Chaos Zero Nightmare (CZN)ChizuruBuild and Guide

• Will-O’-Wisp: Will-O’-Wisp is Chizuru’s unique mechanic and resource, which allows her to generate or enhance her signature card, Shadow of the Moon. Will-O’-Wisp is a unique resource trackable under the team health gauge and is stackable up to 5 times. After Chizuru can gain Will-O’-Wisp in a variety of ways, but upon reaching 5, all are consumed to generate a Shadow of the Moon card, or if one is already in hand, increase its Bind (power) level by 1.
• Exceeding 5 Will-O’-Wisp in a single action doesn’t waste them; they instead overflow, counting toward the next activation instead.
• Cursed Shackles: Cursed Shackles is a special debuff applied by Chizuru’s Karmic Flames card and is one of her primary ways of generating Will-O-Wisp. When hitting an enemy afflicted by Cursed Shackles with an attack card from either Chizuru or Allies, generate Will-O’-Wisp equal to the hit count, e.g., a 3-hit count attack card generates 3 Wisps. Cursed Shackles can only be present on one enemy at a time, and applying the debuff on a different one while already active will simply move it.
• Cards with Bind (Shadow of the Moon) cannot generate Will-O’-Wisp by hitting Cursed Shackles.
• Inhibit: Inhibit is a buff designed exclusively for Chizuru’s kit to act as both a damage increase and a restriction. The only card that grants this buff currency is Chizuru’s Bound at Dusk upgrade card. After gaining Inhibit Chizuru’s Shadow of the Moon cards, gain +1 hit count for the rest of the battle, but as a penalty, she and her team can no longer gain additional AP outside the turn start, except for when Ravaging enemies.

5

Moonlight of High Tide

Ego Skill

250% Damage.
+50% Damage Amount for each Shadow of the Moon created (max 10)

Moonlight of High Tide

Chizuru’s Ego Skill costs 5EP and deals 250% damage +50% (additive) damage per Shadow of the Moon she creates (or upgrades) up to 10 stacks, maxing out at 750% damage. This Ego skill is most effectively used partway through a fight when fully stacked after Chizuru has had enough time to cycle through Will-o'-Wisps and her Shadow of the Moon cards with the help of her team.

1

Moonslash

Attack

Deal 100% damage

Moonslash

At base, Chizuru’s standard basic attack operates exactly like every other character, but after Potentials, it’s transformed into a 2-hit attack instead, which is relevant for generating Will-O’-Wisp when hitting cursed Shackles and for damage scaling. Post Potentials, this card isn’t bad, but it’s a strictly worse version of another of Chizuru’s cards, Oni Hunt, meaning it’s still a candidate for removal.

1

Spiritflame’s Ward

Skill

100% Shield

Show Effects

Spiritflame’s Ward

Chizuru’s basic shield is completely standard and doesn't have any extra synergy with her kit. Removed first in almost every Chizuru deck.

1

Karmic Flames

Attack

[Initiation]

100% Damage, 1 Cursed Shackles.
Cursed Shackles: Add 1 Hit.

Show Effects

Karmic Flames

The backbone of Chizuru’s Will-O’-Wisp generation in most builds and her only way to apply the Cursed Shackles debuff to enemies. Has initiation ensuring Chizuru always has access to her core mechanic and gains an additional effect when used against enemies that already have Cursed Shackles on them, which, at base, is an additional hit. Not Chizuru’s flashiest card, but a necessary one in almost every build for her to function properly.

0

Tsukiyomi

Skill

2 Will-O'-Wisp for each Hit of the next Attack Card of this unit used.

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Tsukiyomi

Chizuru’s other way to access Will-O’-Wisp. Costs 0AP and causes the next attack card to be used to generate 2 Will-O’-Wisp per hit, e.g., a 3-hit attack generates 6. This card is a solid wisp generator supplement to Karmic Flames baseline, but gains significant power and alternative effects via epiphanies, some of which have the ability to increase Chizuru’s attack card hit count, boosting damage considerably. Whether it’s resource generation or damage amplification, this card is one of Chizuru’s stronger ones.

