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Last updated: 18/June/2026
Best guide and build for Tenebria from Chaos Zero Nightmare (CZN). Tenebria is a 5✦ character from the Psionic class and Passion attribute.
Last review update
Season 0
Last build update
Season 0
Last profile update*
18/June/2026
*Profile update means updates done to reviews/builds/gear within a season - showing the last date we changed anything on this page.
To learn more about Tenebria check the sections below. Use the tabs to quickly switch to the kind of information you're looking for.
Profile
Sound Check
Attack
Fan Service
Skill
Music, Start!
Upgrade
Show Effects
Spotlight
Attack
Show Effects
Call & Response
Attack
Show Effects
Encore
Attack
Show Effects
Photo Time
Skill
Show Effects
Rhythm
Attack
Show Effects
Rhythm: Crescendo
Attack
Show Effects
Rhythm: Staccato
Attack
Show Effects
Rhythm: Fortissimo
Attack
Show Effects
Rhythm: Fermata
Skill
Show Effects
Rhythm: Arpeggio
Attack
Show Effects
Rhythm: Arpeggio
Attack
Show Effects
Rhythm: Arpeggio
Attack
Show Effects
Rhythm: Arpeggio
Attack
Show Effects
Rhythm: Arpeggio
Attack
Show Effects
Rhythm: Arpeggio
Attack
Show Effects
Photo Card
Skill
Show Effects
Everyone's Idol
Ego Skill
Show Effects
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.
Epiphany Bonus
Potential 1
Basic Card Upgrade
Potential 2
Common Card Upgrade
Potential 3
Basic Card Proficiency
Potential 3-1
Add the following effect to Sound Check: Incinerate: Heal 50%.
Unique Card Upgrade
Potential 4
Critical Chance Proficiency
Potential 5
Basic Card Proficiency
Potential 5-1
At the start of battle, increase Damage Amount of Tenebria's Rhythm cards by 10%, and if Tenebria's Attack is 500 or higher, increase Damage Amount of other Combatants' Rhythm cards by 10% as well.
Divine Epiphany Adaptation
Potential 5-2
Critical Damage Proficiency
Potential 6
+2.4/12% Critical Damage.
Unique Stat Upgrade
Potential 7
If Tenebria's Attack is 600 or higher, +5% Passion Attribute Damage Amount, and for every 20 Attack exceeding 600, add an additional +2% (additional +10% max).
Sleeping Memory
Manifest Ego 1
Increase Damage Amount of Performance Buzz for the Photo Time card from 100% to 150%.
Awakening Memory
Manifest Ego 2
At the start of battle, create 1 Photo Card card.
When an Ego Skill is used, inflict 200% Damage to random enemies for each of its original Cost.
Photo Card: 2 Ego Points.
Vivid Memory
Manifest Ego 3
Increase the Damage Amount increase effect that Everyone's Idol gives to Rhythm cards from 7% to 11%.
Inner Memory
Manifest Ego 4
Each time a Rhythm card is moved to hand or activated, gain Everyone’s Cheer.
Everyone’s Cheer: Increase Tenebria’s Damage Amount by 1% (max 20 stacks).
When stacked to max, increase Damage Amount of Rhythm cards by 10%.
Complete Memory
Manifest Ego 5
Liberated Memory
Manifest Ego 6
When a Photo Card is activated, decrease Cost of Tenebria's next Ego Skill used by 3.
When a Rhythm Card is activated, inflict 1 All Eyes On You on the target.
All Eyes On You: Increase Damage Amount received from Rhythm Cards by 40%. If a Rhythm card was not used manually, this monster becomes the target of those Rhythm cards.
When applied to a different target, remove All Eyes On You.
Review
Tenebria is a 5-Star Passion Psionic combatant who might be a familiar face to some, coming from the Epic 7 universe. Tenebria is an Idol who rocks their enemies to the rhythm of the beat, leaving them awestruck.
Tenebria has access to 6 different types of “Rhythm” cards, each with a slightly different effect. A variant of Tenebria’s “Rhythm” cards is obtained at the start of battle by converting all Basic Attack cards in the deck through the “Music, Start!” card. Each one will adjust the way you play the deck and which combatants you pair her with.
