Minecraft wiki entry for Combat, associated text: Magma cubes are one of the only mobs to spawn in the basalt delta, and they spawn in all sorts of quantities, making them harder to battle. Plus the biome itself is hard to navigate, filled with lava pits and magma blocks, and it is quite easy to jump into or be hit into a hole with lava at the bottom, which is sure doom for the player. An easier way to deal with a group of magma cubes is to shoot an arrow at one of them from a safe place out of the magma cubes range, so they cant see you. Once you have shot the magma cube it will either come after you or just ignore you depending on how far away the player shot it from. Repeat this process until there is no more giant magma cubes, then you can rush in and kill the smaller ones, or, if you don't want the magma cream, you can shoot them from far away.