Best guide and build for Kayron from Chaos Zero Nightmare (CZN). Kayron is a 5✦ character from the Psionic class and Void attribute, who belongs to the Wanderer [No Affiliation] faction.
To learn more about Kayron 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 Kayron check the sections below. Use the tabs to quickly switch to the kind of information you're looking for.
Profile
Cards
Starting Cards:
1
Elimination
Attack
100% Damage.
1
Sphere
Skill
Heal100%.
Show Effects
1
Echo of Futility
Attack
320% Damage. Create 2 Futility Card(s).
Epiphany Cards:
3
Brand of Annihilation
Attack
400% Damage to all enemies. When a card is Exhausted, decrease Cost of this card by 1 for 1 turn.
Show Effects
2
Black Hole
Attack
240% Damage. +40% Damage Amount for each Exhausted Futility.
Show Effects
1
Oath of Vanity
Upgrade
[Unique]
When Futility is created, change those cards into 1-Cost Attack Cards with 100% Damage and Heal effects.
200% Damage to all enemies. Exhaust all Futility in hand. +80% Damage for each.
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.
1
Echo of Futility I
Attack
480% Damage. Create 3 Futility Card(s).
1
Echo of Futility II
Attack
240% Damage. Create 2 Futility Card(s). +20% Damage Amount for each Exhausted Futility.
Show Effects
1
Echo of Futility III
Attack
320% Damage. Create 2 Futility Card(s). Apply Ephemeral on that card.
Show Effects
X
Echo of Futility IV
Attack
150% Damage. +150% Damage Amount for each X. Create X+1 Futility Card(s).
0
Echo of Futility V
Attack
150% Damage. Create 2 Futility Card(s). +30% Damage Amount for each Futility created during this battle.
3
Brand of Annihilation I
Attack
600% Damage to all enemies. When a card is Exhausted, decrease Cost of this card by 1 for 1 turn.
Show Effects
3
Brand of Annihilation II
Attack
400% Damage x 2 to a random enemy. When a card is Exhausted, decrease Cost of this card by 1 for 1 turn.
Show Effects
7
Brand of Annihilation III
Attack
600% Damage to all enemies. Decrease Cost for each Exhausted Futility.
Show Effects
1
Brand of Annihilation IV
Attack
300% Damage to all enemies. +40% Damage Amount for each Exhausted card this turn.
Show Effects
2
Brand of Annihilation V
Attack
400% Damage to all enemies. If any card was Exhausted this turn, 3Agony to all enemies.
Show Effects
2
Black Hole I
Attack
360% Damage. Activate 2 Futility card(s) from hand.
2
Black Hole II
Attack
360% Damage. +60% Damage Amount for Exhausted Futility.
Show Effects
2
Black Hole III
Attack
60% Damage to a random enemy. Add1 hit for each Exhausted Futility (Max 5 times).
Show Effects
2
Black Hole IV
Attack
300% Damage. Add 1 Hit for each 5Exhausted Futility (max 2 times).
Show Effects
1
Black Hole V
Upgrade
When Futility is Exhausted, 100%Fixed Damage to a random enemy.
Show Effects
1
Oath of Vanity I
Upgrade
[Unique]
When Futility is created, change those cards into 1-Cost Attack Cards with 150% Damage and Heal effects.
Show Effects
0
Oath of Vanity II
Upgrade
[Unique][Initiation]
When Futility is created, change those cards into 1-Cost Attack Cards with 100% Damage and Heal effects.
Show Effects
1
Oath of Vanity III
Upgrade
[Unique]
When Futility is created, change those cards into 1-Cost Attack Cards with 200% Damage.
Show Effects
0
Oath of Vanity IV
Skill
[Exhaust][Retain]
Exhaust all Futility, Status Ailment, and Curse Cards in hand. Draw for each.
Show Effects
0
Oath of Vanity V
Upgrade
When 2 Futility Cards are Exhausted, 2Agony to all enemies
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
Elimination and Salvation cards have their damage and healing increased by +50%, and gain the effect to create 1Futility card.
4
Unique Card Upgrade
Potential 4
Increase Damage, Shield, and Healing Amounts of Unique Cards by 2/20%.
5
Critical Chance Proficiency
Potential 5
+2/10% Critical Chance.
5-1
Basic Card Proficiency
Potential 5-1
+5% Damage for Kayron’s Destruction Damage. If Kayron’s Attack is greater than 500, 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
Critical Damage Proficiency
Potential 6
2.4/12% Critical Damage.