Many of Tenebria’s “Rhythm” cards have a higher cost attached to them; you would be looking to pair her with other combatants who can help alleviate the high AP pressure of Tenebria in either the form of cost reduction, additional AP, or cards that can bypass costs by activating them without playing them directly for her to play as many of her cards per turn as possible. Tenebria herself can help with this thanks to her “Spotlight” card offering recycling and in-built cost reduction. Tenebria also can re-use cards already played that turn thanks to her “Encore” card, replaying the last activated card if it’s a “Rhythm” card.
When deciding on what combatants you want to pair with Tenebria, supporting characters that can offer AP generation will help fuel the high AP costs associated with her “Rhythm” cards. Characters who can offer multiplicative buffs will also have decent mileage, as the damage scaling on her “Rhythm” cards increases the Base Ratio. As her “Rhythm” cards are also Basic cards, any combatant who synergizes well with Basic cards can also be considered, such as Rei or Narja. Tenebria is also heavily reliant on a consistent draw engine that can allow her to cycle through each of her own cards to ensure she can re-use and re-cycle as many of her cards as possible to maximize her damage output.
Tenebria unfortunately has weaknesses when it comes to Save Data content; creating 6 Basic Cards can heavily clog the deck and brick opening hands, reducing overall consistency. Tenebria also lacks any form of AoE in her kit, which may potentially cause issues in content where AoE is required. Tenebria also requires more support than other DPS characters, restricting her potential to be paired with other combatants who fulfill a sub-DPS role. Because of this, Tenebria is positioned to be your primary or sole Carry on your team due to many of her cards' beneficial effects only applying to “Rhythm” cards. Tenebria’s kit doesn’t provide any sub-DPS qualities, as the majority of their draw or recycling capacities are, again, limited to “Rhythm” cards.
Tenebria still functions quite well in Chaos or Sortie, due to removing lower-impact Basic Attack cards from supporting characters and replacing them with “Rhythm” cards - Tenebria has very consistent early-stage damage output, allowing you to progress quite comfortably while building up your deck.
When putting this all together, Tenebria plays very much as a combo-style character. You’ll want to be cycling through your deck as much as possible - with cards like “Call & Response”. Play “Rhythm” cards, adding them back to your hand with “Spotlight” or re-using them via her “Encore” card, and finishing off the performance with her “Photo Time” Mythic card to deal follow-up damage.
Strong synergy with Basic Attack buffs.
Saves ally supports 20-40 Faint Memory.
Can do a lot of damage quickly.
Lack of AoE damage.
Very AP-heavy.
Creating 6 Basic cards will reduce consistency.
Doesn’t pair well with sub-DPS style characters.
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.
Tenebria’s core mechanic revolves around her various “Rhythm” cards that can be generated from her “Music, Start!” card. Each Epiphany for “Music, Start!” will create a different “Rhythm” card that has a different effect, allowing Tenebria to have a slightly different play pattern, but generally are still posed to be your primary source of Damage. Rhythm cards by default always grant 1 stack of {Performance Burnout} whenever used.
Note: As Tenebria creates these “Rhythm” cards for their Allies, the cards created will have the element (Passion, Instinct, Order etc.) of the Combatants on your team. If Tenebria is on a Team with an Instinct and Order Combatant, 2 of each “Rhythm” card created will be Instinct, Order and Passion attributed.
Note: When Tenebria converts a Controller’s or Vanguard’s basic card, the new “Rhythm” card created will deal Defense-Based Damage instead.
Rhythm - It is the initial card offered from “Music, Start!”, a 2-Cost Basic Attack card that deals 60% damage to a single enemy, increasing its damage by +30% for each Rhythm card owned. In addition, when it’s played, it will activate 1 “Rhythm” in hand.
Rhythm: Crescendo - It is also a 2-Cost Basic-Attack card that deals 180% Damage to a single enemy, increasing its damage by +40% for each Rhythm card in the Graveyard. After being played, it will decrease the cost of the next “Rhythm” card played by 1 AP.
