Best guide and build for Cassius from Chaos Zero Nightmare (CZN). Cassius is a 4✦ character from the Controller class and Instinct attribute, who belongs to the Peltion [Company 110] faction.
To learn more about Cassius check the sections below. Use the tabs to quickly switch to the kind of information you're looking for.
Update tracker
Last review update
Season 2
Last build update
Season 2
Last profile update*
15/Mar/2026
*Profile update means updates done to reviews/builds/gear within a season - showing the last date we changed anything on this page.
Kit
Review
Epiphanies
Gear
Deck & Teams
To learn more about Cassius check the sections below. Use the tabs to quickly switch to the kind of information you're looking for.
Profile
Cards
Starting Cards:
1
Card
Attack
100% Damage.
2
Wild Card
Attack
220% Damage.
1
Mana Field
Skill
Heal100%.
Show Effects
1
Pop Eyed Popper
Upgrade
Start a random 1 out of 4 Quests.
Epiphany Cards:
1
Devil Dice
Attack
160% Damage. Draw 1.
1
Shuffle
Skill
[Exhaust]
Discard all cards in hand. Draw for each.
Show Effects
2
Dice Trick
Attack
240% Damage. Reduce 1Morale for 1 turn. Decrease cost by the number of completed Quests.
1
Joker
Skill
Choose 1 card(s) from Draw Pile to Draw.
Generated Cards:
0
Quest: Triple 0
Upgrade
When using 3 cards with cost 0, create Triple 0.
0
Quest: Triple 1
Upgrade
When using 3 cards with cost 1, create Triple 1.
0
Quest: Straight
Upgrade
When using cards costing 0, 1, and 2 each, create Straight.
0
Quest: Full House
Upgrade
When each combatant uses a card, create Full House.
0
Triple 0
Attack
[Exhaust][Ephemeral]
200% Damage. +40% Damage Amount for each Attack Card used this turn (max 4 times)
Show Effects
0
Triple 1
Attack
[Exhaust][Ephemeral]
Draw 1, 150% Damage, Heal150%.
Show Effects
0
Straight
Skill
[Exhaust][Ephemeral]
Draw 1. 2Morale, Resolve, Fortitude for 1 turn.
Show Effects
0
Full House
Skill
[Exhaust][Ephemeral]
Draw 1. Decrease Stress of a random ally by 2.
Show Effects
0
Empowered Triple 0
Attack
[Exhaust][Ephemeral]
250% Damage. +40% Damage Amount for each Attack Card used this turn (max 4 times)
Show Effects
0
Empowered Triple 1
Attack
[Exhaust][Ephemeral]
Draw 1, 200% Damage, Heal200%.
Show Effects
0
Empowered Straight
Skill
[Exhaust][Ephemeral]
Draw 1. 3Morale, Resolve, Fortitude for 1 turn.
Show Effects
0
Empowered Full House
Skill
[Exhaust][Retain]
Draw 1. Decrease Stress of a random ally by 3.
Show Effects
Ego Skill:
4
Death Trick
Ego Skill
Create 2Quest Card(s). Decrease Morale of all enemies by 3 for 1 turn.
Show Effects
Epiphany Variants:
Epiphany cards are special evolutions for the cards you can obtain while playing the roguelike mode. Only some cards in the character's deck can get Epiphany effects. Since there's quite a lot of them, we don't display them by default - press the button below to show them.
0
Pop Eyed Popper I
Upgrade
[Initiation]
Start a random 1 out of 4 Quests.
Show Effects
0
Pop Eyed Popper II
Upgrade
Start a random 1 out of 4 Quests. Create Quest Card, remove Ephemeral, apply Retain.
Show Effects
0
Pop Eyed Popper III
Upgrade
Start a random 1 out of 4 Quests. When the Quest is completed, create a stronger Quest Card.
Show Effects
0
Pop Eyed Popper IV
Upgrade
Choose 1 out of 4 Quests to start.
0
Pop Eyed Popper V
Upgrade
Start a random 1 out of 4 Quests. When the Quest is completed, replace it with another random Quest.
1
Devil Dice I
Attack
200% Damage. Create 1Quest Card(s).
Show Effects
1
Devil Dice II
Attack
[Retrieve 3]
160% Damage. Draw 1.
Show Effects
1
Devil Dice III
Attack
160% Damage to all enemies. Draw for each target hit.
1
Devil Dice IV
Attack
240% Damage. Draw 2. Discard 2.
0
Devil Dice V
Attack
Draw 1. 80% Damage to all enemies equal to that card's cost.
1
Shuffle I
Skill
[Exhaust 2]
Discard all cards in hand. Draw for each.
Show Effects
1
Shuffle II
Skill
[Exhaust]
Discard any number of cards from hand. Draw same number of cards.
Show Effects
1
Shuffle III
Skill
[Exhaust]
Move all cards from hand and Discard to Draw Pile, then Draw 5.
Show Effects
0
Shuffle IV
Skill
[Exhaust]
Choose up to 5 cards from Discard Pile to place on top of Draw Pile.
Show Effects
0
Shuffle V
Skill
Draw 3. If the total Cost of those cards is 4 or less, Discard them all.
2
Dice Trick I
Attack
360% Damage. Reduce 1 Morale for 1 turn. Decrease Cost by the number of completed Quests.
2
Dice Trick II
Attack
300% Damage to all enemies. Reduce 1 Morale for 1 turn. Decrease Cost by the number of completed Quests.
