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Plants vs Brainrots Christmas Part 1 Update: Every New Unit, Rate and Reward
The Plants vs Brainrots Christmas Part 1 update adds six new units, a limited-time Snowflake currency that drops from every cleared wave, and a seasonal banner with a 2.5% Mythic rate — and the short version for grinders is that Peppermint Pod and Tinsel Bloom are the only two units worth pulling hard for before Part 2 arrives. Everything else in the patch is either a sidegrade to something you already own or a collection filler that will be outclassed within a month.
This walkthrough covers every new unit with its stats and drop sources, the full currency economy for the event shop, the exact drop rates on the seasonal banner, and a direct comparison of each new plant against the current meta pick it is designed to replace. If you only have a limited number of pulls and a limited number of nights before Part 2 lands, the comparison tables below are where the decision actually gets made.
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View on AmazonWhat Is in the Christmas Part 1 Patch
Part 1 is a content patch, not a balance patch. It does not rework existing units, it does not change the base tower economy, and it does not touch ranked matchmaking. What it does is open a seasonal banner, a three-week event pass, and a themed map rotation with snow-covered lanes that slightly reduce projectile travel speed for slow-moving shots.
- Six new units — two Mythic, two Legendary, two Epic
- Snowflake currency — drops from waves, bosses and daily event quests
- Seasonal banner — 2.5% Mythic, 12% Legendary, 85.5% Epic and below
- Frostbite map rotation — snow lanes, new boss at wave 40
- Event pass — 30 tiers over three weeks, one free Mythic selector at tier 30
Part 2 is confirmed to add a second banner and a currency conversion step, which matters for your spending plan: unspent Snowflakes convert to standard coins at a poor rate, so there is no benefit to hoarding them past the Part 1 shop.
Every New Unit in Part 1
Stats below are base values at level 1 with no relics equipped. Damage is listed per shot; cooldown is in seconds.
| Unit | Rarity | Role | Base Damage | Cooldown | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peppermint Pod | Mythic | Area control | 48 splash (1.5 tile radius) | 2.4s | Seasonal banner, event pass tier 30 |
| Tinsel Bloom | Mythic | Support / buff | +22% damage aura, 3 tiles | Passive | Seasonal banner only |
| Frost Fern | Legendary | Single target | 61 | 1.9s | Seasonal banner, Frostbite boss |
| Cocoa Cannon | Legendary | Backline artillery | 74 (full lane arc) | 3.1s | Seasonal banner |
| Icicle Ivy | Epic | Slow / chip | 19 + 30% slow | 1.2s | Event shop, 400 Snowflakes |
| Giftwrap Guard | Epic | Stall | 0 (blocks 3 hits) | 8s redeploy | Event pass tier 12 |
Peppermint Pod — the real prize
Peppermint Pod fires a slow lobbed shot that explodes across a 1.5-tile radius. At 48 splash damage on a 2.4-second cycle it clears mid-tier swarm waves better than anything else in the current roster, and the splash means it does not lose value when lanes get crowded. The trade-off is projectile travel time: on the Frostbite maps, snow reduces that travel speed, so Peppermint Pod is noticeably worse on the seasonal map than on standard lanes.
Tinsel Bloom — the buff unit that changes team building
Tinsel Bloom does no damage itself. It provides a flat +22% damage aura to all units within three tiles. Placed centrally, a single Bloom can cover four or five damage units, which turns a mediocre board into a good one. It is the only Mythic in the patch that is genuinely irreplaceable, because no existing unit provides a comparable team-wide multiplier.
Frost Fern and Cocoa Cannon — solid, not essential
Frost Fern is a reliable single-target Legendary with a fast 1.9-second cycle, but it does not beat the existing top single-target pick on raw numbers. Cocoa Cannon is a lane-wide artillery piece with real burst, slowed by a long 3.1-second cooldown; it is strong on long lanes and weak on short ones.
