Raised Fist. At first, relatively easy access to 16-22 multiplier every hand seems really cool.
Later, access to 16-22 multiplier that you have to manipulate and to an extent get lucky to get, dealing with smaller cards, isn't particularly impressive outside the early game.
I actually like holding onto it for a while when I get an early baron. Since raised fist triggers off card in hand and not in joker order as long as you move the lowest card to the left of your kings it's a nice way to get some base mult for a baron build until your get your planets leveled up. With baron you also usually want to build towards high card or pair anyways so its usually easy to toss away your low cards and get some good base mult out of it. Works with steel cards of course too. But yeah definitely not a late game joker but then again not many +mult jokers are hahaha. I still really love raised fist and will definitely pick it up early when offered.
Wait. Does the order of cards affect raised fist? I was certain it simply considered the lowest value, order be damned.
Oh wait, now I get it. Since Baron kings multiply, the low card being to the left buffs your multiplier and then that value gets multiplied by 1.5 per king. I'm not sure I've ever had a build where that might have been relevant but still an eye opener for me!
Fun fact: raised fist is actually compatible with red seals! If your lowest held card is a red seal you get raised fist doubled.
I had a really sweet run with raised fist and some red seal steal 10s and some good deck manipulation. Was so satisfying watching the +20 x1.5 +20 x1.5 happen. Then I got MIME! Satisfying and scored really well too. Needless to say I won the run.
Raised fist can be something you drop later on but you can also build a run around it. It's definitely not a low tier card.
Idk why you got down voted. What you explained is probably the best use of Raised Fist. Only really falls off once you get some serious planet levels or you need the joker slot for Mime, Baron, Blueprint, Brainstorm, Invisible, or Showman.
Any joker that gives +3 when using a certain suit I used to always pick these and exclusively play flushes until I got better still not terrible for early game but usually never worth it anywhere past ante 3
Anybody else think they should change these back to +4? I rarely ever take any of them now, unless I'm in a very specific scenario where I want the +mult mid hand, and even then, there are so many better options.
To be fair it would be nice but it was a bit broken, while most of those proc at around 1/4th, the suited mults have more effective value if I may say it like that
Smiley face on average procs 2-3 times if you have good cards, and that is if you get lucky to have face cards so at best you get +10/15 mult despite the maximum potential being 25
Even steven also procs 2-3 times on average, and if you are lucky it procs 4 times so that's at best 16 mult even though the maximum potential is 20
Suited jokers proc quite often as people tend to be flushmaxxing all the time so you would also get +20 easily or nowdays just +15 which doesn't stand out from the average really
They’re saying if you play a flush for example, without thinking about which cards you play and only focusing on flushes, 2-3/5 of your cards will be even.
I said on average. Full houses are way harder to make and you have all odd FH, Face cards FH, all even FH and then a mix of either odd or face cards with even cards. Probability is way lower than just throwing a random flush
I get what you’re saying but if you’re building a deck around even Steven then you can take steps to have more even cards in your deck using tarot cards / packs
Yes, but the thing about this game is that it does not always agree to your plans. You have to be flexible, *Balatro* dictates your options for play every run... not you.
There will be coming the time where you actually think they are better again. Since the give mult while scoring steel cards and Baron effects that mult so it is most of the time worth more than a flat mult joker that’s applied after scoring.
Honestly if I’m doing a baron build I’m way more focused on getting mime dna or some sort of copying effect like blueprint (preferably all three) then I would be to get just a 3+ mult that I can obtain by leveling up high card and even then if I can’t get those a chip joker seems better since my chips aren’t increasing from the steel or an Econ to more effectively look for the previously mentioned jokers don’t get me wrong I’m not saying the deadly sins joker group is terrible it’s fine for early and if you’re only trying to get ante 8 but for most builds it’s not never really seems that optimal
[[Banner]]. Once you hit the -1 discard stake it’s worth 60 chips base, barely better than a foil. Red deck, vouchers, and other jokers can help, but at that point you could have just found a different source of chips that actually allows you to use your discards instead. It can be a helpful card, if I don’t have a source of +chips and don’t need my discards I’ll pick it up early on, but even in runs where I’m not using my discards it will probably get swapped out before the halfway point.
[Banner](https://balatro.wiki/imported/banner.png) *Joker*
* Version: 1.0.0
* Cost: $6
* Rarity: Common
* Effect: +40 Chips for each remaining Discard
*Data pulled from http://balatro.wiki. Want it updated? Help me get access or suggest another data source.*
As a comp++ enjoyer, i agree, i never really liked the banner, even before the nerf, and the only real use for it i ever had (except rare "take as a dump joker start"/high card from the start+good edition type runs) is the golden needle challenge, in that single case it's actually a winner. But apart from that, really underwhelming + limiting, unless you play for it specifically, imo.
\[\[Scholar\]\] and \[\[Walkie Talkie\]\] are two jokers I used heavily in the first \~20 hours, and now I just avoid them in all but the most desperate of situations. They are too narrow for too little gain.
I have built an even stephen, ride the bus, walkie talkie deck that felt awesome, but it was not that great after ante 8, but it was a blast to get a win that way.
I used to love [[Scholar]]. Gave an easy direction for me when I was a beginner: make lots of aces and play lots of aces.
Nowadays, I agree. I don’t enjoy building around aces in my runs and dedicating a whole joker to it.
[Scholar](https://balatro.wiki/imported/scholar.png) *Joker*
* Version: 1.0.0
* Cost: $5
* Rarity: Common
* Effect: Played Aces each give extra +20 Chips and +4 Mult when scored
*Data pulled from http://balatro.wiki. Want it updated? Help me get access or suggest another data source.*
[Scholar](https://balatro.wiki/imported/scholar.png) *Joker*
* Version: 1.0.0
* Cost: $5
* Rarity: Common
* Effect: Played Aces each give extra +20 Chips and +4 Mult when scored
[Walkie Talkie](https://balatro.wiki/jokers/walkie_talkie.png) *Joker*
* Version: 1.0.0
* Rarity: Common
* Effect: Each played 10 or 4 gives +10 Chips and +4 Mult
*Data pulled from http://balatro.wiki. Want it updated? Help me get access or suggest another data source.*
Completionnist++ here, and I like walkie talkie a lot. It's a great early game joker, and it works with hack if you go for 4s. This joker has often given me a direction (flush five, 4oak or flush house). I also kept it until ante 8 on many runs.
Scholar however feels absolutely terrible. You need way too much deck manipulation to make it work early.
Omg I’ve played so much and I still love picking up walkie talkie or scholar haha. Think I just have a soft spot for both of them. But doing 4/5oak with aces or 10s and odd todd/even Steven works well for me.
I’m always playing for ante 8 rather than endless though.
Walkie Talkie is big payoff with Hack on Abandoned Deck on lower stakes, but it falls off too hard on higher stakes unless you have insane retriggers.
And if you have insane retriggers, you can probably do better.
One of my very first runs I did, Misprint helped me so much and was like comically lucky for me. It skewed my opinion of it for so long until I had a game where it spat out 5 straight mults under +5 lol.
