Ambrosia artemisiifolia
A disposable Ruderal pioneer built to trade bodies — when Common Ragweed is knocked out, its Reseed passive leaves a weak Seedling token behind.
Common Ragweed is an annual-forb, which locks it into the Ruderal succession class — a fast, disposable pioneer built to trade bodies rather than win duels. How it plays flips entirely on nativity, decided by the arena region.
Where ragweed is native, it's a Buffer: +15% HP, and while it sits on your bench it projects green HP overshield segments onto whatever is active up front. No downside. Where it's invasive (which is most of its introduced range), it becomes an Attacker: ATK ×1.75 — brutal for a weed — but it pays the "Faustian" price, chipping roughly 10 + its level off your lowest-HP benched ally on every damaging hit, and handing the opponent a coin bounty or extra prizes when it faints.
Ragweed fills up to three move slots: a starter attack at L1 (2 Sun), a free once-per-battle ability at L10 (0 Sun), and an advanced attack at L18 (6 Sun). As an annual-forb, its advanced attack's damage is capped a hair lower than a bruiser category's (1.2× instead of the usual 1.3×).
Native ragweed rarely wants to attack at all — its value is the bench overshield, so lean on the cheap starter and stay parked. Invasive ragweed swings the advanced move hard: even at the lower cap, ATK ×1.75 turns 6 Sun into a real spike. If this plant is toxic, its attacks carry a poison rider, and poison status damage bypasses the overshield entirely.
Ragweed's category passive is Reseed: on knockout — once per match — it leaves behind a weak Seedling token, about 30% HP and ATK, and it can't be captured. The original still dies and the opponent still banks its prize; Reseed just drops a replacement body. It fires for both native and invasive ragweed.
The catch is that the Seedling is a plain neutral body — it sheds the parent's nativity and role, so it neither projects a native overshield nor pays invasive self-damage. For native ragweed, that means the buff ends the moment it falls; the Seedling only holds the bench slot and soaks a hit, blunting the tempo loss. For invasive ragweed, the Seedling denies the opponent nothing — the prize is already paid — but you keep a free chump body so your board doesn't thin out after the trade.
No climbing, no Sun projection, no lifesteal here. Ragweed's whole identity is Reseed plus its nativity role. The Seedling is the recurring theme: cheap, expendable, and always leaving something behind.
| Stat | Read |
|---|---|
| HP | Modest; ×1.15 when native |
| ATK | Low base; ×1.75 when invasive |
| DEF | Thin flat cut |
| SPD | Quick initiative — Ruderal pioneer |
| Retreat | 10 Sun |
See stats for how damage resolves: round(dmg×ATK) − DEF, minimum 1, drained from the overshield first.
The succession chart is the only type multiplier (strong ×1.5, resisted ×0.667). As a Ruderal, ragweed is strong vs Specialist (conifers, succulents, ferns, epiphytes) and weak vs Competitor (vines, shrubs, perennials, broadleaf trees). It's neutral against Weird. Full details at weaknesses & resistances.
Invasive ragweed's ×1.75 stacked onto a ×1.5 Specialist matchup is one of the harder single hits a weed can throw.
Native ragweed is a set-and-forget bench Buffer — park it behind a sturdier active, feed the overshield, and let Reseed leave a body when it finally falls (the buff ends there, but the slot stays filled).
Invasive ragweed is a kamikaze spiker: swing the ×1.75 ATK, accept that every damaging hit chips roughly 10 + its level off your lowest-HP benched ally, and use the Seedling as a throwaway blocker once the prize is paid. Because the Faustian recoil always auto-targets your lowest-HP bench card, field a bench that can eat repeated chip. For field gear, P (Phosphorus) speeds card XP toward that L18 advanced attack, and Sulfur grants spore immunity if you're fighting through status arenas.