Hylotelephium telephium
A dual-role succulent that plays as a Eurasian native or a hard-hitting North American invader, with sun-fed healing and an edible leaf that pays coins.
Orpine is a fleshy Succulent that plays either arena role. It is native to East Asia and Europe and invasive across eastern and western North America, so the game can cast it as a native buffer for your bench or as a hard-hitting invasive attacker. The invasive form gains a large attack jump, which makes it one of the more threatening cards in this set when cast as an invader.
Its starter attack, Deadly Surprise, unlocks at level 1 for 2 Sun and both hits and pins the target for about 30 native / 33 invasive damage. The free once-per-battle ability, Night Stomata, arrives at level 25: Breathes by night, saving every drop: heal 30% and gain speed. It is a self-heal. The advanced attack, Spine Wall, unlocks at level 40 for 6 Sun (43 native / 46 invasive) and strikes several times in one turn. Most of your specimens sit below level 40, where only the starter is available. None of its moves carry an initiative rider, so it never seizes a turn. See moves and statuses.
It keeps a single always-on trait: Photosynthesis. It draws only one eligible trait, so Photosynthesis arrives at half strength on the level 10 riser and matures on the level 68 one. When it works it heals the plant in sunny weather, but as a chance-gated trait it fires only about 60% of the time, so it is a helpful trickle rather than a reliable heal. See abilities.
It carries no trait keywords and no toxin, so it shows no hazard ring and its contact deals no recoil or poison; it is non-toxic. Its growth habit is terrestrial, so it is not eligible for a Moss Pole. As a native, defensive field gear such as a Cloche suits its buffer role; as an invasive, offensive gear pushes its already high attack further.
At level 40 it reads 103 HP native / 89 invasive, with ATK of 26 native jumping to 35 invasive — a large gap that makes the invasive form a real threat. DEF is only 2, near the succulent floor, so it trades health, not armor. Tempo is front-loaded: turn 1 runs on its initiative (46) and later turns on its low SPD (21), so it opens fast but is out-paced badly in a long fight. Retreat costs 16 Sun. As a native it gains a +15% HP cushion and a bench HP overshield; as an invasive it deals Faustian self-damage to its own bench on each damaging attack and concedes 2 prizes when knocked out. Link Stats.
Matured to level 100, it reaches 190 HP native / 165 invasive and 47 / 71 ATK, but its DEF only climbs to 3 — a succulent becomes a huge health pool with near-zero armor, so it survives on bulk and sun-healing rather than by blocking. Retreat rises to 33 Sun and its tempo has sunk to roughly 1% of cap. Maturing brings Photosynthesis to full strength and swells its already big attack.
As a succulent it is in the Specialist group. It hits Competitor plants (perennial herbs, shrubs, broadleaf trees) for x1.5 and resists their blows at x0.667; it is weak to Ruderal plants (annual forbs, grasses, aquatics, bulbs), which strike it for x1.5 while shrugging off its hits. Against other Specialists and the Weird group the matchup is neutral. See Weaknesses & Resistances.
As an invasive, orpine is a fast opener that hits hard: lead with the pin, then use the multi-hit advanced attack to close before its low tempo lets a foe out-cruise it. As a native it is a bulky buffer whose sun-healing and bench overshield keep an ally alive. Its value is also economic: it is an edible leaf plant, so feeding it Nitrogen pays x1.25 coins (any other nutrient banks x1.25 XP instead), a dependable coin-earner. It fights as a fast skirmisher until about level 23 as a native (about level 24 as an invasive), then its bulk takes over, so leveling it only helps.
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.