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Released in early 2012 and consisting of ten playsets, this wave features sets from Season 1: Rise of the Snakes, featuring the Ninja fighting against the five Serpentine Tribes over the tribe generals' staffs which contain the anti-venom to cancel the snakes' powers.
Released in mid-2012 and featuring only four sets, this wave continues to feature sets from Season 1, showcasing the Ninja's battle for the four Silver Fangblades, which together can revive the monstrous Great Devourer. However, these sets also feature majorly in the first half of Season 2: Legacy of the Green Ninja. This wave also introduces Lloyd as the Legendary Green Ninja.
Released in December 2012, consisting of just six sets, this wave is based on the latter half of Season 2, featuring the Ninja's battle against The Overlord and his Stone Army. The collectible items this wave are the four Elemental Blades. The wave features Lloyd as the Golden Ninja/Ultimate Spinjitzu Master.
Released in late 2013/early 2014 and containing seven sets, this wave is based on Season 3. It depicts the Overlord's return in digital form in control of an army of Nindroids, and the Ninja fighting him back with Techno Blades: weapons that hack technology. Compared to the Asian Mythology-based theme of past waves, this one takes on a high-tech theme with futuristic vehicles, weapons, and enemies.
Released in the Spring of 2014, this is currently the smallest wave of the series, consisting of merely two playsets. It continues to be based on Rebooted, thus continuing the futuristic theme.
Returning to the series' Asian Mythological roots, early 2015 brought a massive
wave of eleven sets based on Season 4. The wave introduces Master Chen and his cult of Anacondrai worshippers, along with new Elemental Masters aside from the Ninja. It also features the debut of Skylor as the Orange Ninja of Amber and the return of Zane, now the Titanium Ninja. This time, the collectible items are Jade Blades.
Released in mid-2015 based on Season 5, the wave features ten sets, including the massive Direct-to-Consumer "Temple of Airjitzu". Here, using the ghost-slaying Aeroblades, the Ninja battle ghosts from the
Cursed Realm, the ghost of former Master of WindMorro in possession of Lloyd's body. The wave also has Nya giving up her mantle of Samurai-X to become the Water Ninja.
Released in early 2016, the wave features seven sets based on Season 6. It depicts the ninja facing off against a crew of Sky Pirates commanded by Nadakhan the djinn. The collectible items are Djinn Blades, various depictions of a weapon known as the Sword of Souls which has entrapped various members of the ninja team. The wave introduces Cole'sghost form after he became such in Season 5.
In honor of the 5th anniversary of Ninjago, mid-2016 saw the release of nine sets, six of which tie directly into the "Day of the Departed" special, though appear prominently in Season 7, featuring the Ninja fighting deceased villains who attempt to take the heroes' places amongst the living using Departed Blades. Cole's RX form debuts here, depicting his return to the corporeal with a ghostly scar and a new ability known as the Earth Punch. The other three sets continue to be based on events from Season 6.
Released in Winter 2017, this wave consists of 7 sets based on the Season 7. It depicted the Ninjas fight against the new enemies, The Hands of Time and the Vermillion. The collectible items are the Time Blades.
Wave 15: Secrets of the Forbidden Spinjitzu (2019)[]
As of the 15th wave, the line begins to be called only Ninjago, without the subtitle of the series. Cole and Kai are the only ninja who aren't exclusive in any set. The collectible items are the Scrolls of Forbidden Spinjitzu, Aspheera's staff, and Zane's scepter.
Released in Summer 2021 (June), this wave consists of 5 sets based on Season 14. The collectible item is the Wave Amulet, and the Storm Amulet (for one set).
Released in Winter 2023, this wave consists of 9 sets based on Season 2 of Dragons Rising. The collectible items are the Mallet and Gong of Shattering, as well as the Dragon Cores for the Rising Dragon launchers.
Released in early 2019, the first wave consists of the re-imagined versions of concepts used in the pilot episodes and first two seasons (Season 1 and Season 2). The sets also appeared in some short episodes of Tales from the Monastery of Spinjitzu, which takes place after Season 9.
Released in early 2021, this wave consists of the re-imagined versions of concepts used in pilot episodes, Season 1, Season 3, Season 4, and Season 5. 10 sets were released in January 2021, while the last one was released in March alongside The Island wave.
Released in 2022, this wave is dedicated to getting younger children interested in the Ninjago franchise. This wave is the first wave of sets that only has shorts for the cinematic representation.