New Unit vs Existing Meta Pick
The table below is the core of the patch decision. Where a new unit does not beat the incumbent, it is not worth the grind.
| New Unit | Existing Meta Pick | Sustained Damage | Cost Efficiency | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peppermint Pod | Standard splash unit | ~20% higher | Better on swarm waves | Worth grinding |
| Tinsel Bloom | None (no equivalent) | N/A | Better in every long fight | Worth grinding |
| Frost Fern | Top single-target unit | ~5% lower | Slightly cheaper to place | Skip unless collecting |
| Cocoa Cannon | Existing artillery pick | ~12% higher burst, worse uptime | Worse on short lanes | Situational |
| Icicle Ivy | Existing slow unit | Comparable | Free from event shop | Take it, do not pay for it |
| Giftwrap Guard | Existing stall unit | Comparable | 8s redeploy is the weak point | Free pass reward only |
Read this as a spending guide. The two Mythics are the only units that change how a board is built. Frost Fern and Cocoa Cannon are sidegrades that exist to fill banner slots, and the two Epics are deliberately handed out for free because they are not strong enough to sell.
Snowflake Currency and Drop Rates
Snowflakes drop from three sources, and the rate differs sharply between them. If you are farming efficiently, ignore normal waves after you have cleared the daily quests.
- Standard wave clear: 2–4 Snowflakes, no scaling with wave number
- Boss waves (every 10th): 25 Snowflakes, doubled on wave 40
- Daily event quests: 150 Snowflakes for the full set, resets each day
That works out to roughly 300–350 Snowflakes per day for a player who does the quests and clears to wave 40 once. Over the three-week event that is about 6,500 Snowflakes, which is enough to buy the full event shop with room to spare — meaning the shop is not the bottleneck. The banner pulls are.
| Banner Outcome | Rate | Expected Pulls |
|---|---|---|
| Mythic (Peppermint Pod / Tinsel Bloom) | 2.5% | 1 in 40 |
| Legendary (Frost Fern / Cocoa Cannon) | 12% | 1 in 8.3 |
| Epic | 38% | 1 in 2.6 |
| Rare or below | 47.5% | 1 in 2.1 |
The banner has a soft pity at 60 pulls that raises the Mythic rate, and a hard guarantee at 90. With a realistic 6,500-Snowflake budget you are looking at roughly 45–50 pulls across the event, which means the soft pity window is reachable but the hard guarantee is not — plan around getting one Mythic, not two.
What to Grind Before Part 2
Spend your pulls on the seasonal banner until you land Tinsel Bloom. If Tinsel Bloom arrives first, stop there and bank the rest. Peppermint Pod is the better raw damage unit, but Tinsel Bloom has no replacement anywhere in the roster and will still be in every serious team after Part 2 ships.
Do not spend Snowflakes on Icicle Ivy or Giftwrap Guard — both are handed out free through the pass and the shop price is only there for players who missed the tiers. Do not pull specifically for Frost Fern or Cocoa Cannon. If they arrive as pity breakers, they are fine units, but they are not worth pulls you could be saving.
Decision matrix by player type
- New or returning player: pull until your first Mythic, then stop. Tinsel Bloom will carry you further than any Legendary.
- Mid-game roster: pull to the 60-pull soft pity. Take Peppermint Pod if it lands, otherwise switch to saving.
- Full meta roster: pull for Tinsel Bloom only. Skip the banner the moment you have it, and hold everything else for Part 2.
- Collection-focused: clear event pass tier 30, buy out the shop, and treat the banner as optional — the free Mythic selector at tier 30 covers one of the two.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the Christmas Part 1 update change existing units?
No. Part 1 is purely additive. No existing plant received a stat change, and no existing drop rate outside the seasonal banner was altered.
Will Snowflakes carry over to Part 2?
Unspent Snowflakes convert to standard coins at a poor rate when Part 1 ends. Spend them in the event shop before the timer runs out.
Can I get both Mythic units without paying?
Only with luck. The free Snowflake income supports roughly 45–50 pulls, and two Mythics at a 2.5% base rate with a 60-pull soft pity is possible but not the expected outcome. Budget for one.
Is Peppermint Pod or Tinsel Bloom the better first pull?
Tinsel Bloom, in almost every roster. Peppermint Pod wins on raw damage, but it is a superior version of a role you can already fill, while Tinsel Bloom creates a role that nothing else occupies.
Should I hold pulls for Part 2 instead?
Pull to your first Mythic now, then stop. Part 2 will almost certainly add a stronger banner, but Tinsel Bloom’s damage aura is the kind of effect that does not get replaced — it gets stacked.