0
Dice Trick III
Attack
80% Damage. +80% Damage Amount for each completed Quest (max 5 times).
2
Dice Trick IV
Upgrade
[Unique]
When using Quest Card, Heal100%, 100 Fixed Damage to a random enemy.
Show Effects
2
Dice Trick V
Upgrade
[Unique]
At the start of the turn create 1 empowered Quest card.
Show Effects
Potential
1
Epiphany Bonus
Potential 1
When entering Chaos, obtain 1 random Rare Card with an activated Epiphany.
2
Basic Card Upgrade
Potential 2
Increase Damage, Shield, and Healing Amounts of Basic Cards by 2/20%.
3
Common Card Upgrade
Potential 3
Increase Damage, Shield, and Healing Amounts of Common Cards by 2/20%.
3-1
Basic Card Proficiency
Potential 3-1
Add a 30% chance to draw 1 card to Card and Wild Card.
4
Unique Card Upgrade
Potential 4
Increase Damage, Shield, and Healing Amounts of Unique Cards by 2/20%.
5
Health Proficiency
Potential 5
Increase Health by +1.6/8%.
5-1
Basic Card Proficiency
Potential 5-1
+5% Damage for Cassius's Card and Wild Card. If Cassius's Health is greater than 600, an additional +5% to that value.
5-2
Divine Epiphany Adaptation
Potential 5-2
Increases the chance for a Divine Epiphany to appear by 25%.
6
Attack Proficiency
Potential 6
Attack increases by +1.6/8%.
7
Unique Stat Upgrade
Potential 7
On Quest Completion, gain 1Morale for 1 turn. If Cassius's Health is greater than 700, gain an additional 1Fortitude for 1 turn on Quest Completion.
Manifest Ego (dupes)
E1
Sleeping Memory
Manifest Ego 1
Add Discarded Card to the target range of the Joker card effect.
E2
Awakening Memory
Manifest Ego 2
Heal Cassius by 40% each time he draws by an ability.
E3
Vivid Memory
Manifest Ego 3
Increase the level of [Basic Card Upgrade], [Unique Card Upgrade], and [Common Card Upgrade] in Potentials by 3.
E4
Inner Memory
Manifest Ego 4
Increase Morale Reduction by +2 of Death Trick to all enemies.
E5
Complete Memory
Manifest Ego 5
Increase the level of [Basic Card Upgrade], [Unique Card Upgrade], and [Common Card Upgrade] in Potentials by 3.
E6
Liberated Memory
Manifest Ego 6
Whenever Cassius completes a quest, apply 1Morale Reduction to all enemies for 1 turn.
Stats (level 60)
HP
338
DEF
186
ATK
423
Gallery
Voice Actors
kr
Juho Kim
jpn
Kohsuke Toriumi
Review
Introduction
Performance Profile
Healing [5/5]
Buffs [5/5]
Draw [3/5]
AP Generation [2/5]
Cassius is an accessible card search and draw specialist who also sports a strong but RNG signature mechanic in Quests, which are incredibly potent when used well. Cassius uses his Upgrade card Pop Eyed Popper to start a Quest, which can be completed by playing certain kinds of cards (i.e. playing 3 1-cost cards). After completing the Quest, you'll gain the corresponding Quest Card as a reward alongside a fixed 80% heal. Once the Quest has been completed, the Quest progress will reset so you can complete it again, up to a maximum of 3 times per turn.
Cassius's Quest Cards are very potent, but which you get is completely random unless you hit a specific Epiphany upgrade. Completing Quests and using Quest Cards is core to Cassius' kit, but outside of this, he has strong Card Draw options and universal card searching in his core deck as well. To round things out, Cassius can provide buffs through Quest Cards and debuffs through his Ego Skill.
Pros & Cons
Pros
Universal card search.
Unique Quest mechanic allows for a more flexible kit.
Defensively powerful Ego Skill.
Good Draw and cycling effects, which become even stronger with Epiphanies.
Great Morale/Fortitude applicant with P7.
Cons
Requires teammates with 0-cost cards or hitting 0-cost Neutral Cards to complete two out of his four Quests.
Some Quests are stronger than others and their randomness means Cassius has an element of RNG to his power.
All buffs and debuffs, while strong, only last 1 turn.
Quests are Ephemeral, so you have to play them immediately unless you get Pop Eyed Popper II; this requires lots of planning and proper card order.
Quite AP hungry for a Support; his card search and mulligan feel quite bad at 1 AP.
His E1 is quite important, as it expands his Joker card search’s range to also include the Graveyard.
Ratings
The ratings below are based on the Season Save Data, Chaos Manifestation, and Great Rift modes. Each of the modes values different mechanics, so some characters may shine in one of them, while being underwhelming in the other.
T1
Chaos Mode
T0
Season Save Data
?
Great Rift
Key Mechanics
Quests: Cassius’ Pop Eyed Popper upgrade randomly starts one of four Quests, which last until the end of battle. These Quests can be completed just by playing cards and they grant free Quest Cards with decent effects.
Triple 0: Play 3 cards that cost 0 AP.
Deals a base 200% damage, +40% per Attack Card used this turn, up to a maximum of 4.
Triple 1: Play 3 cards that cost 1 AP.
Deals 150% damage, heals for 150% and also draws 1 card.
