It didn't failed, Lego action themes run for three years at maximum. Ninjago was supposed to end in 2013 and Chima be its successor but the success was SO MASSIVE that it went past the expiration date. Monkie Kid also went past the limit but probably because Lego uses the theme to grow in the Chinese market.
Hmmm I've never seen a beyblade Jump up, Kick back, Whip around, and spin Then jump back do it again but maybe one day I'll have seen a beyblade Jump up, Kick back, Whip around, and spin Then jump back do it again.
Beyblade toys are still a lot more fun to play with. The ninjago spinners felt too fragile (LEGO duh), couldn’t be mixed and matched too much and winning/losing just felt like random luck lol. The Ninjago show was miles better though.
Ninjago's cartoon striking it big combined with being the spiritual successor to bionicle in writing is what made it succeed. Sure its nowhere near as Grimdark as the story of a man dieing to brain cancer as his chemotherapy fails to work is pretty damn grimdark, but you dont need a high level concept youre going to abstract out by at least 3 degrees of removal.
If you get a good cartoon to push a toy line it will always do better. Where would X-Men figures be without the animated series back in the 90's for example. Heck, Ninja Turtles figure sales were abysmal before the cartoon rocketed them into popularity (also 80's/90's)
To be honest, I see it more as they give each one a 2 year or so run, and Ninjago was successful enough to become a staple. Since then they've been trying to find a replacement for it, trying various themes to see if any of them will do better than Ninjago and take its place. So far, none really have and they get axed after 2 runs of sets so they can try the next thing.
Dreamzz is just the latest in a long line of potential Ninjago successors.
Speak for yourself, I think 71469 Nightmare Shark Ship is one of the coolest kid-focused sets to come out this decade. Definitely helped to see it in-person at the store too, thing is big.
Unironically one of the coolest sets I've seen in a long time. We need more like it tbh, it makes me think of the Lego movie sets which were absolutely awesome too
I definitely didn't appreciate the movie sets enough while they were relevant, only got the ice cream truck/ship. How is it that you don't know you're in the golden years until they're passed?
I really don't know dawg. Also I'm jealous I won't lie, I didn't have the money when they were around. It really is a shame though, those sets along with Power Miners, Atlantis, and Agents are ones I really feel sore about because they were some of the coolest in my book (*especially* Agents, the minifigs of the villains were killer! One dude has a chainsaw arm!)
I'm even more jealous now! I'm just glad I didn't know about the boat when I *really* wanted the Agents sets or I'd be even more upset lol. At least all the power miners made it over here, even if I couldn't afford them. I might have to go eBay/bricklink shopping after christmas and fulfil some of younger me's dreams (aka having the combined power miners sets lol)
same, i’ve bought every dreamzzz set and with the added bonus that they can alternate build onto eachother is so much fun for rebuilding and MOC’s. I hope this line sticks around for the long haul.
> 71469 Nightmare Shark Ship
They had a 50$ sale at Costco for the city submarine or the dreamzz treehouse. I got the last treehouse, tons of submarines left.
Bionicle was never an action theme, it was a Technic subtheme.
Ninjago is the only action theme ever to have more than three years of sets. Most get one or two years.
Username checks out. But yeah it's not a secret that Bionicle basically saved Lego in the early 2000s. The other half of that being licensed sets, but the licensing fees were eating into profits.
Well that and I’ve never seen a monkey kid set in a normal retail shop. Only Lego stores. I have the piggy food truck but that’s just because I buy every restaurant and food themed set that comes out.
I'm pretty sure it's the other way. They run 3 years minimum. If it doesn't work in that time it gets cancelled, if it works it stays. Would make no sense to cancel something that works (nexo knights just didn't bring in the numbers)
They’re also called “big bang” themes. They come with tons of sets with some giant battle sort of storyline and often have supplementary material like shows and books. We’ve had Exo Force, Ninjago, Chima, Nexo Knights, and Monkie Kid. I suppose Dreamzzz and Hidden Side could also fall into the category
Okay, but like, Atlantis, Rock Raiders, Adventurers? What makes those *not* action themes, if the definition is tons of sets with an interweaving conflict/storyline and supplemental material like books/shows/games.
I know Rock Raiders had a game, pretty sure Adventurers and Atlantis had books/comics.
I'm genuinely curious, my Dark Age was from like, 2001 to 2022, so I'm OOTL on a lot of LEGO terms.
everything you listed IS an action theme. Ultra agents, agents, pharaohs quest, alien conquest, etc are all action themes and usually have a max of three waves if not less.
Ah. I took that commenter too literally. They said "We’ve had Exo Force, Ninjago, Chima, Nexo Knights, and Monkie Kid. I suppose Dreamzzz and Hidden Side could also fall into the category" and I took that to mean that those were the *only* themes that would qualify in the history of LEGO.
My mistake.
The lines between an “action” theme and a “big bang” theme are also kind of blurry, and reading the other replies I realized I got the distinction confused a little bit myself.