1

Bound At Dusk

Upgrade

[Initiation][Unique]

At the start of the turn, gain Inhibit.
Decrease Cost by 1 until 1 random card of another Combatant is used

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Bound At Dusk

Chizuru’s main upgrade card - source of AP efficiency and the only way for her to gain the Inhibit buff. This 1 AP upgrade with Initiation (so you have it on turn 1) grants Inhibit the turn it’s played, and every turn after that decreases the cost of 1 random card in your initially drawn hand by 1. Summed up, this card boosts Chizuru’s Shadow of the Moon damage considerably, grants her team a pseudo extra AP per turn, all in exchange for giving up the ability to gain AP from other sources other than break/ravage. In Chaos, this trade is usually very well worth it; in save game modes, the restriction is definitely felt a lot more, something that can be helped through this card's strong epiphanies, but may still rule out certain strategies, gameplay styles, and teammates.

1

Oni Hunt

Attack

[Haste]

60% Damage x3.
+30% Damage Amount to the next Bind Card.

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Oni Hunt

Oni Hunt is Chizuru’s highest hit count card without Bind, making it her best tool for leveraging Cursed Shackles to generate Will-O’-Wisp stacks, something she otherwise has to rely on her teammates or Tsukiyomi for. Outside of this, thanks to its high hit count, Oni Hunt can actually deal some solid damage after Chizuru’s buffed up from equipment and teammates. In addition to that, it also has a buffing effect of its own, increasing the damage of the next bind card used by +30% baseline, with options to boost it higher with epiphanies. All of this combines to make this card one of Chizuru’s best.

1

Shadow of the Moon

Attack

[Bind 1][Retain]

50% Damage.
+20% Damage Amount for each Bind stack.

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Shadow of the Moon

The card that the entirety of Chizuru’s kit revolves around. Shadow of the Moon (base version) is a single hit (2 with Inhibit) 50% damage attack costing 1 AP with Retain. While in hand every time Chizuru either draws another Shadow of the Moon or generates one via Will-O’-Wisps, the two cards will merge, adding their “Bind” levels together. Shadow of the Moon gains +20% (additive) damage per Bind level, and at Bind level 3 will transform into Shadow of the Moon+.

1

Shadow of the Moon+

Attack

[Unique][Bind 3][Retain]

70% Damage x 2.
Recover 5% of Max HP.
+20% Damage Amount for each Bind stack.

Show Effects

Shadow of the Moon+

At 3 Bind, Shadow of the Moon becomes significantly enhanced, now dealing 70% of ATK, hitting 2 times (3 with Inhibit), recovering 5% of the team's HP on use, and gaining 20% (additive) damage per bind. Most Chizuru decks and strategies aim to raise Shadow of the Moon to the + version before using it, something which isn’t too hard thanks to both versions having retain. Doing this makes the damage far more AP efficient and allows Chizuru to stack up buffs on the card from Oni Hunt and Tsukuyomi, both of which are more potent when it has a higher hit count and base damage.

Chizuru’s Signature Potentials are a mixed bag, with some being all-around strong, while others are only strong in specific game modes.

• 3-1: Converts Chizuru’s Basic Attacks from attacks that deal 100% of her attack in a single hit to attacks that deal 60% of her attack twice (2 hits). This is a significant upgrade as not only is the damage higher, but the higher hit count generates more Will-O’-Wisps thanks to Cursed Shackles. A must-have for Chaos, but as basics are usually removed in Save, it's less impactful there.
• 5-1: Increase the base damage of Chizuru’s basic attack, Moonslash, by +5% Base damage and another 5% if her Attack is greater than 500. The gain for Chizuru’s basics from this potential is significant, thanks to their multi-hit nature, making this a high-priority target to fully activate when using Chizuru in Chaos. Holds less value in save game modes, though for the same reason as 3-1.
• 7: Increase the base damage of both Shadow of the Moon Baseline and + by 5% Base Damage, with an additional increase of 1% per 40 attack she has over 600, up to an additional +10% at 1000. A must-have potential that significantly improves the output of Chizuru in both save and chaos game modes, as Shadow of the Moon makes up a huge chunk of her damage.