Straight: Play 3 cards that cost 0, 1 and 2 AP each.
For 1 turn(s), gain 2 stacks of Morale, Resolve and Fortitude and draw 1 card.
Full House: Play 1 card from each Combatant.
Draw 1 card and will decrease the stress of 1 random ally by 2.
Full House is the best option here—if you’re lucky enough to get it, mainly because its activation condition is extremely easy to fulfill and getting a free Draw 1 so easily is great.
Triple 1 technically has a stronger quest reward than Full House, offering damage, a heal and a draw, but unfortunately, it’s far harder to complete, making it a much more niche quest to aim for.
Triple 0 is very difficult for Cassius to complete on his own, as all of his cards cost ≥1 AP at base; Dice Trick can be discounted to 0…but only if you complete 2 Quests first, creating a catch-22 situation. If you don’t have the right teammates, this Quest can brick for the entire fight. The Quest Card works as a nice single-target finisher after spamming a lot of 0-cost attacks.
Straight is also a difficult Quest to complete, as playing 2 AP cards isn’t something you can do particularly often unless you have access to AP generation. Because both Morale and Resolve affect card multipliers, you want to complete this Quest at the start of your turn to take full advantage of its effects. Quest progress carries over between turns, so we recommend leaving the 0-cost or 1-cost card until last so you can complete the Quest at the start of a turn.
Reduced Morale: ReducedMorale causes enemies to lose a -20% damage multiplier per stack of Reduced Morale they have. This is especially effective at mitigating damage from enemy Consecutive Attacks.
Fortitude: Fortitude provides a -20% damage taken buff per stack of Fortitude you possess.
Resolve: Resolve grants +20% to Shield amounts gained per stack of Resolve.
Potential
3-1: Grants a 30% chance to Draw 1 to both of Cassius’ Basic Attacks. 30% isn’t enough to count on, but it can help a little bit early in your run if you draw poorly. It’s not as impactful as some other Combatants’ 3-1s can be.
5-1: Increases his Basic Attacks’ damage. Makes them a little better to play in conjunction with 3-1, but you’ll likely still end up removing them from your deck.
7: Incredible. Getting Morale and Fortitude for a turn every time you complete a Quest makes Cassius an even more potent support. You already want to complete Quests early in a turn, but this makes it even more important if you want to take advantage of Morale.
Dupes Review
E0
Base
Base performance of the character.
E1
Ego 1
Cassius' 1st Ego node now grants Joker to be able to retrieve a card from your Discard Pile as well. This is an extremely strong first Ego node that increases consistency and provides further utility to Cassius.
E2
Ego 2
His 2nd Ego node now heals Cassius for a fixed 40% each time he draws via an ability. This is a relatively minor node that assists with sustain throughout Chaos, as they are not a primary healing unit.
E3
Ego 3
This node increases the base and maximum level of their [Basic Card Upgrade], [Unique Card Upgrade] and [Common Card Upgrade] Potentials by 3. Provides a small increase to damage and healing.
E4
Ego 4
E4 buffs his Ego Skill by increasing/further reducing the amount of Ego on enemies by an additional 2, going from 3 stacks of Morale Reduction to 5.
E5
Ego 5
This node again increases the base and maximum level of their [Basic Card Upgrade], [Unique Card Upgrade] and [Common Card Upgrade] Potentials by 3. Provides another small increase to damage and healing.
E6
Ego 6
Cassius' final Ego node now also applies 1 stack of Morale Reduction whenever you complete a quest. This is a strong node that provides some further defense to Cassius' kit through debuffing enemies.
Cards & Ego Skill
4
Death Trick
Ego Skill
Create 2Quest Card(s). Decrease Morale of all enemies by 3 for 1 turn.
Show Effects
Death Trick
Death Trick is a potent defensive tool that can swing a fight in your favor with its -Morale debuff and generated Quest Cards. Its Morale -3 debuff on all enemies is especially powerful on enemies that deal multiple hits with Consecutive Attacks, sometimes reducing the amount of damage you take to 0. The generated Quest Cards are random, so you’ll usually want to activate this at the start of your turn so you know what you’re working with.
1
Card
Attack
100% Damage.
Card
Cassius’ Basic Attack Card. Its 1 AP cost can help complete the Triple 1 or Straight Quests. Potential 3-1 grants this a 30% chance to Draw 1.
2
Wild Card
Attack
220% Damage.
Wild Card
Cassius’ other Basic Attack Card. Its 2 AP cost can help complete the Straight Quest. If you don’t have another 2-cost card in your deck, it may be worth keeping this until you find a better activator. Potential 3-1 grants this a 30% chance to Draw 1.
1
Mana Field
Skill
Heal100%.
Show Effects
Mana Field
Cassius’ basic healing card. Not very important for Cassius’ gameplay.
1
Pop Eyed Popper
Upgrade
Start a random 1 out of 4 Quests.
Pop Eyed Popper
Cassius’ main source of Quest Cards. Pop Eyed Popper randomly starts 1 of 4 Quests, which generate their associated Quest Cards upon completion. Play this as early as possible and reap the rewards.
1
Devil Dice
Attack
160% Damage. Draw 1.
Devil Dice
A single-target attack that also draws 1. A good cycling card that also helps complete 1-cost Quest requirements.
1
Shuffle
Skill
[Exhaust]
Discard all cards in hand. Draw for each.
