Magic Skin

Magic Skin is an unlockable activated item added in The Binding of Isaac: Repentance.

Effects[]

Spawns an item from the current room's item pool.
Consumes one of Isaac's heart containers, one bone heart, or two soul hearts, replaced by a broken heart container which can never be filled, permanently reducing his maximum possible health.
- The priority order of hearts that will be consumed is: one heart container, one bone heart, and two soul hearts.
After using Magic Skin, if Isaac is not currently holding it, Magic Skin has a chance to replace any item that spawns in the future.
- The chance is 33% after one use, 50% after two uses, and 100% after three uses.
- If Magic Skin is on a pedestal somewhere on the current floor, the chance is drastically reduced. (Unpurchased Shop and Devil Deal items don't count.)
- Each new Magic Skin is fully recharged.
If Isaac gets 12 or more broken heart containers by using Magic Skin, this item will disappear and future items won't be replaced.

Notes[]

If using Magdalene with Birthright, Magic Skin won't disappear until you have 18 or more broken heart containers.
The Lost and Tainted Lost will be able to use the item once, after which it disappears. The item's chance of replacing later items does not trigger, making it equivalent to Mystery Gift.
- An extra item cannot be spawned when used with Car Battery.
Keeper and Tainted Keeper gain a broken coin container, reducing their effective health by 1.
- Keeper can use it up to 3 times, and Tainted Keeper can use it up to 2 times before Magic Skin disappears. But if they have Deep Pockets and Greed's Gullet, or Mother's Kiss, they can use it more than 2~3 times.
  - Although they can have 13 or more coin hearts in some environment, they still die when they have 12 broken coin heart containers.
If either The Forgotten or The Soul has 6 broken hearts by using Magic Skin, this item will disappear and they will instantly die. However, swapping character right after one of them reaches 6 broken hearts can prevent them from dying but permanently disable the one using it.
Tainted Lazarus is able to find Magic Skin while Dead Tainted Lazarus is carrying it, and vice versa.
? Card does not count toward Magic Skin's use limit. This is especially useful when playing as any of the 3 above characters.
Using Magic Skin after touching the white fire in Downpour II/ Dross II will still add broken hearts for when the character is revived.
Heartbreak or VI - The Lovers? will add broken hearts, lessening maximum use of Magic Skin.
Isaac dies instantly if he has 12 broken hearts.
Dying and reviving using any item will remove one broken heart, preventing Isaac from dying immediately.
Broken heart containers can be removed by donating to a Confessional.
In Treasure Rooms with a blind item, if the known item is Magic Skin, it's almost guaranteed the blind item is not.

Synergies[]

Book of Virtues: Spawns pink wisps on the middle ring. Wisps' tears poison enemies.
Car Battery: Spawns 2 items and adds 2 broken hearts (removing 2 heart containers or 4 soul hearts) with each use. Two broken hearts are added regardless of Isaac's remaining health. If Isaac already has 11 broken hearts and uses Magic Skin, it will only be used once.
Damocles: Spawns 2 items on every use instead of 1.
Dream Catcher: If Magic Skin has replaced the item in the Treasure Room, it will be shown in the dream sequence.
Esau Jr.: Since Esau Jr.'s health is separate from Isaac's, one character can use Magic Skin at no cost to the other. Future items will still be replaced when playing as the character that hasn't used Magic Skin.
Schoolbag: Isaac can keep Magic Skin in the inactive slot to prevent its respawning while still being able to use another active item.
Spindown Dice: Using Spindown Dice on Magic Skin 6 times turns it into R Key.
- Spindown Dice + Schoolbag: Allows Isaac to keep Spindown Dice between runs, allowing a theoretically infinite run with enough luck.

Interactions[]

Genesis: Removes all broken hearts as well as items. Magic Skin can still replace items in the Genesis room.
Glowing Hour Glass: Recovers a broken heart when used after using Magic Skin, does not recover soul hearts overwritten by broken hearts, this can kill Isaac. Reentering the room and using Magic Skin will spawn the same item.
Lemegeton: Magic Skin can be spawned by Lemegeton if it has been used in the current run. As long as Isaac has this flame, Magic Skin will not respawn/replace items.
Metronome: Getting Magic Skin from Metronome has a chance to instantly apply the item replacement and spawn Magic Skin as an item pedestal.
NO!: Does not prevent Magic Skin from replacing items, despite it being an active item.
TMTRAINER: Prevents Magic Skin from replacing items, since future Magic Skins will be glitched.
Void: Absorbing Magic Skin does not prevent future items from being replaced, including items spawned by the absorbed Magic Skin. Additional Magic Skins can be absorbed, allowing multiple items to be spawned per use at the cost of adding more broken hearts.
Revival Items: If Isaac's health container is full of broken hearts, one of broken heart is removed and revived with specific half or one heart according to revival items.

In-game Footage[]

Trivia[]

Magic Skin originates from the Antibirth mod.
The item is a reference to the book by French novelist Honoré de Balzac called La Peau de chagrin, known in English as The Wild Ass's Skin. In the story, the main character finds a talisman made of donkey skin that grants wishes, but each wish causes the talisman to become smaller, as well as his lifetime. He attempts to get rid of the skin, but it always finds a way to return to him.
This also may be a reference to the goatskin Jacob uses to trick his father Isaac into thinking he was Esau, thus giving him his blessing along with the divine right God had promised Abraham (Isaac's father), which included inheriting the promised land and having his bloodline bring forth the Messiah.