Darkmoon Cards, Decks, & Trinkets

In Mists of Pandaria, the Darkmoon Faire is once again offering powerful endgame trinkets to players who are able to assemble the appropriate deck of cards. These epic Relics of the Pandaren are Best-in-Slot for many classes throughout Phase 1 of the expansion. The cards that are required for each deck can only be crafted with Inscription, and they require a material which can only be made once per day per character. These valuable but difficult-to-obtain items will be at a premium, especially early in the expansion.

Darkmoon Trinkets in Mists of Pandaria

There are five Darkmoon trinkets available at level 90. Their item level is 476, which is lower than items that you’ll obtain from raids, but their effects are competitive or even stronger than those found on raid trinkets. These items are pre-raid BiS for most builds, and for some they will remain BiS throughout the first tier of raids.

The trinkets themselves are tradeable until they are equipped, so they can be purchased directly from the Auction House or other players. Otherwise you will need to wait for the Darkmoon Faire to be active and turn in the appropriate deck of cards to get your trinket. Note that the Darkmoon Faire happens every two weeks in WoW Classic, twice as often as it did in the original expansions.

How to Get Darkmoon Trinkets

The process of getting these trinkets is fairly straightforward, but can be expensive, time-consuming, or both. You can purchase them directly on the Auction House if you have the gold, but it will usually be cheaper to assemble and turn in a deck yourself. If you choose to go that route, here’s what you need to do:

1. Acquire each of the eight cards that are needed to make the deck.
   • Each deck requires an Ace, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, and Eight of the same type.
   • Cards can be crafted with Inscription or purchased on the Auction House.
2. Right-click one of the cards to combine the set into a deck. Then right-click the deck to start its quest.
3. While the Darkmoon Faire event is happening, head to Darkmoon Island to trade in the deck and get your trinket.

Crafting Darkmoon Cards With Inscription

The Inscription profession is the only way to get Darkmoon Cards, other than buying them from other players. Unfortunately, you can’t choose the specific card you want to craft. There is only one level 90 Darkmoon Card recipe and it produces a random card from any of the four possible decks. You have a 1-in-4 chance of getting a card from a specific deck and a 1-in-32 chance of getting the exact card you want. In addition, you will only be able to make about one card per day due to the materials required, so assembling a full deck will take quite some time. Your best bet is to sell the cards you don’t need and use the proceeds to buy the ones you’re missing.

Given the value of these items early in the expansion, many players will also choose to have several alts with Inscription to churn out as many cards as possible in hopes of creating complete decks.

Materials Needed

To craft a Darkmoon Card of the Mists, you will need the following:

• Scroll of Wisdom x1
• Starlight Ink x10
• Light Parchment x1

Scroll of Wisdom is the bottleneck here, as they are Bind-on-Pickup and can only be crafted once per day. These items are also used for creating some Bind-on-Account weapons and off-hands, so you will have to decide what your priority is before using them. They are crafted with Light Parchment x1 and Ink of Dreams x3. Each Ink of Dreams requires 2x Shadow Pigment, which can be obtained by Milling any of the following Pandaria herbs: Desecrated Herb, Fool’s Cap, Green Tea Leaf, Rain Poppy, Silkweed, or Snow Lily.

Starlight Ink is crafted from 2x Misty Pigment per ink. This pigment is acquired by Milling the same Pandaria herbs listed above.

Light Parchment can be purchased from Inscription Supplies, Trade Goods, and Engineering Supplies vendors around the world.

Assembling a Deck

Each deck requires eight cards of the same type. Here are all of the decks and their individual cards so you can keep track.

Turning in a Completed Deck at the Darkmoon Faire

When you have completed one of the four decks above, you’ll be able to right-click the deck to obtain a quest. This quest will direct you to Professor Thaddeus Paleo on Darkmoon Island. He can only be reached while the Darkmoon Faire is active, which is every other week in WoW Classic. When the event is happening, you’ll be able to enter a portal to the island at Goldshire in Elwynn Forest or just outside of Thunder Bluff in Mulgore.

Professor Thaddeus Paleo can be found along the main path through the faire near the entrance (51.8, 60.6). Speak with him to turn in the deck and receive your trinket plus 350 reputation with the Darkmoon Faire faction. If you turn in a Tiger Deck, you’ll have your choice of the Agility or Strength version of the trinket.