A Look At Tengen Uzui
Introduction
As anticipation rises for the rerun of the Demon Slayer Collab, I figured that it may be useful to take a closer look at certain characters behind all the hype so that players can make better informed decisions when the time comes. Today, we take a look at Tengen Uzui, who is pretty much a recolored carbon copy of Kurotobi. Kurotobi has dominated the meta for the past few months so while it seems like a foregone conclusion that a recolored version should establish the same sort of dominance, a deeper look may reveal subtle differences between the two that give Tengen an advantage (or disadvantage).
Card Details
| Stat | Lv.99 | +297 |
| HP | 2956 | 3946 |
| ATK | 2844 | 3339 |
| RCV | 108 | 405 |
Tengen Uzui宇髄天元
Attacker
Active Skill: (28 ➧ 28) Not Inheritable
Charge all allies’ skills by 2 turns; For 2 turns, enhanced orbs are more likely to appear by 100%; Change to [10818] for the duration of the dungeon
Leader Skill: [4/484/4, 75%] [+4c]
11x ATK and reduce damage taken by 50% when matching 4 or more connected Fire or Light orbs; Increase combo by 2 when matching 4 or more connected Fire or Light orbs at once; 2x all stats for Fire and Light Att.
| Stat | Lv.99 | +297 |
| HP | 6497 | 7487 |
| ATK | 4804 | 5299 |
| RCV | 276 | 373 |
Sound Hashira, Tengen Uzui音柱・宇髄天元
Attacker
Active Skill: (2 ➧ 2) Not Inheritable
For 1 turn, this monster’s damage cap becomes 5,000,000,000; Unlock all orbs; Create 4 Fire, Light, and Heal orbs; Enhance all Fire and Light orbs
Leader Skill: [5.76/1296/5.76, 75%] [+10c]
15x ATK and reduce damage taken by 50% when matching 4 or more connected Fire or Light orbs; Increase combo by 5 when matching 4 or more connected Fire or Light orbs at once; 2.4x all stats for Fire and Light Att.
Thoughts
Jesus, Tengen and Kurotobi look identical. 3 in pre-transform? Check. Exact same awakenings post-transform? Check. Two-turn haste on transforming? Check. Three attribute pings post-transform? Check. Actives that unlock and generate four of each orb needed? Check. Cap break on active? Check. No built-in follow-up attack in leader skill? Check.
Check, check, check! At this rate, are there any differences for me to analyze? Check!
(Okay, I’m done now. Checkmate.)
First, Tengen has a 28T CD to transform as opposed to Kurotobi’s 27T CD. While this is very minor, requiring one more may lead to less of something else, like 
.
Second, Tengen’s active is noticeably different in that his cap break limit is lower but he fully enhances all of his relevant orbs. The lower cap break is a little unfortunate given GungHo’s propensity to give enemy spawns massive defense values in recent endgame dungeons, but a dual system of Tengen essentially negates OE-, which has become a frequent and frustrating mechanic in current endgame dungeons, and makes orb enhance a lethal teamwide damage augment.
Third, Tengen has a different composition of leader skill multipliers. Overall, Tengen is bulkier with 4.8x eHP, but because he only has a 50% shield compared to Kurotobi’s 78%, Tengen is more vulnerable to gravities. For example, Zenchoga in AUN4 blasts the player for a crazy 450% gravity at super resolve; Kurotobi does a lot better into this type of hit (he can actually tank it solo with 1% HP remaining) than Tengen. Kurotobi also does not impose any actual sub restriction in terms of survivability; Tengen’s subs need to be to benefit from his health multiplier.
Tengen also has a much simpler bonus combo count effect and damage multiplier compared to Kurotobi’s scaling versions of the same effects. In general, Tengen does slightly less damage compared to Kurotobi as the dragonbound only loses out when matching the bare minimum of 3 
; starting from the fourth, Kurotobi outputs similar damage (the extra combo makes the math weird) and has the potential to go crazy with 5, 6, or even 7 . However, keep in mind that Tengen also gets extra damage from enhancing with his active.
