So glad you got to showcase this theme! This iteration of Castle is hardly ever discussed, so it's great to see all the sets here in person. I especially love the Dragon Wizard! Gatehouse Raid honestly looks pretty cool - I like the way the structure is laid out. It is too bad this theme came out right after two of Castle's best - Fantasy Era and Kingdoms. It really never stood a chance, because everyone was always going to compare it to those. You said it best - if these sets came out today, people would go nuts for it!
It was honestly a lot of fun showcasing them because I have seen how quickly people dismiss this theme, so I wanted to take a bit more time on it! That wizard figure is honestly amazing! I had him before I even bought this theme and was surprised about how good he is! The gait has is honestly great! It’s everything you would want from a castle set! You so right though it stood no chance after those two amazing themes. Also people were just like yeah I will save my money for the next castle theme, which sadly never happened.
Just like how the Star Wars community banded together and kept asking Lego for a 501st battle pack you should get together the big Lego castle RUclipsrs to unite and get Lego to make a new castle theme after almost 12 years
@@BuildLego Its sadly true because most larger lego youtubers like td bricks could not care about Lego castle in fact the only realy fame castle got was with the lion knights castle but its not enough and even if youtubers like ben the brick builder bricking up brad goldfrye and others combined Lego would probably not even hear of and or care
@@wholeset Yeah, all the LEGO Castle youtubers combined don't have as much subs as Mandr, who was constantly campaining for that battlepack. The Castle community is nowhere near the size if the SW one which you can argue is almost separate from the main LEGO community by this point.
Every theme is someone's favorite. We always need to remember that. Fantasy Era has lots of 'juniorized' bits to it and is massively adored. I actually loved the bright blue and red colors of this line, my only real/legitimate complaint is that we've done the lion vs dragon faction dance multiple times. Another great vid!
YES THIS RIGHT HERE! Every theme is someone’s favorite is so important! I agree though the dragon vs lion factions is so over done at this point. We really do need something new!
The main issue is arguably not colour scheme but set quality. For example, instead of previous 5 figure battles packs, this series only got 4. Similarly, there were simply very few sets. Not that you can’t build something of your own with this lineup, after all this is Lego but it’s not on the same level as other Castle lineups.
I think lego should really make a castle line with a mix of fantasy and medieval elements-like a mix of fantasy and kingdoms. One set could be a a gritty castle tower with cool medieval architecture, while the next could be an elf village with more fantastical elements.
That would be amazing! I definitely think they need to do that! Like in the same space there could be the more realistic looking castle sets to like we got in other themes. Just do a little something for everyone!
Being born in 2005, I grew up on this theme and I fell in love with the castle theme because of it. Sadly, as we all know, this would be the last castle theme of the line and we wouldn't get anymore. I recall only ever buying three sets from the theme because that was all I could afford to get at a young age and I waited for another castle theme since. I then fell out of that obsession's after coming to the hard truth that Lego castle wasn't coming back and left that obsession's since. However, being that i'm far older now than I was back then and getting a job soon and making money on my own with the help of Lego releasing sets that have Lego Castle related minifigs or an icon of a old lego castle set, my obsession's has been rebirthed and now i'm more excited than ever in hoping to see what comes next with Lego Castle.
What's interesting to me is that the factions from the theme could be finagled to mesh in with any of the others. Imagine Majisto and the Fright Knights witch lady having to team up against the dragon wizard. Imagine the Dragon Wizard having to face off against the Necromancer from Fantasy, maybe having been called upon to aid the kingdom with his army as they're beset by Trolls and Skeletons. Imagine a tournament of Lions or Dragons where all the sides that have a lion or dragon symbol compete against one another. Dice highly recommended.
There's a theory that Castle 2013 is a prequel to Fantasy Era, and that the dark wizard leading the Red Dragons is younger version of the necromancer leading the Skeletons (who are resurrected bodies of Red Dragons…)
So the first castle set I ever got was the small ambush set from this theme. I understand why people don't care too much for this theme, but the fig detail is perfect, and those were the first Red Dragon Knights! All in all, I did like 2013 castle :)
The only problem with that theme is that it came out straight after the best two caste themes ever: Fantasy Era and Kingdoms, and crucially, alongside the Lotr and Hobbit sets… That’s the reason it flopped
I think this theme is "juniorized and lacking lore" because it was on shelves at the same time as the LOTR and Hobbit sets. These also featured dragons and castles, appealed to adults, and were STEEPED in lore. So this theme was kept basic so as to not compete, and rather appeal to kids who just wanted generic knights stuff.
I love this castle theme. This brought me out of my dark ages. My kids were little at that time so this will be the castle they will remember growing up with. TRU had the ambush on clearance for $5 back then and I bought like 10 of them as well as three king's castle. Ditching all the blue accents makes the castle much cooler.
Well one thing is certain: this theme gave us a coolest Lego Targaryen faction)) Thank you for this review! I'm so glad it's free from hate, and you looked deeper in this theme. You are right , it was not perfect but it was a new generation of kid's stories and that was great! I was in my twenties when it was released so I didn't pay attention to it, but I added several minifigs to my collection and I find them very nice. We need more Tavern Talk!
This is my favorite theme. I bought the whole collection at Lego land years ago. Donated it to a kid. Bought it all again, lost it in a move across country. As I watched this video I went online to buy what I could again. Wish they'd do more.
I got the kings castle set for my birthday and love it! It was always the good guy base for my every good guy set vs every bad guy set battles. I’ve been slowly collecting more of the 2013 castle figures and want to pick up the dragon mountain!
The Dragon Knights in this line are my favorite of all Lego castle factions. I really love their designs that that skeleton army would use their bodies and armor
I believe royce is the main character of a series of fan films posted by lego. There are about 6 episodes and it changes styles throughout. Edit: wrote this while watching the video and you mentioned the series.
