Typha latifolia
A native-only marsh grass-relative that wilts the enemy active and, once mature, chips their whole bench.
Broadleaf cattail is a tall wetland Aquatic that fights as an attrition piece: it grinds the opposing side down with a wilt aura and, later, bench chip, rather than through one big hit. It is native across East Asia, Europe, and eastern and western North America, and has no invasive form, so it only ever plays the native buffer role; there is no attacker scenario for it. It is a decent, patient card that rewards a longer fight. See nativity.
Its starter attack, Surge, unlocks at level 1 and costs 2 Sun, dealing about 43 damage as a straightforward strike. The free once-per-battle ability, Winter Bud, unlocks at level 25: Sinks a bud to wait out winter: heal 30% and +3 ATK. The advanced attack, Eutrophy, unlocks at level 40 for 6 Sun (43 damage) and binds the target, pinning it so it cannot retreat cleanly. Most of your cattails sit below level 40, where only the starter is available. None of its moves carry an initiative rider. See moves.
Cattail keeps two always-on traits. Allelopathy arrives on the level 10 riser and lays a wilt aura on the enemy active, sapping it each turn it stays in. Spore-drift arrives on the level 68 riser and chips the enemy bench, spreading pressure past the front plant. Both are dependable once earned and neither is dropped. See abilities.
Cattail carries no special trait keywords, and it is non-toxic: nothing punishes an attacker for hitting it, and it lays no poison. Its growth habit is terrestrial, so it is not eligible for a Moss Pole. As a native attrition plant, defensive field gear such as a Cloche keeps it alive long enough for its auras to do their slow work. See statuses for wilt and bind.
At level 40 cattail reads 103 HP and 30 ATK. DEF is just 1, at the soft floor of the aquatic band, so it has almost no armor. Its tempo is back-loaded: turn 1 runs on a low initiative (45), but every turn after runs on a strong SPD (60), so it is out-paced in the opening exchange and relentless in a long fight, which suits its grind. Retreat costs 12 Sun. It only appears as a native, so it always carries the +15% HP cushion and a bench HP overshield. See Stats.
Matured to level 100, cattail swells to 190 HP and 56 ATK, but its DEF only reaches 1: as a soft aquatic it gains health and no armor, so it stays exposed to any real hitter and must win before it is worn down. Retreat rises to 24 Sun, and its tempo has sunk to roughly 1% of cap, so a mature cattail acts last against almost anything young.
As an aquatic, cattail is in the Ruderal succession group. It hits Specialist plants (succulents, conifers, ferns, epiphytes) for x1.5 and is hit for only x0.667 by them; it is weak to Competitor plants (perennial herbs, shrubs, trees), which strike it for x1.5 while resisting its blows. Against other Ruderals and the off-wheel Weird group the matchup is neutral. See Weaknesses & Resistances.
Play cattail as a native attrition piece: lead with it against Specialists to press its type advantage, let the wilt aura tick, and pin a runner with its advanced bind so a faster ally can catch it. Its own hits are moderate, so it is a controller rather than a finisher. On the economy it is an edible root plant, so feeding it Potassium pays x1.25 coins (any other nutrient banks x1.25 XP instead), making it a reliable coin-earner. It opens slow and grows relentless as it levels, and its stats only climb, 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.