Nexo Knights 2016

[Sir Gareth]

All the negativity in this thread has corrupted my excitement for Nexo Knights...

[BrickJagger]

All the negativity in this thread has corrupted my excitement for Nexo Knights...

Get us the pictures!

[SirBlake]

Nexo Knights won't be gone until 2019, and I think it will go for longer than that.

If this theme turns out to be as bad as we fear, and if there's no real castle theme during its run, we're in for some dark days ahead.

[x105Black]

Was The Hobbit "2014's Castle Theme"? Was Elves "2015's Castle Theme"? My point is, this is not a Castle theme.

My point was just that the early rumors we had were for a Castle theme. I agree with your point that this is not a Castle theme, or at least it doesn't feel that way to me right now. After pictures are revealed I may change my tune. I'm mostly going off of the logo design and the Robo-Horse, neither of which instill me with that Castle feeling.

TLG may think of Nexo Knights as a Castle theme, though, which would explain why there was a rumor of a Castle theme in 2016. And for all we know it will be very much like a Castle theme, and the Robo-Horse could be less Robo than it seems. I'm expecting something like this, though:

That doesn't really feel like Castle to me. That's science fiction.

It kinda is. Back in 2005, a poll about KK2 was conducted here on EB. The poll asked users whether or not they though KK2 was a Castle sub theme or a separate theme. The majority voted for the second option.

However, these days almost everyone considers KK2 a Castle sub theme, because over time they realized that that's what Lego intended it to be. Lego clearly wants this to be the next Castle theme, as they've never had a period of five years "without" as Castle theme, which would be the minimum if you were to discredit this one.

I agree with 8BrickMario to an extent. This theme is in fact a Castle theme, but not a historical theme. It will probably be kept here because Fantasy Era and KK2 were also here, and those were not historical at all. NK is a combo of those two.

Also, the Hobbit was a licensed theme, so it is automatically disqualified from being a Castle sub theme. Elves is an extension of Friends and has no knights in it, but plenty of action. That's why it's in Action Themes.

Ninja (1998-2000) was a sub theme of Castle, but we don't think of Ninjago as a Castle sub theme. That's because there are enough differences to disqualify it. Ninjago is then considered an Action theme. Chima is also considered an Action theme. Most of the characters in Chima carry swords and other such weapons and wear armor, like knights, but we don't think of it as a Castle sub theme. Ninjago and Chima also have television shows, and rumor has it Nexo Knights will as well. Isn't Nexo Knights a Chima replacement? Isn't it meant to be in the same category as Chima and Ninjago?

So far, we don't know much at all. However, going on what we do know, it seems like we are getting a new Action theme in 2016 that has some things in common with Castle, but we're not really getting a Castle theme or sub theme (even if some may consider it as such because it has knights).

This also feels far less Castle-like than KK2 or Fantasy Era. While those themes be based on fantasy or flashy jellybeans rather than strictly historical, they still both felt like they were set in a medieval-type setting. Nexo Knights, from what we know so far, feels to me like it is set in the future.

The main reason I worry about the semantics is that if this is indeed considered a Castle theme, and it turns out to be a futuristic He-Man style theme, then we might be waiting longer for a real Castle theme to come out. This is expected to run for 3 years, until 2019? That would mean no real Castle theme from 2013-2019. That's more than 5 years, which is very disappointing.

I hope I'm wrong, I really do. I hope the futuristic sounding elements will be downplayed and that it will feel like a real Castle theme. If so, I will eat crow. A few pictures would go a long way towards clearing up this confusion.

[Vorkosigan]

This won't be a one-year theme, even if the first year sells poorly. The story will be set to last over several years, so even if it's a flop (which I doubt sincerely), it would cost less just to release the planned sets rather than scrap them for a new line.

Nexo Knights won't be gone until 2019, and I think it will go for longer than that.

I realized this is what you were going for after I posted. However I stand by my assertion previously made in this thread that we could get a Castle theme with a more traditional flavor at the same time as Nexo Knights. I think the two could easily be made sufficiently different. I should also mention that a store manager told me she thought we'd see Castle again in 2017, to alternate with Pirates. Now she phrased it as speculation, but if we go with your theory that there was a memo about Nexo Knights sent to managers, then she would have been suggesting this in knowledge of NK's existence.

[gedren_y]

I don't get the bashing before pics. Yes, this theme will likely have quite a few siege machines and combat vehicles, but I doubt it will be as overrun with them as Ninjago. As stated many times before, this is shaping up to be like an in-house version of MOTU. While it had technology, that show was most definitely set in a Castle type fantasy world.

I posted before a list of the FE sets that were based around siege machines or combat vehicles (counting boats). There were a total of nine out of twenty-four, which is more than a third of the sets. Yes, some included major structures, but look at the set names. I'll quote myself for you.

