Veronica × sooana

Overview

Nothing in Veronica × sooana's stat line sets it apart from the other perennial herbs in the game, so what it brings is its kit: the ability Perennating Bud, the advanced attack Deep-Seated Grudge and the Bitter Principle and Deep Taproot traits.

Veronica × sooana fights as a perennial herb (categories) in the Competitor succession group. It has no recorded native or invasive range, so it plays neutral wherever it turns up, with neither the native HP cushion nor the invasive attack edge (nativity).

Moves

Every card has three move slots (moves): a starter attack from Lv 1, a free once-per-battle ability from Lv 25 and an advanced attack from Lv 40. Damage is the expected hit at Lv 40, before the target's DEF and the succession wheel.

• Rhizome Creep — starter attack, 2 Sun. Creeps underground into the foe's back row. Expected damage: 30.
• Perennating Bud — ability, free once per battle. Breaks a stored bud: heal 40%.
• Deep-Seated Grudge — advanced attack, 6 Sun. Roots in deep and refuses to let go. Expected damage: 38.

Always-on traits

Always-on traits arrive on two trait risers, Lv 10 and Lv 68, one trait on each; anything else its category offered is dropped for good (abilities).

• Bitter Principle — from Lv 10. Every direct hit on it Withers the attacker by 2 ATK.
• Deep Taproot — from Lv 68. It can never be Bound.

Items and economy

• It is not edible, so an N/P/K amendment on it earns 25% more battle XP.
• A Ca/Mg amendment adds +2 DEF.

Stats

Every number here is the card without per-card genetics, which nudge HP, ATK, sustained tempo, initiative, retreat cost and DEF on the plant you actually own (stats). HP, ATK, DEF and retreat climb in a straight line from Lv 1 to Lv 100, while both tempo stats fall.

Stat	Lv 40	Lv 100
HP (neutral)	71	119
ATK (neutral)	26	47
DEF	4	9
Initiative	37	0.61
Sustained tempo (SPD)	35	0.58
Retreat cost (Sun)	12	23

• DEF is diminishing armour: a hit is scaled by ATK ÷ (ATK + DEF), so a strong attacker pushes through armour a weak one can't, and Poison ignores DEF entirely.
• Tempo: initiative decides who acts first on turn 1 and sustained tempo decides every turn after; it opens faster than it cruises. In a wild battle, a tie goes to you. Both fall as it grows, and by Lv 100 every plant is down to a fraction of a point — which is why the Lv 100 tempo column reads in decimals while the rest are whole numbers.
• Retreat: switching it out costs 12 Sun at Lv 40, and after it enters the active slot it must stay 1 turn before it can switch out.
• Sun is what attacks cost. Its bar holds 120, and an empty bar leaves it unable to attack, though its free ability still works.
• Refilling: out of battle it regains one Sun every 15 minutes at Lv 1, rising to 3 times that pace by Lv 45. Above Lv 52 it also regains Sun during battle, up to 4 a turn at Lv 100, and from Lv 85 its starter attack is free and its advanced attack costs 2 Sun.

Succession matchups

Veronica × sooana is in the Competitor group (weaknesses and resistances). Its hits land at ×1.5 on Ruderal plants (annual forbs, grasses, aquatic plants and bulbs) and at ×0.67 on Specialist plants (succulents, conifers, ferns and epiphytes). In return, Specialist plants hit it at ×1.5 and Ruderal plants at ×0.67. Everything else is neutral.

Playing it

• Neutral everywhere, it brings its base stats, its kit and its traits, with no stance bonus either way.
• Over its life, its power overtakes its tempo at Lv 33 neutral: below that level it plays as a fast skirmisher, above it as a heavyweight. Its HP, ATK and DEF only grow as it levels, so the crossover is never a reason to hold it back. The Total power gallery below shows each crossover, with the card at that level and fully grown.