Darkmoon Cards: the Four Decks and Their Epic Trinkets

Section: Lore & bestiary 6 min read Vanilla 1.12.1 · x5 Updated 19.10.2026

Darkmoon Cards are collectible cards that drop from high-level monsters and combine into one of four decks. A finished deck is turned in at the Darkmoon Faire for an epic level 60 trinket. On the WoW x5 server the cards are a natural goal for anyone already farming level 55–60 dungeons: every card that drops either goes into your own deck or sells on the auction house.

Darkmoon Cards4 decks of 8 cards

Ace of BeastsThe rarest card of the suit

Contents

What Darkmoon Cards are
Where the cards drop
How to build a deck and get the trinket
Decks and trinkets table
The trinkets in detail
Economy and tips
Related pages

What Darkmoon Cards are

Patch 1.12.1 has 32 cards: four suits of eight cards each — the Ace, the Two, the Three and so on up to the Eight. The suits are named after their decks: the Beasts Deck, the Portals Deck, the Elementals Deck and the Warlords Deck. Every card carries the same use effect — combine the Ace through Eight of the suit to complete the set.

Cards and decks do not bind to your character. That means you can buy the cards you are missing from other players and sell your duplicates. Only the final trinket you get for turning the deck in at the Darkmoon Faire binds when picked up. The deck itself is unbound too, so you can assemble it on one character and mail it to another.

Where the cards drop

The Two through Eight drop from regular monsters of roughly level 47–63 at a very low rate — a fraction of a percent per kill. Their sources are high-level zones (Western and Eastern Plaguelands, Winterspring, Burning Steppes, Silithus, Azshara) and dungeons: Stratholme, Scholomance, Dire Maul, Blackrock Spire, Blackrock Depths and also Zul'Gurub. That is why the cards mostly reach players who run a lot of level 60 dungeons.

The Aces are the real bottleneck. Each Ace drops only from specific bosses:

Ace of Beasts — from The Beast in Upper Blackrock Spire;
Ace of Warlords — from King Gordok in Dire Maul;
Ace of Portals — from Darkmaster Gandling in Scholomance;
Ace of Elementals — from Hydrospawn in Dire Maul, Lord Incendius in Blackrock Depths and the four elite elementals of the periodic invasions: The Windreaver (Silithus), Princess Tempestria (Winterspring), Baron Charr (Un'Goro Crater) and Avalanchion (Azshara).

The Beast in Upper Blackrock Spire — source of the Ace of Beasts

King Gordok in Dire Maul — source of the Ace of Warlords

The Scholomance entrance, where Darkmaster Gandling drops the Ace of Portals

How to build a deck and get the trinket

Collect the Two through Eight of one suit — by farming dungeons or buying them on the auction house.
Get the Ace of that suit from the right boss or buy it from another player.
With all eight cards in your bags, use any of them — the cards combine into a deck.
The deck starts a quest: you must bring it back to the Darkmoon Faire when it comes to town.
Wait for the Faire. In 1.12.1 it camps either south of Goldshire in Elwynn Forest or at the foot of Thunder Bluff in Mulgore — routes are in the guide how to get to the Darkmoon Faire.
Hand the deck to Professor Thaddeus Paleo, the Faire's vendor of cards and exotic goods. The reward is the trinket card plus 150 reputation with the Darkmoon Faire.

The Darkmoon Faire in Elwynn Forest — where finished decks are turned in

Decks and trinkets table

Deck	Ace drops from	Trinket	Effect in 1.12.1	Best for
Beasts Deck	The Beast	Darkmoon Card: Blue Dragon	2% chance on spellcast to keep 100% mana regeneration while casting for 15 sec	Priests, druids, holy paladins
Elementals Deck	Hydrospawn, Lord Incendius, invasion elementals	Darkmoon Card: Maelstrom	Chance to strike your melee target with lightning for 200–301 Nature damage	Warriors, rogues, melee hunters
Portals Deck	Darkmaster Gandling	Darkmoon Card: Twisting Nether	10% chance to resurrect with 20% health and mana	Tanks and anyone dying a lot on progression
Warlords Deck	King Gordok	Darkmoon Card: Heroism	Sometimes heals the bearer for 120–181 when dealing melee damage	Warriors and paladins while farming

The trinkets in detail

All four trinkets are epic, unique, require level 60 and bind when picked up. The best known is Blue Dragon: it lets your Spirit keep regenerating mana even during non-stop casting, so healers with high Spirit value it most of all.

Darkmoon Card: Blue DragonBinds when picked upUniqueTrinketRequires Level 60Equip: 2% chance on successful spellcast to allow 100% of your Mana regeneration to continue while casting for 15 sec.

Maelstrom and Heroism are built for melee fighters: the first adds lightning damage, the second adds periodic self-healing. Twisting Nether adds no damage, but it sometimes lets you get back up after dying, which helps tanks and solo players. Compare the cards with other options for the slot in our overview of the best trinkets.

Darkmoon Card: MaelstromBinds when picked upUniqueTrinketRequires Level 60Equip: Chance to strike your melee target with lightning for 200 to 301 Nature damage.

Economy and tips

Aces cost more than any other card: they drop only from bosses, while the other cards have hundreds of sources.
Cards take little space — keep them in the bank until the suit is complete and sell the duplicates.
Sometimes it is cheaper to buy a complete deck than to hunt for one missing card. Prices depend on the realm — watch them with our auction house guide.
While you wait for the Faire, trade spare materials for prize tickets — see Darkmoon Faire tickets.

Ready to build your own deck? Create an account on WoW x5, then connect to the server and start hunting Aces in the dungeons of Vanilla 1.12.1.

FAQ

How many cards make a Darkmoon deck?

Eight cards of one suit, from the Ace to the Eight. Once all eight are in your bags, using any of them combines them into a deck, and the deck starts a quest to return it to the Darkmoon Faire.

Where do the Darkmoon Aces drop?

The Ace of Beasts drops from The Beast in Upper Blackrock Spire, the Ace of Warlords from King Gordok in Dire Maul, the Ace of Portals from Darkmaster Gandling in Scholomance, and the Ace of Elementals from Hydrospawn, Lord Incendius and the elite invasion elementals.

Who do I turn a Darkmoon deck in to?

To Professor Thaddeus Paleo, the Darkmoon Faire vendor of cards and exotic goods. In 1.12.1 the Faire camps either near Goldshire in Elwynn Forest or below Thunder Bluff in Mulgore.

Can I buy Darkmoon Cards on the auction house?

Yes. Individual cards and finished decks do not bind, so they are traded on the auction house. Only the final trinket you receive for the deck binds when picked up.