A Pound of Flesh

A Pound of Flesh is a passive item added in The Binding of Isaac: Repentance.

Effects[]

Devil Deals and Black Market items can now be paid with coins.
- Anything that generates Devil Deals (such as Satanic Bible or the special chests in Dark Room) will also create items that cost coins.
Items in shops now cost health.
Consumables in shops have no cost, but are surrounded with spikes and can't be pushed out with an explosion.

Buying shop items for health does not prevent Angel Rooms from appearing.
Taking a health consumable surrounded by spikes at a single heart or less will still result in Isaac's death.
Immunity to spikes does not prevent damage when taking consumables in shops.
Shop consumables cannot be taken during invincibility frames, e.g. from taking another consumable.
When transformed into a ghost in Downpour II, shop consumables can't be taken even with Holy Mantle.
The item is not available to Keeper and Tainted Keeper normally. If acquired through Spindown Dice, Death Certificate or such, it has no effect.

Binge Eater: All shops become free stat-ups if the food item is chosen.
Restock: The price never increases, staying at one red heart container/three soul hearts for each item, and one full heart of damage for pickups.
- With Binge Eater, this can result in infinite stat gains.

Chaos: Items in Devil Rooms that would otherwise cost two heart containers will only cost one if found in Shops.

Flat File: No effect. Spikes generated surrounding consumables will not be removed.
Isaac's Heart: Consumables can no longer be picked up in shops.
Judas' Tongue: Does not lower Devil Deal prices. No effect on Shops.
Keeper's Box: Items and pickups generated outside Devil Rooms will cost health, but items generated inside Devil Rooms will cost coins.
Keeper's Sack: Because shop items no longer cost coins, stat bonuses are no longer gained from buying shop items.
The Lost: Only one item can be picked up from each shop; any other items will vanish. Consumables can be taken for free.
- However, multiple items can be bought from Devil Deals.
- Items will disappear when taking any consumable, so take any item first before taking a consumable.
- With Restock, the Lost can buy items indefinitely.
The Stairway: Affects Angel Shops the same way it does regular shops.
Steam Sale: Devil Deals will have their price reduced. Shop items will cost the same amount of health.
Store Credit: Store Credit becomes a useless trinket, as neither Devil Deals nor shop items will become free.

The name of this item is a reference to Shakespeare’s play The Merchant of Venice, where the Jewish moneylender Shylock asks the bankrupt Antonio for 'a pound of flesh' in payment for his debt.
The name of this item matches the description of the Potato Peeler, which also references the play.