Meyer method

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Meyer method
Meyer.png
Information about the method
Proposer(s): Richard Meyer
Proposed: ~2007
Alt Names: none
Variants: none
No. Steps: 5
No. Algs:
Avg Moves:
Purpose(s):
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Scrambled cube -> 2 opposite centers -> 1x3x4 block -> Last centers -> Remaining dedges -> Solve as Roux -> Solved cube


Meyer is a frequently used speedsolving reduction method for the 4x4x4 cube.

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Meyer method is a 4x4x4 speedsolving method proposed by Richard Meyer meant to suit users of the Roux method. It can also be applied to bigger cubes.

Overview

  1. Solve 2 opposite centers (usually right and left)
  2. Solve a 1x3x4 block on the left using one of the built centers
  3. Solve the remaining 4 centers
  4. Pair up the remaining dedges without messing up the block
  5. Do 3x3 stage with Roux (first block is already solved)

Pros

  1. M-slice method of pairing is arguably more ergonomic than the E-slices used in Yau.
  2. Suited for Roux solvers.
  3. Instead of rotating (like you would in Yau) during dedge pairing you can do more ergonomic Rw moves and pair with the M slices.

Cons

  1. It can be difficult to perform the m-slice in the 3x3x3 stage and only becomes exponentially more difficult for each size the cube grows by.

Improvement

  • Mismatching Centers+: With Meyer you can don't actually have to be color neutral. You can instead build any 2 opposite centers, build the First Block that you usually build and when you get to 3x3 stage just do U'M*U to solve it. If you are color neutral then you can just build whichever centers are the easiest and the same for the First Block, further reducing the movecount.
  • CMLL+OP: If you recognize during CMLL that you have OLL Parity then you can do the algorithm from a certain angle to cancel moves or get a better CMLL. In some cases you can also do setup moves to OLL Parity and then undo them to solve the CMLL.

Shadowslice-Meyer variant

Initially proposed by Joseph Briggs (a.k.a. "shadowslice") in 2015, this method also focuses on creating a 4x4x4 reduction method that will lead up to a Roux 3x3x3 phase. It differs from the Meyer method in that after the 1x3x4 block on the left is formed, a second block, in this case, a 1x3x3 block on the right, is formed. This is to reduce the number of edges that are "hidden" (i.e. cannot be seen without rotating the cube -- it has only 1 compared to 2 for Meyer and Yau). Interestingly, this method was proposed semi-independently as a "sort of variant" of Yau as Briggs had no prior knowledge of the Meyer method, although he later decided that his method was indeed a variant.

  1. 2 opposite centres
  2. 1x3x4 block on left
  3. 1x3x3 block on right and one additional paired edge in FR
  4. finish centres
  5. move FR Dedge to UL and finish edge pairing (it is recommended to use 3-3 edge pairing)
  6. 3x3x3 stage (finish SB, CMLL, LSE)

See also

External links