Bionicle 2016 Sets Discussion

[Quisoves Pugnat]

Hmm...uniter...reminds me of unity in the three vertues...

"Three Vertues?" I must have missed that. It sounds like some sort of Doctor Who (or perhaps Sherlock) fan-documentary. Is there a "Five Moffats" or a "Two Gatisses?"

=P

[Onepu the Protector]

Is 'uniter' even a word? 'Unifier' seems more plausible.

EDIT: Nevermind, I've just checked 'uniter' in a dictionary.

Edited August 6, 2015 by Onepu the Protector

[wghost]

If the set names are real, "unifier of fire" is rather meh.

[GK733]

If the set names are real, "unifier of fire" is rather meh.

*uniter of fire

Searching trough some places and this poppped up: http://vk.com/bionicle?w=wall-976808_149555

I've tried vs instead of and, without the uniter and so on but I can't find the page. Either Melum could be fake or I'm not doing it right.

[Kalhiki]

I swear, if Kopaka doesn't show up... It'll be Stringer and Nex all over again...

I kinda hope Kopaka ends up in a two-pack, if anything. I can see the small sets being enemies. If this "Hunter" dude is evil, I figure he could be sending his beasty minions out to hunt the Toa or something. Which means Kopaka could be in a vs pack fighting against the Ice Creature.

[Bob C]

I hope they do a better job on the 2016 wave than this years. I was kind of disappointed by the absence of "gimmicks" a la Bionicle G1.

It would be brilliant if they gave us a disc launcher or a projectile gun...but doesn't seem like it

[Aanchir]

I hope they do a better job on the 2016 wave than this years. I was kind of disappointed by the absence of "gimmicks" a la Bionicle G1.

It would be brilliant if they gave us a disc launcher or a projectile gun...but doesn't seem like it

Seems to me that between the rapid shooters, pop-off masks, dual-function weapons, gearboxes, and other action features, this year's Bionicle range has had a LOT of gimmicks. Certainly at least as many as the theme had at its peak in 2002. The biggest difference between this year and the later years of Bionicle is that the gimmicks are divided up differently — for instance, the 2006, 2008, and 2009 sets had basically no gimmicks or action features whatsoever for the villagers, while the 2015 sets give rapid shooters to the Protector sets to compensate for their lack of gearboxes or dual-function weapons.

I expect the 2016 sets to have a similar number of gimmicks, maybe with a different style of shooter for variety's sake. I'm not entirely sure if they'll keep going with dual-function weapons, but if those do go away I think there's a good chance there might be another gimmick to take their place.

[Starparu]

Well, good news. Based off a leak I found from this site http://www.rusbionicle.com/forumsbio/viewtopic.php?f=6&p=1870580 , I found out that the name of the missing set is "Kopaka and Melum Unity Set". I tested this in the LEGO database search with the set #71311, and lo and behold http://shop.lego.com/en-US/kopaka-and-melum-unity-set-71311. The LEGO link provided leads to the "Product Not Available" page that the other confirmed sets lead too, so it seems safe to assume that Kopaka will be in a 2-pack this year. Hope that helps clear up this Kopaka situation!

-Star

[GK733]

Well, good news. Based off a leak I found from this site http://www.rusbionic...p?f=6&p=1870580 , I found out that the name of the missing set is "Kopaka and Melum Unity Set". I tested this in the LEGO database search with the set #71311, and lo and behold http://shop.lego.com...unity-set-71311. The LEGO link provided leads to the "Product Not Available" page that the other confirmed sets lead too, so it seems safe to assume that Kopaka will be in a 2-pack this year. Hope that helps clear up this Kopaka situation!

-Star

Well ****

I read about the unity name but didn't thought it was actually part of the set. So Melum seems to be friendly. Does this mean that the other creatures are too?

[Aanchir]

Well ****

I read about the unity name but didn't thought it was actually part of the set. So Melum seems to be friendly. Does this mean that the other creatures are too?

I hope so! I've been wanting animal companions for the Toa for so long! Of course, I've also read another theory on BZPower — perhaps the creatures start out as aggressive wild creatures and the Toa have to tame them. That way you'd get both a potential conflict scenario and a series of companions for the Toa.

[Dorek]

Ah, so Kopaka is in there. Good stuff! Interesting to see what direction they'll be taking.

