Spiraea douglasii
A shrub that firms up under pressure, heals heavily, and hits harder as an invader — a sturdy dual-role staller.
Rose spirea is a shrub — mid-armor and sturdy. It is native to western North America and invasive in Europe, eastern North America and South America, so it holds both roles: a staller at home, a tougher attacker abroad. Although it is in the rose family, this card does not carry a thorns counter — do not expect recoil from striking it.
Its opening attack, Hedge Hammer (level 1, 2 Sun), hits for 30 native / 33 invasive: "The whole hedge comes down on it — the foe weakens." The ability Facilitation (level 25) does "Shelters its own and starves the rest: heal 50%, and the foe's bench withers." — a large heal plus bench Wither. Its advanced attack, Blackthorn Barrage (level 40), costs 6 Sun for 41 / 43: "Every thorn it has, all at once."
From level 10 it carries Marcescence — it gains a flat +4 DEF while below half HP, hardening exactly when it is under pressure, as retained dead leaves shield it. At level 68 it adds Drupe Mast: when it is knocked out, it heals your living bench on the way down. Below level 68 it has only the under-pressure armor.
No thorns (despite the family), no toxin. Not a climber, so no Moss Pole. Its Marcescence and heavy move-heals reward staying in when hurt; it wants gear that extends fights.
At level 40 it reads, native, HP 103 / ATK 20; invasive, HP 89 / ATK 27. DEF is 11 at rest — and +4 more once it drops below half — with retreat 14 Sun. Opening tempo 20 (slow) and sustained tempo 36 (moderate): a slow opener that picks up after, so it usually takes the first hit and heals through it. Invasive, it pays Faustian bench self-damage each attack and concedes 2 prizes on a knockout.
By the cap, DEF reaches 23 at rest (higher still under half HP), with native HP 190 / ATK 36 (invasive 165 / 53). Retreat rises to 28 Sun and its tempo sinks near floor. Maturing buys a durable, self-healing staller that is at its firmest when wounded.
Rose spirea is a Competitor: ×1.5 into Ruderals (annual forbs, grasses, aquatics, bulbs), ×1.5 taken from Specialists (succulents, conifers, ferns, epiphytes), even with fellow Competitors.
Native, it is a staller that firms up as it takes damage and heals through fights. Invasive, it is a sturdy attacker that can grind out single-player battles, with a respectable advanced hit. It is not edible, so any fertilizer banks ×1.25 XP rather than coins — feed it to level. Its shrub bulk makes it power-favored from a low level (crossover near level 15); level it up.
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.