Review: 71772 The Crystal King
Posted by CapnRex101,Countless spectacular monsters have appeared since NINJAGO was launched, although nothing resembles 71772 The Crystal King! The shadowy colour scheme seems rather intimidating, while the centaur-like design varies from comparable creatures.
However, the impressive organic shaping which has become common among NINJAGO dragons and other animals remains notably effective, balanced with sharp crystalline details. This design therefore stands out among the new sets.
Summary
71772 The Crystal King, 722 pieces.
£59.99 / $79.99 / €64.99 | 8.3p/11.1c/9.0c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
The Crystal King represents another fun addition to the menagerie of NINJAGO beasts!
- Unique and intimidating design
- Vibrant colour scheme
- Appealing minifigures
- Restricted articulation
- Disappointing weapon
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
Minifigures
Extraordinary versions of the ninja appear among the new sets, but Lloyd Garmadon wears relatively traditional garb here. The colour combination of green and dark green has appeared before, alongside dark tan accents. I like the rough aesthetic of Lloyd's attire and this minifigure is exclusively available here. 71771 The Crystal King Temple provides the other ninja, sporting similar garb in their own colours.
Harumi apparently perished after resurrecting Lord Garmadon, but now seems to have been resurrected herself! The character's distinctive hair element returns and looks great, while this unique double-sided head displays two evil facial expressions. The smile shown above appears brilliantly cruel, especially beside the red streak across Harumi's eyes.
The villains seemingly resurrected by the Crystal King feature similar pearl dark grey armour, with an intriguing symbol on their chest. The accompanying purple and metallic silver accents look good, with pink crystal visible between armour plates. Harumi wields two trans-pink blades, while Lloyd carries his golden dao and matching katana in a scabbard.
The malevolent Crystal King shares similarities with his agents, displaying equivalent colours and an identical symbol on his chest. However, the metallic gold and pearl gold accents on this minifigure are distinctive, most notably on the torso, where these ribs appear very reminiscent of the vanquished Overlord.
This minifigure wears an elaborate helmet, which includes decorative horns and resembles the Oni masks from previous seasons of NINJAGO. The metallic gold designs look marvellous and outstanding texture covers the whole helmet, continuing on the reverse. I am less convinced by the pink eyes though, featuring pale streaks intended to represent reflections. They seem more like lenses from sunglasses than intimidating eyes!
Even so, the Crystal King undoubtedly posses the power to intimidate, since opening his mask reveals a familiar and terrifying head underneath. The mouth, golden teeth and pink eyes again resemble the Overlord, which would seem appropriate given the number of returning villains this year. This minifigure is equipped with a trans-pink katana and a lightning bolt.
Various crystalline villains accompany the Crystal King, including this intimidating Vengestone Guard. The minifigure integrates a new head component, which combines pearl dark grey and trans-pink plastics to outstanding effect. I love the jagged designs, especially around the mouth and across the guard's chin. Moreover, this trans-pink plastic seems to glow under certain light conditions.
This complex head is shared with the Vengestone Warrior, although their torsos and armour differ. The warrior's pearl dark grey armour remains substantially intact, whereas the guard's chest and arms are exposed. The resulting blend of pink shades looks excellent and complements an intricate shoulder armour piece, identifying the Vengestone Guard among the Crystal King's minions.
Both minifigures include the same mismatched legs, maintaining the appearance of shattered armour. However, I dislike the purple faulds around their waists, which appear notably vibrant beside the predominant pink. Harumi and the Crystal King share this colour, but in moderation with others. Nevertheless, these minifigures are superb and carry crystalline weapons, naturally.
The Completed Model
Among various intimidating monsters to threaten NINJAGO, the Crystal King's centaur form is undoubtedly unusual. The creature stands 26cm in height and 30cm long, with its tail naturally positioned, so towers above minifigures. The colour scheme of black and dark bluish grey, with trans-pink and pearl gold accents looks spectacular too, matching the allied minifigures.
