Chinese Plantain

Overview

Chinese plantain is a low, hardy Perennial herb that plays either arena role. It is native across East Asia, Oceania, and South Asia and invasive in Africa, so the game can cast it as a native buffer for your bench or as an invasive attacker. It is a solid, unspectacular card: cheap poison, a chance to survive a killing blow, and reliable coin income.

Moves

Its starter attack, Taproot Anchor, unlocks at level 1 for 2 Sun and deals about 30 native / 30 invasive damage while leaving poison on the target. The free once-per-battle ability, Alkaloid Reservoir, arrives at level 25: Empties a season of alkaloids into the foe — saturating Poison. It is a self-heal. The advanced attack, Crown Division, unlocks at level 40 for 6 Sun and lands a plain hit for about 40 native / 40 invasive damage. 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.

Abilities

It keeps a single always-on trait: Resprout. It draws only one eligible trait, so Resprout arrives at half strength on the level 10 riser and matures on the level 68 one. When it works it lets the plant survive one otherwise-lethal hit at roughly a quarter health, but it fires only about 60% of the time, so treat it as a coin-flip reprieve rather than a guarantee. See abilities.

Features

It carries no trait keywords and no toxin, so it shows no hazard ring and its contact deals no recoil; the poison it applies comes from its starter attack. 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 stalling game; as an invasive, offensive gear makes its aggression count.

Stats

At level 40 it reads 103 HP native / 89 invasive, with ATK of 25 native rising to 25 invasive, a modest but real edge for the attacker role. DEF is just 1, at the rock-bottom floor of its band, so it takes hits with almost no armor. Tempo is front-loaded: turn 1 runs on its initiative (35) and later turns on its SPD (34), so it opens reasonably fast but is out-paced later. Retreat costs 11 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.

At Level 100

Matured to level 100, it reaches 190 HP native / 165 invasive and 45 / 45 ATK, but its DEF only reaches 1 — as a soft herb it gains health, never armor, so it stays vulnerable to any strong hitter. Retreat rises to 21 Sun and its tempo has sunk to roughly 1% of cap. Maturing brings Resprout to full strength, its main reason to level.

Weaknesses & Resistances

As a perennial herb it is in the Competitor group. It hits Ruderal plants (annual forbs, grasses, aquatics, bulbs) for x1.5 and takes only x0.667 from them; it is weak to Specialist plants (succulents, conifers, ferns, epiphytes), which strike it for x1.5 while resisting its blows. Against other Competitors and the Weird group the matchup is neutral. See Weaknesses & Resistances.

Gameplay uses

As a native it is a decent buffer whose cushion and bench overshield help a fragile hitter survive while it lays poison; as an invasive its aggression is only middling, so it works better as support than as a finisher, though Resprout can steal a turn either way. 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 27 as an invasive), then its bulk takes over, so leveling it only helps.