Baron

Baron

Effect

Each King held in hand gives X1.5 Mult

Rarity

Rare

Unlock Requirement

Available from start.

Stats

Buy Price

8

Sell Price

4

Type

Multiplicative Mult

Activation

On Held

Compatibility

Copyable

✓ Yes

Perishable

✓ Yes

Eternal

✓ Yes

Baron is a Rare Multiplicative Mult Joker that provides X1.5 Mult for each King in the player's hand after playing a hand. Cards that are discarded or debuffed by certain Blinds do not trigger this effect.

• Painted Deck ( {{hl|orange|+2}} hand size, <br> {{hl|red|-1}} Joker slot Win a run with any [[Decks|deck]] on the {{Stake|Green}} difficulty or harder Painted Deck.png) has a larger hand size, making this Joker easier to use.

If the player builds their deck to be mostly Kings, it is best to level up smaller hands such as High Card or Pair to keep as many Kings in hand as possible.

• Mime (Retrigger all card {{hl|orange|held in hand}} abilities Uncommon Retrigger On Held Mime.png) doubles this card's multiplier per King (to X2.25 Mult per King).
• Reserved Parking (Each {{hl|orange|face}} card held in hand has a {{hl|green|1 in 2}} chance to give {{Money|1}} Common Economy On Held Reserved Parking.png) has a 50% chance of giving $1 for each King (or other face card) held in hand.
• Midas Mask (All played {{hl|orange|face}} cards become [[Gold Cards|{{hl|orange|Gold}}]] cards when scored Uncommon Effect On Played Midas_Mask.png) can add a buff to scored Kings, providing an additional benefit thereafter when Kings are held in hand.
• Steel Joker (Gives {{xmult|0.2}} for each [[Steel Cards|{{hl|orange|Steel Card}}]] in your {{hl|orange|full deck}} <br> {{currently|{{xmult|1}}}} Uncommon Multiplicative Mult Independent Steel Joker.png) can potentially have synergy with Baron if you're able to make Steel Kings to provide even more XMult.
• Shoot the Moon (Each {{hl|orange|Queen}} held in hand gives {{mult|+13}} Play every Heart card in your deck in one round. Common Additive Mult On Held Shoot the Moon.png) makes a great pair with Baron, as the +13 Mult from the Queens will each be multiplied by X1.5 Mult. However, for the Queens to trigger before the Kings, you must physically move the Queens to the left of your Kings. Raised Fist (Adds {{hl|orange|double}} the rank of {{hl|orange|lowest}} ranked card held in hand to Mult Common Additive Mult On Held Raised Fist.png) effectively does the same thing. Both of these Jokers' +Mult effects are retriggered by Mime (Retrigger all card {{hl|orange|held in hand}} abilities Uncommon Retrigger On Held Mime.png), allowing for double the +Mult before the Baron starts giving XMult
• If the player's deck is mostly comprised of Kings, Juggler ({{hl|orange|+1}} hand size Common Effect N/A (Passive) Juggler.png) and/or Troubadour ({{hl|orange|+2}} hand size, <br> {{hl|blue|-1}} hand each round Win {{hl|orange|5}} consecutive rounds by <abbr title="Discards are OK to use.">playing only 1 hand</abbr> Uncommon Effect N/A (Passive) Troubadour.png) can increase the maximum number of cards held in hand and thus allow Baron to trigger more times.
• Tarot generating Jokers like Vagabond (Create a [[Tarot Cards|{{hl|purple|Tarot}}]] card if hand is played with {{Money|4}} or less Rare Effect Independent Vagabond.png) can help trim your deck using The Hanged Man (Destroys up to {{hl|orange|2}} selected cards Available from start. Tarot The Hanged Man.png) to draw Kings more reliably, or replicate Kings with Death (Select {{hl|orange|2}} cards, convert the {{hl|orange|left}} card into the {{hl|orange|right}} card<br>{{hl|gray|(Drag to rearrange)}} Available from start. Tarot Death.png). The Chariot (Enhances {{hl|orange|1}} selected card into a [[Card Modifiers|{{hl|orange|Steel Card}}]] Available from start. Tarot The Chariot.png) can also create Steel Kings for more XMult when you hold your Kings in hand, and The Devil (Enhances {{hl|orange|1}} selected card into a [[Card Modifiers|{{hl|orange|Gold Card}}]] Available from start. Tarot The Devil.png) can provide Gold Kings, providing economic support whilst using Baron.
  • Trading Card (If {{hl|orange|first discard}} of round has only {{hl|orange|1}} card, destroy it and earn {{Money|3}} Uncommon Economy On Discard Trading Card.png) can help reduce your deck size to draw Kings reliably.
• DNA (If {{hl|orange|first hand}} of round has only {{hl|orange|1}} card, add a permanent copy to deck and draw it to {{hl|orange|hand}} Rare Effect On Played DNA.png) works very well with baron, as it is able to temporarily increase your hand size when combined with Blueprint (Copies ability of [[Jokers|{{Hl|orange|Joker}}]] to the right Win a run Rare Effect Blueprint.png) and/or Brainstorm (Copies the ability of leftmost [[Jokers|{{hl|orange|Joker}}]] Discard a {{ph|Royal Flush}}. Rare Effect Brainstorm.png).

