Top 5 Best Card Enhancements in Balatro: Boost Your Score with These Powerful Upgrades

Summary

Balatro, a 2024 indie hit, is now on Game Pass, bringing its strategic gameplay to more players than ever.
Jokers are key to effective Balatro builds, but enhanced cards also play a vital role in creating a truly powerful deck.
Glass and Steel are the best Balatro enhancements, offering great scoring potential thanks to their x Mult bonuses.

Among the standout games of 2024, the addictive roguelike poker sensation known as Balatro, has now become available on Game Pass. This means a larger number of gamers can experience it and, quite possibly, find themselves unable to resist its allure – a small yet compelling indie game that can consume your free time mercilessly. Since its debut, Balatro has generated considerable buzz due to its distinctive aesthetic, engaging gameplay dynamics, and meticulously crafted mechanics that allow for the pursuit of astronomical scores.

The art of constructing a potent Balatro deck lies primarily in the strategic use of Jokers, yet supplementary cards with additional boosts are equally vital for reaching higher stakes and record-breaking scores. A total of eight card enhancements are accessible, each linked to a unique Tarot card that can be acquired through the Shop or Booster packs. This article will rank every enhancement in the game, identify the least and most effective Balatro card enhancements, describe their special effects, and discuss the scenarios where they perform optimally.

8. Gold Card

Tarot Card: The Devil

Card Effect: $3 If Card Is Held In Hand At End Of Round

At the very base is where you’ll find the Gold card upgrade. Generally speaking, it’s not that useful for earning points and also not ideal for rapidly accumulating cash in the game Balatro. Consequently, The Devil tarot card often turns out to be a rather unremarkable choice for most game builds.

In certain unique Joker combinations such as Midas Mask and Vampire synergy, Gold cards can be crucial for one particular game strategy. However, generally speaking, enhancing Gold cards is not often beneficial due to superior alternatives being available, even when funds are limited during a game. Instead, opt for The Hermit or Temperance tarot cards, or use the Investment tag for quick financial solutions, rather than relying on Gold cards.

7. Wild Card

Tarot Card: The Lovers

Card Effect: Can Be Used As Any Suit

In simpler terms, the Wild card, though not entirely worthless, doesn’t significantly aid in creating Flush hands in the game Balatro due to its limitations such as no stacking or additional triggers. Although it’s exciting to get Flushes, using Wild cards for this strategy isn’t crucial because there are numerous other ways to optimize your deck or Joker setup for consistent and efficient Flush scoring.

It’s worth noting that unlike many other powerful enhancements, The Lovers tarot card transformation occurs one card at a time instead of affecting two cards simultaneously in a single tarot reading.

6. Bonus Card

Tarot Card: The Hierophant

Card Effect: +30 Extra Chips

In essence, the Bonus card upgrade is neither outstanding nor poor. These cards are dependable and significantly increase the number of Chips earned per hand. During initial Antes, these Bonus cards prove particularly beneficial, fitting seamlessly into any strategy, enhancing hand scores or Joker configurations, and thus showing a surprising adaptability.

In specific instances or when using particular Joker combinations, Bonus cards can be incredibly powerful. However, a general strategy would be to focus on increasing the Multiplier (Mult) for a larger overall score output. While Bonus cards outperform Wild and Gold cards in some ways, if alternative improvements are accessible, they’re likely to provide even more potent results.

5. Stone Card

Tarot Card: The Tower

Card Effect: +50 Chips, No Rank Or Suit

As a devoted fan, I’d like to share my thoughts on the Stone card enhancement compared to the Bonus enhancement. Personally, I find the Stone card more advantageous in several aspects. To start, it awards more chips when you score a hand, which is straightforward and beneficial. Second, it ensures a score if your played hand permits, filling gaps in hands with less than five scored cards, without the need for Flushes, Full Houses, or Straights.