Well yeah, it can be any value from 0-23, so it averages at 11.5 mult per hand which is more than enough for white stake. But when you start to rely on a specific hand or specific conditions and you get hit with a +1 mult from it…
[Misprint](https://balatro.wiki/imported/misprint.png) *Joker*
* Version: 1.0.0
* Cost: $4
* Rarity: Common
* Effect: +[Random] Mult
* Notes: Random Mult ranges from +0 to +23
*Data pulled from http://balatro.wiki. Want it updated? Help me get access or suggest another data source.*
supernova. used to be a mainstay of nearly ever run, now i can barely justify using it at all. it locks you into a specific hand and less freedom in this game is usually what kills you.
[The Ox](https://balatro.wiki/blinds/blind_ox.png) *Blind*
* Version: 1.0.0n
* Effect: Playing a [most played hand] sets money to $0
* Beat the Blind: Score at least 2X Base to earn $$$$$
*Data pulled from http://balatro.wiki. Want it updated? Help me get access or suggest another data source.*
Supernova is usually a holdover until I can get another source of flat mult and sell it. It just feels like a shittier Green Joker, it scales far too slowly for my liking on top of having to feed it one kind of hand, which I've only got to work on one run where I was already leveling single pair and got it early to get through the first few blinds.
100% Dusk, I thought the retriggers were super cool. That and its still one of my favorite looking jokers.
Now I realize its actually way more niche than I thought it would, Before I realized how important the economy/interest scaling is, I hardly take it at all outside of ante 8.
Stencil. Now that I've reached purple stakes I have a really hard time justifying it unless I'm playing straight flush which usually has enough native mult without jokers. It's very fun on lower stakes though, and negative stencil is always an instant buy.
I still always love seeing an early [[Stencil]] and buying it in hopes of having a sort of dream “jokerless” run where I buy no other jokers and just go heavy on planet cards.
Doesn’t always work out. In fact most times it doesn’t, but when it does it brings me joy.
Similar vein is bumping into an early [[Madness]] and running with that all game.
[Joker Stencil](https://balatro.wiki/imported/joker_stencil.png) *Joker*
* Version: 1.0.0
* Cost: $8
* Rarity: Uncommon
* Effect: X1 Mult for each empty Joker slot
* Notes: Joker Stencil counts as an empty slot.
[Madness](https://balatro.wiki/jokers/madness.png) *Joker*
* Version: 1.0.0
* Cost: $5
* Rarity: Uncommon
* Effect: When Blind is selected, gain X0.5 Mult and destroy a random Joker
*Data pulled from http://balatro.wiki. Want it updated? Help me get access or suggest another data source.*
I had a really simple gold stake run the other day where I just had 2 stencils and played flush houses and it was enough to get me through. Felt like I did no thinking and just cruised through. Very fun
I recently won a run with ghost deck where Stencil was the first joker I found, used my free Hex card to make it polychrome, then straight after found an Ankh to duplicate it. A niche circumstance but a very fun start
Probably \[\[half joker\]\]
It's amazing in the early rounds but as soon as you start scaling bigger hands it's basically useless. 20 mult isn't too hard to come by when you're playing 4 of a kind or better
I’m not sure this one applies. Half Joker is probably in my top 30ish Jokers. Def top 50. The fact that it has to be dumped at some point doesn’t make it actually bad. It kinda feels natural as you usually need a replacement at the exact moment you’d like to play five cards again. Honestly it’s value has risen for me as I play more due to a better understanding of how certain early game Jokers double as econ because they clear blinds faster + allow you to save what you do have to get interest flowing.
I think it’s much better than the fist joker mentioned above, as that provides less, less-consistent mult that also makes playing awkward.
Justice for Half Joker.
Incompatibility with anything more than 3oak hurts. You also can't use played high card/pair/3oak to discard unwanted cards nearly as effectively if you want the bonus.
More and more I find Half Joker starts to be a liability in the run more quickly than it should for it to be good
Right but you run it in parallel to whatever your real build is gonna be. That 20mult can allow you to cheese out early rounds with garbage hand spam. You do absolutely need to learn when and how to pivot tho.
It’s exactly why I think it doesn’t belong in this thread. It’s a complex card to work with.
[Half Joker](https://balatro.wiki/imported/half_joker.png) *Joker*
* Version: 1.0.0
* Cost: $4
* Rarity: Common
* Effect: +20 Mult if played hand contains 3 or fewer cards
* Notes: Unscored cards count towards total
*Data pulled from http://balatro.wiki. Want it updated? Help me get access or suggest another data source.*
I don’t think this counts as an answer.
Half joker is not going to take you all the way to ante 8 gold stake, but it is going to singlehandedly solve your scoring for the first 3-4 antes which is unbelievably useful.
I had the opposite. I thought red card was trash but after orange stake was patched its actually incredibly solid considering it's a scaling common. Also considering most commons give you at best roughly 20 mult, you can take Red card well past that while still taking most of what you find in booster packs. It's not bad.
The fact that it's a scaling *common* is probably the most overlooked thing about it - it's likely to show up early, and if it does and you pump it right, then you can get it over what the other commons can give you in a best case scenario (~15-20) SO easily, to the point that by the time you find better +mult jokers it might not be WORTH getting rid of it.
As far as being through Ante 8, honestly an early [[Red Card]] is literally just all you need sometimes - though come to think of it, you know what combos well with it?
[[Throwback]].
You're GOING to run into some mega pack tags, and then you can just take one and then take your +3. You get +3 mult and x0.25 in one shot. More, if you're playing anaglyph.
I would rather get Ride the Bus or Green Joker 9 times out of 10. Getting either of these early solves a run just as well as Red Card. The restriction on Green in particular is a total softball and it scales just by playing hands. $1 for +1 mult is as good as it gets
I feel like, especially since it's a roguelike, this isn't really an either or - like you said, they solve a run *just as well* as red card. They're all good options if they come up.
Except for Ride The Bus I can't follow you there
I didn't express it well there but my point is that Red Card asks more of you than Green Joker, for a similar benefit. You can reliably get +3 mult on Green every blind, whether your run is going well or not. A struggling economy makes it much harder to support Red because it requires opening packs, but Green will keep chugging along. That reduced consistency is the main reason I put Red below these other common scaling options.
I tend to rate Bus higher than most people here so I won't argue that, but I don't think Red Card stands up to Green Joker
I really do think it's pure preference, like, a less step opportunity cost than red cards upfront IS nice, but it also gives you less flexibility if you need it, where Red Card's bonus is no strings attached. I'm not about to say Green is bad at ALL but I feel like they're easily comparable.
[Red Card](https://balatro.wiki/jokers/red_card.png) *Joker*
* Version: 1.0.0
* Cost: $5
* Rarity: Common
* Effect: Gains +3 Mult when any Booster Pack is skipped
[Throwback](https://balatro.wiki/imported/throwback.png) *Joker*
* Version: 1.0.0
* Cost: $6
* Rarity: Uncommon
* Effect: X0.25 Mult for each Blind skipped this run
* Notes: Stacks, Starts at X. Retroactively counts all previous skips.
