The Plasma Deck is one of Balatro’s most talked about sets. Unlocking the Plasma Deck requires a bit of work, but when you do, it can be very satisfying, and the unique nature of its ruleset makes it one of the game’s challenging but rewarding playstyles.
I love Balatro‘s versatility and flexibility. Your next run is always different from your last—unless you use the best Balatro Seeds—and every decision matters. When you throw in new Decks though, the difficulty of decision making is further complicated. It’s a good headache, and it means Balatro offers a lot of bang for its buck.
The Red, Blue, and Yellow Decks are designed to show you the ropes. Once you git gud, and become a Multiplying master and Chip champion, new Decks are needed—enter the Plasma Deck.
How to Get Plasma Deck in Balatro
Successfully win a run with any Balatro Deck on Blue Stake difficulty or harder to unlock the Plasma Deck.
In short, beat the final Boss Blind of Ante 8 (or Ante 9 with Hieroglyph, or Ante 10 with Hieroglyph and Petroglyph Vouchers) with Blue Stake difficulty equipped. You can use any Deck, and you must reach the “You win!” screen. Doing so unlocks the Plasma Deck, and adds it to your collection.
What Does Plasma Deck do in Balatro?
The Plasma Deck levels your Chips and Multiplier out when considering a final score for your played hand.
Here’s Balatro’s official description of the Plasma Deck: “Balance Chips and Mult when calculating score for played hand. X2 base Blind size.”
Let’s use a pair of Kings as an example. In any other Deck, with Level 1 Pair, you get 10 Chips for each King, along with 10 Chips for the Pair hand, and +2 Mult. 10 + 10 + 10 x 2 = 60 Chips.
However, with Plasma Deck’s balancing logic, the 30 Chips and +2 Mult are added up (to make 32) and divided equally—giving you 16 x 16 for 256 Chips. You should instantly see the benefit of a Plasma Deck and why it has so much dormant power.
Should You Use Plasma Deck in Balatro?
You should try a few games of the Plasma Deck because it’s strong, powerful, and if built well early, becomes one of the best starter Decks for long runs.
The standard strategy for a Plasma Deck is to build early by getting a ton of Chips. The balancing mechanic means you can get a ton of Mult early and blitz through Blinds—even though their requirements are much greater. You can stack Cash through Interest, and once you have enough Chips through Foil Cards, Jokers, or Leveled-up Hands, switch things up, and focus on increasing your Multipliers midgame.
Getting a X2 Mult here and there takes big numbers and turns them into giant eyesores. Plasma Decks favor builds focusing on increasing both Chips and Mult. A Blue Joker, for instance, gives you “+2 Chips for each remaining card in Deck.” Get this early enough, and even using a few cards, you’re looking at a 30/30 or 40/40 Chip and Mult split at the least—and that’s before any other Jokers or cards used in hands.
The Plasma Deck gets strong very swiftly. It’s both an addictive set to use and one that can generate big numbers if you choose the right picks.
How have you gotten on using Balatro’s Plasma Deck? Do you also see the power it possesses? Or is a Ghost or Abandoned Deck more your deal? Drop your thoughts in the comments section and debate the Decks!
We have even more Balatro content to enjoy including a guide to the strange Blank Voucher, and how to acquire the Brainstorm Joker.
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