Event Card Analysis: Going Viral

Going Viral is an event zombie card in Plants vs. Zombies Heroes, and a member of the Hearty class. It costs 3 to play, and its ability gives all zombies on the field +1/+1 and Frenzy, shuffles 3 more Going Viral cards into the zombie hero's deck, and gives the zombie hero a card.  


This card can essentially replace Coffee Zombie in most cases, as it does the same thing, with the added benefits of drawing a card, adding more of it into you deck, and costing 3 less. It can also be use as an alternative to Leftovers as it gives every zombie the Frenzy trait, a free card, and reshuffles 3 of the same cards into the deck, but cost only 1 more brain than Leftovers.

Because each usage creates 3 copies of it, it will likely draw this card multiple times until it fills the player's deck, allowing to boost your zombies a lot. At the same time, however, you should also be careful about the fact that the more you play this trick, the higher your chances are of drawing this card which prevents you from playing other cards in the late game. If you run out of zombies on the field, it can be difficult to draw more zombie cards as Going Viral has filled up your deck. So you must play this card very wisely and not repeatedly, unless you can easily remove the plants or the player cannot destroy the zombies very easily.

In addition, since this is a trick, the player won't be able to use this when the plant hero plays Brainana, while Coffee Zombie could have been used on the same turn. It can also be quite expensive in the early game, making it a huge sacrifice on whether to boost zombies and potentially have a bad late game draw, or save brains for more important tricks like Weed Spray.

Z-Mech has one of the best uses of this card, as he can get the field covered very quickly. This can work well when playing with groups of Armored zombies so they survive longer and benefit with this trick. Combining this with a dancing deck, Z-Mech can deal a lot of damage very early if performed correctly. Other heroes may use this as a supporting trick like Monster Mash, as they do not have as much board filling options as Z-Mech. Rustbolt also works well with this card, because he can use cards like Fun-Dead Raiser, Regifting Zombie, and Leprechaun Imp to draw more cards, allowing you to get more of these in your hand faster. However, do not overuse this card as it lowers your chances from playing new zombies. Zombie King also works very well with this card, as it can turn weaker zombies into Knights of the Living Dead, allowing them to last on the field longer. However, when Zombie King turns other zombies into Knights of the Living Dead, it will erase all boosts Going Viral has given.

Due to this trick's nature, it is not recommended to bring other zombies that already have the Frenzy trait as it just only gives them a +1/+1 boost.

This card can be very dangerous, because it can boost every zombie on the field and give them Frenzy, and due to it being a trick, you cannot prevent it unless you play Brainana. Heroes that do not lead the Smarty class will need to get creative with their strategies.

Your main goal will be to remove as many of the zombies on the field as possible, since your opponent's hand may be full of Going Viral cards due to its nature. Prioritize zombies that are dangerous with Frenzy, such as Shieldcrusher Viking, Nurse Gargantuar, and Overstuffed Zombie. You can play Sportacus or Black-Eyed Pea to try to discourage the zombie hero from playing this, or boost your own plants to prevent the bonus attack from taking effect. Keep in mind that the zombie hero will always have several of these, even if they start out with only one, so you will need to apply these strategies for an extended period of time. If the boosted zombies are too much for your plants to handle, using a Doom-Shroom will most likely destroy them all and lead to a defeat for the zombie hero.