1:40 In regards to the other White Knight having a beard, maybe it still is Royce, but, since the King's Castle is actively under siege by the Dragon Soldiers, so maybe he didn't have the time to sit down and shave his beard for a while. Another possibility is that there are several White Knights, and its more like a Kingsguard or Knightly Order kind of deal, and being a "White Knight" is an actual rank, rather than a nickname or honorific, with Royce being *a* White Knight, not *the* White Knight.
This was my childhood lol. I played for SO many hours with all the sets especially the castle. The battering ram in that set has seen many hours from me 😂
I think you put more heart and thought into this video than TLG did in this theme. I don’t say that to dogpile 2013 Castle, it just is what it is. Paint by numbers formula on the heels of Kingdoms, which also wasn’t super deep, but executed on a very high level. The next several years taught me to appreciate what we got, especially compared to getting nothing at all.
It definitely feels that way! A flaw of mine is I definitely have a lot of heart for Lego castle and definitely want to always show people why a castle theme is good! I definitely agree though. It is paint by numbers and a formula we have seen so many times but I will say this was targeted towards a new generation of castle fans. But you are right!
I think it was the most uninspiring lineup of sets and offered nothing new. Its not bad, it is just largely unremarkable and therefore forgettable to me. Juniorization is an argument that doent do much for me either. I loved for example Knights Kingdom 1. What this theme perhaps lacks the most in is personality. Kingdom also had that problem but made up for it wirh amazing Sets. But the sets of castle 2013 are average imo,which leads to the theme struggling to stand out in middst of themes that have either amazing sets or a whole lot of personality or both. But after all, being the "worst" Castle theme doesnt mean its bad... what are you gonna do if above average for LEGO Sets isnt enough when Lego Castle is your competition
I definitely see where your coming from. I love your word choice of personality though because you’re totally right. It definitely didn’t have a lot compared to other themes. I think you’re right it’s an average castle theme, which honestly sometimes we just need some average themes. Like not every theme can be the best ever. Your right when it comes to castle saying it’s the worst castle theme isn’t a bad thing. I just hate when people call it that because usually people mean it in a very negative light. I feel like there is no bad castle theme. They are all fun in their own way. The worst castle theme is the one that was never made because I can’t buy them😂
@@BrickingUpBrad I agree 🤣 looking at some of the 90s Prototype sets makes me sad because I wouldve loved to see these released... and now it is too late as the classic style of Set design is gone forever. 😞 This is total personal preference but I just love the themes of the 80s and 90s so much more than anything Lego comes up with nowadays, even when they do their best. Its the style of building and the presentation of the themes I think. Now I love some modern sets, barracuda bay, Lion Knights Castle (god I love that set), the viking village, the medival town square and many more, but they cant beat out an old smiley faced Lion Knight to me. 😅
Oh geez… this was the worst for me. Got me right back out of Lego in 2013. In 2012 I came across Kingdoms and the Medieval Marketplace and those got me back into Lego big time after not buying a Lego set since I was a teenager. This series got me right out. The colors and design were completely off for me, and having another Lion and Dragon faction after just having a Lion and Dragon faction were silly. Should’ve done Black Falcons, Forestmen, Wolfpack, or something new. Not back to back Lion/Dragon. I didn’t get back into Lego until the Medieval Blacksmith. Thank the bricking gods Lego smartened up! I hope they get smarter and stay smart! Having the time of my life building my own Lego castle creations! Great time to be Lego alive now!!
The 2013 Castle theme is Nostalgia for me, I got the Lion Knights Castle as a Kid for Christmas, and loved it. I still like it. I don't know why everyone hates it....
if lego wanted to print money they would launch a castle line similar to this one with classic factions. just imagine a black falcon battle pack, it would fly off the shelves. the sets we are getting are great but they are so unaffordable for the average buyer let alone kids.
This was the castle theme I bought the most of because they didn’t gate keep certain things in higher priced sets. The dragon was easily affordable, the knights with extra armor were easy to get. I had maybe 3 or 4 these sets growing up and was the last theme I bought a lot of before getting into high school
Bricking up brad, from my childhood I had a big set box that was juniors set from this wave. If you know like what the creator boxes are that are supposed to look like giant blocks, that what the shape was. It’s always been interesting to me bc I still to this day don’t understand what it is bc I can’t find it anywhere on the internet.
I like using the Dragon Knight Torsos as Nights Watch Soldiers from GOT. I switch the torsos backwards with a black cape and they look pretty similar to the Nights Watch.
I think I literally just realized I have all the main sets from this theme, except from the biggest castle/set. Odd because I remember Kingdoms a LOT more fondly, despite having less of those sets. Both themes still pale in comparison to Fantasy Era though :P
I love any fantasy sets, me personally the dwarven one are my favorites (mosty cause I'm a fan of the dwarves themselves) and the trolls can make amazing orcs in a lego d&d campaign
It sucks that the lion horse barding was only available in the most expensive set. The dragon faction barding was available in a very affordable set making the purchase of multiple copies very easy compared to the lion's.
I grew up with these sets so even though they’re not the best they mean a lot to me. imo the forest ambush aged the best because the side build is one of the most memorable for its price ever and of course the minifigures
As a kid I loved these legos they were what I grew up on and when I got older people on the internet started to say they were bad, but you do something different you give the build constructive feedback and that really makes me happy so see other people at least likening this faction a little bit.
The dragon night with the armor and dragon emblem on it, Do you know the item number for the legs that come with that figure, the block with red knee pads.
