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I have a populous village now but am not interested in the villagers' trading options. I'd like to make sure some of them have an unfortunate "accident" so they can be replaced.

Obviously CSI: Minecraft can't draw anything back to me lest I feel the wrath of an Iron Golem or two.

How can I pull this off selectively (i.e., as specific to a villager of my choice as possible?)

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What about building a 4-block hole, putting a block of lava in the bottom of it, and putting a hatch on top of the hole? Then, when the unsuspecting villager comes by, open the hatch! –  Koviko Aug 13 '12 at 18:38
@Koviko pressure plate... –  fredley Aug 13 '12 at 19:07
@QAdley But then, you can't accurately control which villager meets their demise! –  Koviko Aug 13 '12 at 19:16
+1 for awesome title and "CSI Minecraft" –  hammythepig Aug 13 '12 at 19:27
@Koviko: Simply AND it with a lever. Wait until the desired villager is in range, flip the switch, and then wait until they do the rest. –  MBraedley Aug 14 '12 at 2:17

5 Answers 5

up vote 46 down vote accepted

I just tested these two options in my village right next to an Iron Golem, and he didn't bat an eye...

  • Use a flint and steel to light the spot on the ground below them on fire, being careful not to hit them by accident. Then just let 'em burn. Oh, and be careful not to set anything else on fire when you do it. If anything else nearby catches, just punch it to extinguish it.

  • You can gently nudge villagers where you want them to go, so you could dig a 2-block deep hole next to the "mark", nudge them into the hole, then quickly drop a couple of sand or gravel blocks down on them from above to suffocate them.

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Flint and steel FTW! –  fbrereto Aug 13 '12 at 19:06
As for "gently nudging", putting them on a minecart on its way to the gulag camp (... or to a drop into the lava if you feel merciful) works for me too. –  Martin Sojka Aug 14 '12 at 9:46


Carefully place a bucket of lava by your victim innocent bystander. Once they are aflame, pick it up again so it doesn't spread too far!


Light them on fire with flint & steel. You can punch out the flames immediately to minimize collateral damage.


Carefully dig a hole directly beneath them, and fill it in with sand/gravel.


Construct a water flow that drowns them (look up some mob traps). 'Accidentally' knock them into it.

Zombie Apocalypse

Got access to a zombie spawner? 'Pipe' your zombies with water flows into the center of the village. Unless they've got an iron golem, there may be a few casualties.

Remember: It's not you, it's the hostile environment.

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You may need to exercise even more caution now with the pretty scary update, or your villagers won't reproduce after other villagers have "accidents." From the version history:

After a villager dies to natural causes, excluding mobs, while a player is within 16 blocks or if a mob kills a villager, no baby villagers will be produced in the next few minutes ( http://www.minecraftwiki.net/wiki/Version_history#1.4.2 )

You may want to send less useful villagers to serve out the rest of their lives in iron golem farms, or you could create some "death rails" for sending villagers who have outlived their usefulness 20 blocks away from the village to "a place where accidents happen"

Keep in mind that with the update and village reputation you'll want now more than ever to avoid direct involvement. Gary's mantra rings true:

Remember: It's not you, it's the hostile environment.

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Thanks for the post regarding the 1.4.2 update. –  fbrereto Oct 27 '12 at 16:05

If you want to have even more fun: make LANDMINES :D

This is an effective way of both killing the villager and enjoying yourself as you watch the explosion. For even more bonus points, gas leaks in houses are a common 'accident'.

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I don't think indiscriminate killing is what the OP is after... –  Pureferret Oct 27 '12 at 2:36
Controlled blasts are not indiscriminate –  Wijagels Oct 28 '12 at 21:28

My strategy is to dig a deep hole then put a TNT two blocks down and gravel/sand on top, then a pressure plate. When they step on the plate, they trigger the tnt and fall with the gravel/sand. They'll die either from the fall or from the explosion.

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