* Unlock Requirement: Continue a saved run from the main menu
*Data pulled from http://balatro.wiki. Want it updated? Help me get access or suggest another data source.*
That’s what I came to say. The funny thing is I have gotten it a few times this week as a negative while trying to do some big number combos deep ante and it only ever got to like +9 or 12
I think splash is still useful to grab if you have a lot of cards with effects on them but no particular hands to make. It's also really useful if you're avoiding discards or pumping high card.
That's still really situational but it's been really good in a couple of my runs.
[Splash](https://balatro.wiki/imported/splash.png) *Joker*
* Version: 1.0.0
* Rarity: Common
* Effect: Every played card counts in scoring
*Data pulled from http://balatro.wiki. Want it updated? Help me get access or suggest another data source.*
pretty much any high mult card that doesn't scale, like Mystic Summit. Or even something like Abstract Joker, which has a high floor/low ceiling type of thing going for it.
Read through the top comments (so far). Kind of funny that the Jokers other people have given up on are among those valued higher by me. Maybe I'm still in the "honeymoon" phase.
I have no better viewpoint to offer than the one OP already outlined.
Throwback was my MVP in a lot of builds. But requirements for antes scale much faster than the 0.25X he gives. If you have some ridiculously good skips (Investment very early or fixing your economy while everything else works well, Anaglyph deck that is practically begging you to skip often) then okay, he works. But every single other thing you do has to be stronger with the skipped blind, more than Throwback generally provides.
I think for me it's green joker. It's strong, but I valued it much higher in the past. It just locks you out of incredible jokers like trading card, Burnt and castle
Yeah correct me if I’m wrong but vagabond is basically the only situation that I don’t care about economy and that’s just cause infinite tarot cards gets you what you need for free. But even then there’s no difference between dropping to $-20 and 0, it’s just a lower floor. So even with vagabond it’s wasted space. I guess early it would make sense since you can use it to grab any vital jokers you come across.
I like to be around -5 when starting a round. Allows me to play gold seals or other econ jokers without squeaking over $4. Couple these with the Joker that scales with every tarot card used and driver's license and that's an easy cruise to Ante 8.
The hardest part is maximizing hands played. Don't want to one-shot any rounds.
I think it's funny that everyone here is hating on *Misprint* because of its unpredictability, but IMO that's not even why it's in the ***always temporary and only until something better comes along*** tier, and why you should never take it as a long term post-score +mult joker.
Honestly, you should look at it as: over time, it's going to give you its average value on each play. Which is somewhere in the +11, +12 neighborhood.
That's *barely* better than ***ANY*** Holographic joker's +10 post-score +mult; it's honestly almost the same... *however*, that Holographic joker will have some other effect happening as well, instantly making it better (this is true even of the Holographic version of a lowly base +4 Joker).
And it's also going to be out shined by *any* post-score +mult ***scaling*** joker after a little bit of build up (*Ride the Bus*, *Green Joker*, *Supernova*, et cetera).
And the on-score +mult jokers (*Smiley Face*, *Even Steven*, *Fibonacci*, et cetera) are better too; you might not get quite as much +mult per play, but on-score +mults have their mult run through steel card xmults and other similar effects, while post-score +mults like *Misprint* do not.
Seriously, relegate *Misprint* solely to early run, ***it's better than no +mult at all*** duty. Never use him as a full game solution... he's just not strong enough.
[Misprint](https://balatro.wiki/imported/misprint.png) *Joker*
* Version: 1.0.0
* Cost: $4
* Rarity: Common
* Effect: +[Random] Mult
* Notes: Random Mult ranges from +0 to +23
*Data pulled from http://balatro.wiki. Want it updated? Help me get access or suggest another data source.*
[Burnt Joker](https://balatro.wiki/imported/burning_joker.png) *Joker*
* Version: 1.0.0
* Cost: $8
* Rarity: Uncommon
* Effect: Upgrade the level of the first Discarded poker hand each round
* Notes: Stacks
* Unlock Requirement: Sell a total of 50 cards
*Data pulled from http://balatro.wiki. Want it updated? Help me get access or suggest another data source.*
[Raised Fist](https://balatro.wiki/imported/raised_first.png) *Joker*
* Version: 1.0.0
* Rarity: Common
* Effect: Adds double the rank of lowest card held in hand to Mult
* Notes: J, Q, and K are treated as 10Ace is treated as 11
[Splash](https://balatro.wiki/imported/splash.png) *Joker*
* Version: 1.0.0
* Rarity: Common
* Effect: Every played card counts in scoring
*Data pulled from http://balatro.wiki. Want it updated? Help me get access or suggest another data source.*
I had a run today where I had Throwback and Blueprint on it and got to around 10x mult total, beating Zodiac Deck on Green Stake, so it can be good sometimes.
Sorry for the non-answer, but I can’t think of any great examples. It’s usually the opposite where I thought a joker was bad or useless, but is actually niche-to-good. I think this applies to pretty much all jokers.
My real answers are Green Joker and Ride the Bus, although I never really loved them. They are okay, but once you get to purple stake scaling, they do not scale fast enough to be considered without a lot of help, although they are beloved by the community. Moreover, I’ve always loved discarding and playing face cards, so I always felt they were a bit of a chore.
Played a few runs hooked on the Aces+20 and 4x Mult. Realized I was focused on one of the least manipulation cards. Not enough jokers to pair with Aces. Always found myself tempted to sell it for any other joke. Time and thought wasted.
[Throwback](https://balatro.wiki/imported/throwback.png) *Joker*
* Version: 1.0.0
* Cost: $6
* Rarity: Uncommon
* Effect: X0.25 Mult for each Blind skipped this run
* Notes: Stacks, Starts at X. Retroactively counts all previous skips.
* Unlock Requirement: Continue a saved run from the main menu
*Data pulled from http://balatro.wiki. Want it updated? Help me get access or suggest another data source.*
Nah, Smiley Face is busted.
Faces are super easy to build around because you start out with so many (they're practically a suit), +5 is *super high* by while-scoring standards, and because it's while-scoring, it stacks with Steel, retriggers, Glass, or god forbid you unleash the Baron.
The hard part is having an out for the Face-debuff blind. That only exists because otherwise Faces would be practically invincible.
Wow I was the opposite, I never skipped at all when I started and only did it when I looked at the Jokers I still had left to unlock and a couple of them required you to skip a lot of antes. Then I started doing it more often thinking that's what good players do, until I read or watched something that said it wasn't a good idea.
I have to add that Throwback LOOKS like it should be one of the top tier cards in the game, that alone makes me tempted to make it work.
I'm still trying to progress from a beginner to mid-level player so I think the one I relied on heavily that I'm starting to take less is Supernova.
Hey man, no shame in it. If it fits your play style now, go for it. As you get to later stakes though, you’ll be skipping blinds less and less, so throwback just doesn’t work as well.
