Balatro: Every Deck And How To Unlock Them

Balatro is one of the intoxicating games to be released in 2024. Many players (ourselves included) sunk an ungodly amount of time into the pre-release demo, and even more time once it finally hit launch. Since then, the game has exploded in the roguelike deckbuilder scene, and rightfully so. 

One of the biggest draws to Balatro is its simple-to-grasp gameplay kneaded together with a healthy dose of RNG and modifiers. Early on, those modifiers come in the form of decks, and unlocking a new deck in Balatro is a big deal. These offer copious amounts of replayability, and we are going to walk you through how to unlock all of them.

Spectral Card Guide | Planet Card Guide | Tarot Card Guide

How To Unlock Every Deck In Balatro

Here is how you unlock every deck in Balatro. 

• Red Deck – This is your starting deck, just boot up the game.
• Blue Deck – Discover 20 items
• Yellow Deck – Discover 50 items
• Green Deck – Discover 75 items
• Black Deck – Discover 100 items
• Magic Deck – With a run with the Red Deck 
• Nebula Deck – With a run with the Blue Deck 
• Ghost Deck – Win a run with the Yellow Deck
• Abandoned Deck – Win a run with the Green Deck
• Checkered Deck – Win a run with the Black Deck
• Zodiac Deck – Win a run with any deck on Red Stake
• Painted Deck – Win a run with any deck on Green Stake
• Anaglyph Deck – Win a run with any deck on Black Stake
• Plasma Deck – Win a run with any deck on Blue Stake
• Erratic Deck – Win a rune with any deck on Orange Stake

Every Deck Effect

Each deck is unique, so here is a breakdown of each deck and what they do.

• Red Deck – +1 Discard 
• Blue Deck – +1 Hand
• Yellow Deck – Start with an extra $10
• Green Deck – Gain $2 per remaining Hand and $1 per remaining Discard at the end of a round. You don’t earn interest. 
• Black Deck – +1 Joker Slot, -1 Hand
• Magic Deck – Start with a Crystal Ball Voucher and 2 copies of The Fool. 
• Nebula Deck – Start run with the Telescope Voucher and -1 consumable slots
• Ghost Deck – Start with the Hex card and Spectral Cards can appear in the shop
• Abandoned Deck – This deck has no Face Cards in it
• Checkered Deck – This deck has 26 Spades, 26 Hearts and no Diamonds or Clubs
• Zodiac Deck – Start with Tarot Merchant, Planet Merchant, and Overstock Vouchers
• Painted Deck – +2 Hand Size, -1 Joker Slot
• Anaglyph Deck – Gain a Double Tag after defeating every Boss Blind
• Plasma Deck – Balance Chips and Mult when calculating your score. All blinds are 2x the standard size
• Erratic Deck – All cards have a randomised rank and suit

That’s all we have on Balatro for now. Be sure to check back for more tips, tricks, and guides.