Gros Michel

Gros Michel

Effect

+15 Mult
1 in 6 chance this is destroyed at the end of round.

Rarity

Common

Unlock Requirement

Available from start.

Spawn Condition

Only obtainable while Gros Michel has not yet gone "extinct" during the current run.

Stats

Buy Price

5

Sell Price

2

Type

Additive Mult

Activation

Independent

Compatibility

Copyable

✓ Yes

Perishable

✓ Yes

Eternal

✗ No

Gros Michel (French for "big Mike"; pronounced in American English as grows mee-shel, and in British English as grow mih-chel) is a Common Additive Mult Joker that gives an unconditional +15 Mult to any poker hand played.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, and it might so happen that when the run needs him most, he'll vanish. At the end of every round, there is a 1 in 6 chance that Gros Michel will destroy itself (denoted by the word "Extinct!" displaying as it vanishes). Once this occurs, Gros Michel cannot be obtained for the rest of the current run. Instead Cavendish ({{xmult|3}} <br> {{hl|green|1 in 1000}} chance this card is destroyed at the end of round Common Multiplicative Mult Independent Cavendish.png), a Multiplicative Mult Joker, can be found in its place. Note that Cavendish will not replace Gros Michel in its Joker slot, it must be obtained through the Shop, or other means like Judgement (Creates a random [[Jokers|{{hl|orange|Joker}}]] card<br>{{room}} Available from start. Tarot Judgement.png), Riff-Raff (When [[Blind|{{hl|orange|Blind}}]] is selected, create {{hl|orange|2}} [[Common Jokers|{{hl|blue|Common}} {{hl|orange|Jokers}}]] <br> {{room}} Common Effect On Blind Select Riff-Raff.png), Buffoon Tag ( Buffoon tag.png), etc.

If Gros Michel is either sold or destroyed through non-extinction means, such as the Spectral Cards 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) or Hex (Add [[Card Modifiers#Editions|{{hl|edition|Polychrome}}]] to a random [[Jokers|{{hl|orange|Joker}}]], destroy all other Jokers Available from start. Spectral Hex.png), by the effects of either Ceremonial Dagger (When [[Blinds|{{hl|orange|Blind}}]] is selected, destroy [[Jokers|Joker]] to the right and permanently add {{hl|orange|double}} its sell value to this {{hl|red|Mult}} <br> {{currently|{{mult|+0}}}} Uncommon Additive Mult Independent Ceremonial Dagger.png) or Madness (When {{hl|orange|Small Blind}} or {{hl|orange|Big Blind}} is selected, gain {{xmult|0.5}} and {{hl|orange|destroy}} a random Joker <br> {{Currently|{{xmult|1}}}} Uncommon Multiplicative Mult Independent Madness.png), it will continue to appear throughout the run until it has gone extinct. Cavendish ({{xmult|3}} <br> {{hl|green|1 in 1000}} chance this card is destroyed at the end of round Common Multiplicative Mult Independent Cavendish.png) will only appear if Gros Michel destroys itself naturally.

Gros Michel is essentially a must take in the early Antes; with it, most Two Pairs (16 combined rank or higher), any Three of a Kind, or any higher ranked hand is guaranteed to clear each Blind of Ante 1, and any of the common 5-card hands (Straight, Flush, and Full House) can clear up to the Big Blind of Ante 2 on any difficulty without help, provided the chip value is at least 79. Seeing it early also increases the odds of destroying it early, and gaining quick access to Cavendish ({{xmult|3}} <br> {{hl|green|1 in 1000}} chance this card is destroyed at the end of round Common Multiplicative Mult Independent Cavendish.png), a cheap and guaranteed source of Multiplicative Mult, which is essentially mandatory to clear the later Antes on any difficulty past Red Stake.

This Joker requires no real accommodation to be effective, and synergizes equally well with most starting decks. The exception to this is 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), as Additive Mult is not as powerful in it. However, Gros Michel unlocks Cavendish ({{xmult|3}} <br> {{hl|green|1 in 1000}} chance this card is destroyed at the end of round Common Multiplicative Mult Independent Cavendish.png), which is very strong on Plasma Deck, so this balances out.

This Joker unconditionally adds Mult, and can be effective with any hand as a result.

Building around Gros Michel will usually end up being a fruitless endeavor, as it can disappear at any moment. However, any build, regardless of synergy, will be happy to pick it up; not only does it provide a powerful bonus before expiry, but exhausting it unlocks the even more powerful Cavendish ({{xmult|3}} <br> {{hl|green|1 in 1000}} chance this card is destroyed at the end of round Common Multiplicative Mult Independent Cavendish.png). Thus, it can supplement any build. Although, if it remains for far too long, it may be necessary to ditch its secret potential in order to pick up a Joker that is more immediately beneficial.

It's best to avoid adding any editions to this Joker, since it will be lost when it becomes extinct. Try to hold onto 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) Tarot Card, or the Ectoplasm (Add [[Card Modifiers#Editions|{{hl|edition|Negative}}]] to a random {{hl|orange|Joker,}} {{hl|red|-1}} hand size Available from start. Spectral Ectoplasm.png) Spectral Card in the consumable area, until this Joker destroys itself, in order to maximize their value.