Fourth, we have the most obvious difference; Kurotobi is 
while Tengen is . The crucial implication here is that Tengen has a vastly different sub pool that may be shallower (or deeper). Keep in mind that Kurotobi functions extremely efficiently in part due to his extremely deep sub pool, where there are a plethora of fantastic options for every role. For example, Kurotobi needs a void damage void sub; Yukine is considered the best-in-slot, followed closely by the accessible yet powerful Karin Dragon. Every team nowadays needs an efficient cleric; Vione has held the title of best-in-slot with an iron fist, but other options like Blue Albrecht remain very serviceable. Endgame requires crazy amounts of effective bulk; Kurotobi has plenty of shield loops to choose from, ranging from Sekka to Halloween Kyori to Blue Grigory.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of Tengen Uzui’s sub options.
Sub Options
Full Clerics
- Further Demonized, Nezuko Kamado: 4
via 
SA and can take an inherit. 
is also a great super awakening given Nezuko’s hefty stats. New Nezuko also deals a hefty amount of damage with 4 and takes advantage of Tengen’s 
generation with 
. Nezuko’s cleric active also includes a fujin (similar to Beach Planar) and a burst on 5T CD. - Suzaku, Leilan Pheasant: 4
and a two-turn haste in the first stage of its evolving active, Leilan Pheasant also packs in a full board change of favorable orbs; very similar to Vione but slower at 6T CD. is fantastic as Tengen guarantees at least one match and the extra recovery allows players to ignore the damage from Barbed Orbs. - Masquerade Demon Spider, Shiranaki: 4
via SA and can take an inherit. Halloween Shiranaki’s utility package is pretty crazy, with for augmented recovery, for general bulk, and 
for assist void latent utility. Oh, and Shiranaki’s cleric active is not only on a fast 4T CD but also generates extra to match or another for more damage. - Great Witch of the Star Jumper, Fasca: 4
via SA and can take an inherit. A staple since her debut, Christmas Fasca includes a valuable manual board reset in her fast cleric active at 4T CD. - Great Witch of the Jolly Jaunt, Fasca: The evolved version of Christmas also functions as a decent cleric with 4
via SA and a three-turn delay in the first stage of an evolving active. Slightly slower at 5T CD but packs much more utility in her awakenings with 
, 
, and 
for sticky blind skyfall reduction. - Heavenly Dancing Beast, Amaterasu Dragon: 4
via SA and has a two-turn haste in the first stage of an evolving active. Slightly slower at 6T CD but the cleric active also includes a shield that can come in handy for big boss hits. Also has for extra recovery. - Mystes, Yuji Sakai: 3
and a three-turn haste on transform. Fast 4T CD and includes burst and recovery buff that can override debuffs. Also has and for assist void latent utility. - Butterfly Goddess of New Year’s, Priscilla: 6
with SA and can take an inherit. The cloud penalty is a bit annoying but not harsh enough to diminish the value of NY Priscilla’s fast cleric active on 4T CD. She doesn’t provide much utility otherwise but may deal a modest amount of damage with 4 . - Josuke Higashikata & Shining Diamond: Only 2
will impose a bit of a crunch on the rest of the team, but Josuke can make up for that downside with a fast cleric active on 4T CD, decent damage output via 4 , and for boosted recovery to deal with pesky Barbed Orbs. - Goddess of Nightfall, Aura: 2
with a three-turn delay, Aura’s post-transform cleric active on 4T CD also includes a spinner that can override enemy spinners. Aura can deal moderate damage in supergravity with 4 and provides some utility as a potential assist void latent carrier with 2 and coverage against sticky blind skyfall with a couple . - Witch Fascakitty: Only 2
but provides a substantial amount of move time with 3 
and carries the same 2 and 2 like Aura. The bonus combo effect on Fascakitty’s cleric active on 4T CD isn’t the most useful thing but can help a lot with egregious combo shields; for example, the first stage of Zenchoga in AUN4 needs over thirteen combos in one turn or it basically oneshots you. - Kobeni: 4
with SA, Kobeni was a chase in the brutal CSM Super Godfest due to her cleric active at 5T CD including a board expand to counter board shrinks. Kobeni also packs a mild punch with 4 
and even has . - Goddess of Daybreak, Aura Hello Kitty: Only 2
but can take an inherit, Aura Kitty is optimized for damage with 
, 3 , a cap break, and three pings. However, 4 is nothing to scoff at and Aura Kitty still functions as a decent cleric on 5T CD. - Little Misaka: 4
with SA and can take an inherit. Little Misaka may be infamous because of Misaka but works as a fine cleric on Tengen. She even has a fujin included in her cleric active on 5T CD. The rows are useless but an acceptable loss given the rest of her kit. - Anya Forger (Casual Clothes): 6
with SA and can take an inherit. Anya’s cleric active on 5T CD includes the rare skyfall foresight effect and a burst that might not benefit Tengen but can override attack reduction debuffs. Anya also boasts 6 for extra recovery to deal with Barbed Orbs and adds a side of . - Mellow Keyboardist, Mille: 3
in pre-transform, RAS Mille not only does impressive damage with 2 
but also includes 2 for assist void latent utility. Mille’s cleric active on 5T CD includes a burst but also a small shield that may be problematic when running a shield loop as Mille’s shield can overwrite the remaining duration of the looping shield, which creates windows of vulnerability that shouldn’t exist. - Leona: 6
with SA and can take an inherit. Leona has always been a fantastic utility cleric, with a recovery buff included in her cleric active on 5T CD, , and 4 for extra recovery.