My favourite castle theme and the one I grew up on! The red dragons are my favourite faction and hold up so nicely! Sadly I think a lot of people hate this theme because it 'killed' the castle theme. Even though it was absolutely LEGO's fault for not fleshing it out more. Also like you said, having to compete next to the juggernaut of a fanbase as Lord of the Rings really sucked up all the money that could have been spent on these sets.
I think the theme is over hated. It had a back to basics feel. But the theme felt very over produced and soulless. I’m not a big ninjago or Chima fan. But those themes had a lot of soul put into them. It’s the force awakens of castle. It also used the weird no box battle packs. That just confuse people.
I agree definitely over hated! But you are also correct it does feel a bit soulless. It’s average but at the same time average isn’t always a bad thing!
@@BrickingUpBrad oh I loved the average feel of it. I didn’t like green dragon knights, because when I think evil dragons I think red and black first and foremost. Btw I like green dragon knights now.
I think the reason people don't like this one is that it felt like just a recoloured version of Kingdoms Lions led by a king vs Dragons led by a wizard.
Me, devouring Tavern Talk after finding your channel a week and a half ago: Aww...its over... Brad: BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE Wolfpack is fave faction, followed by Forestmen Hope we get more Wolfpack soon Love the channel!
An excellent theme for October! To be honest, I can't say which of the sets I grew up with is truly my favorite. But Fright Knights is definitely up there, and it would be really cool to see them remake some of that stuff. I tended to prefer underdogs, rebels, and darker stuff, even as a kid xD
I remember when Castle 2013 came out and Lego Lord of the Rings just over shadowed it. I felt that the sets in 2013 Castle were a downgrade from Kingdoms, they weren't a beefy as Kingdoms was, again you had a wizard leading a dragon faction, a king leading a lion faction, princess kidnapped and locked in a tower, a guard post under attack by a catapult, a large, square, modular castle with grand gatehouse. Compared to Kingdoms wave one, Castle 2013 had a lot of similar sets, but unlike Kingdoms it suffered from lack of as you said small, side and impulse builds. Kingdoms had the Wizard and Buffoon impulse sets, along with the Dragon Knight's battering ram, the Lion Kingdom's archer target practice set, and then the lack of an advent calendar set. With the Kingdoms advent set you got a lot of stuff to flesh out and expand the world - civilians like the blacksmith and the tavern wench, the prince and the queen, training dummy and the weapons rack. Castle 2013 had the skeleton but not the flesh like Kingdoms had. As for if Castle 2013 is bad, I used to think so, but after watching a lot of videos on it, I'd say it was good, like great figures and solid builds, but it lacked that je ne sais quoi to build a tangible storyline.
what really stands out is the kind of bland vector art-looking images of this one. there's nothing here iconic or that doesnt just have a better version available from a previous line imo. princesses and royals are also welcome tho, think i'll use that one as a black falcon princess
I think another thing about this era it was honestly the worst themes to come out sales wise. Star Wars and lord of the rings were making a lot however like you said at the end a lot of these themes sat on shelves. I think it’s why Lego hasn’t gone back to fantasy and western.
Yeah it really didn’t do well sales wise. Also Lego fans expected it to be replaced and many of them just didn’t buy it waiting for what ever was next to come out. But also so many other themes over shadowed it.
Just bought the two bardings and they look great. Also all the guys on the evil side look bad ass. But the "good side blue" just made and still makes this line look bad overall. Fortunately I can pick my factions one by one.
I love the designs of these figures! The subtle dragon scale motif with the red cheese slopes was a clever way to make the Dragon Knight models distinct from other factions. Wish I had the money to buy these when they were out!
Stop saying it was so hated, it was mostly FORGOTTEN because it didn't a get name and it was such quick turn around from Kingdoms which they could have continued. Lego should waiting and taken there time to get fans pumped but it seemed like they wanted castle done and out the way to never return. I always liked these two factions because it remind of Fantasy Era and collected the entire series. Great video and btw the most hatred theme is KK1&2.
Honestly, I feel that many think it's "not good" only because it pretty much just copies sets previously released, with just some very minor changes. Had LEGO actually made an effort, I think this theme would have seen far greater success, and possibly additional waves.
I agree! Usually Lego does 2 waves and sees how the second wave does. It kind of feels like Lego felt like they needed to do one more castle theme then end it.
Great video. I appreciate and agree with all that you said here. Minifigs are solid, builds are simple - but we had seen that before. Also, I’m a fan of the dragon in this line!
This LEGO theme seemed like a re-hash of Royal Knights and Knights Kingdom I, due to to the fact that the "good guy" faction uses a similar lion head insignia to those two themes...
Nice, I like this castle theme. Looks so colourfull. As child I had the black Knight's castle sets. But when i grow up, I like to buy this 2013 castle sets. I only miss the dragon and castle set. I got the rest. :) Greetings from Czech republic : 🍺🍺🍺
High key this is my favorite castle theme, I think he reason many people dislike it is because it was the first one in years and wasn’t as good as red lion vs green dragon era, but this was the castle theme I grew up with and I adore it.
Honestly the castle 2013 theme is not the best castle theme but is over all pretty good and the minifigs are great and in my opinion the simple color scheme is better than kingdoms color scheme and I have some head cannon lore to this theme connecting to fantasy era with the blue lions being a group of fantasy era knights who got lost during a battle at sea and ended up landing in a unknown land where they set up a kingdom with the crown representing there ancestors but this is just a theroy great video
Even as the “worst” castle subtheme, it looks amazing and is better than the stuff we got recently in many ways (like the price of entry). Great video! I might have to pick up some sets from the line
The 2013 Kings Castle was the first proper castle I ever owned, and I STILL like it. It had modular capabilities, which sets it a part from other Lego Castles.
