You’re playing The Binding of Isaac: Repentance. You have a decent run going. Maybe you’ve got a couple of damage ups, some decent health, and you’re feeling confident as you head into the Caves. Then, you see it. A gray, shimmering card on the floor. You pick it up. The Reverse Stars card in Isaac is basically a ticking time bomb of potential and absolute heartbreak.
It’s one of those items—well, consumables—that makes your heart rate spike the moment you realize what it does. Unlike the standard "The Stars" card, which simply teleports you to the Treasure Room and calls it a day, the Reverse Tarot version (officially known as The Stars?) is a high-stakes gamble that can either fix a mediocre build or completely dismantle your synergies. Honestly, it’s the definition of "high risk, high reward."
If you haven’t unlocked it yet, you’re missing out on some of the most chaotic min-maxing the game has to offer. But use it wrong? You’ll be staring at the "Game Over" screen wondering where your best items went.
How The Reverse Stars Card Actually Works
Let’s get the technical stuff out of the way first. When you pop The Stars?, it removes your oldest passive item. In exchange, it spawns two items from the current room's item pool. That sounds simple, right? It isn't.
Think about your "oldest" item. Usually, that’s your starting item or the very first thing you picked up in Basement I. If you’re playing as Isaac, that could be nothing (since the D6 is active). If you’re playing as Cain, you might lose your Lucky Foot. The game tracks the order of every single item you touch.
The strategy here is deep. You aren't just losing an item; you are trading history for a double-down on the present. If your first item was something garbage like Infestation or The Bean, losing it to get two shots at a Secret Room item pool is the easiest decision you’ll ever make. But if you picked up Magic Mushroom as your first item? You’d have to be insane to use this card. Or very, very desperate.
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Why Secret Rooms Are The Only Place To Use It
Most players who know what they're doing won't just use the Reverse Stars card in a random hallway. That would be a waste. If you use it in a standard room, you get Treasure Room items. Fine, but not "game-breaking" fine.
The real pros wait. They find the Secret Room. Why? Because the Secret Room item pool contains the heavy hitters. We’re talking Death’s Certificate, Rock Bottom, Glitched Onion, and R Key. By using the Reverse Stars card Isaac mechanic in a Secret Room, you are effectively trading one old, potentially useless item for two chances at the most powerful items in the entire game.
It’s a math game. You’re trading 1 for 2. In a game like Isaac, where item density is everything, that’s a massive net gain.
However, there is a catch that catches people off guard constantly. If the room doesn't have a specific item pool (like a normal hallway), it defaults to the Treasure Room pool. If you use it in a Devil Room, you get Devil items—but you also lose that first item. You have to be incredibly intentional about where your character is standing the moment you press "Q."
The Tainted Isaac Interaction
If you’re playing as Tainted Isaac, the Reverse Stars card is basically a cheat code. Tainted Isaac already has a limited inventory of 8 items. When you use the card, it still removes the oldest item, but since you’re constantly swapping items out anyway, you can "curate" what your oldest item is.
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It’s a bit of a dance. You drop the items you want to keep, pick up a "buffer" item to be the oldest, and then fire off the card. It’s one of the few ways Tainted Isaac can actually bypass his item limit effectively because the two new items spawn on the pedestal, and you can choose how to integrate them into your build.
Unlocking The Chaos
You don't just get this card for free. This is Repentance, after all. You have to earn the right to ruin your run.
To unlock The Stars?, you need to defeat Ultra Greedier as Tainted Isaac. It is not an easy feat. Greedier mode is notoriously punishing, especially with Tainted Isaac's inventory management stress. But the reward is worth the gray hairs. Once it’s in your card pool, it starts appearing in shops, chests, and as drops from skull-crushing.
Common Mistakes That Will Kill Your Run
I've seen it a thousand times. A player gets excited, sees a Secret Room, and pops the card. Then they realize their "oldest" item was C-Section or Sacred Heart.
- Forgetting your item order. If you haven't been paying attention to what you picked up first, check your inventory screen. The items are listed in order. The one at the top left is the sacrifice. If that's your win condition, keep the card in your pocket.
- Using it in the wrong pool. Using it in a shop is usually a bad idea unless you have Member Card or something special going on. Shop items are great, but they aren't "sacrifice a passive" great.
- The "Empty Room" Glitch/Feature. If you use the card in a room that has already had its item pool exhausted, you might get "Breakfasted." Seeing two milk cartons spawn after sacrificing a good item is a soul-crushing experience.
Real Talk: Is It Actually Good?
Honestly? Yes. It’s one of the strongest consumables in the game. In the hands of a player who knows how to manipulate item pools, The Reverse Stars card is a run-winner. It’s the ultimate "pivot" tool. If you’re on Depths II and your damage is lagging, you can gamble your starting item for a chance at a massive power spike.
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It represents the core philosophy of The Binding of Isaac: the willingness to give up safety for the chance at godhood.
Sometimes you lose your Spoon Bender and get two useless active items that you can't even pick up. That's Isaac. That's the game. But that one time you trade a Range Up for Glitched Onion and Sacred Heart in a Secret Room? You’ll be chasing that high for the next fifty runs.
Actionable Steps for Your Next Run
If you find yourself holding this card, don't panic. Follow these steps to maximize your value:
- Check your inventory. Identify exactly what item is in the "first" slot. If it’s a core part of your build, do not use the card unless you find a way to "reroll" that slot (which is rare).
- Find a Secret Room. Don't settle for a Treasure Room. Use a bomb, find the Secret Room, and use the card there.
- Clear the floor first. You might find an item in a chest that is "worse" than your current oldest item. If you can somehow manipulate your inventory (like with Tainted Isaac or by using certain D-6 variants), do that first.
- Look for Echo Chamber. If you have Echo Chamber, using a Reverse Stars card becomes incredibly dangerous because it will trigger again. This can actually delete your entire inventory if you aren't careful. Be warned.
- Check for "The Lost" or "Tainted Lost." If you're playing these characters, this card is pure gold because you rarely care about your early-game utility items compared to the raw power of a Secret Room pool.
Don't let the fear of losing an item stop you from using one of the most powerful tools in The Binding of Isaac. It’s a gamble, sure. But in a basement filled with monsters and demons, a little gambling is usually the only way out.
Next Steps for Mastery:
To truly master item manipulation, you should study the specific weights of the Secret Room item pool. Knowing the difference between the likelihood of spawning Inner Child versus Death's Certificate will help you decide if the sacrifice is worth the weight of the potential rewards. Also, keep an eye out for Blank Card; having a repeatable way to trigger Reverse Tarot cards is the fastest way to an "Infinite" run, provided you have a steady supply of items to sacrifice.