Every Balatro Deck Ranked By Difficulty

In all my years as a player, I’ve rarely seen a phenomenon as outstanding and engrossing as Balatro, one of the best deckbuilding roguelikes of all time.

Being a fan of the genre, I’m used to satisfying and addictive gameplay loops, but what LocalThunk’s creation has achieved is something with very few precedents, especially after getting ported to mobile.

I’ve been playing the game for months, and I’m still enjoying it after beating it in each difficulty and discovering everything there was to see, as if it were the first day.

Therefore, there is no better way to express my love for the title than with a list, particularly one alluding to every Balatro deck ranked by difficulty.

15 Blue Deck

More Hands, More Points

The simplest effects can often be the most powerful, and I think that’s the best way to describe Balatro‘s Blue Deck.

While it may not seem like it at first, having an extra hand makes a substantial difference in achieving high scores, and it makes it easier to take advantage of interest income.

It’s not the flashiest and perhaps not the most entertaining, but its combination of accessibility and utility is frankly all you need to beat the game on all difficulties.

If you know how to maximize interest and use builds that score extra points the more hands you use, the Blue Deck allows you to turn off your brain and play by simple inertia.

14 Plasma Deck

No Mult, Just Chips

Speaking of reducing complexity and playing on autopilot, the Plasma Deck is perfect for those who don’t want to go through the hassle of calculating anything.

Even though the blind size is doubled, only focusing on increasing the number of chips you score simplifies the playstyle considerably.

However, not only is it a straightforward deck to play, but the scores it can achieve are excessively high without further setup.

It doesn’t require complex builds or convoluted combinations, so getting to the last Ante is no problem in almost any case.

13 Abandoned Deck

The King of Consistency

One of the key points to understand about Balatro is that decks need to be consistent, meaning they need to allow you to get your wanted hands regularly.

For this, there is no archetype more suited than the Abandoned Deck, whose lack of face cards makes many builds more viable.

Although the number of chips is smaller, which makes the early rounds more difficult, this is vastly compensated by the ease with which it can draw Straights or Four of a Kind.

In addition, it allows you to focus more quickly on one type of hand because you have fewer options to start with, so it’s extremely constant.

12 Checkered Deck

Flush All The Way

While it’s not one of the strongest decks, as multiple Boss Blinds can take it out right away, the Checkered Deck is the definition of simplicity.

Flush is one of the most powerful hands in the game, and this deck takes full advantage of it by allowing you to play one almost every turn, something no other deck can do consistently without a lot of planning.

Because it’s so easy to play and identify its biggest weaknesses, games become much faster, as you know exactly which Antes you can beat and which you can’t.

In terms of speed, the games with the Checkered Deck are by far the least time-consuming, which allows for more runs to be played and a better chance of finding a winning attempt.

11 Ghost Deck

Free Polychrome Joker Is All You Need

As the first deck I ever beat the game with at Gold Stake, the Ghost Deck makes sure the difficulty curve of each match is much lower.

You rely on finding a good Joker in your first Ante, but if you do, it’s a sure win due to Polychrome’s power kicking in very early on.

Like the Checkered Deck, it’s easy to tell from which moment in the run things are heading toward victory or defeat. Thus, it’s effortless to decide to reset and search for better opportunities.

Finally, being able to find Spectral Cards in the shop is incredibly powerful, though it’s important to be wise when using them because the risk-to-reward ratio is quite high.

10 Red Deck

More Discards, More Points

Following the Blue Deck’s philosophy precisely, the Red Deck’s simple yet remarkable effect makes it one of the best and most accessible ones.

Having more Discards allows you to find your scoring hands more consistently, and it benefits from numerous Jokers like Banner, Delayed Gratification, Mail-In Rebate, and even Hit the Road.

Because of its ability to refine your options, usually difficult hands like Four of a Kind, Five of a Kind, or Royal Flush become more possible, giving you plenty of power for each round.

It’s also true that it doesn’t work with other Jokers like Green Joker, Ramen, or Burglar, but the synergies it enables are completely worth the sacrifice.

9 Yellow Deck

Economy Is Underrated

One mistake Balatro players often make at the beginning is not taking meticulous care of their finances, which is why they undervalue the Yellow Deck.

However, starting with that extra financial boost allows the difficulty curve to be smoothed out considerably, making it easier for you to start taking advantage of the interest dollars early in the run.

Although its effect only takes place at the attempt’s start, and its impact isn’t so visible, it’s an excellent deck and exceptionally even in terms of difficulty.

Once you realize how important it is to take care of your savings, Yellow Deck becomes an opportunity to have prolific games frequently, since it allows you to buy a voucher for the first Ante almost every time.

8 Painted Deck

Everything Is Possible

While Jokers are the main mechanic that Balatro‘s gameplay revolves around, they’re not the only ones, as the Painted Deck demonstrates.