Rhythm: Staccato - A 1-Cost Basic-Attack Card that deals 80% damage to a single enemy, increasing by +50% for each Rhythm card owned. However, if the last card activated was a “Rhythm” card, the cost of this card will increase by 1 AP.
Rhythm: Fortissimo - A 2-Cost Basic-Attack Card that has the [Linked] and [Retain] tags. It deals 90% damage to a single enemy again, increasing its damage by +55% for each Linked Rhythm card before it’s played. If it’s played when 3 or more cards are [Linked], it adds 1 additional hit.
Note: If you activate multiple “Rhythm: Fortissimo” via a card that can activate multiple cards, the last two “Rhythm: Fortissimo” activated will not receive the additional hit multiplier. (Unless there are more than 3 linked cards when played)
Rhythm: Fermata - This is the odd card out, as it turns into a Basic Skill card instead. It has the [Haste] tag and costs 1 AP to use. When played, you select 1 of 4 Rhythm cards (Rhythm, Rhythm: Crescendo / Staccato / Fortissimo) to have all Rhythm cards changed into for 1 turn and then will draw 2 of them.
Rhythm: Arpeggio - When Tenebria creates Rhythm: Arpeggio, she will create 6 different variants of the card, with varying costs and effects - unlike her other Rhythm cards, which create 2 copies of the card for each combatant, all 6 “Rhythm: Arpeggio” will belong to Tenebria.
0-Cost - Rhythm: Arpeggio - Deals 15% Damage to a single enemy for each Rhythm card owned, draws 1 of the lowest-cost Rhythm cards and decreases the cost of that card by 1 until played.
1-Cost - Rhythm: Arpeggio - Deals 20% Damage to a single enemy for each Rhythm card owned, draws 2 of the lowest-cost Rhythm cards and decreases the cost of those cards by 1 until they’re played.
2-Cost - Rhythm: Arpeggio - Deals 40% Damage to a single enemy again for each Rhythm card owned. When played, will activate 1 of the Highest-Cost Rhythm cards in your hand.
3-Cost - Rhythm: Arpeggio - The 3-cost Rhythm: Arpeggio has the [Haste] tag, dealing 50% damage to a single target for each Rhythm card owned, and will activate the highest-cost Rhythm card from either your Draw Pile or your Discard Pile.
Note - Discard pile does NOT include the Used card pile.
4-Cost - Rhythm: Arpeggio - The 4-Cost Rhythm: Arpeggio also has the [Haste] tag and deals 80% Damage to a single target again for each Rhythm card owned. The cost of this card decreases by 1 for each Rhythm card in the Graveyard (includes the Used and Discard piles).
5-Cost - Rhythm: Arpeggio - The 5-Cost Rhythm: Arpeggio also has the [Haste] tag, dealing 90% Damage to an enemy for each Rhythm card owned. The cost of this card decreases by 1 for each Rhythm card activated this turn.
[Opener] - This is a new tag introduced by Tenebria that plays the card at the start of battle, as long as you have the AP to play it.
Performance Burnout - A debuff applied to Tenebria each time a “Rhythm” card is played. Once Tenebria reaches 30 stacks of Performance Burnout, she is unable to use any further “Rhythm” cards. At the end of the turn, all stacks of Performance Burnout are removed.
Performance Buzz - A buff granted to Tenebria via her Mythic card “Photo Time”. This can stack up to 10 times and deals 100% damage to random enemies for each stack of Performance Buzz.
CRIT RATE% = CRIT DMG% >= Unique Card DMG% > Common Card DMG% = Basic Card DMG%
3-1: Adds an [Incinerate] effect to Tenebria’s Basic-Attack Cards, providing a 50% heal. This ultimately does absolutely nothing outside of providing a small heal at the start of combat. Can be skipped.
5-1: Tenebria’s 5-1 Potential grants a 10% multiplicative damage buff to Tenebria’s Rhythm cards, additionally - if her attack is 500 or higher, will provide a 10% multiplicative damage buff to her allies Rhythm cards too. A substantial damage boost, as Tenebria’s damage scaling is Base ratio, making this quite a potent potential to unlock.