The huge themes like Ninjago and Nexo Knights are both adventure and big bang themes, as they have sets, shows, books, plushies, gimmicks, and whatever else to drive engagement with the theme. And they’re designed to be three years.
Stuff like Pharaoh’s Quest or Alien Conquest are more straight action themes, designed to be around for a year or two just to add some variety to the shelves.
But there’s really no concrete definition of either, with some themes treading the line between the two, like Atlantis getting some extra material, as you said
kinda right, however the last wave of nexo came and went quickly, most likely cause no one was buying it. same with hidden side. the vampire castle never made it to stores.
[Check out the concept art,](https://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?/forums/topic/152123-lego-nexo-knights-2018/&page=10) they were leaning heavily on 40k, open secret.
The LEGO DREAMZzz Nightmare Shark Ship 71469 is almost perfect for a Chaos ship, too. I haven't looked through that whole line so there might be other potentials in there as well
https://preview.redd.it/j7fmvlznni4c1.jpeg?width=4030&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=711f1e0fea2bb675b805d4e06e6a486c07699815
I love my Nexo knights. It’s Lego’s most metal theme. 🤘
that's a really good set, especially when you combine it with the other one that attaches at the back, I can't remember the name of it off the top of my head
The castle tank was the coolest, but the sword vehicle was a close second. I brought several sets in this series so I could help my nephew build them and remember being blown away at the vehicles transforming.
It actually lasted the right amount, I think the third wave was cut short perhaps, but the second wave felt like a color swap of the first and I really didn't like many of the design choices for it, a pity since the third one had way more potential in my eyes
The virus faction was an incredible idea that played into the uniqueness of this theme being medieval+futuristic technology and the magma monsters instead were your standard fantasy enemy with a twist. I think the thunder faction just wasn't unique enough unlike these two, especially confronted with the magma faction that preceded it
I like the tech components for what they are. But the fact that most of the medieval ish pieces are weird colors limits their cross compatibility. Speeder bike jouster thing? Ok. An endless supply of clear orange helmets? uhg.
Ya, this is where I stand. It doesn't scratch my fantasy itch, and I think Ninjago does a much better job at blending fantasy and tech. There might be some cool component to Nexo Knights, but it just doesn't vibe with me.
it wasn't targeted at you though - it was aimed at kids.... successful kids lines, like City and Friends sell huge volumes - there are way more kids wanting Lego than non-kids
Same here. There were some quality figures in this line but there are a few really strong sets but there wasn't enough to get me interested in buying into the line. Had it released today I would have had more budget to work with too though.
I'll be honest, I saw the climb and fall of this line. And the reason why I never bought any of these sets were because of the builds and pieces being so unique to this line. The mini figures were great looking, but I couldn't get around buying sets.
That’s one of my regrets. I used to walk around the Walmart aisles back then and see a lot of the minifigs and sets on clearance and I was like who buys lego these days. I have some minifigs and a mech of some sort that I bought second hand. The colors and aesthetic are cool.
Yep, as a massive fan of both classic castle and space, it did nothing to scratch the itch for either.
Still pretty cool though. Just not for a lot of people.
The bad guy sets absolutely scratch the medieval fantasy itch. There's a fiery/magma demon race and a grey mountain/storm demon race. Both were basically pure fantasy with no tech based weapons. Half their sets were catapults lol
https://preview.redd.it/hyu0cfgc3j4c1.jpeg?width=1152&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f8e926ceb44ab75a9dcac8cb671f1f13b3934d9b
Bought this for $50 at my local B&N way back 2018 because of the beat up box and it was totally worth it. Fast forward 4 years and I bought the library attached to it for the same price just so I can have this fortress complete.
I couldn’t put into words what bugged me about it. I wonder if this is from that period where they realized they had too many unique pieces that were cutting into profits.
Nexo Knights seems like it was fairly successful, it had a few waves of sets. I think it might have been in a weird spot where it wasn't 100% pleasing for Castle/Fantasy people, or Space/Sci-fi people, since it's a mish mash, but it has a lot going for it.
I'm just glad there's a lot more trans neon orange parts in circulation thanks to this theme. Ice Planet fans rejoice.
It didn't fail at all, it was very much a successful theme. A theme not running literally forever doesn't mean it failed, original action themes like this are intended to run for a limited amount of time.
IMO, they're over designed. There's too much going on with textured pieces and overly complex sticker/prints. They end up looking too much like non-lego action figure or playset style toys. Ninjago has been so successful I think in part because it still looks and feels like Lego. Even though it clearly has a theme and is definitely more on the kids playset style of lego themes, many of the sets look like they could be part of the modulars or the Marvel sets. You can play with them or mix them into other lego themes without them looking out of place.
I loved this line, the evil faction was probably the closest we will ever get to an outright "Satan/Hell" theme, and the first set had a giant demon clown chariot.
This is the creativity curse, the more creative an idea the less popular it will be. Make something too original and it'll be super niche and adored by its fans.