• Oops! All 6s (Doubles all [[listed probabilities|{{hl|orange|listed}} {{hl|green|probabilities}}]] <br> {{hl|grey|(ex: {{hl|green|1 in 3}} -> {{hl|green|2 in 3}})}} In one hand, earn at least {{hl|orange|10,000}} chips Uncommon Effect N/A (Passive) Oops!_All_6s.png): Obtaining these two Jokers simultaneously can either be an immense boon, or a huge risk, depending on the state of the run. Increasing the self-destruction odds to a 1 in 3 chance allows for Cavendish ({{xmult|3}} <br> {{hl|green|1 in 1000}} chance this card is destroyed at the end of round Common Multiplicative Mult Independent Cavendish.png) to appear remarkably faster, but also losing out on a potentially run-saving Additive Mult bonus. Consider all options before choosing it.
• Copying Gros Michel with Blueprint (Copies ability of [[Jokers|{{Hl|orange|Joker}}]] to the right Win a run Rare Effect Blueprint.png) and Brainstorm (Copies the ability of leftmost [[Jokers|{{hl|orange|Joker}}]] Discard a {{ph|Royal Flush}}. Rare Effect Brainstorm.png) does not increase the probability of self-destruction of Gros Michel or cause the copying Joker to self-destruct, so this can be used without additional risks.

• The Non-Perishable ( ) challenge bans Gros Michel.

• Gros Michel's stats were modified heavily prior to its release: During the first demo, it provided +10 Mult with a 1 in 10 chance to destroy itself. This then changed to +15 Mult with a 1 in 8 chance to destroy itself, and finally, its stats on release were +15 Mult with a 1 in 4 chance to destroy itself. It was yet again changed to a 1 in 6 chance to destroy itself following Patch 1.0.1f.
• The Gros Michel is a banana cultivar that once made up the vast majority of bananas consumed around the world. It was sweet, grew densely, and was resistant to bruising in transit. However, it was grown in a massive monoculture and was very susceptible to disease. After it was devastated by the fungal pandemic Fusarium wilt (a.k.a. Panama Disease or Tropical Race 1) in the 1960s, it was phased out in favor of the more disease-resistant Cavendish cultivar. This is represented in the "Extinct!" pop-up once destroyed and replacement in favor of the Cavendish; while not truly exctinct, it remains extremely vulnerable and is largely only grown by specialists.
• Gros Michel is one of the four jokers that is featured in the official physical playing card deck. The 3 others are Joker ({{Mult|+4}} Common Additive Mult Independent Joker.png), Juggler ({{hl|orange|+1}} hand size Common Effect N/A (Passive) Juggler.png), and Blueprint (Copies ability of [[Jokers|{{Hl|orange|Joker}}]] to the right Win a run Rare Effect Blueprint.png).
• This Joker is part of the group of "Consumable" Jokers that can be destroyed with usage, dubbed "Food Jokers" due to their shared theme. The other Jokers in this group are Ice Cream ({{Chips|+100}}<br>{{Chips|-5}} for every hand played Common Chips Independent Ice Cream.png), Popcorn ({{Mult|+20}} <br> {{Mult|-4}} per round played Common Additive Mult Independent Popcorn.png), Cavendish ({{xmult|3}} <br> {{hl|green|1 in 1000}} chance this card is destroyed at the end of round Common Multiplicative Mult Independent Cavendish.png), Egg (Gains {{Money|3}} of {{Hl|orange|sell value}} at end of round Common Economy N/A (Passive) Egg.png), Seltzer (Retrigger all cards played for the next {{hl|orange|10}} hands Uncommon Retrigger On Scored Seltzer.png), Turtle Bean ({{hl|orange|+5}} hand size, reduces by {{hl|red|1}} each round Uncommon Effect N/A (Passive) Turtle Bean.png), Ramen ({{xmult|2}}, loses {{xmult|0.01}} per {{hl|orange|card}} discarded Uncommon Multiplicative Mult Mixed Ramen.png), and Diet Cola (Sell this card to create a free [[Tags|{{hl|orange|Double Tag}}]] Uncommon Effect N/A (Passive) Diet Cola.png).^[1][2][3]
• If a Perishable () Gros Michel gets extinct at the 5th round, there will be an "Extinct!" pop-up first, followed by a "disabled!" in a blank space, which may be a bug.
• Gros Michel is the fifth Joker after Jimbo, Odd Todd (Played cards with [[Card Ranks|{{hl|orange|odd}}]] rank give {{Chips|+31}} when scored <br> {{hl|gray|(A, 9, 7, 5, 3)}} Common Chips On Scored Odd Todd.png) and Even Steven (Played cards with [[Card Ranks|{{hl|orange|even}}]] rank give {{Mult|+4}} when scored <br> {{hl|gray|(10, 8, 6, 4, 2)}} Common Additive Mult On Scored Even Steven.png), as well as Vampire (This Joker gains {{xmult|0.1}} per scoring {{hl|orange|Enhanced card}} played, removes card {{hl|orange|Enhancement}} <br> {{Currently|{{xmult|1}}}} Uncommon Multiplicative Mult Mixed Vampire.png) to get an official plush toy due to a merch collaboration with Makeship. The product is labeled Balatro Gros Michel Longboi.^[4]
  • The "Longboi" name could be a reference to the unusually tall mallard of the same name.^[5]

• Gros Michel appears as a weapon in the Ante Chamber DLC of Vampire Survivors.
• Gros Michel appears as an artifact in Monster Train 2.

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