The Stormbringer dragon is a great set and one of my favourites from this wave. It includes 4 amazing minifigures, a fairly large dragon and 2 pieces of the golden dragon armour (the chest plate and the sword)! The minifigures included are two ninjas (Jay and Zane) and two dragon hunters (muzzle and daddy-no-legs). If you are only getting one set from this wave I recommend either The throne room showdown (as it has lots of minifigures) or this set.

The dragon itself is quite impressive for the price, it has printed eyes and has spring-loaded missiles that fire out of its mouth. The saddle on its back can be easily removed as it is attached by two clips. The dragon keeps its blue and yellow colour scheme throughout the build with no noticeable off colour technic pins sticking out of it which is nice. The play-features on this set are the dual spring-loaded missiles that shoot out of its mouth and a swinging tail (also seen on the green-ninja mech dragon) which can be controlled by a little wheel. At first, it seems like the creature has no wings but at further glance it has two small thin “wings”. The wings have two lightning pieces to represent that it is a lightening dragon (if you couldn't tell from the colours). It is also very articulated with ratchet joints and ball joints.

The golden chest plate is displayed on a small side build which is what I believe is an anvil which works well with the set.

Overall I definitely recommend this set as it has it is great to play with or display,as it looks great, and it has cool minifigures.

Summary

Walking into the local non-official Lego store to get Ninjago City Docks, I was pleasantly surprised to see some of the new Ninjago sets on the shelves (and the others in the back). As I am a great fan of the Ninjago dragons, I had to get one - and I opted for Stormbringer.

I am glad I bought the set, and I think it worth the price. The dragon is fairly big,slightly shorter than the Green Ninja Mech Dragon. It also has borrowed a number of features from that set (the swiping tail the most obvious), and IMHO also some of the looks (the spikes on the head. The minifigures are fun, and look good, the spring-loaded shooter is fairly well hidden, and IMHO a nice feature. Those not interested in the dragons, might still be interested in this set because of some of the special parts (new and re-colours as far as I can tell).

Overall, I think the price for this set quite reasonable, and if gotten on a discount it IMHO becomes an almost no-brainer for Ninjago and dragon fans.

Build experience

The build was quick and easy, it took a little over 1 hour in total. Many of the techniques have been borrowed from previous dragons (Green Ninja Mech, Morro, Lightning). The use of dark blue 'scalloped' 2x3's works well. If you need a ton of them, this is the set to get. Fun was the use of brand new or fairly new pieces, a number of them seemingly re-colours. An extremely pleasant surprise is also to be found during construction for sticker haters: there are no stickers! The eyes are a very nice print on a 1 high 1x4.

The designers have done a nice job to limit the amount of repetitive steps, to keep things interesting. They also changed the design of some parts (like the toes) and colour scheme enough to give the dragon its own character.

Overall, the build was nice, and I think in general a nice example of how good elements of other dragons are integrated into a new design.

Minifigures

There are four minifigures included in this set: Zane, Jay, Muzzle and Daddy No Legs. All four of them seem to be new. I do not recognize any of the two villains.

Zane's torso print (front and back) seems to be new, though his legs might have been used before. I am not sure is his face is new or not. He has the two piece head-gear; unfortunately the lower part is black, rather than white, which I would have preferred. He is armed with a sword, which seems to be a new style, and carries his 'normal' bow and quiver. I really like his print.

Jay seems to be the dragon rider, and his torso and legs seem to be completely new. He has two face-prints, one seemingly apprehensive, the other angry. Unfortunately he as well has the lower piece of his two-piece head-gear in black. He is armed with a sword, the blade and handle I have seen before in Ninjago, so they might be new, or have been taken from another range (Elves, perhaps). His mace/scythe-type weapon has a new blade. IMHO Jay's print on the torso (front and back) and legs is very nice.

Muzzle is a very nice figure. The print on the torso (front and back) and legs is IMHO awesome. Multiple colours, detailed and intricate prints, and all nicely in register and lined up (between torso and legs). He has a single, very expressive face print, and a nice two-piece mask and shoulder armour. It all gives him a truly menacing appearance. He carries the same sword as Zane, and a very nice staff.

Daddy No Legs reminded me of other comic villains from the past. He has no legs (replaced by a spider-like mech), and a nice torso and sword. He also has a spear-gun / grappling hook shooting weapon. His single face print is good, though not as menacing as Muzzle's. I like his hair, and the torso print is as good as Muzzle's.

All four of the minifigures are excellent, with the bad guys IMHO being absolute gems.

The build

The mini-build for Daddy No Legs is a simple, small but effective build. There is also a stand for a piece of shoulder armour in gold. It is simple, looks nice, though the piece of armour is completely loose on top. I pinned it to the stand with one of the spare pieces (the clear 1x1 round modified with a pin in the middle), which works very nicely.

The dragon looks good, and I think in general is one of the better executed dragons in the Ninjago range. I like the legs, as well as the bright coloured spikes. His eyes are a great print. He is armed with spring-loaded shooters in his mouth. You have to open its mouth to be able to launch the shooters. An unfortunate side-effect is the shape of the neck, though the design of the head masks the stiff and somewhat odd neck well. Overall the dragon seems to have borrowed quite a bit from previous Ninjago dragon designs, but the designer still has managed to give it its own character.

Play vs display.

This set is above all a play set, with a nice sweeping tail, the spring-loaded shooters, the four minifigures, and stand of armour that can be fought over, and the general swooshability of the dragon. There are also enough spare weapons to be used by the ninjas or the crooks.

The Ninjago designers over the past few years have managed to make most of the the dragons good enough to be actual display pieces. Stormbringer is no exception. IMHO it has a gorgeous colour scheme, it has attractive looks, and pretty good looking and effective head.

The verdict

Overall, I think this is a very good set, which offers plenty of value for money. The 38 euros I paid for it definitely did not feel as too much. IMHO it holds up well compared with other dragons within that price range. The minifigure selection is good, and there is a lot on offer for those looking for spare special bricks. If you like dragons or the Ninjago theme, I think this set is definitely worth getting.

I've been a pretty big fan of Ninjago but somehow never had a dragon. Since my favorite ninja is Jay it's only fitting that I got Stormbringer. Overall, this is an awesome set that for its size and playability and is definitely worth the $40 US dollars.

My video review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fHnQqeDXbE&t=2s

Pros:

- Almost 2 feet long

- Play features

- Mini-figures

Cons:

- Limited articulation