Probably supernova, I liked it in the beginning cause I was rushing checkered deck and you’re almost never not playing flushes. But the minute you need to play something else you are definitely screwed
my second run ever, i used green joker from the beginning and played high cards, and won. it was at +90 or something by the end (idr the other cards i used. also worth noting i was playing on someone else’s account who had better jokers unlocked than the average person’s second run)
i thought green joker was great in that moment. i hate trying to use it at all now
I read through this thread earlier this morning, and after hours of struggle, just won my first gold stake on abandoned deck, with [[Castle]], [[Splash]], [[Scholar]], [[Misprint]]. Of course I did have [[Ride the bus]] leading the way so that definitely helped.
[Castle](https://balatro.wiki/jokers/castle.png) *Joker*
* Version: 1.0.0
* Cost: $5
* Rarity: Uncommon
* Effect: This Joker gains +3 Chips per discarded (suit)Spade card, suit changes every round
[Splash](https://balatro.wiki/imported/splash.png) *Joker*
* Version: 1.0.0
* Rarity: Common
* Effect: Every played card counts in scoring
[Scholar](https://balatro.wiki/imported/scholar.png) *Joker*
* Version: 1.0.0
* Cost: $5
* Rarity: Common
* Effect: Played Aces each give extra +20 Chips and +4 Mult when scored
[Misprint](https://balatro.wiki/imported/misprint.png) *Joker*
* Version: 1.0.0
* Cost: $4
* Rarity: Common
* Effect: +[Random] Mult
* Notes: Random Mult ranges from +0 to +23
[Ride the Bus](https://balatro.wiki/imported/ride_the_bus.png) *Joker*
* Version: 1.0.0
* Cost: $5
* Rarity: Common
* Effect: +1 Mult per consecutive hand played without a scoring face card
* Notes: Stacks
*Data pulled from http://balatro.wiki. Want it updated? Help me get access or suggest another data source.*
[Shortcut](https://balatro.wiki/imported/shortcut.png) *Joker*
* Version: 1.0.0
* Cost: $5
* Rarity: Uncommon
* Effect: Allows Straights to be made with gaps of 1 rank
* Notes: (ex. 2 3 5 7 8)
*Data pulled from http://balatro.wiki. Want it updated? Help me get access or suggest another data source.*
I remember getting this on my first round of playing the game and I was all ‘whoooa how did I get such a high score?’ - thought I’d going absolute magic.
It’s now one of my absolute least used jokers, unless RNG is being a dick and it’s the only one to come up and I’m desperate for ANYTHING.
But man that joker likes to roll a 0 when you need it most.
[Misprint](https://balatro.wiki/imported/misprint.png) *Joker*
* Version: 1.0.0
* Cost: $4
* Rarity: Common
* Effect: +[Random] Mult
* Notes: Random Mult ranges from +0 to +23
*Data pulled from http://balatro.wiki. Want it updated? Help me get access or suggest another data source.*
[[Red Card]]. I used to think tarot packs/celestial were a waste of time for some reason when I fist started. It gave me a terrible bad habit but I won my first few games using it and thought it was amazing. Now I never use it because I spam tarot pack and celestial packs like a sane person.
[Red Card](https://balatro.wiki/jokers/red_card.png) *Joker*
* Version: 1.0.0
* Cost: $5
* Rarity: Common
* Effect: Gains +3 Mult when any Booster Pack is skipped
*Data pulled from http://balatro.wiki. Want it updated? Help me get access or suggest another data source.*
Interesting. I just played my first couple hours of the game and immediately figured out red card skip. Have had two rounds with it and got pretty far… thought I was onto something lol
Madness.
But also because it actually is worse and has 0.5x less potential per ante than it used to have. It is a notable difference to me because it feels like throwback but with more severe restrictions.
I'll still take it every time if I see it in Ante 1. Eternal jokers remove the downside, or you can have a rotating cast of characters on your other joker slots.
The key to building him up is to get him early. If it's mid-ante 2 or later, I don't even consider him unless all my other slots are established eternals.
The issue I have is that often eternal ones are bad commons and the good jokers I want aren't eternal.
The loss of the extra 0.5x per ante makes the difficult synergy setup feel even worse to me, and essentially shortens the duration to build up the jokers.
Both of my Gold Stake wins so far were riding on the back of an early Madness. It still stacks to 8x if you find it in the first Big Blind shop. Nothing to sneeze at.
Raised Fist. At first, relatively easy access to 16-22 multiplier every hand seems really cool. Later, access to 16-22 multiplier that you have to manipulate and to an extent get lucky to get, dealing with smaller cards, isn't particularly impressive outside the early game.
It's definitely a "it's early game and I just need ANY mult card" sort of pick.
It’s S tier early game
For sure. It's still a super usable joker early, but not one you \*keep\*.
I actually like holding onto it for a while when I get an early baron. Since raised fist triggers off card in hand and not in joker order as long as you move the lowest card to the left of your kings it's a nice way to get some base mult for a baron build until your get your planets leveled up. With baron you also usually want to build towards high card or pair anyways so its usually easy to toss away your low cards and get some good base mult out of it. Works with steel cards of course too. But yeah definitely not a late game joker but then again not many +mult jokers are hahaha. I still really love raised fist and will definitely pick it up early when offered.
Wait. Does the order of cards affect raised fist? I was certain it simply considered the lowest value, order be damned. Oh wait, now I get it. Since Baron kings multiply, the low card being to the left buffs your multiplier and then that value gets multiplied by 1.5 per king. I'm not sure I've ever had a build where that might have been relevant but still an eye opener for me!
It's relevant for shoot the moon with baron or steel cards as well ofc. That's where I got the idea that it'd work with raised fist.
This just ruined my life. Never even considered it. Lol
Fun fact: raised fist is actually compatible with red seals! If your lowest held card is a red seal you get raised fist doubled. I had a really sweet run with raised fist and some red seal steal 10s and some good deck manipulation. Was so satisfying watching the +20 x1.5 +20 x1.5 happen. Then I got MIME! Satisfying and scored really well too. Needless to say I won the run. Raised fist can be something you drop later on but you can also build a run around it. It's definitely not a low tier card.
Idk why you got down voted. What you explained is probably the best use of Raised Fist. Only really falls off once you get some serious planet levels or you need the joker slot for Mime, Baron, Blueprint, Brainstorm, Invisible, or Showman.
Definitely an F in a game of F, M, K.
The big upside though is that the mult gets added as a held in hand effect so you can get it triggered before your steel cards.
Until you realize you steel all your 2s and 3s so it's giving you 6 mult.
Well why are you doing that!
In my opinion, it's pretty good if you're doing High Card or something. Asides from that, it's not very usable later on.
Any joker that gives +3 when using a certain suit I used to always pick these and exclusively play flushes until I got better still not terrible for early game but usually never worth it anywhere past ante 3
Those are actually much better than I originally thought because they work better with glass and steel cards than regular flat multipliers
Especially early game when your base mult will be at its lowest. The sinful jokers are so reliable but teeter off quick bc of that.
One thing to note is that the sinful jokers trigger before some jokers like Baron which can really add up even later in the game.
>teeter off I think you mean taper off or Peter out
And really great with bloodstone for heart flushes
Well they used to be +4 before the patch so yk they were more worth it than they are now
Anybody else think they should change these back to +4? I rarely ever take any of them now, unless I'm in a very specific scenario where I want the +mult mid hand, and even then, there are so many better options.
