The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth: zeusdeegoose’s ULTIMATE CHARACTER TIER LIST

• Each DLC has it’s own separate list as each DLC brings new changes to several characters. Flash is the only one exempt from this rule as each character stayed static (for the most part). The sections are, as follows:
• Flash
  
• Rebirth
  
• Afterbirth
  
• Afterbirth+
  
• Repentance
  
• Each list is based on the most up-to-date version of each DLC. Previous patches are not considered for the list.
• This list is relative; ultimately character choice usually only affects the start of any given run; items and damage taken decide the outcome of any given run. If your favorite character is lower than you’d like, that’s okay! This guide is mostly meant for newcomers who want to win as easily as possible, and is only considering their starting kit, not how fun they are to play as.
  Each list is considered with all of the unlocks with each character unlocked; ex. Keeper has 3 coin hearts in the Repentance Tier list.
• Any repeated character will simply have their placements moved, with changes noted in the explanation. Unchanged characters aren’t listed.
• REPENTANCE ONLY: Birthrights will be noted but do not affect any rankings.
• REPENTANCE ONLY: The tier list is a work in progress at the moment, check back later!
• Tier explanation:
• S: Borderline game breaking. Holds various strengths that make them a step above the rest.
  
• A: Notably strong, smack dab in the middle of overpowered-ness and being a good character.
  
• B: Good. contains various strengths that are desirable but may have several downsides that may shy away some. They typically scratch a specific niche in characters that some may enjoy, while others may not.
  
• C: Average. The baseline character; no major strengths nor weaknesses, or has a great strength ruined by a few factors.
  
• D: Poor. More bad than good; strengths may be weak or nonexistent.
  
• F: Unviable. Has numerous downsides that are hard to counterbalance, even with good items.
  
• U: Unranked. Reserved exclusively for Eden (and Tainted Eden). Their unpredictable nature makes them impossible to rank.

S: None
A: Cain, Isaac
B: Magdalene, Judas
C: ???
D: Eve
F: Samson
Explanation
Cain
Cain is the best character in Flash, outclassing Isaac in several regards with no downsides.
+ Luck Foot: No bad pills, making up for his lack of initial power
+ High starting damage
+ Higher speed than usual
– Lack of Range and 1 less HP than Isaac, BUT pills will eventually negate this anyways
Isaac
Isaac is the first character unlocked, and is by far the most simple. Although arguably weak at first, the D6 snowballs him into the A tier.
+ D6 as starting item, the best active item in the game
+ No major gimmicks which hold him back
+ Rounded stats
– Pretty weak without D6 (probably a B or C tier)
Magdalene
Maggy is an okay character, potentially appealing to newcomers. While she has one more HP to work with than Isaac, and Yum Heart to heal, Red Heart damage isn’t good and harms her placement, particularly with her low speed, which reduces her movement capabilities. You will find success in Maggy, but not as great as Isaac or Cain’s potential.
+ 4 HP, and Yum Heart, giving her lots of HP to go around
+ Her tank playstyle makes her among the best starting characters
+ HP can be used to get more coins, more sacrifices, Devil deals, etc
– Low speed. Can be counterbalanced with items/pills (Note: Taking hits to Red Hearts significantly decreases Angel/Devil Deal chance)
– Sacrifice rooms kind of suck in Flash
– Angel deals are a waste with this character
Judas
Judas could be interchanged with Maggy. Judas is the glass cannon; he has 1 HP but has a high damage and starts with Book of Belial, giving him more damage to work with. More technical players will find success in him, while newer players may struggle greatly with this character.
+ High damage, far outclassing other characters in this regard
+ BoB gives even more damage to you
+ BoB gives a higher deal chance
– 1 HP means you could be facing one-shots as soon as Basement 1
– Low HP favors Angel Deals more
???
??? is intentionally bad, but still has numerous positives compared to other characters. He can only have Soul hearts, and each respective heart container is converted into a singular soul heart. Other than that, he is essentially Isaac with soul hearts and without a D6.
+ Harder to lose deal chance with soul hearts
+ Some items have decent synergies with soul hearts only, like The Polaroid and Book of Revelations
+ The Poop is decent, having some niche use cases, especially with Petrified Poop
+ Rounded stats, like Isaac
– All Devil deals cost 3 soul hearts
– Certain items are detrimental with Blue Baby, like Dead Cat and The Razor
– Blue Baby lacks a lot of the HP that most characters typically get
Eve
Eve is a character that relies a lot on self damage, making her a lot more dangerous to play as than most other characters. Although she has the potential to be incredibly strong, her initial starting damage rate and reliance on self damage to gain her buffs, as well as Dead Bird being a mediocre item make her one of the worst characters in Flash. With the right items and circumstances, Eve can be strong but at the start, she ends up on the wrong side of the coin.
+ The ♥♥♥♥♥ of Babylon gives her a great amount of damage compared to other characters
+ Hidden ability; Soul hearts spawn more frequently with Eve
+ Devil deals and Guppy’s Paw can help Eve remove all of her red HP
+ High speed
– Less HP to go around in general
– Awful base damage
– Angel deals are useless with Eve
– No easy way to self damage yourself without items, meaning you’ll avoid most HP up items (non self-damage = deal loss)
– Dead Bird is useless
Samson
Surprising almost nobody, Samson is easily the worst character in Flash. He has some of the worst stats in the game (beating out WoB-less Eve’s damage by one), poor starting HP, and by far the worst starting item, Bloody Lust (upon killing an enemy, you receive [Formula: 0.23(enemy kills) – 1] damage, stacking up to ten times), which can only grant a maximum of 2.3 damage per room (very slightly beating out Judas’s base damage, IF you can even reach that). Samson is notoriously weak, almost unambiguously being the worst pick in Flash, with very little upsides.
– Worst starting HP discounting Judas
– Terrible stats in general
– Bloody Lust is bad as an item
– Survivability is very, VERY poor