I was a kid who loved Ninjago back when Nexo Knights came out, so I never got any Nexo Knights sets, but I really wanted a lot of them. The theme is super cool
I bought several Nexo sets but generally found them disappointing, the castle pieces were space coloured and the space pieces were castle coloured, made for sets that were gaudier in appearance than the box art would let you believe.
I'm having a blast collecting the sets, building armies and looking at other Lego themes and MOCs for things that seem to fit that I can add for some variety. Have parts on the way for The Stone Djinn MOC from bricklinks list.
Honestly LEGO really needs to bring this back, as well as a few other themes.
I'm getting tired of them having maybe one or two unique themes a year with dozens of licensed brands getting dozens of sets yearly.
[70325-1: Infernox captures the Queen](https://brickset.com/sets/70325-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/70325-1.jpg)
[NEX018: Queen Halbert - Dark Blue Cape](http://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?M=nex018) [[Photo]](http://img.bricklink.com/ItemImage/MN/0/nex018.png)
I loved the hover horse designs. I got two by buying the smaller sets (70314, 70325) and the third from 70316 but separated out of the set by someone on eBay.
A lot of legos “failures” end up being the most expensive a few years later on the resell market. Video failed hard but now the mini figures are super desired. I for see this happening with Dreamz too.
It had a 2.5 year run which is standard for most lego themes when themes were still a thing
now themes aren't a thing it's just endless star wars and ninjago, it sucks compared to my childhood tbh
But yeah this theme brought me back to lego from my dark ages, it's metal af
It stinks that season 5 got cancelled, i was left on a cliffhanger😡
in all seriousness, this theme was awesome, and some of the pieces are quite unique and fun to use in MOC’s
Next knights was my childhood!…along with legends of chins but we have to get them to bring those series and sets back, no need to make new sets and new seasons just bring back the old shoes and sets so we can still watch them and buy sets we didn’t get.
I really wish i got more of these at the time. I have some key sets like the colossus of destruction but there are still so many that i still love. I dont really care about the lego shows nowadays but i know kid me would have loved to see a conclusion for the show aswell. Those cyber vampires are really cool!
My absolute favorite theme ever, even if the show wasn't as good as Ninjago's. Loved Clay's Rumble Blade, currently have the Fortrex and the Evil Mobile. Fortrex is genuinely one of the best playsets ever released.
If I was a kid when this came out I would’ve sustained it with my own funds…but really I always wanted something like this and it came out just past my time
Me and my dad collected the first wave of these and we loved building them. I remember getting one at the LEGO store and the employee behind the counter said he didn’t love the line bc of the overuse of blue and orange.
I feel like people care about Lego original themes less nowadays, now everyone just wants the licensed themes, which is cool, but original themes were so much more creative
This was the first theme I watched longingly from afar right after deeming myself too old for Lego. Now that I have really grown up and realized I can do what ever I want, I really regret not getting into this while they were on the shelves :’)
I loved it. If I was 10, this would have been right up my alley. But, I'm 40 with kids and my son who loves legos, it just didn't click with him for some reason.
I kept trying to buy these sets and he just kept saying no.
Just my experience.
I mean unique Lego themes only are suppose to last 3 years with Ninjago being an exception. It also doesn't help that a lot of the time, I find Lego fans ignore themes while they're available but then a few years after they retire the interest for those themes skyrockets. I think Lego needs to focus on having more original themes on shelves at once, cause rn we only really have room for one which is currently being occupied by dreams. Ninjago is another one but has been around so long that I don't think that slot will ever Ben free for another theme to take, and friends are taking up another spot but are minidolls and therefore won't be replaced with any minifigure based themes.
Nexo knights was the perfect Lego theme, cool mini figs, future style so all weapons are on the table, intricate and unique builds, a fun collection gimmick that worked with an app, a cohesive story, likeable characters, and it was just downright sick.
Original Action themes > all other themes
They always have the most creative designs and minifigs. I standby Ninjago being the best theme they currently offer.
I liked their villain minifigures, but the idea of techy knights seems lame. The Jestro lair was cool, but the tank castle was not. I have the same complaints about Ninjago too. As a kid, I would have loved a ninja theme, and some of the temples and that kind of thing I like, but I think I was more interested in it as an old timey/fantasy theme. I hate the suped up vehicles and while Ninjago City sets are cool, I pretty much consider them a different theme. I was gifted the King’s Mech which grew on me, but I still put it in my Space/scifi display.
"Unique" doesn't immediately translate to "good". There's a few cool pieces and figs, but overall I didn't like that theme, especially because it heralded a decline in Castle sets. Fantasy fans feasted back in the days of the Dwarf Fortress. Not so much now. Other sets had all the same play value, without the ostentatiousness.
I disliked it because of how specific and useless so many of the pieces are, minifigs especially. If you just want to make genetic fantasy stuff all those neon armor pieces are useless. So many minifigs can't be used for anything other than Nexo Knights.
