LEGO Castle 2013

[Artanis I]

Bricklink has yet to give this incarnation a sub-group name. I still say it should be called Fantasy Era 2.

I wouldn't, unless next year we get fantasy races. It's not really all that fantastic: a dragon & a wizard. That's all. Been done plenty of times before. In "Fantasy Era" we got an army of trolls (orcs), an army of dwarves and an army of skeletons to go with our wizard & dragons. That's a vast difference to what we have here.

I don't know what to call it (Kingdoms II would've been fine, or Knights Kingdom III, but they called it "Castle") - perhaps hope TLG throws something in a catalogue or something.

[Hive]

I don't know what to call it (Kingdoms II would've been fine, or Knights Kingdom III, but they called it "Castle") - perhaps hope TLG throws something in a catalogue or something.

Calling it "Kingdoms II" would be an outrage. "Knight's Kingdom III" is perfectly fitting, though.

[gedren_y]

The reason I say Fantasy Era 2 is that Fantasy Era was labeled 'Castle' on its packaging and used the crown symbol. The lion symbol this time is closest to Royal Knights, the face of which was re-used (badly) for KKI.

[Aanchir]

I'd say something along the lines of "revival era", but that sort of name could just as easily apply to pretty much ANY castle theme. Kingdoms was a revival of a sort, as was Fantasy Era, as was Knights' Kingdom II. Plus, you'd run the risk of people becoming confused that the name referred to the architecture of the castles, not the theme.

It's possible a more intuitive name might present itself as more marketing materials emerge, but with the website up and not providing the most insight I'm not sure how much more we can expect.

[just2good]

I call it the Gold Era. It would be funny yet fitting to call it the Golden Age.

[8BrickMario]

Not for everyone. Not everybody agrees that this is the best Castle subtheme, though it's definitely up there in my opinion.

[TheLegoDr]

Wasn't "Fantasy Era" technically called Castle? So why wouldn't this just be Castle 2 or 2.0? Of course, we should wait and see how the future shows for marketing purposes, but if LEGO calls it Castle, then why shouldn't we?

[kermit]

The dragon mountain set does seem to have a fantasy feel to it. That is primarily due to the dragon but this theme looks more like an extension of the previous castle theme (not kingdoms) due to the knights and the colors used. I guess the question is what is the distinction between the fantasy era and the castle ear to classify these sets. I always thought once you had a dragon it was fantasy. For example both kingdoms and castle are castle themes but castle is in the fantasy time period and kingdoms is in the more real world period.

[just2good]

Not for everyone. Not everybody agrees that this is the best Castle subtheme, though it's definitely up there in my opinion.

It was a pun.

This is far from the best Castle theme- you kidding me?

[kermit]

I wonder if lego chose to go with a more kid orientated version for this theme so that it wouldnt compete with the Lord of the rings sets due to it being much higher in prices. And i agree with you just2good.

[Artanis I]

Wasn't "Fantasy Era" technically called Castle? So why wouldn't this just be Castle 2 or 2.0? Of course, we should wait and see how the future shows for marketing purposes, but if LEGO calls it Castle, then why shouldn't we?

The fan community needs a specific name for it to differentiate from the dozen other iterations of "Castle". The original point was brought up regarding Bricklink, where you can just do a search for "Royal Knights" and not have every Castle set ever released come up in the results. "Fantasy Era" was a term coined by us fans. Yes, TLG just called it "Castle", but it needed a name for the reasons just mentioned. Because TLG rebranded the castle sets as "Kingdoms" (a term never used previously) we didn't need to come up with a name for it. Before "Fantasy Era", castle sets were branded as "Knights Kingdom" and had 2 distinct iterations, so we (the fans) dubbed them "Knights Kingdom I" & "Knights Kingdom II" to differentiate. Before that, sets were mostly faction based and the factions were named for us.

If TLG gives us nothing, and no one can think up anything, "Castle 2013" is probably how we'll refer to it for now.

[8BrickMario]

It was a pun.

This is far from the best Castle theme- you kidding me?

Ah, I see. I never thought they emphasized gold too much, but looking back I can see it. I certainly like this theme better than Kingdoms because it's got some fantastical elements in it, and is overall more vibrant. I liked Castle (2007) the best. Now I await the ensuing flamewar I may have just started...

Edited July 2, 2013 by 8BrickMario

[Ridge Montante]

I actually just got a couple small sets from Castle (2007) and I really like them. Its a bummer I missed it due to my dark ages. But I think the two go well together. Same colors which makes combining the themes easy.

[Aanchir]

I've seen a lot of nostalgia for "Fantasy Era" (2007-2009) Castle since these sets came out. It's kind of funny because I can remember when "Fantasy Era" was somewhat controversial... when Kingdoms came around, I think people were pretty much evenly-divided over whether they preferred fantasy-heavy Castle sets or more traditional Castle sets with human factions, minimal fantasy elements, and less over-the-top architecture.

Personally, I'm OK with either (and don't really collect Castle anyway), but I feel like there's something really special about more traditional, iconic castle designs, and I can see why LEGO took that route with this newest iteration of the Castle theme. It's really the baseline for LEGO Castle in a sense. It sets the standard for medieval building the same way LEGO City sets the standard for modern-day building. I imagine there are many LEGO Space fans who would love to see a "baseline" LEGO Space theme without the very situational premises that have characterized so many recent Space themes.

