Whiteagle

Maybe it has to do with Well there is huge difference here story wise: Infernox was a non-canonical store exclusive just to get a mini-figure of the Queen into a set, but the Rock & Roller was the centerpiece of Season 3's penultimate episode "Rock Bottom," and the Queen's Kidnapping is a HUGE deal that is a terrible blow to Knighton's moral. Well there is a reason I went out of my way to get this set and not Infernox; It's the one that finally gives us the Queen in her BATTLE ARMOR! As you know from the show, she's not one to go down without a fight, and in the episode that debuts the Rock & Roller she does go down swinging (Literally, she was nabs during a yearly visit to the village of Hammerin for their Hammer Festival, and they only caught her after the Rogul of Relentless Rust destroyed her weapon!)

Ironically enough, Ruina's disposability in the episode she appears in is due to her actually having a story arc via being a link to Merlok's and Monstrux shared past. That said, Battle Armor Queen Halbert is more that worth it for this set! I bricklinked the parts to both symmetrize Ruina's staff (Seriously, it would have been nice to have gotten a second swirly dish, and it would have made it more show accurate) and to turn the Queen's Hammer into a proper ORANGE TRANSPARENT CHAINSAW HALBERD (My backstory for the Queen is that she's a stranded Ice Planet 2002 female, hence all the Trans-neon Orange Space Schizo Tech!)

I tried, but I didn't realize it was the EYEBALL that created spoiler tags...

Eh, the Lock and Roller itself is fairly one note, but the episode it debuts in is pretty plot important; It's used to ACTUALLY kidnap the Queen, the Mace Smasher gets wrecked and replaced by HOTSPUR, THE DROP-BOT D.R.A.G.O.N. (Yes, Robin actually created a Bacronym for Dragon), there are hints that a mysterious someone met with Merlok after he blasted Monstrux in what became Rock Wood Forest, Ruina herself is identified by Monstrux as a witch and implies she's NOT another Monster which the Knights strangely adhere to despite never knowing this , and finally,

No, the sculptor who teamed up with Jestro and Monstrux got exiled for making a statue of the Queen kicking butt, so more likely it's that statue brought to life.

Yeah, same here, I was assuming it was in preparation for the summer waves.

Well I'm in the states, and I can watch most of it on Lego's Youtube channel. The episodes I can't see are still on Lego's Website.

Hotspur is best vehicle!

Thanks! Still though, the series has made me warm up to some sets like the Three Brothers due to the character they're allowed to display there.

Well after having binged watched the last of Nexo Knights' third season, I have to say the third wave has grown even more on me. The Three Brothers actually DO have some personality, though they rarely get to show it... Even what little we actually SEE of General Garg makes him the smartest and most eloquent of the gargoyles, though it was only used for a single episode's bit... Ruina Stoneheart has clearly been telegraphed as a former member of the Wizards Council; In the Episode "Mount Thunderstrox" we see a picture of the council with a sole female member to the right of Monstrox, who staff we latter see in Runia's hands in "Rock Bottom." Not only does Monstrox himself say their were "a few witches" on the Wizards Council in "Mount Thunderstrox," he also refers to Runia as one while flirtatiously introducing her Jestro in "Rock Bottom," the episode which also shows a flash back to Merlok's confrontation with Monstrox in what would become Rock Wood forest where Monstrox scoffs at the idea the entire Council is behind Merlok. This flashback also shows a mysterious SOMEONE handing Merlok Monstrox's bracelet of Forbidden Power charms after he is blasted away, but glitches out before we actually see who. Further more, the "Drop Bot Dragon" is actually named "Hotspur" in the series, and he is BEST VEHICLE! Not only does he apparently have an advanced interface that will bond with Macy as a Rider, he is THE MOST USEFUL SECOND YEAR VEHICLE since he is able to airlift Battle Suits AND IS THE FIRST ONE SHOWN TO ACTUALLY COMBINE WITH ONE! Clay's Falcon Fighter Blaster only shows up for the first three episodes before the plot forces him to use the first Battle Suit, and while Lance's Twin Jouster is his ride for the whole season AND it's separation function is shown off in its first episode... that's the ONLY function it ever uses AND is first used as a GAG. Also, I think Hotspur's toy form is actually MORE articulated than his in-show model, despite the latter having a far longer tail.

