Cavendish

Cavendish gives X3 Mult.

Effect: X3 Mult 1 in 1000 chance this card is destroyed at the end of round

How to get Cavendish in Balatro: it only appears after Gros Michel goes extinct in your run. Common, $4, X3 Mult. Odds, combos and tips.

Cost: $4

Rarity: Common

Category: Multiplicative Mult Jokers

Unlock requirement: Available from start. (Can only appear in the shop when Gros Michel has destroyed itself in the current run.)

Verdict

X3 Mult for $4 at Common rarity, with a risk that rounds to nothing. The best score-per-dollar card in the game.

Why it works

X3 unconditionally, every hand, with no build requirement. The Rare jokers that also give X3 — The Order, The Trio — cost $8 and only fire on a specific hand type.
The 1-in-1000 destruction roll happens once per round. Over a thirty-round run that is roughly a 97 percent chance it survives the entire time.
At Common rarity it appears constantly in shops once it is available, so it is one of the few top-tier jokers you can actually plan on finding.
Copying it with Blueprint gives X9, and the copy is not subject to the destruction roll.

Joker placement

Right of every additive joker.

How to play

Buy Gros Michel deliberately and let it die. Cavendish cannot appear in your shop until Gros Michel has destroyed itself in the current run, so the "bad" 1-in-6 card is the key to the good one.
Buy it the moment you see it. At $4 it is nearly always the correct purchase.
It is a strong Blueprint target early, before you have a scaling joker worth copying.

Combos

Gros Michel

Gros Michel gives +15 Mult while alive and unlocks Cavendish's X3 when it dies.

Cavendish is gated on Gros Michel self-destructing this run, so the two are a deliberate sequence rather than alternatives.

Blueprint

X9 Mult for $14 total, and the Blueprint copy keeps working if the original pops.

X3 copied is X3 again, multiplying to X9. Blueprint does not roll for destruction.

Traps

If you never took Gros Michel, or it has not self-destructed yet, Cavendish is not in your shop pool at all. Players wait for a card that cannot appear.
Oops! All 6s doubles the destruction roll to 1-in-500. Still negligible, but worth knowing before you assume it is free.
Do not build around it. It is X3 and it stays X3 — excellent value, but it will not carry you past Ante 10 alone.

Benchmarks

Ante 8

A flat X3 for $4 is usually the single most efficient purchase available between Antes 2 and 5.

Endless

Still fine as a flat multiplier, but flat multipliers stop mattering once the requirement is multiplying by 10x per ante. Pair it with something uncapped.

How it works

Cavendish gives X3 Mult. At the end of each round it has a 1 in 1000 chance to be destroyed. It is Common and costs $4, and Blueprint and Brainstorm can copy it.

Only appears in the shop after Gros Michel has destroyed itself in the current run.

How to unlock

Available from the start.

Copyable by Blueprint/Brainstorm

yes

Best combos

Gros Michel: You need Gros Michel to go extinct first before Cavendish can show up.
Blueprint: Copies the X3 Mult.
Brainstorm: Another copy of X3 Mult from the left.

Frequently asked questions

What does Cavendish do in Balatro?

X3 Mult 1 in 1000 chance this card is destroyed at the end of round

Is Cavendish good in Balatro?

Cavendish is S-tier (8.9/10). X3 Mult for $4 at Common rarity, with a risk that rounds to nothing. The best score-per-dollar card in the game.

What is the best Cavendish combo?

Cavendish with Gros Michel: Gros Michel gives +15 Mult while alive and unlocks Cavendish's X3 when it dies. Cavendish is gated on Gros Michel self-destructing this run, so the two are a deliberate sequence rather than alternatives.

When is Cavendish a bad pick?

If you never took Gros Michel, or it has not self-destructed yet, Cavendish is not in your shop pool at all. Players wait for a card that cannot appear.

Where should Cavendish go in the joker order?