[Scarilian]

So, this information seems to disprove the list posted on the TTV boards. What it says about the 4Chan information, I'm not sure. Spring 2015 seems quite early for Summer 2016 sets to be tested, but LEGO might design a year's worth of sets at once (as was done with Power Miners, for example.) The creatures do lend it a modicum of credence.

The list i made was never intended as being solid proof, merely the combination of the list of names from two seperate sources - the more recent source at the time Brickpicker along with the other source of names we had floating around at the time relayed by Willess12. We know now that the numbers are incorrect, yet we have a set which at one stage may have been called 'Mask Hunter'

What? No ghosts??? I'm astounded!

We never had any confirmation on whether the ghosts came in Winter or Summer - we just have two source stating about several ghost sets. The lack of ghosts in Winter doesnt mean either of the sources are incorrect.

Once again feeling its best not to jump to assumption that it is fake at this stage until after we see what the creature sets look like. The 4chan leak can still be real because it listed the idea of one four-legged set being made into 6 and provided a drawing listing it as a small creature- and now we have six small sets with the label of Creature.

The other name leak listing the ghost sets could also still be real given it did list 'Mask Hunter' which may have been an early name for Umurak - despite the previously mentioned numbers.

Edited August 6, 2015 by Scarilian

[Aanchir]

Ah, so Kopaka is in there. Good stuff! Interesting to see what direction they'll be taking.

Well, just looking at these names, I think we've got a good starting point for speculation. The creatures have what appear to be proper names (which suggests they might be one-of-a-kind instead of just nameless drones), and one of them comes with a Toa in a "unity set". This suggests that they are in fact allies to the Toa (or will become such, anyway). Also, the most likely villain set is called "Umarak the Hunter". We hadn't figured out what exactly that character would be hunting, but if they're a literal hunter it could be these very same creatures that the Toa are seeking to unite with.

Suddenly we have the makings of a "harmony with nature" arc, a notion that was sort of used in the 2005 story but that was then a bit tainted by the whole "your natural instincts will lead you down a path of darkness" theme. Having the Toa unite with animal companions would certainly be a bold new direction for the Bionicle theme, and one I greatly approve of.

Also, I wonder if perhaps the Toa will unite with these creatures not just figuratively but also literally? As in, new "power up" or combination models? That way there could be "animal power" versions of the Toa kind of like in the 2005 Bionicle arc or summer 2011 Hero Factory arc, but perhaps without the angsty corruption themes of the former and with a more elemental theme than the latter. This would be good timing for such a concept, certainly, what with Legends of Chima (the latest magical animal character theme) not continuing in 2016.

[Scarilian]

Full list so far

Small sets (9.99 Euro)

71300 Uxar Creature of the Jungle

71301 Ketar Creature of Stone

71302 Akida Creature of Water

71303 Ikir Creature of Fire

71304 Terak Creature of Earth

Medium sets (14.99 Euro)

71305 Lewa Unifier of the Jungle

71306 Pohatu Unifier of Stone

71307 Gali Unifier of Water

Large sets (19.99 Euro)

71308 Tahu Unifier of Fire

71309 Onua Unifier of Earth

71310 Umarak the Hunter

Though yeah, thoughts.

Creatures;

Interested to see what these look like given the title of Creatures and the fact they have names implies they will have some form of interaction with the Toa. Do they have masks? Are they bipedal or quadrupeds? Lots of questions that will hopefully be answered soon. Guessing they will include a new function replacing the blasters the Protectors had.

Medium Sets;

Out of all the levels, this one disappoints me the most. Even if we are getting upgraded sets of Lewa, Pohatu and Gali they are still stuck in the smaller set category which means they may not have the same level of complexity or size as the other Toa. Thought they may have switched it around or atleast bumped them up to the larger sets.

Large sets;

The lack of Kopaka and his ice creature seems odd, guessing he may be an exclusive set or combo pack. Something along those lines might actually be rather interesting to see. Not really interested in getting Tahu or Onua again unless the builds have massively changed, same goes for the other Toa to be completely honest as not sure how many new armour pieces they can introduce in a single wave. Umarak does interest me though due to the idea of a Toa-sized villain, though he still seems to pale in comparison to the rest of the good guy sets. We desperately need a titan set in the Summer to balance things out.

===

Hope to see leaks soon.