S: None
A: Isaac, Azazel, Judas
B: Cain, Magdalene
C: Lazarus, ???, Eve
D: Samson
F: The Lost
U: Eden
Explanation
Azazel
Azazel is the strongest with power by far. He starts with flight, a 1.5x damage multiplier, and a short ranged Brimstone, making his damage output very high. While his range is mediocre, it can be combated very easily with many of the boss pool items.
+ Flight
+ Short ranged brimstone
+ High damage output
– Poor range
– Some Brimstone synergies are more mediocre with Azazel
Judas
+ Damage multiplier
+ Deals are now guaranteed so long as you hold the Book of Belial
Cain
+ Damage multiplier
– Bad pills can now be obtained, significantly nerfing him
Lazarus
Lazarus is similar to both Eve and Samson, in that they do more damage when they take damage. Lazarus is probably the best of this bunch, as once he dies, he permanently receives the damage ups. Unfortunately, base Lazarus holds no special attributes (with some nerfed stats compared to Isaac’s), significantly harming his placement.
+ 1 revive for Lazarus
+ Lazarus Risen has better stats than Lazarus
+/- Starts with a pill
– Below-average stats for Lazarus
– Damage multiplier for Lazarus Risen is disappointingly small
– Poor range for both Lazaruses
Eve
+ Much, MUCH better stats than previously
– 0.75 damage multiplier without ♥♥♥♥♥ of Babylon
Samson
Samson received a rework in Rebirth, which did make him more viable, but he ultimately remains a poor choice. Each time he takes damage, he gets a small damage buff, all the way up to 7 damage gained. Unfortunately, the main reason he remains a low tier is because the damage resets upon entering a new floor. And remember, damage is not required nor recommended.
+ Improved stats
– Bloody Lust is still a mediocre pickup
– Damage buff resets each floor
– High shot speed can be irritating at times
The Lost
The Lost (specifically it’s Rebirth incarnation) is the worst character in the game’s history. No questions asked. He starts with flight, but can only take a single hit of damage before biting the dust. Not for the faint of heart.
+ Flight
+ Can take all devil deals for free
+ Starts with the D4 (3DS only)
– ONE SHOT SENDS YOU BACK TO THE BEGINNING OF THE GAME. NUMERO UNO. Because of this, he has the worst survivability in the game’s history. This alone contends him among the worst in the game.
– Angels are useless with The Lost since Devil deals are free
Eden
Eden is an unranked character, chiefly due to his randomized nature. He starts with a random item, active item, and a set of HP and stats, which can be incredibly useful or ultimately detrimental to the run.
+ Randomized items!
+ Randomized stats!
+ Randomized HP!
– Randomized items…
– Randomized stats…
– Randomized HP…

