Meaf

I really like this list, and I could see it being something like this. The only thing I'd say is that I think Mando S3 will probably get at least one of the larger price points. I would assume it has sold well in the past based on how many sets we've gotten from it, so if Lego is doing any larger Disney+ sets, I imagine Mando would be their first choice. It could even be something from one of the earlier seasons, though both of them are decently covered at this point.

While I think the final version of the mech is better than this concept (from what I've seen at least, I don't have it yet), I have to say that I certainly would not have minded if they had gone in a more unique direction with it, like in this prototype.

I don't necessarily think that this means there is definitely one in the works, especially since we did just kind of get one if you count Mando's new ship. That said, I think you are probably correct on the idea that those will be used in the next one, assuming the scale makes sense of course.

Well, it seems like Ninjago may not be getting any price increases in the US after all. There was a list that went out today (I believe from Barnes and Noble), and there weren't any Ninjago sets on it. I'm not sure if it's been confirmed that those were all of the price increases we'd be getting, but if so I am happy. The prices on a lot of the new sets were already pretty high, and the prospect of an increase was just stupid. It is interesting that they seem to be going down this route though when we know that the prices of Ninjago sets are being increased in a lot of other countries. It might be a licensing costs thing since most of the themes seeing increases in the US are licensed, but it's still a bit odd in my opinion.

Yeah that is a good point. As you said, Bowser may actually be a decent indication as to how the new Hulkbuster is going to be designed, though I wonder if as much budget will have been put into it (in general, it seems to me that Nintendo's sets have been getting a lot of care and attention put into them, more so than with some other licensed themes like Marvel). It's not a very interesting guess but I am still in the Avengers Tower camp. There are just hardly any locations (or anything else for that matter) that are iconic and interesting enough to warrant a $500 set, which also needs to be popular with more casual Marvel fans. The Helicarrier is not really relevant much these days, and there aren't too many other locations or vehicles from Marvel that I think make a lot of sense at that price point. Maybe its some sort of Iron Man set, like his mansion or something, but I don't know if Lego would want that and the Hulkbuster coming out so close together. To be fair though, I didn't think the Daily Bugle was popular enough for a $300 set and they did it anyway, so maybe it will just be something I'm not expecting at all.

That would require Lego to remember that DC even exists. The Hulkbuster sounds like a nice improvement over the original, but I can't say I'm too interested, especially since I'd probably take the Sanctum over it anyway. I love mechs but at this point I'm just getting tired of the Hulkbuster.

For me, while I like the Raider, it's not so much the price turning me off as it is me just the fact that I prefer a lot of the other sets. It's actually one of my favorite ninja vehicles from recent times, but I don't have a lot of Lego money at the moment, and I think the Dragon, Temple, Crystal King, and Samurai Mech are all more interesting (prices notwithstanding). I actually do still have Llyod from the Titan Mech, but I'm planning on getting the Crystal King so I won't need that version of Lloyd anyway. Yeah, I'd be surprised at this point if we don't end up getting the other Dragon variants from the magazines. I can't directly benefit from them since I live in the US, but the second-hand prices tend to go down everywhere so that will be nice whenever it happens.

I like that we're getting some rarer characters out these. Hopefully we get Dragon Zane at some point so the aftermarket price on him ends up lower. I like his design the most of the dragon versions, but I'm not planning on picking up Kai's vehicle.

That really hurts. I'm not sure if the US's price increases ever were confirmed, but I'm hoping they aren't too bad because I don't really have a lot of money to spend on Lego right now as is. At least Ninjago does tend to go on sale after a while, at least online.

Some Endor stuff would be nice. Someone pointed out in the discussion thread the other day that there has basically been nothing based on Endor in the last ten years (aside from that Action Battle set), so perhaps that will change next year. If we have to have an entire wave just dedicated to the OT, I would like for them to cover stuff we haven't seen in a while (or ever).

Unless I missed a recent update, I believe the set you are referring to has not actually been confirmed to be the Avengers Tower. That's just what most people expect it to be, since there aren't a lot of other realistic options for a $500 Marvel set. As for when it's releasing, we have no idea. It seems like the Hulkbuster D2C is coming out first, but we don't have a month locked down for that one either. Some people seem to think the $500 set was either fake or canceled since we haven't heard anything about it in months, but assuming that's not the case, then the absolute earliest we could expect it is probably in September. But given the lack of details we have gotten, I'd guess it's probably not coming until much later this year.

Ah yes, how could I have forgotten about that. Honestly I find it kind of weird that they're doing one when the Hoth AT-ST just came out in January, but then again they probably aren't competing for sales in any significant way.