There are three divisions for designing the sets: the set designers, who build with physical LEGO bricks to design the models; the graphic designers, who design the Minifigure printing; and the element designers, who create the new LEGO brick designs with 3D modeling.[1]
Producing a set, from the idea stage to being on shelves, takes around sixteen months.[1]
Despite the ninja's hair being shown since the beginning of the TV series, their hair pieces were not included in the sets (though they did appear on some Ninjago Spinnerscards) until 2014 with the Rebooted wave as part of their Techno gi designs. Before that, Jay, Cole, and Zane's hairpieces existed in other LEGO themes, while both of Lloyd's existed but not in blond, and Kai's did not exist at all, as it had been designed by WILFilm ApS specifically for the series.[1]
All of their current hair pieces have been included in The LEGO Ninjago Movie sets. For the sets based on the TV show, all hair pieces were released, with Zane's titanium hair finally being released in 2021.
As of the third Legacy wave, all of the ninja's current hair pieces have been included in sets outside of The LEGO Ninjago Movie, and Kai and Jay have had different colored ones in their Avatar outfits.
The product commercials for the early sets were animated by M2Film[2] (the same studio that does the animation for Legends of Chima and Nexo Knights).
The reason hair is not included in every set is because having the hair pieces could mean having less bricks for the rest of the set.[1]
Not counting the various mini-movie series, Ninjago: Decoded is the only multi-episode installment not to coincide with a wave of sets.
Cyrus Borg is the only main ally of the ninja to be included in one set, and Acronix and the Omega are the only main villains to be included in one set.
Some of the ninja get more of a spotlight in the sets than others:
Kai is the most prominent ninja in the sets overall. He has received some sort of vehicle or creature in almost every wave.
Lloyd is another very prominent character in the sets. He got multiple vehicles ranging from bikes to mechs. He also recieved the most dragons of all of the ninja.
Jay is also very prominent character in sets. Before The LEGO Ninjago Movie came out, he was alongside Kai the most featured ninja in sets. After the movie, his appearance in sets was decreased (with exception of Prime Empire).
Out of Cole's first first four vehicles, two (the Earth Driller and Roto Jet) were not specifically his in the show but were marketed as such in the sets.
Conversely, the Stone Mech was his in the show but marketed as primarily Kai's in the set.
Zane has got the most complicated set presence of all of the ninja.
From Pilots to Rebooted, he appeared in sets quite frequently. However, since his redesign in Season 4 to his another redesign in the movie, he was the least featured ninja (even counting Nya). He mostly appeared in 1 set per a suit (2 at best). Since the movie, his appearance in sets returned to normal (with exception of Prime Empire, where he did not appear at all).
Arin is included in eleven sets: 71792 Sora's Transforming Mech Bike Racer, 71803 Lloyd and Arin's Ninja Team Mechs, 71797 Destiny’s Bounty Race Against Time, 71798 Nya and Arin's Baby Dragon Battle, 71799 Ninjago City Markets, 71803 Arin's Rising Dragon Strike, 71804 Arin's Battle Mech, 71810 Young Dragon Riyu, 71811 Arin's Ninja Off-Road Buggy Car, 71814 Tournament Temple City and 71822 Source Dragon of Motion.
Arin has four minifigure prints: Merge, Rising Dragon, Urban and Source Tournament.
Urban Arin is exclusive to Ninjago City Markets.
The most common print is Merge Arin, which appears in six sets and a polybag.
His first appearance in a set also corresponds to his first appearance in Ninjago: Dragons Rising; 71792 Sora's Transforming Mech Bike Racer, which appears in Episode 1, The Merge.
Arin is the first ninja to feature a grappling hook as a weapon. This Lego part is exclusive to this character, and was new in 2023.
Sora appears in nine sets: 71792 Sora's Transforming Mech Bike Racer, 71797 Destiny's Bounty Race Against Time, 71796 Elemental Dragon vs. The Empress Mech, 71799 Ninjago City Markets, 71807 Sora's Elemental Tech Mech, 71809 Egalt the Master Dragon, 71810 Young Dragon Riyu, 71818 Tournament Battle Arena and 71820 Ninja Team Combo Vehicle.
Sora appears in four sets from Wave 21 as opposed to Arin's five, and only one set in Wave 23.
Sora has three minifigures: Merge, Urban and Source Tournament
Her pink hairpiece with cat ear headphones is exclusive to Sora, and appears in only three sets. This part released in 2024.
Urban Sora is exclusive to Ninjago City Markets, however each of her individual parts are included in other Ninjago sets.
The most common torso/leg print is Merge Sora, which appears in seven sets
Her first appearance in a set also corresponds to her first appearance in Ninjago: Dragons Rising; 71792 Sora's Transforming Mech Bike Racer, which appears in Episode 1, The Merge.
Sora appears with Lloyd and Arin in four sets each.
All three appear in 71799 Ninjago City Markets and 71797 Destiny's Bounty Race Against time.
She appears with Lloyd in 71809 Egalt the Master Dragon and 71820 Ninja Team Combo Vehicle.
She appears with Arin in 71792 Sora's Transforming Mech Bike Racer and 71810 Young Dragon Riyu.
Sora appears with Kai and Nya in three sets each, with Zane and Jay twice, and Cole once.
Sora and Wyldfyre have not yet appeared in a set together.