Show Effects
Shuffle
Discards all your cards, draws an equal number of cards and Exhausts. Shuffle can bail you out whenever you draw poorly or need to cycle through your deck faster. Note that Shuffle doesn’t include itself in the card count, so you’ll end up with one fewer card in hand than when you started. Kind of expensive for what it does.
2
Dice Trick
Attack
240% Damage. Reduce 1Morale for 1 turn. Decrease cost by the number of completed Quests.
Dice Trick
An expensive 2-cost Attack Card that decreases its cost by 1 permanently every time you complete a Quest that also debuffs the enemy with 1 stack of Reduce Morale. Generally, a dead card until you can make it cheaper, but its 2 AP cost can help complete the Straight Quest.
1
Joker
Skill
Choose 1 card(s) from Draw Pile to Draw.
Joker
Joker is Cassius’ Signature Card. It allows him to search the whole Draw Pile to draw a card of your choice for a 1 AP tax. Extremely flexible and improves your consistency significantly and it doesn’t even [Exhaust] like Shuffle! It’s much stronger at E1 because it also allows you to search the Discard Pile, allowing you to replay cards you’ve played this turn. At E0, you’re a bit sad if you draw this with nothing in your Draw Pile. Regardless, it’s a powerful card at base.
Best Epiphanies
Best Epiphanies
Note
We have given a star rating for each Epiphany, showing how strong and useful it is - with 1 being the lowest rating and 5 the highest.
Card 1
Neutral Epiphany
★
0
Pop Eyed Popper I
Upgrade
[Initiation]
Start a random 1 out of 4 Quests.
Show Effects
★★★★
0
Pop Eyed Popper II
Upgrade
Start a random 1 out of 4 Quests. Create Quest Card, remove Ephemeral, apply Retain.
Show Effects
★★
0
Pop Eyed Popper III
Upgrade
Start a random 1 out of 4 Quests. When the Quest is completed, create a stronger Quest Card.
Show Effects
★★★
0
Pop Eyed Popper IV
Upgrade
Choose 1 out of 4 Quests to start.
★★★★★
0
Pop Eyed Popper V
Upgrade
Start a random 1 out of 4 Quests. When the Quest is completed, replace it with another random Quest.
★
Epiphanies:
Neutral[★] - The Neutral versions of this do nothing to improve the card itself and the benefits of whatever Neutral Epiphany you get will likely be outweighed by RNG elements you introduce by not taking an Epiphany that offers more consistency or buffs.
Pop Eyed Popper I
[★★★★] - In content where you can quickly reset, this can be equal to or better than Pop Eyed V, as both of them usually warrant resetting for the feature that the other gives. However, it can be vastly worse than Pop Eyed IV in scenarios where resetting takes a long time, such as when Cassius is used in second-phase content, where resetting requires you to go through the first phase once again.
Pop Eyed Popper II
[★★] - [Retain] is added as a tag and the quests no longer [Exhaust] themselves, which can be situationally useful when you would like to keep a card for a future turn, but in well-built teams will often be the equivalent of no Upgrade at all.
Pop Eyed Popper III
[★★★] - This Epiphany still contains the RNG elements of the base card, but it has the benefit of upgrading your quest cards to be noticeably stronger. The only reason it isn’t recommended as resetting for its ideal conditions can be extremely time-consuming and not worth it for most players.
Pop Eyed Popper IV
[★★★★★] - Being able to choose your quest is an incredible QoL improvement and will save you a vast amount of time that you would need to reset for the others. Thus, it is our top recommendation.
Pop Eyed Popper V
[★] - Never take this unless you truly love to gamble.
Divine Epiphanies:
Which Divine Epiphany to go for will depend on what your team needs and which Epiphany you chose, but here are the main ones to look out for if you have spare Save Data: Morale/Resolve.
Card 2
Neutral Epiphany
★★★★★
1
Devil Dice I
Attack
200% Damage. Create 1Quest Card(s).
Show Effects
★
1
Devil Dice II
Attack
[Retrieve 3]
160% Damage. Draw 1.
Show Effects
★★★
1
Devil Dice III
Attack
160% Damage to all enemies. Draw for each target hit.
★★
1
Devil Dice IV
Attack
240% Damage. Draw 2. Discard 2.
★★
0
Devil Dice V
Attack
Draw 1. 80% Damage to all enemies equal to that card's cost.
★★★★★
Epiphanies:
Neutral[★★★★★] - Target Neutral Epiphany: Morale 2. Cassius has access to high-value Neutral Epiphanies alongside his ability to draw off Quests, combined with the card itself. Devil Dice with Neutral Morale +2 Epiphany can enable him to give +11 Morale (+3 from Quests) off of just Quests and Devil Dice alone.
Devil Dice I
[★] - 3-in-4 chance of a Draw as 3 of the Quest Cards have a Draw effect, but why gamble on the odds when you can guarantee it?
Devil Dice II
[★★★] - One of the best Draws in the game *for one-turn*, as [Retrieve 3] counts down by 1 with every use until the card becomes a Base Devil Dice effectively. Amazing for OTK, especially with Cost Reduction, but not especially strong outside of it.
Devil Dice III
[★★] - This can be an amazing Draw card, as it could scale up to a theoretical 10-draw per card (if there were 10 targets), but it's conditional for multi-target bosses or multiple enemies. Much lower value outside of AOE.