Honestly at this point I'd be more excited for a Morbius minifig than almost anything else in the realm of Marvel. I doubt it'll ever happen, but it would be funny to see Lego get in on a meme/trend mostly outside their general wheelhouse.

Is there anything we haven't see aside from the upcoming D2C (which is increasingly looking to be the Razorcrest)? I don't remember seeing any other rumors, and there usually isn't much after the August wave, but I could be forgetting something. Overall I'd say this has been a pretty good year for Lego Star Wars. The winter sets were a bit of a mixed bag, but I don't think they were awful, and I'm glad we've finally seen the return of Battle Packs. The dioramas, while not of interest to me personally, also look good. And the summer wave is all around great in my opinion; all of the builds seem at least solid, with the notable exception of the Obi-Wan vs Vader duel. Really, my only major complaint this year is one that I feel like I have had with nearly every set from this theme, that being the price. I understand that inflation is going to affect things, and there has always been something of a Star Wars tax, but even before the price increases there were hardly any sets this year which seemed reasonably priced. To an extent, it doesn't matter, since most sets can be nabbed on sale if you keep your eyes open (at least where I live), but even then some of these prices are still pretty egregious. Just looking at the Star Wars sets from this year on Brickset, the only regular sets which even seem like a fair price at retail are the Scythe, Obi-Wan's Starfighter, and the Hoth AT-ST. I know Star Wars is always going to be a pricey theme, but that is just ridiculous in my opinion. At the end of the day it's just Lego, but the whole thing bothers me, especially since it puts a rather sour spin on what has otherwise been a good year for the theme in my book.

Rex also has a huge leg up on most of the other clone commanders even outside of being the most popular, that being relevance. I would not at all be surprised if we get him as soon as next year.

The Justifier seems to be what most of us were expecting; a good set that is in no way close to being worth the price tag. Omega and Bane are both great, but I don't think I'll ever get them unless they come in a cheaper set later down the line. The AT-TE is not exactly what I expected. I wouldn't say the build is bad, but it isn't spectacular either. What bothers me more though is the size. Maybe it's just the pictures, but it looks way too small for its price. The minifigure selection here is good all around, but overall I think the set leaves something to be desired.

I don't really have much to say that hasn't already been said in regards to Bane and Omega. They're both great figures, but not great enough for me to swing for a set that should be half its retail price. It'd be nice if they both show up in cheaper sets later, but I'm not very confident in that happening (with these specific versions; I'm pretty confident we'll get new versions of them since they are both popular and relevant characters).

I don't necessarily mind because usually the exclusive figs are not super desirable (for me at least), but I don't usually buy the Advent Calendar, so if possible I'd prefer for there to not be any exclusive non-Christmas themed minifigs.

Well, that's certainly something. I wasn't too interested based on what Promobricks said, but this is just ridiculous. I guess there is some sort of feature to light the ground on fire, but I don't think that will be enough to save the set. I find it kind of amusing that of the two (regular) Obi-Wan sets, one is this mess, while the other is one of the best Star Wars sets we've gotten in years.

That's a good point I hadn't thought of. The US typically gets some discounts after a while as well, though a lot of times (at least around where I live) they won't discount the larger ones. Most Marvel sets go on sale after a couple of months (if that), but I don't know whether a set that large would end up getting discounted.

Regarding the Sanctum's D2C status, that probably doesn't change anything aside from the release date, right? From Lego's perspective, it's still a $250 set that could be competing with other large Marvel releases this year if they come out to close to each other. To me at least, the D2C moniker seems sort of arbitrary, and not really indicative of anything other than where and when a set will be sold.

The circumstances around the D2Cs this year have certainly been very strange. I still think they're probably all real, but if I were to doubt any of them it would be the $500; it just seems a little hard to believe when we haven't heard about it in months, and have absolutely no idea what it is.

I must have missed that. I already thought it was fairly overpriced, but that's just absurd.

Not a fan of these prices hikes at all (but then again, who is). I know that being a Lego fan requires an acceptance that you will end up spending a lot of money if you want the big stuff, but it's just frustrating, especially since it's not as though most people suddenly have a ton of extra money on hand. My hope is that Lego's sales will flag a bit and they will realize they need to eat more of the cost of inflation on their own, but I don't think that is very realistic. If nothing else, I suppose this just means I'm less likely to get the Samurai X Mech. At least the Dragon's price didn't change, that one is already plenty expensive as is.

I legitimately have no idea what Lego is thinking with this set. Obviously the layperson who is just buying a set for their kid isn't going to have as much of an idea of what sets provide more value than others, but it doesn't take an expert to compare two Lego sets and see that one is clearly smaller and more expensive than the other.