Chaos Zero Nightmare (CZN) Tier List (Updated)

Introduction

Haru is a DPS Carry with a kit focused on buffing her expensive cards to deal massive damage. Her main card, “Anchor Shot”, amps up every time it is used, up to five times, allowing Haru to snowball her damage into big numbers during longer fights. She can do both AoE and single-target damage. Although her playstyle may seem overly expensive and tricky at first, there are several ways to build around her and adapt to AP needs and different teams, regardless of having an AP generator in the team or not.

If you like big nukes and characters that hit hard, she may be a good pick for you. If you prefer fast but constant, smaller hits, however, she may not be your jam.

Pros & Cons

• Decent AoE and Great Single-Target damage.
• Can tutor her signature card back to hand.
• Good in-built damage scaling.
• Ego skill gains extra scaling based on the number of buffs owned (counting both from herself, equipment, other Combatants, etc.)

• Very expensive cards and kit.
• The scaling mechanic requires cycling the deck many times.

Performance

Introduction

Hugo is an Additional Attack Specialist capable of triggering follow-up attacks after every targeted Attack card from himself or allies. This is possible thanks to his Hunt Commence Passive, which is gained via most of his Cards and stacks up to 5 times, with damage increasing as stacks rise. When any targeted Attack card is used, Hunt Commence loses one stack and Hugo immediately launches an Additional Attack. When playing Hugo, expect strong and frequent damage over the whole fight’s duration, making every Attack card a high-power nuke on enemies. Pair him with Tressa to see the magic!

Pros & Cons

• Excellent sustained single-target damage throughout the whole fight.
• Unique extra attack mechanic "Hunt Commence".
• Strong built-in scaling thanks to Hunt Commence's stacking damage multiplier.

• Very limited AoE, only accessible via Ego Skill.
• Some Cards have random targeting, lessening control somewhat in fights; also, they do not trigger Hunt Commence.
• Must be paired with allies that attack frequently to maximize Hunt Commence triggers.
• Hunt Commence does not trigger unless an ability 'targets'.

Performance

Introduction

Kayron's cards are absurdly expensive but also output incredible single-target and AoE damage while also interacting with his main mechanic—Void. Most of Kayron's cards either create Futility cards or deal more damage from Exhausting them. Futility is a 1-cost Status Ailment card that exhausts when played, with no additional effects at base. Through his Upgrade Oath of Vanity and its Epiphanies, Futility can be upgraded to deal damage and heal. Before this, they do nothing more than burn AP and clog the deck. Kayron's game plan is simple: turn Futility into useful cards through Oath of Vanity, use as many of them as possible to empower Kayron's kit, and work to minimize the cost of his expensive cards through Epiphanies, Exhausts, and team building.

Pros & Cons

• Incredible single target and AoE damage potential.
• Has many gameplay-altering Epiphanies - both mechanically and damage-wise.
• Becomes stronger the longer fights drag on.
• High AP costs can be bypassed with smart play.

• Many very AP expensive cards.
• Main mechanic Futility is not fully functional without Gold card Oath of Vanity.
• Gains so much power from Epiphanies that his base deck can feel awkward and underwhelming.
• Hard to play.

Performance

Introduction

Luke is a stat-reliant single-target card generation and bullet-based damage dealer. Luke's kit revolves around generating 0-cost Bullets and enhancing them via his abilities. The catch is that one of his best generators only does so if it lands Crit Hits. Rapid Fire hits multiple times and generates Bullets per Crit it deals - no Crit, no Bullets. Because of this, Luke requires a high Crit Rate to function.

Pros & Cons

• Solid single target but must Crit in order to hope to access it.
• Generates many 0 cost attacks for free with abilities that scale well with Morale.

• No AoE Cards.
• Requires Crit investment to function at the highest level.

Performance

Introduction

Mei Lin is a single-target damage and break specialist capable of constantly applying Passion Weakness to enemies, ensuring she almost always has an Attribute advantage. Her cards are all low-cost with an emphasis on incredible self-buffing and scoring benefits for herself and her team when breaking enemies. Her card Unity of Attack and Defense also grants her insane card draw and cost efficiency, and her Ego Skill bolsters the hit count of her basics, the main source of her damage.

Pros & Cons

• Self card draw and AP cost reductions.
• Incredible self buffing capabilities.
• Can apply Passion Weakness on enemies to always deal Tenacity Damage and gain attribute damage bonus.
• Outstanding burst single target damage.

• Ego Skill is expensive.
• No AoE Cards.

Performance

Introduction

Renoa is a single-target specialist whose kit revolves around generating Dirge Bullets, which trigger an Extra Attack when discarded by other cards or at the end of the turn. Most of her cards either focus on generating Dirge Bullets or dealing additional damage when Dirge Bullets are in hand or the discard pile. Her gameplay requires setup time for generating Dirge Bullets, card management, and planning in order to unleash her hardest-hitting attacks at the right time.

Pros & Cons

• Great single target and burst damage output.
• Powerful personal damage scaling from Dirge Bullets.
• Has a few exceptionally strong gameplay-changing Epiphanies.
• Launches many Multi-Hits and Extra Attacks that scale well with Morale.

• No AoE Cards.
• Can clog deck with Dirge Bullets if not careful.
• Timing Ego Skill alongside Dirge Bullet generation and correct payoff cards requires some effort.

Performance

Introduction

Rin utilizes the Dark Cloud Stance to enhance her abilities. She enters this stance through specific cards and only exits the stance when another Combatant plays an Attack card. While the stance is active, most of Rin's cards gain additional effects that allow her to deal fantastic single-target damage while also buffing herself, improving AP efficiency, and increasing hit counts, damage multipliers, and more. Playing Rin is all about chaining together attacks and staying in her stance as consistently as possible.

