Salal

Overview

Salal (Gaultheria shallon) is a Shrub in Supplant. A sturdy, versatile shrub with a modest attack and a good spread of roles thanks to its wide invasive range. It is native to Western North America — where it plays as a defensive buffer — and invasive in Europe and Oceania, where the arena turns it into an attacker.

Numbers below are read at level 40, where every move in its kit has unlocked.

Moves

Its kit fills in as it levels. The starter attack, Bramblemaze, unlocks at level 1 for 2 Sun: it deals 27 as a native card and 29 as an invasive one. In effect, A maze of brambles the foe can't back out of.

At level 25 it gains its free once-per-battle ability, Nurse Shrub (no Sun cost, one use per fight): Shelters the whole bench — evens their health, and calls the fallen back.

The advanced attack, Briar Cage, arrives at level 40 for 6 Sun, dealing 20 native and 21 invasive: Closes a briar cage around the foe — held, and sapped. None of its moves carry the initiative rider, so it never seizes first strike — turn order is decided purely by its tempo stats (see Stats).

Abilities

Every plant keeps at most two always-on traits, drawn from its category pool with the rest dropped for good. This card keeps two, and both are working traits:

• From level 10: Marcescence: it clings to its dead leaves, and once it drops below half health that retained litter stiffens into extra DEF — it grows harder to finish the more hurt it is.
• From level 68: Drupe Mast: each time any plant is knocked out, its fruit crop heals its own bench a little, stacking on top of the first.

For most of a card's climb it is running on the first of these alone; the second only joins late.

Features

It is non-toxic and unarmed — it holds no Toxin or Thorns trait, so biting it carries no chemical or thorn recoil. Its useful field gear is therefore the general kit: a Calcium/Magnesium soil amendment for flat DEF, a Cloche or Stake to ward status, and Mulch for the economy. It is not a climber, so a Moss Pole does nothing for it. Played native, lean defensive (Ca/Mg to deepen its wall); played invasive, lean into offense.

Stats

Read at level 40: DEF 11, retreat 13 Sun — a shrub holds a firmer mid DEF band (a level-100 cap of roughly 20–35). Turn order runs on two tempo stats: initiative (33) decides turn 1, and SPD (48) decides every turn after. Here SPD outruns initiative, so it is slow off the mark but quickens as the fight wears on.

Native, it gains a +15% health cushion (about 121 HP) and, while benched, projects a green HP overshield bar onto your active. Invasive, its attack climbs from 19 to 23 — the invasive edge is built from how widely it spreads, not a flat multiplier — but it pays "Faustian" self-damage to its own bench on every damaging attack and concedes 2 prizes when it is knocked out.

See Stats for how each number is built.

At Level 100

By level 100 its health reaches 233 native / 203 invasive, its attack 33 / 42, and its DEF firms up toward the shrub cap (21) but never becomes a true wall. Retreat rises to 26 Sun as it roots down, and the inverted tempo has fallen to near its floor — the fast opener of its youth is gone. Growth buys raw power and trades away turn order.

Weaknesses & Resistances

Its succession group is Competitor. It hits Ruderal cards (annual-forbs, grasses, aquatics, bulbs) for ×1.5, and loses ground to Specialist cards (succulents, conifers, ferns, epiphytes), which resist it to ×0.667. There is no type interaction beyond this succession wheel; see weaknesses & resistances.

Gameplay uses

Play it native as a bench buffer and overshield source; play it invasive as an attacker, mindful of the Faustian self-damage to your own bench. It is edible with a resolved fruit part, so feeding it Phosphorus (P) pays ×1.25 coins — a steady, low-effort earner. Any other nutrient banks ×1.25 XP instead. It fights as a fast skirmisher until roughly level 24 native (27 invasive), after which its bulk and attack dominate.