Birthwort

The Birthwort is a robust plant enemy found in The Crater and The Rift, named after the Aristolochia genus of medicinal flowering plants. With 18 HP (out of 24 max), 5 damage, and 2 movement, it is one of the sturdier botanical enemies in the game. The Birthwort is blind, meaning it cannot target distant enemies directly, but compensates with a chaotic combination of random dashing, counterattack shots, and persistent healing that makes it a resilient and unpredictable threat. It is immune to Poison, shutting down one of the most common damage-over-time strategies.

The Birthwort's attack pattern is multifaceted. It performs melee strikes when starting its turn adjacent to a target, but after moving it dashes in a random direction with trample, damaging everything in its path. When taking damage, it fires a straight-line shot from both its front and back simultaneously, inflicting Rot on any unit these counterattack projectiles hit. At the end of every turn, it heals itself and all adjacent allies for 2 HP, providing group sustain that makes surrounding enemies harder to kill. This combination of reactive offense and passive healing makes the Birthwort a defensive anchor that punishes both aggression and passivity.

The Birthwort's blindness means it cannot effectively target units at range, so maintaining distance negates its melee strikes. However, its random dash with trample can still catch cats off guard if they happen to be in the dash line. When attacking it, be mindful of the dual-direction Rot counterattack and position your cats so they are not in the front-back firing line. Eliminating Birthworts early prevents their healing from sustaining other enemies through prolonged fights. Champions have 38/48 HP, 6 damage, and 3 movement, making them significantly harder to burst down before their healing accumulates.