Edited July 2, 2013 by Aanchir

[TheLegoDr]

I think it also falls under how active you are when the sets are released. I was just coming out of my Dark Ages when Kingdoms was going strong, so I picked those up willingly/lovingly. Yet, this new theme just isn't doing it for me. I wonder if I was just coming out of my Dark Ages now if I would be tempted to pick these up due to my love of castle, or if I'd still pass like I am now. When I came out from the DA, I didn't have any interest (and still don't) of the fantasy era, even though I enjoy fantasy-esque castle themes. But I wouldn't go back and pick any of them up in the aftermarket, even at normal retail price. Odd..

[Ridge Montante]

That's exactly how I feel TheLegoDr. I'm just coming out of my dark ages and these castle sets are great to me. Then again I've always enjoyed the castle theme. Also, since there's no pirates stuff this year I'm stuck with castle.

[dj2005]

I think it also falls under how active you are when the sets are released. I was just coming out of my Dark Ages when Kingdoms was going strong, so I picked those up willingly/lovingly. Yet, this new theme just isn't doing it for me. I wonder if I was just coming out of my Dark Ages now if I would be tempted to pick these up due to my love of castle, or if I'd still pass like I am now. When I came out from the DA, I didn't have any interest (and still don't) of the fantasy era, even though I enjoy fantasy-esque castle themes. But I wouldn't go back and pick any of them up in the aftermarket, even at normal retail price. Odd..

I came out of my dark age when the Fantasy Era sets came out and I enjoyed the theme. Then I went into another dark age in early 2009, IIRC, only to come out of it in May 2013; however, I have no desire to purchase any of the current Castle sets. Instead, I purchased some Kingdoms and LOTR sets. I think the Kingdoms line was very good and I'm sad to have missed it.

[Rogue Angel]

I had heard that this line was at one point called "Castle Legends" by Lego.

Castle purchases for me have been primarily large minifig packs for me for the past 7-8 years with the exception of MMV, Mill Attack, the Joust and the Dwarven Mine. This series will be no different, I will prob pick up 2 each of the Dragon set and Keep set, and 5-10 of the Forest Ambush set. I may get the Castle at some point, but I think the only carriage set that has ever appealed to me was the original Dragons carriage set.

[Artanis I]

the only carriage set that has ever appealed to me was the original Dragons carriage set.

As in the "Dragon Wagon"?

[fred67]

Yup... like TheLegoDr, although my taste in themes varied, it was the same way - I started buying caste with Fantasy Era, and kept buying when it ended. After a few sets, I was like "why am I still buying this?" I really only bought it because I liked the fantasy aspect. So - I figured I was done, but now we have some dragons. Even if it's technically not "fantasy" era, I need dragons!

[pup]

Ah, I see. I never thought they emphasized gold too much, but looking back I can see it. I certainly like this theme better than Kingdoms because it's got some fantastical elements in it, and is overall more vibrant. I liked Castle (2007) the best. Now I await the ensuing flamewar I may have just started...

Castle 2007/Fantasy Era had some great aspects to it -- I love the chain mail torsos, and thought the use of four factions was brilliant. (And the peasants and cows!) However, the blue/blue and the crown sigil just never appealed to me. The dwarf sigil, though, with the gold winged helmet -- that was pretty cool.

I love Kingdoms, with bright red and white rampant lions vs forest green and gold dragons. (And even more peasants and livestock!) Even though lions and dragon had been used a lot, these two sigils looked fresh and exciting. Kingdoms Lions and Kingdoms Dragons are my favorite "modern" factions. Black Falcons will forever be my very favorite. :-)

"Castle Gold" would indeed be a fitting name for this new series -- every soldier seems to be a highwayman after the treasure!

[gedren_y]

I buy for MOCs, so the actual theme doesn't really matter to me much. I bought Alien Conquest and Pharaohs Quest for my historical/fantasy builds because they had parts that seemed useful. The same goes for Legends of Chima and Ninjago. The parts that won't work will be shunted to other purposes.

This theme has so many parts that will go towards some major builds, and a particular new part that I have been wanting for a long time: the 4x4 facet brick. When my funds become available, I will buy.

I generally have little use for TLG set designs, and even less use for TLG interpretations of existing intellectual property. The castle set is better designed than most IMO, but still falls short of what I know a true castle to be. I'm a serious history buff, so it matters to me.

These sets are designed for action play, and they meet that benchmark well. Far better than the first wave of Kingdoms ever did.

[TheLegoDr]

I guess to further add what I stated above, it is a little trickier this year since LOTR and Castle both exist. Before we only had the one castle related theme out at a time, but by having 2 now, it gives a lot more variety and choices. I love the LOTR line, so of course I'm picking those up. But then it opens up the same question, would I still want to buy Castle 2013 if LOTR didn't exist? I'd still have to lean towards no.

Just interesting how many people love this theme and how many don't like it. That's why LEGO makes so much money, there is something for everyone.

[kabel]

How come we haven't seen this line nor the new LOTR sets in Germany yet? I thought it was supposed to be a summer wave. How are other Europeans faring?

[Artanis I]

How come we haven't seen this line nor the new LOTR sets in Germany yet? I thought it was supposed to be a summer wave. How are other Europeans faring?

There is a topic just for your question where GRogall has recently posted the official Lego catalogue for Germany for July-December. Pages 48 & 49 indicate that Castle is due in September (same as Australia). You will also see on page 73 that LOTR is due in July.