Saint Bernard's Lily

Overview

Saint Bernard's Lily is a Perennial herb that fights as a self-repairing poisoning buffer: it poisons its target on the opening hit, regenerates in any weather, and can survive one otherwise-lethal blow. It is native to Europe and has no invasive card, so the arena only fields it as a native buffer. Its armor is nonexistent, so its healing and its poison carry it, not its bulk.

Moves

Its starter attack, Crown Split, unlocks at level 1 for 2 Sun, deals about 42 damage, and leaves the target poisoned. The free once-per-battle ability, Hemicryptophyte Hold, arrives at level 25: Hunkers at ground level — Bind and Wither the foe. It is a mid-fight mend. The advanced attack, Deep-Seated Grudge, unlocks at level 40 for 6 Sun (37 damage) — a plain hit. Most of your plants of this species sit below level 40, where only the starter is unlocked. None of its moves carry an initiative rider. See Moves.

Abilities

Saint Bernard's Lily keeps two always-on traits. Succulence arrives on the level 10 riser and lets it regenerate in any weather; Resprout arrives on the level 68 riser and lets it survive one otherwise-lethal hit at roughly a quarter of its health. Both are sustain traits that fire only about 60% of the time, so neither is a guarantee, and the survival trait only comes online once the plant is well into its life. See Abilities.

Features

Saint Bernard's Lily is non-toxic in the trait sense: it holds no Toxin trait, so striking it causes no contact recoil, and the poison it inflicts comes from its opening attack, not from being touched. Its habit is terrestrial, so it is not eligible for a Moss Pole. As a native buffer, defensive field gear — a Cloche, or a calcium or magnesium amendment for a little DEF — helps offset its paper armor. See statuses.

Stats

At level 40 Saint Bernard's Lily reads 103 HP with ATK of 23 — modest, so its poison and heal do a good share of the work. DEF is just 1, at the soft floor of the perennial-herb band, so it takes hits with almost no armor and relies on its regeneration and its poison instead. Its tempo is front-loaded: it leads turn 1 on its initiative (30) but is out-paced after by its lower SPD (24). Retreat costs 12 Sun. As a native it gains a +15% HP cushion and, while benched, projects an HP overshield onto your active. See Stats.

At Level 100

Matured to level 100, it swells to 190 HP and 42 ATK, but its DEF stays at 1 — a soft herb buys bulk in health and almost none in armor, so it stays exposed to any real hitter. Retreat rises to 22 Sun, and its tempo has sunk to about 1% of cap, so a mature plant acts last against almost anything younger. Maturing does add Resprout, which is the main reward for taking it all the way.

Weaknesses & Resistances

As a perennial herb, Saint Bernard's Lily sits in the Competitor succession group. It hits Ruderal plants (annual forbs, grasses, aquatics, bulbs) for ×1.5 and takes only ×0.667 from them; it is weak to Specialist plants (succulents, conifers, ferns, epiphytes), which strike it for ×1.5 while resisting its blows. Against other Competitors and the off-wheel Weird group the matchup is neutral. See Weaknesses & Resistances.

Gameplay uses

Play Saint Bernard's Lily as a poison-first buffer: lead with it to poison the enemy active, heal through the exchange with its move and its regeneration, and let Resprout occasionally steal back a fight it should have lost once it matures. Its damage is modest, so it stalls and supports rather than finishes. On economy, it is inedible, so any nutrient you feed it banks ×1.25 XP toward faster growth rather than coins. It plays as a self-healing skirmisher that leans harder on its bulk as it levels, crossing over around level 16 — but it is always stronger at higher levels, so there is no reason to hold it back.