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The Harbingers is the achievement that unlocks Boss Famine ingameFamine, Boss War ingameWar, Boss Pestilence ingamePestilence, and Boss Death ingameDeath as four additional bosses. The Harbingers are referenced in the Bible as the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. These bosses are only unlocked once Boss Mom ingameMom has been defeated for the first time. These bosses, with the exception of Boss Conquest ingameConquest and Boss Headless Horseman ingameHeadless Horseman, are guaranteed to drop either a Collectible Ball of Bandages iconBall of Bandages or a Collectible Cube of Meat iconCube of Meat. By default, there is a 10% chance the current floor's boss will be a Harbinger unless the floor has a fixed boss (for example, Boss Mom ingameMom in DepthsDepths and NecropolisNecropolis) or the Harbinger has been fought already. By using the Collectible Book of Revelations iconBook of Revelations on a floor, it is guaranteed that the boss will be a Harbinger.

Famine[ | ]

Boss Famine ingameFamine is the Harbinger for Chapter 1.

Boss Famine

Pestilence[ | ]

Boss Pestilence ingamePestilence is the Harbinger for Chapter 2.

Boss Pestilence

War[ | ]

Boss War ingameWar is the Harbinger for Chapter 3. War cannot be found in DepthsDepths II, NecropolisNecropolis II, or (except in Rebirth)Dank DepthsDank Depths II as Boss Mom ingameMom will always be the boss of that floor.

Boss War

Death[ | ]

Boss Death ingameDeath is the Harbinger for Chapter 4. Death cannot be found in WombWomb II, UteroUtero II, or (except in Rebirth)Scarred WombScarred Womb II as Boss Mom's Heart ingameMom's Heart or Boss It Lives ingameIt Lives will always be the boss of that floor.

Boss Death

Conquest[ | ]

Boss Conquest ingameConquest is an alternative boss to Boss Death ingameDeath in Chapter 4. He is unlocked once 10 items have been taken from Angel RoomAngel Rooms. Conquest does not drop normal Horseman items, instead dropping Collectible White Pony iconWhite Pony.

Boss Conquest

Headless Horseman[ | ]

Boss Headless Horseman ingameHeadless Horseman can appear in the place of any Harbinger. Like Conquest, he doesn't drop normal Horseman items, instead dropping Collectible A Pony iconA Pony.

Boss Headless Horseman

Unlockable Achievements[ | ]

Gallery[ | ]

Trivia[ | ]

  • Boss Conquest ingameConquest was added in the Binding of Isaac: Wrath of the Lamb. In the Bible, Conquest is actually the first Horseman to appear, while Boss Pestilence ingamePestilence is a Horseman existing only in popular culture, coming from a different translation of the Greek word 'Thanatos', often meaning Boss Death ingameDeath instead (the canon four Horsemen, thus, are Conquest, War, Famine and Death).
    • Boss Conquest ingameConquest's entry in the secrets is called "The Forgotten Horseman", because of that very reason.
  • Boss Death ingameDeath is the only horseman specifically given a name in The Book of Revelation.
  • The use of the Collectible Book of Revelations iconBook of Revelations item to summon a horseman for the current floor is reference to the fact that the book of the Bible in which the horsemen are described is Revelation.
  • None of the Harbingers have a death animation.
  • Under normal circumstances, Boss Conquest ingameConquest and Boss Headless Horseman ingameHeadless Horseman are 2 of only 5 bosses (the others being Boss Krampus ingameKrampus, Boss The Fallen ingameThe Fallen, and (in Repentance) Boss Baby Plum ingameBaby Plum if spared) who drop or can drop active items upon defeat.
    • (in Repentance) Boss Bumbino ingameBumbino can drop active items if paid 12 coins, but this does not defeat him in the traditional sense.
    • As for abnormal circumstances, the use of (in Afterbirth † and Repentance)Filigree FeatherFiligree Feather allows the Angels to drop active items, and the use of Collectible Satanic Bible iconSatanic Bible allows nearly any boss to drop an active item.
  • The horses used by the Harbingers resemble hobbyhorses.


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