Playstyles

Chizuru can be played either alongside another damage dealer with high hit count and low AP costs, like Tressa or Luke, in order to fuel her Will-O-Wisp generation or alongside two supports relying on her own kit to generate enough to reach the Shadow of the Moon+ cards she needs.

Each style has its pros and cons, with dual DPS offering great access to Will-O-Wisp generation, while double support offers better deck manipulation, card draw, and buffing. Which is best for you will depend on the units and decks you have at your disposal and the content you’re intending to face.

How to Play

Chizuru’s gameplay is fairly simple despite having quite a layered and complicated kit on the surface. Use Karmic Flames on the enemy you’re likely to be targeting most throughout the fight, generate Will-O’-Wisp stacks by using Chizuru’s or allies' attack cards in order to generate or upgrade Shadow of the Moon to the + version. While doing this, establish as many buffs on Chizuru as possible through teammates or her own cards. After, either use the 3 bind stack Shadow of the Moon + immediately or hold it in hand using Retain while you accumulate more buffs on it (can waste Will-O-Wisp stacks).

In addition to this, you should also establish Bound At Dusk to improve AP efficiency, unless playing Chizuru in high-end save game mode decks where AP generation is plentiful. Finally, use Chizuru’s Ego Skill as a finisher when buffs are maximized, and you’ve generated sufficient Shadow of the Moon cards to max out its bonuses.

• E1 [★★]. Improves the base damage of Shadow of the Moon+ by 20% and healing by 3%. A base damage increase to Chizuru’s highest damaging card is a welcome boost; it’s not overwhelmingly powerful due to how high she stacks other additive card multipliers, but it’s still solid (although not a breakpoint to aim at).
• E2 [★★★]. Chizuru’s E2 is a transformative Ego unlock which causes her to immediately generate a Shadow of the Moon (bind 1) after using Shadow of the Moon+. The result of this is that every time you consume Shadow of the Moon+, you essentially immediately gain 5 Will-o-Wisp, meaning if you play Shadow of the Moon+ as soon as it reaches Bind 3, you’ll only ever need to source 10 Will-O-Wisp from Chizuru’s kit and team now instead of 15. This Manifest Ego is less about potential damage gains and more about ease of use and ensuring you always have quick access to the + version of Chizuru’s main payoff card.
• E3 [★]. A 150% base damage boost to Chizuru’s Ego skill Moonlight of High Tide. Not a terrible boost to damage, but in longer fights that last multiple turns, where many fully buffed Shadow of the Moon+ can be used, it doesn’t move the needle much, as her Ego skill only becomes a small slice of her overall damage.
• E4 [★★★]. Grants a buff that offers a 10% (additive) damage bonus to Chizuru’s attack cards every time she creates or upgrades Shadow of the Moon, stackable up to 3 times with no duration. This buff is fairly easy to stack and is a notable damage increase to Chizuru’s overall output, thanks to her high hit count and low base multiplier kit, which favors any additive damage she can get her hands on.
• E5 [★]. Boosts the base damage increase of Chizuru’s potentials from 20% to 26%. A small damage increase, but nothing major.
• E6 [★★★]. After hitting 3 stacks of the E4 buff, gain a new effect which increases the hit count of Shadow of the Moon+ by 1, improving it from the usual baseline of 2 (3 with Inhibit) to 3 (4 with Inhibit). Just like E4, this is a strong damage boost for Chizuru, offering equal or slightly better damage amplification than it, depending on the deck you’re using for her.

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

Black Wing [2-PC]

[2-PC]: +12% Attack.

Executioner's Tool [2-PC]

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

Flex

A set-up of 2/2/2 running Executioner’s and Black Wing alongside another 2P of your choice is usually the most flexible and consistent choice for Chizuru, offering solid damage and the option between some defense (Healers/Tetra’s), extra conditional damage when enemies are afflicted with agony (

Cursed Corpse [2-PC]

), or extra starting power in Chaos runs (

Seth's Scarab [2-PC]

).

With that said, when played around correctly, 2/2/2 usually loses out to Chizuru’s 4/2 options even though they’re less consistent.

2

Conquerer's Aspect [4-PC]

[4-PC]: +35% Critical Damage of 1-cost cards.

