ST Stacking
It is unrecommended to learn to jump before you can stand
But you can always learn st stacking
OnePunMan
A popular stacking method used in Ultra which is essentially a repetition of SZ Props on top of one another. One of the easier stacking methods to learn. Also efficient—almost every T is used for scoring.
The stacking method itself is not used in multiplayer because you cannot quickly clear your accumulated lines. However, there are several benefits that you will gain from learning this method that will translate to multiplayer:
- Since it is impossible to do ST Stacking without planning your future pieces, it trains you to look at previews
- It is a good introduction into efficient stacking
- There are some mid-game opportunities where you can do a limited amount of ST Stacking
Compare ST Stacking (left) with LST Stacking (right), another 7-2 stacking method. The difference is that LST Stacking alternates between L and S while ST Stacking only uses S on the left two columns.
Note how LST Stacking is a bit denser, which leads to LST Stacking having a higher efficiency ceiling.
Typical Progression
A typical progression goes something like this: TSD → TSD ... → TSD → Tetris → TSD → TSD ... . Watch this replay to get a general idea.
While this stacking method is named after how Ss are placed on the leftmost 2 columns, most people use Zs and put them on the rightmost 2 columns instead.
Two Is are used to lower the overall stack with a Tetris.
Overview
People usually divide the field into 3 parts when thinking about how they will place their minos.
- Left part: Free Style
- Middle part: Modular Stacking with repeating units
- Right part: Repeat Zs and do T-Spin Doubles.
Building
Left Part
The left part is mostly stacked freestyle. In the beginning, people usually start with 2 Ts (two are used at a time due to parity) in this part to build up this part of the stack:
Around every 25 to 30 TSDs, you will need to use 2 Ts in this part.
This particular J-Spin, combined with a S, is pretty useful:
Middle Part
The middle part is not stacked freestyle but is rather stacked with modular repeating units, making the shape marked light blue below.
There are four different ways to make this shape, shown below. The first one is the most preferred way to make this shape because using Ss in the left part can make its stacking a bit tricky. The last one should be avoided because most Zs should be used in the right part.
Some piece combinations can account for two modular units:
Using modular units and dividing the stack into 3 parts is an easy way to think about ST Stacking, but the overall goal is to have notches that are two lines apart. So once you become comfortable with ST Stacking, there will be a blurring of the lines between the left and the middle parts.
Right Part
The easiest part where you just stack Zs and do occasional Tetrises with Is
Mid-game
Whenever you see ① a platform where you can prop an S (left purple part below) and ② a field where the height difference with the platform is no more than 2 (the right sky blue part below), you can do a SZ Prop.
If you repeat this two or more times, it could be considered as ST Stacking. If you use SZ Prop on a flat surface twice, it is possible to return to a regular 7-2 stacking by placing a J/L.
If you repeat this three to four times, you can use an I to return to regular 7-2 stacking, but repeating it more than two times is generally not recommended because it is risky.
An example of doing an SZ Prop/ST Stacking mid-game: