Ninjago 2015

[Aanchir]

Thanks for the heads-up! Agree, this Ninjago fan-fiction contest is a great recognition towards all fans who enjoy (and are good at) writing amazing stories.

Back to the set discussion:

Only one set (as far as we know) left to be released, the Minifig Cube. When will it show up? It's been ages since we got that picture! Anybody has a clue to the date of release?

Last year's cube came out towards the end of November/beginning of December. So this year's will probably be the same. We got pictures of it WAY earlier than we were supposed to.

[Exetrius]

Last year's cube came out towards the end of November/beginning of December. So this year's will probably be the same. We got pictures of it WAY earlier than we were supposed to.

Oh, thank you! Odd that we haven't seen official images for it yet, given it's release is so close.

[Aanchir]

ReBrick recently did a cool interview with Nicolaas Vás (Brickthing), designer of 70734 Master Wu Dragon! I think it's definitely worth a read for any LEGO Ninjago fan. He talks about his background as a MOCist and how he became a designer, as well as the process of designing this set. It even includes pics of some of the sketch models that led up to the final design. As I sort of expected, one motivation for the set's design was to include a lot of parts that he felt he and other MOCists would appreciate.

Master Wu Dragon is still one of this year's sets that I'd most enthusiastically recommend to other LEGO fans, even ones who don't normally collect Ninjago. It's got all kinds of rare parts and advanced building techniques. And unlike the Temple of Airjitzu, which costs a whopping $200, this one has an affordable mid-range price of $40 (which is incredible for a set with 575 pieces and 5 minifigures).

[Exetrius]

Thanks for sharing!

[DraikNova]

Yeah, it's got one of the best price to part ratios I've seen, and most of that seems to be rare or exceptionally useful parts. I'm going to make sure I have at least one copy of the set.

[gamejutzu]

Oops, how do I delete this post??

Edited November 28, 2015 by gamejutzu

[gamejutzu]

Good news!

I talked to someone over at The Fold, they said they might be making a instrumental for the Anacondrai remix in around a few weeks.

Please don't quote me on this, or flood The Fold's inbox just because of this one comment.

Edited November 30, 2015 by gamejutzu

[LegendsOfNinjago]

They already did last year. This also doesn't belong here.

[gamejutzu]

They already did last year. This also doesn't belong here.

Umm, no they haven't. Why are they trying to make one if it was already done?

I didn't think this went to the show's thread, unless this is for physical bricks only.. Sorry if that's the case.

[LegendsOfNinjago]

I swear i had a instrumental copy of it. Maybe not.

[gamejutzu]

I swear i had a instrumental copy of it. Maybe not.

If you had one (not really, more like if I had one), You'd listen to it everyday.

Honestly, it's the best theme for Ninjago, or an extremely close second.

Edited December 2, 2015 by gamejutzu

[LegendsOfNinjago]

I do like the Ghost one better, but the anacondria remix is a very very close second.

[Exetrius]

I discovered today that a whole lot of the ghost wave parts are now available on B&P. Maybe this is old news, but I didn't hesitate to grab anything I still wanted

(Also nearly all other new pieces, recolours, etc from the first half of 2015 are now available)

[gamejutzu]

the anacondrai remix is a very very close second.

Are you sure? try verifying that statement by checking it out on I Tunes! Yes!

And hopefully as a video soon, I don't own an Apple product.

Edited December 7, 2015 by gamejutzu

[PenPlays]

So...

I just had the absolute pleasure of building City of Stiix.

It's huge!

The build was absolutely nothing I would have expected, and I mean that in a good way. Each of the levels of the tower feel substantial, and all of the side add-ons from the windmill to the ghost boat are absolutely fantastic. The ghost color scheme with the brown mixed in works tremendously, and the set truly feels Gothic. Something that you can't tell just by looking at it is that the set is absolutely riddled with play functions, but each one is seamless in the overall design. The minifigure selection is also fantastic.

There are some gripes though.

The Ghost Boat lacks a steering wheel, which would have been a nice aesthetic feature.

Nya's speedboat is odd, although it certainly has a Samurai X vibe.

When it comes to minifigures, they could have made some unique ghosts for this set, as none of them are truly unique. It also would have been a lot better if Nya was in her Water Gi instead, as it would have complemented her speedboat much, much better. Also, this set is Ronin's shop. It has the sign and everything, except it has a serious lack in a Ronin Minifigure.

All in all, City of Stiix is one of my favorite Ninjago sets. Ever. It certainly has earned a spot as one of my favorite sets of all time, and for good reason. It's unique, stunning, and, most importantly, fun to build.

If you have not got this set yet, do yourself a favor, and get this set before it retires. You will not regret it.

[raarghh]

So...

I just had the absolute pleasure of building City of Stiix.

It's huge!