But at least there's still hope for this theme to come back since lego has released quite a few medieval sets and medieval minifigures in Lego collectable minifigures
i dont like how theres clear good and bad guys sides i liked early castle because it was multiple factions, none of which were clearly protagonists or antagonists. it allowed people who choose who was the main faction. even fright nights could be considered as the protagonist faction
I like this castle theme, It is not so bad. I just picked up a couple of these sets. The factions are not so bad either. Great job bringing this and showing some love for the 2013 Castle.
I feel the sets aren't bad, but the wave seams bare bones. Like its a castle theme for the sake of it. This first wave had 4 sets while the fantasy era first wave had about 6-7. Like its a passing grade, but not a very interesting.
I liked this theme - reminded me of calssic 90-s Castle. What Castle theme do YOU consider the worst? To me it's Knight Kingdom 2: I'm not a fan of the focus on the charfacters and.. these different colored knights look like Power Rangers to me. Nothing against PR, but they don't fit medieval theme IMO. As for Nexo - I don't consider it a part of Castle - it's more like it's own thing.
@@BrickingUpBrad Well, I can understand why people can like it. Maybe "worst" is not the right word, because the sets were not bad at all! "My least favourite" is a better wording for the reasons above - it just feels different, like... American-comic-superhero knights rather then the actual knights. Eeven the helmets look like sci-fi cyborg helmets to me. But it's cool that you enjoy all the castle themes equaly! P. S. Yeah, it was the first time I saw the new intro, and it absolutely ROCKS! Looks kinda like some old Lego commercial!
![I Survived 1,000 Days in Hardcore Minecraft Survival [MOVIE]](/img/1.gif)
So glad you got to showcase this theme! This iteration of Castle is hardly ever discussed, so it's great to see all the sets here in person. I especially love the Dragon Wizard! Gatehouse Raid honestly looks pretty cool - I like the way the structure is laid out.
It is too bad this theme came out right after two of Castle's best - Fantasy Era and Kingdoms. It really never stood a chance, because everyone was always going to compare it to those. You said it best - if these sets came out today, people would go nuts for it!
It was honestly a lot of fun showcasing them because I have seen how quickly people dismiss this theme, so I wanted to take a bit more time on it! That wizard figure is honestly amazing! I had him before I even bought this theme and was surprised about how good he is! The gait has is honestly great! It’s everything you would want from a castle set!
You so right though it stood no chance after those two amazing themes. Also people were just like yeah I will save my money for the next castle theme, which sadly never happened.
Cheesey Studios give me minecraft money
Just like how the Star Wars community banded together and kept asking Lego for a 501st battle pack you should get together the big Lego castle RUclipsrs to unite and get Lego to make a new castle theme after almost 12 years
I try my best every chance I get😂
It’s time for a change Lego just has to many licensed lines and some lines have over stayed their welcome like Ninjago
Not gonna happen, most of the big youtubers are new to Lego and don't have the nostalgia of castle and what it was to many of us older fans.
@@BuildLego Its sadly true because most larger lego youtubers like td bricks could not care about Lego castle in fact the only realy fame castle got was with the lion knights castle but its not enough and even if youtubers like ben the brick builder bricking up brad goldfrye and others combined Lego would probably not even hear of and or care
@@wholeset Yeah, all the LEGO Castle youtubers combined don't have as much subs as Mandr, who was constantly campaining for that battlepack. The Castle community is nowhere near the size if the SW one which you can argue is almost separate from the main LEGO community by this point.
Every theme is someone's favorite. We always need to remember that.
Fantasy Era has lots of 'juniorized' bits to it and is massively adored. I actually loved the bright blue and red colors of this line, my only real/legitimate complaint is that we've done the lion vs dragon faction dance multiple times.
Another great vid!
YES THIS RIGHT HERE! Every theme is someone’s favorite is so important!
I agree though the dragon vs lion factions is so over done at this point. We really do need something new!
@@BrickingUpBrad I'm hoping Lego will do something with the Kraken and Gryffin knights sometime in the future.
@@BlueDragonBricks me to!
The main issue is arguably not colour scheme but set quality. For example, instead of previous 5 figure battles packs, this series only got 4. Similarly, there were simply very few sets. Not that you can’t build something of your own with this lineup, after all this is Lego but it’s not on the same level as other Castle lineups.
I think lego should really make a castle line with a mix of fantasy and medieval elements-like a mix of fantasy and kingdoms. One set could be a a gritty castle tower with cool medieval architecture, while the next could be an elf village with more fantastical elements.
That would be amazing! I definitely think they need to do that! Like in the same space there could be the more realistic looking castle sets to like we got in other themes. Just do a little something for everyone!
I would love to see an elf village and a remake of fantasy era
The lore is basically: “He who controls the gold controls the kingdom.”
Bingo!
So... It's an Oligarchy?
My lego goblin army: *It's free real estate*
@@Survivor_based 😂
The blue lion faction is my favourite castle faction. The variety the soldiers had is something modern castle is lacking.
I agree I love the verity!
Being born in 2005, I grew up on this theme and I fell in love with the castle theme because of it. Sadly, as we all know, this would be the last castle theme of the line and we wouldn't get anymore. I recall only ever buying three sets from the theme because that was all I could afford to get at a young age and I waited for another castle theme since. I then fell out of that obsession's after coming to the hard truth that Lego castle wasn't coming back and left that obsession's since. However, being that i'm far older now than I was back then and getting a job soon and making money on my own with the help of Lego releasing sets that have Lego Castle related minifigs or an icon of a old lego castle set, my obsession's has been rebirthed and now i'm more excited than ever in hoping to see what comes next with Lego Castle.