Consider this for a moment, the reference to FE wasn't about the character content, or look. It was about the types of sets. Siege machines and combat vehicles were part of FE. Here's a list.

Troll Assault Wagon

Skeleton's Prison Carraige

King's Battle Charriot

Dwarve's Mine Defender

Troll Battle Wheel

Tower Raid

Knights' Catapult Defense

Skeleton Ship Attack

Troll Warship

Consider it from a display layout point of view. A store manager will need some advanced information about the types of sets (not their exact content) to plan a set showcase. I see these things in Target all the time. Ninjago has had several in its lifespan.

(Edit, forgot one big one on the list.)

This also why I think the manager BrickJagger talked to mentioned FE.

[x105Black]

I don't get the bashing before pics. Yes, this theme will likely have quite a few siege machines and combat vehicles, but I doubt it will be as overrun with them as Ninjago. As stated many times before, this is shaping up to be like an in-house version of MOTU. While it had technology, that show was most definitely set in a Castle type fantasy world.

I'll have to disagree with you on this one. While it had fantasy and castle type structures, that show was definitely set in a technologically futuristic world.

I really don't want to be bashing it before we see the pictures, but the set names didn't have me too excited. And in the list of FE set names, there was nothing Robo going on at all...

It's not about the number of vehicles and siege engines to me, although I much prefer buildings and other such structures, it's in the style in which they are presented.

And I agree with someone above who said they think that both Nexo Knights and a Castle theme could exist at the same time. That's why I'm so eager to see this classified as something other than Castle.

Edited August 28, 2015 by x105Black

[BrickJagger]

I realized this is what you were going for after I posted. However I stand by my assertion previously made in this thread that we could get a Castle theme with a more traditional flavor at the same time as Nexo Knights. I think the two could easily be made sufficiently different. I should also mention that a store manager told me she thought we'd see Castle again in 2017, to alternate with Pirates. Now she phrased it as speculation, but if we go with your theory that there was a memo about Nexo Knights sent to managers, then she would have been suggesting this in knowledge of NK's existence.

The generic kind of Castle, or Kingdoms-style? If it's the second one, that's great! Two Castle lines running at once hasn't happened since the nineties, and I'd love to see a return to that.

I really don't want to be bashing it before we see the pictures, but the set names didn't have me too excited. And in the list of FE set names, there was nothing Robo going on at all...

Troll's Battle Wheel. The Mine Defender.

And I agree with someone above who said they think that both Nexo Knights and a Castle theme could exist at the same time. That's why I'm so eager to see this classified as something other than Castle.

You're basing these thoughts off of a logo and the word "Robo". That's called "Jumping the gun".

^ Does this look Medieval? Nope.

[x105Black]

Troll's Battle Wheel. The Mine Defender.

Troll's Robo-Wheel would have me concerned. The Robo-Defender would make me feel uneasy. There's nothing in the names of those sets that feels futuristic. Adding Robo has me expecting something like this:

Maybe that's just because I've read that this is supposed to be like MOTU.

Funny thing is, I was a big fan of He-Man when I was younger. I'd have no problem with a theme in that vein. Just don't try to pass it off as a Castle theme, because He-Man is a science fiction show. Science fantasy at best, but far from medieval fantasy.

You're basing these thoughts off of a logo and the word "Robo". That's called "Jumping the gun".

Fair enough, but what does Robo imply if not robotics / futuristic technology? I'm trying to stay optimistic that they are intending more of a steampunk design, as has been discussed here.

^ Does this look Medieval? Nope.

It looks a fair bit more medieval than the Nexo Knights logo. It's stylized to look like blades, and even has a nice sword right there for the T.

This logo, on the other hand, looks very futuristic by comparison. Sure, they both have swords and shields in the design, but neither of those look medieval in this logo.

I'm not really saying that Nexo Knights is going to be a failure of a theme, I'm just saying that it doesn't really sound Castle enough at this point to see it being a Castle theme. And I'm mostly saying this because, even if I like Nexo Knights, I'm still going to want to see a Castle, Kingdoms, Forestmen, Wolfpack, or Fantasy Era type of medieval historical / fantasy theme.

[BrickJagger]

Both of those logos are stylized in the same way, as they are shiny, jagged types with swords and shields. You're being a little picky there.

Again with the names. You said it yourself: The name alone doesn't accurately tell you what the set is. The Troll Battle Wheel sounds innocent enough, but when you figure out that it's a giant hamster wheel..........

Personally, the Robo-Horse sounds like a one man Trojan Horse. That would make it brown. Trojan Horses are plenty historical. Perhaps we should change your member title to "Scared of the word Robo"?

The He-Man speculation has nothing to back itself up, it's just some members voicing their thoughts. The steampunk rumor is real though, and I just talked to a store manager today who told me exactly that.

Ya'll will get used to this theme, and there isn't a doubt in my mind that this will be accepted as the sixteenth Castle theme in time.