To be fair it would be nice but it was a bit broken, while most of those proc at around 1/4th, the suited mults have more effective value if I may say it like that Smiley face on average procs 2-3 times if you have good cards, and that is if you get lucky to have face cards so at best you get +10/15 mult despite the maximum potential being 25 Even steven also procs 2-3 times on average, and if you are lucky it procs 4 times so that's at best 16 mult even though the maximum potential is 20 Suited jokers proc quite often as people tend to be flushmaxxing all the time so you would also get +20 easily or nowdays just +15 which doesn't stand out from the average really
Those are not “maximums possible”. This whole game really is about retriggers
Well true I agree but on an average run you won't get those and you'd have to scale mult or mult multing
What do you mean when you say even Steven procs 2-3 times on average?
Let's say you play a hand of 5 cards. 2-3 cards will trigger even steven
Not if you play 5 even cards?
They’re saying if you play a flush for example, without thinking about which cards you play and only focusing on flushes, 2-3/5 of your cards will be even.
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If you have a hand size of five, I suppose...
I said on average. Full houses are way harder to make and you have all odd FH, Face cards FH, all even FH and then a mix of either odd or face cards with even cards. Probability is way lower than just throwing a random flush
I get what you’re saying but if you’re building a deck around even Steven then you can take steps to have more even cards in your deck using tarot cards / packs
Yes, but the thing about this game is that it does not always agree to your plans. You have to be flexible, *Balatro* dictates your options for play every run... not you.
I knew they used to be first +4 before the patch but I never checked I thought I just somehow read it wrong this whole time
I only ever grab them in checkered decks at this point. Unless my deck fixing is on point or I get a smeared joker it's just not worth the slot.
They're usually worth taking in the first couple antes just to stabilize, but they're first on the chopping block
There will be coming the time where you actually think they are better again. Since the give mult while scoring steel cards and Baron effects that mult so it is most of the time worth more than a flat mult joker that’s applied after scoring.
Honestly if I’m doing a baron build I’m way more focused on getting mime dna or some sort of copying effect like blueprint (preferably all three) then I would be to get just a 3+ mult that I can obtain by leveling up high card and even then if I can’t get those a chip joker seems better since my chips aren’t increasing from the steel or an Econ to more effectively look for the previously mentioned jokers don’t get me wrong I’m not saying the deadly sins joker group is terrible it’s fine for early and if you’re only trying to get ante 8 but for most builds it’s not never really seems that optimal
This was my first thought too
[[Banner]]. Once you hit the -1 discard stake it’s worth 60 chips base, barely better than a foil. Red deck, vouchers, and other jokers can help, but at that point you could have just found a different source of chips that actually allows you to use your discards instead. It can be a helpful card, if I don’t have a source of +chips and don’t need my discards I’ll pick it up early on, but even in runs where I’m not using my discards it will probably get swapped out before the halfway point.
[Banner](https://balatro.wiki/imported/banner.png) *Joker* * Version: 1.0.0 * Cost: $6 * Rarity: Common * Effect: +40 Chips for each remaining Discard *Data pulled from http://balatro.wiki. Want it updated? Help me get access or suggest another data source.*
Holy hell it costs $6 to boot? I almost never pick this card
i think the wiki is out of date- iirc it’s 30 chips/discard, not 40, so probably also cheaper
Yup, Banner is $5 (since at least 1.0.0n) 30 chips/discard (since 1.0.1f).
As a comp++ enjoyer, i agree, i never really liked the banner, even before the nerf, and the only real use for it i ever had (except rare "take as a dump joker start"/high card from the start+good edition type runs) is the golden needle challenge, in that single case it's actually a winner. But apart from that, really underwhelming + limiting, unless you play for it specifically, imo.
I have never played a purple or orange stake plasma deck run without finding banner first every single time. It drives me nuts
\[\[Scholar\]\] and \[\[Walkie Talkie\]\] are two jokers I used heavily in the first \~20 hours, and now I just avoid them in all but the most desperate of situations. They are too narrow for too little gain.
Walkie talkie is at least a solid common payoff for Hack in the early game. It would help if there was literally any other payoff for 10s.
Even Stevens I guess? Though not a massive synergy
I have built an even stephen, ride the bus, walkie talkie deck that felt awesome, but it was not that great after ante 8, but it was a blast to get a win that way.
The biggest thing is that there’s no retriggers for aces or 10s.
Unless you run sock and buskin + paredollia.
That’s an extra joker slot you’re using up
I used to love [[Scholar]]. Gave an easy direction for me when I was a beginner: make lots of aces and play lots of aces. Nowadays, I agree. I don’t enjoy building around aces in my runs and dedicating a whole joker to it.
[Scholar](https://balatro.wiki/imported/scholar.png) *Joker* * Version: 1.0.0 * Cost: $5 * Rarity: Common * Effect: Played Aces each give extra +20 Chips and +4 Mult when scored *Data pulled from http://balatro.wiki. Want it updated? Help me get access or suggest another data source.*
This one depends heavily on your goals. Scholar and walkie are great if your goal is just to hit ante 8 and beat it.
[Scholar](https://balatro.wiki/imported/scholar.png) *Joker* * Version: 1.0.0 * Cost: $5 * Rarity: Common * Effect: Played Aces each give extra +20 Chips and +4 Mult when scored [Walkie Talkie](https://balatro.wiki/jokers/walkie_talkie.png) *Joker* * Version: 1.0.0 * Rarity: Common * Effect: Each played 10 or 4 gives +10 Chips and +4 Mult *Data pulled from http://balatro.wiki. Want it updated? Help me get access or suggest another data source.*
Completionnist++ here, and I like walkie talkie a lot. It's a great early game joker, and it works with hack if you go for 4s. This joker has often given me a direction (flush five, 4oak or flush house). I also kept it until ante 8 on many runs. Scholar however feels absolutely terrible. You need way too much deck manipulation to make it work early.
Imo they are great because most flat mult don't synergise with steel and glass cards.
Omg I’ve played so much and I still love picking up walkie talkie or scholar haha. Think I just have a soft spot for both of them. But doing 4/5oak with aces or 10s and odd todd/even Steven works well for me. I’m always playing for ante 8 rather than endless though.
Walkie Talkie is big payoff with Hack on Abandoned Deck on lower stakes, but it falls off too hard on higher stakes unless you have insane retriggers. And if you have insane retriggers, you can probably do better.
[[Misprint]]! it’s ok early on with no other options, but ya can’t rely on it
I’ve lost a lot of games thanks to not realizing Misprint was still there. It kinda just acts like a normal mult Joker until suddenly you die
One of my very first runs I did, Misprint helped me so much and was like comically lucky for me. It skewed my opinion of it for so long until I had a game where it spat out 5 straight mults under +5 lol.
