[Chaos Zero Nightmare] Sortie Strategy (Recommended Characters to Join) [CaoZero]

Prerequisites

The following points are assumed:
1. Taking on Sortie Lv. 80, Hardcore Mode
2. The first character must be selected from Core or Attack characters
3. Characters I do not own (Adelheid, Nine, Nadja, Yuki) cannot be accurately assessed, so they are excluded.

For the approach to progression during sorties, please refer to the following article.

Joining ① (2nd Character)

Joins with 4 starting cards + 1 random card from the Inspiration cards.
I want to select a Protection or Healing character whose starting unique card (the card at the top right in the character's card list) is excellent.
Also, since Inspiration cards are random, it is best to choose a character who is easy to use regardless of which one is selected.

Top Candidates

1. Mika
Can increase AP with "Source of Water". Stability increases if the "Reduce ally stress by 2" effect is added via Inspiration.
The 3 types of Inspiration cards other than "Whirlpool" can contribute to healing or AP increase, making them useful.

2. Magna
Has many cards with the "Initiative" effect, and equipping "Polyhedral Equilibrium Universe Connector" allows you to periodically gain shields and counterattacks while bypassing AP costs.
"Glacier Fist" and "Ice Wall" have high costs but can grant a large amount of shield.

Runner-up Candidates

1. Rei
Can heal while attacking with attack cards.
"Dark Slash" is difficult to use and is a candidate for removal, but the Inspiration cards "Resonating Darkness" and "Snack Time" are excellent. In particular, being able to obtain multiple copies of "Snack Time" greatly increases deck rotation and stability.

2. Maribel
Has multiple attack cards with damage-dependent shields, allowing you to gain shields or counterattacks while attacking. In Hardcore Mode, the amount of shield gained decreases as turns progress in battle, so "Shelter Strike" is almost unusable.
The other Inspiration cards are excellent as they can grant shields or counterattacks.

Compromise

1. Calipe
Can perform area attacks and gain shields while bypassing costs with "Vulture Ejection," which has the "Heavenly" effect.
However, the stability is lower compared to other candidate characters because the firepower is low and it requires adopting cards with a cost of 2 or more to apply "Heavenly".
Since this is not a character for dealing damage, "Greatsword Aquila" is difficult to handle.

2. Tipera
Can gain AP or damage increase buffs while healing with "Quantum Seed".
It is stable if you can get Inspiration for "Quantum Seed II," but other Inspirations do not provide stable results other than healing.
"Creation and Destruction" is powerful as it deals damage while providing shield + healing.
You should consider "Shape Gathering" and "Pair Production" almost unusable as they are too idiosyncratic.

Joining ② (3rd Character)

Joins with 1 unique starting card + 1 Inspiration card.
Here, select one of the remaining Protection or Healing characters who did not join in Joining ①. There may be cases where you want to adopt a sub-attacker, but basically, concentrating on one attacker prevents accidents.
The candidates are the same as in Joining ①.

Joining ③ (4th Character)

Joins with 2 specific cards in a God-Inspiration state.
It seems there are 2 patterns of card combinations for each character.
I want to select a character who can draw cards or recover AP.

Candidates

1. Mika
Contributes with AP gain and healing, just like in Joining ①.
Strictly speaking, I want to have her join by Joining ② because I want to obtain an additional "Source of Water," but she is a candidate if she could not join earlier.
The Ego Point cost is heavy at 6, but the ability to use 2 "Source of Water" cards with the Ego Skill is also excellent.

2. Rei
Being able to join with 2 copies of "Snack Time" is extremely excellent. It combines healing and card draw, and since it has an "Exile" effect, it does not clog the deck.
You can also gain 1 AP with the Ego Skill, making it flexible.

3. Beryl (Chocolate Bar x 2 pattern)
Can join with 2 copies of "Hidden Chocolate Bar." While it cannot heal, it draws 3 cards for 0 cost, making its draw power the highest among all characters. This alone drastically increases stability by allowing you to draw the cards you want with a high probability.

However, the Ego Skill only deals damage and the Ego Point cost is not light at 5, making it difficult to handle. Also, the fact that there is a pattern with "Opening" & "Heavy Weapon Expert" upon joining is a drawback.