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Kingdoms 2012?

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I really, really hope that Kingdoms will continue at least for one more year in order to get a huge castle for the dragon knights, a new faction and mainly a siege tower...

...But let's hope that we think all wrong and that there will be some more Kingdoms sets in 2012, too, although there'll be that :sick: LotR license.

Don't panic @ Klaus Dieter :laugh:

At first have the "adventure/fantasy license" theme LotR/Hobbit to replace the old "adventure/fantasy license" themes Harry Potter and PotC. After that we can talk about the classic core theme castle -but if in that case LotR/Hobbit shall really rival to castle than opens other new possibilities. And who would not like a new Wild West/or Roman Empire theme in 2012?

And LotR/Hobbit? -That theme is fantastic. TLG develops for license themes really good new molded bricks -and exact those new bricks and accessoires are for future fantasy themes really welcome! (And so incidentally, -LotR/Hobbit is really a great license and I believe you would like some sets -as soon as you see those sets.)

I have in that case no problem to give castle a short time out. For me are other historical themes a welcome change. :thumbup:

(And additional is LotR/Hobbit my favorite theme; but that is no secret) :blush:

EDIT: UUppss: @ Sirens-Of-Titan was earlier; exactly my words. :thumbup:

Edited by Elander

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I really, really hope that Kingdoms will continue at least for one more year in order to get a huge castle for the dragon knights, a new faction and mainly a siege tower which is since long overdue.

I seem to be in a minority on this issue, but I dont think the dragon knights need a castle - they have their fortress as a base. It does seem inadequate compared to the lions' castle, but that's what sets the dragons apart and makes them a unique faction - they aren't a standard castle-based faction with a royal family. A castle would seem unnecessary since the dragons already have a big base set. But I wouldn't say no to such a set though :wink: .

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Secondly there is the Joust set. In 2009 we got MVV which marked the end of Castle - so it's imo very likely that it'll be the same this time, too.

But let's hope that we think all wrong and that there will be some more Kingdoms sets in 2012, too, although there'll be that :sick: LotR license.

Klaus-Dieter

We need to remember that MMV came out at the start of 2009 and was followed by a series of sets later in the year, so if this is the trend then there will be another wave of Kingdoms sets in 2012.

As for LotR, I think the argument can be made that it won't compete with Kingdoms so there is no need to put Kingdoms on hold. Harry Potter featured castles and fantasy elements and Prince of Persia has a middle eastern flavored castle along with seeming to be in a roughly similar time period as Kingdoms. Neither of these supplanted Kingdoms/Castle. Looking beyond that, with Castle now having moved out of it's Fantasy phase, LotR isn't really all that similar. Yeah, there are a few castles, though I can't see any decent set being made of any of them without it being astronomically expensive. Minas Tirith, Minas Morgul, Helm's Deep, Orthanc, and Barad-Dur would have to be tremendously scaled down and even then I can't see any of them other than Orthanc being less than $100, meaning the theme would have to run a while to see them all made. I think too many of the noteable locations are too epic in scale to make decent sets out of.

Having said all of that, there are things I would want to see out of a LotR theme. Mainly the Orcs (regulars and Uruks), new torsos for the various humans since they shouldn't really have any exposed fleshy bits, the Ringwraiths especially the Witch King if he comes with his crown, and Sauron. The long shot is things like the Mumakill and the Balrog, especially since we still haven't seen a Rancor for Star Wars. I don't want to sacrifice Kingdoms to get those things, but I will make use of them if they come along.

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...

Having said all of that, there are things I would want to see out of a LotR theme. Mainly the Orcs (regulars and Uruks), new torsos for the various humans since they shouldn't really have any exposed fleshy bits, the Ringwraiths especially the Witch King if he comes with his crown, and Sauron. The long shot is things like the Mumakill and the Balrog, especially since we still haven't seen a Rancor for Star Wars. I don't want to sacrifice Kingdoms to get those things, but I will make use of them if they come along.

Man you hit that on the head! :wub:

Yes indeed those are the exact accessories torsos I was referencing in the above post. That is a good stipulation to make the torsos flesh-free, although in lightly armored units I feel it is unavoidable.

