Challenge Decks

Challenge Deck
Effect
Limitation varies per deck.
Unlock Requirement
Challenge Mode is unlocked by winning a regular run with five different decks.

Challenge Decks are unique decks that contain some condition making them unique from, and often more challenging than, the normal decks. This could manifest in having an altered starting deck, possessing certain Eternal Jokers, restrictions on hands or discards, restrictions on allowed cards, and more. They can only be played on the White Stake.

When playing Challenge Decks, achievements and unlocks cannot be obtained, as some would be trivialized by the conditions given by the deck. Statistics such as number of times a consumable has been used and high scores like Best Hand/Highest Ante do still get updated. It's not possible to start a seeded run on Challenge Decks, but seed generated by each challenge run can still be used on normal decks.

Decks

There are twenty different Challenge Decks currently in Balatro, with the first five unlocked after winning on five different decks. Each subsequent deck is unlocked after winning a run with a new Challenge Deck. To unlock all the Challenge Decks, the player needs to win with fifteen of them.

Nr Name Custom Rules/Game Modifiers Initial Jokers & Consumables Deck Restrictions
1 The Omelette All Blinds give no reward money
Extra Hands no longer earn money
Earn no Interest at end of round

5x Egg

Standard 52 cards

Banned Vouchers:
Seed Money
Money Tree

Banned Jokers:
To the Moon
Rocket
Golden Joker
Satellite

2 15 Minute City None

Eternal Ride the Bus
Eternal Shortcut

Two copies of every face card;
no Aces, 2s, or 3s

None

3 Rich get Richer Chips cannot exceed the current $

Start with $100

Seed Money
Money Tree

Standard 52 cards

None

4 On a Knife's Edge None

Eternal, Pinned Ceremonial Dagger
The Pinned Joker is always in the leftmost position

Standard 52 cards

None

5 X-ray Vision 1 in 4 cards are drawn face down

None

Standard 52 cards

None

6 Mad World Extra Hands no longer earn money
Earn no Interest at end of round

Eternal, Negative Pareidolia
Eternal Business Card

Ranks 2 through 9 only, 32 cards total

Banned Blinds: The Plant

7 Luxury Tax Hold -1 cards in hand for every $5 you have

10 hand size

None

Standard 52 cards

None

8 Non-Perishable All Jokers are Eternal

None

Standard 52 cards

Banned Jokers: Gros Michel, Cavendish Ice Cream; Turtle Bean, Ramen, Diet Cola; Seltzer; Popcorn, Mr. Bones, Invisible Joker and Luchador
Banned Blinds: Verdant Leaf

9 Medusa None

Eternal Marble Joker

52 cards, with all face cards replaced by Stone cards

None

10 Double or Nothing All Played cards become debuffed after scoring

None

Standard 52-card deck, all with a Red Seal

None

11 Typecast When ante 4 boss is defeated:
- all Jokers become eternal
- set Joker slots to 0

None

Standard 52 cards

Banned Blinds: Verdant Leaf

12 Inflation Permanently raise prices by $1 on every purchase

Credit Card

Standard 52 cards

Banned Vouchers: Clearance Sale, Liquidation

13 Bram Poker Jokers no longer appear in the shop

Eternal Vampire
The Emperor, The Empress
Magic Trick, Illusion

Standard 52 cards

None

14 Fragile None

2x Eternal, Negative Oops! All 6s

Standard 52-card deck, all glass

All methods of adding non-glass cards or removing glass enhancements are banned:

  • Jokers: Marble Joker, Vampire, Midas Mask and Certificate
  • Tarot Cards: The Magician, The Empress, The Hierophant, The Chariot, The Devil, The Tower, and The Lovers
  • Spectral Cards: Incantation, Grim, and Familiar
  • Vouchers: Magic Trick and Illusion
  • Booster Packs: Standard Pack
  • Tags: Standard Tag
15 Monolith None

Eternal Obelisk
Eternal Negative Marble Joker

Standard 52 cards

None

16 Blast Off 2 hands per round
2 discards per round
4 Joker Slots

Eternal Constellation
Eternal Rocket
Planet Merchant
Planet Tycoon

Standard 52 cards

Banned Vouchers: Grabber, Nacho Tong
Banned Jokers: Burglar

17 Five-Card Draw 6 discards per round
5 hand size
7 Joker slots

Card Sharp
Joker

Standard 52 cards

Banned Jokers: Juggler, Troubadour, Turtle Bean

18 Golden Needle Discards each cost $1

1 hands per round
6 discards per round
Start with $10

Credit Card

Standard 52 cards

Banned Jokers: Burglar
Banned Vouchers: Grabber, Nacho Tong

19 Cruelty Small Blinds give no reward money
Big Blinds give no reward money

3 Joker Slots

None

Standard 52 cards

None

20 Jokerless Jokers no longer appear in the shop

0 Joker Slots

None

Standard 52 cards

All methods of acquiring Jokers:

  • Tarot Cards: Judgement
  • Spectral Cards: Wraith and The Soul
  • Tags: Uncommon Tag, Rare Tag, Negative Tag, Foil Tag, Holographic Tag, Polychrome Tag, Buffoon Tag, Top-up Tag
  • Blinds: Crimson Heart, Verdant Leaf, Amber Acorn
  • Vouchers: Antimatter
  • Booster Packs: all 4 Buffoon Packs

Trivia

  • The card back of the Challenge Deck is a maze. The maze can be started either from the top opening or the bottom one.
  • LocalThunk, the developer of Balatro, has stated that some manner of challenge creator is on his list of things to add, with no timetable.

In other languages

LanguageName
Chinese (Simplified)挑战牌组
Chinese (Traditional)挑戰牌組
DutchUitdagingskaartspel
FrenchJeu du défi
GermanHerausforderungsdeck
IndonesianChallenge Deck
ItalianMazzo sfida
Japaneseチャレンジデッキ
Korean챌린지 덱
PolishTalia wyzwania
Portuguese (Brazilian)Baralho Desafiante
RussianКолода испытаний
Spanish (Spain)Baraja desafío
Spanish (Latin America)Baraja desafío