Flex

4P Conqueror’s with either 2P

Cursed Corpse [2-PC]

for maximum damage or 2P

Black Wing [2-PC]

to help her reach her Potential breakpoints is technically Chizuru’s highest damage set option, thanks to its huge Crit DMG, which affects most of her cards.

However, due to the discount offered from Bound At Dusk, it’s very often that Chizuru will find her attack cards discounted and, as a result, disqualified from this set's bonus; however, if you’re not running the discount or can play around it, this set can surge into the lead. Keep in mind, Divine Epiphanies reducing cost will also interfere with this set.

Other 4-PC Sets

• 

  Orb of Inhibition [4-PC]

  - A memory fragment set designed with Chizuru in mind, which grants +10% (additive) void card damage after hitting 2 times with an attack card, stacking up to 2 times and lasting one turn for a max of +20%. Chizuru can easily stack this set with a fully decked out save deck, but the bonus the set provides is less than 4P Conqueror. However, it’s far less conditional.
• If you don’t want to deal with the inconsistencies of Conqueror’s and want to maximize damage and aren't interested in the flexibility of 2/2/2 this is another option for Chizuru’s set bonus choice.

Weapon

• 

  Intellect of Discord
• 

  Mutant Predator Spike
• 

  Obsidian Sword
• 

  Bone Cutter

Armor

• 

  Wings of Freedom
• 

  Fragment of the Empty Void
• 

  Rocket-Adorned Cape

Trinket

• 

  Emblem of an Exceptional Entity
• 

  Amorphous Cube
• 

  Superconductive Protein

Comments - Weapons

1. 

   Intellect of Discord
   - Offers a huge 18% combat attack, a very rare stat only found really on partners and equipment. Hard to acquire but Chizuru’s best choice when it comes to weapons, it’s unconditional and beats out everything else in raw damage gains for endgame Chizuru decks.
2. 

   Mutant Predator Spike
   - Grants +30% (multiplicative) damage to all of Chizuru’s abilities while holding four or more cards in hand. Multiplicative scaling isn’t Chizuru’s preferred card damage increase, but from Lab-0, her options are fairly limited for weapons, meaning this is her next best choice, assuming you can maintain four cards in hand when using your most impactful cards; if you can’t, it becomes considerably worse.
3. 

   Obsidian Sword
   - Adds +12% (multiplicative) damage to all of Chizuru’s damaging abilities. Not as good as either of the options above, but better than nothing if you can’t get either of them.
4. 

   Bone Cutter
   - When Chizuru’s target is debuffed with weakness +30% (additive) damage to all of Chizuru’s damaging abilities, additive card damage is incredibly strong on Chizuru, but the fact that enemies must have Weakness makes this weapon heavily conditional. Very good if you can consistently keep the enemy debuffed, useless without that.

Comments - Armor

1. 

   Wings of Freedom
   - Best damage Armor option for Chizuru in Season 1 in Lab-0. Every time the team is hit, it grants Chizuru a stacking +10% (multiplicative) damage boost for the rest of the fight, up to 3 stacks (30%). Not her preferred card damage type, but there are very limited damaging armor options.
2. 

   Fragment of the Empty Void
   - If you don’t want more damage, Fragment of the Empty Void is an alternative choice, allowing up to 3 cards in your opening hand to be redrawn.
3. 

   Rocket-Adorned Cape
   - If neither of the options above is available, Rocket-Adorned Cape is also a solid choice, giving you an extra draw at the start of combat and also 1 damage reduction stack. Depending on your needs, the extra draw can sometimes outperform the re-draw from Fragment.

Comments - Trinkets

1. 

   Emblem of an Exceptional Entity
   - A +30% (additive) bonus for all of Chizuru’s abilities, making it her best damage option thanks to how well she scales from additive card damage.
2. 

   Amorphous Cube
   - Slightly worse than Emblem, but far easier to get boosting damage by +25% (additive) instead of 30%.
3. 

   Superconductive Protein
   - If damage options don’t appeal to you or you, for some reason, aren’t offered one that works for you, Superconductive Protein can be used to gain additional momentum for the wearer and their team on turn 1 by discounting one card in your opening hand to 0.

