Blaze

Blaze(a.k.a. Nether Guard, Guardian) is a type of mob that can be seen floating around The Nether. In their passive state they are confined to the ground and do not blow smoke. They will not start flying unless they spot the player. When aggressive, they catch fire for a short while before making their attack in the form of a three round burst of fireballs. After the attack they have a short cool down and then they will catch fire and attack again. Their bodies are made up of a head atop a central column of smoke, and three rotating sections, each rotating section contains four floating yellow rods. They drop Blaze Rods, and can spawn naturally or from a spawner in Nether fortresses. The triple fireballs they shoot can set players on fire. Unlike fireballs fired by Ghast, even though they look the same, they are not explosive, and they cannot be deflected.

Combat
Blazes are one of the most difficult mobs to fight, due to their ranged, unblockable attacks and rapid rate of fire. Their ability to fly usually leaves the player's melee weapons useless, with their bow's charging time leaving them highly vulnerable. On the other hand, Blaze have a much shorter attack range, which makes it more feasible to snipe them from afar. Blaze can only spawn in light level 12 or lower, so it's very hard to light the entire spawn area properly to prevent them from spawning. Much like Ghasts, the Blaze's ability to fly can make it difficult to recover their loot after killing them. However, you may be able to fight them at close range by pulling them in with a fishing rod while they are in the air.

Blaze spawners occur in Nether fortresses, and will start spawning Blazes once the player gets close enough. The spawners have a chance of spawning 1-3 Blazes at once. 'Camping' at a Blaze spawner is an effective way to gather Blaze Rods, as they will always appear close enough to attack with a sword, and there is a delay in their attack after they spawn because they have to charge first. This is best done in combination with the fire resistance potion in effect, which makes the player immune to the Blaze's attacks and can be brewed by adding Magma Cream to awkward potion.

Trivia

 * The light level of an area to disable a spawnable area has to be 13 or higher. That means you have to place torches everywhere(or in a checkered fashion) in the spawner's spawn radius to prevent them from spawning. As torches only have one light level more, this makes it very difficult but still possible to disable a spawner.
 * This mob takes damage over time from standing in water similar to the Enderman; by placing ice obtained with the "Silk Touch" enchantment and a roof over the spawning room it may be possible to create a blaze grinder.
 * Blaze cannot shoot if trapped in a Cobweb.
 * Blaze do not have a body, unlike other mobs. They are simply floating heads over a cloud of smoke surrounded by spinning rods.
 * Unlike Ghasts, projectiles fired by a Blaze cannot be deflected, so hitting the projectiles would be pointless.
 * Blaze projectiles will set whatever they hit on fire, which includes solid blocks, mobs, and the player.
 * Blaze do not spawn naturally, contrary to popular belief.
 * With a 'fire resistance potion' in effect, the blaze is the only mob whose attacks are capable of being completely neutralized, including their knockback effect.
 * Snow golem are able to kill a blaze with their snowballs

Lohe Blaze Ифрит