After learning 2-look OLL and PLL, it’s obvious that full OLL and PLL are the next steps. But what about after that? Winter Variation, Summer Variation, VLS, ZBLS, COLL, and OLLCP are all algorithm sets for last layer. Don’t worry if you haven’t heard of any of these before because this article covers which ones you should learn, and which ones you should ignore.
COLL
COLL from speedcubedb.com
| Algs | Pros | Cons |
| 40 | – Fewer algs – PLL Lookahead | Recognition is tough |
Perhaps the most used out of the set, COLL is a set that solves OLL and corners of PLL to result in U-perm, Z-perm, or H-perm. Keep in mind that this set only covers the cases when OLL edges are already solved. This set is relatively small (40 cases) and can make solves very fast. Most cubers that average under 12 seconds have learned at least some of this set. There is also a set called OLLCP that does what COLL does for all OLL cases but it has 331 algs which is too much to learn.
Winter Variation
Winter Variation from speedcubedb.com
| Algs | Pros | Cons |
| 27 | – Fewer algs – Easy recognition | WV case doesn’t appear that often |
This set is also another extremely popular set. Winter Variation solves last pair (only when it is a free pair) and OLL simultaneously. Its popularity is largely due to its low number of cases, and ease of recognition. This is an easy-to-learn set that anyone sub-30 should consider learning. This set also has a less popular variation called Summer Variation that solves OLL for any R U R’ f2l insert.
VLS
VLS from speedcubedb.com
| Algs | Pros | Cons |
| 432 | OLL skip | WAY too many algs |
This set is just winter variation except the yellow edges don’t need to be oriented. Because of this, the cases will show up much more often. But a major con is that there are 432 algs, meaning learning this set will require a crazy amount of dedication.
ZBLL
24 out of the 472 zbll algorithms displayed in Anthony Brook’s full zbll pdf
| Algs | Pros | Cons |
| 472 | Extremely fast last layer | WAY too many algs |
Most top cubers also know an algorithm subset known as zbll, or Zborowski-Bruchem Last Layer. This is a subset to solve last layer when all OLL edges are solved and it contains 472 algorithms. Combined with zbls (Zborowski-Bruchem Last Slot) which inserts the last pair and orients OLL edged and has 305 algorithms, this is effectively 1-look last layer, but with only 799 algs compared to the 3,915 in 1LLL. Although this is an extremely fast algorithm set, it’s way too large for anyone who’s not world-class to commit to learning.
In the end, the alg sets you learn just depend on how much time and dedication you have. Most of the alg sets mentioned in this article are good and will make you faster, it’s just that some yield more “speed per alg” than others, and it’s important to be smart while choosing which algorithms to learn.
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