7
Unique Stat Upgrade
Potential 7
If Kayron’s Attack is greater than 600, +5% Critical Damage For every 40 Attack exceeding that value, +1% (up to an additional +10%).
Manifest Ego (dupes)
E1
Sleeping Memory
Manifest Ego 1
When using the Echoes of True Abyss card, additionally create 2Futility cards.
E2
Awakening Memory
Manifest Ego 2
For every 2Futility cards used, deal 100% damage to all enemies.
E3
Vivid Memory
Manifest Ego 3
Add Graveyard to the target range of Futility Cards Exhausted by the Rift of Nothingness Card.
E4
Inner Memory
Manifest Ego 4
Whenever a Futility card is used, gain 1Paradox of Nothingness. Paradox of Nothingness: For 1 turn(s), Kayron's attack card damage +10% (Max 3 stacks).
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 a Futility card is generated, there is a 50% chance of applying one of the following to a random enemy: Vulnerable, Weaken, or Injured. Apply 1 stack.
Stats (level 60)
HP
356
DEF
169
ATK
443
Gallery
Review
Introduction
Performance Profile
ST Damage [4/5]
AoE Damage [4/5]
AP Efficiency [1/5]
Utility [1/5]
Kayron is a Void Psionic that wreaks havoc by truly harnessing the Void to deal devastating AoE and single-target damage.
Kayron has extremely expensive AP costs across the board and demands AP to function due to his "Futility" cards that are created from various sources in his kit. Futility by default are 1 Cost "Status Ailment" cards that feature the [Exhaust] tag, but can be changed into Attack Cards through his "Oath of Vanity" Upgrade card. Kayron can infinitely scale as his "Black Hole" card deals heavy base damage and does extra damage for each exhausted "Futility" card. He can also deal some serious AoE damage via his "Brand of Annihilation", which is a 3 Cost Attack Card that reduces its cost by 1 for each card exhausted this turn.
Kayron relies heavily on supporting characters who can provide AP management via either Cost Reduction to help alleviate his high costs or pure AP Generation to ensure he can [Exhaust] any Futility cards created so he can maximize his damage output consistently, whilst not leaving any unwanted Futilitys to be cycled back into your deck as you very rarely want to be clogging your deck with them.
With most of, if not all of Kayron's qualities being of a pure Damage Dealer, he's positioned to be your main DPS on a team, best paired with other supporting characters who can assist with his high AP demands.
Because of Kayron’s extremely high AP demands, he can struggle in Chaos early, especially if he hasn't obtained his "Oath of Vanity" Upgrade card to turn his Futility cards from dead-weight bricks into damage/healing cards. He can shine in Save Data content where your supports have been built properly to help with his insane AP demands to be able to reach that true late-game scaling monster that he is.
Pros & Cons
Pros
Incredible single-target and AoE damage potential.
Has many gameplay-altering Epiphanies - both mechanically and damage-wise.
Becomes stronger the longer the fight drags on.
High AP costs can be bypassed with smart play.
Cons
Many very AP expensive cards on top of Void also costing AP.
Main mechanic Void is not fully functional without the Gold Card Oath of Vanity.
Can clog its own hand and deck with Void, which is too expensive to use if not careful.
Gains so much power from Epiphanies that his base deck can feel awkward and underwhelming.
Hard to play.
Almost feels reliant on his signature partner Bria, to function at a basic level.
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
T1
Season Save Data
?
Great Rift
Key Mechanics
Futility: A status ailment card created by many of Kayron’s cards that costs 1AP, does nothing on use, but is exhausted after. Can be upgraded to deal damage and heal with Oath of Vanity and Epiphanies.
X: Some of Kayron’s cards/Epiphanies specify X. X means the card will consume all available AP when used and scale the X value in the effect by the amount used.
Potential
Kayron’s Signature Potentials offer huge damage boosts as well as key additional functionality, making them a high priority to unlock.
3-1: Increases the multiplier of Kayron’s Basic Cards by a whopping +50% and causes them to generate a Futility when played. Absolutely key to helping get Kayron off the ground faster.
5-1: Further increases the damage of Kayron’s Basic Attack by 5%, or 10% if his Attack stat is 500 or more.
7: If Kayron’s ATK is 600 or higher, he gains +5% Crit DMG and for every 40 over 600, he gains a further 1% up to a cap of 10% for 15% total.