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!

Build Comments

There are currently three viable build paths for Chizuru, each with its own merits. You can choose one or blend a mixture of them as well.

• Oni Hunt Spam: This build is a well-rounded choice for Chizuru, possessing effective Will-O-Wisp generation, strong supplementary damage cards (Oni Hunt I), and reasonable self-buffing capabilities. All of this combined makes for good damage output each turn and the flexibility to not always have to rely on teammates for wisp generation completely.
• Max Hit Tsukiyomi: A build capable of setting up huge burst, but at the cost of having lower personal Will-O-Wisp generation than her other builds, increasing Chizuru’s reliance on her teammates. This deck can choose to either hold Shadow of the Moon+ and continually stack its hit count absurdly high to one-shot bosses or dump them periodically to ensure she's not wasting Wisp stacks. Both have their merit, although the latter is more damage efficient turn for turn. One weakness this build has is that some bosses possess harsh damage reductions on multi-hit attacks in endgame, capping the potential of one of the playstyles of this build.
• Moonstrike Spam: A build with many of the same strengths and flexibility as the Oni Hunt Spam build, but which reduces Chizuru’s reliance on Shadow of the Moon+ thanks to its ability to generate a ton of 0-cost Moonslash cards. Can take advantage of some different buffs and therefore teams/equipments compared to the Oni Hunt Spam deck.

Card Removal Priority

• Spiritflame’s Ward
  - First priority to be removed in all endgame Chizuru decks.
• Moonslash
  - A solid card for Chizuru after epiphanies, making it acceptable to leave in but still weak enough compared to her unique cards to remove it if you’re able. Compared to even the base Oni Hunt, Moonslash has 1 less hit and has no buffing effect, all for the same cost.
• Bound At Dusk
  - One of Chizuru’s best cards in Chaos and a solid card in most save data game modes, but one that, in some teams and strategies, can hinder more than help due to the downside of the inhibit buff blocking AP generation. If you are planning an AP-heavy Chizuru strategy featuring AP gen, you’ll need to remove this card. Keep in mind that doing so will sacrifice a hit count on Shadow of the Moon, so only remove it if you absolutely have to (usually not recommended).

Card Dupe Priority

Dupe Priority

Oni Hunt

=

Tsukiyomi

Chizuru has two strong dupe options, both of which can be used effectively in all three of the builds above, making build decks for her a little easier than other characters. Each of the three strategies has a card they want to dupe a little more, but they’re all still effective to include.

• Oni Hunt
  - In all builds, Oni Hunt is always a strong dupe option. Its main Epiphanies all have high hit count for Wisp generation, and it usually buffs Shadow of the Moon as well; it’s almost never bad to have more copies of.
• Tsukiyomi
  - Tsukiyomi isn’t as universally always useful as Oni Hunt, but under the right conditions, it is stronger at generating wisps and offers better buffing capabilities, all while costing 0 AP compared to Oni Hunt’s 1. Oni Hunt does everything at once; Tsukiyomi does one job very well. Which is more valuable to you will depend on the deck you’re playing.

Epiphany Alternatives

• Karmic Flames
  -
  Karmic Flames V
  will ensure you always have Cursed Shackles on a target and will also thin your deck after use, usually making it the go-to choice. However, it’s not make-or-break if you don’t get this epiphany specifically.
  Karmic Flames II
  acts essentially as a 0-cost attack after you have shackles applied, usually making it the next best option.
  Karmic Flames III
  and
  Karmic Flames I
  are also fine, but it will cost some of Chizuru’s team's valuable AP each turn to use, making them less appealing but still functional.
• Tsukiyomi
  - The main choices for Tsukiyomi are either
  Tsukiyomi I
  for maximizing Wisp generation or
  Tsukiyomi III
  for maximizing damage; both are viable depending on what you need. Tsukiyomi II and IV are also both usable, but are usually worse at the jobs they are trying to achieve than the former options.
• Oni Hunt
  -
  Oni Hunt I
  and
  Oni Hunt IV
  , and general epiphanies targeting buff/debuffs that increase damage are all viable choices for this card, depending on the build and what you’re looking for. In most cases, a strong Generic Epiphany for Oni Hunt is best, but if you don’t get that, Oni Hunt I is the next best all-around choice, boasting high hit count and buffing. Oni Hunt IV is mostly for the Moonstrike spam build, but is flexible enough to be used elsewhere as well.