It's a lso a good point to bring up that although the Joust set might signify 2012 is the last year for Kingdoms sets, it doesn't mean there will be no 2012 wave of them. I think a 3 year run will be a truly worthy and acceptable castle theme. :thumbup:

My only wish for a 2012 Kingdoms set is a tavern complete with shady (wolf-pack like) thugs! :grin:

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Man you hit that on the head! :wub:

Yes indeed those are the exact accessories torsos I was referencing in the above post. That is a good stipulation to make the torsos flesh-free, although in lightly armored units I feel it is unavoidable.

Just going off the movies most of the characters are pretty well covered up. The Gondorians are fully armored and the Riders of Rohan are covered up. The Easterlings are totally armored as well. The Haradrim are mostly covered up except for the ones steering the Mumakil. The Orcs and Goblins are a little more exposed, but they won't be flesh toned anyway so it's no problem with them.

It's a lso a good point to bring up that although the Joust set might signify 2012 is the last year for Kingdoms sets, it doesn't mean there will be no 2012 wave of them. I think a 3 year run will be a truly worthy and acceptable castle theme. :thumbup:

My only wish for a 2012 Kingdoms set is a tavern complete with shady (wolf-pack like) thugs! :grin:

I am hoping for at least one more wave so that we can see a large Dragon Castle and maybe another civilian set. I like the tavern idea. Maybe you could flesh it out a bit and post it here? TLG seems to have taken some past ideas into account when designing sets, so who knows it might get made.

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I seem to be in a minority on this issue, but I dont think the dragon knights need a castle - they have their fortress as a base. It does seem inadequate compared to the lions' castle, but that's what sets the dragons apart and makes them a unique faction - they aren't a standard castle-based faction with a royal family. A castle would seem unnecessary since the dragons already have a big base set. But I wouldn't say no to such a set though :wink: .

I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels this way! Personally, I love the dragon knights' role as a sort of a "barbarian faction". They're more established than the Bulls of KKI, but they give the impression of a much less established kingdom than the Lion Knights.

At the same time, I agree, a larger Dragon Knight castle would be more than welcome.

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I think that with Kingdoms they are just going with a one-wave per year scheme that will last a couple of more years. I also think that the joust is proof that TLG are very invested into this theme. So, hopefully there will be a wave next year, but not in the first semester.

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Whatever system Castle theme comes next, I hope it includes forestmen style minifigs.

That would be nice, I know some History staff members that would be all over the return of forestmen :laugh:

After seeing the new jousting set, is anyone else hoping for a black falcon battle pack?!

Sounds promising, perhaps the next Kingdoms theme.

Another option is a dwarven theme, or even vikings. We have seen both themes in the minifig series, so its possible. The dwarves were a fairly recent theme though and likely to be all through LoTR.

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Another option is a dwarven theme, or even vikings. We have seen both themes in the minifig series, so its possible. The dwarves were a fairly recent theme though and likely to be all through LoTR.

I think Dwarves is too fantasy-esque for the current Kingdoms theme, they seem to be trying to play it straight with little or no fantasy elements. Especially if LOTR becomes the theme they'll want to avoid any cross-over aspects.

Vikings, though... I guess that could happen, like in the game Settlers where different cultures from the same time compete against each other. But considering how AFOLs have been slathering for forestmen, that's where I'm placing my bets...

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After seeing the new jousting set, is anyone else hoping for a black falcon battle pack?!

That's what I am hoping for!!! and a small inexpensive set with Black Falcon horse barding.

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That's what I am hoping for!!! and a small inexpensive set with Black Falcon horse barding.

I don't think Lego would do that. It would ruin the exclusive-ness of the one in the Joust.

I'm all for Falcons becoming a new faction, though. As long as they lose the dark green. :sceptic:

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I like the idea of the tavern with thugs... I'm not a huge fan of the civillian side of things to be honest, I prefer the battle side of things but I like that idea.

On the LOTR topic, I get the feeling that whatever we would get would probably all contain Frodo, half would contain Sam, Gollum or another hobbit... they would all be vig-like (movie) sets of (Lego) sets. I doubt we'll get much at all in terms of armies, castles or even notable figures outside of the 9. I would LOVE to have Rohan, Gondor, Easterling, Corsair, orc, uruk hai, goblin, elf, ent & ghost armies etc, with all the characters & creatures represented, all the impressive architecture ("current" & ancient ruin) but I don't like my chances unless TLG decide to make this one for the AFOLs. :sceptic:

With that in mind, there would be absolutely no stepping on Kingdoms' toes...

