Moonlight Peaks Nokturna Card Game Guide

Nokturna is the in-world card game that's taken Moonlight Peaks by storm. Think Gwent meets Magic: The Gathering with a gothic twist. Here's everything about how to play, build decks, and become the Nokturna champion.

What Is Nokturna?

Nokturna is a collectible card game played throughout Moonlight Peaks. You can challenge almost any NPC to a match, enter weekly tournaments at the town hall, and collect over 100 unique cards. Winning matches earns you gold, rare items, and friendship points with certain NPCs.

The game is entirely optional — but the rewards are substantial enough that most players will want to engage with it.

Basic Rules

Setup

Each player starts with a 20-card deck and 30 health
Draw 5 cards at the start
The player with the higher "Initiative" stat goes first (or coin flip if tied)

Card Types

Type	Symbol	Function
Creature	🦇	Place on the board to attack and defend
Spell	✨	One-time effect, then discarded
Relic	💎	Stays on board, provides ongoing effect
Trick	🃏	Instant effect, can be played on opponent's turn

Turn Structure

Draw Phase — Draw 1 card
Mana Phase — Gain 1 Mana crystal (max 10)
Main Phase — Play cards, activate abilities
Combat Phase — Attack with creatures
End Phase — Effects resolve, pass turn

Winning

Reduce your opponent's health to 0 — or force them to run out of cards (deck-out victory).

Card Rarities

Rarity	Color	Drop Rate	Source
Common	Gray	60%	Shop, basic NPCs
Uncommon	Green	25%	Stronger NPCs, quest rewards
Rare	Blue	10%	Tournament prizes, rare NPCs
Epic	Purple	4%	Champion NPCs, hidden locations
Legendary	Gold	1%	Special events, final tournament

Where to Find Cards

Card Shop (Town Square) — Buy booster packs for gold
Beating NPCs — Each NPC drops cards from their personal collection
Tournament Prizes — Weekly tournaments offer guaranteed rare+ cards
Hidden Locations — Explore the world; some cards are tucked away in coffins, caves, and libraries
Quest Rewards — Several questlines award unique cards
Festival Events — Seasonal festivals have exclusive cards

Best Starter Deck Strategy

When building your first competitive deck, focus on:

Aggro Deck (Fast & Aggressive)

Low-cost creatures (1-3 mana)
Direct damage spells
Goal: Win by turn 6-7

Key cards to seek:

Hellhound (2 mana, 3/2 creature)
Shadow Bolt (1 mana, deal 3 damage)
Bat Swarm (3 mana, summon three 1/1 bats)

Control Deck (Slow & Defensive)

High-health creatures
Board-clear spells
Goal: Survive until late game, then dominate

Key cards to seek:

Coffin Guard (4 mana, 2/5 with Taunt)
Blood Moon (6 mana relic, all creatures get -2/-0)
Dracula's Command (8 mana spell, take control of enemy creature)

NPC Difficulty Rankings

NPC	Difficulty	Signature Card	Best Reward
Ludo	Easy	Playful Pup (Common)	Common booster
Winston	Easy	Gizmo (Uncommon)	Uncommon booster
Fiona	Medium	Prank Spell (Rare)	Rare card + gold
Samael	Medium	Dark Poetry (Epic)	Epic card
Kim	Hard	Tidal Wave (Epic)	Mermaid-themed card
Orlock	Hard	Shadow Reign (Epic)	Shadow Court card
Death	Very Hard	Eternal Rest (Legendary)	Legendary card
Count Dracula	Champion	Lord of Night (Legendary)	Tournament entry

Tournament System

Weekly tournaments are held every Sunday night (in-game) at the Town Hall:

Entry fee: 500 gold
Format: Best of 3, single elimination
Participants: 8-16 NPCs + you
Prizes:
- 1st Place: 5000 gold + Legendary card + Trophy
- 2nd Place: 2000 gold + Epic card
- 3rd-4th: 1000 gold + Rare card

First tournament win unlocks the "Card Shark" achievement and a special cutscene with Dracula.

Tips for Winning

Build around a theme, not just strong cards. Synergy beats raw power.
Mulligan aggressively — if your opening hand has no 1-2 mana plays, redraw.
Learn each NPC's deck — they rarely change strategies.
Save removal spells for legendary creatures, not common ones.
Practice against Ludo until you master the basics — he never gets harder.
Complete Winston's questline to unlock the Card Creator — craft custom cards.