Awoken Bind Clerics
- Brisk Lion Dancer, Baal: Only 2
but can take an inherit, NY Baal is an extremely fast awoken bind cleric on a 2T CD with a full board lock effect. Using NY Baal would probably require an unmatchable latent carrier, but the flexibility of the full board lock can technically serve as a spinner counter; Tengen unlocks before generating orbs so the lock shouldn’t pose any real problems. NY Baal can take 
SA for assist void latent usage or take to beef up his health - Guardian of the Sacred City, Athena: 4
with SA, Athena includes and some 
for teamwide damage. Given her 8 , Athena is a great unmatchable latent carrier. Keep in mind that Athena has no or when teambuilding; Athena’s stats are also pretty low because she’s a farmable. - Auspicious Draconic Songstress on Harp, Lutina: 6
with SA and can take an inherit, NY Lutina does damage aplenty with 2 (and a possible SA) and 6 . The long boosted skyfall buff of can theoretically counter stupid skyfall buffs from enemies (think about Uriel in AMD3) but otherwise is just a nice convenience. - Grand Sorcerer, Matoriv: 4
with SA, can take an inherit, and can add even more with the skill boost latent, Matoriv also serves as a rebuffer with a move time buff and a recovery debuff that can override other recovery debuffs. 
is always nice and Matoriv’s allow him to use the unmatchable latent well given he is both and attributes. - Crimson Phantom Wolf Illusionary Artist, Elio: 3
with a two-turn haste on transform, Elio also has a void damage void effect on top of his fast awoken bind clear active on 3T CD. Doesn’t do much damage but at least has . Just remember that Elio is bindable! - Flame Key Heir, Charmmy Kitty: 6
with SA and can take an inherit, Gileon Charmmy doesn’t provide much value outside of the awoken bind clear active on 3T CD. Also doesn’t have which may become a minor issue while teambuilding. - Tamayo: 4
with SA or 5 with 
SA and skill boost latent and can take an inherit, Tamayo also includes a bunch of 
for potential anti-spinner latent usage. Even if we ignore the , Tamayo also augments recovery with and has a 
. - Raizen: 6
with SA and can take an inherit, Raizen’s awoken bind clear active on 3T CD unfortunately includes a full suicide, which means that Raizen will probably need to be paired with a stick. Thankfully, Raizen does generate for extra recovery after the suicide. Raizen also has some for assist void latent usage. - Princess Valkitty -CIEL-: 6 SB with
SA, Ciel Kitty’s awoken bind clear active is a bit slow at 6T CD but makes up for it with the inclusion of a shield and a color absorb void, giving Ciel Kitty plenty of flexibility. Ciel Kitty can also carry the unmatchable latent well with 6 .
