Each deck in Balatro has different effects that change the game dramatically. One of the more difficult decks is the Plasma Deck, which uses the power of math to make things more complicated for you. It can be a daunting deck to play as it requires you to use a strategy different from what you may be used to.
7 Best Balatro Seeds For Flush
The cards players get in Balatro can make all the difference whether a run is successful or not, and these are the best seeds for flush modifiers.
However, like everything in Balatro, the Plasma Deck is not an impossible challenge to overcome. This guide will give you some tips and tricks that should allow you to beat this deck on every stake.
What Does The Plasma Deck Do In Balatro?
The Plasma Deck is unique in that it takes your chips and multiplier, adds them together, and splits that number in half to determine the score. This means that if you played a hand that scored 100 chips and had 20 mult, it would not come out to be 2000 chips like usual. Instead, these numbers would be added together to become 120, then split into 60 chips and 60 mult. These two numbers would then be multiplied by each other to become 3600.
As you might have guessed, this can significantly alter the strategy you would usually use to beat a deck. In most scenarios in Balatro, it may be a better idea to focus on increasing your multiplier over your chip count. But, with the Plasma Deck, since your numbers are all added together, it's a much better idea to get your chip count as high as you can, as it's easier to increase chips than it is to get ludicrously high mult numbers.
Focus On Jokers That Boosts Your Number Of Chips
The first thing you want to focus on is finding Jokers that dramatically increase your number of chips. However, you don't want just any chip-increasing Joker. Some chip Jokers may seem useful early on in a Plasma Deck run, such as Scary Face, Ice Cream, or any of the Jokers that reward chips when certain hands are played, like Sly Joker or Crafty Joker. Having one of these types of Jokers in your build isn't a bad idea for early Antes, but as you enter the later Antes, these can let you down as they don't scale well enough to get to the higher scores.
The best Jokers are the ones that give you progressively more chips. For example, if you're focusing on getting straights, Runner is a good choice as it will permanently gain 15 chips every time you play a straight. Hiker adds 5 chips permanently to each card, which turns a 2 into a 7, and so on.
Try to get Jokers that gain additional chips early in a run to get the most chips out of them. They may not be as valuable if they're acquired past Ante 5.
While not a chip-scaling Joker, you should pick up Stuntman if it's available in the shop since it will give you 250 chips for each played hand. Your hand size will shrink by 2, but it's worth having for Plasma Deck runs.
Pick Up Some Jokers That Boost Multiplyer Too
While gaining chips is a priority in Plasma Deck runs, mult numbers will still be a big part of your score. Focus on Jokers that score you big amounts of chips first, then pick up one or two Jokers that can net you a big multiplier. This includes Jokers like Throwback, Baron, Vampire, or any Joker that gives significant mult for playing certain kinds of hands, like The Trio or The Order.
Earn Extra Money For Purchases & Rerolls
You should also try to accumulate as much money as you can as buying Jokers isn't cheap. It's not too hard to beat the first Boss Blind in a Plasma Deck run, so if you see Tags that give you extra cash, you should choose them instead of playing the early Small or Big Blinds. That way, you'll have plenty of cash to buy the Jokers you need or reroll the store repeatedly until you find what you want.
If you find the Bull Joker, it'll make money even more valuable since it gives you +2 chips for every dollar you have.
8 Best Balatro Seeds For Beginners
Players just starting Balatro for the first time may want to consider the following seeds to get on the right track.
Additional Tips For Beating The Plasma Deck In Balatro
- Play the highest-value cards you can to rack up chips. Try to remove lower-value cards entirely and keep a deck that's built around face cards and aces.
- If you can't get rid of your low-scoring cards, look for The Hierophant when opening Tarot Card Packs. This will add 30 bonus chips to your cards, which can turn lower-value cards into your highest chip earners.
- Red Seals allow cards to be replayed twice in the same hand, which can increase chips and mult. It can be handy to have Red Seals on Glass Cards, Bonus Cards, or Foil Cards. It can also allow Joker effects to retrigger if they apply to certain cards.
- Straights are a solid choice for a hand type in Plasma Deck runs, especially when paired with Runner early on. However, it may be a good idea to try to build around easier hand types for later Stakes, like Two Pair or even High Card.
- Since you need all the chips and mult you can get, buy Celestral Packs to get the Planet Cards you need to upgrade your hands. If the Telescope Voucher shows up in the shop, get it right away. The same goes for the Observatory Voucher.
- As with any other deck, keep an eye out for the Blueprint and Brainstorm Jokers. They're the best in the game and can often save even the most disastrous of runs.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 92 /100 Critics Rec: 100%
- Released
- February 20, 2024
- ESRB
- E10+ For Everyone 10+ // Gambling Themes
- Developer(s)
- LocalThunk
- Publisher(s)
- Playstack
- Engine
- LÖVE
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Strategy, Digital Card Game, Roguelike
- Platform(s)
- PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Android, iOS
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
- How Long To Beat
- 8 Hours
