Plant file · Maple Lake side quest
Potato Mine
It learned to bury lines underground, though now they freeze instead of explode.
Sun200
Recharge7.5s
Durability300
Lore
Potato Mine knows the old friends at Maple Lake and returns there periodically. Invitations from Hurriclover to share tea and play matching games or Minesweeper often include news of that return. Introductions begin in ordinary conversation rather than a formal account of combat skills.
Underground connections now bring cold to passing zombies. Homing Thistle wonders whether the name mine still fits, while Red Stinger imagines using the same ability to preserve food. A familiar name remains attached to abilities that old friends must learn anew.
Hurriclover takes travel safety seriously, asking whether the team can reposition companions, provide medical care, and pursue an elusive enemy. Potato Mine notices this concern without pressing for its cause. A wish to travel meets a friend's wish for a safe return; joining means more than adding another seed packet.
Mechanics
Role
Path connection · Slow and freeze
Base data: 200 sun; 7.5s recharge; 300 HP.
Click one Potato Mine, then another Potato Mine to connect them. The indicator light turns on.
Zombies on the connected path are slowed and frozen.
When the path is blocked, it tries to find a new path.
Can be planted on Lily Pad.
Two mines form a paired set of endpoints, with path tiles applying control. Pairing, orthogonal routing, and slow escalation use separate checks; either endpoint failing removes the line.
Endpoint pairs and relinking
Click one mine, then another eligible mine. A reachable path establishes the link and lights both endpoints; no path means no link. Each mine keeps one partner.
Relinking removes the old line, turns off the old partner’s light, and lets the old graphics fade. Path tiles belong to the endpoint pair; nearby mines do not automatically form a shared network.
Orthogonal routing and obstacles
Routing expands orthogonally across the 9-column, 6-row board without diagonal steps. Apart from endpoints, tiles must be traversable for a mine and unoccupied by plants; boundaries and invalid terrain block the route.
A shortest reachable route receives one line block per tile. A later obstacle triggers recalculation: success replaces the fading old line between the same endpoints; failure disconnects them.
Current tile and freeze window
A line block checks zombies in its lane whose current tile matches the block. Visually brushing the line is not the same as entering the tile. The initial slow lasts about 600 cs.
When an on-line target’s prior slow timer enters roughly [300,320] cs, it receives about 300 cs of freeze and slow is set to about 750 cs. The check uses the prior slow timer, rather than a model that continually refreshes it. Fire clearing cold states affects the subsequent process.
Lily Pad endpoints and line lifetime
Lily Pad permits a mine endpoint on water, but the endpoint is the upper mine rather than the pad. Intermediate tiles must pass their own traversability checks; a valid water endpoint does not make all water traversable.
Shoveling, relocating, or defeating either endpoint clears the line. Greater length covers more tiles without increasing each tile’s control strength.
How path coverage changes
Planting a blocker on a line may reroute it, and the new shortest path may omit previously controlled tiles. Residence, knockback, and lane changes also alter whether a target still occupies a line tile.
Its current mechanic replaces the traditional buried explosion with a maintainable control path.
How to obtain
On Route A, complete every main-story stage in Mysterious Swamp, then return to Maple Lake. Talk to Hurriclover and choose the option to invite Potato Mine to join the team to begin the side quest.
Answer both of Hurriclover’s questions correctly to enter the battle against Hurrioracle. Completing this side-quest battle unlocks Potato Mine.
Major Spoilers · Reveal this content
In the main progression, the Potato Mine seed packet drops when the first phase’s health bar is depleted; collecting it continues the fight into the second phase.
Once the questions are complete, returning to Maple Lake and choosing the same invitation option resumes at the pre-battle dialogue without repeating the questions.
Interactions & counters
- Potato Mine
Two Potato Mines can connect, slowing and freezing zombies on the path.
- Lily Pad
Can be planted on Lily Pad to extend paths over water.
- Hurrioracle
Major Spoilers · Reveal this content
The side-quest fight drops the Potato Mine card before the next phase.
In-game tooltip
After clicking, click another Potato Mine to connect. Mines will be summoned on the connected path. Zombies that step on these mines are slowed and frozen.