Dupes Review
E0
Base
Base performance of the character.
E1
144.59%
Ego 1
Kayron's first Ego node to be unlocked causes his “Echoes of True Abyss” card to create an additional 2 Futility cards. This is a great first Ego to be unlocked, as it can rapidly speed up his Futility creation to start his scaling.
E2
144.59%
Ego 2
His second Ego point grants Kayron a passive effect that deals 100% Damage to all enemies whenever 2 Futility cards are Exhausted. This is a solid second Ego to unlock to assist with some extra AoE damage. With a solid Kayron deck and supporting cast, you could potentially trigger this 3-4 each turn, which adds up over the course of a fight.
E3
144.59%
Ego 3
The third Ego point provides extra utility to his Ego Skill, allowing it to exhaust Futility that are in the Graveyard/Discard Pile when used, instead of only his hand. This is a really solid buff to his overall gameplay loop that helps with unclogging your deck whilst also boosting its potential damage output.
E4
157.93%
Ego 4
His E4 provides Kayron a buff whenever he activates one of his Futility cards, granting him 1 stack of “Paradox of Nothingness”. This buff lasts for 1 turn, stacking up to 3 times and increases the damage of Kayron's Attack Cards by 10% per stack. This is a great self-generated multiplicative buff that Kayron really wants due to his already higher-than-average base damage across his cards.
E5
159.24%
Ego 5
This node increases the base and maximum level of their [Basic Card Upgrade], [Unique Card Upgrade] and [Common Card Upgrade] Potentials by 3. Nothing unique here, a decent increase to Kayron's potential damage whilst also providing some extra healing to his Futility cards if going for an “Oath of Vanity” variant that provides his Futility cards healing properties.
E6
168.92%
Ego 6
Kayron’s final Ego node is one of his best. Whenever he creates a Futility card, there’s a 50% chance of applying 1 stack of either “Vulnerable”, “Weaken” or “Injured” to a random enemy. With the amount of Futility Kayron can generate, he can consistently maintain each of these debuffs.
Cards & Ego Skill
5
Rift of Nothingness
Ego Skill
200% Damage to all enemies. Exhaust all Futility in hand. +80% Damage for each.
Show Effects
Rift of Nothingness
Cost 4 EP to perform an AoE attack dealing 200% damage. Additionally, Exhausts all Futility cards in hand to increase damage by 80% per card exhausted. An effective way to get rid of a bunch of Futility cards generated during the turn while also laying down some nice AoE damage. A key ability in ensuring you don’t clog your deck too badly in longer fights.
1
Elimination
Attack
100% Damage.
Elimination
Kayron’s Basic Attack Card hits a whole lot harder than most characters and also generates Futility on use thanks to his Potentials.
1
Sphere
Skill
Heal100%.
Show Effects
Sphere
Kayron’s basic Heal card, not a card you’ll be focusing on, but it also gains the ability to generate Futility thanks to Potentials.
1
Echo of Futility
Attack
320% Damage. Create 2 Futility Card(s).
Echo of Futility
A 1 cost high damage single-target ability that generates 2 Futility as opposed to the 1 his basics do.
3
Brand of Annihilation
Attack
400% Damage to all enemies. When a card is Exhausted, decrease Cost of this card by 1 for 1 turn.
Show Effects
Brand of Annihilation
An immensely expensive 3 AP Attack Card that hits incredibly hard in full AoE. Thankfully, it is able to be discounted by 1 AP on every single card that is exhausted this turn, allowing it to achieve 0 cost with a well-structured hand. This card is one of the main reasons Kayron is so strong in AoE and only gets stronger with Epiphanies.
2
Black Hole
Attack
240% Damage. +40% Damage Amount for each Exhausted Futility.
Show Effects
Black Hole
A 2 AP single-target Attack Card that deals 240% baseline but gains an additional +40% damage multiplier per Futility that has been exhausted in this fight. This bonus has… no limit, making it an absolute monster in extended fights in decks that can quickly and easily generate and exhaust Futility.
1
Oath of Vanity
Upgrade
[Unique]
When Futility is created, change those cards into 1-Cost Attack Cards with 100% Damage and Heal effects.
Show Effects
Oath of Vanity
Oath of Vanity is the focal point of Kayron’s kit and is an upgrade that, after being activated, transforms his Futility from useless fodder into a useful attack or even more exotic things with Epiphanies. Getting the Oath of Vanity online as early as possible should be a priority, as Kayron’s ability to exhaust Futility outside of using them is limited and you’d rather be using them for something useful.
