Highlights

  • Minecraft's 1.21 update will introduce new variations of tuff and copper blocks, expanding their decorative purposes and making them more versatile.
  • Adding more uses for blocks like copper and amethyst can prevent them from being left behind and increase their relevance in the game.
  • Blocks like calcite, nether wart blocks, and shroomlight could be given more decorative uses to enhance the game's creative possibilities and add diversity to its flora.

Among the much-hyped features of trial chambers and auto-crafters, Minecraft's new variants of copper and tuff blocks haven't gotten as much spotlight. However, these new decorations should only be the start of what Minecraft can do with its underused blocks.

Minecraft will be adding new iterations of its tuff and copper blocks in its upcoming 1.21 update. For tuff this is in the form of what can be done with other types of stone (slabs, stairs, walls, bricks, polishing, and chiseling), which is a solid way to make the block fit in better with other rocks. Answering the call for Minecraft to do more with copper, 1.21 will add copper bulbs and copper grating in addition to other copper furnishings. This more industrial decor will also be affected by oxidation; bulbs in particular have different brightness levels based on oxidation.

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minecraft enchantment table, netherite armor, diamond armor
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More Minecraft Blocks Should Have Extra Decorative Purposes

Updating the resource in Minecraft 1.21 will prevent copper from being left behind. More uses with subsequent updates are good for keeping any resource relevant, even if those uses are cosmetic. This very fate has befallen many blocks in the game, including copper itself. Most players simply avoid or throw out copper due to its high volume compared to a low number of uses. Even coal, which is also extremely frequent underground, is more likely to be collected due to its wide array of extremely important uses (namely as torches and fuel). Fortunately, similar doses of extra utility could boost those other forgotten blocks.

Amethyst

Amethyst was introduced right alongside copper in Caves and Cliffs. Whilst Minecraft 1.21 has broadened its applications, it's surprising there aren't more forms that amethyst can take for decoration. Not only could amethyst blocks do with more forms, but the shards that grow from budding amethyst could do with more uses. Imagine if those protruding shards could be turned into molds—molds that could be mixed with sand and dyes to make colored crystals. All those shard pieces in blue, green, or red would expand the game's creative possibilities vastly by themselves.

Calcite

Another addition from Minecraft's Caves and Cliffs, calcite is a block found in geodes that looks very similar to marble. Given that, it's strange that statues or pillars can't be formed from it, especially since pillar-like blocks can be created from many other rocks. If realism is the goal, calcite has been used in many real-world decorations as far back as Ancient Egypt. Now that pottery has become an established item in the game, vases or pots formed from calcite would be a sensible addition to this line of items.

Nether Wart Blocks And Shroomlight

Minecraft's Nether Update made the dimension habitable, most notably with easy sources of wood. The fungi found in warped and crimson forests sport this wood for their stalks. In addition, their caps are formed from Nether wart blocks and shroomlight, neither of which have received any recipes for their use. With Minecraft's diverse array of decorative plants, allowing these fungal formations to be easily turned into decoration would give an alien twist to the game's flora. Maybe the wart blocks could be turned into a block like moss carpet or vines, perhaps made glowing by the addition of shroomlight.

Blackstone and Deepslate

Both blackstone and deepslate already have a good few decorative uses, but they still need to be updated to keep up. Minecraft players love using deepslate in their builds, and blackstone isn't far behind. The way darkly colored stone can contrast with all manner of other colors makes it very useful in creating. New ways to utilize these inspiring blocks could include embedding some of those colors within them, similar to how blackstone can already be found gilded in bastions. Reinforced deepslate has a distinctly skeletal look, so mixing deepslate and bones might be a decent way to play on this theme in casual decor.