Death Blossom

A stem cell whose candidates each link to an almost-locked set.

Learn the Death Blossom technique: a stem cell links each candidate to a petal almost-locked set; a digit shared by all petals is trapped and cut elsewhere.

How to use it

  1. Pick a stem and its petals. Choose a stem cell with three or more candidates. For each candidate, find a petal almost-locked set that holds that digit and is seen by the stem on it.
  2. Find the shared digit Z. The petals must all share another candidate Z that is not one of the stem candidates. Whatever the stem turns out to be, its petal collapses and is forced to place Z.
  3. Eliminate Z across the petals. Because Z must land in one of the petals, remove Z from any cell outside the flower that sees every Z candidate across all petals.
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