Void Damage Void
- Twinkling Goddess of Day, Meredith: Most likely the best-in-slot option in this category given her kit. 3
and a two-turn haste on transform, Christmas Meredith voids on an extremely fast 3T CD and generates a bunch of favorable orbs. These two effects synergize well because when you pop her active, you want to kill the enemy spawn with the void damage void; generating additional orbs on top of Tengen’s usual orb generation and enhance adds tons of damage to reliably finish off enemies. Christmas Meredith outputs tons of damage with , 2 , and 6 and cap breaks to 5B on active use. - Cotton My Sweet Piano: 4
and can take an inherit. Simple void void sub with moderate damage via 3 and extra bulk via 2 , but stats are pretty abysmal (can be alleviated through SA). Hello Kitty Cotton can also be an assist void latent carrier with the SA. - White Speedster, Daytona Kuromi: Very similar to Christmas Meredith in many ways; with 2
and a three-turn haste on transform, Daytona Kuromi voids on a fast 3T CD and generates 4 (enough for a ). Daytona Kuromi also cap breaks to 5B on active use. With only and 8 , though, Daytona Kuromi does much less damage, but at least the cosplay kitten has some utility with and 3 . - Warrior General of the Holy Festival, Xiahou Dun: 4
with SA and can take an inherit. Christmas Xiahou Dun also covers unmatchable clear by overriding whatever the enemy unmatchable was with a unmatchable orb status, but this isn’t too useful given that clerics generally clear unmatchable orbs anyway and that teams based on can take full advantage of the unmatchable clear latent. While Xiahou Dun may not deal much damage, he packs loads of utility with and for assist void latent activation. - Sevenger: 6
with SA and can take an inherit. Basically not much else besides and the reasonably fast active at 4T CD. Sevenger has no or so keep that in mind while building out the rest of the team. - Yudias & Galactica Oblivion: 4
and can take an inherit. Yudias can dish out a modest amount of damage with and 2 but ideally needs another damage awakening via equip. Maybe not the most alluring option but serviceable given that Yudias was a “farmable” black medal exchange. - Kaleidoscopic Bird Illusionary Artist, Hans: A powerful void void option since the days when Daytona reigned supreme in MD2, Hans packs 3
with a one-turn haste on transform. His main appeal is the additional attribute absorb void on top of his void damage void, which has seen plenty of use over the years to deal with frustrating spawns packing both types of shields (Ganesha in ASR2). Hans has no or so keep in that mind while building out the rest of the team. - Ultraseven [Wide Shot]: 6
with SA and can take an inherit, Ultraseven won’t do much damage with only 5 
but brings some utility with . Generating enough for an extra helps with finishing off enemies during the void damage void effect. - Ifrit, Eikon of Fire: Only 3
and unable to take an inherit. Clive might be perfect for someone else (Shana) but is a fine multi-turn void void option for Tengen with plenty of damage via , 3 , and a cap break to 7B. - Witch of Radiant Life, Dorna: 6
with SA and can take an inherit. Dorna also includes a hefty burst and a recovery debuff; while the debuff seems like a penalty, it can be used to override a worse recovery debuff (0x RCV in ASR3, AUN4) and the inclusion of a penalty allowed GungHo to jack up the rest of the active with an extra combo effect and a two-turn void duration. - Ultraman Orb Spacium Zeperion: 6
with SA and a two-turn haste in the first stage of an evolving active, Spacium Zeperion is a phenomenal void option given his speedy void on 3T CD after his active evolves. He might not do any damage despite the but provides some utility with and for sticky blind skyfall. - Ultraman Taro [Ultra Dynamite]: 6
with SA and can take an inherit. While the suicide effect looks scary, Taro includes an autoheal with the suicide to alleviate the issue; tech in some to fully recover. The void damage void on 4T CD means that Taro actually provides a lot of autoheal. Taro also has . - White Speedster Mechdragon, Daytona: 4
with SA and a two-turn haste in the first stage of its evolving active, Daytona is a fast void damage void on 3T CD post-evolution and can utilize the unmatchable latent admirably with 8 .
