Dombeya rotundifolia
Dombeya rotundifolia is native-only, so it always plays as a buffer.
Dombeya rotundifolia is a card in the Broadleaf tree category in Supplant. It is native to Africa and invasive nowhere the game tracks, so it only ever plays the native buffer role — there is no attacker version of this card to build around.
Its kit fills in as it levels — most cards you catch are well below the snapshot level (Lv 40) where every slot is unlocked, so introduce them in order. The starter attack, Branch Bash (unlocks at Lv 1, 2 Sun), lands for 29. The free once-per-battle ability is Canopy Recruitment, unlocked at Lv 25 and free to use. Pushes a sapling into the canopy: heal 35% and +3 ATK. The advanced attack, Deadfall (unlocks at Lv 40, 6 Sun), hits for 42. None of its moves carry the initiative rider, so it never seizes hard priority in a wild fight or an extra action in the arena. See Moves and Abilities.
It draws both of the canopy-tree traits, one per riser. Mycorrhiza arrives at Lv 10 and Network stacks on at Lv 68. Mycorrhiza heals a benched ally, and it is one of the sustain effects that only fires about 60% of the time, so treat it as an occasional top-up rather than a dependable heal. Network projects a gold Sun-overshield bar onto your active from the bench (see Stats) and is always on. See Abilities.
It carries no special status keywords — no toxin, thorns, or lifesteal — so nothing it does punishes an attacker or drains the foe on contact. It is not a climber (its growth habit is terrestrial), so a Moss Pole does not attach to it. As a tree it responds well to a Calcium/Magnesium soil amendment, which stacks flat DEF onto an armor band that is already the highest in the game. An invasive copy leans the other way — an attack-boosting amendment turns its already-larger ATK into a real threat. See field gear.
Read at the snapshot level (Lv 40, where every move is unlocked): it carries 103 HP (with the +15% native cushion) and 23 ATK, with DEF 21. Its opening tempo (50) and sustained tempo (51) sit close together, so turn order stays roughly even across the fight rather than swinging with the rounds. Its Sun bar caps at 120 and refills at +1 every 15 minutes; retreating costs 12 Sun. Benched, it feeds the overshield: as a canopy tree it projects a gold Sun-overshield bar (any nativity), and any benched natives add green HP bars that soak direct hits front-first. See Stats and Native strength.
Fully grown, this card hardens into a wall: DEF climbs from 21 at the snapshot level to 48 at Lv 100 — the category cap comes from wood density — while native HP swells to 190 (165 invasive) and ATK reaches 42. Retreat rises to 23 Sun as it roots deeper, and its already-low tempo has sunk to about 1% of cap, so it plays purely on bulk and armor by the endgame. This is a strong late card — a genuine heavyweight.
In the succession type chart it belongs to the Competitor group. It hits Ruderal categories (annual forbs, grasses, aquatics, and bulbs) hard (×1.5) and is resisted by Specialist categories (succulents, conifers, ferns, and epiphytes) (×0.667); against its own group and the off-wheel Weird categories, damage is even both ways. See weaknesses & resistances and categories.
It only ever plays the native buffer role: a benched body that soaks hits and lends its overshield to your active. There is no invasive version to build around. As a broadleaf tree it is one of the tougher bodies you can field, and its Network bar makes it valuable on the bench even when it is not your active. It is inedible, so any fertilizer you feed it banks ×1.25 XP — useful for leveling. Its curves cross very early (around Lv 31), so it is a power-first heavyweight almost from birth. Leveling only makes it stronger.
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.