And while I am prepared for the sad potential possibility of no Dragon Castle, I am still hoping, because it would certainly be a killer! :dhappy:

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And while I am prepared for the sad potential possibility of no Dragon Castle, I am still hoping, because it would certainly be a killer! :dhappy:

I think that, comparing the Kingdoms line with the Fantasy Era line, the Dragons are unlikely to get a castle... the Skeletons were given a 'Skeleton Tower' in the first year, which is comparable to the 'Dragon Tower Rescue', and they never received anything larger after that.

The second year we get the Peasants, who are in a way the third 'faction'. I always thought of them as citizens of the Lion Kingdom, but the way they fight off the Dragons with no assistance from any Lions, I think they can be considered a faction in their own right.

And then in the third year we get the Peasants fending off the Wolfpack, and also a Wolfpack tower or something. With also some Dragon versus Lion skirmishes.

(I am hoping that if I make enough wild guesses about the future of Kingdoms, eventually I will get something right.)

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I really hope more medieval village stuff i have both MMV and MVR and would like to add more pieces to build and actual village (i cant moc)the new joust set looks like it might work for some stuff and i am try o so hard to learn some tricks at building more buildings

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anything with Ninjas in it is surely to be a success!!.. but that aside.. the ninjago movie was quite fun to watch..

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Thank goodness several people pointed out MMV did not mark the end of the Fantasy Era sets. Reading those posts and the conclusions based on non-factual info was making me crazy. :wacko:

As was previously mentioned, we will not know about next summers sets until the toy fairs this winter. It may be possible that TLG leaks some news before then.

As for the Hobbit/LOTR license. The first movie will not be released until december of 2012. The second movie in december 2013. I would expect the sets to show up on shelves as a late fall release just in time for the movies and the holidays.

If a Hobbit based licensed theme is released and they stick to "The Hobbit" and not "The LOTR" sets, there will be little to no crossover appeal to Kingdoms. The book "The Hobbit" doesn't really have much in the way of castles at all. The adventure takes place in the wilderness between Hobbiton and The Lonely Mountain. Humans are barely included in the book except at Dale and the battle of the three armies. Humans won't have a significant part in the first movie at all. That being said no castles and no humans doesn't sound like it will interfere with Kingdoms sales very much. I do know this isn't proof of anything by the way...

If a Hobbit/LOTR license is truly fleshed out, I would imagine the sets next year would correspond mostly to "The Hobbit". This would be taking the most advantage of the movie release. I imagine LOTR sets would be released moreso in further waves similar to what they are doing with POTC.

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here's something i don't get. they came up with heroica, which folks, like eb members here, have morphed it into an rpg.

by and large, it's a huge hit. why not just create a new theme called heroica? i would love to get the barbarian, knight, wizard, rogue, archer in mfs instead of the microfig. it'll be great! since you can keep producing new made up sets battling orcs, golems, giants, etc. the possibilities are endless.

heroes storming dangerous towers to rescue princess from evil orcs. or defending fortraan from evil orcs. etc. this theme should cater well to medieval fans. many of the heroes can be recycled into everyday folks and army builders can collect the knight char to make into battalions.

and when it becomes popular enough to stand alone, you can even start producing merchandises like the macro figure alarm clocks, or midi figure led torchlights, t-shirts, cookie cutter, ice cream molds.

every year you can have upgrades to the chars, like maybe new armor prints or new accessories, etc. to keep it alive even longer, they can even retire older chars, and introduce new chars every 3 years or 5 years. like maybe have a new female char to lure the girls in. or just keep expanding the merry band although that'll probably not work since it will grow to be too big.

then morph the brand into a big mmorpg called lego heroica online! it'll be like WoW except in lego bricks. it might even succeed where lego universe failed. tie in every new expansion with say a new char, and a new set release...wow, if i were on lego's executive board, i would say i can already smell the money. :P

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I wouldn't expect a larger dragon castle other than the tower. I didn't know about the Skellie tower in Fantasy Era, but that makes sense that the new series would follow suit. But I wouldn't expect them to have anything larger in general since they are the opposing force to the good guys, and we all know the good guys get the best things in life. They would've been smart to make the Dragon tower and the dragon prison compatible, and then have another set come out that could connect also to make it a larger castle, but with multiple sets similar to the first Hogwarts castle.