Furthermore, the centaur design is unique among NINJAGO creatures and the proportions of this model are appealing. However, any articulation is limited because the design is inherently top-heavy. The front legs are therefore almost completely static, which greatly impacts dynamic posing, but the arms incorporate multiple useful joints alongside articulated fingers!
The head is invariably important and looks fantastic, avoiding the need for bigger specialised elements that sometimes appear on similar beasts. Instead, the designer has made excellent use of pink horns to create sinister eyes, while dark bluish grey and golden pieces comprise a striking helmet. The shadowy and featureless face inside is certainly mysterious.
Unfortunately, the head is unusually attached from behind, rather than underneath. This limits lateral movement, although not to a seriously detrimental degree. The pearl gold stripes along either side of the helmet are attractive and I like the decorative crystal horns, which include the same blade accessory carried by the Vengestone minifigures.
Six golden ribs are wrapped around the torso, clearly identifiable with the Crystal King. These stand out beautifully against the trans-pink canopy element underneath, appearing for the first time in this colour. However, my favourite feature is actually the waist structure, which perfectly combines 1x2 curved wedge slopes to present an interesting shape. These parts slot together almost seamlessly.
There is space to place the Crystal King inside, even though the set description suggests the whole creature actually represents this villain. Regardless, the vacant area offers ample room, even for an enormous helmet. Additionally, I like how the canopy, armour panels and ribs close in layers around the minifigure, providing comprehensive protection in battle.
Dramatic wings are fixed on the back. These appear relatively simple, but include even more trans-pink crystalline structures and their colour scheme contrasts against the creature's body. This skeletal design seems rather bland though, so I think the wings could have been excluded without detracting from the broader design.
Pearl dark grey armour enshrouds the shoulders and arms, making ingenious use of the chest armour component introduced during January. The continuing trans-pink and purple highlights look good, but I think texture is even more important and the forearms fare well in this respect. The spindly fingers also appear suitably ferocious, including sharp claws.
The Crystal King carries a surprisingly basic staff, topped with another crystal blade. I like the blade and golden spines attached underneath, although this accessory otherwise looks rather lacklustre because the staff seems disproportionately thin. In fact, I can imagine the Crystal King accidentally shattering his accessory!
The centaur's legs appear fittingly powerful though, with the armour that protects the forelegs matching that covering the arms. Such protection is missing from the hind legs though, which seems logical because the front legs are theoretically more vulnerable, but also looks strange when viewed from either flank. Nevertheless, I think the legs look splendid, despite lacking the desired articulation.
Stickers are applied along the monster's back, forming overlapping armour plates. The narrow tail lacks armour, although the trans-pink 1x1 pyramids look superb and the segmented design ensures extensive articulation. I think a bulkier structure might have suited the Crystal King, but the current bladed design is effective too.
Overall
71772 The Crystal King certainly maintains the high standard expected of modern NINJAGO creatures. The combination of crystalline details and bulky armour works nicely and I love the strong appearance of this monster, which appears completely capable of threatening the ninja. Additionally, the colours are impressive and distinguish this model from comparable creatures.
The articulation is somewhat disappointing though and I dislike the Crystal King's accessory, which lacks the grandeur of its holder. However, I think the price of £54.99, $69.99 or €59.99 represents fair value, particularly in Europe and considering the excellent minifigure selection, which includes completely exclusive versions of Lloyd and Harumi.
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28 comments on this article
Looks quite wacky. To me, the only true Crystal King will always be 8962.
I think I will change his weapon to be a big axe or something like that. The staff is very thin…
I'm getting stronge gundam crossed with a Lynel from BOTW vibes which can only be a good thing.
The helmet's face reminds me of the Witch King from LOTR.
Hopefully Nya will come back in order to slay the Crystal King, as she is no man.
I like this model very much, except that the joints are too much exposed.
The size is perfect to be faced with 71738 and displayed together. Good selection of minifigures and proper price.
This is going to need some serious modding, but the base model is good.
