Quercus acerifolia
A native-only broadleaf tree that plays as a defensive buffer and collection piece.
A rare, bulky oak with low attack β very much a collection piece backed by a big HP pool. It is a broadleaf tree in battle. It is native to Eastern North America and is recorded as invasive nowhere, so it only ever plays the native buffer role β there is no attacker scenario for this card.
The starter attack Acorn Drop unlocks at level 1 for 2 Sun: Drops mast β also nicks the bench. It deals about 23 damage.
The free once-per-battle ability Stand Replacement arrives at level 25: A fire that takes the whole stand β the foe burns, and so do its neighbours. It costs no Sun β its price is being usable only once per battle.
The advanced attack Transpiration Drain opens at level 40 for 6 Sun: Pulls water up through the foe and keeps it. It hits for about 26.
Most cards you field sit well below level 40, so introduce these slots in order β a young plant has only its starter.
This card keeps two always-on traits, drawn from its category pool; the rest of that pool was dropped and it never gets it. Buttress Roots (from level 10) flares wide anchoring roots, so the tree cannot be bound or trapped in place β it ignores the Bind status outright.
A second, different trait stacks on later: Canopy Gap (from level 68) leaves the tree standing apart in the canopy β it takes no bench-splash or spread damage aimed at a neighbour. So for most of its playable life β including at the level 40 snapshot the stats below are read at β this card runs its first trait alone, and only a fully levelled specimen holds both.
This card carries no special trait keywords, and as a broadleaf tree it is not eligible for a Moss Pole (that is for climbers β vines and epiphytes). A Calcium/Magnesium soil amendment adds flat DEF, which suits a wall like this. Playing native, lean into bench support that feeds the overshield it and its benched natives project. See field gear for the full list.
Read at level 40, it carries 140 HP, including the +15% native cushion, with DEF 30 and a retreat cost of 19 Sun. Its attack reads 15 ATK.
It is a quick starter but a slow cruiser: a higher opening tempo (27 initiative) than sustained tempo (21 SPD), so it tends to land the first hit and then get out-paced from turn 2 onward.
As a native it and any benched natives project a bench overshield onto your active. It never holds the invasive role, so it pays no Faustian self-damage. See stats.
As a broadleaf tree it hardens into a wall. HP swells to 276 native / 240 invasive and DEF climbs to 70 as the heartwood sets, so a mature specimen genuinely soaks hits a young one cannot. ATK caps at 25 / 25. Retreat rises to 40 Sun as it roots down with age, and its once-brisk tempo has sunk to near its floor β the tempo pips in Stats above are as fast as this card ever moves. Levelling buys raw bulk and reach; it costs turn-order speed.
In the succession type chart this broadleaf tree is a Competitor. Its attacks hit Ruderal cards (annual forbs, grasses, aquatics and bulbs) for Γ1.5, while Specialist cards (succulents, conifers, ferns and epiphytes) hit it for Γ1.5 and shrug its own blows down to Γ0.667. Matchups against the off-wheel Weird categories (carrion-aroids, carnivorous plants, mycotrophs and vascular parasites) are neutral both ways. See weaknesses & resistances.
This is a native-only card: play it as a buffer and wall, soaking hits and feeding the bench overshield. It earns its keep in single-player battles for coins and as a family-tree collection piece more than as a top-tier attacker. It is edible with a resolved edible part, so feeding it Phosphorus pays Γ1.25 coins; any other nutrient banks Γ1.25 XP instead. As a tree it is bulk-favored almost from birth β its crossover into power-dominance sits at a low level (see the Total power gallery below).
Leveling trades speed for power. A plantβs 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 β native adds a HP cushion, invasive an attack edge, neutral neither β with the card at its crossover and fully grown at LvΒ 100.