The Bindening™: Tarot Cards & Suit Cards

The Binding of Isaac★ 4 · 108 ratings3.6k views94 favorites4 min readby DoniaUpdated Apr 6, 2014View on Steam ↗

Introductory

Tarot Cards & Suit Cards can make or break a run when used effectively. They're a really great help in achieving certain goals, avoiding damage, or even skipping entire skippable segments of later floors.

Knowing what they do is vital to your success in this game, knowing how to use them even more.

Tarot Cards

Name
Effect
Tips
Teleports you to the starting room of the level
You can use this card to get out of a Curse Room without taking damage or to escape a Challenge Room
Grants you homing projectiles for that room
Useful if you need to focus more on dodging than hitting in any boss fight
Summons Mom's Foot to stomp on a random enemy. Acts as an explosion and will destroy rocks as such. Deals significant damage
Useful for boss fights. Will target you if there are no enemies to target
Increases damage by 2 and speed by 1, for one room
---
Teleports you to the Boss Room
You could skip Sheol, Cathedral, the Chest with this card, teleporting straight to the boss
Spawns 2 Spirit hearts
---
Spawns 2 (full) red heart pickups
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Grants you temporary invincibility. Causes you to damage enemies by touch, but disables your firing
Useful to use in order to avoid taking damage or to inflict damage. Can also be used to get free plays at a Blood Donation Machine / Devil Beggar
Spawns a Bomb, Key, Coin and Heart pickup
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Teleports you to the Shop
Will unlock the Shop automatically, so you can use this card to enter one without paying. If there's no Shop on the floor this card will randomly teleport you somewhere else
Spawns a Slot Machine. Slight chance to spawn a Fortune Teller
--
Increases damage by 1 and adds a heart container, for one room
The added heart container can be used to make a Deal with the Devil
Gives you the ability to fly for one room
---
[/tr]
Damages all enemies in the room a fair bit
Not very useful against bosses, unless they have different hittable bodyparts, such a Larry Jr.
Spawns a Blood Donation Machine
--
Increases damage by 2, for one room
Works like a Book of Belial, does not stack with one
Spawns 6 troll bombs randomly around the room
Useful if you're out of bombs and want to blow up rocks or such. Helpful against bosses and enemies, although this card has a track record of damaging the user
Teleports you to the Treasure Room
Will unlock the Treasure Room automatically, so you can use this card to enter one without paying. If there's none on the floor this card will randomly teleport you somewhere else
Teleports you to the Secret Room
Also allows you to leave without using a bomb, but doesn't allow you to re-enter
Functions as a XXI The World and a XIII Death card. Fully heals, too
Best used as a last-ditch effort to fully heal yourself againt a boss, damaging them in the process
Spawns a Beggar, might spawn a Devil Beggar
Using this card in an Angel or Devil Room yields better results. Otherwise, a Curse or Secret Room yields better results than others
Reveals the entire map's layout and the location of special rooms (Secret / Treasure / Shop / Curse / Boss / Miniboss / Self Sacrifice)
Useless if your map is disabled via a Curse of Darkness or if you already have the map visible via the combination of the Treasure Map and Compass items
[/table]

Suit Cards

Suit cards are much easier to understand, there are only 5, and 4 of them are very similar.

Name
Effect
The Joker
Teleports you to the Deity Room*
Two of Clubs
Doubles your bomb amount. Gives two bombs if used without any
Two of Diamonds
Doubles your existing money. Gives two pennies if used without any
Two of Hearts
Doubles your filled heart containers. Refills two if used at half of a filled heart container
Two of Spades
Doubles your key amount. Gives two keys if used without any

* The Deity Room can be either the Devil or the Angel Room.
It's advisable to use this card after beating the Boss, when no Devil or Angel room has spawned. That way, you're sure to use it on a floor where you would not otherwise have had a Deity Room.

Credits

- Images: Taken by myself in-game with the help of Cheat Engine
- Information: My own experience with details from the Binding of Isaac Wiki[bindingofisaac.wikia.com]

This is a small segment taken from my giant and comprehensive Binding of Isaac Guide

Check it out, it's got everything.

Why was this guide made, if the information comes straight from your other guide?
My other guide is big. It's huge. And it's got everything from basic movement to the final boss.
I decided to upload this smaller segment for people that specifically want to know about the Cards, without having to scroll through my entire guide just to find it.

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