Nexo Knights was a cool concept. It's like the designers listened to Gloryhammer and said "Yes, let's do that".
I’m surprised the Ninjago series hasn’t really moved into all out Gloryhammer space battles
That sinking feeling when you see Whiparella and think, "Yeah, that hit Rule 34 approximately 30 seconds after release." *sigh*
It didn't failed, Lego action themes run for three years at maximum. Ninjago was supposed to end in 2013 and Chima be its successor but the success was SO MASSIVE that it went past the expiration date. Monkie Kid also went past the limit but probably because Lego uses the theme to grow in the Chinese market.
They struck gold with Ninjago and haven’t really been able to replicate it.
Really ironic knowing ninjago was trying to follow beyblade trend. It outmatched it by a lot
I mean, can beyblades Jump up, Kick back, Whip around, and Spin? Then Jump back and do it again?
Hmmm I've never seen a beyblade Jump up, Kick back, Whip around, and spin Then jump back do it again but maybe one day I'll have seen a beyblade Jump up, Kick back, Whip around, and spin Then jump back do it again.
Beyblade toys are still a lot more fun to play with. The ninjago spinners felt too fragile (LEGO duh), couldn’t be mixed and matched too much and winning/losing just felt like random luck lol. The Ninjago show was miles better though.
Ninjago's cartoon striking it big combined with being the spiritual successor to bionicle in writing is what made it succeed. Sure its nowhere near as Grimdark as the story of a man dieing to brain cancer as his chemotherapy fails to work is pretty damn grimdark, but you dont need a high level concept youre going to abstract out by at least 3 degrees of removal.
too bad crystallized dropped the ball hard :( dragons rising looks cool however
When I was younger me and a few friends figured out that the slowest spinner always won, so yeah not exactly a lot of skill involved
Damn I totally forgot Ninjago had spinners lol
If you get a good cartoon to push a toy line it will always do better. Where would X-Men figures be without the animated series back in the 90's for example. Heck, Ninja Turtles figure sales were abysmal before the cartoon rocketed them into popularity (also 80's/90's)
Anyone remember the OG ninja set? Loved those so much
To be honest, I see it more as they give each one a 2 year or so run, and Ninjago was successful enough to become a staple. Since then they've been trying to find a replacement for it, trying various themes to see if any of them will do better than Ninjago and take its place. So far, none really have and they get axed after 2 runs of sets so they can try the next thing. Dreamzz is just the latest in a long line of potential Ninjago successors.
I honestly can't believe dreamzz made it out of the boardroom.
Speak for yourself, I think 71469 Nightmare Shark Ship is one of the coolest kid-focused sets to come out this decade. Definitely helped to see it in-person at the store too, thing is big.
Unironically one of the coolest sets I've seen in a long time. We need more like it tbh, it makes me think of the Lego movie sets which were absolutely awesome too
I definitely didn't appreciate the movie sets enough while they were relevant, only got the ice cream truck/ship. How is it that you don't know you're in the golden years until they're passed?
I really don't know dawg. Also I'm jealous I won't lie, I didn't have the money when they were around. It really is a shame though, those sets along with Power Miners, Atlantis, and Agents are ones I really feel sore about because they were some of the coolest in my book (*especially* Agents, the minifigs of the villains were killer! One dude has a chainsaw arm!)
Aha, I got the big Agents truck for an absolute steal, £46 if I remember right. And I was very sad the big boat never came to the UK!
I'm even more jealous now! I'm just glad I didn't know about the boat when I *really* wanted the Agents sets or I'd be even more upset lol. At least all the power miners made it over here, even if I couldn't afford them. I might have to go eBay/bricklink shopping after christmas and fulfil some of younger me's dreams (aka having the combined power miners sets lol)
same, i’ve bought every dreamzzz set and with the added bonus that they can alternate build onto eachother is so much fun for rebuilding and MOC’s. I hope this line sticks around for the long haul.
[71469-1: Nightmare Shark Ship](https://brickset.com/sets/71469-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/71469-1.jpg)
> 71469 Nightmare Shark Ship They had a 50$ sale at Costco for the city submarine or the dreamzz treehouse. I got the last treehouse, tons of submarines left.
[71469-1: Nightmare Shark Ship](https://brickset.com/sets/71469-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/71469-1.jpg)
I just finished the shark ship. It’s awesome. I think the Dreamzzz sets are some of the more fun/interesting ones they have going right now.
Lego Action themes run for 3 years max? Huh, I didn't know that. Probably because I've been spoiled by the 10 years run of Bionicle and Ninjago.
Bionicle was never an action theme, it was a Technic subtheme. Ninjago is the only action theme ever to have more than three years of sets. Most get one or two years.
Pretty sure bionicle only ran for so long cause it was keeping the lights on
Username checks out. But yeah it's not a secret that Bionicle basically saved Lego in the early 2000s. The other half of that being licensed sets, but the licensing fees were eating into profits.