S: None
A: Isaac, Azazel, The Lost
B: Lilith, Cain, Magdalene, Eve, Judas
C: Lazarus, ???
D: Samson, The Keeper
F: None
U: Eden
Explanation
The Lost
+ THE HOLY MANTLE. THANK YOU.
+ Spectral tears!
+ The D4 is now platform wide!
– Using the D4 rerolls Holy Mantle
Lilith
Lilith is one of the most unique characters in the game, fighting with a familiar, but being able to duplicate all of her familiars with Box of Friends. There’s not a lot to explain with her, as the Box of Friends essentially acts as a double damage button.
+ Box of Friends
+ Battery items make Lilith a very potent fighter
+ Many items are much stronger with Incubus (ex. Cursed Eye)
+ Cambion Conception is a solid addition to Lilith, albeit unnecessary
+ Decent HP
– Can be disorienting to fight with her at certain points
– Certain items like Dr Fetus and Ipecac can be detrimental at some points
– Box of Friends must be held to receive all of the benefits of Lilith
Cain
+ Starts with the Paperclip
Judas
– Deals no longer guaranteed
Magdalene
+ Reworked sacrifice rooms improve her potential by a fair bit
Eve
+ Gains the Razor which makes it much easier to trigger WOB without losing deal chance/soul hearts
The Keeper
The Keeper is the new bottom tier of Afterbirth, being intentionally bad, and while arguably better than Rebirth Lost in several regards, he still remains a very poor choice for most.
+ Triple shot
+ Wooden nickel greatly improves survivability for The Keeper
+ Some Trinket exploits are possible and lead to an easy victory
– Mediocre stats (discounting damage)
– Coin hearts don’t protect against deal chance lost
– Devil deals cost coin hearts, making Angels essential
– 2 coin hearts to begin with
– An extra coin doesn’t help much

S: None
A: Isaac, Azazel, The Forgotten, The Lost
B: Lilith, Cain, Magdalene, Eve, Judas
C: Lazarus, ???, Apollyon
D: Samson, The Keeper
F: None
U: Eden
The Forgotten
The Forgotten is a melee-focused character, being among the best characters in the game. He has the Body, which has bone hearts, can swing it’s bone dealing lots of damage, and the Soul flies, using Soul hearts, and can shoot regular tears.
+ The Forgotten deals lots of damage
+ Can also toss the bone as well
+ Bone hearts are very effective as deal chance protectors
+ The Soul can enter curse rooms for free
+ The Soul can also sacrifice itself to steal a devil deal (so long as you switch back fast enough)
– Each respective characters has a max of 6 hearts
– Forgotten: Poor range
– The Soul has a chain which limits it’s movement
Magdalene
+ Starts with a Speed pill after completing a challenge
Lazarus
+ Lazarus Risen has permanent Anemic after completing a challenge
Apollyon
Apollyon is a rather controversial character, being able to “absorb” items, giving him stats from it. Active items are absorbed and can be used with each Void.
+ Void breaks tear cap
+ Rounded stats
+ Some decent game break potential, with Forget Me Now and Mega Blast
– Receiving Speed and Shot Speed from Void REALLY sucks
– Some Void combinations can be ultimately detrimental
– Mediocre starting HP
Samson
+ Gains Child’s Heart after completing a challenge

