Hirsute raspberry

Overview

Hirsute raspberry is a thorny, fruiting Shrub that fights as a defensive bramble: it punishes whatever hits it, mends itself mid-fight, and hangs on behind firm shrub armor. It is native to East Asia, and no invasive card exists — the arena only ever fields it as a native buffer for your bench. It is a fair, durable support card whose real strength is its economy, not its damage.

Moves

Its starter attack, Tick Tumble, unlocks at level 1 for 2 Sun and lands a thorny hit for about 27 damage. The free once-per-battle ability, Facilitation, arrives at level 25: Shelters its own and starves the rest: heal 50%, and the foe's bench withers. It is a mid-fight mend that suits its stalling game. The advanced attack, Coppice Comeback, unlocks at level 40 for 6 Sun (22 damage) and hems the foe in. Most of your raspberries 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.

Abilities

Raspberry's always-on traits are Sclerophylly from level 10 and a Lignotuber from level 68; its mending comes from the once-per-battle Coppice move above rather than a background heal. Its thorns keyword arrives on the level 10 riser and, because it matures on that same riser, hits at full strength straight away rather than the halved recoil some traits start with. See Abilities.

Features

Raspberry holds the thorns keyword, so every damaging strike against it deals flat HP recoil back to the attacker, off its physical armature — a small tax that adds up over a long fight, and it fires at full strength since the trait matures on the level 10 riser. It is non-toxic, so beyond that recoil nothing chemical punishes an attacker. 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.

Stats

At level 40 raspberry reads 103 HP and 19 ATK. DEF is 11, up in the firmer shrub band (roughly 20–35), so it blunts incoming hits noticeably — damage is diminishing armor (ATK ÷ (ATK+DEF)), not flat subtraction, so that armor pairs well with the thorns recoil. Its tempo splits across two clocks: turn 1 runs on initiative (39), every turn after on SPD (33); whichever is higher tells the story — a higher SPD means a slow opener that cruises, a higher initiative means a fast start that fades. Retreat costs 14 Sun. As a native it gains a +15% HP cushion and, while benched, projects an HP overshield onto your active. See Stats.

At Level 100

Matured to level 100, raspberry reaches 190 HP and 33 ATK, and its DEF climbs to 23 — real armor, though short of a full tree's wall — so it ages into a genuinely sticky attacker. Retreat rises to 29 Sun as it roots in, and its tempo has sunk to roughly 1% of cap, so a mature raspberry acts last against almost anything younger. Maturing buys it bulk, bite, and a heavier thorns tax; it costs speed.

Weaknesses & Resistances

As a shrub, raspberry sits in the Competitor succession group. It hits Ruderal plants (annual forbs, grasses, aquatics, bulbs) for ×1.5 and takes only ×0.667 from them; it is weak to Specialist plants (succulents, conifers, ferns, epiphytes), which strike it for ×1.5 while resisting its blows. Against other Competitors and the off-wheel Weird group the matchup is neutral. See Weaknesses & Resistances.

Gameplay uses

Play raspberry as a native buffer that fights dirty: bench it to lend a fragile hitter the HP cushion and overshield, or lead with it so attackers bleed on its thorns while it heals through the exchange. Its own damage is modest, so it works better as a durable irritant than as a finisher. Its standout is economy: it is an edible-fruit plant, so feeding it Phosphorus pays ×1.25 coins, while any other nutrient banks ×1.25 XP instead — a dependable coin-earner. It plays as an even-tempo skirmisher early and leans on its armor and bulk as it levels, crossing over around level 24 — but it is always stronger at higher levels in raw stats, so there is no reason to hold it back.