LEGO Reviews Ninjago71772

The Crystal King

Name: LEGO The Crystal King 71772
Brand: LEGO
SKU: 71772
Rating: 4.8 (717 reviews)

70 · RECOMMENDEDINVESTMENT GRADE: BBB2022722 pcsHigh agreement · 90%

Expert reviews

2analyzed

Owner ratings

717

Consensus

BUY

BrickScore

Recommended

Owners

Synthesized Verdict

"The Crystal King is a visually arresting villain mech with an exclusive minifigure lineup that owners adore, but critics found the locked front legs and sparse play features hard to overlook, landing it in Mixed Reviews territory despite a near-perfect owner rating of 4.8 out of 5."

The Crystal King lands as a mixed bag among critics, earning a BrickScore of 69.6 despite its undeniably striking centaur-mech design. The Brothers Brick praised the fantasy-golem aesthetic, exclusive minifigures, and stable construction while flagging limited play features and locked front-leg articulation. Owner sentiment diverges sharply from the expert score: 717 buyers award it 4.8 out of 5, with 96% of LEGO.com reviewers saying they would recommend it and a strong value-for-money signal of 4.4 out of 5, suggesting that fans and families find far more satisfaction here than critics did.

Where they split: Critics gave this a middling Mixed Reviews score of 69.6, citing limited play functionality and the locked front legs as real drawbacks. Buyers disagree strongly: 4.8 out of 5 across 717 ratings with 96% recommending it. The gap reflects critics weighing play value more heavily while owners respond to the visual impact and the exclusive minifigures.

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LOVED (7)

01Distinctive centaur-mech shape that stands apart from typical humanoid Ninjago robots
02Striking color palette combining dark grey, transparent dark pink, dark blue, and gold
03Three exclusive minifigures: Fugitive Lloyd, Harumi, and the two-armed Crystal King variant
04Elaborate cockpit with movable golden rib cage and chest armor
05Excellent shoulder, elbow, and wrist articulation in the upper body
06Crystal blade elements used as wings to impressive effect
07Stable construction despite complex design, making it a reliable display piece

CRITICIZED (6)

01Front legs are locked at hips and knees for stability, limiting posing and play
02Limited play features overall, essentially confined to upper-body articulation and the opening cockpit
03Cockpit lacks control surfaces
04Vengestone Warrior and Vengestone Guard are nearly identical, making both feel redundant
05Crystal King minifigure has only two arms rather than the four-armed show version
06Short pink wing element does not stay rotated correctly

Ecosystem

71765 Ninja Ultra Combo Mech — This set inverts the typical dynamic where one or two bad guy characters take down the robot. Here, the King is at the heart of the mech with three support troops, making Lloyd feel outmatched.

Other Ninjago Mechs — More stable than typical Ninja Mechs that keep falling off shelves. Better display stability despite complex design.

71775 Nya's Samurai X MECH — The sets are perfectly paired as adversaries and foils to each other. Together they cancel off each other's weaknesses – a Crystal centaur beast needs an equally-sized mech to fight off. Their colours also clash in the right ways – Crystal King embodying Vengestone colours, and Nya's Mech providing bright pop of blue and gold. Best purchased together.

8692 Crystal King from Power Miners — This Crystal King is simply no match for the OG 8692 Crystal King from Power Miners

NinjagoTier 2Investment Grade

By Reviewer · 2

Avg score

Consensus

BUY

The Brothers Brick

Expert Video Source

BUY

"At $69.99 US (772 pieces), the set offers reasonable value at approximately 9 cents per piece. The minifigure-heavy composition justifies the price point."

Key Pros

✓Mech stands out from existing robot army with distinctive centaur shape
✓Three exclusive minifigures with strong designs
✓Fun build with good complexity for older builders

Key Cons

✕Limited play features (only articulation and opening cockpit)
✕Cockpit lacks control surfaces

JUMP TO REVIEW

Jay's Brick Blog

Editorial Source

BUY

"It's a really cool set, and one that blurs the line between buildable creature and mech, and with the great new trans-pink aesthetic introduced in the Summer 2022 wave of Ninjago sets, I couldn't wait to put this one together."

Key Pros

✓Crystal King is a fun, imposing fantasy creature
✓Great lineup of minifigures
✓Very large and posable

Key Cons

✕Crystal King minifigure lacks transparent elements
✕Slightly on the pricier side of sets

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Dimensional Analysis

Investment Layer

Buy now (1)Wait for sale (0)

Value drivers

The Brothers Brick: Crystal King two-armed version is exclusive to this set; Fugitive Lloyd and Harumi are also exclusive variants driving collector value.

Jay's Brick Blog: Lloyd's exclusive green Ninja outfit is a key draw for Ninjago fans. Harumi's triumphant return and Crystal King are also standouts.

Exclusivity

The Brothers Brick: Crystalized theme exclusive. Three exclusive minifigure variants (Lloyd Fugitive, Harumi, Crystal King two-armed version) that only appear in this set.

Jay's Brick Blog: Lloyd comes with exclusive new torso. Not exclusive to any particular retailer – standard retail release.

Resale

The Brothers Brick: Strong potential for aftermarket value due to exclusive minifigures and unique centaur mech design variation.

Minifigures & Standout Parts

In this set (5)

Harumi

$10

Crystal King

Lloyd

Vengestone Guard

Vengestone Warrior

Standout parts (per reviewers)

8x4x2 windscreen in transparent dark pink
Exclusive recolor. First appearance in this transparent dark pink color.
Large crystal blade elementValue
Limited to Crystalized sets. Used as spiky wings on the mech.
Small crystal blade and katana elementsValue
Both currently limited to Crystalized sets.
1×2 slope bricks
Used for splayed toes on rear legs, creating distinctive foot design.
1×1 crystal pyramid accentsValue
Used on front leg armor plating for visual interest.
Crystal King mask (modified Oni mask)Value
New unique mould with its own unique shape and printing. Though reviewer wishes it were more transparent to reflect crystal aesthetic.

What Owners Say · summarized from 20 written reviews (LEGO, Amazon, Walmart)

Owners love the impressive upper-body build, excellent detail, and value for the price, but are frustrated by the static front/back legs and wish the Crystal King had more arms for better playability.

COMMON PRAISE