Deals single-target damage and generates 3 Void cards; another excellent but expensive Futility generator.
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
★★★
1
Echo of Futility I
Attack
480% Damage. Create 3 Futility Card(s).
★★★
1
Echo of Futility II
Attack
240% Damage. Create 2 Futility Card(s). +20% Damage Amount for each Exhausted Futility.
Show Effects
★★★
1
Echo of Futility III
Attack
320% Damage. Create 2 Futility Card(s). Apply Ephemeral on that card.
Show Effects
★★★
X
Echo of Futility IV
Attack
150% Damage. +150% Damage Amount for each X. Create X+1 Futility Card(s).
★★
0
Echo of Futility V
Attack
150% Damage. Create 2 Futility Card(s). +30% Damage Amount for each Futility created during this battle.
★★★★★
Epiphanies:
Neutral[★★★] - Target Neutral Epiphany: Draw 1. The Neutral draw 1 Epiphany on this can be great for enabling you to have fewer draw concerns while still generating Futility to scale your Black-Hole.
Echo of Futility I
[★★★] - The base damage on Echo gets a significant buff and you now make 3 futility per Echo. The base damage on this will be superior to Echo V up until 1-3 turns of futility made, on top of scaling your Black-Hole much faster so it is generally superior to Echo V (the go-to option) in low-turn / OTK content, if you can afford its 1AP cost.
Echo of Futility II
[★★★] - Echo now scales at a rate of 20% per futility exhausted. Comparing this to Echo V, it will be superior in damage, assuming you are exhausting every futility, up until 21 futility exhausted. Which means for most content, this will be a superior damage option but lacks the significant QoL of being 0-cost making it harder to play.
Echo of Futility III
[★★★] - Echo’s Futility created now gains [Ephemeral], which automatically exhausts it if it is in hand at the end of the turn. This effectively makes the cost of exhausting both Futility 1 AP (or 0 with Cost Reduction), instead of the 2 to play them manually. This can allow for much easier set-ups to scale your Black Hole faster.
Echo of Futility IV
[★★] - Echo is now X-cost, which means it takes your current AP and gains additional effects based on AP spent. In this case, it gains the effects of making futility equal to your AP spent +1 meaning it can theoretically make you up to 10 futility (an entire hand). In the current balance of the game, X-costs tend to be rather weak and hard to play around. On-top of the fact that this card has the distinct disadvantage of making you a lot of futility that you need AP to exhaust, but using all the AP you would use to exhaust it. That being said, it was recently buffed to do more damage and we did see a boss (Rita’s Great-Rift) that X-cost attacks, like this, were useful against.
Echo of Futility V
[★★★★★] - The card is now 0-cost and scales its base ratio at a rate of 30% per futility made, infinitely, but has a very low initial base ratio of 30% (36% with Potentials). For most existing content, this is the go-to Epiphany. It can scale to a higher level quite fast compared to most Epiphanies (only being worse than Echo II until you make exhaust more than 21 futility, or if you are not exhausting the futility for some reason). Moreover, its base 0-cost makes it much easier to play around because of Kayron’s very high AP requirements. It was also buffed recently to start at a much higher ratio than it previously did (effectively + 4 futility created from previous iteration).
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 2
Neutral Epiphany
★★
3
Brand of Annihilation I
Attack
600% Damage to all enemies. When a card is Exhausted, decrease Cost of this card by 1 for 1 turn.
Show Effects
★★★★★
3
Brand of Annihilation II
Attack
400% Damage x 2 to a random enemy. When a card is Exhausted, decrease Cost of this card by 1 for 1 turn.
Show Effects
★★★
7
Brand of Annihilation III
Attack
600% Damage to all enemies. Decrease Cost for each Exhausted Futility.
Show Effects
★★★★
1
Brand of Annihilation IV
Attack
300% Damage to all enemies. +40% Damage Amount for each Exhausted card this turn.
Show Effects
★★★
2
Brand of Annihilation V
Attack
400% Damage to all enemies. If any card was Exhausted this turn, 3Agony to all enemies.
Show Effects
★
Epiphanies:
Neutral[★★] - Target Neutral Epiphany: Morale 4. If, for some reason, you want to play buffer Kayron, he can theoretically be one of the best buffers in the game, as with 3 [Exhausts], you can make Brand 0-cost for that turn and give 4 Morale for every Brand you play. That being said, he is generally never used in a more Supportive/Buffing playstyle and the Morale buff from this does not synergize well with Kayron’s own kit.