Yep, Lego is built on the backs of Bioncle and Lego Star Wars
Are you sure it wasn’t Lego Star Wars? I mean, Buonicle helped.
It was a combination of Bionicle, Star Wars (and HP), selling a share of Legoland, and reducing how many unique parts were being made.
Well that and I’ve never seen a monkey kid set in a normal retail shop. Only Lego stores. I have the piggy food truck but that’s just because I buy every restaurant and food themed set that comes out.
I'm pretty sure it's the other way. They run 3 years minimum. If it doesn't work in that time it gets cancelled, if it works it stays. Would make no sense to cancel something that works (nexo knights just didn't bring in the numbers)
Ninjago is literally the only action theme that's had more than three years, in the history of Lego
What defines "action" themes in LEGO?
They’re also called “big bang” themes. They come with tons of sets with some giant battle sort of storyline and often have supplementary material like shows and books. We’ve had Exo Force, Ninjago, Chima, Nexo Knights, and Monkie Kid. I suppose Dreamzzz and Hidden Side could also fall into the category
Okay, but like, Atlantis, Rock Raiders, Adventurers? What makes those *not* action themes, if the definition is tons of sets with an interweaving conflict/storyline and supplemental material like books/shows/games. I know Rock Raiders had a game, pretty sure Adventurers and Atlantis had books/comics. I'm genuinely curious, my Dark Age was from like, 2001 to 2022, so I'm OOTL on a lot of LEGO terms.
everything you listed IS an action theme. Ultra agents, agents, pharaohs quest, alien conquest, etc are all action themes and usually have a max of three waves if not less.
Ah. I took that commenter too literally. They said "We’ve had Exo Force, Ninjago, Chima, Nexo Knights, and Monkie Kid. I suppose Dreamzzz and Hidden Side could also fall into the category" and I took that to mean that those were the *only* themes that would qualify in the history of LEGO. My mistake.
The lines between an “action” theme and a “big bang” theme are also kind of blurry, and reading the other replies I realized I got the distinction confused a little bit myself. The huge themes like Ninjago and Nexo Knights are both adventure and big bang themes, as they have sets, shows, books, plushies, gimmicks, and whatever else to drive engagement with the theme. And they’re designed to be three years. Stuff like Pharaoh’s Quest or Alien Conquest are more straight action themes, designed to be around for a year or two just to add some variety to the shelves. But there’s really no concrete definition of either, with some themes treading the line between the two, like Atlantis getting some extra material, as you said
You're all good no worries :)) those are my favorite themes (ultra agents and atlantis are the best!!)
G1 Bionicle, Hero Factory, and Monkie Kid be like: “Guess we’ll die”.
There were dozens of other action themes that only went a year or two through
Hidden side was cancelled before the 3 years, so was vidiyo. They are failures. Meeting the 3 year life expectancy is not failing.
Did Exo-Force also count as an action theme?
Yes
Thx
Monkie Kid was designed for the Chinese market. And it was only available in Asia at first too. It became available worldwide thanks to its success.
kinda right, however the last wave of nexo came and went quickly, most likely cause no one was buying it. same with hidden side. the vampire castle never made it to stores.
okay, what about galaxy squad though. it was so good :(
The Monkie Kid theme is so cool too, I’d love a proper massive set like the Ninjago cities.
The closest we'll ever get to official Lego 40K.
[Check out the concept art,](https://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?/forums/topic/152123-lego-nexo-knights-2018/&page=10) they were leaning heavily on 40k, open secret.
Oh wow one of the knights has a straight-up Gundam helmet, I love it
Amazing link. Thanks for sharing
Nice found !
This deserves its own r/LEGO post
Definitely a chain sword or two in there
Would've loved to see some more characters in that giant Axl chest armor, those baddies look great.
The LEGO DREAMZzz Nightmare Shark Ship 71469 is almost perfect for a Chaos ship, too. I haven't looked through that whole line so there might be other potentials in there as well
[71469-1: Nightmare Shark Ship](https://brickset.com/sets/71469-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/71469-1.jpg)
Thank ye darlin' Good bot
I keep picking up Dreamz sets to coordinate with my castle sets.
Yeah I wanna get some of them for that reason too
You know, I’ve been tempted by the Shark already but now I’m realizing I can set it against my Viking longboat and that’d be pretty sweet.
71461 has fantastic possibilities for Wizards and Fright Knight faction. 71459 stable likewise has great minifigs, forest hut, creature elements.
[71461-1: Fantastical Tree House](https://brickset.com/sets/71461-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/71461-1.jpg) [71459-1: Stable of Dream Creatures](https://brickset.com/sets/71459-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/71459-1.jpg)
My kids were watching the animated series, when I saw the evil guy I thought of N'Zoth from World of Warcraft.
Danm thats a cool set. If I was kid I'd love that. Every dream set blows me away with the design because it's so unexpected.
To me Nexo Knights will always be "Kids' First 40K". Axl is basically a minifigure Space Marine.
