Bean Counter (PvZ:RiT)


 * For the version in Plants vs. Zombies Heroes, see Bean Counter (PvZH).

Bean Counter is a plant in Plants vs. Zombies: Rips in Time. When placed on the board, Bean Counter will decrease the cost of all plants in the player's inventory by 25 sun. This effect stacks with every Bean Counter on the screen. While initially cheap, each Bean Counter on screen causes his sun cost to double. Bean Counter is unlocked by starting Growling Twenties.

Origins
It is based on a bean, a common name for large seeds of several genera of the flowering plant family Fabaceae, and an accountant, a practitioner of accounting or accountancy.

Its name and appearance are both puns on "bean counter," a synonym of "accountant," as Bean Counter is literally a bean with a counter.

Suburban Almanac entry
Bean Counter

Bean Counters lower the sun costs of plants.

Special: reduces sun costs of plants by 25

Weakness: cost doubles for each bean counter on screen

Plant Food: halves the cost of every plant for five seconds

Bean Counter has been reflecting on his life lately. Taking long strolls by the lake with his dog, watching the sun set every night, sometimes he wonders to himself… “Is there really more to life than counting beans?”

Family: Enlighten-mint

Cost: 50

Recharge: 90 seconds

Plant Food upgrade
When fed Plant Food, Bean Counter will briefly halve the cost of every plant in your inventory for five seconds.

Strategies
Bean Counter is a plant with some risk and some reward, considering on how useful you consider his sun reduction ability to be. By reducing the sun cost of every plant by 25, Bean Counter can make many cheap plants like Sun-shroom, Potato Mine, and Bulk-shroom completely free, while lowering costs of other useful plants like Chard Guard. However, his effect may not be particularly noticeable on high-cost plants, such as Winter Melon, which it seems like he'd be most useful on. However, for strategies that spam low-cost plants, Bean Counter can be a choice pick.

Particularly in Growling Twenties is where Bean Counter sees the most usage. Increased prices of most plants cause saving sun to be vital, making planting one or two Bean Counters an effective strategy throughout levels in the world. Bean Counter can be useful in most night levels, since he allows for Sun-shroom and Scaredy-shroom to be placed for free, two plants often used in these levels to deal damage to zombies. However, since his price constantly doubles, and he has a very slow recharge, the player must question if choosing Bean Counter is a good long-term investment.

Trivia

 * He is the twelfth plant to have his sun cost increase under certain conditions. All the upgrade plants from Plants vs. Zombies in Survival: Endless, Tile Turnip, Thyme Warp starting with Plants vs. Zombies: Rips in Time, and Power Flower are the first eleven.