Brand of Annihilation I
[★★★★★] - Brand now has a significantly higher ratio, but otherwise the same effects. This is generally the go-to for most builds pre-E1 Kayron, as it is hard to quickly exhaust the needed amount of cards for Brand III without E1.
Brand of Annihilation II
[★★★] - Brand now does 2-hits, but is no longer AOE. This is one of Kayron’s best Epiphanies for single-target damage, with it being a high ratio 2-hit combo. However, Kayron generally uses his Brand more for AOE scenarios, so this is less of a universal choice.
Brand of Annihilation III
[★★★★] - Brand is now 7-cost but will permanently reduce its cost for every Futility card exhausted in the current battle. While this is definitely the go-to for E1+ Kayron, it can be hard to exhaust the needed amount quickly, without it making it slightly less of a universal choice for recommendations.
Brand of Annihilation IV
[★★★] - Brand is now always 1-cost but can scale its damage for any card exhausted, including allies, by +40%. It has the highest damage potential of any brand, but requires you to exhaust a very high number of cards to reach it. Generally speaking, it will not be used outside of OTK but is his premiere card for T1 OTK-based builds, as there are a lot of ways to exhaust many cards in one turn, but fewer ways to do so consistently.
Brand of Annihilation V
[★] - Brand is now always 2-cost, but it gains 3 Agony application if a card was exhausted. This is flat-out worse than Neutral Epiphanies, which will give you 4 Agony and enable you to still reduce the Brand cost to 0, making it not recommended in the slightest–even if you were building for Agony application.
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: Weakness Attack, Vulnerable 2, 30% Damage Increase.
Card 3
Neutral Epiphany
★★
2
Black Hole I
Attack
360% Damage. Activate 2 Futility card(s) from hand.
★
2
Black Hole II
Attack
360% Damage. +60% Damage Amount for Exhausted Futility.
Show Effects
★★★★★
2
Black Hole III
Attack
60% Damage to a random enemy. Add1 hit for each Exhausted Futility (Max 5 times).
Show Effects
★★★
2
Black Hole IV
Attack
300% Damage. Add 1 Hit for each 5Exhausted Futility (max 2 times).
Show Effects
★★★
1
Black Hole V
Upgrade
When Futility is Exhausted, 100%Fixed Damage to a random enemy.
Show Effects
★★★
Epiphanies:
Neutral[★★] - The Neutral Epiphany access on this card tends to bring very little value to Kayron; however, it can be worth considering simply because the base card can be better in scaling-based builds than other options.
Black Hole I
[★] - Black Hole will activate 2 Futility on use, but gains its scaling effect. This essentially is trading 2 AP to save 2 AP (and gain 1 Additional Hit but lose 1 Draw), when you could instead delete Black Hole and just play the 2 Futilities manually at that point. Moreover, it just has much worse damage Potential in the long run because it lacks the infinite scaling of the base Brand or Brand II.
Black Hole II
[★★★★★] - Black Hole gains a higher base ratio and now scales at a higher rate of +60% per Futility exhausted. The go-to option for any scaling-based build, which is typically where Black-Hole matters most.
Black Hole III
[★★★] - It has much worse damage potential in the long run because it lacks the infinite scaling of the Base Brand or Brand II.
Black Hole IV
[★★★] - It has much worse damage potential in the long run because it lacks the infinite scaling of the Base Brand or Brand II.
Black Hole V
[★★★] - Black Hole now adds additional Fixed Damage for every Futility exhausted. Some builds that do not play Black Hole or cannot afford to (like OTK setups with Brand IV) will choose to take this simply to easily get rid of it. However, it has much worse damage Potential in the long run because it lacks the infinite scaling of the Base Brand or Brand II.
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: Weakness Attack, Vulnerable 2, 30% Damage Increase.
Card 4
Neutral Epiphany
★★
1
Oath of Vanity I
Upgrade
[Unique]
When Futility is created, change those cards into 1-Cost Attack Cards with 150% Damage and Heal effects.
Show Effects
★★★
0
Oath of Vanity II
Upgrade
[Unique][Initiation]
When Futility is created, change those cards into 1-Cost Attack Cards with 100% Damage and Heal effects.
Show Effects
★★★
1
Oath of Vanity III
Upgrade
[Unique]
When Futility is created, change those cards into 1-Cost Attack Cards with 200% Damage.