What's interesting to me is that the factions from the theme could be finagled to mesh in with any of the others. Imagine Majisto and the Fright Knights witch lady having to team up against the dragon wizard. Imagine the Dragon Wizard having to face off against the Necromancer from Fantasy, maybe having been called upon to aid the kingdom with his army as they're beset by Trolls and Skeletons.
Imagine a tournament of Lions or Dragons where all the sides that have a lion or dragon symbol compete against one another. Dice highly recommended.
Oh for sure! But I do feel like that’s most castle themes!
There's a theory that Castle 2013 is a prequel to Fantasy Era, and that the dark wizard leading the Red Dragons is younger version of the necromancer leading the Skeletons (who are resurrected bodies of Red Dragons…)
That intro is kinda fire tho
Thank you!
So the first castle set I ever got was the small ambush set from this theme. I understand why people don't care too much for this theme, but the fig detail is perfect, and those were the first Red Dragon Knights! All in all, I did like 2013 castle :)
That is a great first castle set to have! Honestly wish I had gotten that one growing up!
The only problem with that theme is that it came out straight after the best two caste themes ever: Fantasy Era and Kingdoms, and crucially, alongside the Lotr and Hobbit sets… That’s the reason it flopped
Oh 100 percent!
They need to bring back Knights Kingdom!
Think of all the things people can do with figures of Jayko, Sanctis, Rascus and of course, Vladek
I think this theme is "juniorized and lacking lore" because it was on shelves at the same time as the LOTR and Hobbit sets. These also featured dragons and castles, appealed to adults, and were STEEPED in lore. So this theme was kept basic so as to not compete, and rather appeal to kids who just wanted generic knights stuff.
Honestly that’s very true! If that was the case I can definitely understand why they did this theme!
The intro is so cool, would love to see something similar for Spaceport if you ever get another chance to revisit the theme in the future 😍
Honestly, any theme with that AWESOME dragon could hardly be considered the "worst"
Yo i love your stop motions
Truuuuueeee!!!!!
I love this castle theme. This brought me out of my dark ages. My kids were little at that time so this will be the castle they will remember growing up with. TRU had the ambush on clearance for $5 back then and I bought like 10 of them as well as three king's castle. Ditching all the blue accents makes the castle much cooler.
The Red Dragon Knight faction is very underrated....!
Well one thing is certain: this theme gave us a coolest Lego Targaryen faction)) Thank you for this review! I'm so glad it's free from hate, and you looked deeper in this theme. You are right , it was not perfect but it was a new generation of kid's stories and that was great! I was in my twenties when it was released so I didn't pay attention to it, but I added several minifigs to my collection and I find them very nice. We need more Tavern Talk!
They should have done asoiaf
This is my favorite theme. I bought the whole collection at Lego land years ago. Donated it to a kid. Bought it all again, lost it in a move across country.
As I watched this video I went online to buy what I could again. Wish they'd do more.
I got the kings castle set for my birthday and love it! It was always the good guy base for my every good guy set vs every bad guy set battles. I’ve been slowly collecting more of the 2013 castle figures and want to pick up the dragon mountain!
The Dragon Knights in this line are my favorite of all Lego castle factions. I really love their designs that that skeleton army would use their bodies and armor
I believe royce is the main character of a series of fan films posted by lego. There are about 6 episodes and it changes styles throughout.
Edit: wrote this while watching the video and you mentioned the series.
Yep watch a little bit farther and I talk about that lol!
1:40 In regards to the other White Knight having a beard, maybe it still is Royce, but, since the King's Castle is actively under siege by the Dragon Soldiers, so maybe he didn't have the time to sit down and shave his beard for a while.
Another possibility is that there are several White Knights, and its more like a Kingsguard or Knightly Order kind of deal, and being a "White Knight" is an actual rank, rather than a nickname or honorific, with Royce being *a* White Knight, not *the* White Knight.
The new intro animation is awesome.
Thank you!
This was my childhood lol. I played for SO many hours with all the sets especially the castle. The battering ram in that set has seen many hours from me 😂
That is amazing 😂
I think you put more heart and thought into this video than TLG did in this theme.
I don’t say that to dogpile 2013 Castle, it just is what it is. Paint by numbers formula on the heels of Kingdoms, which also wasn’t super deep, but executed on a very high level.
The next several years taught me to appreciate what we got, especially compared to getting nothing at all.
It definitely feels that way! A flaw of mine is I definitely have a lot of heart for Lego castle and definitely want to always show people why a castle theme is good!
I definitely agree though. It is paint by numbers and a formula we have seen so many times but I will say this was targeted towards a new generation of castle fans. But you are right!
A flaw?
I subbed because Castle is the best theme xD
Not a flaw, a feature!
I think it was the most uninspiring lineup of sets and offered nothing new. Its not bad, it is just largely unremarkable and therefore forgettable to me.
Juniorization is an argument that doent do much for me either. I loved for example Knights Kingdom 1.
What this theme perhaps lacks the most in is personality. Kingdom also had that problem but made up for it wirh amazing Sets. But the sets of castle 2013 are average imo,which leads to the theme struggling to stand out in middst of themes that have either amazing sets or a whole lot of personality or both.
But after all, being the "worst" Castle theme doesnt mean its bad... what are you gonna do if above average for LEGO Sets isnt enough when Lego Castle is your competition
I definitely see where your coming from. I love your word choice of personality though because you’re totally right. It definitely didn’t have a lot compared to other themes.
I think you’re right it’s an average castle theme, which honestly sometimes we just need some average themes. Like not every theme can be the best ever.
Your right when it comes to castle saying it’s the worst castle theme isn’t a bad thing. I just hate when people call it that because usually people mean it in a very negative light.
