The Rule on Successiveness (The B2B rule)

1.3   The Basics: The Rule on Successiveness

Beginners in Tetris Battle are perhaps wondering what it means when the back-to-back (B2B) symbol appears as they remove lines and send them to their opponent. Even those who have played the game long enough perhaps do not also know the essence of a back-to-back move. Why is it that Pros stack up for Tetrises and T-spins and do them as successively as possible? Why don’t they just do a Tetris or a T-spin then do a triple or a double, then do a Tetris or a T-spin again? Why do they inconveniently wait for the T or I Tetrimino to remove lines as they build instead of removing random lines using random pieces? It’s because they are applying the rule on successiveness.  

In Tetris Battle, the term for removing a line is called a move, which is different from just stacking up. A move results to the removal of a line, while stacking up is simply building up to prepare for a move. There are various ways of doing a move or removing a line. For instance, we can remove a line using the Z-Tetrimino, or the O-Tetrimino, and the list goes on. However, there are certain moves or tricks which, when you do them successively, results to a higher line sent than the first. This is what I termed as the rule on successiveness.

It is important to note that this rule is only applicable to two distinct moves. That is – The TETRIS and the T-SPIN. The TETRIS gameplay style and the T-SPIN (Unlimited T-Spin) gameplay style are two of the most powerful gameplay styles known in Tetris Battle. We are going to discuss these styles on a later section. For the mean time, we discuss the rule on successiveness which is the very factor that makes these two styles effective.

The rule on successiveness is simply this:

If you do a Tetris AND/OR a T-Spin (Any type of T-spin) as a move, your next move, if it is also a Tetris AND/OR a T-spin, will result to a higher line sent.

To illustrate, here is the relationship.

MOVE	LINES SENT
T-Spin Mini	1
Your Next T-Spin Mini (B2B T-spin mini)	2
T-Spin Single	2
You Next T-Spin Single (B2B T-spin single)	3
T-Spin Double	4
Your Next T-Spin Double (B2B T-spin double)	6
T-Spin Triple	6
Your Next T-Spin Triple (B2B T-spin triple)	9
Tetris	4
Your Next Tetris (B2B Tetris)	6

What is the picture I’m trying to paint in your head?

 For instance, you do a Tetris as your first move. As we all know, this sends 4 lines to your opponent. However, if your next trick or move is also a Tetris, it won’t send 4 lines. Instead, it will send 6 lines, as based on the table. As long as you don’t break the pattern, that is, you only remove lines by doing a Tetris, your second or so Tetris will result to a 6 line sent instead of a 4. On another note, if you do a Tetris, which sends 4 lines, then you do a mere double as your second move, a Tetris as your third move will still send 4 lines, NOT 6. Hence, the term rule on successiveness.

It is important to note that the rule on successiveness is not the same as doing a Combo, although the two share a similar theory. When doing a combo, you cannot move then stack up, then do a move again. You should remove lines continuously in order for the combo not to break. The rule on successiveness, however, allows you to stack up in the middle of your moves, provided that your next move is the same with the previous (e.g. First move, T-Spin double, Second move, T-Spin double). In other words, the rule is applicable even if you do not remove lines continuously which is how a combo functions. Now, you ask, what if I apply the rule on successiveness and at the same time, I’m doing a combo, that is, I do the same trick continuously? Here’s the amazing part about the two concepts. BOTH ARE CUMULATIVE. Yes, the lines sent you get in a combo and the lines sent you get in a back-to-back move adds up. So in theory, if you are on your 6^th combo, and you do a Tetris, and then on your 7^th combo, you also do a Tetris, that single drop results to 10 lines sent. TEN LINES SENT. That’s equivalent to a perfect clear.

You’re saying to yourself now, “I’m going to do that.” Try it.

P.S. It is impossible. Try to figure out why. But don’t worry, in theory, or the theory itself, is true. J


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