Show Effects
★★★
0
Oath of Vanity IV
Skill
[Exhaust][Retain]
Exhaust all Futility, Status Ailment, and Curse Cards in hand. Draw for each.
Show Effects
★★★★★
0
Oath of Vanity V
Upgrade
When 2 Futility Cards are Exhausted, 2Agony to all enemies
Show Effects
★
Epiphanies:
Neutral[★★] - Target Neutral Epiphany: N/A. There is no specific Epiphany that you are aiming for, but the base Epiphany card can be preferred over certain other options. For example, this could be preferred over Oath IV if you want to use Active Futility (Futility attacks) or it could be preferred over Oath III if you want to keep the extra healing. That being said, even in scenarios where it can be preferred over other options, it will still typically be preferred to take another option like Oath II or Oath I.
Oath of Vanity I
[★★★] - The card is now 0-cost and gains [Initiation]. This can be a great option if you want consistent activation for an attack Futility-based build.
Oath of Vanity II
[★★★] - The base values of Futility change from 100%DMG/100%HEAL to 150%DMG/150%HEAL. For attack Futility, this is the best option for healing, so it is preferred if you need the extra survivability.
Oath of Vanity III
[★★★] - The heal effect is removed and it now does 200% base damage. For attack Futility, this is the best option for damage, so it is preferred if you want the extra damage in a build where you use attack Futility.
Oath of Vanity IV
[★★★★★] - This exhausts a large number of Status Ailments/Futility once for free, usually on Turn 1 and gives you draw for all exhausted cards. If you are unsure of what to build, this is the go-to option since it will get high value in all content. Even in builds where you would prefer to attack Futility, it tends to perform well still, as you can rely on Supportive builds to circumvent the loss in survivability and get value out of this Epiphany’s strong Turn 1.
Oath of Vanity V
[★] - This is an option if you just want to get rid of the Epiphany or avoid using attacks, but aren’t offered Oath IV. In Season 2’s Great Rift, this has seen some play for precisely that, as hitting enemies directly can be a detriment; however, it is strictly worse than Oath IV at doing this job, as it doesn’t give as strong of utility since the additional Agony damage is completely negligible and Kayron seldom runs a 2P Agony Set.
Divine Epiphanies:
Divine Epiphanies provide negligible value on this card; therefore, an Epiphany that synergizes with your build should be prioritized over Divines.
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
99.00%
Best option for Kayron in most scenarios due to the limited availability of card damage increases (multiplicative) among equipment and support combatant buffing. The reason multiplicative card damage is so strong for Kayron is that all of his scaling cards count as base damage not addittive damage so all his stacking effects are all multiplied by 4P Void's damage boost. In high end save data decks with maximum buffing for Kayron 2/2/2 comes close in performance to 4/2 but if any of those buffs are missing 4/2 pulls ahead.
100.00%
Flex
A generic alternative to 4/2 which is easier to farm and has the advantage of a flex slot open. Usually loses out to 4/2 in damage but can beat it if Agony is consistently present on the enemy by running the standard set-up alongside 2P Cursed Corpse for some Card Damage% (multiplcative).
For more damage use 2P Cursed Corpse (if you can keep Agony on targets at all times). Alternatively for stronger Chaos starts try 2P Seth's Scarab, or if you want more survivability use 2P Healer's Journey. If none of that appeals, you can use any 2 strong sub/main stat pieces instead of a final 2P set bonus as well.
Specialist Loadout
Under very specific circumstances in hyper optimized Kayron teams which already have a large amount of Card Damage (multiplicative) and which deal the majority of their damage through 2 cost or higher cards like Black Hole 4P Line of Justice can perform higher than 4P Offering of the Void and 2/2/2. However these scenarios are very high end and require extensively optimization in order to achieve. In most cases it's safer to just use either of Kayron's other options.
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
CRIT Rate > CRIT DMG
Desire
Void DMG% > ATK%
Imagination
ATK%
Substats:
CRIT Rate% = CRIT DMG% > ATK > ATK%
To activate Kayron's Potential 7, which grants Crit DMG, you need at least 601 ATK, which you definitely want to aim for at a minimum. After that, getting more ATK in breakpoints of 50 is recommended and beneficial, but not at the cost of sacrificing Kayron's optimal Main stats or too many of his best sub stats.
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
5 Turns 141.24%
2
5 Turns 122.56%
3
5 Turns 117.10%
4
5 Turns 115.57%
5
5 Turns 106.93%
6
5 Turns 104.03%
7
5 Turns 100.00%
Equipment
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.
Weapon
Intellect of Discord
Dagger That Tricked the Shadow
Sword Reflected in the Lake
Obsidian Sword
Armor
DPS
Fairy King's Crown
Mask of Flames
Support
Star-Lit Cloak
Vine Camouflage
Trinket
DPS
Rage Potion
Amorphous Cube
Quantum Collector
Support
Sphere of Randomness
Leaf of the World Tree
Comments - Weapons
Intellect of Discord
- Offers a huge 18% Combat Attack passively which for most Attack scalers makes this weapon the defacto best in slot weapon if you're able to acquire it alongside the correct save and don't have another better Mythic equipment options.
Dagger That Tricked the Shadow
- 12% Crit DMG is always a competitive option if you can find it in your runs and nothing better turns up or is required for your build.
Sword Reflected in the Lake
- A generic weapon that provides a large 25% (Multiplicative) damage boost but only while you hold 6 cards or more. This is a strong legendary equipment providing you can satisfy its conditions while using the majority of your highest damaging abilities, but this is much easier said than done making it only situationally good in certain decks.
Obsidian Sword
- Very easy to find and grants 12% (Multiplicative) damage to everything. It's never the best, but if you have nothing else you should definitely grab it.
Comments - Armor
Fairy King's Crown
- The Crit Rate this armour provides is almost always in demand and a competitive option making it a piece worth seeking out unless you're able to obtain better more specialized options.
Mask of Flames
- Provides a 35% (Multiplicative) damage boost against enemies which are vulnerable. Powerful on characters that value multiplicative damage boosts (less so on those that don't) but only so long as you can consistently keep Vulnerable applied.
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.
Vine Camouflage
- An easy to get and nice inclusion for teams that have use for a powerful (but conditional) 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.
Comments - Trinkets
Rage Potion
- A rare to get Arena exclusive Accessory, but one which is a top option for characters that appreciate Multiplicative damage scaling over additive when played around correctly. Still a usable option for characters that prefer additive scaling, but usually there are better and easier to access alternatives.
Amorphous Cube
- The go-to generic damage accessory for most characters that is trivially easy to use and always for the most part a solid addition for any character that can make use of additive damage. Wont beat out more specialized options but always a great fallback.
Quantum Collector
- Grants 20% (multiplicative) damage to the wearer any time any combatant uses an upgrade card (no limit) but only for 1 turn. In specific teams targetting low turn count kills this can be the best accessory available, but in longer fights, or low upgrade teams it loses a lot of its appeal.
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 Mythic 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.
Leaf of the World Tree
- After using 3 2AP or higher abilities are used by the wearer, the team gains a stack of stockpile. When used on characters capable of spamming high cost abilities each turn this accessory can be equivalent to close to permanent AP carry over between turns, but depending on the team this may not always be useful compared to other accessory options.
Deck & Teams
Recommended Build
Kayron Builds
Check the best builds for Kayron below.
Exhaust-Brand OTK
Infinite Scaling Echo
Setup Summary
Character
Partner
Equipment
Fragments
No Fragments
Cards Summary [7 selected]
0
Echo of Futility V
Attack
150% Damage. Create 2 Futility Card(s). +30% Damage Amount for each Futility created during this battle.
1
Brand of Annihilation IV
Attack
300% Damage to all enemies. +40% Damage Amount for each Exhausted card this turn.
Always Attack Weakness
Show Effects
x4
0
Oath of Vanity IV
Skill
[Exhaust][Retain]
Exhaust all Futility, Status Ailment, and Curse Cards in hand. Draw for each.
Exhaust-Brand OTK - Brand IV (also known as Ex-Brand or Exhaust-Brand) scales its base ratio when any ally exhausts a card for 1-turn. Because it is scaling its base ratio and not a simple additive buff, this scaling works with multiplicative buffs they normally wouldn’t like Orlea’s. Thus, the strategy is to do as many exhausts and multiplicative buffs as possible in one-turn in order to OTK the boss/enemy. This build tends to be much weaker for non-OTK.
Infinite Scaling Echo - Like all his cards, Kayron’s Echo scales his base ratio instead of being additive like other buffs. This allows him to scale it to do extremely high damage on a 0-cost, provided you are able to exhaust the futility his Echo’s create consistently to prevent them from clogging your deck. Moreover, it simultaneously scales his Black Hole for even higher one-hit damage.