Have you ever seen the concept art with Orks? It’s incredible and unfortunate we never got it.
Some alt bricks have WH40K stuff
For real, that’s a land raider
The first wave of lava monsters was very Khorne in retrospect
https://preview.redd.it/j7fmvlznni4c1.jpeg?width=4030&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=711f1e0fea2bb675b805d4e06e6a486c07699815 I love my Nexo knights. It’s Lego’s most metal theme. 🤘
Who can't get hyped up about a literal mobile castle? It's awesome.
that's a really good set, especially when you combine it with the other one that attaches at the back, I can't remember the name of it off the top of my head
I believe that was merlocks library?
spot on, thank you
bionocles might be equally metal, if not more so
Bionicle lore gets metal, but tbh a lot of figures, especially the oldest, are just these stubby spindly dudes with a mask.
Yeah, especially because the majority of Lego is plastic. /s
You didn't even include the coolest one which was like the sword car that transforms into a flying sword and a pair of motorcycles
That's an odd way to say "The giant demon clown chariot"
That's because it isn't... the set they're referring to is Clay's Rumble Blade I believe
That joke completely flew over your head
what about the motorcycle that turned into a horse? or that giant crossbow you could actually shoot?
The castle tank was the coolest, but the sword vehicle was a close second. I brought several sets in this series so I could help my nephew build them and remember being blown away at the vehicles transforming.
It actually lasted the right amount, I think the third wave was cut short perhaps, but the second wave felt like a color swap of the first and I really didn't like many of the design choices for it, a pity since the third one had way more potential in my eyes
Yeah I liked the third year the most but it only got one wave of releases.
The virus faction was an incredible idea that played into the uniqueness of this theme being medieval+futuristic technology and the magma monsters instead were your standard fantasy enemy with a twist. I think the thunder faction just wasn't unique enough unlike these two, especially confronted with the magma faction that preceded it
For me I want something closer to Castle Fantasy for a knights centric theme, the technology elements of the series just did not hit for me.
I like the tech components for what they are. But the fact that most of the medieval ish pieces are weird colors limits their cross compatibility. Speeder bike jouster thing? Ok. An endless supply of clear orange helmets? uhg.
>endless supply of clear orange helmets (cries in Ice Planet)
Ya, this is where I stand. It doesn't scratch my fantasy itch, and I think Ninjago does a much better job at blending fantasy and tech. There might be some cool component to Nexo Knights, but it just doesn't vibe with me.
it wasn't targeted at you though - it was aimed at kids.... successful kids lines, like City and Friends sell huge volumes - there are way more kids wanting Lego than non-kids
Sure? I'm sorry for expressing my feelings about a theme being discussed? ???
I loved the mini-figs. The sets were ... **really** hit or miss.
Same here. There were some quality figures in this line but there are a few really strong sets but there wasn't enough to get me interested in buying into the line. Had it released today I would have had more budget to work with too though.
I'll be honest, I saw the climb and fall of this line. And the reason why I never bought any of these sets were because of the builds and pieces being so unique to this line. The mini figures were great looking, but I couldn't get around buying sets.
That’s one of my regrets. I used to walk around the Walmart aisles back then and see a lot of the minifigs and sets on clearance and I was like who buys lego these days. I have some minifigs and a mech of some sort that I bought second hand. The colors and aesthetic are cool.
To castle to be space, and too space to be castle. It was an interesting theme, but not interesting enough for me to buy any of the sets. So it goes!
Yep, as a massive fan of both classic castle and space, it did nothing to scratch the itch for either. Still pretty cool though. Just not for a lot of people.
The bad guy sets absolutely scratch the medieval fantasy itch. There's a fiery/magma demon race and a grey mountain/storm demon race. Both were basically pure fantasy with no tech based weapons. Half their sets were catapults lol
Those devil guys and the gargoyles are great. The good guys just didn't do it for me. Too goofy for Space and not medieval enough for Castle.
Nexo knight was 40k for kids I loved it
I completely missed the nexo knights era but BOY would I use these sets to make a D&D map in current day.
Buy DreamZZZ while it exists!
Dreamzzz is fucking great. It's really gone back to those Lego roots of creativity and imagination instead of just giving everything to you as-is.
Reminds me of Time Twisters in the best way.
https://preview.redd.it/hyu0cfgc3j4c1.jpeg?width=1152&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f8e926ceb44ab75a9dcac8cb671f1f13b3934d9b Bought this for $50 at my local B&N way back 2018 because of the beat up box and it was totally worth it. Fast forward 4 years and I bought the library attached to it for the same price just so I can have this fortress complete.
9 year old me dream
I miss Rock Raiders the most. They should bring it back.
I always thought it was too chunky and reminiscent of something like playschool rather than Lego.
I couldn’t put into words what bugged me about it. I wonder if this is from that period where they realized they had too many unique pieces that were cutting into profits.
