Chaos Zero Nightmare (CZN)AmirBuild and Guide

• Metallization: Metallization is Amir’s unique stackable resource, which can be tracked either through the buff tracker or her resource bar under the Team’s HP bar. Metallization is a buff that causes Amir to launch an extra attack, dealing 80% of Defense-Based DMG each time a shielding card is used at the cost of reducing the Metallization stack size by 1. Metalization Extra-Attacks can crit It is also used as fuel for a number of her other cards.
• Defense Scaling: Like other Vanguards, all of Amir’s damage-dealing abilities scale off both DEF and ATK (DEF is more important). This allows her to improve her damage and shielding capabilities all at once, on top of improving the team's general tankiness.

4

Steel Resolve

Ego Skill

Gain Shield 120% per Metalize.
Remove Metalize. At the start of the next turn, gain Metalize 3.​

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Steel Resolve

Costs 4EP and removes all Metallization on use, granting 120% shield for each stack sacrificed, then at the start of the next turn, grants 3 Metallization. A potent defensive cooldown and one of Amir’s only ways to shield as a Vanguard. Definitely worth using, but must be balanced with Amir’s other Metallization consuming abilities and timed correctly.

1

Rapier

Attack

100% Defense-based Damage.​

Rapier

Amir’s basic attacks scale off of Defense and deal decent damage, thanks to the fact that they scale with Potentials but aren’t an integral part of her Metallization playstyle.

1

Steel Barrier

Skill

100% Shield.

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Steel Barrier

Amir’s basic shield is one of the few ways she has of applying shield to herself despite being a Vanguard, something that’s essential for triggering Metallization. Amir’s potentials also cause Steel Barrier to generate 1 Metallization on use.

1

Hovering Metal

Skill

3 Damage Reduction.
2 Metalize.​

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Hovering Metal

One of Amir’s best ways to access Metallization. Costs 1 AP on use, grants 2 Metallization, and most importantly, also offers 3 damage reduction stacks for a nice mix of set-up and protection.

1

Metal Pierce

Attack

90% Defense-based Damage x 2.
If in Metallization state, -1 Metallization, 2 Vulnerable.

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Metal Pierce

One of Amir’s Metallization spenders and payoff cards. Deals Defense-Based damage twice to a single target, then, if Metallization is active, will consume one stack to apply two stacks of Vulnerable to them. Deals solid damage itself, but more importantly is a great damage amplification tool for the team.

1

Metal Extraction

Skill

2 Metallization.
2 Resolve for 1 turn.​

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Metal Extraction

Amir’s other core Metallization generator, which similarly generates two stacks on use but also grants two stacks of Resolve for 1 turn. Not as powerful as Hovering Metal at a baseline, but it is a valid choice if you need more Metallization stacks with the added bonus of improved shielding for the turn.

2

Full Metal Hurricane

Attack

200% Defense-based Damage to all enemies.
For 1 turn, all enemies are targeted by Metallization effect, +20% Damage.​

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Full Metal Hurricane

With a 2AP cost per use, this card deals Defense-based damage to all enemies and buffs Metalization with an additive +20% increase for the turn. There are two main ways (although not limited to those two) to approach this card: use it as a starter in a Celestial build, and see both shields and damage escalate in a domino-effect. The ideal partner for this is Khalipe, but other Vanguards like Magna and Maribell can make good use of it as well. The key is having someone who does both shielding and adds something more to the mix. The other way to approach this, in case the stars haven’t aligned and you don’t have a good hand, is to use this card to chip away enemy HP or, more importantly, Tenacity bars. High AP cost cards are naturally good for this, but you can bring the Tenacity chipping game to the next step by using equipment that buffs that.

1

Iron Skin

Skill

[Exhaust][Finale]

Decreases Damage Taken by 20% for 1 turn.
Decrease up to 4 Metallization.
Additionally decrease Damage Taken by 20% for each.

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Iron Skin

Amir’s strongest defensive buff, which reduces damage taken by -20% for 1 turn on use. Then it consumes up to 4 Metallization stacks to increase the damage reduction by a further -20% per stack consumed (e.g., 20% Base + 20% x 3 stacks = 80%). An incredibly potent defensive card, but only while Metallization is available to consume. Also has the Exhaust tag, meaning it can only be used once, and the Finale tag that forces you to end your turn after it’s played. You can, however, replicate this card in order to completely negate a boss attack more than once in tougher battles.

Amir’s Potentials aren’t very relevant, with most nodes serving merely as stepping stones towards Node 7. You can ignore most nodes and unlock them only to reach Node 7.

• 3-1: Grants Steel Barrier the ability to generate a stack of Metallicize on use, boosting its value tremendously.
• 5-1: Improves Rapier’s damage multiplier by +5% with an additional +5% bonus available after Amir’s defense is higher than 250.
• 7: Increases Metallization's damage multiplier by+10%, with a further +10% granted if her defense is higher than 300. Amir’s best potential.

Standard Playstyle

Amir can be daunting to make the most of her kit at first since there are many possibilities to follow, and they all require specific builds and teams to be effective. Here are some suggestions on how to approach her gameplay:

Celestial Build:

The most AP-heavy build, but also the one with the highest turnouts. Amir is one of the few characters in-game to have several characters with the [Celestial] tag. The way it works is that you use a 2AP cost or more card, and then all [Celestial] cards in your hand will trigger for no cost.

