The last up-close candle at a lower-high bounce — the next leg down fails to reach the prior low, and once price breaks back above this candle, it's confirmed as the mitigation block.
Setup
Price drops into a swing low.
SETUPBOUNCEFAILSREVERSALRETEST
It doesn't always look like this
Mitigation block vs. order block — an order block sits at the actual swing extreme. A mitigation block sits one leg earlier, at the lower high (or higher low) that the next leg fails to beat.
Works both directions — this bullish version is a lower high that holds. A bearish mitigation block mirrors it: a higher low that fails, marked by the last down-close candle at the top.
Often confused with a breaker — a breaker needs old structure to be swept through and reclaimed. A mitigation block's structure is never actually broken — the failure to make a new extreme is the whole signal.
Often confused with a propulsion block — a propulsion block taps into an existing order block without closing through its 50%, then rips away. A mitigation block is defined by the failed swing structure around it, not by respecting a midpoint.