Minecraft. Lego Minecraft

An interesting set theme, is it not? Mere bricks and plates with the occasional play feature tossed in between, sliding under the radar of many a Lego fan; yet it possesses merit, elements not found anywhere else, especially as the longest standing video game Lego theme. So here I am, finally writing another review seen by likely not many, because I love this theme, and while the animal buildings may be excessive, they can also showcase what makes Lego Minecraft special.

Building experience

Let me get this out of the way. If you are someone who enjoys Lego for the physical act of putting it together, and exclude what you could do with it after, the Llama Village, and all other Lego Minecraft sets, are not for you. As the intro paragraph said, these sets are more about the end result rather than the journey, which I suspect is what turns off many AFOLs. But, Lego is a toy first and foremost, and the easy building techniques allow younger fans to get to playing with their toy quicker, so older fans, you'll just have to bear with them! Even a set as large as the Llama Village (Mincraft's 3rd largest set!) comes together fairly quickly, as it's bricks on bricks, plates on plates, and so on until you have the finished set. Nothing special, but since it comes together quickly, you get to the real value of this set sooner rather than later.

Parts

This aspect of the Llama Village, and indeed, many other Minecraft sets, is better than their building experience. This mostly comes down to the fact that, to date, not a single Lego Minecraft piece has had a sticker as opposed to a print (kind of bananas to think about, a video game theme having this honour), the exclusive head moulds, and every now and then, new moulds for new animals. In addition, this theme sometimes introduces new recolours, with the most prominent I can think of being the 2x2 jumper plate being introduced in trans-orange, trans-blue, and just plain transparent in this theme. Very rarely, a new piece that's introduced in Minecraft is used in other places, with the piece in question being the 1x2 rounded tile, in the Llama village representing bread or a pork chop (don't quote me on that being a piece introduced in Minecraft, I'm not 100% sure). Other than these instances, the main part value of Minecraft comes in how easy it is for younger people to build MOCs out of Minecraft sets. The fact that it's just bricks, plates, tiles and jumpers lets them easily take the set apart and rebuild it however they. This is opposed to many modern set lines, ranging from Speed Champions to DreamZzz, that while making fantastic playlets, most people would be hard-pressed to build something unique out of the parts at hand. This is not the case with the Llama Vtillage and other Minecraft sets. The Llama Village, I feel could easily be rebuilt without the llama visage, instead becoming a village in some deep snow. Though this might not make the most sense with savanna villagers, it is an option, one of many paths, that people could take to rebuild this and other Minecraft sets into something unique, something that's theirs, something special.

Playability

Now, onto where Minecraft sets, and the Llama Village in particular (amongst the modern Minecraft sets, that is. Dunno if any other set will eclipse the Mountain Cave in the sheer volume of what you [I want that set more than the Lion Knights' Castle, but am even more unlikely to get it]) shine. Boasting not one, not two, not three, but six removable modular 6x12 plates, able to connect on the sides, under, and on top of the Village in any manner you please. Granted, one of those modules is the definition of filler (a plate with two flowers, provides so much value) but the rest genuinely have something of worth to offer. The bell can function as a centre of the village, or as a way to warn the residents of the imminent raiders approaching! The stable is, well, a stable for the two llamas, the farm is a farm, but the most substantial modules hide something more. First is the trading stall, sporting nice little wooden (most likely oak wood) table and walls, along with a colourful carpet roof (too thin for full wool blocks). You're able to pose a figure in the stall, so a villager can be behind the table, hawking their goods for sale, if you so choose to imagine them doing as such, instead of the typical in-game staring at a work block waiting for you to interact with them! The 2nd stall, and biggest module, is the blacksmith's place. Introducing the brand-new blast furnace print (a furnace that smelts ores twice as quick, consumes fuel twice as quick, and gives half the experience as a normal furnace), but oddly only as a brick in the wall, as opposed to the usual furnace block able to be removed. In addition, it also sports a handy-dandy small lava well, for use in powering the forging and smelting process! (Note: this only works if used when in a bucket) But these two larger modules hide another function: the wall actually double as steps, and if placed on the back of the village, back facing the underside of the llama, then they allow minifigures two walk up to some vines, thereby climbing into the llama! Adding a way for minifigures to actually access the building is a big W, with it adding much charm and 'realism' to the set. The fact that they climb through what is presumably the llama's butthole also helps with the fun, as it lends a comedic nature to the set not often found in Minecraft sets.