I feel like there is no bad castle theme. They are all fun in their own way. The worst castle theme is the one that was never made because I can’t buy them😂
@@BrickingUpBrad I agree 🤣 looking at some of the 90s Prototype sets makes me sad because I wouldve loved to see these released... and now it is too late as the classic style of Set design is gone forever. 😞
This is total personal preference but I just love the themes of the 80s and 90s so much more than anything Lego comes up with nowadays, even when they do their best. Its the style of building and the presentation of the themes I think.
Now I love some modern sets, barracuda bay, Lion Knights Castle (god I love that set), the viking village, the medival town square and many more, but they cant beat out an old smiley faced Lion Knight to me. 😅
Oh geez… this was the worst for me. Got me right back out of Lego in 2013. In 2012 I came across Kingdoms and the Medieval Marketplace and those got me back into Lego big time after not buying a Lego set since I was a teenager. This series got me right out. The colors and design were completely off for me, and having another Lion and Dragon faction after just having a Lion and Dragon faction were silly. Should’ve done Black Falcons, Forestmen, Wolfpack, or something new. Not back to back Lion/Dragon.
I didn’t get back into Lego until the Medieval Blacksmith. Thank the bricking gods Lego smartened up! I hope they get smarter and stay smart! Having the time of my life building my own Lego castle creations! Great time to be Lego alive now!!
The 2013 Castle theme is Nostalgia for me, I got the Lion Knights Castle as a Kid for Christmas, and loved it. I still like it. I don't know why everyone hates it....
I got the smallest set, that cart ambush. Pretty fun set!!
if lego wanted to print money they would launch a castle line similar to this one with classic factions. just imagine a black falcon battle pack, it would fly off the shelves. the sets we are getting are great but they are so unaffordable for the average buyer let alone kids.
So true!!! I will take even 1 set under 50.
Dragon Mountain was my first LEGO Castle set.
That’s awesome!
This was the castle theme I bought the most of because they didn’t gate keep certain things in higher priced sets. The dragon was easily affordable, the knights with extra armor were easy to get. I had maybe 3 or 4 these sets growing up and was the last theme I bought a lot of before getting into high school
Right! Like you could basically get most of the good stuff in cheap sets! The hardest thing was that lion horse barding or the king!
Bricking up brad, from my childhood I had a big set box that was juniors set from this wave. If you know like what the creator boxes are that are supposed to look like giant blocks, that what the shape was. It’s always been interesting to me bc I still to this day don’t understand what it is bc I can’t find it anywhere on the internet.
Is it the one I talked about in this video? I talk about it after I talk about the main wave of sets!
Oh wait yeah thanks bro I’ve been looking for that lol!
Two of those DK heads would make great Wolfpack heads.
There heads are really good for bad guys
I like using the Dragon Knight Torsos as Nights Watch Soldiers from GOT. I switch the torsos backwards with a black cape and they look pretty similar to the Nights Watch.
They are definitely really good!
I think I literally just realized I have all the main sets from this theme, except from the biggest castle/set. Odd because I remember Kingdoms a LOT more fondly, despite having less of those sets. Both themes still pale in comparison to Fantasy Era though :P
Im so glad to see a positive video on this castle theme.
*Insert Thanos “perhaps I was too harsh on you” meme*
😂😂😂
I love any fantasy sets, me personally the dwarven one are my favorites (mosty cause I'm a fan of the dwarves themselves) and the trolls can make amazing orcs in a lego d&d campaign
It sucks that the lion horse barding was only available in the most expensive set. The dragon faction barding was available in a very affordable set making the purchase of multiple copies very easy compared to the lion's.
Yeah. That is my only complaint about the barding. Would have also been nice to get that gold horse helmet in other sets!
I grew up with these sets so even though they’re not the best they mean a lot to me. imo the forest ambush aged the best because the side build is one of the most memorable for its price ever and of course the minifigures
That’s awesome!
Can you please make a way to combine the gatehouse and Kings Castle perfectly together?
Surprisingly, Royce got mentioned, but not Lionel who appeared in LEGO Legacy: Heroes Unboxed, as well as in The Gatehouse Raid.
Must have accidentally skipped over him when making this video
My uncle gave me the gatehouse raid set in 2018
Nice!!
As a kid I loved these legos they were what I grew up on and when I got older people on the internet started to say they were bad, but you do something different you give the build constructive feedback and that really makes me happy so see other people at least likening this faction a little bit.
It’s a good theme and definitely needed some love from the community!
The dragon night with the armor and dragon emblem on it, Do you know the item number for the legs that come with that figure, the block with red knee pads.
I don’t know I would just look the figure up on bricklink
i do like your intro also are you made a outro that the inn getting closed?
Thank you was made by stud frame animations! We haven’t done anything like that yet!
@@BrickingUpBrad i know that was something new and i do like it, it give more tavern talk effect
My favourite castle theme and the one I grew up on! The red dragons are my favourite faction and hold up so nicely!
Sadly I think a lot of people hate this theme because it 'killed' the castle theme. Even though it was absolutely LEGO's fault for not fleshing it out more. Also like you said, having to compete next to the juggernaut of a fanbase as Lord of the Rings really sucked up all the money that could have been spent on these sets.
That’s awesome! But yeah LOTR really pulled all the fantasy fans! And at the time those sets were cheap to so it makes sense!
Please do one of these on the Crown Knights and Undead factions of fantasy era!
They are on my list!
@@BrickingUpBrad awesome! I love these longer deep dives into the lore and sets
I think the theme is over hated. It had a back to basics feel.
But the theme felt very over produced and soulless.
I’m not a big ninjago or Chima fan. But those themes had a lot of soul put into them.
It’s the force awakens of castle.
It also used the weird no box battle packs. That just confuse people.