7: Tenebria’s 7 Potential grants Tenebria +5% Passion Attribute damage, and for every 20 Attack exceeding 600, will grant an additional +2% up to a maximum of 15% Passion Attribute Damage at 700 Attack. Definitely worth picking up.
Base
Ego 1
Ego 2
Ego 3
Ego 4
Ego 5
Ego 6
Everyone's Idol
Ego Skill
Show Effects
Tenebria’s Ego Skill “Everyone’s Idol” costs 7 Ego Points to use. Upon use, the next 7 Rhythm Cards activated will grant a stacking buff called “Everyone’s Idol” that grants a permanent 7% damage buff to Rhythm cards. This is a pretty solid Ego Skill that you want to activate as early as possible in the fight to ensure you’re able to maximize Tenebria’s damage output.
Sound Check
Attack
Tenebria’s starting Basic-Attack card costs 1-AP to deal 100% damage to a single target. Very standard - Can be left in the deck thanks to her “Music, Start!” card exhausting all Basic-Attack cards from anywhere - as it activates at the start of battle, which can allow for some extra Faint Memory space when building her and her allies' decks.
Fan Service
Skill
Fan Service is Tenebria’s starting Basic-Skill card that costs 1 AP to heal for 100%. Again, extremely standard and should be removed as soon as possible. As “Music, Start!” only removes Basic-Attack cards, it should be a priority for removal.
Music, Start!
Upgrade
Show Effects
Music, Start! Is Tenebria’s core card that enables her playstyle. It has the [Unique] tag and introduces the [Opener] tag, which plays the card directly from the deck at the start of battle, as long as you have the AP to use it. As this card is a 0-Cost, it will always be able to play itself. When played, it exhausts ALL Basic-Attack cards from the deck and creates a “Rhythm” card depending on what Epiphany it has. A crucial card for Tenebria to succeed. Note - As this card exhausts ALL Basic-Attack cards from the deck, this can be used to alleviate the Faint Memory cap for other Combatants when paired with Tenebria.
Spotlight
Attack
Show Effects
Spotlight is a 1-Cost Attack Card that deals 140% Damage to a single enemy. When played, it will also move 1 Rhythm card to your hand, reducing the cost of that card by 2 until it’s used. A decent card for Tenebria that can help re-use her Rhythm cards as it moves cards from anywhere, including the used card pile.
Call & Response
Attack
Show Effects
Call & Response is a 1-Cost Attack Card that has the [Haste] tag and deals 200% damage to a single target. It also has an [Attunement] effect that draws 1 Rhythm card when triggered. It has the additional effect of being treated as a “Rhythm” card when in Tenebria's hand. A decent card for Tenebria that helps with some in-house cycling that improves further with its Epiphanies offered.
Encore
Attack
Show Effects
Encore is a 1-Cost Attack card that deals 120% damage to a single target; additionally, if the last card played was a “Rhythm” card, it activates that card again. A great card for Tenebria that really shines with the various Epiphanies offered. Note - This will NOT re-activate any of Tenebria’s cards that are treated as “Rhythm” cards whilst in hand.
Photo Time
Skill
Show Effects
Photo Time is Tenebria’s Mythic card - A 1-Cost Skill Card that has the [Unique] and [Retain] tags. When played, it grants 1 stack of “Performance Buzz”. Whenever Tenebria activates or moves a Rhythm card or to hand, the stacks granted from “Photo Time” increase by 1 until it is played, up to a maximum of 9 times for a total of 10 Performance Buzz stacks when played. Provides some extra damage at the end of the turn but overall isn’t an incredibly crucial part of her kit.
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.
Music, Start! I
Upgrade
Show Effects
Music, Start! II
Upgrade
Show Effects
Music, Start! III
Upgrade
Show Effects
Music, Start! IV
Upgrade
Show Effects
Music, Start! V
Upgrade
Show Effects
Epiphanies:
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, Start-of-Turn Draw 2.
