Games

Balatro: Best Spectral Cards

Published

1 hour ago

January 8, 2025

Christoph Rediske

Summary

Table of Contents

Spectral cards like Medium and Wraith offer unique benefits, impacting gameplay strategically.
Powerful cards like Black Hole upgrade all poker hands, significantly boosting scoring potential.
Cryptid can strengthen a strong deck by creating two copies of a chosen card, enhancing scoring chances.

All the different card types in Balatro have their place. Normal cards are the standard improvements of any deck-builder, while Planets improve final scoring. Meanwhile, Tarots are only useful in certain conditions, and Jokers sit at the core of nearly all strategies. This leaves Spectral cards in a weird spot. They resemble Tarots in many ways, but are much rarer and much more influential.

Calling Spectrals the strongest cards in the game wouldn’t be correct. A good Joker will always beat a Spectral card. Even a Tarot, if played at the right moment, can have more influence than its Spectral equivalent. But the temptation to play those chaotic, shining cards is unlike anything in the game.

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Updated January 6, 2025, by Vlad Mazanko: With 18 different Spectral cards available in Balatro, players have plenty of options to tailor their selection to fit their current run. However, some Spectral cards stand out as significantly more powerful and should be prioritized whenever they appear for the best results. Below is an updated ranking of the strongest Spectral cards in Balatro, along with their key highlights.

10

Medium

Adds A Purple Seal To One Selected Card

Cards that have been enhanced with a Purple Seal create a Tarot card whenever they are discarded. The right Tarot can be used to great effect, but it can just as well be useless. Using a Spectral card to play a couple of Tarots could be a great move, but it could be a waste, too.

While they are similar, the Medium is likely to be more useful than the Trance. The latter bestows a Blue Seal on the chosen card, which will then create a random Planet whenever it is held in hand at the end of a round. While it’s usually better to have a Planet card than a Tarot, players are much more likely to discard a Purple Seal card than to purposefully keep a Blue one in hand.

9

Aura

Adds Random Foil, Holographic, Or Polychrome To One Selected Playing Card

Aura is a decent but not groundbreaking Spectral card in Balatro due to its limited effect, which applies to a single playing card. This can make it tricky to consistently draw this enhanced card from the deck. That said, Editions are among the strongest enhancements for both Jokers and playing cards, so gaining an Edition — Foil (+50 Chips), Holographic (+10 Mult), or Polychrome (x1.5 Mult) — is undeniably useful. However, the Edition is determined randomly, with Foil having a 50% chance and Polychrome a mere 15%. This randomness means players might end up with an Edition that doesn’t synergize well with their current strategy.

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Overall, Aura is a solid fallback option if no better Spectral cards are available from the booster pack. That said, players should prioritize other Spectral cards listed below that offer a more impactful effect on their run.

8

Wraith

Creates Random Rare Joker, Sets Money To Zero

Choosing Wraith from the available Spectral cards can be tempting since rare Jokers are, well, rare to come by in Balatro. However, this card has its drawbacks. It provides players with a random Joker (assuming they have a free slot for it), which might not align with their current setup or strategy, simply proving useless. On top of that, players lose all their money as a penalty for using Wraith.

So, why is Wraith considered one of the best Spectral cards in Balatro? Here’s the catch: it can also negate a player’s debt, as money in the game can go below zero. This makes Wraith incredibly valuable in specific scenarios. If players are struggling in their run, have an empty Joker slot, and are already in debt, Wraith becomes a literal lifesaver, simultaneously solving two major problems. While situational, it can be the perfect consumable under the right conditions.

7

Familiar

Destroys One Random Card, Adds Three Enhanced Face Cards

The effect of the Familiar is straightforward: draw a hand, destroy a card, and gain three enhanced face cards. Not only is this a net power gain (especially if the destroyed card wasn’t enhanced), but it also makes the deck more predictable. Adding three cards between Jack, Queen, and King means making those high-scoring cards more likely to appear.

The Familiar is arguably a better version of the Incantation, which creates four enhanced numbered cards, each with a different, random rank. And not only because face cards are usually worth more Chips. The Familiar makes it much easier to draw a good hand, since numbered cards have ten ranks while face cards only have three.

