- For other uses, see Grave Buster (disambiguation).
Grave Buster is a premium rare plant trick card in Plants vs. Zombies Heroes and a member of the 
Guardian class. It costs 2
to play, and its ability instantly destroys a selected zombie in a gravestone.
Origins
It is based on the plant in Plants vs. Zombies and Plants vs. Zombies 2 with the same name. Its appearance is more similar to its appearance in Plants vs. Zombies 2.
Its ability and description are a reference to its only purpose, as a plant that specializes in removing graves in Plants vs. Zombies and Plants vs. Zombies 2.
Statistics
- Class: Guardian
- Tribe: Root Trick
- Ability: Destroy a Gravestone.
- Set - Rarity: Premium - Rare
Card description
"MUST. DESTROY. GRAVES."
Update history
Update 1.8.26
- Description change: Quotation marks have been added to the start and the end of its description.
Update 1.14.13
- Rarity change: Uncommon → Rare
Update 1.16.10
Update 1.22.12
Strategies
With
This trick is ideal for any Guardian hero, as it can easily take out Gravestone zombies. Most of the Gravestone zombies tend to be dangerous, such as Rodeo Gargantuar, Jester, Pogo Bouncer, or Mixed-Up Gravedigger. Grave Buster is an essential card to bring against 
Sneaky heroes, as this class has the most zombies with the Gravestone trait, as well as abilities revolving around gravestones. As a plus, most Gravestones either cost just as much or often more, which means a small strategical play can be used to put a dangerous dent in your opponent's strategy.
If possible, try not to use Grave Buster immediately upon seeing a gravestone in the early game, as you can only have up to 4 in your deck, and certain Gravestone zombies are considered manageable, such as Conga Zombie or Squirrel Herder, mostly because of their low stats. If the plant hero is at low health, you can use Grave Buster on any gravestone present as a last resort attack.
Try to get a basic idea of which kinds of Gravestone zombies are present in the zombie hero's deck, as you may know when to use Grave Buster. Some ideas, including how many brains remain and how many gravestones are on the field, may help predict how many brains are spent on that zombie to know what zombie it could be.
This trick is a great counter against Headstone Carver and Tomb Raiser Zombie. It stops Headstone Carver from creating an even bigger threat, while Tomb Raiser Zombie's spawned gravestones can be managed better. This is also a great counter against In-Crypted, as you will know exactly what zombie is in the gravestone, and nullify its impact before the Zombie Hero has the chance.
Since Zombies hidden in a Gravestone will not activate their 'When destroyed' abilities, Grave Buster is theoretically a good counter should your opponent rely on them. Octo Zombie and Gas Giant are notable examples, as it stops Octo Zombie from returning to your opponent's hand, and Gas Giant won't be able to damage your Hero.
A good way to know when to use this trick is to look at the opponent's brain count on your turn, to have an idea on what kind of gravestone they placed. For example, if a Sneaky hero plays a gravestone on turn 5 and ends their Zombies Play phase, it is likely that the gravestone has a Surprise Gargantuar in it, and should be destroyed immediately.
It is also advisable to know what kind of dangerous Gravestone zombies are in your opponent's classes beforehand, as there are examples such as Binary Stars, Teleportation Zombie, and Zombot Battlecruiser 5000.
When playing as Citron or Beta-Carrotina, this can be used in conjunction with Spyris, so that the player can see what zombies are hiding in the gravestones, and can use Grave Buster to destroy the most threatening ones. When playing as Grass Knuckles, this can be used in conjunction with Re-Peat Moss due to it being a trick. If Grave Buster is used to destroy a Gravestone zombie ahead of Re-Peat Moss, it can clear the lane for Re-Peat Moss to land heavy damage.
Grave Buster is also a root card. While Starch-Lord can't boost it since it is a trick, Grave Buster can be Conjured by him, Lieutenant Carrotron, or Apotatosaurus.
Blockbuster can be used as an alternative to Grave Buster. This is because Blockbuster, while requiring plant evolution and costs twice as much, is also in the Guardian class, which has more than enough plants. Her ability targets all Gravestones here and next door, so she can destroy three at once and leave a body on board that has Bullseye, perfect for exploiting the opening she just made. She is also reusable for Citron and Beta-Carotina, as she can be bounced. However, Grave Buster still sees use, as some opponents may not be completely reliant Gravestones, and in against those decks Grave Buster alone makes said Gravestones manageable.
Against
The best counter for Grave Buster is to not have any, or at least not rely on Gravestone zombies, good examples of such decks being many Imp or dancing decks (without Binary Stars). If you don't have gravestones to play, this will be useless.
But if your deck happens to have some key Gravestone zombies, you may have to confuse your opponent. Since you cannot predict when your opponent would play it, try to play multiple gravestones so that the plant hero has to guess which one has the most dangerous zombie in it.
It is also a good idea to try and bait out this card by using a low-cost Gravestone zombie, such as Sumo Wrestler, Swashbuckler Zombie, or even Pied Piper so that you won't have to worry about losing your more expensive Gravestone zombies. Or, you can get a threat out on the field and then play your Gravestone zombie, since your opponent will most likely be focused on the imminent threat rather than the potential one.
Since this is a trick, Defensive End can be used to increase its cost. He can be used in conjunction with Ra Zombie to prevent the plant hero from playing him unless they have enough sun. Also, it is recommended to remove any Starch-Lords on the field, as he can Conjure more Grave Busters. Spyris is also a threat so try to get rid of that too, so your opponent cannot know which gravestones have dangerous zombies.
Gallery
Plants vs. Zombies Wiki has a gallery for Grave Buster.
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In other languages
Please note that only official translations are used.
| Language |
Name |
Description
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 English
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Grave Buster
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 Simplified Chinese
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墓碑克星
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former called 墓碑破坏者
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 Traditional Chinese
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墓碑破壞者
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 Spanish
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Comepiedras
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lit. "Stone Eater"
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Trivia
- On its card, it has the design from Plants vs. Zombies 2 and looks like it is busting a grave in Plants vs. Zombies 2, but from a different angle.
- However, its appearance, when viewed in its statistics, does not show it busting a grave.
- The gravestone is not synced with his sprite, like in PvZ2 where the gravestone's hitbox also does not sync with it.
- Excluding superpowers, this is only Root trick in the game.
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