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here's something i don't get. they came up with heroica, which folks, like eb members here, have morphed it into an rpg.

by and large, it's a huge hit. why not just create a new theme called heroica? i would love to get the barbarian, knight, wizard, rogue, archer in mfs instead of the microfig. it'll be great! since you can keep producing new made up sets battling orcs, golems, giants, etc. the possibilities are endless.

heroes storming dangerous towers to rescue princess from evil orcs. or defending fortraan from evil orcs. etc. this theme should cater well to medieval fans. many of the heroes can be recycled into everyday folks and army builders can collect the knight char to make into battalions.

and when it becomes popular enough to stand alone, you can even start producing merchandises like the macro figure alarm clocks, or midi figure led torchlights, t-shirts, cookie cutter, ice cream molds.

every year you can have upgrades to the chars, like maybe new armor prints or new accessories, etc. to keep it alive even longer, they can even retire older chars, and introduce new chars every 3 years or 5 years. like maybe have a new female char to lure the girls in. or just keep expanding the merry band although that'll probably not work since it will grow to be too big.

then morph the brand into a big mmorpg called lego heroica online! it'll be like WoW except in lego bricks. it might even succeed where lego universe failed. tie in every new expansion with say a new char, and a new set release...wow, if i were on lego's executive board, i would say i can already smell the money. :P

I too believe this is an avenue worth pursuing for TLG. I want regular figures of several of the Heroica characters. I think an RPG-esque series could do well with dungeon/forest/ruins scenes. You have colorful characters and traps to provide "action" play. As for an actual RPG, that would depend on how much TLG wants to sink into writing a rules set or how much it wants to pay to use an existing rules set. I think it could be a worthwhile venture for them though. If you, or anyone else, has experience with the Heroica games (I haven't played them myself) and would care to, you could do a write up of how you see some of the sets or figures shaping up and put those thoughts here as TLG does seem to be listening to our thoughts on future sets in some cases.

I wouldn't expect a larger dragon castle other than the tower. I didn't know about the Skellie tower in Fantasy Era, but that makes sense that the new series would follow suit. But I wouldn't expect them to have anything larger in general since they are the opposing force to the good guys, and we all know the good guys get the best things in life. They would've been smart to make the Dragon tower and the dragon prison compatible, and then have another set come out that could connect also to make it a larger castle, but with multiple sets similar to the first Hogwarts castle.

We need to remember that Fantasy had another set of villains (Trolls/Orcs) show up halfway through their run and they did get a large castle. So, if they keep the Dragon Knights for next year (if there is a next year), then there is precedent for an opposing large castle in the third year (which next year will be).

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If you, or anyone else, has experience with the Heroica games (I haven't played them myself) and would care to, you could do a write up of how you see some of the sets or figures shaping up and put those thoughts here as TLG does seem to be listening to our thoughts on future sets in some cases.

just reproducing the games themselves in mf scale would yield 5-6 sets. for e.g. draida bay: set 1 - a small boat carry 2 heroes + 2 orcs on the beach. set 2 - orc captain + 2 orc guards + 2 heroes battling out in the forest (trees, traps and spikes, etc). waldruk forest: set 1 - one flying shadow druid battling the heroes in the enchanted forest (lots of mushroom decors like from HP set). perhaps tlc can design a new disc shooter and build the shadow druid into a large figurine, which shoots these magical discs at the heroes. set 2 - giant spiders + werewolves or better yet, werewolves (like cmf version) riding on giant spiders fighting the heroes.

fortraan - well, giant castle, lots of orcs + heroes = massive win? lots of places to put in play feature. just take some of the cues from the 10176 set instead of recent castles which are more boring. 10176 is great, there's a trap door, a dungeon, a library, etc. many compartments in which a child can use his imagination.

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To me Heroica seems like a failure. It just isn't selling in the store where I work. And the Lego rep that came by the store today to present 1HY 2012 sets said that the trend is the same in all the stores he visits. So around here Heroica is a huge miss despite all the advertisement that's going on. :(

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To me Heroica seems like a failure. It just isn't selling in the store where I work. And the Lego rep that came by the store today to present 1HY 2012 sets said that the trend is the same in all the stores he visits. So around here Heroica is a huge miss despite all the advertisement that's going on. :(

oh man when I saw your post I was hoping you had Kingdoms 2012 news :laugh:

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oh man when I saw your post I was hoping you had Kingdoms 2012 news :laugh:

I kind of do but I didn't want to ruin everbodys friday night. Specially since as Im not 100% sure until I can doublecheck on the release schedule for 2012.

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