Yeah, it's now $4.32 USD per figure instead of $4 USD, and for even less pieces at that... I think one of the biggest reasons the Stone Monsters are harder to army build is their lack of a $10 USD set of their own. Lava Monster had both the Chaos Catapult, the Glob Lobber, AND their own Ultimates, as well as presence in the Knighton Battle Blaster. The poor stone monsters only have a Stone Stomper in the King's Artillery, everything else is a $20+ set.

Yeah, unsurprisingly, the Book of Monsters turns out to be the imprisoned form of Monstrox the "Necromancer." The first year's story basically ended when he tries to take the body of Jestro/Clay, but is foiled by the other Nexo Knights during the final moments of the Ritual, hinting that Monstrox might still exist in some nebulous form... The second year's story begins with the reveal that he did indeed, as an EVIL STORM CLOUD!!! After literally zapping Jestro back to being evil, he shows that he can now also use some of his old "necromancy" powers to give life to anything with a face life, which is helpful since Monstrox old Monster army had been turned to stone. The two then team up with a disgruntled, literal-minded sculptor who also has a grudge against Knighton due to the King exiling him. Also, it turns out Monstrox used to be on a Wizards' Council with Merlok, but his studies into the "Forbidden Powers" of this year's focus drove him mad with evil power, forcing Merlok and the other Wizards to confront him in a costly battle, resulting in Merlok turning Monstrox and his magic into Spell Books while sealing away the "Forbidden Powers" in the far corners of Knighton. While it makes sense in story, it's understandable everyone is kinda underwhelmed by the designs, as they basically just replaced the "Fire" of the Lava Monsters (Who are still alive and formed their own peaceful commune) with "Lightning" while keeping the same "Rock" base, while only a few of the Stone Monsters have near as much personality as their Lava predecessors/successors.

Well they might have worked for more than one wave, especially if they played up the "Storm" aspect of this season, but instead we got "Stone + Lightning" which isn't much different from Lava being "Stone + Fire."

Well technically they've got a "Lightning" sub element, but yeah, they are rather un-inspired for enemies.

Eh, Lance gets goofier as the show goes one; He's still an egocentric, but receiving a humbling at the end of the first season had him befriend a pig. Axl problem was his simplistic character though, he's the strong silent type with artistic talents. Normally that's fine for a supporting character, but Axl is one of the five Nexo Knights, and where as Aaron's thrill-seeking can at least lead to action, there isn't much that can be done with Axl other than food jokes.

I wouldn't go so far as to make it an Evergreen theme, but I'd at least like it to go a full three year run. They'll be a time and a place for "Classic" medieval fantasy, but it'll be a hard pill to swallow right on the heals of an original mash-up Big-bang like Nexo Knights (which again has all the elements that made Ninjago evergreen in the first place), especially with such great "original" villain monster designs.

BRRRRRIIIIKWWWWWAAARRS!!!! At least you aren't perma-banned for your existence being a personal affront to Mike...

We were sorta assuming as much from the name "Drop Bot Dragon."

Eh, the good guys each have unique face prints...

Indeed, forest alone has great opportunity for Groot-esk Build-figs, and Sea could see a return of SEATRON!!!

Well I just dug out my Knighton Army Builder from last year to compare... Other than more individual weapons and one Royal Guard Print we have yet to get, the new set appears to be lacking in all facets. The old version was 35 pieces in total; Five for each of the three Royal Guard, Ten for the Royal Squire bot, and another ten pieces split between four sets of weapons, one of which has a Nexo Power Shield. Unless there is more packaged in the bubble than what's displayed on the card, like say a Squire Bot, the new Battle Pack only has Three Royal Guards at five elements apiece and ten elements split between 5 weapons and a Nexo Shield for a total of 25 Pieces. Even the old Lava Monster Battle Pack at 30 Pieces, 5 for each Monster Figure and ten left over for Weapons, was a better value.

I love all those Weapons! Particularly the Spear, as it plays into my idea most of Lances' lances are using break-off explosive tips. ...Of course, I think I was going to mount the OT tip the other way around...

I actually like it more if this is the case, going to army build me some Macy Dragons!

Are we sure that's a spoiler? I mean, the Sculptor working with Monstrux and Jestro was originally cast out of Knighton for his statue of Queen Halberd...

No, it's an intended feature, Lego has been using that type of connection for a lot of recombination gimmicks as of recent; One clip-bar and one clip-female clicky hinge next to each other to create a hold that's stable but doesn't require a huge amount of force to pull apart. Same idea with the Technic Pin and Axle version.