Sugar-Cano

Sugar-Cano is the tenth plant obtained in Altar of the Sun in Plants vs. Zombies: Rips in Time. The player can click her to arm her, then tap on any tile to create a puddle of lava that functions identically to those created by Lava Guava. The lava deals 5 damage per second every second, and disappears after 12 seconds. After firing, she needs twenty seconds to recharge. She is also a thawing plant, but due to Viking Seas being the only area with freezing winds, this minimizes her usefulness with that ability, as lava tiles do not function on water. If lava tiles are placed on the same space as a plant, the lava will deal the same damage to a plant as it would to a zombie, burning it up quickly.

Origins
Sugar-Cano takes inspiration from sugarcane, a species of perennial true grasses native to the warm, temperate regions of South Asia and Melanesia. It also references volcanoes, which are often known for spewing lava. This is reflected by Sugar-Cano's ability.

Almanac entry
Sun cost: 425

AREA: Tile RANGE: Full Board RECHARGE: Fast

Click Sugar-Cano to place lava tiles anywhere on the lawn.

Special: Lava tiles burn both plants and zombies.

While she is pretty powerful, other plants agree she can be a little egotistical sometimes. She is full of hot air, after all.

Plant Food effect
When fed Plant Food, she will create five lava tiles near the toughest zombies on the screen.

Upgraded stats

 * Sugar-Cano's lowest sun cost is 325
 * Sugar-Cano's lowest recharge is 3 seconds
 * Sugar-Cano's highest damage-per-second is 10 damage every second.
 * Sugar-Cano's lowest cooldown is 12 seconds

Upgraded abilities

 * Lava Splash - When lava hits a tile, it'll deal 10 splash damage in a 3x3 area.
 * Longer Lava - Lava puddles last for twice as long.

Strategies
Sugar-Cano can be seen as an alternative to Lava Guava, as well as plants like Banana Launcher, Missile Toe, and Potatenator. Creating lava tiles that deal consistent damage rather than hitting all at once can give Sugar-Cano a notable advantage, particularly when paired with defensive plants, easily maximizing the damage she deals to zombies. However, it should be noted that flying zombies can avoid the lava tiles, and that lava tiles will destroy plants on them, and will not function in water. This can lower Sugar-Cano's usability when compared to other plants. However, she is also cheaper, so if the player needs to spend less sun, Sugar-Cano can be the most effective choice. Since lava tiles last for twelve seconds, they can be better for dealing with large lanes of weaker zombies.

The player should be careful against Sacrifice Zombies, as they have the potential to destroy this plant by being destroyed. As such, the player should pack Holy Moly if this zombie is present. While the water in The Oddyssey can also avert players from using this plant, it does serve as an effective counter to Achilles Zombie, so packing her may not be a bad choice when this zombie is present, particularly in Corruption Core.

Due to her high cost, she can be an effective plant to sacrifice in Altar of the Sun. To bring her back, the player can use Intensive Carrot or Mourning Glory.

Gallery

 * Sugar-Cano's design re-uses the dirt from Potato Mine. Due to this, she can not be placed on Tree Forts or Lily Pads.