• “Full-metal Hurricane” is the best starter for this build.
• Khalipe is the best teammate for this build, due to having several [Celestial] cards that trigger shields and do damage at the same time.
• Characters like Haru or Yuki with a heavy-cost build can also be good teammates. Amir will increase the survivability of the team considerably.
• Magna and Maribell also work here on a more AP-heavy build, with Magna getting a highlight due to her mechanics working passively once set up.
• This is the build that requires the most investment in Amir herself in order to deal high amounts of damage both through her cards and Metalization.

Counterattack:

The most passive build, but also requires a relatively high investment. Memory Fragments that buff Defense, Crit. Chance and Crit. DMG is essential to buff Metalization. Having Amir’s Potential 7 unlocked is also a must.

• Magna is by far the best teammate here, but Maribell works too, and you can even make the three of them a team.
• Focus on cards that give Metalization. Epiphanies that make acquiring it steadier or that buff counterattack are the best. (E.g., Hovering Metal V and II)
• Focus on equipment and neutral cards that grant or buff counterattack.
• The only build where her Manifest Ego has some impact, with E6 being a good help.

Buffer/Debuffer:

Amir’s cheapest build and also the most versatile for general use. Focus on Epiphanies and cards that increase Resolve to boost Defense (Shields), and Vulnerability to boost your DPS’s performance. Not as flashy as the other builds, but a good option if you don’t have other Vanguards.

• E1 [★★★★]. Excellent as Finale just ends your turn, and often you don’t want this to be forced to be your last card in a turn. Especially if you proc the action count of the enemy and then want to continue attacking.
• E2 [★★★★]. Nice boost with Metalicize at the start.
• E3 [★]. Mostly useless, as you won’t invest in this node anyway.
• E4 [★★★★]. Very good for keeping her Metalicize rolling, but most importantly, now this becomes such a big shield that you are nearly immortal the turn you use it.
• E5 [★]. Same as Dupe 3.
• E6 [★★★★★]. This makes the Metalize acquisition and usage of Amir just feel so smooth. Combined with the 1st and 4th Dupe, Metalize no longer feels annoying to keep up.

Note

For every Epiphany, we're colored their name based on how useful we think it is compared to the other variants. Here's the key to the colors:

• Epiphany Name - the best variant,
• Epiphany Name - a good variant,
• Epiphany Name - a niche variant.

Recommended Loadout

1

Tetra's Authority [2-PC]

[2-PC]: +12% Defense.

Executioner's Tool [2-PC]

[2-PC]: +25% Critical Damage.

Flex

This combination grants maximum damage potential, coupled with a good amount of survivability. You can equip Amir with [Gastronomicon] if you’re using the [Celestial] build to ensure steady Agony Infliction if anyone else isn’t doing that already in the team. Otherwise, for more general use, switch

Cursed Corpse [2-PC]

for

Healer's Journey [2-PC]

to make your team tankier.

Sub-stats

Important!

CZN is a game of randomness; sometimes you’ll be offered generic or Divine epiphanies that are stronger than a character's standard five options. In these cases, breaking the listed build can result in an even more powerful save. Adjust as you see fit!

Card Removal Priority

• Rapier
  - Amir wants to get to her Metalize stacks and payoffs as fast as possible. Rapier does nothing to help with that plan and is essentially a dead card when you draw it.

Card Dupe Priority

• Hovering Metal
  - An option that you will almost always want a dupe from, regardless of build. It helps greatly with Amir’s Metallization generation.
• Metal Extraction
  - Another great option for the same reasons above, with the addition of buffs.
• Full Metal Hurricane
  - Pick this if you’re leaning towards a DPS build.
• Iron Skin
  - Good pick for general builds or if you’re bringing Amir for a tough high-end encounter.

Any Shielder

• Amir likes to gain shields, but doesn’t have a lot of ways to gain it consistently in her own kit. Pairing her with another defense character that can reliably generate shields lets her get more out of her kit.

Khalipe

• Amir’s best teammate, she really shines with the Celestial build when paired alongside Khalipe.

Magna

• Best for the Counterattack build, Magna provides both shields and counters consistently, and benefits from Amir’s buffs as well. The third component from this team can be either a DPS or Maribell.

Orlea

• A flex option, Orlea can consistently provide shields and buffs. Both she and Amir do a bit of everything, and their synergy strengthens each other.

Yuki

• Yuki synergizes well with both Amir’s Celestial build (if you made Yuki’s build on the AP-heavy side) and with Amir’s Buffer/Debuffer build. Since both of them are Order combatants, Amir can be a good help to shred Tenacity bars faster, something Yuki tends to struggle with a bit by herself. Her [Vulnerable] debuff is also great to boost Yuki’s attacks.

Important!

If you’re losing runs when playing a damage-focused composition either to sanity or dying, consider using a team with more defensive characters - so including both a shielder and healer. This is especially important in the Zero System mode.

Solo Vanguard (Buffer/Debuffer Build Recommended)

Damage

Any DPS

Support

Shielder

Celestial Abuse Team

Shielder / DPS

Shielder

Flex

Any DPS

Counterattack Team

Shielder

Shielder

Shielder