It’s certainly difficult to play with one less Joker, but having a +2 hand size makes almost any hand viable because you can draw your entire deck.

You rely on planet cards, and your decisions have to be exceptionally precise to improve your build, but the best strategies frankly depend on a few Jokers.

Thanks to the ease of scoring big on your first hand, the economy you have access to is greater, so you can roll more shops and find those four Jokers that will turn your game into a victory.

7 Erratic Deck

Hard to Master

Once you’ve been playing for a long time and the chances of having new experiences are reduced, the Erratic Deck keeps things lively.

Still, this list is about difficulty, and it’s certainly a complex deck due to the impossibility of having preconceived builds according to the deck’s characteristics.

Since you don’t know what ranks or suits you’re going to get, the Erratic Deck is the one that demands the most adaptability, as you must be able to identify your deck’s strengths and weaknesses and make decisions accordingly.

However, if you can do it, it’s a fun option with a lot of potential, so it’s worth considering it when you feel more confident in your Balatro skills.

6 Green Deck

A New Way to Make Money

Since the economy plays a key role in Balatro, as without money, you cannot purchase anything or see multiple shops, the Green Deck is notoriously demanding.

Changing the way you earn money completely alters the way you play, as you must prioritize scoring hands with the fewest moves possible.

The Green Deck almost turns Balatro into a game of chess, given the fundamental concept becomes that of being an efficient machine where every hand played and discard made is inexorably necessary.

Its power is notable, but the ability to master it’s even more so. Its finances are harder to leverage, and therefore, the game is harder to play.

5 Nebula Deck

For Planet Fans

Despite the Telescope voucher being powerful, as it maximizes the investment in planet card packs completely, the Nebula Deck is inconsistent.

Having one less consumable slot is already a large handicap as it greatly limits tarot cards’ efficiency, but the biggest problem is the dependence on planet cards.

You can’t take advantage of blue seals to generate them, so you need them to appear in the shop. Given that the deck has no significant mechanisms to generate money or points quickly, you have to be pretty lucky.

The gameplay is completely straightforward, but if you want to win regularly using the Nebula Deck, you need to maneuver in waters where luck won’t normally be on your side, and that’s exceedingly tricky.

4 Zodiac Deck

An Ambivalent Effect

Zodiac Deck lets you start the game with several vouchers, but there isn’t consensus in Balatro‘s community on whether that’s a good thing.

Overstock is invaluable since having a third slot in shops is glorious, but Tarot Merchant and Planet Merchant simultaneously dilute what you see in said shops.

Since there’s more of everything, rolls become less consistent, and it’s easier to stumble upon tarot or planet cards that aren’t useful to your build.

I’ll emphasize Overstock may single-handedly supplement that contradiction, but at least in my experience, Zodiac Deck is both ineffective and unfun.

3 Magic Deck

Zero Impact

The Fool is a strong tarot card thanks to its ability to duplicate a desired effect, but having an entire deck revolve around it is quite tricky.

The additional consumable slot is valuable, but both effects alone do nothing. Therefore, Magic Deck is a promising idea that is very difficult to pull off.

You might convert many cards into a suit or generate a lot of luck cards, but that doesn’t sustain an entire run. Beyond making the first Ante more affordable, it just creates a foundation you won’t necessarily be able to build on.

If you get unbelievably lucky and exploit The Fool to the max, you’ll have a game to remember, but it’s a very low probability you can’t rely on.

2 Anaglyph Deck

The Skips Aren’t Worthy

Skipping shops is rarely desirable except in special cases, and that’s among the best lessons you can learn about Balatro.

Based on that premise, the Anaglyph Deck is an underwhelming alternative, whose effect honestly doesn’t compensate enough for the great sacrifice you must make to take advantage of it.

Being able to open two card packs, get two free Jokers, or triple your hand size for the next blind are often not good effects. They are usually unpredictable or have a low impact, so you never know if they will help your build or be useless.

In the vast majority of scenarios, it’s much better to fight the blind and see the shop behind it so you can decide what to buy and what to skip. Depending on the luck of the tags raises the game’s difficulty highly and unnecessarily.

1 Black Deck

Hellish On All Levels

Being by far Balatro’s hardest deck, and one of the main reasons its platinum trophy is so difficult to achieve, the Black Deck is a quick ticket to hell.

Holding an extra Joker slot may seem incredible, but having one less hand is deadly for the vast majority of runs, making the game’s middle stage a fight for survival.

With less opportunity to score hands and less chance to benefit from interest, you have to be extremely skilled and even luckier to get through the early Antes.

It won’t be until the run’s later stages that you’ll see the benefit of having a sixth Joker, and by then, you should be strong enough that its impact won’t be as noticeable.

If Balatro is getting too easy for you and you want to triple the difficulty, play the Black Deck. The difference is simply abysmal, and the challenge it offers is one of the greatest I’ve experienced in the genre.