Phyre

Fantasy Era had quite a few vehicles, everything from carriages and chariots to siege engines, battle wagons, and my personal favorite, the Troll Battle Wheel. Not to mention a couple ships. Other Castle themes have had similar things. There's definitely lots of potential for play in a historically accurate or fantasy oriented Castle theme. Dragons are just as swooshable as Star Wars ships. Plus you've got playable features like catapults, flick fire missiles, working drawbridges, etc. It's been so long since we've had a proper Castle theme, LEGO should just take the risk and do one, and see how it sells. Close to half their products seem more aimed at adults these days anyway (recent catalogs feature a huge amount of sets over $100, compared to when I was a kid and most sets were between 3 and 20 bucks, with only a few in the $100 range). At the very least, adults will buy a new Castle theme like crazy. And if kids like it too, it's a win-win for LEGO. But I don't think kids necessarily have to like it for it to be successful. Look at how fast the Blacksmith set sold out when it was released last month.

I'm surprised no one has pointed this out yet, but I love the use of the Harry Potter wand pieces! That's a great idea, especially to use them before you break the wands off.

They tried that to an extent with Knights' Kingdom II. I was a kid (preteen) at the time and I was pretty into it, not as much as I was into BIONICLE, but still, thought it was cool. I only collected the action figure sets and just bought a couple of the minifig-scale sets. By the end of the run I had pretty much lost interest and only bought a couple of the action figures from that last year. Then Fantasy Era came along and I was hooked, that got me into minifig-scale Castle and that is what I have focused a large part of my LEGO collecting on since. Unfortunately of course, we haven't had a new Castle theme in a long time and only a few Castle compatible sets. Anyway, Fantasy Era helped inspire me to create my own entire world out of Castle themed sets and minifigures for years to come. I am even working on writing a series of novels now that I am basing on those stories I have created (and continue to create, when I have time) with my LEGO sets (who knows, maybe someday if I am able to publish them and become successful, you will get to read them yourselves!). But I was also interested as a kid in the storyline of Knights' Kingdom. I know a lot of people didn't like the colorful knights, and as an adult I can see why, but they were part of what drew me in, as well as the unique action figures that were BIONICLE scale but made out of System pieces. Now, by the time Fantasy Era came out I was already in my teens, and when I was a little kid my primary interest was in stuff like Town/City and Racers (and BIONICLE of course). But I think a storyline approach would definitely work as it did for Knights' Kingdom (at least for me), as long as they keep the designs of things (especially minifigures) more like classic (and even more modern) Castle designs. The Collectible Minifigures series has come up with a ton of unique medieval and fantasy character designs, many of which are colorful, but all of which have been much better received that the Knights' Kingdom figs. So I definitely think it could be done. As for what kind of story or sets I would want to see, I want to see a mix between fantasy and realism. Just like Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones, arguably the two most popular medieval fantasy stories of all time. I want to see several factions of knights each with unique traits and architecture. But I also want to see dragons, and orcs, and undead, and all manner of fantasy creatures get involved in the story as well. LEGO did BIONICLE and created a massive interconnected universe with tons and tons of characters with detailed backstories. If they could do that, I don't see why they couldn't do it with a Castle theme. As you mentioned, they have done something similar with Ninjago. I followed along with that a little bit in the beginning but lost track. There's no reason LEGO can't create a sprawling fantasy epic along the lines of LotR or GoT, but for kids. I think kids would get interested. Either way, I am just dying for a new Castle theme. I want it to include fantasy elements, basically Fantasy Era 2.0, or perhaps Fantasy Era combined with Kingdoms. ^This. If you think kids would be interested in a theme like this, then it needs to happen lol. This is exactly the kind of theme that I would love to have. I would have loved it as a teen, and I would love it now. This is basically what I was getting at in my post above, but you got to the point much faster lol, and with more detail. Everything you suggested would be fantastic to see happen. EDIT: And I definitely want to see the horror stuff incorporated. Monster Fighters ended too soon and was the last full theme that I really collected, and those sets fit in well with the rest of my Castle stuff (except for the vehicles, which I just display elsewhere). My main collection is a combination of Castle and horror; the actual start of what became my main LEGO "village" (really now a country full of different kingdoms) was the Studios monster sets from the early 2000s.

Missed voting in the final, but I would have voted for 12. 12 and 6 are two of my favorite series, and 15 is pretty great too. 5 is the only one in this bunch that I wouldn't personally rank quite so high up there, although it is a pretty solid series.

Series 6 is easily my favorite of this bunch.

I LOVE fantasy era. Those were the sets that got me into collecting Castle. I was a teenager when they came out and my previous interests as a kid had been in cars/trucks/city stuff, BIONICLE, a little bit of Knights Kingdom (primarily the action figures), and Racers Tiny Turbos. Fantasy Era in 2007, with the skeletons and evil wizard (and later on the trolls/orcs and dwarves) just really grabbed my attention at that time and I've collected Castle themes ever since. The sets were great - I own every single one - and the minifigures excellent as well. I loved Medieval Market Village, but my favorite set from the line was probably the gigantic Chess set. We are in desperate need of a new Castle theme, and I really hope they do a second fantasy era, this time with elves and all sorts of new magical creatures and monsters (and some new human factions as well).

As long as there are some cool fantasy/castle/historical and horror/monster figures, I will be happy. An all-stars would be perfectly welcome for me, since it would likely include some old favorites like the zombie, Spartan, and elf. I wouldn't care if they kept the figures identical to the original designs or updated them.

While series 12 is my favorite of this bunch, I figured it's also most people's favorite and would probably be safe to make it into the next round (and so far it looks like I'm right). Therefore I voted for my second favorite, series 1, which I feel is a bit of an underdog but has always been one of my favorite series.

