When people think of Azazel, they think of starting with flight and short range Brimstone, coupled with range and health issues

For Isaac, its how the D6 will turn out today, be it in Devil room, shop or item room rerolls

With the Lost, all those tasty free Devil Deals, at the cost of extreme fragility

For Lazarus?

“How soon can I die?”

Yeah, that should be the strongest indicator about this fella

Lazarus is by no means a bad character. At worst you never resurrect as Reborn Lazarus, and you have base Isaac stats, which is quite passable. You start with Anaemic, which is extremely forgettable, and one random pill. But without actually having Lazarus’ Rags as a passive (this is important), you have the ability to come back as Lazarus Reborn. Lazarus Reborn is an excellent character but what is so unique about him? Lets take a look

There are a lot of resurrection items in Isaac. Judas’ Shadow, 9 Lives, 1UP, Guppy’s Collar and the Ankh. A few trinkets too such as the Broken Ankh and Missing Poster. So what makes Lazarus’ Rags as an extra life so special? Its not being reborn as a strong character, because Black Judas is a far superior resurrection in nearly every aspect.

Its because you resurrect in the same room as you die. Without resetting the enemies in the room

This is an incredible boon, especially on tougher bosses such as Hush and Delirium. Imagine getting them down to the last few remnants of health when you suddenly die. With any other resurrection you restart the entire fight, and unless you have a broken run or a very powerful one, it will be a difficult repeat because of the low health you restart with. However Lazarus Reborn stays in the room and stays fighting, with a boost to strength. Admittedly its just one hit more, because his starting health is one red heart, but it provides a safety net nonetheless

This is also the only possible way to kill Delirium with Plan C, since his death animation will prevent you from surviving long enough to reach the chest after using it

This resurrection is also very helpful for Lazarus if he wants to take early Devil Deals. I mentioned him being similar to Isaac, but if there is a Devil Deal costing a sum total of three or more red hearts, Lazarus comes out alive and stronger whereas Isaac probably has to fume at the missed Brimstone/Incubus/etc

Finally his starting pill. This is by no means a reliable starting boost, but it is a definite advantage. Unless you are a anti-pill purist and never intend on taking a single one your entire run on principle, this immediately identifies one pill, which is great regardless of the pill effect. Tears Up, Health Ups, etc are a nice stat boost and you can now use them as you find them later in the run with zero anxiety. Bad pills like Amnesia, Bad Trip, Health Downs, etc are now identifiable from the get go, removing one pill from doubt, and the first floor is most forgiving for their negative effects. Plus it can be helpful for certain achievements and unlocks such as Lachryphagy (multiple Tears up) and Marbles (multiple Gulps)

And thats it for Lazarus. Everything I said above was just about the best he can do. Full confession, after getting his post-it complete, he is one of my least used characters. But he could be worse, and thats the concluding statement for the fallen baby

Shoo Anaemic, we dont want you here