Solid: Cube
Cut 1: Vertex
Sequence: B
Term: 1
Cut 2: Edge
Sequence: A
Term: 2
Analysis,
Tips & Tricks
| Name | Number | Colors | Permutation | Orientation | Orbits |
| Edge | 24 | 2 | Odd | N/A | 1 |
| Face | 48 | 1 | Even | N/A | 2, Chirality |
Slice Summary
| Cut Type | Layer | Period | Pieces Affected | Total Parity |
| Vertex | 1 | 3 |
1. 2 Edge Three Cycles 2. 4 Face Three Cycles |
Even |
| Edge | 1 | 2 |
1. 3 Edge Swaps 2. 4 Face Swaps |
Odd |
Method 1
This method groups edges into two piece edge groups, then solves them as on Cube VB1, then solves the faces.
Step 1 - Group and Store eight Edges
Each edge group consists of the two edges bearing the same two colors. Vertex twists do not break up any edge groups; each edge twist breaks up four edge groups. Form the first eight edge groups opportunistically and intuitively, and place them so that the remaining four edge groups lie on one edge slice, called the working slice. The first eight edges are called stored edges. For instance, with a working slice of UF, the unsolved edge groups should be placed at UR, UL, FR, and FL (following discussion will assume a UF working slice).
At the beginning of this step, edges can be paired very opporuntistcally because there is not much in the way. Later in the step, pairing usually uses the working slice to pair edges, however at this point the two vertices next to the working slice can be twisted because the UF edge there can still be disturbed. Generally the UF edge is last to be stored, at this point the vertices adjacent to the working slice become locked in.
Step 2 - Group remaining Edges
Now the edge pairing strategy is to use rotations of the working slice and an algorithm to flip edge groups to group the remaining edges. The algorithm below is an edge three-cycle. The UF rotations move edge between edge groups, the commutator in the middle flips the edge groups.
Move edge between edge groups: UF UR (UBR- UDR+ UBR+) UR (UBR- UDR- UBR+) UF
The commutator within that algorithm should be well-understood so it can be used to flip any one or two edges in the working slice. In certain special cases, edge groups can be aligned using this flip algorithm so that all four edge groups can be paired with a single UF twist.
Step 3 - Solve Edges
Proceed to solve the edge groups as on Cube VB1. The reduction is very imperfect. On Cube VB1, edges are always in an even permutation and are not flippable. However in this step, an even or odd number edges may be flipped, and the edges may be in an odd permutation. To deal with this, some algorithms are given below. Notice that the three-edge flip algorithm consists of three UF turns and two edge group flips (the direction of the UBL turns is important).
Three cycle edges: UFR+ UFL+ UFR- UFL-
Swap two edges: UR UF (UFR+ UBR+ UFR-) UF (UFR+ UBR- UFR-) UR
Flip two edges: UF (UFR+ UBR+ UFR-) UF (UFR+ UBR- UFR-)
Flip three edges: (UF (UR (UBR+ UBL- UBR-) UR (UBR+ UBL+ UBR-)) x 2 UF
Step 4 - Solve Faces
Solve the face pieces using the following three-cycle. Be mindful that the faces fall into two orbits due to chirality.
Three cycle faces: (UR FR UR) UFL+ (UR FR UR) UFL-