S (unordered): Tainted Bethany, Tainted Keeper, Tainted Eve
A: Isaac, Tainted Isaac, Azazel, The Forgotten, Tainted Magdalene, Tainted Lilith, ???, The Lost
B: Lilith, Cain, Magdalene, Eve, Judas, Tainted Judas, Tainted Samson, Tainted Lost, Tainted Apollyon, Tainted Forgotten, Tainted Jacob, Lazarus, The Keeper,
C: Jacob and Esau, Apollyon, Tainted Azazel, Tainted Lazarus
D: Samson, Bethany, Tainted Cain
F: None
U: Eden, Tainted Eden

For time’s sake I cannot cover all of the new character’s abilities (this is being worked on, sorry!) so I recommend you look them up on the wiki for the time being.
Tainted Bethany
+ Lemegeton leads to some of the strongest synergies in the game
+ Soul hearts only character
+ Problematic items can be easily removed by taking wisp damage
+ Blood charge is MUCH better than Bethany’s soul charge
+ Item wisps grant high defense
– Slightly lower damage from normal items
– Poor birthright
– Losing wisps can occasionally be temporarily detrimental
Tainted Keeper
+ High survivability
+ Shops are BROKEN
+ Lots of money to go around with Tainted Keeper, making his one of his downsides essentially non-existent
+ Quad shot
+ Decent Birthright
– Angels still cost money
Tainted Eve
+ Incredibly high DPS with the clots
+ The clots have a very high HP
+ Birthright = Win
+ Sumptorium can save your clots
+ Clots provide a good HP buffer, meaning you can play sacrifice rooms more
+ Incredibly high defense
– Low HP, meaning Angels are favored more
– Don’t take rotten hearts. Trust me.
– Poor starting stats, counterbalanced by the high HP
Tainted Isaac
+ Far more choice over all items
+ HP ups aren’t removed when obtained
+ Good Birthright
+ Rounded stats
– 8 item limit

Azazel
– Brimstone stays out for a slightly shorter amount of time, including for Azazel
Tainted Lilith
+ Incredibly high DPS with the fetus whip
+ Decent HP
+ Solid birthright
+ The fetus can open chests, and push around pickups
+ Solid range
– Slow
Tainted Magdalene
+ Very easy to play
+ High DPS when hugging
+ Enemies drop half hearts (mostly when hugged)
+ Draining hearts do not remove Deal chance
+ Lots of one-item breaks
+ High survivability
– Draining HP, although often irrelevant
– Womb and beyond becomes significantly harder for T Maggy as she loses a full heart of damage, but receives only half a heart
– Poor damage multiplier
– Some items are detrimental, like Dead Cat
– Devil deals are detrimental when playing as her
– Mediocre birthright
???
??? received some buffs in Repentance, making him much, MUCH more viable than previously.
+ Reduced Devil deal costs, essentially invalidating Angel deals for ???, and improving his survivability
+ Innate Lil Larva effect, which makes The Poop a lot better than before
The Lost
+ Eternal D6 is much better than the D4
+ Mantle can no longer be removed by rerolls
– Only one Devil deal per room can be taken now
Tainted Judas
+ Easy to play
+ Dark Arts is a solid item
+ Projectile based bosses are invalidated
+ Free curse rooms
Tainted Samson
+ Berserk is very useful at many points
+ Solid stats
+ Berserk prevents you from dying SO LONG AS you have HP when it ends
– Berserk cannot be manually deactivated, meaning bosses like Mega Satan take forever
Tainted Lost
+ Damage multiplier
+ More high quality items
+ Same benefits as The Lost
+ Holy cards spawn frequently when playing as T Lost
– No Mantle
– No defensive items in general with few exceptions
– Some explosive items are detrimental
– Same downsides as The Lost (including Devil deals nerf)

Tainted Apollyon
TBD
Tainted Forgotten
TBD
Tainted Jacob
TBD
The Keeper
+ 3 coin hearts
+ Coin hearts now block against deal loss
+ Devil deals no longer cost coins
Jacob and Esau
TBD
Tainted Azazel
TBD
Tainted Lazarus
TBD
Bethany
TBD
Tainted Cain
TBD
Tainted Eden
TBD