Damage Absorb / Att. Absorb Voids
- Fiery Exorcist, Ryumei: 4
with SA and can take an inherit, Red Ryumei has the valuable in spades. The cloud penalty is a bit frustrating but allows Ryumei to have an insanely fast dual absorb void on a 3T CD. - Beachside Draconic Songstress on Euphonium, Mariel: 4
with SA, can take an inherit, and can utilize the skill boost latent for another 3 . Unfortunately, Beach Mariel can’t really take advantage of her substantial damage potential from her 4 
but her active is phenomenal as a super fast dual absorb void on 3T CD with a move time buff; the attack debuff is irrelevant as Beach Mariel doesn’t do damage anyway (at least not consistently even if there are extra attributes on the team). - GS Member, Daytona: 3
with a one-turn haste on transform, GS Daytona also includes a move time buff and a burst alongside the dual absorb void on a 4T CD. Not much utility otherwise but should do some decent damage with 4 . - Courageous Demigod of Leadership, Gilgamesh: 4
with SA and can take an inherit. Gilgamesh is literally free and adds tons of utility on top of his dual absorb void on 4T CD with and for assist void latent. - Sekido: 4
with SA and can take an inherit. Sekido’s active is a two-turn dual absorb void on 5T CD with a burst but requires at least 5 or 5 ; unless the enemy changes the entire board, Sekido only needs 1 or 1 on the board to use his active as Tengen will generate four more of each. Pretty darn good for a bottom rarity. - Blood Fiend, Power: 3
with a two-turn haste on transform, Power not only provides two-turn dual absorb void utility on a 5T CD but is built for power (no pun intended) with 4 , three pings, and a cap break to 6B. - Blinding Radiance Armored Knight, Lawrence: 4
with SA, can take an inherit, and can use the skill boost latent for another 3 . Lawrence might be slightly inferior with only a one-turn dual absorb void on a 5T CD but more than makes up for it by including a shield and a board expand. - Faithful Maid, Pattie: 2
and a two-turn haste on transform, Pattie has seen plenty of use already (Aggregate, Misaka) as she has a phenomenal two-turn dual absorb void on 5T CD post-transform and provides tons of which are invaluable in endgame. - Class Change, Warrior of Light: 3
with a three-turn haste but a little bit awkward with Tengen given that Warrior of Light transforms on a 27T CD; since Tengen transforms on a 28T CD, the three-turn haste may be somewhat wasted. However, Warrior of Light doles out substantial damage with 6 and 3 and can go crazy with a cap break to 7B alongside the two-turn dual absorb void on 6T CD post-transform. - Erika Chiba: 4
with SA, Erika doesn’t add much in her active with the two-turn dual absorb void on 7T CD but has and some for assist void latent in her awakenings. 3 is nice but nowhere near as remarkable as it used to be. - Golden Sibyl Dragon Diviner, Thulya: 4
pre-transform, Thulya is a great utility stick with plenty of , for sticky blind skyfall and for assist void latent on top of her two-turn dual absorb void on 7T CD. - Courageous Demibeast, Gilgamesh Kuur: 4
with SA and a two-turn haste in the first stage of its evolving active, Gilgamesh Kuur not only provides a two-turn dual absorb void on a 6T CD but also serves as an amazing assist void latent carrier with 4 . - Mechanical Gemini, Metal Pollux: 4
with SA and a two-turn haste in the first stage of its evolving active, Metal Pollux may have two useless 
but also has valuable and ; remember, orb enhance awakenings scale extremely well with Tengen.