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However, in cases where a deck is centered around number cards instead of Face cards, players should strongly consider Incantation or Grim Spectral cards. These function similarly to Familiar but instead add four number cards or two Aces, respectively. It’s worth noting that only one of these three Spectral cards – Familiar, Incantation, or Grim – will typically appear as an option in a booster pack, meaning players may not have the luxury of choosing between them at all times.

6

Ectoplasm

Adds Negative Edition To Random Joker, Reduces Hand Size By One

The only thing better than a bonus Joker in Balatro is a bonus space to keep one more Joker. That’s exactly what Ectoplasm does: it assigns the Negative property to one of the Joker cards that the player already owns. For the rest of the game, that card won’t count towards the maximum number of active Jokers.

Ectoplasm has two negative drawbacks, one minor and one more significant. While the Negative quality is just about the best enhancement a Joker could receive, it’s just as useful as the card itself. Because of this, players should sell their unwanted Jokers before using Ectoplasm, ensuring the buff will go to the most useful card. Then there’s the hand size reduction – a noticeable drawback, but almost always worth the prize.

5

The Soul

Creates Random Legendary Joker

As it often goes with games of chance like Balatro, anything that adds randomness to the mix is bad news. Yet the opportunity to find a Legendary Joker shouldn’t be thrown away without a second thought. Even if the worst happens and the Joker in question is useless in the current run, it can still be sold for a nice price, probably more than the price of a Spectral pack itself.

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With a bit of luck, The Soul can even help the player discover a new Joker, maybe one necessary to unlock further content or even fulfil their collection. This is why The Soul is best played in early runs, or when there is little chance of finishing the run.

4

Ouija

Converts All Cards In Hand To A Single Rank, Reduces Hand Size By One

Ouija works a bit like Sigil, turning a whole hand into a single random rank instead of a suit. As such, it shares many of its strengths and weaknesses, and actually enhances them. If the prospect of an easy Flush is inviting, the idea of playing multiple Five of a Kind in a round is downright tempting.

But Ouija comes with two major drawbacks. For one, turning a lot of cards into a single rank might mean getting rid of a future Straight to obtain eight low-ranking cards. This is bad enough before considering that Ouija permanently reduces the player’s hand size by one, making it less likely to actually play those Five of a Kinds.

3

Sigil

Converts All Cards In Hand To A Single Suit

In a game full of great ways to make Flush extremely likely, Sigil is one of the best. Even if the suit is chosen randomly, this card is likely to massively increase the balance in favor of that suit. Of course, poor use of Sigil and a bit of bad luck can undo a lot of work.

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In fact, Sigil is not a great choice for players who have already invested some time painting their deck a certain color. Because of this, Sigil should be played at the start of the run. But how are players supposed to know when it’s time to play Sigil and switch to a Flush strategy? Well, one of the best beginner tips for Balatro is to always remain flexible about new, better strategies.

2

Black Hole

Upgrades Every Poker Hand By One Level

Black Hole is a standout Spectral card with a powerful effect, instantly boosting every poker hand by one level — including secret hands that haven’t been discovered yet during the current run. Essentially, it acts as the equivalent of 12 different Planet cards rolled into one, making it an incredibly valuable and versatile choice for any build or playstyle. Enhancing all hands, from High Card to the rare and rewarding Flush House and Flush Five, significantly impacts how the remainder of the run unfolds, cementing Black Hole as a top-tier Spectral pick in Balatro.

What makes Black Hole even better is its small chance of appearing in both Arcana Packs and Celestial Packs, adding versatility to its availability. Similarly, The Soul Spectral card stands out as it can also be redeemed through other packs, not just Spectral Packs like most others.

1

Cryptid

Creates Two Copies Of One Selected Card

The Cryptid is the opposite of The Soul. This card is only really useful when a Balatro run is already doing well. Its objective is to reinforce a strong deck by creating two copies of a certain card. Of course, it all depends on the luck of the draw: Spectral cards can normally only be used on the hand of cards drawn as a pack is opened.

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Careful players will make sure that the Cryptid has a good card to be used on before selecting it among other Spectral cards. There’s no use cloning an Ace if the deck is built on Kings and Queens. Yet, with the right setup, Cryptid can clone the rarest playing cards, complete with several powerful enchantments, tripling the chances of drawing that exact card from the deck and significantly boosting scoring potential.