[TwistLaw]

What do we have here? Names appearing on boxes?

I think it's safe to assume that BIONICLE had enough success this year to convince LEGO to stop playing it safe, since the absence of names on most sets this year was seen as an attempt to make the entry level to BIONICLE as low as possible. Good news, I guess!

[Kalhiki]

Goody. Couldn't have the Toa team without Kopaka.

So it seems the Creatures are friendly. Y'know, I do like that idea, Aanch, that they start off as aggressive. Perhaps the Creature sets will come with both infected and normal masks. That'd be nice.

Really interested to see what Umarak looks like. I kinda hope he's bristling with weapons and traps and the like.

[GK733]

Umarak does interest me though due to the idea of a Toa-sized villain, though he still seems to pale in comparison to the rest of the good guy sets. We desperately need a titan set in the Summer to balance things out.

===

Hope to see leaks soon.

I'm guessing these creatures are wild or under Umarak's control and the toa have to tame them and defeat Umarak with their pet's elemental powers united.

What I'm most afraid of is that while Kopaka has a new title the set itself could be a downgrade if the set is around 30$ pricetag and Melum is a bear or wolf or basicly anything with 15$ worth leaving Kopaka with 15$. The only possible reason for the set being a combo is that Melum will be larger compared to the others, and this is why I hope it's at least 35$

[Aanchir]

Creatures;

Interested to see what these look like given the title of Creatures and the fact they have names implies they will have some form of interaction with the Toa. Do they have masks? Are they bipedal or quadrupeds? Lots of questions that will hopefully be answered soon. Guessing they will include a new function replacing the blasters the Protectors had.

Yeah, if these are in fact the small sets replacing the Protectors, I expect a lot of shared elements like masks/faces and functional elements. But as far as builds are concerned, there are all kinds of possibilities. Given the broadness of the term "creature", it'd be quite cool if we got a range of different creatures — some swimming, some flying, some on four legs, some on two.

Medium Sets;

Out of all the levels, this one disappoints me the most. Even if we are getting upgraded sets of Lewa, Pohatu and Gali they are still stuck in the smaller set category which means they may not have the same level of complexity or size as the other Toa. Thought they may have switched it around or atleast bumped them up to the larger sets.

How much do we actually know about the size categories? I regret to say I paid no attention to pricing when I was checking Amazon.de, and the sets aren't there now so we don't have that as a resource any longer. Overall, though, I do not think any of the Toa need an increase in price in order to get an impressive upgrade. CHI Laval and CHI Cragger in 2014 helped assure me of that.

Large sets;

The lack of Kopaka and his ice creature seems odd, guessing he may be an exclusive set or combo pack. Something along those lines might actually be rather interesting to see. Not really interested in getting Tahu or Onua again unless the builds have massively changed, same goes for the other Toa to be completely honest as not sure how many new armour pieces they can introduce in a single wave. Umarak does interest me though due to the idea of a Toa-sized villain, though he still seems to pale in comparison to the rest of the good guy sets. We desperately need a titan set in the Summer to balance things out.

Yeah, Kopaka is in a combo pack with Melum, who is presumably the ice creature, so that explains him being separated from the other Toa in his numbering. I don't know how many new armor pieces would really be needed to considerably upgrade the Toa. After all, a lot of recent sets manage to derive a lot of personality from very few new molds. Not to mention that there are some new molds from the Star Wars constraction sets that would be available to Bionicle sets as well, so with some of those plus some brand-new molds it'd be fairly easy to make new Toa stand out from the old ones.

[Dorek]

Well, just looking at these names, I think we've got a good starting point for speculation. The creatures have what appear to be proper names (which suggests they might be one-of-a-kind instead of just nameless drones), and one of them comes with a Toa in a "unity set". This suggests that they are in fact allies to the Toa (or will become such, anyway). Also, the most likely villain set is called "Umarak the Hunter". We hadn't figured out what exactly that character would be hunting, but if they're a literal hunter it could be these very same creatures that the Toa are seeking to unite with.

I could easily see these as species names; I'm actually not sure which I'd prefer, although given the generic "Skull Creatures" we've seen already, you're right in that it's likely the former.