Shield Loops
- Love Hashira, Mitsuri Kanroji: Probably best-in-slot for this role, Kanroji has 3
with a three-turn delay on transform. Kanroji shields on a fast uptime of 4T CD which reduces the threat of buff dispels and also adds a custom spinner override and a recovery buff. 5 with three pings allow Kanroji to output significant damage. - Ultraman Taro: 6
with SA and a two-turn delay in the first stage of its evolving active, Taro is a little weird because his evolving active deters the use of an inherit despite the first stage having a very short 4T CD. Taro also has a couple to deal with sticky blind skyfall. - Candy Sculpture Crafting Dragonbound, Chuan: 4
with SA and can take an inherit. NY Chuan also has a board expand which can be lifesaving if used at the right timing. NY Chuan does decent damage with 4 but doesn’t provide much utility. - Draconic Songster on Horn, Arend: 4
with SA and can take an inherit. Arend actually has quite a high health stat and tacks on 2 for good measure. For how old he is, Arend is pretty decent. Just remember that Arend is bindable. (The ultimate evolution does the same thing but trades 2 for 
; pick what you need.) - Pixel Clive: 6
with SA and can take an inherit. Pixel Clive, like NY Chuan, also includes a valuable board expand effect in his shield loop; however, Pixel Clive is on a slower uptime which increases vulnerability to buff dispels. Not much utility but 2 can open up a little more teambuilding flexibility. - Pixel REMDra: Only 2
but can take an inherit. Pixel REMDra can’t even shield until Floor 5 but makes this list mainly because of accessibility. Pixel REMDra has a plentiful 6 which scales incredibly well with Tengen and can add or via super awakening. - Azure Dracoblader of the Split Flame, Kyori: A rough 0
but can add some with SA, Red Kyori packs in a decent bit of damage with 4 . Overall, Red Kyori will require some extra support from the rest of the team but does the job of a shield loop sub. - Holder of Concealed Feelings, Tifa: Tifa’s other form (7th Heaven’s Owner, Tifa) once dominated a bygone era of endgame when AA3 was the hardest dungeon around; I always thought it was a little sad that Tifa’s most advanced form never saw the light of day while its lower evolution crushed the worst dungeons of the time. 4
with SA and can take an inherit, Tifa can do some damage with 2 and 4 but probably needs some more damage awakenings to make a real dent in supergravity. Tifa can also carry the unmatchable latent because of said . 
Super Yellow/Red Shieldra: 4
and can take an inherit. Also has for extra recovery. I mean, they’re free, so why not use them if you have nothing else?- Princess of Papnica, Leona: 6
with SA and can take an inherit. Leona also includes a burst and recovery buff on decently long durations which can override debuffs and are convenient to have in general. Leona also has and a couple to deal with sticky blind skyfall. - Lakshmi, Goddess of Fortune: 4
with SA and can take an inherit, GH Lakshmi would be a phenomenal shield loop option if she was buffed to modern standards; despite this, GH Lakshmi does the job as a shield loop and even adds a good bit of teamwide damage via her 
. - Seregios: 4
with SA and can take an inherit. Seregios also includes a looping extra combo effect; while minor, it can make the difference when dealing with absurd combo count reduction debuffs or crazy high combo shields. Seregios might not do much damage on average but it will beat the living daylights out of 
spawns. - Creeping Mist Devil Dragonbound, Suou: 4
and can take an inherit. Suou also has the looping extra combo effect like Seregios on top of his shield loop. Suou has a bunch of innate and can add or via super awakening. - Compassionate Saxifrage Starfairy, Sekka: Used with Kurotobi, Muichiro, and now Tengen? Seems like Sekka is used everywhere; definitely one of the most versatile pickups from an otherwise meh event. 2
with a two-turn haste on transform, Sekka also includes a recovery buff and move time buff in its low uptime shield loop. Sekka also provides great utility with and multiple . - Mega Awoken Cerulean Sun God, Aten: Only 2
but at least can take an inherit, Blue Aten’s saving grace is its exceptional performance as a recovery stick with its large count of and its high recovery stat. - Trish Una & Spicy Lady: 6
with SA and can take an inherit, Trish Una is a phenomenal carrier of the unmatchable latent with 8 .
Other Options
- Guardian of the Divine Transcendence, Athena: Need to really pound the rock? Look no further than the farmable Ordeal Athena, who has already started obliterating endgame on teams abusing infinite pass with Misaka in 2P. Ordeal Athena has 4
and 2 , three pings (with the lone green sub attribute being replaceable via equip), both a self-spike and a compatible typing burst, and a massive cap break to 7B on a ridiculously fast 2T CD. Only 2 but can take an inherit. Might be a bit tough to fit into a team for 1P but this doesn’t diminish Athena’s power. - Trance Terra: Only 2
but can take an inherit, Trance Terra is just a gigantic utility stick with for teamwide damage, for extra recovery, and a ton of for peak assist void latent usage. Terra also has a board expand effect and generates a bunch of orbs in her active. - Mechanical Virgo, Metal Spica: 6
with SA and a three-turn delay in the first stage of its evolving active, Metal Spica has ridiculously high health and recovery stats in exchange for a low attack stat. However, given that Metal Spica is supposed to be a stat stick and not a damage dealer, sacrificing attack for health and recovery is a great thing. Metal Spica also includes some and to leverage her stats even more. Metal Spica’s active might not do much but she can override enemy weakening debuffs which some bosses can spam out (AUN2). Since the active is so short, Metal Spica can also take an inherit for later floors. - Angel Devil: 6
with SA and can take an inherit, Angel Devil not only deals plenty of damage with and 3 but also counters both spinners and board shrink, two of the most annoying mechanics in modern endgame. Angel Devil also has a high health stat. 