Neutral Cards

Important!

There are a lot of power neutrals Chizuru can use, and which are worth the save data points to include in her decks, but here are the one/s that are most notable.

Depending on your team, the content you’re facing, and your playstyle, Neutrals aren’t always “best in slot”; as such, we haven’t included them in the sample decks. Modify and update the decks as you see fit based on whether you want to include neutrals or not. They may not always be worth the save data points!

• Forbidden: Ecstasy of Violence
  - Chizuru has no card draw of her own but if paired with team mates that do Ecstasy of Violence becomes an incredibly potent Forbidden card choice for her. This card has incredibly high damage, costs 0, which works well around Bound at Dusk, and hits 4 times, which generates a large amount of Will-O-Wisps.
• Forbidden: Portrait of Fury
  - Grants Chizuru a card draw, which she lacks, as well as another multi-hit attack that synergizes well with her kit for Wisp generation. Usually a 1-cost, 2-hit, draw 2, at worst, but can become a 3-hit draw 3 in best-case scenarios, making it a potent inclusion for most Chizuru decks if you’re not able or planning to use Ecstasy of Violence.

Luke

• Has many high hit count attacks directly and through generated cards with no strings attached as long as you have the AP to spare.
• Chizuru’s most consistent and flexible Will-O-Wisp generating partner that doesn’t rely on a specific third teammate to function optimally.
• Works without needing specific save data decks, making him a strong partner for Chizuru in Chaos runs.

Tressa

• Has some of the highest Will-O-Wisp generation of any teammate for Chizuru in theory when using a Shadow Reload build, but this locks the third teammate down to one that has significant healing cards.
• Won't consistently get strong Shadow Reload builds in chaos often. Can use direct shadow dagger generating builds instead in this mode, but loses out to Luke in Wisp generation when doing this.

Hugo

• Has many multi-hit attack cards with no downside; the hit count isn’t comparable to Luke or Tressa, but it’s still solid.
• Has ample card draw, allowing the team to cycle into Chizuru’s strongest cards and 0-cost cards like Tsukiyomi each turn. This utility isn’t something either Luke or Tressa usually has access to.
• Can deal the majority of his damage without altering his deck strategy for Chizuru or while needing to spend much AP thanks to Hunt Commence. However, do note that Hunt Commence extra attacks do not generate Wisp stacks.

Cassius

• Can leverage either the Full House quest for additional card draw to help Chizuru get to her strongest cards each turn, or Triple 0 when playing Chizuru with Luke or Tressa to convert Cassius into a sub DPS himself while also granting him the ability to generate Wisps more effectively for Chizuru.
• Always active card cycling options regardless of the Quest chosen, thanks to Devil Dice and Shuffle.
• Direct card searching through Joker, getting you exactly the Chizuru card you want on demand.
• Temporary stackable Morale buff every time a quest is completed, boosting Chizuru’s damage significantly for the turn.

Rei

• Solid temporary draw power through Snack Time, helping Chizuru cycle her deck initially to establish her upgrade, or can be held to work through suboptimal hands.
• Incredible buffing cards that have a transformative effect on the amount of damage Chizuru can deliver in a single turn when aligned correctly.
• Thanks to how many upgrades Rei’s deck has, she’s also great at thinning out the deck, making Chizuru’s combo more consistent in longer fights.

Veronica

• Offers absurd card draw and cycling at 0 AP cost, not interfering with the limited AP supply Chizuru has to work with in most decks.
• Deals solid damage to herself consistently every turn for free
• Most of her deck is either upgrade cards or card draw, meaning your hand each turn should just be your other two combatant cards.

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.

Luke x Chizuru

Damage

Damage

Support

Tressa x Chizuru

Damage

Damage

Support

Hugo x Chizuru

Damage

Damage

Support

Solo Chizuru

Damage

Support

Support