• Death (Select {{hl|orange|2}} cards, convert the {{hl|orange|left}} card into the {{hl|orange|right}} card<br>{{hl|gray|(Drag to rearrange)}} Available from start. Tarot Death.png) and Strength (Increases rank of up to {{hl|orange|2}} selected cards by {{hl|orange|1}} Available from start. Tarot Strength.png) can turn some cards into Kings.
• The Hanged Man (Destroys up to {{hl|orange|2}} selected cards Available from start. Tarot The Hanged Man.png) can remove non-King cards.
• The Chariot (Enhances {{hl|orange|1}} selected card into a [[Card Modifiers|{{hl|orange|Steel Card}}]] Available from start. Tarot The Chariot.png) can create Steel Kings for more XMult when you hold your Kings in hand.
• Deja Vu (Add a [[Red Seal|{{hl|red|Red Seal}}]] to {{hl|orange|1}} selected card in your hand Available from start. Spectral Deja Vu.png) can apply Red Seal to Kings, allowing for more Baron triggers.
• Cryptid (Create {{hl|orange|2}} copies of {{hl|orange|1}} selected card in your hand Available from start. Spectral Cryptid.png) can create more copies of Kings, as well as temporarily increase hand size.

• Paint Brush ({{hl|orange|+1}} hand size Base Paint Brush.png) and Palette ({{hl|orange|+1}} hand size Reduce your hand size down to five cards. Upgraded Palette.png) can permanently increase your hand size, allowing you to hold more Kings.

• The Serpent ( Boss The Serpent.png) is by far the most popular boss blind to go against a Baron build thanks to the ability to temporarily increase hand size. With the aid of Burglar (When [[Blind|{{hl|orange|Blind}}]] is selected, gain {{hl|blue|+3}} Hands and {{hl|orange|lose all discards}} Uncommon Effect On Blind Select Burglar.png) and multiple copies of Blueprint (Copies ability of [[Jokers|{{Hl|orange|Joker}}]] to the right Win a run Rare Effect Blueprint.png)/ Brainstorm (Copies the ability of leftmost [[Jokers|{{hl|orange|Joker}}]] Discard a {{ph|Royal Flush}}. Rare Effect Brainstorm.png), it is possible to achieve Naneinf.

• On Abandoned Deck ( Start run with no {{F|}}[[Card Ranks#Face cards|{{hl|orange|Face Cards}}]] in your deck Win a run with the {{D|Green}} on [[Stakes|any difficulty]] Abandoned Deck.png), Medusa ( ), and Mad World ( ), Baron should be avoided, as they do not naturally contain any Kings.
• Five-Card Draw ( ) does not work well with this Joker due to the decreased hand size and banning of hand size-increasing Jokers.