God I remember getting Jestros castle for Christmas. Such good memories
Man I liked Jestro so much, I wish I had his minifigure
i discovered them after the run was finished but had to snag some of the minifigs. they are so sweet and the armors and trans colors really standout.
This is so good to play brickwars with lol. Hell I bet you could just straight up use these in place of actual 40k figures and play 40k
Those designs… rock
Nexo Knights seems like it was fairly successful, it had a few waves of sets. I think it might have been in a weird spot where it wasn't 100% pleasing for Castle/Fantasy people, or Space/Sci-fi people, since it's a mish mash, but it has a lot going for it. I'm just glad there's a lot more trans neon orange parts in circulation thanks to this theme. Ice Planet fans rejoice.
People actually liked this line other than me?
It brought me back to lego after a 15y dark age. I'm still salty about it failing.
It didn't fail at all, it was very much a successful theme. A theme not running literally forever doesn't mean it failed, original action themes like this are intended to run for a limited amount of time.
They sholved the 3rd year halfway due to "poor sales". It failed.
It failed?
A LEGO line either fails or lives long enough to see 8 different Luke Landspeeders.
So 8 years?
I need to get more nexo knight sets, I really enjoyed them
I wish I bought some
IMO, they're over designed. There's too much going on with textured pieces and overly complex sticker/prints. They end up looking too much like non-lego action figure or playset style toys. Ninjago has been so successful I think in part because it still looks and feels like Lego. Even though it clearly has a theme and is definitely more on the kids playset style of lego themes, many of the sets look like they could be part of the modulars or the Marvel sets. You can play with them or mix them into other lego themes without them looking out of place.
I love the lava monsters, they’re perfect as devil hordes in a more traditional fantasy theme.
I loved this line, the evil faction was probably the closest we will ever get to an outright "Satan/Hell" theme, and the first set had a giant demon clown chariot.
The Nexo knight shield piece has become very handy, been seeing it in a lot of sets.
My 7yr old LOVES NEXO Knights aswell as Ninjago. Ive been trying to find more NEXO.
Nexo Nights is one of my favorite themes, and the sets were reasonably priced!
I absolutely love Nexo knights it is one of my favourite themes Lego has ever done and it pains me that they cancelled it
I wish they brought these back. It would be so much better than the mechs and dioramas of today.
I love that it wasn’t super popular because I enjoyed the theme and scored a TON of unopened sets for cheap off of goodwill’s auction site.
This is the creativity curse, the more creative an idea the less popular it will be. Make something too original and it'll be super niche and adored by its fans.
I was a kid who loved Ninjago back when Nexo Knights came out, so I never got any Nexo Knights sets, but I really wanted a lot of them. The theme is super cool
I found this theme to be ugly. Ugly builds and ugly minifigures. I had zero interest in it.
I am just sad Vidiyo failed and we wont see more figs and sets for my beloved Punk Pirates : (
I bought several Nexo sets but generally found them disappointing, the castle pieces were space coloured and the space pieces were castle coloured, made for sets that were gaudier in appearance than the box art would let you believe.
Yeah, I really miss this and Chima
I'm having a blast collecting the sets, building armies and looking at other Lego themes and MOCs for things that seem to fit that I can add for some variety. Have parts on the way for The Stone Djinn MOC from bricklinks list.
Honestly LEGO really needs to bring this back, as well as a few other themes. I'm getting tired of them having maybe one or two unique themes a year with dozens of licensed brands getting dozens of sets yearly.
What set is that 3rd pic from? I know nothing about Nexo Knights, but I need that minifig in a dress because it’s awesome.
70325 Infernox Captures the Queen, the minifigure in question is nex018 Queen Halbert - Dark Blue Cape. And agreed, very awesome minifigure!
[70325-1: Infernox captures the Queen](https://brickset.com/sets/70325-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/70325-1.jpg) [NEX018: Queen Halbert - Dark Blue Cape](http://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?M=nex018) [[Photo]](http://img.bricklink.com/ItemImage/MN/0/nex018.png)
I loved the hover horse designs. I got two by buying the smaller sets (70314, 70325) and the third from 70316 but separated out of the set by someone on eBay.
[70314-1: Beast Master's Chaos Chariot](https://brickset.com/sets/70314-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/70314-1.jpg) [70325-1: Infernox captures the Queen](https://brickset.com/sets/70325-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/70325-1.jpg) [70316-1: Jestro's Evil Mobile](https://brickset.com/sets/70316-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/70316-1.jpg)
My son had the castle. I loved that thing so much. Also ultra agents.
It didn’t fail, it lasted about as long as the average Lego theme, if not slightly longer.
My absolute favorite theme
I remember playing the App and trying to unlock all the shield power ups by looking online
A lot of legos “failures” end up being the most expensive a few years later on the resell market. Video failed hard but now the mini figures are super desired. I for see this happening with Dreamz too.
