possible, using Plant Food does work, since many plants have invulnerability during the usually long animation. Using it at the right moment can nullify the attack easily and possibly kill him.
Some instant-use plants will trigger him to tackle. Potato Mine, Primal Potato Mine, and Squash will force a tackle if planted in front of him.
Infi-nut's force field can absorb seven charging attacks by default, so if it is still standing, it could block one of them.
Stunion can counter him, absorbing the smash and stunning him. Also, unlike the first game, he has no armor. This means Magnet-shroom is ineffective, and poison won't be too well off.
Balance changes
Update 5.8.1
▲ Health increased from 1570 health to 1600 health
▲ Eating damage increased from 100 damage per second to 150 damage per second
Update 6.0.1
▼ Health decreased from 1600 health to 1570 health
▼ Eating damage decreased from 150 damage per second to 100 damage per second
Update 6.3.1
▼ Health decreased from 1570 health to 1100 health
He can ram an evil potion as they are internally classified as plants.
If an All-Star Zombie kicks a Super-Fan Imp to a specific column and reaches that exact column, after tackling a plant, he will be stuck in an endless loop in which he will keep kicking the Imp and not move at all, thus preventing the Super-Fan Imp from actually exploding.
If he runs into a stegosaurus, he will stop charging after he is flung.
However, in the Big Brainz Event, his body type is just the same as a regular zombie's instead.
Due to a bug, if the player plants Cherry Bomb near him, then a raptor kicks him out of range (observed in Modern Day), he will still die from the explosion.
Due to a glitch, if he falls after losing his head, his broken arm will expand to his forearm without the hand and bone.
In the Big Brainz Event, his hand goes through his head. This is a layering error.
He does not directly destroy Guacodile. When he runs into a Guacodile, it will rush and bite him instantly, but he wouldn't take damage and instead continue charging.
In Modern Day - Day 30 in the pre 5.9 update a glitch was seen that he could tackle a plant, while not trampling flowers. Evidence can be seen here (at 35:30).