Aloe rivierei
A self-healing succulent that leads the opening turn, binds what it hits and outlasts opponents as a native African buffer.
Aloe rivierei is a low, water-storing Succulent that fights as a self-healing skirmisher: it leads the first turn, binds what it strikes, and mends itself between exchanges. It is native to Africa and has no invasive form, so the arena only ever fields it as a native buffer. Its own damage is modest; it wins slow fights by outlasting rather than out-hitting.
Its starter attack, Water Leech, unlocks at level 1 for 2 Sun, dealing about 26 damage and binding the target so it cannot slip away. The free once-per-battle ability, Edaphic Grip, arrives at level 25: Grips thin soil — Bind, and the foe can't heal. It saps the foe rather than healing you. The advanced attack, Spine Wall, unlocks at level 40 for 6 Sun (39 damage) and lands as a multi-hit. Most of your aloe sit below level 40, where only the starter is unlocked. None of its moves carry an initiative rider. See Moves.
Aloe rivierei keeps two always-on traits. Succulence arrives on the level 10 riser and regenerates it in any weather, but as a sustain trait it fires only about 60% of the time. Photosynthesis arrives on the level 68 riser and heals it in sun, likewise firing about 60% of the time. Both are recovery leans rather than guarantees, and for most of the card's life only succulence is online. See Abilities.
Aloe rivierei does not hold the Toxin trait, so striking it carries no contact recoil and its attacks lay no poison. Its habit is terrestrial, so it is not eligible for a Moss Pole. As a native, defensive field gear — a Cloche, or a calcium or magnesium amendment for a little DEF — helps offset its thin armor. See statuses.
At level 40 aloe reads 121 HP with ATK of 16; as a native-only card there is no invasive attack gap. DEF is just 2, at the soft floor of the succulent band, so it takes hits with almost no armor and leans on its binding and its regeneration instead. Its tempo is front-loaded: turn 1 runs on its initiative (30) and every turn after on its slower SPD (21), so it opens quick but is out-paced in a long fight. Retreat costs 19 Sun. As a native it gains a +15% HP cushion and, while benched, projects an HP overshield onto your active. See Stats.
Matured to level 100, aloe swells to 233 HP and 28 ATK, but its DEF only reaches 3 — as a soft succulent it buys bulk in health and almost none in armor, so it stays exposed to any real hitter. Retreat rises to 41 Sun, and its tempo has sunk to about 1% of cap, so a mature aloe acts last against almost anything younger. Maturing buys survivability, not turn order.
As a succulent, aloe sits in the Specialist succession group. It hits Competitor plants (perennial herbs, shrubs, broadleaf trees) for ×1.5 and takes only ×0.667 from them; it is weak to Ruderal plants (annual forbs, grasses, aquatics, bulbs), which strike it for ×1.5 while resisting its blows. Against other Specialists and the off-wheel Weird group the matchup is neutral. See Weaknesses & Resistances.
Play aloe as a native staller: lead with it to bind the enemy active, then grind the fight out while its regeneration tops it back up. It is a collection-grade card rather than a strong attacker — its damage is low and it wins only by attrition — so value it most as a benched buffer projecting its overshield onto a harder hitter. On economy, aloe is inedible, so any nutrient you feed it banks ×1.25 XP toward faster growth rather than coins. It plays as a quick opener that leans harder on its bulk as it levels, crossing over around level 13 — but it is always stronger at higher levels, so there is no reason to hold it back.
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.