• Merry Andy ({{hl|red|+3}} discards each round, <br>{{hl|red|-1}} hand size Win a run in {{hl|orange|12}} or fewer rounds Uncommon Effect N/A (Passive) Merry_Andy.png) and Stuntman ({{Chips|+250}},<br>{{hl|orange|-2}} hand size Earn at least 100 million (100,000,000) Chips in a single hand. Rare Chips Independent Stuntman.png) reduce hand size, which means the player holds fewer Kings.

• The Plant ( Boss The Plant.png) is a run killer; debuffed Kings render Baron completely useless.
• The Psychic ( Boss The Psychic.png) can be a run killer as well—scoring is reliant on playing 5 cards, therefore significantly reducing hand size.
• The Ox ( Boss The Ox.png) sets your money to zero if you play your most often played hand. This is especially detrimental in deep endless runs, where money is essential.
• The Mark ( Boss The Mark.png) draws all face cards face down, making it hard to tell which card is a King.

On first glance, Baron might seem like a small amount of Mult. However, what makes Baron so incredibly strong is that every King or Steel card in hand multiplies your score exponentially. For example, one King only multiplies your score by 1.5x. But two Kings multiplies it by 1.5x twice, which is a 2.25x increase. If an ideal card for Baron is held in hand (a steel King with a red seal), it will produce x1.5⁴ = ~x5.1 Mult. With Mime, this increases to x1.5⁶ = ~x11.4 Mult; with one Blueprint/Brainstorm copying Mime, it increases to x1.5⁸ = ~x25.6 Mult, and with two cards copying each Mime and Baron it rises further to x1.5¹² = ~x130 Mult.

If a player manages to find these four Jokers and enough steel Kings with red seals to fill a hand, they will be able to play far into Endless mode. For example, with a Hand size of eight, the base Mult would be multiplied by ~x619 trillion; with a Hand size of nine this increases to ~80 quadrillion; and with a Hand size of ten it further increases to ~10 quintillion (1.0x10¹⁹). With some base chips and mult, this is enough to finish the first 16 Antes. Using this strategy, players can achieve the elusive Naneinf score, most often on Plasma Deck ( Balance [[Chips|{{hl|blue|Chips}}]] and [[Mult|{{hl|red|Mult}}]] when calculating score for played hand <br> {{hl|red|X2}} base Blind size Win a run with any [[Decks|deck]] on the {{Stake|Blue}} difficulty or harder Plasma Deck.png) due to its score balancing mechanic lowering the amount of cards necessary, or on Ghost Deck ( [[Spectral Cards|{{hl|sblue|Spectral}}]] cards may appear in the shop, start with a {{spectral|Hex}} card Win a run with the {{D|Yellow}} on [[Stakes|any difficulty]] Ghost Deck.png) due to easier access to Spectral Cards such as Deja Vu (Add a [[Red Seal|{{hl|red|Red Seal}}]] to {{hl|orange|1}} selected card in your hand Available from start. Spectral Deja Vu.png) to apply a Red Seal and Cryptid (Create {{hl|orange|2}} copies of {{hl|orange|1}} selected card in your hand Available from start. Spectral Cryptid.png) to copy cards, as well as temporarily bypass the hand size limit.

The formula of total x1.5s per card is (x1.5s each trigger) x (total trigger times). Since multiple retriggers stack additively, for each red seal steel King in your hand, the formula becomes (1 steel + number of Baron equivalents) x (1 base + 1 red seal + number of Mime equivalents). If the player can arrange Blueprints/Brainstorms to copy these Jokers, they can reach the best possible score by having 1 more Baron equivalents than Mime equivalents.

For lower antes, Shoot the Moon (Each {{hl|orange|Queen}} held in hand gives {{mult|+13}} Play every Heart card in your deck in one round. Common Additive Mult On Held Shoot the Moon.png) or Raised Fist (Adds {{hl|orange|double}} the rank of {{hl|orange|lowest}} ranked card held in hand to Mult Common Additive Mult On Held Raised Fist.png) are some of the best ways to get mult that scores before your jokers score. However, because cards in hand trigger from left to right, you must physically move your Queens/lowest rank card to the left of your Kings, in order for their mult to be multiplied.

• Baron and Baroness are titles of nobility, usually lower than a king or count, but higher than a knight or lord.