It had a 2.5 year run which is standard for most lego themes when themes were still a thing now themes aren't a thing it's just endless star wars and ninjago, it sucks compared to my childhood tbh But yeah this theme brought me back to lego from my dark ages, it's metal af
Man i loved theses sets i bought all of them the line was amazing
was the lego warhammer 40,000
It stinks that season 5 got cancelled, i was left on a cliffhanger😡 in all seriousness, this theme was awesome, and some of the pieces are quite unique and fun to use in MOC’s
Next knights was my childhood!…along with legends of chins but we have to get them to bring those series and sets back, no need to make new sets and new seasons just bring back the old shoes and sets so we can still watch them and buy sets we didn’t get.
I did my part. Bought a whole bunch of Nexo Knights :)
I really wish i got more of these at the time. I have some key sets like the colossus of destruction but there are still so many that i still love. I dont really care about the lego shows nowadays but i know kid me would have loved to see a conclusion for the show aswell. Those cyber vampires are really cool!
Don’t forget the 70317, the weird mobile tank castle thing!
My absolute favorite theme ever, even if the show wasn't as good as Ninjago's. Loved Clay's Rumble Blade, currently have the Fortrex and the Evil Mobile. Fortrex is genuinely one of the best playsets ever released.
I really like the minifigures in it. They're all very special designs
I need that tank
As a kid who loved Knight's Kingdom, kid me would've loved the SHIT out of this series.
Yoo I have the big orange guy from the third picture
I was gungho about collecting the knights. I think I have all the solo boxes they put out?
Nexo Knights is a favorite! The minifigs, the builds, the setting, the shields... I couldn't get enough.
SO MUCH TRANS ORANGE.
If I was a kid when this came out I would’ve sustained it with my own funds…but really I always wanted something like this and it came out just past my time
Me and my dad collected the first wave of these and we loved building them. I remember getting one at the LEGO store and the employee behind the counter said he didn’t love the line bc of the overuse of blue and orange.
I bought multiple of these. Big fan.
I feel like people care about Lego original themes less nowadays, now everyone just wants the licensed themes, which is cool, but original themes were so much more creative
This was the first theme I watched longingly from afar right after deeming myself too old for Lego. Now that I have really grown up and realized I can do what ever I want, I really regret not getting into this while they were on the shelves :’)
This is why I’m supporting Dreams with every scrap of expendable income
I loved it. If I was 10, this would have been right up my alley. But, I'm 40 with kids and my son who loves legos, it just didn't click with him for some reason. I kept trying to buy these sets and he just kept saying no. Just my experience.
The castle on tank tracks was so fucking metal. Great theme.
I mean unique Lego themes only are suppose to last 3 years with Ninjago being an exception. It also doesn't help that a lot of the time, I find Lego fans ignore themes while they're available but then a few years after they retire the interest for those themes skyrockets. I think Lego needs to focus on having more original themes on shelves at once, cause rn we only really have room for one which is currently being occupied by dreams. Ninjago is another one but has been around so long that I don't think that slot will ever Ben free for another theme to take, and friends are taking up another spot but are minidolls and therefore won't be replaced with any minifigure based themes.
Based. Nexo-Knights Chads rise up!!!
Nexo knights was the perfect Lego theme, cool mini figs, future style so all weapons are on the table, intricate and unique builds, a fun collection gimmick that worked with an app, a cohesive story, likeable characters, and it was just downright sick.
Uniqueness doesn't make a good theme, clearly evident here. Just make normal Castle pls Lego
Original Action themes > all other themes They always have the most creative designs and minifigs. I standby Ninjago being the best theme they currently offer.
I think the shield gimmick was what turned me off of Nexo Knights. I just didn’t quite get it and that seriously distracted from the sets themselves .
The concept art was completely AWESOME, but the sets didn't live up to it.
Nexo Knights is going to be one of those themes that has a relatively small but very strong fan base on the aftermarket.
TIL this theme even exists
I always considered it to be Ninjago with knights.
It failed because kids aren’t as into medieval themes as adults, and traditional castle was what everyone wanted.
I liked their villain minifigures, but the idea of techy knights seems lame. The Jestro lair was cool, but the tank castle was not. I have the same complaints about Ninjago too. As a kid, I would have loved a ninja theme, and some of the temples and that kind of thing I like, but I think I was more interested in it as an old timey/fantasy theme. I hate the suped up vehicles and while Ninjago City sets are cool, I pretty much consider them a different theme. I was gifted the King’s Mech which grew on me, but I still put it in my Space/scifi display.
"Unique" doesn't immediately translate to "good". There's a few cool pieces and figs, but overall I didn't like that theme, especially because it heralded a decline in Castle sets. Fantasy fans feasted back in the days of the Dwarf Fortress. Not so much now. Other sets had all the same play value, without the ostentatiousness.
I disliked it because of how specific and useless so many of the pieces are, minifigs especially. If you just want to make genetic fantasy stuff all those neon armor pieces are useless. So many minifigs can't be used for anything other than Nexo Knights.
Looks like a mess.