Magdalene

Magdalene, or Maggy, is a character unlocked by obtaining seven or more Red Heart containers at once in a run. She starts with four Red Heart containers and Yum Heart.

Magdalene starts with a Speed Up pill after completing the Aprils Fool challenge.

Magdalene starts with a Full Health pill after completing the Aprils Fool challenge. Both Full Health and Health Up are guaranteed to be in the run’s pill rotation.

Notes

Magdalene's strength lies in her naturally high health and her starting item, Yum Heart.
- With her high number of Red Heart containers, Magdalene can afford more Devil Room deals.
- She has more health to spend on sacrifices, including Blood Donation Machines, Sacrifice Rooms, and items that grant effects upon taking damage like Bloody Lust.
- In co-op, Yum Heart will also heal other players for half a Red Heart when used.
- If Magdalene is at full health, combined with a fully charged Yum Heart and a Full Health pill, she can step on a Sacrifice Room spike seven times, allowing her to potentially get two Angel Room items on the first floor. However, this will leave her with only a single Red Heart.
Magdalene's biggest weakness is her low starting speed. Obtaining items that increase speed should be prioritized, as she may not be able to dodge high-speed or homing attacks.
- Once the Aprils Fool challenge is completed, this disadvantage is removed as she will start every run with a Speed Up pill.

Item Interactions

Birthright: Grants +1 filled Red Heart. Increases maximum health to 18 Hearts.

Favored Items

Items that trigger on player damage, such as Gimpy and The Virus, stand to see more action through Magdalene's high health.
- Self-damaging items such as Razor Blade, Kamikaze! and IV Bag also gain in utility.
A single speed-boosting item such as The Belt will negate Magdalene's speed weakness.
The AAA Battery trinket allows the Yum Heart to take only 3 rooms to charge instead of 4.
Guppy's Paw allows Magdalene to turn her four initial heart containers into twelve Soul Hearts - the maximum number of soul hearts possible.
The Habit and 9 Volt are blessings to Magdalene's regeneration if she still holds Yum Heart, as they allow the item to recharge itself much more quickly. Combined with Sharp Plug, the two previous items allow to get infinite pickups with items such as Piggy Bank or Fanny Pack
Leech and Charm of the Vampire are also useful for regenerating health upon killing enemies.
Old Bandage will have a chance to drop a heart upon being hit, which may come in handy if Magdalene's low on health.
Placenta's regenerative abilities can further supplement Magdalene's self-healing. The same applies to Little C.H.A.D.'s red heart generation and other similar healing items.
The Wafer is helpful to Magdalene's health-driven play style.
Shielding items can be used to compensate for Magdalene's low speed. (Infamy, Holy Mantle, etc.)

Disfavored Items

Abaddon removes all red heart containers, which can turn out to be a disadvantage for Magdalene.
Bucket of Lard's heart container bonus is tempting, though it's better to avoid this item initially as it would render Magdalene's speed very low. Any other speed down items are to be avoided as well (Taurus may make an exception from its speed increase over time and My Little Unicorn effect if the speed becomes high enough).
Dark Bum eats red heart pickups, which can dampen Magdalene's regenerative play style. However, used in conjunction with her starting Yum Heart, Dark Bum can be a powerful way to turn otherwise redundant pickups to your advantage.
If Dead Cat is picked up early, it takes away Magdalene's primary strength (high health) and exacerbates her biggest weakness (low avoidance).

Unlockable Achievements

Maggy's Bow - Complete the Boss Rush as Magdalene.

Cute Baby - Defeat Mom's Heart on Hard mode as Magdalene.

Guardian Angel - Defeat Satan as Magdalene.

A Cross - Defeat Isaac as Magdalene.

Maggy's Faith - Defeat The Lamb as Magdalene.

Celtic Cross - Defeat ??? as Magdalene.

Censer - Defeat Ultra Greed as Magdalene.

Glyph of Balance - Defeat Ultra Greedier as Magdalene.

Purity - Defeat Hush as Magdalene.

Red Baby - Defeat Mega Satan as Magdalene.

Eucharist - Defeat Delirium as Magdalene.

Yuck Heart - Defeat Mother as Magdalene.

Candy Heart - Defeat The Beast as Magdalene.

The Dauntless - Use Red Key (etc.) to open the hidden closet in Home as Magdalene.

Colorful Baby - Earn all Hard mode Completion Marks as Magdalene.

Unlockable Starting Items

Complete Aprils Fool (challenge #32) - Start with a Speed Up pill.
Complete Aprils Fool (challenge #32) - Start with a Full Health pill. Also guarantees that both Full Health and Health Up are in the run’s pill rotation.

Gallery

Magdalene's transition screen portrait.
The spawn floor when playing Magdalene.
Magdalene's locked character icon.

Trivia

Maggy appeared in the original Binding of Isaac, with the same unlock method.
Magdalene's name is a reference to Mary Magdalene, a female follower of Jesus who witnessed his death and ressurection.
- Magdalene's unlock requirement of having seven heart containers may be a reference to the "seven demons" that were driven out of Mary Magdalene.
Magdalene is the name of Isaac’s mother Magdalene O. Moriah, or MOM. The last name Moriah is a reference to the biblical story of Isaac where Moriah is the name of the mountain Isaac was to be sacrificed on in the Book of Genesis.
The image file for Maggy's hair is named "maggiesbeautifulgoldenlocks.png".
Maggy's hair appears to be identical to the wig that Isaac receives in one of his mid-floor nightmares.
- The person with gold hair in Ending 14 and Ending 22 has been confirmed to be Isaac wearing a wig, which furthers this idea.
- Another piece of evidence is that the four playable female characters all have Isaac's voice.
Maggy's locked icon shows her bound in chains.
- She shares this trait with Cain, Samson, Eve, Lazarus, Bethany, and Jacob and Esau.