Cool creature, interesting color scheme.
Good review! I think on the head the middle section (with the central horn and the sausage piece) is meant to be hinged down more, to form more of a brow.
I really enjoy the look of this build. The centaur-like shape is unique compared to other buildable Ninjago creatures, and the shaping of the various armor and the cockpit in the middle is really well-done. The figs are neat, too, though I agree that the "lenses" of the crystal king's mask look slightly goofy.
A good rival for 71719 : Zane's Mino Creature in a beast battle.
This one is a fair bit bigger though, I like it.
Greyish and Purple color accents also still fit with the 2017 nexo wave of stone monster villains.
The sets will be released only in August 1st (well, people in the US & EU will be buying it in late June/early July already actually) and we're already getting reviews? Wow.
Amazing set, looks even better in the pics, can only imagine it being fantastic in real person. Also has another pro point that is: contains Harumi. Next season looks superb, too bad Ninjago was affected by Lego's awful price rises this year but I will make an effort to get most of the sets.
It's crystal king.
Nah, the name's not fooling anyone, that's the Overlord
Looks like one the highlights of this next wave.
Can't wait to see all the 8962 comments
Im tired of dual molded heads for badguys without distinctive features.
In otherhand Crystal king faceplate should have been dualmolded for better effect as it looks quite lame
@BulbaNerd4000 said:
"Can't wait to see all the 8962 comments"
You missed them, mate
Can we see the Kai raider next? It’s the most unique and interesting of the vehicle sets IMO. I’m curious to see what someone’s thoughts are on the price once they have it in hand and built, as currently that price is criminal
Awesome. Might have to pick this one up, seems like a good way to get the crystalline parts and minifigures I want out of this wave. The centaur design is unique. I like the Crystal King's helmet eyes, they make me think of pilot's visor- and in this case, he is a pilot!
Just yesterday I watched a color theory video discussing how pink was an underutilized and visually effective color. I'm inclined to agree, looks great here!
The figures are fantastic, I like the flip up helmet design. I wish the print was a bit better, it really does look like sunglasses. All the trans pink and grey looks great though, will line up perfectly with the orange and grey snake guys from the last wave
Good review! I definitely think this is an extremely cool fantasy creature build. The centaur-like build stands out nicely from the themes more typical brick-built characters and creatures, such as dragons, serpents, and humanoid giants/mechs, while still taking great advantage of the designers' proficiency in those areas.
The torso and arm builds would strike me as pretty outstanding even if the legs had been typical humanoid ones. LEGO has been doing a really good job lately with filling out the hip area of mech and creature builds, which is traditionally an area where brick-built figures and Technic-based constraction figures alike often felt frustratingly gappy and skeletal.
One of the biggest drawbacks of this figure, in my eyes, is the lack of any particular "action features". There are not any sort of mechanical arm-swinging, wing-flapping, tail-thrashing, claw-snapping, blade-spinning, transforming, or shooting functions. In that respect, it doesn't really excite me as much as many other recent Ninjago mech/creature builds of similar or smaller size like 71738 , 71746 , 71754 , or 71766 .
The Crystal King minifigure fitting into the ribcage is still a very cool detail, though, especially with how neatly it closes up! I'm imagining it as the Crystal King using some fearsome crystal powers to conjure a giant, monstrous new body AROUND themselves, with their original body sealed up tight inside the creature's heart (and perhaps serving as the new body's "weak point").
I've encountered other pieces of media that present a character's "giant monster" form as a sort of shell protecting their true form like this. The main example that springs to mind is the final antagonist from the webcomic "Monster Pulse", though I'm pretty sure I've encountered this concept in anime and video games that I'm having a hard time placing at this moment. In any case, I definitely feel it works better conceptually than simply treating the giant brick-built character as a mech and their smaller minifig counterpart as its pilot, such as in 76115 .
The minifigures in this set are good, although I'm so behind on the story (last season I watched was "Prime Empire", since I've been prioritizing rewatching older seasons with my wife as she gets caught up) that I don't really know much about the nature of the new baddies besides that they're the culmination of some multi-season vengestone-related plot thread.
