The QiYi Warrior S Carbon is based on the Warrior S, QiYi’s budget 3x3 (QiYi is also known as MoFangGe), and covers it in black stickers with a carbon-fibre texture. The result is a cube that looks almost entirely black, with the colours of the plastic visible only at the edges of each piece.

• BrandQiYi
• Type3x3
• SizeAround 56 mm
• MagnetsNo
• FinishCarbon-fibre stickers over coloured plastic

Design

The base cube is stickerless, meaning the colour is in the plastic itself. On top, each piece carries a black sticker with a carbon-fibre pattern that covers almost the whole visible face. This style, which some shops call phantom, means you have to identify each piece by the narrow strip of colour left visible, so recognising cases is harder than on a normal cube.

How it works

Inside it’s a non-magnetic 3x3 from QiYi’s basic range. The Warrior S was a revision of the Warrior W with an improved mechanism; it’s light and turns easily, with the tension (how tightly the layers are held together) adjustable via the internal screws. With no magnets, the layers don’t settle back into place on their own at the end of a turn.

What level is it for?

The mechanism is entry-level, but the decoration makes it more demanding on the eyes. It tends to appeal to people who can already solve the 3x3 and want a cube with a different look or a recognition challenge. For learning from scratch, a 3x3 with solid colours is clearer.