Asparagus tenuifolius
A native vine that regenerates in any weather and closes with a poisoning bench-splash, playing as a self-sustaining buffer.
The asparagus fern is a Vine that fights as a resilient support: it regenerates in any weather and finishes with an attack that splashes across the enemy bench and leaves poison behind. It is native to Europe and has no invasive form, so the arena only ever fields it as a native buffer. Its own attack is modest, so its worth is in its staying power and bench pressure.
Its starter attack, Tendril Whip, unlocks at level 1 for 2 Sun, dealing about 34 damage. The free once-per-battle ability, Structural Parasite, arrives at level 25: Rides the foe down and takes its place — it's driven out, withering. It sharpens its own attack. The advanced attack, Strangle, unlocks at level 40 for 6 Sun (21 damage), splashing damage across the enemy bench and leaving poison behind. Most of your asparagus fern sit below level 40, where only the starter is unlocked. None of its moves carry an initiative rider. See Moves.
The asparagus fern keeps two always-on traits. Succulence arrives on the level 10 riser and lets it regenerate in any weather, but it is a sustain trait, so it fires only about 60% of the time. Allelopathy arrives on the level 68 riser and lays a wilt aura on the enemy active, running reliably once online. For most of the card's life only the level 10 regeneration is active. See Abilities.
The asparagus fern is non-toxic, so it inflicts no contact recoil and carries no poison rider when it is struck — the poison it deals comes only from its bench-splash attack. Its habit is terrestrial, so despite being a vine it is not eligible for a Moss Pole. As a native, defensive field gear — a Cloche, or a calcium or magnesium amendment for extra DEF — pairs well with its regeneration. See statuses.
At level 40 the asparagus fern reads 103 HP with 22 ATK. DEF is 6, low but a touch firmer than the softest weeds, at the vine band, so it takes hits with little armor and leans on its regeneration instead. Its tempo is front-loaded: turn 1 runs on its initiative (30), where it leads, but every turn after runs on its lower SPD (23), where it is out-paced — a quick starter but a slower cruiser. 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.
Matured to level 100, the asparagus fern swells to 190 HP and 39 ATK, and its DEF reaches 10 — a modest gain that leaves it firmer than a soft weed but well short of a wall. Retreat rises to 22 Sun, and its tempo has sunk to about 1% of cap, so a mature asparagus fern acts last against almost anything younger.
As a vine, the asparagus fern 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.
Play the asparagus fern as a resilient buffer: lead turn 1, sharpen its attack, and grind fights out with its any-weather regeneration while its bench-splash finisher poisons and pressures the enemy's back row. It is a steady support rather than a finisher, since its own hit is modest, but its sustain and bench damage earn it a slot. On economy, it is edible with a resolved leaf part, so feeding it Nitrogen pays ×1.25 coins, while any other nutrient banks ×1.25 XP. It plays as a quick-opening, self-healing skirmisher that leans harder on its bulk as it levels, crossing over around level 14 — 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.