Greenkeep · lane defence
Greenkeep raids explained: scouting, lanes and the counters that win
By KittyHome · · 4 min read
A raid in Greenkeep is a short, readable fight: you attack a snapshot of another player's garden with your insects, lane by lane. Raids reward planning more than army size. Scout the garden, pick the lanes that will break, send the right insects in the right order, and know which plants will be waiting for them. Here's how each phase works and the counters every keeper should know.
The four phases of a raid
| Phase | What you do |
|---|---|
| Scout (15–30 seconds) | Study the garden, the loot on offer and the trophies at risk before committing a unit |
| Deploy | Assign insects to lanes, set the queue order and release them: three active per lane, two seconds between releases |
| Battle | Watch it play out: insects march, plants pick targets by fixed rules, on a 20-tick-a-second clock |
| Result | Stars, loot checked by the server, and a replay saved for both sides |
Scouting: read the garden, not the numbers
- Find the weak lane. A lane with one damage plant and no blocker breaks faster than a lane with three of each.
- Look for what's missing. No anti-air plant means flyers walk in. No splash damage means a swarm does.
- Check the back columns. The strongest plants are often planted deep, where your first insects won't see them coming.
- Weigh the loot. Loot is capped at part of a player's unprotected storage, so a rich, weak garden is the best target.
Deploying: order and timing matter
With only three insects active in a lane and two seconds between releases, the order is your strategy. Lead with a tank to soak up damage, follow with damage dealers behind it, and keep fast units for a lane that's already cracking. Spreading evenly across every lane is usually worse than breaking one or two.
The counters every keeper should know
Greenkeep runs on hard counters: each kind of attacker has a kind of defender that beats it. Attacking, you bring what the garden can't answer. Defending, you make sure every lane can answer something.
| Attacker | Countered by | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Swarm | Splash | Many small bodies fold to one good lob |
| Tank | Traps or steady damage | A Snail Shellback braces against damage, but not against a Mallet Mushroom |
| Flyer | Anti-air | Dragonfly Dashers ignore the whole ground line |
| Burrower | Traps or reveal | A Lantern Lily drags the Walking Leaf Sneak back into the open |
| Siege | A blocker, then backup damage | Stall the Bumble Queen, then focus it down |
| Runner | Slow or frost | Frost turns a sprint into a walk |
Defending while you're offline
You never need to be online to defend. Attackers fight a snapshot of your garden, so your layout, plant levels and map do the work. After a raid you keep every plant and its position; a successful attack takes part of your unprotected stored resources and some trophies, and you get a shield so nobody can farm you. Watch the replay in your defence log, find the lane that broke, and fix it. You can also take a revenge raid on whoever hit you.
Team matches: 24-hour wars
In a team match, two teams of 5 or 10 face off for 24 hours. Your leader seats the team in a three-layer formation: the front line has to be cracked before the middle opens, and the middle before the back. Everyone seated gets two attacks, and the side with more stars at the end wins. Use your first attack to scout a layer with a safe target and your second where it counts.
The Gold Cup season
- A published season locks team membership, so nobody can hop to a winning team mid-season.
- A new match table every day, Swiss-style: teams are paired by points first, then by real roster strength.
- Two points a win, and near-equal teams are automatically called a draw.
- Standings are snapshotted, so a sudden jump in power can't reshuffle today's pairings.
Is it fair?
Raids cap what an attacker brings, levels carry most of the power, and ranked rooms switch potions off. Spending money can speed you up, but it can't buy a raid's result. Read more about Greenkeep.
Questions people ask
How long is a Greenkeep raid?
About three minutes, in four phases: scout, deploy, battle and result.
Can I lose my garden in a raid?
No. A successful raid takes part of your unprotected stored resources and some trophies, never your plants or layout, and you get a shield afterwards.
How does matchmaking work?
Raids match you by trophies. In the Gold Cup, teams are paired by points first, then by roster strength.
What's the best counter to flying insects?
Anti-air plants. Flyers such as the Dragonfly Dasher ignore the ground line, so every garden needs some anti-air.