I agree definitely over hated! But you are also correct it does feel a bit soulless. It’s average but at the same time average isn’t always a bad thing!
@@BrickingUpBrad oh I loved the average feel of it. I didn’t like green dragon knights, because when I think evil dragons I think red and black first and foremost.
Btw I like green dragon knights now.
Ngl I forgot there were little games for this theme. Nothing compared to Lego Battles following the 2009 Fantasy theme imo.
Oh yeah Lego battles was peak!
@@BrickingUpBrad Imo we so need another lego castle themed game.
@@supergenius6256 agreed!
LOL - until now i never even noticed the dragon soldiers had different colored belt printings on their torso ^^
Right😂 it took me a while to understand they are different
I think the reason people don't like this one is that it felt like just a recoloured version of Kingdoms
Lions led by a king vs Dragons led by a wizard.
Agreed!
1:16
LEGO LEGACY MENTIONED LEGO LEGACY MENTIONED
You did forget about good ol’ lionel though…….
Me, devouring Tavern Talk after finding your channel a week and a half ago: Aww...its over...
Brad: BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE
Wolfpack is fave faction, followed by Forestmen
Hope we get more Wolfpack soon
Love the channel!
😂😂😂 I have been trying to drop 1 tavern talk a month! The next will be royal knights then fright knights in October!
An excellent theme for October!
To be honest, I can't say which of the sets I grew up with is truly my favorite. But Fright Knights is definitely up there, and it would be really cool to see them remake some of that stuff.
I tended to prefer underdogs, rebels, and darker stuff, even as a kid xD
this really helped me in my lego lore jurnioln
Glad to hear!
I remember when Castle 2013 came out and Lego Lord of the Rings just over shadowed it. I felt that the sets in 2013 Castle were a downgrade from Kingdoms, they weren't a beefy as Kingdoms was, again you had a wizard leading a dragon faction, a king leading a lion faction, princess kidnapped and locked in a tower, a guard post under attack by a catapult, a large, square, modular castle with grand gatehouse. Compared to Kingdoms wave one, Castle 2013 had a lot of similar sets, but unlike Kingdoms it suffered from lack of as you said small, side and impulse builds. Kingdoms had the Wizard and Buffoon impulse sets, along with the Dragon Knight's battering ram, the Lion Kingdom's archer target practice set, and then the lack of an advent calendar set. With the Kingdoms advent set you got a lot of stuff to flesh out and expand the world - civilians like the blacksmith and the tavern wench, the prince and the queen, training dummy and the weapons rack. Castle 2013 had the skeleton but not the flesh like Kingdoms had. As for if Castle 2013 is bad, I used to think so, but after watching a lot of videos on it, I'd say it was good, like great figures and solid builds, but it lacked that je ne sais quoi to build a tangible storyline.
I agree it was definitely a skeleton of a them and not fleshed out like past themes where!
Always love the videos! Keep up the good work.
Thank you so much!
The juniorized feel of the theme is so inferior to Kingdoms, most children prefer a more gritty feel. I also feel that the heraldry is very weak.
what really stands out is the kind of bland vector art-looking images of this one. there's nothing here iconic or that doesnt just have a better version available from a previous line imo. princesses and royals are also welcome tho, think i'll use that one as a black falcon princess
The royalty figures from this theme are definitely really good!
You know what the best part about the plastic flags or banners. Dust doesn't collect on them like cloth.
Agreed! And it doesn’t fray.
I think another thing about this era it was honestly the worst themes to come out sales wise. Star Wars and lord of the rings were making a lot however like you said at the end a lot of these themes sat on shelves. I think it’s why Lego hasn’t gone back to fantasy and western.
Yeah it really didn’t do well sales wise. Also Lego fans expected it to be replaced and many of them just didn’t buy it waiting for what ever was next to come out. But also so many other themes over shadowed it.
Just bought the two bardings and they look great. Also all the guys on the evil side look bad ass. But the "good side blue" just made and still makes this line look bad overall. Fortunately I can pick my factions one by one.
Those bardings are great!
Great Video! It’s great to see some love for this Theme!
Always love when I can hype up unloved castle themes!
I love the designs of these figures! The subtle dragon scale motif with the red cheese slopes was a clever way to make the Dragon Knight models distinct from other factions. Wish I had the money to buy these when they were out!
Yeah! That is something I appreciate about dragon knight is they look very different from other factions
I think it’s fine does what a castle theme in supposed, and now we would kill for any sets in a castle wave nowadays
Oh 100 percent!
@@BrickingUpBrad omg I didn’t know you would actually respond, I’m a big fan of your channel man keep up the absolute banger vids.
Where can I watch Lego castle animation? Pls link or video name
Just look up Lego 2013 castle and there should be a playlist made by Lego that’s called castle and it has 6 animations in it.
Thx@@BrickingUpBrad
Stop saying it was so hated, it was mostly FORGOTTEN because it didn't a get name and it was such quick turn around from Kingdoms which they could have continued. Lego should waiting and taken there time to get fans pumped but it seemed like they wanted castle done and out the way to never return. I always liked these two factions because it remind of Fantasy Era and collected the entire series. Great video and btw the most hatred theme is KK1&2.
I managed to get Forest Ambush on clearance 9 years ago!
Nice!!!
Honestly, I feel that many think it's "not good" only because it pretty much just copies sets previously released, with just some very minor changes. Had LEGO actually made an effort, I think this theme would have seen far greater success, and possibly additional waves.
I agree! Usually Lego does 2 waves and sees how the second wave does. It kind of feels like Lego felt like they needed to do one more castle theme then end it.
Was this a remake of Older Castle theamed set i was around 2008
No it wasn’t. But it was similar to the 2010s kingdom line.
