Acer pensylvanicum
A native-only broadleaf tree that shields the bench with a Sun overshield and heals allies, played purely as a support wall.
Striped maple is an armored Broadleaf tree that fights as a steady support wall. It is native to Eastern North America and has no invasive form, so the arena only ever plays it as a native buffer. Its damage is unremarkable; its value is durability, a Sun overshield, and bench healing.
Its starter attack, Branch Bash, unlocks at level 1 and costs 2 Sun, dealing about 29 damage - a plain strike. The free once-per-battle ability, Old-Growth Reaction, comes in at level 25: Centuries of shade — the foe stalls and withers. The advanced attack, Forest Fire, unlocks at level 40 for 6 Sun (about 34 damage) and saps the target's attack as it strikes. Most of your maples sit below level 40, where only the starter is available. None of its moves carry an initiative rider, so it never seizes a turn. See Moves.
Maple keeps two always-on traits. Network arrives on the level 10 riser and projects a gold Sun overshield bar onto your active from the bench - a canopy-tree effect that helps your front-liner absorb hits and fuel its moves. Mycorrhiza arrives later, on the level 68 riser, and heals a benched ally, but it triggers only about 60% of the time, so it is a bonus rather than a plan. Together they make maple a quiet background supporter. See Abilities.
Maple carries no special trait keywords - no thorns, no toxin, no spore chemistry - so nothing punishes an attacker for hitting it. It is non-toxic, showing no hazard ring. Its growth habit is terrestrial, so it is not eligible for a Moss Pole. As a native it only plays defense, so defensive field gear that adds DEF plays to its tree armor and support role.
At level 40 maple reads 140 HP with ATK of 24 - modest, in line with a supporter. Because there is no invasive card, it never gains trait-sourced ATK. DEF is 20, solid in the broadleaf-tree band, so it holds up well under fire. Its tempo is even - the same off the mark as in a long fight - with initiative (15) and SPD (15) at the same low value, so it is never fast, just steady. Retreat costs 16 Sun. As a native it gains a +15% HP cushion and a bench HP overshield, and it never pays the invasive attacker's Faustian self-damage or extra prizes. See Stats.
Matured to level 100, maple reaches 276 HP and 44 ATK, and as a broadleaf tree its DEF climbs to 44 - a strong armored wall, though its damage stays modest. Retreat rises to 34 Sun, and its tempo has sunk to roughly 1% of cap, so a mature maple acts last but is very hard to remove and keeps feeding the bench. See Stats.
As a broadleaf tree, maple is in the Competitor succession group. It hits Ruderal plants (annual forbs, grasses, aquatics, bulbs) for x1.5 and is struck for only x0.667 by them; it is weak to Specialist plants (succulents, conifers, ferns, epiphytes), which hit it for x1.5 while resisting its blows. Against other Competitors and the off-wheel Weird group the matchup is neutral. See Weaknesses & Resistances.
Play maple as a bench anchor and Sun battery. Its modest ATK means it should rarely be your main damage; instead it soaks hits, projects its Sun overshield onto your active, saps attackers with its advanced move, and drips heals to allies. Its even, slow tempo suits holding a line rather than chasing. It is inedible, so any nutrient banks x1.25 XP rather than coins - grow it for stats. It only gets tankier as it levels, crossing over around level 1; keep leveling it.
Leveling trades speed for power. A plant’s tempo (SPD + INI, the turn-order edge) fades as it grows, while its power (HP + ATK + DEF, net of the rising Sun cost to retreat) climbs. The crossover is the level where power overtakes tempo: below it the plant is a fast skirmisher, above it a heavyweight. Shown for each stance this plant can actually hold — native adds a HP cushion, invasive an attack edge, neutral neither — with the card at its crossover and fully grown at Lv 100.