Devil Dice IV
[★★] - This one is especially great with other forms of Draw or if you need a way to get cards out of hand, since it can help to cycle cards. In well-optimized decks, it’s typically not going to net you much value over other options, but can be great in certain scenarios where bosses create Status Ailments in hand, for example.
Devil Dice V
[★★★★★] - The go-to Devil Dice with no Divine Epiphanies, as it is base 0-cost. It has access to +1 AP Divine and Divine Vulnerable (AOE), as well, making it an all-around amazing card.
Divine Epiphanies:
Which Divine Epiphany to go for will depend on what your team needs and which Epiphany you chose, but here are the main ones to look out for if you have spare Save Data: +1 AP (Devil Dice III), -1 Cost Reduction, Vulnerable 2.
Card 3
Neutral Epiphany
★★★★★
1
Shuffle I
Skill
[Exhaust 2]
Discard all cards in hand. Draw for each.
Show Effects
★★★
1
Shuffle II
Skill
[Exhaust]
Discard any number of cards from hand. Draw same number of cards.
Show Effects
★★★★
1
Shuffle III
Skill
[Exhaust]
Move all cards from hand and Discard to Draw Pile, then Draw 5.
Show Effects
★★★★★
0
Shuffle IV
Skill
[Exhaust]
Choose up to 5 cards from Discard Pile to place on top of Draw Pile.
Show Effects
★★★
0
Shuffle V
Skill
Draw 3. If the total Cost of those cards is 4 or less, Discard them all.
★★
Epiphanies:
Neutral[★★★★★] - Target Neutral Epiphany: +1 AP. Neutral Epiphanies on Shuffle have similar or better effects to Divines on it and will not cost you faint, e.g. there is a 1 AP Neutral Epiphany it can get which effectively makes it free to use without needing a Cost Reduction Divine.
Shuffle I
[★★★] - Because Shuffle’s primary value comes from Turn 1 re-draw, changing it to [Exhaust 2] tends to be situational. It could end up being an effectively dead card you can’t afford to play if you didn’t factor the context for it well.
Shuffle II
[★★★★] - This Epiphany is a pure Upgrade off the base version, allowing you to keep certain cards in hand rather than re-drawing the entire hand entirely.
Shuffle III
[★★★★★] - Incredibly strong draw, you just leave it in hand until all other cards are played and get 5 draws from it and a free deck re-shuffle.
Shuffle IV
[★★★] - Because of its base 0-cost, this can be a great option if AP is tight. Its effect is situationally very beneficial, allowing you to manipulate up to 5 cards at the top of your draw. and it has strong synergy with other effects that allow you to interact with the top of the Draw Pile, like Nia’s G Chord.
Shuffle V
[★★] - This loses the [Exhaust] tag and can potentially net you a ton of draw, but more often than not, it’ll be equivalent to 3 Discards – unless you are playing with a ton of high-cost cards or some way to guarantee high-cost cards into the top of the Draw Pile.
Divine Epiphanies:
Which Divine Epiphany to go for will depend on what your team needs and which Epiphany you chose, but here are the main ones to look out for if you have spare Save Data: -1 Cost Reduction, Vulnerable 2, 1 AP (Echo V).
Card 4
Neutral Epiphany
★★★★★
2
Dice Trick I
Attack
360% Damage. Reduce 1 Morale for 1 turn. Decrease Cost by the number of completed Quests.
★
2
Dice Trick II
Attack
300% Damage to all enemies. Reduce 1 Morale for 1 turn. Decrease Cost by the number of completed Quests.
★
0
Dice Trick III
Attack
80% Damage. +80% Damage Amount for each completed Quest (max 5 times).
★★
2
Dice Trick IV
Upgrade
[Unique]
When using Quest Card, Heal100%, 100 Fixed Damage to a random enemy.
Show Effects
★★
2
Dice Trick V
Upgrade
[Unique]
At the start of the turn create 1 empowered Quest card.
Show Effects
★★★★
Epiphanies:
Neutral[★★★★★] - Target Neutral Epiphany: +1 AP, Draw 1, Morale 3. Dice Trick has Neutral pool for 2-3 cost cards, but it effectively becomes 0-cost quite fast. This allows you to get effects like +3 Morale/Fortitude, +1 AP, +1 Draw, etc. on a 0-cost card for no Faint cost.
Dice Trick I
[★] - This increases the damage of Dice Trick, but Dice Trick damage is still not great and more utility-based effects would likely be preferred.
Dice Trick II
[★] - This increases Dice Trick damage and turns it into an AOE, but similar to Dice Trick I, it probably isn’t worth taking damage on this card over Supportive alternatives that still do only a little less damage.
Dice Trick III
[★★] - This starts at base 0-cost, which, with certain Divine Epiphanies like Vulnerable or AP, can allow it to be used more fluidly in Turn 1 when it can be hard to reduce the cost of Dice Trick. The damage is hard-capped, not at any significant bonus over other options, though.
Dice Trick IV
[★★] - This offers a non-negligible amount of additional healing and is certainly an option for a healing-based build, but it being locked to [Unique] and Quests being hard-capped makes him often not the ideal choice for a healer.
Dice Trick V
[★★★★] - This is an amazing option for an additional +1 Draw ¾ of the time after Turn 1, since 3 out of 4 quests have a Draw feature.
Divine Epiphanies:
Which Divine Epiphany to go for will depend on what your team needs and which Epiphany you chose, but here are the main ones to look out for if you have spare Save Data: Vulnerable 2.