Pros & Cons

• Fantastic single target damage output (when set up correctly).
• Self Card Draw.
• Great self damage scaling while Dark Cloud Stance is maintained and when played with Skill-heavy allies.

• No AoE Cards.
• Must maintain Dark Cloud Stance to remain effective.
• Other Combatants' Attack Cards end Dark Cloud Stance in most cases, restricting your team options.

Performance

Introduction

Veronica is a DPS and Support Hybrid that requires very little AP investment after her initial upgrade cards have been established. The damage portion of Veronica's kit stems from her Ballistas, which are unusable cards that trigger after you end your turn at no cost. Veronica usually generates 1 Ballista for free every turn, but can generate more with Epiphanies and sometimes her Basic Attacks. Her Supportive capabilities take the form of low-cost and very potent card draw cards, which can be upgraded to either draw more, offer discounts, or target specific card types. Veronica can also boost her Ballista damage massively via the stackable Reload buff.

Pros & Cons

• Phenomenal targeted Card Draw that can become even stronger with Epiphanies.
• Consistently deals damage every turn with Ballista Cards at 0 AP cost after initial setup.
• Upgrade-heavy card pool thins out deck size for other combatants.
• Impressive, mostly passive damage, assuming Reload is kept active.

• Very limited AoE only accessible via Epiphanies and Ego Skill.
• Ballistas target enemies randomly.
• Optimal damage output relies on stacking Reload, which isn’t always easy.
• Upgrade-based strategy requires upfront AP investment to get going.

Performance

Introduction

Beryl is a high AP cost DPS combatant who offsets this downside by the fact that many of her cards have the Retain tag, allowing her to hold them for when resources are available. Not only is this convenient for Beryl, it's also recommended as each of her Retain cards gains additional damage or effects when holding them for one or more turns, creating a style of set-up, wait, then blast. On top of this Beryl also has personal card generation, cost reduction, and Exhaust-based card draw to push her efficiency back towards optimal.

Pros & Cons

• High Single Target potential when Preserve effects are effectively used.
• Strongest damaging cards have Retain allowing for greater combat flexibility.
• Access to strong, but Exhaust-based, card draw which has powerful alternative Epiphany effects.

• Limited AoE only accessible via Ego Skill.
• Must wait one or multiple turns for card damage to scale via Preserve mechanic.
• Higher than average AP costs across cards.

Performance

Introduction

Lucas offers a strong mix of AoE damage, card draw/cycling, and utility. The core of his kit revolves around generating Launcher Bullets with his abilities, which are 1-cost, semi-AoE Attack cards that apply a myriad of debuff effects. The rest of Lucas' kit focuses on buffing Bullet damage, triggering effects when Launcher Bullets or similar types of cards are Exhausted, and providing general utility to the team.

Pros & Cons

• Good AoE capabilities.
• Access to a myriad of debuffs and effects thanks to Launcher Bullets.
• Has Card Draw and Discard for hand cycling.
• Buffs the Bullet damage archetype.

• Each Launcher Bullet requires 1 AP, and their costs can’t be reduced, making it hard to play a lot of them at once.
• Upgrade-based strategy requires upfront AP investment to get going.

Performance

Introduction

Owen is a mix of AoE Damage, Shielding and a dash of support all in one character. What makes Owen unique is that unlike most DPS combatants, the majority of his cards feature some form of shielding on top of their usual effect. Outside of this, his Wind Charge card can add an extra hit to Attack cards. Lastly, Owen can consistently apply the Vulnerable debuff, which can significantly increase the team's damage output when timed correctly.

Pros & Cons

• Solid access to AoE.
• Strong access to the Vulnerable Debuff.
• Some cards shield while also dealing their damage.

• Strongest cards have high AP costs.
• Lacks personal damage scaling outside of extra hit mechanic.
• Shielding isn't enough to be a dedicated shielder, and damage sometimes is not enough to be the sole DPS.

Performance

Introduction

Selena can pursue many playstyles thanks to how transformative her Epiphanies are, but primarily revolves around applying Mark to perform lots of Additional Attacks and breaking the enemy with Tenacity Damage and Passion Weakness to trigger Break effects. Her high attack frequency makes her scale well with Morale and other damage buffs, and Mark’s Attack card requirement incentivizes running her with attack spam characters.

Pros & Cons

• Depletes Tenacity Gauges quickly with direct Tenacity Damage and Passion Weakness.
• Very consistent Mark application for steady Additional Attack damage
• Works well with other Passion characters with her Passion Weakness application (as well as Combo effects in her Epiphanies)
• Capable single-target potential with some solid AoE options.
• Has many transformative Epiphanies that change cards, entirely opening new playstyles.

• Most damage comes from Mark, which requires playing lots of Attack cards to trigger, limiting her team options.
• Backloaded Mark damage can be wasted when an enemy dies with untriggered stacks.

Performance

Introduction

Tressa is CZN's DoT specialist who deals damage by inflicting Agony. Agony lasts 2 turns in most cases and deals Fixed Damage at the end of your turn. Tressa's most efficient Agony application comes in the form of her 0-cost Shadow Daggers, which she can generate with her cards and Ego Skill. Her gameplay is simple: generate daggers, spam them to apply as much Agony as possible, and use her Agony-scaling payoff cards to deal even more damage.

Pros & Cons

• Applies frequent Agony (DoT) which deals Fixed damage, ignoring damage reduction.
• Can inflict Weakness lowering enemy damage output.
• Generates an absurd amount of 0-cost Exhaust attack cards, which are beneficial for certain synergies.
• High hit count playstyle scales well with Morale.

• Very limited AoE only accessible via Epiphanies.
• Agony damage is backloaded and takes time to deal its full damage.
• Incredibly high action count can accelerate enemy actions.

Performance