Card Removal Priority
Elimination
,
Sphere
- Removed in most Kayron decks.
Conditional Card Removal
Black Hole
- Can be removed in some OTK builds that can’t afford to Draw it or its high AP cost.
Card Copying Priority
Echo of Futility
- For most builds, this will be the priority ideal copy with it having many strong divine options and 2 different scaling options, one of which is 0-cost.
Brand of Annihilation
- For AOE based builds or for his Brand IV OTK build, this is the go-to copy.
Oath of Vanity II
- It can be copied for some Kayron teams where you want to be able to draw off of it more than just first turn.
Black Hole
- If you can afford to play around it, Black Hole has the highest damage scaling of all his cards. The 2-cost makes it harder to justify compared to Echo’s 1 or 0-cost, though.
Echoes of True Abyss
- A popular copy in some builds based around Kayron’s E3 Ego Skill or Bria’s Ego Skill where you make a ton of futility over the course of many turns and then use the ego skill for a big pay-off. However, this playstyle tends to be very inconsistent and is not recommended.
Best Synergies
Orlea
Orlea offers a Vulnerable application, which is ideal for maximizing Kayron’s damage.
Also provides great multiplicative card damage increases through her Softie creations, which are a huge damage boost to Kayron’s damage. Alongside 4P Glory Reign for a 15% multiplicative team buff that lasts the entire battle.
Strong user of S2’s Contaminated Spore card mechanics because of her ability to manually activate it without ending her turn and through multiple avenues.
Orlea herself offers no draw nor AP without Divine Epiphanies, which is an important factor to keep in mind if valuing consistency turn-to-turn.
Rei
In low-turn content, Rei can provide excellent draw, making her amazing as a draw support for OTK, especially with the addition of the Ebony Lumen card, which she can make great use of via Snack-Time.
Able to easily activate 4P Glory Reign for a 15% multiplicative team buff that lasts the entire battle.
Rei’s additive buffs are inconsequential and recommended to be removed for Kayron, but she can also be used with her upgrades (and additional ones) to buff Kayron with Quantum Collector for one of the best Kayron OTK set-ups.
Rei can provide additional [Exhausts] for Brand IV or manually [Exhaust] Kayron’s Futility for his other builds, though her main avenue of doing so is also [Exhaust], so it’s mainly for low-turn content.
Mika
Because Kayron has really high AP requirements, an AP battery is generally recommended.
Mika’s main benefit as an AP battery is her ability to front-load AP, which essentially means you can make the AP, then decide where to use it. Comparatively, other options often require a certain sequence of events for their AP value that Kayron might struggle to utilize well.
Narja
Because Kayron has really high AP requirements, an AP battery is generally recommended.
Narja’s main benefit is her ability to reduce costs, which can allow Kayron to make use of certain equipment/Memory Fragment effects like RFS’ 10% Crit Rate or Foggy’s 40% multiplicative buff for 0-costs that he wouldn’t be able to on cards like Black Hole.
Narja has a noticeable downside where she can get cost-reduction on cards that already would at the wrong time, like Kayron’s Brands that become 0-cost anyway, getting a wasted cost-reduction from her Bottomless.
Owen
Owen’s +1 hit buff is essentially a 1.5x multiplier on the Final Damage of Kayron’s extremely high multiplier cards. This has amazing potential and synergy.
Owen is able to give a decent Vulnerable application, which Kayron really wants.
However, Owen has very glaring issues that make him hard to run–namely, his rather high AP and/or draw costs as a support slot.
Tiphera
Tiphera’s high amount of AP-generation synergizes amazingly with Kayron’s high AP requirements, with her having 16+AP possible per turn.
Tiphera’s Form Convergence 4 allows her to target [Exhaust] Futility anywhere in the deck, allowing her to facilitate Kayron’s Black Hole scaling and prevent Futility from clogging the deck in imperfect rotations.
Tipher’s multiplicative buffs on one hit scale extremely well with Kayron, who does few hits, but they hit for high amounts.
Tiphera’s ability to act as both an AP unit and pseudo-draw unit with RNG manipulation via protos rewind can make playing Kayron with Orlea much more accessible. However, this can be more difficult for most players who are not fond of manipulating RNG. Alternatively, Kayron can play thinner decks, similar to Nine, to play with both in a consistent manner.
Attack
Skill
Upgrade
Base performance of the character.