Turkey Rider is an eventzombiecard in Plants vs. Zombies Heroes and a member of the Hearty class. He costs 2 to play and has 2/2. He does not have any traits, and his ability adds a Leftovers into the zombie hero's hand when he is destroyed.
He was introduced during the 2016 Thanksgiving event, along with Mayflower. As of January 24th, 2017, both of them were also made craftable.
He is based on a turkey, a large bird in the genus Meleagris that is native to North America. Specifically, he resembles a domesticated turkey in terms of appearance.
His ability is a reference to how domesticated turkeys are cooked after being killed.
Statistics
Class: Hearty
Tribes: Imp Pet Zombie
Traits: None
Ability: When destroyed: Gain a .
Set: Event
Card description
He insists that, as far as modes of transportation go, turkeys outperform dolphins, walruses, and kangaroos any day.
Update history
Update 1.8.23
Added to the game.
Update 1.10.14
Set - Rarity change: Super-Rare → Premium - Event
Update 1.10.22
Became craftable.
Strategies
With
Overall, Turkey Rider is not a competitively viable card, not only due to his average stats of 2/2, but also because he does not support the general playstyle of most decks he can fit into; even if he does, both Turkey Rider and Leftovers are outclassed by several other cards.
Turkey Rider can be a possible candidate to The Smash's pet decks due to his cheap cost, but that is pretty much it; if you need to boost the pets' health, Camel Crossing is a cheaper and more effective card for the job, and your Zookeepers should be able to cover their strength. Even outside of pet decks, Turkey Rider does not synergize well with the Beastly class due to it focusing on huge stat boosts on one zombie; since Turkey Rider's ability is a big part of his viability, boosting him would not make much sense.
He could also benefit the Sneaky class (Neptuna) due to it being known for rushing (mainly with Imps), which Leftovers is perfect at assisting. While Monster Mash does exist, Leftovers is superior in terms of stats gained per brain, and how quickly it can be played is also a bonus. However, the Sneaky class itself does not benefit Turkey Rider at all, because after all, said class is known to ensure that high-strength zombies get to hit your opponent as much as possible; a 2/2 zombie with no traits is not very threatening even if he does hurt your opponent. Even with Imp Commander, it is still not as impactful on the field, and Toxic Waste Imp is a better card if you want Imp synergy on turn 2.
The Crazy class (Z-Mech) seems to also benefit as they tend to swarm with many dancing cards. However, once again Turkey Rider is not that great of a card in supporting swarm decks. This is due to Camel Crossing being a better card in keeping swarm cards alive as the Crazy class already has cards that can boost the strength of most zombies, so they need cards that can boost health more than they need strength boosting cards.
Lastly, the Brainy class (Rustbolt) has absolutely no synergy with this card that is very viable. If you need to play Turkey Rider just to gain a trick, then instead, simply use Trick-or-Treater, who at least can ConjuireHealthy Treat and Sugary Treat.
Against
You do not have to worry much against Turkey Rider, as a 2/2 zombie that only has an ability that activates when he is destroyed is not a huge threat. If your opponent does happen to boost him, they are most likely in trouble already.