Ectoplasm

Ectoplasm

Type

Spectral

Effect

Add Negative to a random Joker, -1 hand size

Unlock Requirement

Available from start.

Stats

Buy Price

4

Sell Price

2

Ectoplasm is a Spectral card that turns a random Joker Negative ({{hl|edition|+1}} Joker or Consumable slot Joker (Negative).png) at the cost of X hand size, where X = 1 + each time Ectoplasm has been used in the current run. E.g. using Ectoplasm 3 times in the same run decreases hand size by a total of 6 (1+2+3).

• Ectoplasm picks the base edition Joker that receives the Negative edition randomly, similar to The Wheel of Fortune ({{hl|green|1 in 4}} chance to add [[Foil|{{hl|edition|Foil}}]], [[Holographic|{{hl|edition|Holographic}}]], or [[Polychrome|{{hl|edition|Polychrome}}]] edition to a random [[Jokers|{{hl|orange|Joker}}]] Available from start. Tarot The Wheel of Fortune.png).

• This card goes very well with Joker Stencil ({{xmult|1}} for each empty [[Jokers|{{hl|orange|Joker}}]] slot <br> <small>Joker Stencil included</small> <br> {{Currently|{{xmult|1|}}}} Uncommon Multiplicative Mult Independent Joker Stencil.png) as it scales based on the number of empty Joker slots, also counting itself as an empty Joker slot. On decks with 5 Joker slots, if you had let’s say, a Showman ([[Jokers|{{hl|orange|Joker}}]], [[Tarot Cards|{{hl|purple|Tarot}}]], [[Planet Cards|{{hl|cyan|Planet}}]], and [[Spectral Cards|{{hl|sblue|Spectral}}]] cards may appear multiple times Reach Ante level {{hl|orange|4}} Uncommon Effect N/A (Passive) Showman.png), another Joker, and 3 Stencils, the Stencils would give a combined X27 Mult. However, even a single one of those Jokers being Negative ({{hl|edition|+1}} Joker or Consumable slot Joker (Negative).png) would increase the gain to X64 Mult, or allow you to pick another Joker without harming Stencil.

