Aristaloe aristata
A succulent that saps, multi-hits, and heals in sun or any weather — an African native or a European invader.
Guinea fowl aloe is a Succulent that fights as a self-repairing staller: it saps its target, chips with a multi-hit, and recovers through two heal traits. It is native to Africa and invasive in Europe, so the arena can cast it either way — as a native buffer for your bench or as an invasive attacker. It is durable and sticky, though its modest attack keeps it closer to support than carry.
Its starter attack, Water Leech, unlocks at level 1 and costs 2 Sun, dealing a plain hit of about 27 damage as a native and 28 as an invasive. The free once-per-battle ability, Stress Tolerance, comes in at level 25: Built for the dry season: heal 40%. It saps the target, withering its attack. The advanced attack, Spine Wall, unlocks at level 40 for 6 Sun (40 native / 41 invasive) and strikes several times in one turn. Most of your aloe sit below level 40, where only the starter is available. None of its moves carry an initiative rider, so it never seizes a turn.
Guinea fowl aloe keeps two always-on traits. Photosynthesis arrives on the level 10 riser and heals it in sun, though it triggers only about 60% of the time. Succulence arrives on the level 68 riser and lets it regenerate in any weather, again firing only about 60% of the time. Together they make a benched or stalling aloe hard to finish. See Abilities.
It carries the Succulence trait keyword, which drives its all-weather regeneration; it has no offensive keywords, so nothing punishes an attacker for hitting it. It is non-toxic: no contact recoil, no hazard ring. Its growth habit is terrestrial, so it is not eligible for a Moss Pole. Defensive field gear as a native deepens its stalling game, while offensive gear presses its higher invasive attack.
At level 40 the aloe reads 121 HP as a native and 106 as an invasive, with ATK of 18 native versus 21 invasive — a modest invasive edge. DEF is just 2, near the succulent floor, so despite its bulk it takes hits with little armor. Its tempo is front-loaded: turn 1 runs on a higher initiative (30) so it opens first, then every turn after runs on a lower SPD (21), so it is out-paced once a fight drags on. Retreat costs 19 Sun. As a native it gains a +15% HP cushion and, while benched, projects an HP overshield onto your active; as an invasive it pays Faustian self-damage to its own bench on each damaging attack and concedes 2 prizes when knocked out. See Stats.
Matured to level 100, the aloe swells to 233 HP native / 203 invasive and 31 / 37 ATK, but its DEF only reaches 3 — a succulent becomes a large health pool with almost no armor, so raw HP is its only defense. Retreat rises to 41 Sun, and its tempo has sunk to roughly 1% of cap, so a mature aloe acts last against almost anything young. Its heal traits scale with that larger health pool.
As a succulent, the aloe is in the Specialist succession group. It hits Competitor plants for x1.5 and is hit for only x0.667 by them; it is weak to Ruderal plants, which strike it for x1.5 while resisting its blows. Against other Specialists and the off-wheel Weird group the matchup is neutral. See Weaknesses & Resistances.
Play Guinea fowl aloe as an anchor: sap the enemy's attack, wear it down with the multi-hit, and heal through the fight, especially against Competitor-group foes it resists. As a native its cushion and bench overshield support a fragile hitter; as an invasive its slightly higher attack lets it trade a little more aggressively behind all that recovery. Its economy is growth-only — it is inedible, so any nutrient banks x1.25 XP rather than coins. It fights as a fast opener that leans on bulk and healing as it levels, crossing over around level 13 as a native and 16 as an invasive — always stronger higher up, so 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.