[Robert8]

Personally, the Robo-Horse sounds like a one man Trojan Horse. That would make it brown. Trojan Horses are plenty historical. Perhaps we should change your member title to "Scared of the word Robo"?

Agree.

Those He-Man pics are interesting, but I don't see that happening in this theme.

[x105Black]

"Scared of the word Robo"?

I guess that would be appropriate after my most recent posts.

I don't get where you're seeing Trojan Horse, though. I'm absolutely hoping that you are right.

But you can't be serious about the logos being stylized the same way. The lettering looks completely different. The sword and shield designs are completely different. If you want to generalize to make a point, that's fine, but I don't see them being similar outside of those superficial observations you made. One of them looks far more medieval, and the other looks far more futuristic, even at first glance.

Edited August 29, 2015 by x105Black

[SirBlake]

Both of those logos are stylized in the same way, as they are shiny, jagged types with swords and shields. You're being a little picky there.

Man, I couldn't disagree with this more.

[Amazing Bricks]

I'm sure many of you won't be disappointed. From what I'm hearing, this theme will make castle fans happy and yet sci fi fans will find some really good used of this theme. You can switch out any futuristic parts from the minifigures with any thing knight related. That's the great thing about Lego. For you sci fi fans, you can switch out anything knight related with anything futuristic. Trust me, Lego is trying something new, and if it doesn't do good then they're not going to do a theme like this in a long time. We just have to wait and see what they can pull off this theme. What I like is that it's something completely new.

Edited August 29, 2015 by amazingbricks

[x105Black]

As far as switching out the futuristic parts goes, I'm assuming we're talking armor, helmets, shields, and weapons. I was actually hoping for some cool new medieval designs of armor and shields, and maybe new helmets with hair. I'm hoping we'll get useful stuff in this capacity, but everyone knows what they did where Chima was concerned.

[gedren_y]

Da Vinci style robotics? Wooden gears and coiled tension drivers? Ooh, now I am envisioning the heroes dressed in something other than armor. Excitement either way.

About the new logo: it makes me think we could see a new, brighter blue metal color. Or crystalline weapons, like something out of Stargate. The aesthetics allude to several things, but until someone comes up with images of the actual parts we can't really qualify this theme in either direction. There is a question mark in the name of this thread, and given all the unknowns, it is most appropriate.

In any event, I am hoping for parts and prints that add to my MOCs. What TLG intends for this theme will pretty much be irrelevant to me.

[BrickJagger]

I don't get where you're seeing Trojan Horse, though. I'm absolutely hoping that you are right.

It would be a huge missed opportunity if they made it anything other than a Trojan Horse, and Lego doesn't usually miss opportunities to get money.

Man, I couldn't disagree with this more.

The KK2 logo looks like 50's era Sci-Fi stuff to me, while the Nexo Knights one looks a little more like a modern version of the former. On the contrary, I understand that you specialize in logos (If I was reading one of the previous logo conversations correctly) so I'll take your word for it.

[Robert8]

The KK2 logo looks like 50's era Sci-Fi stuff to me, while the Nexo Knights one looks a little more like a modern version of the former. On the contrary, I understand that you specialize in logos (If I was reading one of the previous logo conversations correctly) so I'll take your word for it.

I'd say the NEXO Knights logo looks like 80's/90's stuff.

[Isundir]

Nevermind.

Edited August 29, 2015 by Isundir

[JVM]

Really looking forward to this one and the Nexo Knights subtheme means there's a chance it might get more cross-platform appeal than previous attempts. That could be fun.

[TPLSTER21]

Hi All. I received some information on the Nexo Knights sets from Hulk_Smash who has been a reliable source of set information. This is what he told me about the sets:

"I briefly saw the Exo Knights, which look cool, but all I really know is it's the castle theme but futuristic."

Unfortunately, he was unable to provide any additional details. But I guess it does at least shed some more light on what we are looking at in terms of theme. That being a futuristic castle line.

Thanks to Hulk_Smash for this information!

[SirBlake]

It's good to hear further confirmation, but there is no new information in that report.

[Pulp Detective]

Cmon not even few details about the sets??

[Isundir]

Hi All. I received some information on the Nexo Knights sets from Hulk_Smash who has been a reliable source of set information. This is what he told me about the sets:

"I briefly saw the Exo Knights, which look cool, but all I really know is it's the castle theme but futuristic."

Unfortunately, he was unable to provide any additional details. But I guess it does at least shed some more light on what we are looking at in terms of theme. That being a futuristic castle line.

Thanks to Hulk_Smash for this information!

Not to sound ungrateful or anything but we already more or less knew that much from the existing rumours/data so far.

Edited August 29, 2015 by Isundir

[VTsquatts]

I also hope the armor and weapons are not too out there. I know I can switch those out if I don't like them but was looking forward to some new armor and maybe weapons that do look more medieval!