Although her Elemental Tech Mech is not sold with 71806 Cole's Elemental Earth Mech and 71808 Kai's Elemental Fire Mech, the three are meant to have interchangeable parts.
Wyldfyre is one of three prominent next generation Ninja to be included in Ninjago: Dragons Rising, with the other two being Arin and Sora. She appears in the fewest sets of the three.
Wyldfyre appears in five sets: 71793 Heatwave Transforming Lava Dragon, 71812 Kai's Ninja Climber Mech, 71815 Kai's Source Dragon Battle, 71814 Tournament Temple City and 71822 Source Dragon of Motion.
Wyldfyre has two minifigure designs: Merge and Source Tournament.
Merge Wyldfyre appeared in only one set: 71793 Heatwave Transforming Lava Dragon.
Her red hair piece occurs exclusively in this set.
Source Tournament Wyldfyre is the most common, appearing in four sets.
The cheapest way to get Source Tournament Wyldfyre was in the 71785 Kai's Source Dragon Battle.
Wyldfyre appears in four sets with Kai, two sets with Lloyd and one set each with Cole, Jay, Nya and Zane.
After the 2019 Legacy spinners, Kai has appeared in all four collectible set series (Spinjitzu Slam, Arcade Pods, Spinjitzu Burst, Epic Battles), Lloyd and Jay have appeared in three, Zane and Cole have appeared in two, and Nya has appeared in none.
Although Nya, Cole and Zane did not get their own Arcade Pods, their Avatar minifigures were nevertheless released in 71708 Gamer's Market. Nya and Cole's avatars reused pieces from other Lego themes and Zane's avatar was not actually representing him, but another player taking on his appearance.
The ninja have distinctive eyebrows in order to easily identify them when they have their masks on.[3]
The Fangpyre Wrecking Ball and Colossus are two examples of sets that were based on the show as opposed to vehicles or creatures from the sets that were written into the series.[5]Lighthouse Island and Kryptarium Prison are two examples of location sets released multiple seasons after the location's debut in the show.
Every main/major villain from WildBrain except Unagami and Ronin looks a little different in the sets than in the show.
Aspheera has a fire ghost tail instead of a fire snake tail, probably because she could be placed on Fire Fang. She also doesn't have pupils as she does in the show.
The Ice Emperor uses white instead of gray coloring and has a mask printed on his face rather than the 3D mask seen in the show.
The Skull Sorcerer only has two black eyes on his mask, while in the show he has green eyes as well as a mouth and lines on the mask.
Kalmaar has yellow-green eyes in the show, while in the sets they are blue-pink. He also has gold armor in the sets, and he is teal than cyan.
According to Michael Knap, the reason for this is that "we did not have the option to make the eyes yellow and the tv show need more detail."[6]
The Overlord in his Crystal King form has gray hands in the show, but black hands in the sets. He also has white teeth in the show but in the sets, they are in the same color as the mask.
The reason why many minifigures such as Samukai were not included in Legacy sets is that the elements that were created for them were unique, all of them are now retired and this complicates the integration of them in to the current lineup.[7]
The reason why there aren't so many new characters is that designers have a limited amound of elements they can create, so creating an alternate element for a character will stop them from making a new character.[8]
According to Michael Knap, the production of the Mechanic's minifigure would require too many new elements, which is why his minifigure uses an ordinary hat without a nindroid eye and an ordinary arm.[9]
The reason Tox and Mr. Pale were taken from LEGO Ultra Agents is to make more Elemental Masters minifigures available in sets.[10]
Designer Niek van Slagmaat explained, "We design the sets together with the rough outlines for the episodes. Sometimes things in the show change afterwards."[11] "As toy designers, the play and the build is the most important feature of the sets. That is why there are plenty of features in the Hydro Bounty for instance that were not used in the TV show."[11]
There was scrapped set that "was never integrated in to any written story", involving "a new location that housed a sort of scientist" who "would work with combining elemental powers in his lab. The build [had] many traps but also a basement full of lab equipment old scrolls etc."[12]
There have been several times when the show has briefly used a style more similar to that of the sets in some way:
Wu's silhouette in the opening narration of "Rise of the Snakes" has the neck attachment section of his beard from the sets, which isn't normally present on his design.
The Scythe of Quakes resembles its set counterpart's design in the recurring scene transition used throughout the first two seasons.
The Nindroid MechDragon's facial recognition for Lloyd toward the end of "The Art of the Silent Fist" more resembles Lloyd's face print used from Rebooted to The Hands of Time despite its relative inaccuracy to his face in the TV series.
Kai's hair appears in its set-accurate height in a silhouette on Jay's Prime Empire board in "One Step Forward, Two Steps Back" as opposed to its shortened version used for the 3D models.
Vania's cardboard cutouts of the ninja in "The Two Blades" use the ninja's exact face print designs from the sets.
