The end of the Green Dragons?

aplbomr79

Are we seeing the end of the Green Dragons? Or is this just a breather for the Kingdoms series?

The recent Kingdoms sets have been great - near exemplary. We have seen a grand new Lion's Castle (7946), a few medium sets that are anchored by the both factions (7947 Prison Tower, 7187 Dragon's Prison Rescue, 7188 King's Carriage Ambush), and a phenomenal addition to the Medieval village sets (7189 Mill Village Raid). The other sets in this series have been great in terms of design and playability. However, I fear that lack of sales has doomed this series.

I fear the end of the Green Dragons for two reasons - the first being that I find an abundance of 7947, 7187, and 7947 available at my local TRU, Walmart, Target, and local LEGO stores.

The second reason is the forecasted Kingdoms Set 'Kingdom's Joust (10223)' continues the theme of the Kingdom's Lions, but the adversary is now a new rendition of the Black Falcon's and not a Green Dragon. There is no afterthought of the Green Dragons in the designs of the new Kingdoms Joust set.

Not to mention, there is no other Kingdom's set expected to be released for the LEGO year of 2012. Although I am a HUGE fan of the Black Falcons (I own most of the sets, and am still collecting), I am also a big a fan of the Green Dragons. I fear that this new set (10223) is the nail in the coffin for the Green Dragons - and a step in the direction of a new Castle theme.

What do you think?

Yellowcastle

The Joust set does seem to follow in the footsteps of the Imperial Frigate...

StuBoy

I'm hoping its not the end, the theme was just starting to show some promise, with the MVR and Joust, but it doesn't look good does it.

In New Zealand, the first wave of Kingdoms sets sold out pretty quick, and there was nothing on our shelves for most of the year till the release of the second wave (MVR, Blacksmith Attack, etc) only a few months ago. So either its really popular down here or they underestimated the demand.

Fingers crossed its not the end!

andhe

I think traditionally castle sets are released in second half of the year, So if there's nothing seen then or leaked over the summer then I think we can safely take the joust as Kingdoms' swan-song.

I'm guessing there are no dragon knights in the joust set as:
1. The lion knights are the main faction with the dragon knights as the smaller antagonists.
2. If the two factions are at war a joust might seem unfitting (no historical knowledge here).
3. The inclusion of a black falcon knight boosts interest and popularity with older fans/collectors.

That said, more of a market feel with performers, dancing bear etc would have been fun, rather than a large one-sided tower. But I digress (and can always MOC that myself).

Odindusk

As of about a month ago, I owned the entire Kingdoms line of sets. I bought them because I'm a castle fan and in the past I would buy an entire theme blindly, and not on individual set merits. Then, something shifted within me and I realized that I don't really like the current theme as a whole. Prison Tower, Mill Village Raid, MMV and Blacksmith Attack I kept... and the rest was surprisingly easy for me to part with.

So more to the point of this thread: I'm torn. I like the idea of the Green Dragons and I really do like their current "big set" - the Prison Tower. But overall I think the Kingdoms line was a pretty weak offering for our beloved castle theme this time around.

I'm very much looking forward to the Joust set, however. Not sure if that will be branded Kingdoms or Castle.

MinifigsMe

I wonder if sales are hampered by the fact that Kingdoms is rarely ever on sale? I don't see these sets in B&M toy shops, and amazon don't seem to discount them. It's taken me ages to acquire them at even 20% below RRP

andhe

Is it a symptom or a cause? My local TRU hasn't stocked any of the Kingdoms sets, and Argos seems to only do them online. I set up an alert to monitor any drop in amazon prices and managed to grab the blacksmith attack when it briefly dropped.

But on the whole been a bit disappointed with the overall colours/look of Kingdoms, felt a bit like TLG was just following a formula. I know people say the MVR is great (I bought one, yet still need to build it) but somehow I haven't been grabbed by any of these sets compared to my "WOW!" with the castle/dwarf/troll range that brought me out of my dark ages.

andhe

But looks like the Joust will be available from 26th of December...! amongst other things...

http://cache.lego.com/upload/contentTemplating/StoresEvents/otherfiles/1033/download847FF9069C3CB3302EAEB256AFEA23AB.pdf

(source - the ever wonderful grogall on eurobricks)

Though this is probably in the US.

andhe

edit: that is actually a UK calendar, so guess we'll series 6 and the Joust arrive on boxing day after all.

Yellowcastle

I didn't scan it but the only interesting notes on the US January calendar were as follows:

January Sale beginning 1/1/12
Kingdoms Joust avail 1/1/12
50% Off Ninjago Battle Arena with $50 purchase
Free Kendo Hay Booster Pack with $75 purchase

I dont recall seeing anything about S6 or the Mini-Modulars

UtarEmpire

Good gravy, Joust coming out at the end of this year? Welp, I'm pumped.
Anyway, although I do like Prison Tower Rescue and the Dragon Knights in general, there wasn't too much about them that was particularly dragon-oriented, so it seems like the change is mostly cosmetic.