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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 abilities give all zombies on the field +1/+1 and Frenzy, shuffle 3 more Going Viral cards into the zombie hero's deck, and give the zombie hero a card.
It was added in update 1.14.13, along with Sonic Bloom.
Origins
It is based on a virus, a small infectious agent that replicates itself only inside the living cells of other organisms.
Its name is a pun on the phrase "going viral," meaning something that has quickly spread, usually through the internet.
Statistics
- Class: Hearty
- Tribe: Trick
- Abilities: All Zombies get +1/+1 and Frenzy. Shuffle three Going Viral cards into your deck. Draw a card.
- Rarity: Event
Card description
Though Zombies can't get ill, this plague is totally sick.
Update history
Update 1.14.13
Update 1.16.0
- Sound change: Was previously the same as Vitamin Z.
- Became craftable.
Strategies
With
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 used 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 costs only 1 more brain than Leftovers. Since it is quite cheaper than Coffee Zombie, you can play a lot of zombies and then play this on turn 3 to give all zombies a boost and the Frenzy trait.
Because each usage makes 3 copies of it, it will likely draw this card multiple times until it fills up your deck, allowing you to boost your zombies by 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 opponent 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 played 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. This also includes plants that increase this card's cost like Forget-Me-Nuts and Dark Matter Dragonfruit.
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 Template:PvZHLink, as they do not have as many field-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 chance to play new zombies.
Neptuna can use Gravestone zombies or tactics such as playing Mixed-Up Gravedigger to protect her zombies until the Zombie Tricks phase, with the exception of Template:PvZHLink and the Winter Squash + Cool Bean combo, to allow her to easily play Going Viral and boost all her zombies easily.
Template:PvZHLink also works very well with this card, as he 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. Additionally, playing Zombology Teacher can benefit this as the cost of this card will be reduced to 2.
This card can also be a great addition to a sports deck, since many sports zombies have high health and Team Mascot's ability can benefit from the Frenzy trait. Furthermore, you can play Zombie Coach to stall until you can play Going Viral, or protect zombies affected by this trick, allowing them to tear through your opponent's defenses easily.
Due to this trick's nature, it is not recommended to bring other zombies that already have the Frenzy trait as it just gives them a +1/+1 boost.
If needed, you can play this card even if there are no zombies on the field to draw a card. However, avoid using this strategy as it also shuffles more Going Virals to the deck, which can be useless if you do not have any zombies.
Ancient Vimpire also works very well with this card (the more zombies on the field, the better), as Going Viral will give the zombies the Frenzy trait, making it much easier to activate Ancient Vimpire's ability and thus, doing great damage to the plant hero. Only The Smash can use this combo normally.
Against
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 or cards that make tricks more expensive, such as Dark Matter Dragonfruit. As a last resort, Smarty heroes can Bounce zombies boosted by Going Viral. Other heroes, on the other hand, 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 Template:PvZHLink will most likely destroy them all and lead to a defeat for the zombie hero. However, this is only available to the Guardian class.
Gallery
Going Viral's grayed out card in the player's collection
Going Viral on an advertisement for the Early Access Bundle
Going Viral on the advertisement for the Early Access Bundle (Note the different cell color)
Going Viral being the featured card in the menu for the May 31st, 2017 Template:PvZHLink
A notification about Going Viral
Going Viral on the advertisement for the Early Access Bundle
Going Viral being the featured card in the menu for the June 3rd, 2017 Daily Challenge
Going Viral being the featured card in the menu for the June 15th, 2017 Daily Challenge
Going Viral on the advertisement for the Weekly Events
Going Viral being the featured card in the menu for the June 19th, 2017 Daily Challenge
Template:PvZHLink using Going Viral
Trivia
- Its description makes a pun on the multiple meanings of the word "sick." In this case, it is utilizing the slang definition of "sick," meaning "great" or "amazing."
- This is the first card that reshuffles the exact same card, allowing the player to have an unlimited amount of cards if played multiple times.
- It is the third event trick, the first, second, fourth, fifth, and sixth being Shamrocket, Secret Agent, Bad Moon Rising, Exploding Fruitcake, and Unexpected Gifts respectively.
- It is also the second event zombie trick, the first, third, fourth, and fifth being Secret Agent, Bad Moon Rising, Exploding Fruitcake and Unexpected Gifts.
- Prior to update 1.16.0, its collection animation was the same as when it was played.
Hearty class. It costs 3
to play, and its abilities give all zombies on the field +1
/+1
and 
Frenzy, shuffle 3 more Going Viral cards into the zombie hero's deck, and give the zombie hero a card.
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 Template:PvZHLink, as they do not have as many field-filling options as Z-Mech.
Smarty heroes can Bounce zombies boosted by Going Viral. Other heroes, on the other hand, will need to get creative with their strategies.
Brainy
Crazy
Hearty
Sneaky