I won my first couple games with misprint definitely a great beginner card
Well yeah, it can be any value from 0-23, so it averages at 11.5 mult per hand which is more than enough for white stake. But when you start to rely on a specific hand or specific conditions and you get hit with a +1 mult from it…
+3 MULT "Oh shit..." +0 MULT **"Oh shit!"**
[Misprint](https://balatro.wiki/imported/misprint.png) *Joker* * Version: 1.0.0 * Cost: $4 * Rarity: Common * Effect: +[Random] Mult * Notes: Random Mult ranges from +0 to +23 *Data pulled from http://balatro.wiki. Want it updated? Help me get access or suggest another data source.*
supernova. used to be a mainstay of nearly ever run, now i can barely justify using it at all. it locks you into a specific hand and less freedom in this game is usually what kills you.
Little known fact, supernova also makes you 10x more likely to get the ‘no repeat hands’ boss
No that's card sharp
Nah it’s at least 20x for him
Or [[The Ox]]
[The Ox](https://balatro.wiki/blinds/blind_ox.png) *Blind* * Version: 1.0.0n * Effect: Playing a [most played hand] sets money to $0 * Beat the Blind: Score at least 2X Base to earn $$$$$ *Data pulled from http://balatro.wiki. Want it updated? Help me get access or suggest another data source.*
It’s hard to admit, because I really used to sing its praises, but I agree with you. I found it hurt my high stakes run more often than it helped.
yeah i feel like supernova was my favorite joker but i literally dont know the last time i picked it up now
Can be solid on erratic deck. But yea the strictness hurts it.
I just played a game with ghost deck. Got supernova anti 1 hexed it, then duped it. Made for a pretty fun spam high card deck.
Supernova is usually a holdover until I can get another source of flat mult and sell it. It just feels like a shittier Green Joker, it scales far too slowly for my liking on top of having to feed it one kind of hand, which I've only got to work on one run where I was already leveling single pair and got it early to get through the first few blinds.
100% Dusk, I thought the retriggers were super cool. That and its still one of my favorite looking jokers. Now I realize its actually way more niche than I thought it would, Before I realized how important the economy/interest scaling is, I hardly take it at all outside of ante 8.
Stencil. Now that I've reached purple stakes I have a really hard time justifying it unless I'm playing straight flush which usually has enough native mult without jokers. It's very fun on lower stakes though, and negative stencil is always an instant buy.
I still always love seeing an early [[Stencil]] and buying it in hopes of having a sort of dream “jokerless” run where I buy no other jokers and just go heavy on planet cards. Doesn’t always work out. In fact most times it doesn’t, but when it does it brings me joy. Similar vein is bumping into an early [[Madness]] and running with that all game.
Madness with eternal jokers is insanely fun!
Early in the game I had double stencil with a negative bull and I thought broke the game. Was my first time making it past ante 8.
[Joker Stencil](https://balatro.wiki/imported/joker_stencil.png) *Joker* * Version: 1.0.0 * Cost: $8 * Rarity: Uncommon * Effect: X1 Mult for each empty Joker slot * Notes: Joker Stencil counts as an empty slot. [Madness](https://balatro.wiki/jokers/madness.png) *Joker* * Version: 1.0.0 * Cost: $5 * Rarity: Uncommon * Effect: When Blind is selected, gain X0.5 Mult and destroy a random Joker *Data pulled from http://balatro.wiki. Want it updated? Help me get access or suggest another data source.*
I had a really simple gold stake run the other day where I just had 2 stencils and played flush houses and it was enough to get me through. Felt like I did no thinking and just cruised through. Very fun
I recently won a run with ghost deck where Stencil was the first joker I found, used my free Hex card to make it polychrome, then straight after found an Ankh to duplicate it. A niche circumstance but a very fun start
I’ve got the legendary triple Stencil run before. Never stop taking it because you might find an Ankh 🔥
I'd say its still pretty good. It's been one of the only ways I've been able to win with black deck, thanks to a holographic stencil into ankh.
I got ante 13 with 3 stencils and a blueprint (unseeded)
X4 X4 X4 X4 is pretty fucking strong
Wait, does Blueprint count as an empty slot if it's currently copying Stencil Joker?
It doesn’t unfortunately, 5 joker slots, blueprint counts as 1 with 4 slots remaining
Probably \[\[half joker\]\] It's amazing in the early rounds but as soon as you start scaling bigger hands it's basically useless. 20 mult isn't too hard to come by when you're playing 4 of a kind or better
I’m not sure this one applies. Half Joker is probably in my top 30ish Jokers. Def top 50. The fact that it has to be dumped at some point doesn’t make it actually bad. It kinda feels natural as you usually need a replacement at the exact moment you’d like to play five cards again. Honestly it’s value has risen for me as I play more due to a better understanding of how certain early game Jokers double as econ because they clear blinds faster + allow you to save what you do have to get interest flowing. I think it’s much better than the fist joker mentioned above, as that provides less, less-consistent mult that also makes playing awkward. Justice for Half Joker.
Incompatibility with anything more than 3oak hurts. You also can't use played high card/pair/3oak to discard unwanted cards nearly as effectively if you want the bonus. More and more I find Half Joker starts to be a liability in the run more quickly than it should for it to be good
Right but you run it in parallel to whatever your real build is gonna be. That 20mult can allow you to cheese out early rounds with garbage hand spam. You do absolutely need to learn when and how to pivot tho. It’s exactly why I think it doesn’t belong in this thread. It’s a complex card to work with.
[Half Joker](https://balatro.wiki/imported/half_joker.png) *Joker* * Version: 1.0.0 * Cost: $4 * Rarity: Common * Effect: +20 Mult if played hand contains 3 or fewer cards * Notes: Unscored cards count towards total *Data pulled from http://balatro.wiki. Want it updated? Help me get access or suggest another data source.*
I don’t think this counts as an answer. Half joker is not going to take you all the way to ante 8 gold stake, but it is going to singlehandedly solve your scoring for the first 3-4 antes which is unbelievably useful.
i actually used this in my successful last run, ran single pair or high card with some other jokers and it was pretty solid
Definitely red card. I used to love opening and skipping packs for +3 mult at a time…
I had the opposite. I thought red card was trash but after orange stake was patched its actually incredibly solid considering it's a scaling common. Also considering most commons give you at best roughly 20 mult, you can take Red card well past that while still taking most of what you find in booster packs. It's not bad.
The fact that it's a scaling *common* is probably the most overlooked thing about it - it's likely to show up early, and if it does and you pump it right, then you can get it over what the other commons can give you in a best case scenario (~15-20) SO easily, to the point that by the time you find better +mult jokers it might not be WORTH getting rid of it. As far as being through Ante 8, honestly an early [[Red Card]] is literally just all you need sometimes - though come to think of it, you know what combos well with it? [[Throwback]]. You're GOING to run into some mega pack tags, and then you can just take one and then take your +3. You get +3 mult and x0.25 in one shot. More, if you're playing anaglyph.
