Certain Boss Blinds are the nemesis of many players. Balatro’s The Plant is one of the most irksome and troublesome Boss Blinds because its strict parameters can severely limit builds and require you to think on your feet, plan ahead, or change tack.
Even the most experienced of Balatro players can fall foul of an Ante 1-7 Boss Blind. The roguelike’s mechanics don’t discriminate and punish anyone who doesn’t adapt. It doesn’t matter if you have five delightfully intertwining Jokers and the perfect deck as one Boss Blind going “Nope!” is guaranteed to bring your run to a screeching halt.
The Plant is the perfect example of this, and one boss who needs to be respected.
What Does The Plant Boss do in Balatro?
Balatro’s The Plant Boss Blind makes it so “All Face Cards are debuffed.”
In short, face cards don’t score—and all bonuses associated with Face Cards are rendered immobile for the round. If your deck is specifically built around Face Cards and their high-scoring potential, you’re in a lot of trouble!
Jokers such as Pareidolia (All cards are considered Face Cards) and Baron (Each King held in hand gives X1.5 Mult) are two examples of why Face Card builds are so popular. The Plant doesn’t care for your builds and we need to know how to counteract.
How to Beat The Plant in Balatro
A few ways to beat The Plant in Balatro include rerolling the Boss Blind, using the Luchador Joker, quickly adapting your strategy, investing in Celestial Packs and Planet Cards, and ensuring you have Steel Cards and Glass Cards.
Adapt or Perish
You can see the next Boss Blind once you defeat the current boss. This gives you three Shop visits (including the current one) to make moves and change things up. If you see The Plant is three encounters away, and your Deck is reliant on Face Cards, you need to sell and swap Jokers accordingly. The Plant will probably grind you into the dirt if you stubbornly stick with your setup.
Card Enhancements
I try to save any Card Enhancements for cards other than Face Cards. You get them as general items in the Shop’s inventory and through Tarot Cards, and Card Modifiers include the following:
- Bonus Cards
- Mult Cards
- Wild Cards
- Glass Cards
- Steel Cards
- Stone Cards
- Gold Cards
- Lucky Cards
You need backup tactics if you stick with your Face Cards and current strategy. Depending on how you’ve played up until The Plant, having a couple of Steel, Bonus, and Mult Cards can make a Pair—typically on the low-scoring end—deadly. It can negate the need for Face Cards and get you over the line.
Level Up Hands With Celestial Packs and Planet Cards
Leveling up particular hands works in tandem with the other solutions I’ve provided. An upgraded “Pair,” “Two Pair,” or “Three of a Kind” would be perfect—even a Flush. Discard any Face Cards and use an upgraded hand type—using Celestial Packs and Planet Cards—and the next Ante surely beckons.
Luchador Joker
Luchador is available from the start of Balatro, and you can “Sell this card to disable the current Boss Blind.“
There’s a ton of luck involved when it comes to Luchador appearing in the Shop. You need many rerolls and luck on your side, and things only get harder the more Jokers you unlock. While it’s great adding Astronomer, Hit The Road, and Brainstorm to your options, it reduces the odds of getting Luchador.
But if you want a surefire way to avoid The Plant, procuring and selling the Luchador Card mid-fight with the Boss Blind disables the opponent’s match modifier.
Reroll Boss Blind
There are two ways to reroll a Boss Blind: Use the Boss Tag which “Re-rolls the next Boss Blind,” or buy the Director’s Cut (Reroll Boss Blind 1 time per Ante, $10 per roll) or Retcon (Reroll Boss Blind unlimited times, $10 per roll) Vouchers.
RNG is the determining factor here. But they are extra options at least. Retcon is one of the best Vouchers and requires you to “Discover 25 Blinds.” Any of these solutions can assist with beating The Plant, but like the rest of the Balatro, it’s partly luck and partly on you to strategize efficiently.
Let me know how you get on with The Plant, and if these methods help. Plus, drop your suggestions below as an extra strategy never hurt anyone!
We have much more Balatro content including explainers on the 161 of Clubs, Blank Voucher, and if Baltro has cross-save or cross-progression.
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