Great video. I appreciate and agree with all that you said here. Minifigs are solid, builds are simple - but we had seen that before. Also, I’m a fan of the dragon in this line!
The dragon is fantastic! I’m really glad they added it!
I like the Gatehouse 😊
- and the Red Dragon Knights 😅
The gatehouse is exactly what you want out of a castle set!
This LEGO theme seemed like a re-hash of Royal Knights and Knights Kingdom I, due to to the fact that the "good guy" faction uses a similar lion head insignia to those two themes...
I can definitely see that
Nice, I like this castle theme. Looks so colourfull.
As child I had the black Knight's castle sets. But when i grow up, I like to buy this 2013 castle sets. I only miss the dragon and castle set. I got the rest. :)
Greetings from Czech republic : 🍺🍺🍺
Nice! That is awesome!
Unnecessarily hated. I wish I had these sets.
My Lego Castle money in 2013 went to Lord of the Rings instead.
😂😂 yeah it stood no chance compared to LOTR
High key this is my favorite castle theme, I think he reason many people dislike it is because it was the first one in years and wasn’t as good as red lion vs green dragon era, but this was the castle theme I grew up with and I adore it.
That’s great!
As a kid it seemed to childish to me. Too goofy. Kingdoms was realistic and took itself seriously. Castle 2013 looked cartoony.
Honestly the castle 2013 theme is not the best castle theme but is over all pretty good and the minifigs are great and in my opinion the simple color scheme is better than
kingdoms color scheme and I have some head cannon lore to this theme connecting to fantasy era with the blue lions being a group of fantasy era knights who got lost during a battle at sea and ended up landing in a unknown land where they set up a kingdom with the crown representing there ancestors but this is just a theroy great video
For sure! It’s definitely not the best but overall it’s still good!
Thank you!
@@BrickingUpBrad ohh ya how did you get that black monarchs ghost box even though you already bought one in that haul video?
@@wholeset one of my friends gave it to me! He was clearing out some boxes and gave me the ones he had to old castle sets!
@@BrickingUpBrad Nice
Even as the “worst” castle subtheme, it looks amazing and is better than the stuff we got recently in many ways (like the price of entry). Great video! I might have to pick up some sets from the line
Agreed! I definitely wish we could get prices like this still!
The 2013 Kings Castle was the first proper castle I ever owned, and I STILL like it. It had modular capabilities, which sets it a part from other Lego Castles.
Nice!
I would like to see lego making another fantasy or medieval set since i love sets like this and hope they put more effort in it
Same!! I can’t wait to see what they do!
But at least there's still hope for this theme to come back since lego has released quite a few medieval sets and medieval minifigures in Lego collectable minifigures
Definitely hope to get more castle sets soon at this level. Even if it's just like this! Anything is better than nothing!
Agreed! We just need Lego castle😅
There are no bad Castle themes, just some not a good as others. We really need a new Castle theme but Lego doesn't seem to want to make one.
Exactly! I always say the worst castle theme is the one Lego hasn’t made yet😂
No , this one was goated
Glad to see some 2013 castle fans in the comments!
i dont like how theres clear good and bad guys sides
i liked early castle because it was multiple factions, none of which were clearly protagonists or antagonists. it allowed people who choose who was the main faction. even fright nights could be considered as the protagonist faction
I do agree I prefer it when there are multiple factions and you get to pick which side they are.
Could u do a tutorial on a lego spaceship?
I don’t really do tutorials
I like this castle theme, It is not so bad. I just picked up a couple of these sets. The factions are not so bad either. Great job bringing this and showing some love for the 2013 Castle.
Always love bringing more love to every castle theme!
This was one of my favorite themes. Probably In number three behind modern castle and fantasy era.
Nice!
I grew up with this theme!
Nice!
I feel the sets aren't bad, but the wave seams bare bones. Like its a castle theme for the sake of it. This first wave had 4 sets while the fantasy era first wave had about 6-7. Like its a passing grade, but not a very interesting.
Yeah I definitely agree it was the bare bones of a castle theme.
I was scrambling to get the LOTR sets so I didn't even get one. Speaking of bad Castle though, have you delved into the Rogue Knights?
Ok I don’t usually say castle stuff is bad but the rogue knights are bad😂 but also they have there own charm to them
I still want that dragon.
That dragon is sick!
One of the best dragons LEGO has ever done - and I say that as someone who has been collecting Castle and other fantasy themes since 1993.
Castle had the best looking lion knights minifigures
They were definitely really good!
Like many other people, I do feel that this is a very weak theme. But after watching your video, I feel that I’m lucky to own them. So thanks! 🤝😄
Glad to hear it!!
The minifigs, especially the chest plates are amongst the best imho.
They definitely are really good!
I liked this theme - reminded me of calssic 90-s Castle.
What Castle theme do YOU consider the worst? To me it's Knight Kingdom 2: I'm not a fan of the focus on the charfacters and.. these different colored knights look like Power Rangers to me. Nothing against PR, but they don't fit medieval theme IMO.
As for Nexo - I don't consider it a part of Castle - it's more like it's own thing.
I think the worst castle theme is the one that was never created. Knights kingdom 2 is actually really cool. I have definitely come to really like it!
@@BrickingUpBrad Well, I can understand why people can like it. Maybe "worst" is not the right word, because the sets were not bad at all! "My least favourite" is a better wording for the reasons above - it just feels different, like... American-comic-superhero knights rather then the actual knights. Eeven the helmets look like sci-fi cyborg helmets to me.
But it's cool that you enjoy all the castle themes equaly!
P. S. Yeah, it was the first time I saw the new intro, and it absolutely ROCKS! Looks kinda like some old Lego commercial!
Hes Im here