The use of Tr. Bright Reddish Violet parts for the Vengestone baddies are a considerable departure from the "Hunted" sets, in which element-suppressing vengestone weapons were represented with Bright Orange and Tr. Bright Orange parts. But I definitely don't mind — it's a color that's never played quite so prominent a role in any previous faction's color scheme (even beyond the Ninjago theme), and one that definitely looks very cool and spooky in the context of this wave. And perhaps the titanium metallic body parts with orange mineral veins running through them are meant to help unify these differing portrayals.
The Crystal King minifigure definitely seems to be a new manifestation of the Overlord, which makes sense in light of the golden dragon used for this season's heroes and the "ultimate battle" vibes of the wave as a whole. The golden ribcage shared between his minifig and brick-built forms, asymmetrical energy wisp emblem, and the pink and purple accent colors which he shares with the rest of his new crystalline underlings all help to reinforce that connection, since they are all familiar design features from the Overlord's previous incarnations.
All in all, this is a set that certainly showcases a lot of the brilliant and creative ideas behind this new wave, not to mention the designers' character- and creature-making skills. But it's still not quite as exciting to me on its own as some of the other sets from this wave. I'm still not sure which of this wave's sets I want to seek out, but I have to be a bit choosy about how many sets my wife and I have space for, so being an attractive and fun-looking build isn't necessarily enough for a set like this to earn a place on my wish list.
To me, it's primary selling point is as an appropriately massive and evil-looking adversary for Lloyd's Golden Ultra Dragon from set 71774. Despite being much smaller and less expensive than that set, they still look like they'd balance each other out pretty well in a fight scene, especially since the Crystal King has a whole army of baddies and monsters to command against the ninja's more close-knit squad of allies.
So if I end up getting the Golden Ultra Dragon, this set could potentially be the next item on my wish list. But from my understanding, these sets aren't being released in North America until August, so I've got some time to think about which other sets I might want to prioritize.
It looks good, but those balljoints on the legs make me nervous. I imagine the model is just too heavy for them to support, like a lot of mecha and big creatures that Lego has released lately.
Just early last year I was a hardcore Ninjago fan.
After the content drought after Seabound leaked though, and the less-than-spectacular Core wave, Star Wars became my new main hobby.
Now though, seeing how good this wave is as a whole, Ninjago might just win me over again!
Very excited for the Samurai X MECH review, the minifigures look superb
@Zordboy said:
"It looks good, but those balljoints on the legs make me nervous. I imagine the model is just too heavy for them to support, like a lot of mecha and big creatures that Lego has released lately."
The ankles are the only joints on the front legs that actually move (the "knees" and front hips are at fixed angles), so I imagine it's pretty sturdy overall. I think the ball joints are mostly there just to keep all four feet flat on the ground.
Why hello there, Ultima Weapon. Fancy meeting you here!
@Murdoch17 said:
"The helmet's face reminds me of the Witch King from LOTR.
Hopefully Nya will come back in order to slay the Crystal King, as she is no man."
I liked that comment…and then it reminded me that we don’t have an Eowyn minifigure.
Looks very cool
@Ridgeheart said:
"Why hello there, Ultima Weapon. Fancy meeting you here!"
It reminded me a lot of the FFXIV version with those wings. Let's hope the ninja have some sort of blessing if this thing ever decides to unleash its full power...
There's also a bit of Zurvan in there with the head and spear design...
That's actually why I really want this. Let's hope it ever becomes affordable enough at some point!
That said, boo for those fixed joints! I thought we now had better joints specifically for large mechs, so why are we still getting mechs with little articulation like this?!
@Ridgeheart said:
"Why hello there, Ultima Weapon. Fancy meeting you here!"
That, and it gives serious Warcraft Pit Lord vibes too.
https://wowwiki-archive.fandom.com/wiki/Pit_Lord