Gear
Memory Fragments
The Memory Fragments & Equipment suggestions below are based on calculations we did. If you want to check the damage formula and how scaling the damage works in CZN, check this guide.
Recommended Loadout
1
Flex
In most Cassius builds where he either generates Quests randomly or Opts to pick a skill based quest he can easily max out 4P Glory Reign's effect making it his best set as long as no other combatant is already wearing it. It's important to Note that Glory Reign's effect cannot be stacked so you only want to run 1 set of it per team.
Use either 2P Tetra's for a tankiness and a healing boost or 2P Healer's Journey to bolster the overall HP total of the team.
2
Flex
Only recommended if you already have a 4P Glory's Reign user on your team or you're playing Cassius exclusively with quests that are attacks and not skills otherwise you should just use that set instead. If running 2/2/2 though it's best to run 2P Healer's Journey with 2P Tetra's to maximize surviability and healing.
Use either Seth's Scarab to boost the healing and damage output of Basics for early chaos comfort or 2P Blackwing to boost Cassius's damage output a little. Alternatively you can also bypass these small bonuses in favor of using non-set pieces to target better main/sub stats.
Main and sub-stats
In a lot of cases, flat sub-stats are better than percentage ones when it comes to HP, ATK and DEF. The reason behind this is that in CZN the characters stats are pretty low and you get more value from flat bonus rather than percentage one based on calcs.
Ideal
HP%
Desire
HP%
Imagination
DEF% = HP% > EGO Regen
Substats:
DEF > DEF% = HP > HP% > EGO Regen
When playing Cassius as a support, if possible, we recommend building him toward having 701+ HP in the character screen so that his Potential 7 is fully active and grants Fortitude every time a Quest is activated. This isn't a mandatory stat goal, but in certain Cassius builds and encounters is an incredibly potent defensive tool.
Partners
Our best Partner recommendation try to balance both the raw damage boost they provide based on our calculations with the additional utility provided by the skill - combined with how it interacts with the character's kit. We have rated each Partner based on how much additional damage and the utility they provide. Read the comments under each Partner to better understand our reasoning.
No calculations in Chaos Zero Nightmare are completely accurate for all scenarios, including the ones below. What team, decks, epiphanies, gear, equipment, and enemies you're facing all impact them. Because of this, take the results as guidelines and combine them with the explanations to make your decisions. Calculations use endgame save data set-ups, including 5 turns of combat using the whole deck with all Ego skills unless otherwise stated.
1
Draw: 5/5
Utility: 1/5
Buffing: 2/5
Survivability: 2/5
Final: 10/20
Nyx is a safe all-around choice for Cassius thanks to her ability to churn through 4 cards of the deck with her Ego Skill while also still having some multipliers to survivability and healing. Nyx also does offer a small buff, which Cassius is easily able to keep active with all his card draw, which is a nice bonus. The one downside of Nyx is that her Ego Skill costs 4EP, which in Save Data game modes usually means you won't be able to easily use it in Turn 1, something the other main supportive Draw Partner Yuri, is capable of. All up, if you need Draw Power or value the Passive stats Nyx provides, she's a safe pick for most teams, but if all you care about is survivability/combo potential, check out other options as they may suit your needs better.
2
Draw: 5/5
Utility: 1/5
Buffing: 1/5
Survivability: 1/5
Final: 8/20
Yuri isn't a Controller Partner, so her Passives don't work. However, that doesn't disable her Ego Skill, which is a potent Draw 2 for 2 EP. Yuri is an alternative option to Nyx, which can be used in Turn 1 in Save Data and is far more accessible and spammable in Chaos. If that appeals to you and you're ok downgrading how many cards you're drawing and losing out on all the Passives Nyx provides, you can use Yuri instead.
3
Draw: 1/5
Utility: 1/5
Buffing: 1/5
Survivability: 5/5
Final: 8/20
Arwen is one of the top options when it comes to survivability, thanks to her great Passive Stats, which boost both healing and total team health, but most of all her constantly refreshing Damage Reduction. If you're struggling to stay alive and need more survivability, especially in fights that launch large but infrequent attacks, giving up utility or draw for Arwen can be worth considering, especially in Chaos-based game modes.
4
Draw: 1/5
Utility: 1/5
Buffing: 1/5
Survivability: 4/5
Final: 7/20
Alyssa works as an alternative to Arwen with quite a different stat line, favoring Combat Defense and Passive Healing instead. Usually not as universally strong for survivability as Arwen, but if you value the higher defense over Arwen's higher HP total and mitigation buff, she can be a more appealing option.
5
Draw: 1/5
Utility: 1/5
Buffing: 1/5
Survivability: 4/5
Final: 7/20
A F2P survivability option that falls behind both Arwen and Alyssa in most cases, but is still an acceptable choice if you have neither of them available at an acceptable Ego level.
Equipment
In the Zero System, it's incredibly easy to access all items acquirable via the shop thanks to the two free refreshes you get each shop node - that's why the recommendations below are limited to them only. ATTENTION! Area-specific items can sometimes be more powerful than shop items, but are far less consistent to get or require running a specific world or giving up certain event options. Use the shop list as a starting point for building up your deck saves.