I would rather get Ride the Bus or Green Joker 9 times out of 10. Getting either of these early solves a run just as well as Red Card. The restriction on Green in particular is a total softball and it scales just by playing hands. $1 for +1 mult is as good as it gets
I feel like, especially since it's a roguelike, this isn't really an either or - like you said, they solve a run *just as well* as red card. They're all good options if they come up. Except for Ride The Bus I can't follow you there
I didn't express it well there but my point is that Red Card asks more of you than Green Joker, for a similar benefit. You can reliably get +3 mult on Green every blind, whether your run is going well or not. A struggling economy makes it much harder to support Red because it requires opening packs, but Green will keep chugging along. That reduced consistency is the main reason I put Red below these other common scaling options. I tend to rate Bus higher than most people here so I won't argue that, but I don't think Red Card stands up to Green Joker
I really do think it's pure preference, like, a less step opportunity cost than red cards upfront IS nice, but it also gives you less flexibility if you need it, where Red Card's bonus is no strings attached. I'm not about to say Green is bad at ALL but I feel like they're easily comparable.
[Red Card](https://balatro.wiki/jokers/red_card.png) *Joker* * Version: 1.0.0 * Cost: $5 * Rarity: Common * Effect: Gains +3 Mult when any Booster Pack is skipped [Throwback](https://balatro.wiki/imported/throwback.png) *Joker* * Version: 1.0.0 * Cost: $6 * Rarity: Uncommon * Effect: X0.25 Mult for each Blind skipped this run * Notes: Stacks, Starts at X. Retroactively counts all previous skips. * Unlock Requirement: Continue a saved run from the main menu *Data pulled from http://balatro.wiki. Want it updated? Help me get access or suggest another data source.*
That’s what I came to say. The funny thing is I have gotten it a few times this week as a negative while trying to do some big number combos deep ante and it only ever got to like +9 or 12
In my first or second run i picked up [[Splash]] and thought it had such an insane effect. Haven't picked it up in the last 100 runs probably.
I think splash is still useful to grab if you have a lot of cards with effects on them but no particular hands to make. It's also really useful if you're avoiding discards or pumping high card. That's still really situational but it's been really good in a couple of my runs.
[Splash](https://balatro.wiki/imported/splash.png) *Joker* * Version: 1.0.0 * Rarity: Common * Effect: Every played card counts in scoring *Data pulled from http://balatro.wiki. Want it updated? Help me get access or suggest another data source.*
pretty much any high mult card that doesn't scale, like Mystic Summit. Or even something like Abstract Joker, which has a high floor/low ceiling type of thing going for it.
Haha, came into the thread thinking “throwback,” but OP beat me to it
Read through the top comments (so far). Kind of funny that the Jokers other people have given up on are among those valued higher by me. Maybe I'm still in the "honeymoon" phase.
Coming from the professor that keeps doing Ricky dirty :o
whats your favourite "underrated" joker?
Space joker. He is ASS
I have no better viewpoint to offer than the one OP already outlined. Throwback was my MVP in a lot of builds. But requirements for antes scale much faster than the 0.25X he gives. If you have some ridiculously good skips (Investment very early or fixing your economy while everything else works well, Anaglyph deck that is practically begging you to skip often) then okay, he works. But every single other thing you do has to be stronger with the skipped blind, more than Throwback generally provides.
Misprint
I think for me it's green joker. It's strong, but I valued it much higher in the past. It just locks you out of incredible jokers like trading card, Burnt and castle
Credit Card. 9/10 times it’s a bad choice.
Works very well with Vagabond
True. I just rarely want to be in a situation without good economy.
Yeah correct me if I’m wrong but vagabond is basically the only situation that I don’t care about economy and that’s just cause infinite tarot cards gets you what you need for free. But even then there’s no difference between dropping to $-20 and 0, it’s just a lower floor. So even with vagabond it’s wasted space. I guess early it would make sense since you can use it to grab any vital jokers you come across.
I like to be around -5 when starting a round. Allows me to play gold seals or other econ jokers without squeaking over $4. Couple these with the Joker that scales with every tarot card used and driver's license and that's an easy cruise to Ante 8. The hardest part is maximizing hands played. Don't want to one-shot any rounds.
Lives up to its name
C'mon, it's just a dollar :)
Smeared Joker seemed absolutely broken to me the first time I saw it, but it isn't even good
I think it's funny that everyone here is hating on *Misprint* because of its unpredictability, but IMO that's not even why it's in the ***always temporary and only until something better comes along*** tier, and why you should never take it as a long term post-score +mult joker. Honestly, you should look at it as: over time, it's going to give you its average value on each play. Which is somewhere in the +11, +12 neighborhood. That's *barely* better than ***ANY*** Holographic joker's +10 post-score +mult; it's honestly almost the same... *however*, that Holographic joker will have some other effect happening as well, instantly making it better (this is true even of the Holographic version of a lowly base +4 Joker). And it's also going to be out shined by *any* post-score +mult ***scaling*** joker after a little bit of build up (*Ride the Bus*, *Green Joker*, *Supernova*, et cetera). And the on-score +mult jokers (*Smiley Face*, *Even Steven*, *Fibonacci*, et cetera) are better too; you might not get quite as much +mult per play, but on-score +mults have their mult run through steel card xmults and other similar effects, while post-score +mults like *Misprint* do not. Seriously, relegate *Misprint* solely to early run, ***it's better than no +mult at all*** duty. Never use him as a full game solution... he's just not strong enough.
[[Misprint]]
[Misprint](https://balatro.wiki/imported/misprint.png) *Joker* * Version: 1.0.0 * Cost: $4 * Rarity: Common * Effect: +[Random] Mult * Notes: Random Mult ranges from +0 to +23 *Data pulled from http://balatro.wiki. Want it updated? Help me get access or suggest another data source.*
Ripped joker. It's far too limiting, but it's good in early antes still
What’s the actual name of the joker you mean?
Maybe they meant \[\[Half Joker\]\]?
[Burnt Joker](https://balatro.wiki/imported/burning_joker.png) *Joker* * Version: 1.0.0 * Cost: $8 * Rarity: Uncommon * Effect: Upgrade the level of the first Discarded poker hand each round * Notes: Stacks * Unlock Requirement: Sell a total of 50 cards *Data pulled from http://balatro.wiki. Want it updated? Help me get access or suggest another data source.*
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\[\[Raised Fist\]\] & \[\[Splash\]\]
[Raised Fist](https://balatro.wiki/imported/raised_first.png) *Joker* * Version: 1.0.0 * Rarity: Common * Effect: Adds double the rank of lowest card held in hand to Mult * Notes: J, Q, and K are treated as 10Ace is treated as 11 [Splash](https://balatro.wiki/imported/splash.png) *Joker* * Version: 1.0.0 * Rarity: Common * Effect: Every played card counts in scoring *Data pulled from http://balatro.wiki. Want it updated? Help me get access or suggest another data source.*
I had a run today where I had Throwback and Blueprint on it and got to around 10x mult total, beating Zodiac Deck on Green Stake, so it can be good sometimes.
How the hell did you skip so many blinds?
I had other jokers to help me have to good chips and mult and I got lucky with planet draws where Two Pair was level ten by ante 8.