I'm just hoping the Toa share a few commonalities beyond just being Toa; obviously it seems we're keeping the elemental themes (hooray!) but like what Chima did and use certain colors and pieces to identify them as belonging to a certain faction would be nice. Then again, Umurak aside, we don't know exactly how the villains play into this either, so maybe he's less of a LOSS type and more of a completely different third party. Either way, the names have all been wonderful so far.

[Scarilian]

What I'm most afraid of is that while Kopaka has a new title the set itself could be a downgrade if the set is around 30$ pricetag and Melum is a bear or wolf or basicly anything with 15$ worth leaving Kopaka with 15$. The only possible reason for the set being a combo is that Melum will be larger compared to the others, and this is why I hope it's at least 35$

Yeah, Kopaka is in a combo pack with Melum, who is presumably the ice creature, so that explains him being separated from the other Toa in his numbering. I don't know how many new armor pieces would really be needed to considerably upgrade the Toa.

Yeah, cant really see them updating Kopaka too much if he is in a combo pack. I'm expecting him to actually be demoted to a medium-toa sized similar to Lewa, Pohatu and Gali with a slightly larger creature than the rest. That way it would balance out, given how the MMVSG set turned out, i'm not expecting Kopaka to be as bulky or large.

Issue is with updating is that they didnt really introduce any new pieces recently other than the legs, torso and shoulder pads of the Star Wars CCBS sets, so they dont have much we are currently aware of which they can do to alter/upgrade the Toa into new forms.

I'm guessing these creatures are wild or under Umarak's control and the toa have to tame them and defeat Umarak with their pet's elemental powers united.

Given the broadness of the term "creature", it'd be quite cool if we got a range of different creatures — some swimming, some flying, some on four legs, some on two.

Yeah, they are probably wild, similar to the idea of the elemental lords from G1 in that they represent the elements. Though if they are wild, wondering if that means the Toa named them...

That would be amazing, fingers crossed that happens. Though worried they might be clone sets or have clone masks (similar to the protectors). Not sure how much variance the size/price/parts range would allow in terms of sets.

How much do we actually know about the size categories?

The medium sets are priced around the same amount as the previous smaller Toa sets. They could end up being more complicated after all we did have LoSS - i'm just expecting them to be roughly the same size and piece count as the previous versions - just with new armour, weapons, masks and feet.

Edited August 6, 2015 by Scarilian

[MakutaOfWar]

Maybe the creatures will have recolored Toa masks from this year, while the new Toa have new molds. Similar to how the rahi in 01' had all them fancy Kanohi colors. :3 I just hope they are villains, because I'm not all for the 12 vs 1 thing again. Also maybe Umarak is... a Dark Hunter.

[Quisoves Pugnat]

Then again, Umurak aside, we don't know exactly how the villains play into this either, so maybe he's less of a LOSS type and more of a completely different third party. Either way, the names have all been wonderful so far.

One can't read too much into the generic title of "Hunter," but perhaps Umarak (sounds like Mubarak) is a callback to the Dark Hunters.

[VBBN]

I agree I hope the creatures are antagonists, at least for part of the story. This year outnumbered the villains with heroes but skull spiders could turn heroes into villains- I doubt they would use that again.

(Seriously I don't want a fourth year of creepy crawlers as cannon fodder...)

[Dorek]

This year outnumbered the villains with heroes but skull spiders could turn heroes into villains- I doubt they would use that again.

I'd be okay with that since it was basically wasted here anyway. No real sense of threat, unlike the Krana, who we saw take out a whole village. I haven't read much of the book excerpts, though, and there's always the second novel.

[Lyichir]

I'd be okay with that since it was basically wasted here anyway. No real sense of threat, unlike the Krana, who we saw take out a whole village. I haven't read much of the book excerpts, though, and there's always the second novel.

The very first pages of the new book (the ones that are available to everyone, even non-Prime members) describe a village that was taken by the Skull Spiders. Beyond that, considering this is a creative toy, play potential is almost as important, if not MORE important, than the actual events of the story. Having the potential for conflict is essential to a wide number of play scenarios, and is more important than whether a specific fight actually transpires in the story itself.

That said, the Skull Spiders were far more essential for that purpose at the very start of the theme when they and the Lord of Skull Spiders were literally the only foes available for the Toa. When the new Toa release next year, the Skull villains will still be available even if they're not as relevant to the current story. And as Aanchir pointed out, it's possible that, like Pokémon, the "creatures" will need to be defeated and tamed before joining the Toa themselves.