Weapon
Tentacles of Chaos
Pale Eternal Flame
Harp of Conflict
Harpoon Case of Broken Resolve
Crimson Sword
Flashbang
Armor
Rocket-Adorned Cape
Fragment of the Empty Void
Vine Camouflage
Star-Lit Cloak
Trinket
Clover of the Forest
Sphere of Randomness
Superconductive Protein
A Lonesome Wedding Ring
Comments - Weapons
Tentacles of Chaos
- Provides 8% Attack to all characters in the team making it the go-to support weapon for most characters not acting as the main DPS when supporting Attack scaling carries but also a very viable option for ATK-based carries since it means you can no longer get Discord (as only one is offered from same event).
Pale Eternal Flame
- A potent supportive weapon card for any character ok with giving up their weapon slot for support and who can consistently generate new exhaust cards each turn in order to re-trigger this equipments effect. Grants 10% (multiplicative) damage to the whole team for 1 turn whenever a card is exhausted. Can only be acquired by giving up the copy option though making it hard to include in many support builds.
Harp of Conflict
- A rare but powerful supportive option that grants the entire team 15% (multiplicative) card damage for 1 turn after you've both shielded, healed and dealt damage in the turn. This conditional effect isn't easy to activate for all teams, plus this weapon only comes from Arena Events in S2. When combined this leads to this weapon being strong but both hard to get and only useful in certain teams.
Harpoon Case of Broken Resolve
- An Arena Event exclusive weapon which grants you a card every other turn which costs 0, deals some damage but more importantly applies a stack of Vulnerable, Agony and Weaken enabling many set and equipment effects while also boosting damage. Usually not a competitive pure damage option but a solid supportive pick-up for the debuffs it provides assuming you have the hand space.
Crimson Sword
- Allows you to apply Agony easily so that your DPS can benefit from the Cursed Corpse (2p Agony) Memory Fragment set. When used with allies who use 2/2/2 (3 2p Memory Fragment set) variations, this is a premier choice for further bolstering their damage.
Flashbang
- As a rare equipment, it is easier to acquire than alternatives and still offers a strong survivability effect. It's recommended for defensive playstyles.
Comments - Armor
Rocket-Adorned Cape
- An amazing armor for any support but only obtainable inside a Lab 0 rare event.
Fragment of the Empty Void
- An armor option that gives an extremely strong QoL effect with its ability to discard and draw, but it being limited to first turn and a Mythic in a game where resetting and draw options are accessible, makes it often the not preferred choice for Mythic equipment.
Vine Camouflage
- An easy to get and nice inclusion for teams that have use for a powerful (but conditiona) survival mechanic. Usually not the most optimal choice within the armor slot for most characters but if you miss no all other options is very easy to pick up as a fall-back.
Star-Lit Cloak
- A generic defensive option usable by all combatants making it a fine supportive addition if no other options are found. However not generally as enticing as direct damage or more immediate utility options for most builds.
Comments - Trinkets
Clover of the Forest
- For Supports, with Cards that can Recover, this is the ideal trinket, as it is a massive increase to damage for ATK-based units. However, it does not stack on multiple allies making it not preferred when another healing ally is holding it.
Sphere of Randomness
- An exceptionally powerful generic support trinket that grants both 1 draw and 1 AP at the start of battle turbo charging your early game. Is a Unique item meaning it wont be suitable for every character, but on those who can afford to run it and don't need other accessories in this slot is well worth slotting in if it comes up in your runs.
Superconductive Protein
- A great trinket to help you setup your upgrades turn 1 more easily.
A Lonesome Wedding Ring
- The go-to trinket for any Dreamworld deck support.
Deck & Teams
Recommended Build
Cassius Builds
Check the best builds for Cassius below.
Generic Buffer
Sereniel Support
Heidemarie Shuffler
Setup Summary
Character
Partner
Equipment
Tentacles of Chaos
Wings of Light
Clover of the Forest
Fragments
Glory's Reign
Tetra's Authority
Cards Summary [8 selected]
0
Pop Eyed Popper IV
Upgrade
Choose 1 out of 4 Quests to start.
1
Devil Dice
Attack
160% Damage. Draw 1.
For 1 turn, gain 2Morale
Reduce the cost of this card by 1.
x3
1
Shuffle
Skill
[Exhaust]
Discard all cards in hand. Draw for each.
Morale1
Show Effects
2
Dice Trick
Attack
240% Damage. Reduce 1Morale for 1 turn. Decrease cost by the number of completed Quests.
For 1 turn, gain 3Morale
1
Persona
Attack | Season
[Unique]
250% Defense-Based Damage. Action Count2.
Controller only
Show Effects
1
Reorganize
Skill
[Exhaust]
Draw 3.
No Class restrictions
1 AP
Apply Initiation to this card
Show Effects
Deck Explanation
Generic Buffer - Controllers have very high neutral Epiphanies for Morale, and Cassius can make great use of this because of him having innate Draw 1 on his Devil Dice alongside innate cost-reduction on Dice Trick. Resulting in highly efficient Morale 2 on Devil Dice or Morale 3 on Dice Trick buffs. While Dice Trick is easier to build, requiring no divines, it is generally recommended to hunt for the Devil Dice alternative as it will still give a lot of morale while simultaneously allowing Cassius to act as a draw unit. For comparison sake, this build is similar to higher value to the best-case Rei buffing builds while he still maintains his draw past turn-1 (unlike her) and costs 0AP for all the buffs (with Divines). With the introduction of [Initiation] divine, it is often recommended to get [Initiation] on a Re-Organize for general content, as it covers for his most major downside (bad turn-1). Deck Used in: Sereniel (Standard Sereniel, Straight Quest Variant), Heidemarie (Commence the Heide-Bomber, Heidemarie Ego-Shuffle), Chizuru (Moonslasher), Diana (Heartbreaker 1, Heartbreaker 2), Yuki (The Thinker).
