Plants vs Zombies 2 - Penny's Pursuit - GEM Plant Showcase - Homing Thistle - Aug 2023

Homing Thistle seeds were offered from August 30, 2023 through September 6, 2023.

Homing Thistle is a member of the SPEAR-MINT family.
Homing Thistle costs 250 Sun. (-25 Sun on levels 3, 5, 8 and 10.)
Homing Thistle will fire a dart that targets the closest zombie to the house - no matter the lane.
Homing Thistle does 40 damage. (+10 damage per level, +20 damage for level 10.)
When given plant food, Homing Thistle will launch about a dozen thistles which seek zombies to attack.

Commentary:
This plant screams “only plant me". It's not a particularly bad idea. Zombies walk towards the house. Homing Thistle will target the closest one until defeated and then target the next closest zombie.

Having ten (10) Homing Thistles will make normal adventure levels seem fairly routine.

That being said, Homing Thistle's cost of 250 Sun makes it a little problematic to use for normal levels. It'll take time to accumulate that much Sun fast enough to not need early plants like Iceberg Lettuce, Squash or Chili Bean.

Homing Thistle ability to attack the closest zombie means Prospector zombies will be eliminated even though they pose absolutely no threat to Dave. That Gargantuar will stroll to the house while these harmless zombies get targeted.

Finally, non-zombie targets like tombstones or thrown octopus will not get targeted until there are no zombies on the lawn. So a couple of Octo-zombie can totally dismantle a Homing Thistle lawn.

Bottom Line:
Homing Thistle is not a bad plant. Just has a few nuances which keep it from being used more.
• A bit expensive
• Does not damage Shield zombie, Jester zombie or Excavator zombie.
• Targeting ability can be a blessing or a curse.
• Does not target non-zombies if a zombie in on the lawn.

+Timestamps
00:00 Level 1 - Difficulty 3
03:11 Level 2 - Difficulty 3
05:41 Level 3 - Difficulty 3
07:45 Level 4 - Difficulty 3
10:17 Level 5 - Difficulty 3
13:17 Level 5 - Difficulty 2

Problem with level 5 is that Electric Peashooter is a money plant. Unless you have it unlocked, a level 1 plant is going to have difficulties with high health level 7 zombies.