The build was absolutely nothing I would have expected, and I mean that in a good way. Each of the levels of the tower feel substantial, and all of the side add-ons from the windmill to the ghost boat are absolutely fantastic. The ghost color scheme with the brown mixed in works tremendously, and the set truly feels Gothic. Something that you can't tell just by looking at it is that the set is absolutely riddled with play functions, but each one is seamless in the overall design. The minifigure selection is also fantastic.

There are some gripes though.

The Ghost Boat lacks a steering wheel, which would have been a nice aesthetic feature.

Nya's speedboat is odd, although it certainly has a Samurai X vibe.

When it comes to minifigures, they could have made some unique ghosts for this set, as none of them are truly unique. It also would have been a lot better if Nya was in her Water Gi instead, as it would have complemented her speedboat much, much better. Also, this set is Ronin's shop. It has the sign and everything, except it has a serious lack in a Ronin Minifigure.

All in all, City of Stiix is one of my favorite Ninjago sets. Ever. It certainly has earned a spot as one of my favorite sets of all time, and for good reason. It's unique, stunning, and, most importantly, fun to build.

If you have not got this set yet, do yourself a favor, and get this set before it retires. You will not regret it.

Thats funny becouse I just finished building this set earlier today and I agree that it is an awesome set, love the the ghost boat! And I completely agree, get this set before it retires! I had some trouble finding this new and sealed and had to pay a little over price but it was worth it.

[PenPlays]

I had some trouble finding this new and sealed and had to pay a little over price but it was worth it.

It doesn't help that the set is exclusive to Toys R Us (in the US). That's aside the fact that it's $5 more expensive there as well.

Most people are better off getting it off of Lego.com, as it's normally priced there, and since it's over $75, you get free shipping as well.

[gamejutzu]

It doesn't help that the set is exclusive to Toys R Us.

It is? Wow, no wonder I couldn't find it.

Yeah, definitely buy that online.

[PenPlays]

It is? Wow, no wonder I couldn't find it.

Yeah, definitely buy that online.

Yup.

The other exclusives are Jay Walker One at Target, and Chain Cycle Ambush at Walmart.

[gamejutzu]

Yup.

The other exclusives are Jay Walker One at Target, and Chain Cycle Ambush at Walmart.

I thought each wave had only one retail exclusive... Guess I was wrong...

[PenPlays]

I thought each wave had only one retail exclusive... Guess I was wrong...

Depends on the wave.

2011:

Winter- Ninjago Battle Arena (TRU), Skeleton Bowling (Target), Nuckal's ATV (Walmart)

Summer- Lightning Dragon Battle (TRU) (I strangely recall that Mountain Shrine was also an exclusive

2012:

Winter- Fangpyre Mech (Walmart), Spinner Battle Arena (Target), Fangpyre Wrecking Ball (TRU)

Summer- All sets were widely available

2013:

Winter- All sets were widely available

2014:

Winter- Destructoid (Target)

Summer- Both sets widely available

2015:

Spring: Dojo Showdown (TRU)

Summer: Chain Cycle Ambush (Walmart), Jay Walker One (Target), City of Stiix (TRU)

2016:

Spring: All sets were widely available

Summer: (Unknown)

[Aanchir]

Depends on the wave.

2011:

Winter- Ninjago Battle Arena (TRU), Skeleton Bowling (Target), Nuckal's ATV (Walmart)

Summer- Lightning Dragon Battle (TRU) (I strangely recall that Mountain Shrine was also an exclusive

2012:

Winter- Fangpyre Mech (Walmart), Spinner Battle Arena (Target), Fangpyre Wrecking Ball (TRU)

Summer- All sets were widely available

2013:

Winter- All sets were widely available

2014:

Winter- Destructoid (Target)

Summer- Both sets widely available

2015:

Spring: Dojo Showdown (TRU)

Summer: Chain Cycle Ambush (Walmart), Jay Walker One (Target), City of Stiix (TRU)

2016:

Spring: All sets were widely available

Summer: (Unknown)

It seems like this summer, Titanium Ninja Tumbler, Airjitzu Battle Grounds, and Samurai X Cave Chaos will all be store exclusives in the United States, since none of these were shown at New York Toy Fair. However, it's unclear which will be for what store. I imagine Samurai X Cave Chaos will probably be a TRU exclusive, by virtue of it being a $120 set and TRU generally getting the largest exclusives.

In general, the trend seems to be at least three Ninjago store exclusives per year, except for 2013 and 2014 which both had far fewer sets than usual.

[PenPlays]

In general, the trend seems to be at least three Ninjago store exclusives per year, except for 2013 and 2014 which both had far fewer sets than usual.

Which is most likely due to both years being at an 'in between' phase for the series (meaning less sets).

[Darth Wayne]

Bumping this ONLY to say: I have just built Jay's Nano Mech (the polybag) and wow, it is AWESOME!!!! If you see this anywhere for cheap, grab it for sure!!! I mean, you get Tournament of Elements garb Jay which most of you probably already have, BUT i was so pleasantly surprised by that mech! Just a couple of pieces but this may be my favorite tiny mech build EVER! So functional, simple, and pretty good looking at the same time for this small piececount.