Toss up between series 4 and series 16, but I went with 4 because it was one of my early favorites in the line. Lots of classic horror figures, which I love, plus the hazmat guy, punk rocker, musketeer, and so on. Really every figure in that series is fantastic. Sad to see that both 4 and 16 are so far behind though. :( 5 and 11 were good series, but nowhere near as great as 4 and 16 in my opinion.

While Disney series 1 and The LEGO Batman movie series 1 were not bad, Series 16 is the clear choice for me!

Series 12, hands down. So many amazing figures, I don't think there was a single one I didn't like. One of my favorite series of all-time.

Me too! I would have picked it but I went for 14 because I thought it would be more of an underdog and 13 would be a sure thing. Now I wish I had voted for 13. This round was a toss-up between 13, 14, and 15 for me. 13 and 14 were probably the best, 13 because of the historic/fantasy figures, and 14 because I love Halloween/horror.

Had to vote for Series 10. Any of these choices are better than Series 3, in my opinion the worst series of all time (well, maybe not worse than the Simpsons or Ninjago series). The Elf is outstanding, but the rest of Series 3's lineup are just okay or else flat out boring.

Just saw this topic for the first time, sorry I missed out on the first couple rounds of this game but I'll be participating in the rest! I voted for series 4, one of my all-time favorites. 5 and 17 are both quite good too though.

That is insane. I am honestly totally speechless looking at this masterpiece. Amazing job!!

The minifigures from the Monster Fighters theme a few years ago were pretty much exactly that style.

Personally I would never use non-LEGO products alongside official LEGO stuff. I guess that makes me a LEGO purist. I also prefer purist MOCs to ones that incorporate third party products. I have nothing against companies like Brick Warriors or people that use their stuff, but it's not for me either in my own collecting/building or when viewing other people's work. I can't even really explain why I feel that way, obviously Brick Warriors seems to produce quality stuff, but... it's just not LEGO lol.

Some of the last few rounds have been difficult, as they have included a lot of iconic sets I don't own along with smaller (and in many ways unimpressive) sets I do own... I've tended to lean toward the sets I do own as it's harder to accurately judge the sets I don't own. But this round was super easy. I own Medieval Market Village and it is one of the most amazing Castle sets ever made. So finally, this round was an easy choice for me! There are a few other sets from recent years which I like equally or a little bit more that haven't shown up yet, but I think MMV is one of the top contenders for this contest.

Yes, that's the first thing I thought of when I saw that picture! Especially because a Shepherd has been a CMF prediction of mine pretty much since Series 1 came out.

7029 because Fantasy Era was the best (and the line that really got me into Castle).

I loved the Tiny Turbos, would love to see those come back, but this time with printed pieces! All the stickers on my old sets are cracked and peeling off. So either printed pieces or better quality stickers (the stickers on my UCS Star Wars sets, as annoying as they are, at least do not seem to have the same aging/peeling issues). But preferably printed pieces.

Yes, definitely! I was a frequent participant in the best CMF game, and Castle is my favorite theme, so yes, yes, yes!! I hope you get enough votes to do it!

This lineup would make me soooo happy. So many monsters, fantasy, and historical figures. Think I may steal some ideas from your list... Here's mine. I'm pulling from my own list of expected/desired minifigures, the designs we've seen, and some of your guys' suggestions: 1. Beekeeper - I thought of this one several years ago, it's just the type of figure that would be expected in a CMF series and I'm surprised we haven't gotten one yet. 2. Firefighter - I know, there are plenty of LEGO firefighters already, but never have we had one in the CMF (and we've had cops, knights, spacemen, and all manner of classic figures redone for the series, but no firefighters yet... it's time). 3. Golem - Long overdue. Needs to happen. 4. Groom - We had the bride in Series 7. A groom is way overdue. 5. Female Hippie - Another Series 7 figure who is long overdue for an opposite-gender counterpart. 6. Shepherd - Been on my list for a while. 7. Scientist - Inspired by Albert Einstein, we've seen designs for a figure like this, and we've already seen other CMFs clearly based on specific historical figures or characters. 8. Drummer - I'm a drummer, and we've already had several guitar players CMFs, it's time for them to get a rhythm section! 9. Basketball Player - It just makes sense, one of the few sports missing a CMF representative. 10. Undead Warrior - Like from Alex Boudon's designs... I have wanted this figure so badly since those designs circulated. 11. Dark Elf - Also from Alex's designs. 12. Voodoo Doctor/Witch Doctor - Would be awesome. Enough said. 13. Snowman - This is one I'm specifically stealing from Robert8. Fantastic idea, should have happened long ago. We need a snowman with a face! Even the snowmen from the winter village sets don't have faces! 14. Monster Bride - Seems to be a popular choice, and one that makes a lot of sense. 15. Alien Spaceman - Nearly every series has had a representative from the Space them, so why not an alien that has teamed up with the Spaceman and Intergalactic Girl of previous series to fight the evil aliens and wears a spacesuit with the classic space logo (maybe a red, green, or blue suit since I don't think those colors have been used for Space figures in the CMF series yet). 16. Pumpkinhead - What can I say, I love monsters and fantasy. This is one monster that is easily customizable with all the pumpkin minifigure heads LEGO has made over the years, but one that has never been made as an official minifigure (not counting the Headless Horseman from Scooby-Doo). I'm picturing a more traditional scarecrow design with a pumpkin head.

I'm also a Castle/Fantasy fan, so I'd love to see some more fantasy monsters like a Golem or an Ogre.

I love it! Outstanding build, very cool army too!!