Re: What were you thinking with Savage Spinach?

Berry decks don't really need it, or benefit from it that much.  Full berry decks rarely even use Berry Angry, since the cards either buff themselves more (HV Currant), or don't want to buff themselves for safety reasons (Strawberrian/Sgt Strongberry).  As I mentioned, it's a beatable card right now, but that doesn't make it balanced.  If they ever add other useful leafy cards (just like the very powerful berry synergies), then it would really be clear how unbalanced the particular card is.

As it is, it should really cost 8 or 9 sun.  Its power and utility is roughly in between a Dragonfruit and Zucchini.  It wouldn't be so bad if it just performed one role well.  Right now, it's a very powerful plant + a very powerful buff... for 4?  If it was a 2/3, that would make it virtually useless without the evolution, but still have its extremely powerful buff which would be pretty well balanced.  It's already an above average blocker even without the evolution, almost on par with a Wing Nut.  It just has way too much utility for the cost.  Most low cost cards just perform 1 task really well, and are sometimes slightly good at something else.

8 or 9 ?!?!?! you're joking right? you must be. It's already too expensive at 4 cost to have enough effect.

The reason it doesn't have a large enough effect is because you would need to have a board AND hand full of plants to make it OP, and the odds of having both are roughly NIL. Usually I manage to play it when I have 2 plants out and maybe two more in my hand. But since it replaces a card in play - I often still only have two plants out and i've spent most of my sun for that turn. this card needed the buff badly

conjecture of a "what if / in the future the leafy tribe gets more cards" is a pointless conversation at this stage.

Well, you have the option to use it at turn 4, or at 8 or 9... it would be more effective in general later.  The 8 or 9-cost cards can't be played until then, either.  I agree that it's much better as a 4-cost card.  And I don't necessarily mind the new effect buff.  That's why I said the 2/3 with that effect buff would be good.  That would be perfectly fair, and most importantly, balanced.  Either make a card that costs 4 that can reach 5/6 or 7/8 with a minor group or decent self buff (like Jurassic Fossilhead, which only affects itself), which would be a perfectly fine card, or use the current very powerful buff with very weak stats.  You'd still be getting a 1-turn blocker with a really good buff, rather than a 2+ turn blocker that can also deal very hefty damage... with a really good buff.

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@jaydabbler wrote:

ive been playing with a deck built around berries and spinach, and I can tell you - it is NOT a great deck. Spinach is too expensive to really gain enough out of playing it

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I guess you've been using Poison Ivy ? with other leaf type plants but... this ruins the combination a bit, that's why I dont like Spinach very much, practically force you to play with Pottedhouse, Bonk, umbrella leafy... that's already 12  or less cards to add if you want to combine it with another class like kabloom. 

Actually not at all. Savage Spinach is best used to boost the attack of plants. This gives you some options:

1. Create some fearsome high attack plants

2. Boost the attack of low attack plants

I played around with a SS deck in Casual (never took it into Ranked) using GK and I won 4 straight, got beaten a few times but absolutely bodied some high ranked players.

How?

Nuts with attack.

Nothing wrecks more than a board with high health, team up nuts with attack with for good measure a Mirror-Nut on the board.

The best leafy plants to use in general are: * Choy (edit: it is hilarious the name of a card is filtered), Pea Patch and Cabbage Pult. I would not use Umbrella Leaf as it is too valuable a card against tricky Zombies (but sometimes ya gotta do what ya gotta do).

Of course SS decks are not as simple as Briar Rose decks; you have to plan them properly.

* Choy cannot be used just for removal unless you are holding more than one or if you have a Pea Pod.

Pea Pods are the preferred consumable. Never play it and leave it hanging out there.

You need cards. Lots of cards. Manage your hand. Sometimes it means holding instead of trading. Much like Onion Rings. And it is a god send for Captain Cuke! I invested in 4 Cukes and 4 Spinaches before the buff and I feel like a genius.

I wouldn't call SS unbalanced but I understand why someone would. However, I think there are more cards that need addressing before you would get to nerfing SS (Monument, Intergalactic Warlord, Astro Vera)

EA forum killed my entire post and I am too lazy to retype it.

Shortened version:

Use GK.

Use Nuts.

Boost Nuts.

High Health + Team Up + Attack = Win.

SS also really works great with Captain Cuke. Makes it harder to remove do to low attack and makes it so armored zombies in same lane don't neuter it.