ICT Propulsion Block — The 2024 PD Array That Precedes Explosive Moves
The Propulsion Block is a 2024 ICT concept identifying a specific two-candle sequence that acts as the launch pad for the algorithm's most powerful displacement moves. Understanding it gives you entries right at the start of major moves.
The ICT Propulsion Block is a PD Array concept introduced as part of the 2024 mentorship material. It identifies a specific candle or two-candle structure that appears immediately before a major algorithmic displacement move — the "propulsion" that launches the explosive delivery. The Propulsion Block represents the final institutional accumulation zone before a large impulsive move, and it becomes a reaction zone on the first return after the move.
What Is a Propulsion Block?
A Propulsion Block forms when the last one or two candles before a major displacement move show a very specific structure: a candle (or pair of candles) that closes at or near its extreme in the direction of the upcoming move, with minimal wick on the body side and the majority of the candle's range creating a gap (FVG) with the subsequent displacement candle.
In simpler terms: the Propulsion Block is the last consolidation candle before the big move. It is the algorithm's final compression before release. The candle looks unremarkable in isolation — it may appear to be just another candle in a range. But in the context of what follows it (the explosive displacement), it was the last moment of balance before institutional orders overwhelmed the market.
Identifying Propulsion Blocks
- diamondLook back at any major displacement move on your chart. Find the candle immediately before the first large displacement candle.
- diamondThe Propulsion Block is typically: a candle with a small body that closes in the direction of the upcoming move, with minimal overlap with the subsequent displacement candle.
- diamondThe gap between the Propulsion Block candle's extreme and the displacement candle's start creates a micro-FVG — this is the propulsion zone.
- diamondMark the high and low of the Propulsion Block candle (or the two-candle structure if two candles form the block).
- diamondThis zone — the Propulsion Block range — becomes the reaction zone on the first return after the displacement move.
Trading the Propulsion Block
The Propulsion Block trade is a retracement entry after a displacement move. After the explosive displacement delivers price significantly beyond the Propulsion Block, wait for a retracement. The first retracement back to the Propulsion Block zone is your entry opportunity. This retracement represents price returning to the last consolidation point before the move — the area of maximum institutional intent.
Entry: a limit order at the midpoint of the Propulsion Block candle's range. Stop: just beyond the outer edge of the Propulsion Block (below the low for a bullish entry, above the high for a bearish entry). Target: the next significant liquidity pool beyond the displacement high (for bullish) or low (for bearish).
Propulsion Block vs Order Block — The Distinction
The Order Block is the last opposing candle before the move (the last bearish candle before a bullish move). The Propulsion Block is the last same-direction candle before the move amplifies (the last consolidation candle, which may actually be bullish, immediately before an even larger bullish explosion). They are adjacent concepts, and both often exist together: the OB precedes the Propulsion Block, and the Propulsion Block precedes the displacement.
The Propulsion Block is particularly powerful when it overlaps with an FVG or Order Block from the preceding sequence. When the Propulsion Block zone aligns with a prior OB and together they form the retracement entry zone, the confluence of three elements (Propulsion Block + OB + first return after displacement) creates one of the most reliable entry structures in the entire advanced ICT toolkit.