However, it’s important to note that the Stone card’s strengths also reveal its weaknesses. For deck builds relying on five-card hands, Stone cards can become hindrances rather than helpers, as they tend to obstruct the formation of optimal five-card combinations.

Furthermore, you should keep in mind that whereas The Hierophant tarot hands out two Bonus cards simultaneously, The Tower only appends a single Stone card to the pack. This aspect is crucial when aiming to optimize your Chip scoring or deciding between the two options.

4. Lucky Card

Tarot Card: The Magician

Card Effect: One In Five Chance For +20 Mult, One In 15 Chance To Win $20

The upgrade to the Lucky card significantly enhances its appeal, as it hints at hidden wealth at opportune times. Individual bonuses for Multiplier or money are potent on their own, yet they can also activate concurrently on a single Lucky card that hits, instantly transforming what could have been a losing hand into a game-changing round victory. Simultaneously, it bolsters the player’s bankroll. Essentially, this is a mutually beneficial situation; however, as with all good things, there’s always a catch – in this case, a significant condition.

The probability of earning extra Multi or those attractive $20 is quite slim and uncertain, which could result in annoyance during the win-or-lose scenarios that Balatro often offers. Even with slight adjustments through the Oops! All 6s Joker, the chances remain unstable, making the Lucky enhancement less effective in high-stakes games where missing out on these rewards isn’t acceptable.

3. Mult Card

Tarot Card: The Empress

Card Effect: +4 Mult

In the game of Balatro, the Mult card upgrade stands out as one of the most effective, as it consistently increases Mult in any hand, set, deck, or Joker combination, particularly when multiple triggers are involved. Although the addition of Mult from a single enhanced card might not seem revolutionary, there’s hardly any downside to the straightforward approach of employing The Empress tarot card to insert an additional two Mult cards into your deck.

As a fan, I’d say what makes Multi Cards stand out is their ability to score points before Multi Jokers come into play. Having at least one x2 Joker can significantly boost the points when you’ve got multiple Multi cards in a single hand. They might not be as powerful as Steel or Glass, but they’re undeniably versatile, dependable, and impactful card enhancements in Balatro.

2. Steel Card

Tarot Card: The Chariot

Card Effect: x1.5 Mult While This Card Stays In Hand

Among Balatro’s many potent upgrades, the Steel card stands out as exceptionally influential, if not the most powerful. This card can be acquired through The Chariot tarot. Essentially, possessing a Steel card provides players an advantage similar to having an additional Wild Card, and they can simultaneously amass numerous Steel cards, rendering them a significant game-altering factor during increased Ante rounds. A winning tactic is pairing Steel cards with Multi-scoring cards, creating unique, Joker-free score combinations.

As a player, I find Steel cards to be utterly flawless compared to Glass ones. Unlike Glass cards, Steel cards have no disadvantages at all, making them an attractive option for any strategy. When it comes to picking between the top enhancements, it essentially boils down to a choice between a thrilling gameplay with significant returns or a more reliable but less spectacular style of play.

1. Glass Card

Tarot Card: Justice

Card Effect: x2 Mult, One-In-Four Chance To Destroy Card

Without a doubt, Glass cards stand out significantly within Balatro, despite their downside of getting destroyed upon scoring, which surprisingly advantages specific Joker strategies or builds. Almost exclusively, these Glass cards are the means to endure the challenging Ante 10 and Ante 11 score multipliers. Since xMult is the premier method for amplifying score output within the game, it’s not unexpected that Glass cards hold a prominent position among top enhancements, essentially functioning as additional xMult Joker cards. Furthermore, they can be reactivated to generate impressive xMult combination effects before the real xMult Jokers take effect.

In the game of Balatro, Glass cards become more valuable as the ante increases significantly. If you’re pondering how to surpass an Ante of 11, consider investing in Glass cards early and saving them until the scoring multiplier has a noticeable impact, which could be your winning strategy.

2025-02-26 03:05