Light/Fire Archangel’s Oracle, Cecilia: Only 2
but can take an inherit, Cecilia is the quintessential rebuffer as she buffs move time, her respective main attribute’s attack, and recovery on a 4T CD and also generates a spinner that can override enemy spinners. Cecilia packs more utility with , for sticky blind skyfall, and can either use SA for assist void latent usage or a SA for more damage. What’s the difference between the two? Light Cecilia provides arguably a better burst as Tengen has two pings to one ping, while Red Cecilia enables activation of or with both attributes and has a more valuable 
over Light Cecilia’s 
.
Leader Pairs
Much like Kurotobi, Tengen lacks an automatic follow-up attack to deal with resolves, so his ideal pairings should include that. Otherwise, Tengen is pretty flexible as he generates plenty of orbs to fuel his leader skill. If we narrow it down to a card with (or ), similar leader skill activation requirements, and an automatic follow-up attack, we end up with two strong candidates.
Mitsuri Kanroji was designed to be an ideal leader pair for Tengen as she provides the automatic follow-up attack while having nearly identical activation requirements. The fixed move time clause is an excellent bonus as it naturally counters all move time debuffs and gives more than enough time to combo out the board. Kanroji’s active provides a shield loop for more survivability in endgame and casts an extremely favorable spinner that can also override enemy spinners, while her awakenings tack on and tons of damage via 5 and three pings.
Christmas Meredith also looks designed for Tengen if it wasn’t for the fact that Meredith debuted before Tengen. (Maybe Tengen was designed for Meredith?) Christmas Meredith provides the all-important automatic follow-up attack while having a disjointed set of activation requirements all fulfilled by Tengen. Meredith’s active pierces void damage shields and cap breaks to 5B, which is especially important given GungHo’s propensity to spam insanely high defense values in the latest endgame dungeons.
Who is better? Meredith is slightly better than Kanroji in some ways; Meredith’s 40x ATK multiplier considerably trumps Kanroji’s 32x ATK multiplier (+25%), Meredith adds three extra combos to Kanroji’s two extra combos, and Meredith generally racks up a higher personal multiplier than Kanroji in supergravity endgame dungeons given matching (12069x ATK vs. 3125x ATK) and can leverage that damage into a higher cap, which is far more effective against high defense spawns than Kanroji’s three pings (until you cap break Kanroji as well, which is where the game is trending towards).
However, Kanroji’s fixed move time clause is a huge convenience as it not only blocks all time debuffs but also probably adds more move time than a couple of randomly scattered across the team. Kanroji’s three pings also give her the opportunity to average more damage per turn than Meredith assuming both reach normal damage cap on all pings.
In a vacuum, I’d probably pick Christmas Meredith over Mitsuri Kanroji, but if I had both, I would probably include both on my team anyway since both are phenomenal subs in their own right.
Why aren’t there more viable leader pairs? First, I didn’t really search too hard and what I did see on PAD Index didn’t really work with Tengen. Second, more leader pairs actually exist but don’t exist in NA; Marvel (known as GungHo: Another Story) has not rerun and brought the buffs and new characters that could work as leader pairs with Tengen. (It might come over after New Year’s… but I’d rather have Demon Slayer.)
Conclusion
Kurotobi has reigned supreme for the past few months, so I’m not surprised that Tengen Uzui looks just as strong, if not superior; Tengen’s sub pool looks just as deep and he even has more than one ideal leader pairing! However, unlike Kurotobi, there’s no guarantee that Tengen enjoys anywhere near the same longevity.
Let me know if I missed anything in the comments below. Thanks for reading, and as always, good luck and have fun!