Sereniel Support - Ally Decks: Sereniel (Standard, Straight Quest Variant), Selena (Sereniel Support). This is a variation of the Generic Buffer Cassius deck, which uses Sereniel's extremely high AP output to play higher cost cards and not need cost-reduction Divines on Cassius.
Heidemarie Shuffler - Ally Decks: Heidemarie (Sword, Shuffle, Slide!), Nia (Discard DPS Support). Deck utilizes Cassius' ability to move Heidemarie's swords from discard into draw-pile, and Nia's ego skill ability to discard all from draw-pile in order to trigger the discard extra attack of a massive amount of Heidemarie swords all at once. The strategy generally consists of making swords until the turn where you want to nuke and then using Cassius' Shuffle and Nia's Ego. There is a popular variant using more Cassius' Shuffle III's for use against bosses which trigger a lot of stress/mindbreak, since it enables you to Nia Ego Skill multiple times after mindbreak.
Card Removal Priority
Card
,
Wild Card
- Removed in basically any Cassius deck.
Conditional Card Removal
Dice Trick
- Dice Trick is removed in many builds because it allows his draw to be more easily successful. However, it is also a center of some builds based around its neutral or Divine Epiphanies, or if you are playing the upgrade, which gives an extra Quest card. So, it is very dependent on the Epiphany you hit with it, and if it synergizes with the rest of your build.
Shuffle
- Much like Joker, this card is generally removed in teams that are already self-sufficient draw-wise. However, it differs in that it is valuable for turn-1 draw, so it is only removed if draw is sufficient after setup and during.
Joker
- Much like Shuffle, this card is generally removed in teams that are already self-sufficient draw-wise. It differs in that it is often kept for when the order of card play matters, as it increases the odds of landing the correct order by +1. An example of this would be with Selena, where you want to play her coordinated attack skills *before* your actual attacks, so Joker enables you to increase the odds of landing the correct order.
Mana Field
- Cassius' basic heal is kept in some decks to allow him to activate the Clover of the Forest effect.
Card Copying Priority
Devil Dice
- The go-to copy, if you have a good Epiphany on it, then it is almost never a bad option to copy; however, many of its Epiphanies can be hard to play when copied without divine cost-reduction.
Dice Trick
- If playing around morale buffing, Dice Trick with the 3-Morale neutral it has access to can become a 3-Morale for 0-cost card, which is quite a good deal. However, it often can struggle during setup turn-1 because it lacks the cost-reduction, or if you need Cass to double as a draw unit, since it cancels out other forms of draw he gets.
Best Synergies
Sereniel
Cassius can help her break the boss’s Tenacity Bar.
He can give her a really high amount of additive buffs that she scales with and if you have AP Sereniel (Divine AP on Homing Laser), she makes the requirements for his build way lower than alternative options.
Because Sereniel herself generally has a very low draw requirement in an optimized build, his low but decent net draw is typically very well-suited for her needs to a tee.
Hugo
He can create up to 4 skill cards per turn very consistently, which allows Hugo’s Commence the Hunt uptime to be easier.
Most of his cards double as attacks for proc’ing Hugo Commence the Hunt.
His buffs are extremely high value on Extra Attackers, like Hugo, since additive buffs are multiplied by the Extra damage% mechanic.
Selena
Joker has the ability to target her order-dependent cards to get more value out of them.
They both have high synergy with Sereniel, making them even more synergistic wholistically.
Much like Hugo, Extra Attacks benefit from additive buffs even more than most other units, especially ones who do as many Extra Attacks as she or Hugo can.
Best Teams
Chaos Teams
Generic - Chaos
DPS
DPS
Support
Healer
Healer
Because his main healing comes from Pop-Eyed, which is still RNG, whether it gets an option that works for your team or not (without Epiphanies). It is generally not recommended to solo heal with him unless you enjoy the challenge.
Save Teams
Generic - Buff/Draw
Multi-Hit DPS
Multi-Hit DPS
Flex
Flex
Support
Generally speaking, Cassius will be a premier option for Multi-hit DPS because of the sheer amount of Morale buffs he can put out through his high Neutral Morale Epiphany options. However, his builds can also change a lot depending on the teammate, so it’s important to consider who you’re playing him with or build your carry first, then tailor Cassius build to that.
Sereniel / Cassius / Selena
DPS
Support
Support DPS
Incredibly strong team that is very mapped out and defined, even after Cassius’ nerfs, he’s still one of, if not the, best 3rd for Sereniel+Selena. It relies on Sereniel funding you AP to play Neutral Morale Epiphany Devil Dice or Dice Tricks to get a whopping 11-20 Morale every turn. It can be hard to play around him without Divine AP Sereniel; however, it’s often harder to play around *anyone* without AP Sereniel.
Hugo-Cassius Flex
Support DPS
Flex
Flex
Support
Worth mentioning separately from generic teams as their synergy, both being on units that attack many times, allows them to backpack most units with a substantial number of Attack Cards.
Attack
Skill
Upgrade
Base performance of the character.