Opuntia leucotricha
A tree-like cactus that chips lightly but outlasts the Competitor plants it counters, playing either arena role — a Western North American native or an Old-World invader.
Arborescent pricklypear is a tree-like Succulent that fights as a patient, self-healing survivor: light chip damage, a double-hitting advanced attack, and enough regeneration to grind. It is native to Western North America and invasive across Africa, Europe and South America, so the arena can field it either way — as a native buffer or as an invasive attacker. As a Specialist it is a genuine problem for the Competitor plants it beats, but its own attacks are on the light side.
Its starter attack, Parch, unlocks at level 1 for 2 Sun, a light, quick prick for about 27 damage as a native and 29 as an invasive. The free once-per-battle ability, Desert Pavement, arrives at level 25: Bakes the ground to stone — the foe stalls and withers. It taps stored water for a mid-fight mend. The advanced attack, Areole Assault, unlocks at level 40 for 6 Sun (32 native / 34 invasive) and strikes twice. Most of your pricklypears sit below level 40, where only the starter is unlocked. None of its moves carry an initiative rider, so it never seizes a turn. See Moves.
Pricklypear carries two always-on traits, each at full strength on its own riser. The first, Photosynthesis, arrives on the level 10 riser: it heals the plant in sunny weather — but it rides the roughly 60% sustain chance, so it is a coin-flip mend rather than a guaranteed one, and only when the weather is sunny. The second, Succulence, comes in on the level 68 riser and heals in any weather on that same ~60% chance, so a mature pricklypear mends more reliably across conditions. Both are lucky reprieves, not a plan. See Abilities.
Pricklypear carries no aggressive trait keywords — no thorns, no toxin, no spore chemistry — so nothing punishes an attacker for striking it; it is non-toxic, so nothing chemical bites back. What it does have is a succulent's water-storing resilience, which is what powers the healing traits above. 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 — leans into its wear-them-down game; as an invasive, offensive gear helps its light attacks land harder.
At level 40 pricklypear reads 121 HP native and 106 invasive, with ATK of 17 native versus 23 invasive — compare the two on your card; the invasive edge is where extra damage comes from. DEF is 1; damage is diminishing armor (ATK ÷ (ATK+DEF)), not flat subtraction, so as a succulent it blunts small hits better than a soft herb would without ever becoming a wall. Its tempo is worth reading off the card: turn 1 runs on its initiative (43) and every turn after on its SPD (43); if SPD sits higher it is a slow starter that cruises, and if initiative leads it opens fast and fades. Retreat costs 13 Sun. As a native it gains a +15% HP cushion and, while benched, projects an HP overshield onto 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.
Matured to level 100, pricklypear swells to 233 HP native / 203 invasive and 30 / 44 ATK, with DEF reaching 1 — as a succulent it hardens more than a soft herb does, but it is no tree, so it still wants its healing to survive a heavy hitter. Retreat rises to 25 Sun as it roots in, and its tempo has sunk to about 1% of cap, so a mature pricklypear acts last against almost anything younger. Maturing buys HP, some armor and a second all-weather heal; what it costs is speed.
As a succulent, pricklypear sits in the Specialist succession group. It hits Competitor plants (perennial herbs, vines, shrubs, broadleaf 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 pricklypear as a Specialist counter to Competitor decks — bench it as a native buffer, or send it in as an invasive to lean on its ATK edge and its double-hit advanced attack. Its own damage is light, but its healing traits and type advantage let it outlast the perennials, vines, shrubs and trees it is strong against. On economy, pricklypear is an edible fruit plant, so feeding it Phosphorus pays ×1.25 coins, while any other nutrient banks ×1.25 XP instead. It fights as a fast skirmisher early and leans on its bulk and healing as it levels, crossing over around level 28 as a native and 31 as an invasive — but it is always stronger at higher levels in raw stats, 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.