Deck building guide · Your first 40-card deck

A good deck in MOC ARCANA is less about rare cards than about shape: enough small Tokens to start, a few giants to finish, and the right Events at the right time.

This guide gives you a simple plan for a first 40-card deck, the kind you need for the Campaign, and explains the reasoning behind each choice so you can adapt it to your own collection.

New to the game? Read how to play first, or try a free duel: the ready-made Free play deck is a good example of a balanced deck.

The deck rules you must follow

These come straight from the game rules. The deck builder checks them for you.

40 to 60 cards.
At least 70 % Tokens. In a 40-card deck, that means at least 28 Tokens.
At most 3 copies of the same card.
Only 1 copy of each Legendary and each Mythic card.

Why 40 cards, and not 60

You can play up to 60 cards, but most decks are stronger at exactly 40. The reason is simple: the fewer cards in your deck, the more often you draw your best ones. Every extra card makes your key Tokens and Events a little rarer in your hand.

Go above 40 only for a reason, for example a deck that wants to stay alive for a long time. As a first deck, keep 40.

A simple 40-card plan

Here is a starting shape that works with any faction. Treat the numbers as a guide, not a law.

Part of the deck	Count	Role
Tokens of level 1 to 4	18 to 20	Summoned for free. They hold the field and feed your sacrifices.
Tokens of level 5	5 to 6	One sacrifice. Your mid-game threats.
Tokens of level 6 and 7	3 to 4	Two or three sacrifices. Your finishers.
Events and Personas	10 to 12	Turn the duel around, protect, answer the opponent.
Total	40	28 to 30 Tokens = the 70 % rule is met.

The small Tokens: the base of everything

You can summon only one Token per turn, and the strong ones cost sacrifices. That means your giants depend on the small Tokens already on your field. With fewer than 18 Tokens of level 1 to 4, you will often hold a level 6 Token with nothing to sacrifice for it.

Among your small Tokens, prefer the ones with a high DEF to hold the field early, and the ones whose effect helps your faction (more on factions below).

The giants: fewer than you think

Level 6 and 7 Tokens win duels, but a hand full of them does nothing on turn 2. Three or four are enough: you will usually draw one by mid-duel, when you have the sacrifices ready.

Remember the costs:

Token level	Sacrifices
1 to 4	none
5	1
6	2
7	3

A level 7 Token costs three Tokens from your field. Before you play one, ask yourself whether your field will still be safe the turn after.

Events and Personas: 10 to 12 cards that decide duels

Events and Personas do not belong to any faction, so they fit any deck (see every revealed Event card). Since the 70 % rule caps them at 12 in a 40-card deck, choose them for what your deck lacks:

Protection: an Event that saves a Token keeps your giant alive after you paid three sacrifices for it.
Answers: something that weakens or removes a big enemy Token, for the duels where you fall behind.
Comebacks: effects that reset or restore CP, or bring a card back from the Dead Wallet.
Face-down Personas: they trigger during your opponent's turn, when one of their Tokens attacks or when they play an Event. One or two of them make your opponent hesitate before every attack.

Avoid filling these slots with cards that only work in rare situations. A card you cannot play is a dead draw.

Choosing a faction

Every Token belongs to one of seven factions, and many card effects reward you for staying loyal to one: bonuses for allies of the same faction, combos that only work in a faction deck, answers that hit a rival faction harder.

You can mix factions, and mixed decks can be strong. For a first deck, though, build around one main faction, and fill the gaps with Tokens from a second one if your collection is short.

Faction	Plays like	Good first deck if you like
Fantasma	Comebacks from the Dead Wallet	Turning a losing board around
Exuvia	Tokens that evolve and grow	A small card that becomes a giant
Dominio	Disruption, theft, forced discards	Winning before the opponent understands what happened
Ronax	Heavy attacks, pressure on CP	Fast, direct duels
Cortexa	Combos planned several turns ahead	A plan that clicks into place
Umbra	Stealth and surprise	Keeping the opponent guessing
Natura	Resilience, Tokens stronger together	A board that refuses to fall

Each faction is described in detail on the factions page. Deck guides so far: Fantasma and Ronax.

Build it in five steps

Open My decks and start a new deck. The builder shows only the cards you hold in your wallet.
Pick your main faction: the one where you have the most Tokens of level 1 to 4.
Add 18 to 20 small Tokens, then 5 to 6 level 5 Tokens, then your 3 or 4 best level 6 and 7 Tokens.
Complete with 10 to 12 Events and Personas, chosen for protection, answers and comebacks.
Test it: play a few duels in Practice, then start the Campaign. If you often hold giants you cannot summon, add small Tokens. If you often run out of steam, add an answer or a comeback Event.

Common mistakes

Too many giants. The most common one. If your opening hands feel stuck, this is why.
Ignoring the 70 % rule until the end. Count your Tokens first, then add Events and Personas.
One copy of everything. Two or three copies of your best common Tokens make your deck more reliable than a mix of single cards.
No answer to a big Token. Keep at least two cards that can deal with an enemy giant.
Forgetting the face-down zone. A Persona that answers attacks is often worth more than one more Token.

Not enough cards yet?

You do not need a deck to play. Free play gives you a ready-made deck against the Arcana Apprentice, free, without a wallet. Practice opens with 10 cards of your own, and the Campaign with 40.

Cards come from packs of 10, drawn on-chain on Cronos; every card you pull is an NFT that lives in your wallet. If you choose to open packs, see the shop and the FAQ. Cards are game items made to be played: only spend what you can afford.