This leads me into the next section of this review: the llama itself. While it does not offer the sheer customisation of its exterior, it sports plenty of unique objects to fulfil any scene someone could come up with. Starting with the entrance, there is immediately a magenta-white carpet in front of it, adding a unique splash of colour. The corners right by the entrance also sport a handy furnace and crafting table, as no Minecraft base is complete without the pair! In addition, the furnace is where the new 1x2 tile representing bread or a pork chop is found. There's also a cosy plant pot near the furnace. Immediatly in from are two seats, which might seem unrealistic compared to the game, they can actually be replicated using a acacia stair blocks and signs. Moving on, a large bookshelf dominates the middle of the llama's interior. The most unrealistic part is the sides, as the only item I can think of replicating the sides would be coloured banners, not signs, which is not what they are. Nevertheless, Lego Minecraft has never been about 100% accuracy, so I am more than fine with this. The bookshelves look nice despite the fact that they cannot be removed like usual, sporting the same bookshelf style Lego has used since I believe the End Portal Gateway, #21124. However, the best part of this build is undoubtedly the creeper head, which is both accurate and looks great! This is not the only trophy of the llama's inhabitants, however, as beyond their cyan and magenta beds lies perhaps the biggest surprise of the set, an aquarium! It lacks much detail beyond a sandy surface, but the fact that a baby pufferfish even fits there and looks great renders this a fantastic addition to the Llama Village. However, how do we 'huge figures' reach into the set? Simple, pull off the roof, which also doubles as a area to put the modules on top of, or/and pull open one of the two balconies! These have great detail, with the colourful wool roofs matching with the llama's trader style, with more colour added with the inclusion of vines on the side. I will say however, on the static balcony it can be difficult to pose a minifigure on it, unless one rips the roof off, but as it's easily replaceable, this is a minor complaint. Moving higher up into the neck, which sadly does not have an easy way for figures to access, but imagination is a powerful thing. The llama neck is partially hollowed in a strange way, but while the corners may look odd, the front gap is with good reason. The neck houses a map and compass upon a table, with the frontal gap allowing a easy view of what the map presumably shows, if the figure does not want to look behind them as well! Finally, the head of the llama hides one final secret. Though a final room could've fit into it, the function of pulling back the red lever on its head to drop completely hidden water blocks as spit is ingenious and hilarious! It both introduces an unique action feature into the set (most of Minecraft's action features tend to be TNT blowing something up) in a way that makes sense since in game llamas spit at whatever attacks them, and is extremely well hidden and thus does not detract from the visuals of the llama! Finally, the last feature of the llama lies in its legs, particularly the second layer above the acacia tree in from ot it. The second leg layer is removable, allowing one to either make the llama a baby llama or use the legs for something else! And all of that's possible without even mentioning the minifigures!

Playability subsection - the minifigures

This set features a generous 6 minifigures (generous for Minecraft. I see you all massive set enjoyers not believing this statement!) and 3 mobs, with 4 figures being exclusive as well as all mobs. There is two player figures, the Llama Herder and the Llama Warrior (the herder is the colourful one, the warrior is the knight-esc figure). The Hereder wields a rare stone shovel and the Warrior a common diamond sword (funny how the tools' positions are revered in Lego form!) The friendly villagers are new, with a generic savanna villager being one of them (sadly Lego didn't include printing of the little laurel the savanna villagers have) and the first appearance of dedicated job villager, the blacksmith! They sport a torso different from their non-employed friend, featuring a apron to protect themselves from their potentially dangerous job. However, easily the blacksmith's most iconic feature is their eyepatch, which is faithfully recreated in Lego and looks wonderful! Moving on to the villains, the attackers consist of two pillagers, a vindicator and a pillager captain. The vindicator is a genuine threat even with the best gear in Minecraft, while the pillager captain is less deadly but will afflict those that kill it with Bad Omen, trigegring a raid with even more of their kind attacking. Nevertheless, I believe the players should be able to fight off the deadly duo! The illagers are an excellent inclusion, as the provide adversaries for the player figures and present something to defend the villagers from! Finally, the animals. The llamas are interesting as the orange llama has never appeared, as well as a build for a baby llama. They are made more distinct by the fact that though the Llama Village itself displays a trader llama, both are not trader llamas, the first kind of Lego Minecraft llamas to have been introduced in set #21167 The Trading Post. Finally, the sheep is something special. Currently, even with the most modern 2024 sets, Minecraft has yet to make all possible sheep colours but the pink sheep stands out among all Minecraft sheep, Lego or otherwise. This is due to the fact that in game, the pink sheep is actually a naturally occurring colour of sheep, with only a .164% chance of spawning, making the rare sight of a pink sheep special. All in all, you get plenty of exclusive figures, enough to populate the village, opposing sides, and fun animals. What more could you want?

Value for Money

At $130, for the sheer playability of the set, the sheer mass of plastic you get, and the figures you get, the Llama Village is worth the price, though it being a bit lower than that wouldn't hurt. However, that was before it was discontinued (Honestly, before writing this I didn't know it was discontinued. It's way to new to be, but I guess Lego feels otherwise), with it now costing far more on most sties such as Amazon. However, if you have Paypal, you can snag it on Bricklink for even cheaper than when it came out, making well worth the price.

Conclusion

Another W in Lego Minecraft's history, the Llama Village is a towering beast with plenty to do to keep anyone entertained for quite a while. An excellent set, showcasing many of the strengths of this theme while keeping its price reasonable for what it offers, and other than perhaps the fact that it's one of many large-scale animal builds, is near perfect. So, even if you can't get it from Lego directly, maybe give other Lego Minecraft sets a try. There's more than meets the eye underneath the suitably Lego-like video game surface, capable of delivering to non-gaming fans, more advanced Lego builders, and people who just want a Lego set, and everything in between.