Minecraft wiki entry for The_third_day, associated text: Choose a good technique for your extension. A good idea for your early days in Minecraft is cobblestone. "Stone" blocks (cobblestone, stone, granite, etc.) have higher blast resistance than dirt/planks, and cobblestone is the easiest to get in large quantities. It'll be hard for a creeper to do serious damage to a cobblestone shelter, but for a planks/dirt shelter, a large part or all may be blown up. Any form of shelter should be as strong as possible.