Juniperus scopulorum
A native North American conifer support piece — even, slow tempo, a firmer body, and a bench overshield once mature.
Rocky Mountain juniper is a hardy Conifer that fights as a native support piece: it heals itself in sun and shields your active from the bench once mature. It is native to Eastern and Western North America and has no invasive card, so the arena only fields it as a native buffer. It is slow off the mark and its damage is middling — a patient body, not a striker.
Its starter attack, Cone, unlocks at level 1 for 2 Sun, dealing about 26 damage as a straightforward hit. The free once-per-battle ability, Mother Tree, arrives at level 25: Channels the grove: evens the bench's health and revives the fallen; a matured canopy also shares Sun. It is a mid-fight attack boost. The advanced attack, Resin Trap, unlocks at level 40 for 6 Sun (about 34 damage), mending the plant and pinning the target as it strikes. Most of your juniper sit below level 40, where only the starter is unlocked. None of its moves carry an initiative rider. See Moves.
Rocky Mountain juniper keeps two always-on traits. Photosynthesis arrives on the level 10 riser and heals it in sun, but as a sustain trait it fires only about 60% of the time, so treat the mend as frequent rather than guaranteed. Network arrives on the level 68 riser: as a canopy plant it projects a gold Sun overshield onto your active from the bench. Below the level 10 riser it leans on its stats alone. See Abilities.
Rocky Mountain juniper is non-toxic — no contact recoil and no poison rider, so nothing punishes an attacker for striking it. Its habit is terrestrial, so it is not eligible for a Moss Pole. As a native, defensive field gear — a Cloche, or a calcium/magnesium amendment for a little DEF — suits its supporting role. See statuses.
At level 40 Rocky Mountain juniper reads 140 HP with ATK of 23. DEF is 22, in the firmer conifer band — better than a soft weed but no tree wall. Its tempo is even and low: turn 1 runs on its initiative (7) and every turn after on its SPD (7), which match, so it is neither a fast opener nor a fast cruiser and tends to act late either way. Retreat costs 20 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, Rocky Mountain juniper climbs to 276 HP and 41 ATK, and its DEF reaches 49 — a real step up in the conifer band, firm though not a broadleaf wall. Retreat rises to 44 Sun, and its tempo has sunk to about 1% of cap, so a mature juniper acts last against almost anything younger. Maturing buys bulk and armor at the cost of tempo.
As a conifer, Rocky Mountain juniper sits in the Specialist succession group. It hits Competitor plants (perennial herbs, shrubs, trees) for ×1.5 and takes only ×0.667 from them; it is weak to Ruderal plants (annual forbs, grasses, aquatics, bulbs), which strike it for ×1.5 while resisting its blows. Against other Specialists and the off-wheel Weird group the matchup is neutral. See Weaknesses & Resistances.
Play Rocky Mountain juniper as a native support piece: bench it to feed a gold Sun overshield to your active and heal itself in sun while it soaks the firmer conifer DEF. It is slow at both ends of the fight and its own attack is only middling, so it earns its place by enduring and buffing rather than trading blows. On economy, it is inedible, so any nutrient you feed it banks ×1.25 XP toward faster growth rather than coins. It plays as a slow, even-tempo body that leans harder on its bulk as it levels, crossing over around level 1 — 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.