How to Tetris

30: Shallow Grave

Tutorial Videos

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Basics

Shallow Grave is a prophecy method. It is a single skim that leads to a T-spin double. Cremate is its sub-variant method.

It is helpful to even out an imbalanced field to create a T-spin double:

Diagram Set 30-1
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The 2 sides of the stack are uneven, even if you place double I pieces.

The above is inefficient and clunky. There is an easy way to skim it to even them out using Shallow Grave:

Diagram Set 30-2
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The field is initially uneven.The player uses an L-skim.
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The skim evens out the 2 sides around column 3’s hole.The player tops it with an S to make an easy T-spin double.

Its soft-dropped version is called Cremate, where the cavity with an overhang is created first:

Diagram Set 30-3
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Create this mid-game pattern (easiest during 9-0 stacking).Insert the J inside for a skim. It creates a T-spin double.

Doing the above with a J (or L if mirrored) evens the stack to create an easy T-spin double.

Common Mid-Game Chances

Using Shallow Graves or Cremate is straightforward mid-game.

1. Spotting an Uneven Stack

    Spot an uneven stack, where the left and right sides of a hole are imbalanced by 1 block in step 1:

    Diagram Set 30-4
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    The player pre-emptively places the Z this way. He lowers the L into the cavity.He spins the L horizontally, making a single line clear.
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    The resultant shape is a prophecy T-spin double.

    2. 9-0 Stacking Situations

    You can deliberately make a cavity that allows a Cremate to be used (step 2):

    Diagram Set 30-5
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    Starting field during 9-0 stacking.The player constructs the lavender part.
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    He lowers an L into the cavity, creating a single line clear.This shapes the field into a prophecy T-spin double.

    It is a strongly recommended method to learn. It also lets you get an extra non-back-to-back T-spin double while stacking up for a Tetris if the garbage hole is in columns 1 or 10.

    Advanced

    Shallow Grave and Cremate have 2 advanced variants.

    1. Stacking Cremates

      Cremates can be stacked:

      Diagram Set 30-6
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      The player stacks 2 Cremates, leading to 2 T-spin doubles.

      2. T-Spin Triple Cremate

      Cremate has another variant, shown below, where you can use it to make a T-spin-triple-like shape. This often leads to a prophecy C-spin:

      Diagram Set 30-7
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      This Cremate variant uses a J-skim in the above manner to make a T-spin triple.

      In a Nutshell

      Shallow Graves and Cremates are among the most popular, practical, and flexible prophecy T-spin methods. Wumbo is a known heavy user of the Cremate method. It is surprising that this method is not used as often by other high-level players.

      Pros and Cons
      ProsIncredibly flexible and allows for extra T-spin doubles in many situations.

      Can be used to fix uneven stack situations.
      ConsBreaks back-to-back bonuses.