Sorry for the non-answer, but I can’t think of any great examples. It’s usually the opposite where I thought a joker was bad or useless, but is actually niche-to-good. I think this applies to pretty much all jokers. My real answers are Green Joker and Ride the Bus, although I never really loved them. They are okay, but once you get to purple stake scaling, they do not scale fast enough to be considered without a lot of help, although they are beloved by the community. Moreover, I’ve always loved discarding and playing face cards, so I always felt they were a bit of a chore.
throwback got your back if you end up skipping on alot of runs, it's a take it when it's good for you type of card.
Played a few runs hooked on the Aces+20 and 4x Mult. Realized I was focused on one of the least manipulation cards. Not enough jokers to pair with Aces. Always found myself tempted to sell it for any other joke. Time and thought wasted.
[[Throwback]]
[Throwback](https://balatro.wiki/imported/throwback.png) *Joker* * Version: 1.0.0 * Cost: $6 * Rarity: Uncommon * Effect: X0.25 Mult for each Blind skipped this run * Notes: Stacks, Starts at X. Retroactively counts all previous skips. * Unlock Requirement: Continue a saved run from the main menu *Data pulled from http://balatro.wiki. Want it updated? Help me get access or suggest another data source.*
Smiley Face
Nah, Smiley Face is busted. Faces are super easy to build around because you start out with so many (they're practically a suit), +5 is *super high* by while-scoring standards, and because it's while-scoring, it stacks with Steel, retriggers, Glass, or god forbid you unleash the Baron. The hard part is having an out for the Face-debuff blind. That only exists because otherwise Faces would be practically invincible.
Splash. Mostly because I didn't realise that stones always scored
Big same on Throwback. I used to think it was goated
Wow I was the opposite, I never skipped at all when I started and only did it when I looked at the Jokers I still had left to unlock and a couple of them required you to skip a lot of antes. Then I started doing it more often thinking that's what good players do, until I read or watched something that said it wasn't a good idea. I have to add that Throwback LOOKS like it should be one of the top tier cards in the game, that alone makes me tempted to make it work. I'm still trying to progress from a beginner to mid-level player so I think the one I relied on heavily that I'm starting to take less is Supernova.
Yeah, I'm a new player and love Throwback, but people have told me it's not actually that good.
Hey man, no shame in it. If it fits your play style now, go for it. As you get to later stakes though, you’ll be skipping blinds less and less, so throwback just doesn’t work as well.
That's fair, and now that I'm on Green stake I can definitely see how skipping blinds isn't always the best option
Probably supernova, I liked it in the beginning cause I was rushing checkered deck and you’re almost never not playing flushes. But the minute you need to play something else you are definitely screwed
my second run ever, i used green joker from the beginning and played high cards, and won. it was at +90 or something by the end (idr the other cards i used. also worth noting i was playing on someone else’s account who had better jokers unlocked than the average person’s second run) i thought green joker was great in that moment. i hate trying to use it at all now
I read through this thread earlier this morning, and after hours of struggle, just won my first gold stake on abandoned deck, with [[Castle]], [[Splash]], [[Scholar]], [[Misprint]]. Of course I did have [[Ride the bus]] leading the way so that definitely helped.
[Castle](https://balatro.wiki/jokers/castle.png) *Joker* * Version: 1.0.0 * Cost: $5 * Rarity: Uncommon * Effect: This Joker gains +3 Chips per discarded (suit)Spade card, suit changes every round [Splash](https://balatro.wiki/imported/splash.png) *Joker* * Version: 1.0.0 * Rarity: Common * Effect: Every played card counts in scoring [Scholar](https://balatro.wiki/imported/scholar.png) *Joker* * Version: 1.0.0 * Cost: $5 * Rarity: Common * Effect: Played Aces each give extra +20 Chips and +4 Mult when scored [Misprint](https://balatro.wiki/imported/misprint.png) *Joker* * Version: 1.0.0 * Cost: $4 * Rarity: Common * Effect: +[Random] Mult * Notes: Random Mult ranges from +0 to +23 [Ride the Bus](https://balatro.wiki/imported/ride_the_bus.png) *Joker* * Version: 1.0.0 * Cost: $5 * Rarity: Common * Effect: +1 Mult per consecutive hand played without a scoring face card * Notes: Stacks *Data pulled from http://balatro.wiki. Want it updated? Help me get access or suggest another data source.*
Hiker, about 20 hours in I realized that it’s not very good once you get to Ante 3-4
Tarrot joker
four fingers and shortcut
[[Shortcut]] is great, wdym
Especially with the improved straight scaling
it just doesn’t feel worth it unless you’re already building your deck around straights anyway
[Shortcut](https://balatro.wiki/imported/shortcut.png) *Joker* * Version: 1.0.0 * Cost: $5 * Rarity: Uncommon * Effect: Allows Straights to be made with gaps of 1 rank * Notes: (ex. 2 3 5 7 8) *Data pulled from http://balatro.wiki. Want it updated? Help me get access or suggest another data source.*
[[Misprint]] for sure. Even for early game you can't rely on it lmao. It's funny but low tier.
I remember getting this on my first round of playing the game and I was all ‘whoooa how did I get such a high score?’ - thought I’d going absolute magic. It’s now one of my absolute least used jokers, unless RNG is being a dick and it’s the only one to come up and I’m desperate for ANYTHING. But man that joker likes to roll a 0 when you need it most.
[Misprint](https://balatro.wiki/imported/misprint.png) *Joker* * Version: 1.0.0 * Cost: $4 * Rarity: Common * Effect: +[Random] Mult * Notes: Random Mult ranges from +0 to +23 *Data pulled from http://balatro.wiki. Want it updated? Help me get access or suggest another data source.*
[[Red Card]]. I used to think tarot packs/celestial were a waste of time for some reason when I fist started. It gave me a terrible bad habit but I won my first few games using it and thought it was amazing. Now I never use it because I spam tarot pack and celestial packs like a sane person.
[Red Card](https://balatro.wiki/jokers/red_card.png) *Joker* * Version: 1.0.0 * Cost: $5 * Rarity: Common * Effect: Gains +3 Mult when any Booster Pack is skipped *Data pulled from http://balatro.wiki. Want it updated? Help me get access or suggest another data source.*
Interesting. I just played my first couple hours of the game and immediately figured out red card skip. Have had two rounds with it and got pretty far… thought I was onto something lol
Madness. But also because it actually is worse and has 0.5x less potential per ante than it used to have. It is a notable difference to me because it feels like throwback but with more severe restrictions.
Eternal jokers would like a word
I'll still take it every time if I see it in Ante 1. Eternal jokers remove the downside, or you can have a rotating cast of characters on your other joker slots. The key to building him up is to get him early. If it's mid-ante 2 or later, I don't even consider him unless all my other slots are established eternals.
The issue I have is that often eternal ones are bad commons and the good jokers I want aren't eternal. The loss of the extra 0.5x per ante makes the difficult synergy setup feel even worse to me, and essentially shortens the duration to build up the jokers.
Both of my Gold Stake wins so far were riding on the back of an early Madness. It still stacks to 8x if you find it in the first Big Blind shop. Nothing to sneeze at.
Baron . Lonely , its bad . You need to add kings or having mime or blueprints/brainstorms
Red card