Alumroot

Overview

Alumroot is a low Perennial herb that fights as a self-healing body: it mends itself as it strikes and can shrug off a lethal hit earlier than most cards. It is native across East Asia and both Eastern and Western North America, 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 a steady support card rather than a heavy hitter.

Moves

Its starter attack, Taproot Anchor, unlocks at level 1 and costs 2 Sun, dealing about 30 damage as a native and 30 as an invasive, as a straightforward hit. The free once-per-battle ability, Stabilization, comes in at level 25: Pins the ground down — the foe stalls, and can't break away. It mends the plant. The advanced attack, Herbaceous Assault, unlocks at level 40 for 6 Sun (33 native / 33 invasive) and heals the plant as it lands. Most of your alumroot sit well below level 40, where only the starter is available. No move carries an initiative rider.

Abilities

Alumroot keeps a single always-on trait: Resprout. Because it draws only one eligible trait, it comes in early on the level 10 riser at half strength and matures on the level 68 riser. When it works it lets the plant survive one otherwise-lethal hit at roughly a quarter of its health — but it triggers only about 60% of the time, so treat it as a coin-flip reprieve, not a guarantee. That early, half-strength arrival is its edge over cards that wait until level 68. See Abilities.

Features

Alumroot carries no trait keywords — no thorns, no toxin chemistry — so nothing punishes an attacker for hitting it. It is non-toxic: no hazard ring, no contact recoil, no poison rider. Its growth habit is terrestrial, so it is not eligible for a Moss Pole. As a native, defensive field gear suits its heal-and-outlast game; as an invasive, offensive gear makes its aggression count.

Stats

At level 40 alumroot reads 103 HP native / 89 invasive, with ATK of 27 native versus 27 invasive — a modest invasive edge. DEF is 4, a step above the perennial-herb floor. Its tempo is a slow starter but a faster cruiser: turn 1 runs on its initiative (32) and every turn after on its SPD (34), so it is out-paced early and relentless later. Retreat costs 16 Sun. As a native it gains a +15% HP cushion and a benched HP overshield for 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.

At Level 100

Matured to level 100, alumroot climbs to 190 HP native / 165 invasive and 49 / 50 ATK, and its DEF reaches 8 — modest armor for a soft herb, so most of its growth is in health. Retreat rises to 33 Sun, and its tempo has sunk to roughly 1% of cap, so it acts last against almost anything young. Maturing brings Resprout to full strength and buys the bulk to keep healing through a long fight.

Weaknesses & Resistances

As a perennial herb, alumroot is in the Competitor succession group. It hits Ruderal plants (annual forbs, grasses, aquatics, bulbs) for ×1.5 and is hit for only ×0.667 by 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 alumroot as a self-healing buffer that outlasts. As a native its cushion, overshield, and early Resprout let it shelter a fragile hitter through a long fight; as an invasive its modest ATK edge makes it a passable attacker, though it works better as durable support. It is inedible, so feeding it any nutrient banks ×1.25 XP rather than coins. It fights as a fast skirmisher until about level 22, after which its growing bulk takes over, so there is no reason to hold it back from leveling.