Spotlight I
Attack
Show Effects
Spotlight II
Upgrade
Show Effects
Spotlight III
Attack
Show Effects
Spotlight IV
Skill
Show Effects
Spotlight V
Attack
Show Effects
Epiphanies:
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: AP (Spotlight IV, V), Draw (Spotlight IV), Draw 1 Card of this Unit, Draw 1 Common Card & Treat as Common Card, 2 Vulnerable.
Call & Response I
Attack
Show Effects
Call & Response II
Attack
Show Effects
Call & Response III
Skill
Show Effects
Call & Response IV
Attack
Show Effects
Call & Response V
Attack
Show Effects
Epiphanies:
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: Draw 1 (Call & Response III), Draw 1 of this Unit, Draw 1 Common & Treat as Common, Cost-Reduction.
Encore I
Attack
Show Effects
Encore II
Upgrade
Show Effects
Encore III
Skill
Show Effects
Encore IV
Skill
Show Effects
Encore V
Skill
Show Effects
Epiphanies:
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: Draw 1 Card of this Unit, Draw 1 Common & Treat as Common, Draw 1 (Encore IV, Encore III), Cost-Reduction, Vulnerable 2.
Gear
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.
This is her best memory fragments setup and most versatile one, since she has access to attack cards of various cost and multiple skill cards that deals damage, sets like Conqueror's Aspect and Line of Justice will end up losing value with most builds.
This is also a viable choice when paired with Nia or any sort of discard to trigger the Prelude to a Hero passive effect, since discarding a Passion Attack card once per turn will result in a 15% critical rate increase to Tenebria. Tenebria herself will also activate this effect easily if using Rhythm: Fortissimo as its [Link] tag will satisfy this condition during setup for its damage from [Link] discarding off ally [Link].
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.
CRIT Rate% > CRIT DMG% > ATK > ATK%
Maxing out Tenebria's potential 7 is the main stat breakpoint to watch out for. Fortunately, it's incredibly easy to do so, and all you need is 700 ATK, which almost all Tenebria builds can accomplish.
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.
This is the best option, but it requires high investment that may not be worth it for people who aren't high spenders or dedicated fans of Tenebria. This is the best option because it gives a 48% multiplicative buff specifically to Basic Attacks, which effects Rhythm cards, alongside a hefty 40% crit-damage and an additional 20% buff to basic attacks from ego skill for the entire combat.
Her signature partner offers her the most amount of buffs and by far, she is recommend if you really want to push Tenebria to her limits. This is the best option because it gives a 24% multiplicative buff specifically to Basic Attacks, which effects Rhythm cards, alongside a hefty 20% crit-damage and an additional 20% buff to basic attacks from ego skill for the entire combat.
Ivy, Bria and Itsuku are better options than Eloise due to their better stats coming from the fact they are 5-stars, however their passives do not benefit to Tenebria in significant way. Because of this you can use any of them that you have fully levelled and invested into.
E4 Eloise is the best partner for Tenebria if you do not wish to pull for a 5-star, her passives and ego skill do not synergize with her, she is simply here for the stats she provides.
A F2P option that's fine to use if you have nothing else but falls behind in damage compared to the options above. Should be replaced as soon as you're able.
E0 Eloise is very easy to get but not all that great until you get more copies of her. With that said she's still better than E4 Zatera so we recommend using her and just upgrading her Ego level as soon as you can.
In the Zero System, it's incredibly easy to access all items acquirable via the shop thanks to the five 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.
The equipment recommendations are based on items obtainable in Season 2’s Chaos - Burning Life. If you’re running content outside of Season 2, it’s possible some options may not be available for acquisition, or that other options not obtainable in Burning Life may be better.
We're currently working on updating all builds for Season 3.
Deck & Teams
Check the best builds for Tenebria below.
Sound Check
Attack
Music, Start! V
Upgrade
Show Effects
Spotlight III
Attack
Show Effects
Call & Response III
Skill
Show Effects
Encore IV
Skill
Show Effects
Photo Time
Skill
Show Effects
Base performance of the character.