• Ectoplasm grants a random Joker the Negative ({{hl|edition|+1}} Joker or Consumable slot Joker (Negative).png) making it give +1 Joker slot and essentially frees up a Joker slot. This amazing effect is held back greatly by its -1 extra Hand size for each Ectoplasm used throughout the run, which can be a run killer if not used carefully, especially when considering how valuable Hand sizes are.
• Ectoplasm is oftentimes used to help the run for longer. By having more Joker slots, the player can potentially find new Jokers that can help the run out significantly, or duplicates of strong Jokers already owned when paired with Showman ([[Jokers|{{hl|orange|Joker}}]], [[Tarot Cards|{{hl|purple|Tarot}}]], [[Planet Cards|{{hl|cyan|Planet}}]], and [[Spectral Cards|{{hl|sblue|Spectral}}]] cards may appear multiple times Reach Ante level {{hl|orange|4}} Uncommon Effect N/A (Passive) Showman.png).
• Ectoplasm can only target Jokers with the Base (No extra effects Joker (Base).png) Edition, which means it is possible to force the hand of fate and make it hit the Joker that is wanted easily.
  • This is done by selling all Jokers with the Base edition that the player doesn't want Ectoplasm to hit, of course leaving the desired Joker as the only Joker left (besides Jokers that already have an Edition). Note that this action may kill the run if the Jokers sold are essential to the run's scoring.
  • Note that this also means Ectoplasm can't be used if all Jokers that the player possesses already has an Edition.
• If Ectoplasm take effect upon a debuffed Joker ( Perishable () Joker after five rounds), the Joker slot will not increase, and selling it will result in permanent Joker slot loss, which is likely to be a bug.
• Due to the heavy penalty of using Ectoplasm, it is recommended the player first obtain more Hand sizes, be it granted by the 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), permanent by the 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) vouchers, or replaceable by Juggler ({{hl|orange|+1}} hand size Common Effect N/A (Passive) Juggler.png) 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).
  • The Hand size deduction effect of Ectoplasm can exceed the negatives, but will not end the run until the next Blind, when it sets the Hand size to 0. This can be taken advantage of by using Perkeo (Creates a [[Negative|{{hl|edition|Negative}}]] copy of {{hl|orange|1}} random [[Consumables|{{hl|orange|consumable}}]] card in your possession at the end of the [[The Shop|{{hl|orange|shop}}]] Find this [[Jokers|Joker]] from the [[Spectral Cards|{{hl|sblue|Soul}}]] card. Legendary Effect N/A (Passive) Perkeo.png) to make multiple copies of both Ankh (Create a copy of a random [[Jokers|{{hl|orange|Joker}}]], destroy all other Jokers <br> {{hl|gray|(Removes {{hl|edition|Negative}} from copy)}} Available from start. Spectral Ankh.png) and Ectoplasm and use them on one or more Eternal () Jokers, with the most common one being Joker Stencil ({{xmult|1}} for each empty [[Jokers|{{hl|orange|Joker}}]] slot <br> <small>Joker Stencil included</small> <br> {{Currently|{{xmult|1|}}}} Uncommon Multiplicative Mult Independent Joker Stencil.png), to gain a high score for one single round.
    • Additionally, since Balatro only sets the Hand size to 0 afterwards, any methods of gaining Hand sizes in the next shop (most reliably the Paint Brush and Palette vouchers, or selling Jokers that deduct Hand size such as 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) or 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)) allows continuing the run as normal, provided the player can defeat the next blinds with such limited Hand size.
• A major warning for using multiple Ectoplasms is that, for example, using 3 of them gives -6 Hand sizes, which on most runs means only being able to hold 4 cards or less at a time, making The Psychic ( Boss The Psychic.png) a dead-end if no methods of disabling or rerolling the Boss blind is available, like Luchador (Sell this card to disable the current [[Blinds|{{hl|orange|Boss Blind}}]] Uncommon Effect N/A (Passive) Luchador.png), Chicot (Disables effect of every [[Blinds|{{hl|orange|Boss Blind}}]] Find this [[Jokers|Joker]] from the [[Spectral Cards|{{hl|sblue|Soul}}]] card. Legendary Effect On Blind Select Chicot.png), Director's Cut (Reroll [[Blinds|Boss Blind]] {{hl|orange|1}} time per Ante, {{Money|10}} per roll Base Director's Cut.png) or Retcon (Reroll [[Blinds|Boss Blind]] {{hl|orange|unlimited}} times, {{Money|10}} per roll Discover 25 Blinds Upgraded Retcon.png), or ways to hold more cards like Certificate (When round begins, add a random {{hl|orange|playing card}} with a random [[Seal|{{hl|orange|seal}}]] to your hand Have a [[Gold_Cards|Gold playing card]] with a [[Gold_Seal|{{hl|orange|Gold Seal}}]] Uncommon Effect N/A (Passive) Certificate.png) or Cryptid (Create {{hl|orange|2}} copies of {{hl|orange|1}} selected card in your hand Available from start. Spectral Cryptid.png).
• If the build requires the current Jokers that, while not too beneficial going into the late game, is needed for survival, doesn't need more Jokers to function, or suffer greatly from not having many Hand sizes, it may not be wise to use Ectoplasm, because the effect may not be beneficial to the run and the Hand size deduction effect can in turn be run-killing.

• "Ectoplasm" is known as a supernatural substance that is "exteriorized" by physical mediums. In popular media, it is generally shown to be a viscous substance that is created by ghosts and spirits.
• The image features candles because candles are a common set piece for summoning circles, fortune telling, Ouija reading, and other attempts to contact the paranormal.

This information has been manually compiled. Some updates may not be included yet.