Sometimes there are licensed LEGO sets where I wonder how much source material the designers were allowed to reference. This set is such an example.

When Mojang first showed concepts for the Warden, they emphasized that this was a mob that was meant to be outwitted and avoided, not fought. The Warden is blind and cannot "see" the player, but it can sense a player through "vibrations" - noises the player makes. If a player is reckless and makes too much noise in a Deep Dark, they risk summoning a Warden who will hunt them via sound and eliminate them with a single hit. This was a massive milestone in the game's history as no other mob has ever exhibited this sort of behavior or required tactics other than direct combat. Personally, I was thrilled for this update and hoping that LEGO would make a set of the Warden and his home biome.

Now that I have it, I find myself wondering what sort of Deep Dark the LEGO Minecraft team was referencing.

As with my other LEGO Minecraft reviews, the following list is of the elements that I think are best about this set relative to the game:

• The biome most certainly looks like a Deep Dark, and the usage of dark blue plates and circle tiles makes for some fantastic sculk textures.
• The structure resembles an Ancient City, but even better, matches the Barracks sub-structure really well! The smaller Warden-like head statue and the pedestal are nearly one-to-one with the game.
• The Warden looks brilliant and the use of teal, dark blue, and tan are a great match. I would have preferred a custom mold of some sort for the sculk-like sensors on his ears but do have to applaud the creative use of the current pieces regardless. The raising function is a fun play feature and is a creative way to implement the Warden burrowing feature into the set.
• The sculk catalysts, sensors, and shriekers look really good, though it would have been nice to see some sort of alternative design for a sensor that looks as if it has been set off.
• The new candle looks good, and more blue soul fire pieces are always welcome.
• The Arbalest Knight skin looks fantastic, and the enchanted crossbow and hoe are excellent weapons/tools to include in this set. Considering a Silk Touch enchanted hoe is needed to harvest sculk blocks and considering a crossbow can fire arrows to distract the Warden, this minifigure is well-equipped to survive this scenario.

Unfortunately, from here, I get the sense that either LEGO's design team had limited references for the development of the Deep Dark, or never got a chance to properly play through a 1.19 Wild Update world and raid an Ancient City. There are features in this set that are typical for Minecraft sets and do present unique pieces, but make little to no sense in the context of the set. Such features are:

• The exploding tower feature is entirely out of place. In terms of vibrations the Warden can sense, TNT is the highest possible strength. Explosions are remarkably dangerous in-game and as such make for a terrible means of distracting a Warden or gathering resources in an Ancient City. Within the context of the set, the tower is very finicky and fragile and falls apart easily, regarless of the lever usage. Thus, the explosion function should have been left out of this set entirely.
• The Netherite Knight is a great way to get Netherite armor in LEGO form (and a full set) but enchanted armor would have been a better addition - at the least enchanted leggings so as to imply the super useful Swift Sneak enchantment. The Warden is not designed to be fought whatsoever, so while it is probable that the Arbalest Knight would survive this encounter, the Netherite Knight is an easy target and stands no chance in this set's context (though some kids might get a kick out of launching him across the room with a Warden's "sonic blast" during play, ha ha)
• The chest loot is a misfire. The snowballs are a fun nod to a means of distracting the Warden, but the bones and the random potion feel generic and disappointing. Ancient cities are renowned for echo shards (used to craft the useful Recovery Compass item), Swift Sneak enchantment books, and the elusive "otherside" music disk. These would have been far better loot items to include in the set.
• The soul torches are an interesting addition given that they can spawn in loot chests in ancient cities, but soul lanterns would have been a better choice given they do naturally spawn in ancient cities. It would be redundant to mention that putting down a torch makes vibrations that anger Wardens.
• This set lacks a potential play feature in wool, as wool blocks and carpets muffle vibrations that set off Wardens and sculk sensors/shriekers. Having some brightly-colored tiles to mimic wool carpets would make for a good play feature, especially since wool carpets already spawn in ancient cities.

While it is great to have a Deep Dark set, especially with an ancient city and a Warden, there are many strange design choices that seem to represent a different type of Deep Dark entirely. Considering how monumentally creative the Deep Dark is in-game, it is unfortunate that little of that creativity has found its way into this set. I would suspect LEGO's design team had limited access to Mojang's resources regarding this update and had to make a judgment call regarding what went into the set - even though the results feel somewhat lackluster.

I personally think that a UCS-level ancient city would have been a better concept for this set, as the structure is huge and filled with potential for interesting details, nods to the game, and play features beyond the standard TNT block catapults that are starting to grow old. No doubt I personally will build my own ancient city to that scale, but one could imagine how fantastic an official LEGO release could be.

At $65, the set feels lacking and small, but if you absolutely love this update and game mechanic as I do, perhaps a sale or a convenient promo at your local LEGO store might sweeten the deal. I doubt LEGO will make any more Deep Dark sets going forward (unless a significant update to the biome is made in future Minecraft versions) so that may be a factor to sway the hardcore collector.