Aanchir

With as popular as Lego is these days, I'm surprised only two sets appear on this list. The Kylo Ren Command Shuttle looks really cool, so I'm not surprised it made it.

 

As for the Deep Sea Vessel, its not the most exciting set IMO, but I think its still cool that it made it on this list.

 

If you look at their specific building toys category, LEGO takes up seven out of eleven slots, so clearly LEGO is still at the top as far as that category is concerned. I guess in the overall top 12 roster, the TRA just wanted to include at least one toy from each of the six categories. After all, building toys aren't everyone's cup of tea.

 

I'm glad to see that in the building toys category, Master Wu Dragon made the list! It's a great set with a great value — it's just $40/£35 for 575 pieces, including five minifigures and lots of rare pieces and advanced building techniques. The dragon itself has a whole 20 points of articulation. What's more, this set was designed by a BZPower member (Brickthing)!

Yeah, cause Beatles' licensing has always gone smoothly...

 

Still, a fun little model. I'm sure there'd be a demand for it.

 

K'nex was able to get the Beatles license for a similar product to this, and they're a much smaller company than the LEGO Group. As long as they don't still have the Beatles license, licensing should be well within the LEGO Group's means.

Something I failed to mention in this news story is that the GB version of the site has different map locations listed than the US version. On the GB version the village Lavaria is attacking isn't clickable, but three other locations are added. This means we get to see descriptions of six different Lava Monsters.

 

Here's the kicker. Of those six lava monsters, three are female! Possibly the best gender ratios we've ever seen in any one faction. There are definitely other lava monsters that aren't listed here, like the Ash Attacker that comes in the Fortrex set, and we don't know whether those are going to be treated as individuals or as generic goons like the Scuttlers, but Nexo Knights definitely seems to be off to a great start in terms of diversity.

 

By contrast, Legends of Chima usually introduced two new female hero characters and two new female villain characters per year (I'm talking sets now — there might have been more in the TV series). Nexo Knights already has three female heroes (Macy, the Queen, and the little girl with the handheld gaming console) and now three female villains. Pretty rad.

 

 

Now that the #BionicleMaskMaker is over, I'm going to re-assemble all my 2015 sets. But before I do, enjoy this picture of all the beautiful 2015 parts in heaps.

 

Fingers crossed I didn't lose any parts...

There's always one...

Right you are - the Protector of Fire is missing a Y-joint. That brings my total 2015 missing pieces count up to 3...At least they are all from the PoF.

 

Looking at that awesome picture of yours, I just realized how many masks we got this year.  8 Protector Masks, 19 Toa Masks, 15 Skull Spider Masks, 3 Bull Skull Masks, 3 Skull Masks, and 1 Mask of Creation.  That's a total of 49 MASKS.

 

If I miscalculated (I'm using promos like Hero Pack, Villain Pack, Exclusive Tahu Mask. Exclusive Gali Mask, Exclusive Skull Scorpio Mask, and Activity Book), please correct me.

 

Are you talking about the number of UNIQUE masks? Because in that case, there are only two bull skull masks (Skull Scorpio and Skull Basher use the exact same color), 7 Protector masks, and 4 Skull Spider masks. That makes 19 Toa masks, and thus 36 masks total. Which is still pretty impressive!

 

If you include identical masks from different sets, you'd have 18 masks from the Toa sets, 12 from the Protector sets, 12 from the villain sets, 3 as event exclusives, 3 from polybags, and 1 from the activity book. So your total of 49 would be correct. Arguably you could bump it up to 50 since there were two separate releases for the transparent Tahu mask (one for regular NYCC guests and one for the special VIP event).

 

And if you just count unique molds, there are 11 total, so one fewer than the number of masks back in 2001 when Bionicle first launched (two fewer if you count the Vahi, which was made for a 2001 release but not actually released until 2002).

I don't get it: why did they put the Christmas special before the Halloween special??

I don't have any idea, to be honest. Maybe so they can have it out on DVD before Christmas or something? I don't really keep track of the DVD releases except for the full season collections.

 

A similar thing happened in the very first season, with Winter Wrap-Up airing before Fall Weather Friends. That was maybe a bit less egregious since those episodes don't correspond to specific real-world holidays, but they do correspond to specific real-world seasons.

Let's face it, CCBS was the only good thing that came out of Hero Factory.

 

I'd disagree with that. Even if you look at the things Hero Factory did that didn't pay off, the fact that it did those things means the LEGO Group has that experience to look back on. So for example, I doubt they'd try doing some custom-figure service like Hero Recon Team again. And as fun as Hero Factory FM was, it didn't seem to find much of an audience, so I don't expect LEGO to invest in a podcast again for future themes. Any mistake LEGO made with Hero Factory is a mistake they don't have to make again in the future.

 

And there are other things Hero Factory did that arguably did pave the way for future developments. Who's to say that LEGO Ninjago would have gotten a two-episode TV special its first year or a full TV series in its second if Hero Factory hadn't first proven a LEGO theme could handle a TV miniseries? Also, the use of Hero Core codes in online games and apps could be considered an integral step in the LEGO Group's ongoing efforts to integrate digital experiences with their physical products (other examples include the pattern recognition technology used in LEGO Life of George and LEGO Fusion, the app bricks from this year's LEGO Ultra Agents sets, and the toy tags in LEGO Dimensions). Even the 2012–2014 Hero Factory packaging has a legacy, helping the LEGO Group move towards more sustainable packaging, even though I wish we still had that excellent style of packaging instead of the much less functional cardboard boxes used for this year's Bionicle sets.

If HF were to be rebooted now, I don't think the whole 'upgrade' arc would be a thing, as it was the way to introduce us to the CCBS system in the sets. If they 'upgraded' now, there'd be nothing to really 'upgrade' too. Maybe taller forms, or accessorized armor, I dunno.

Chances are that if Hero Factory came back in any form, the characters would still "upgrade". You have to be able to introduce new versions of the main characters somehow. However, it might be treated as a routine pre-mission refitting/costume change (like it pretty much was from "Savage Planet" onward) rather than as some dangerous and unprecedented new technology like it was in "Ordeal of Fire" when the LEGO Group had an entirely new building system to promote. Even in the theme's first year, mission-specific refittings were treated as standard operating procedure.

 

Seeing as the LEGO Group quickly abandoned the idea of individually numbered upgrades, there's a good chance they wouldn't go back to doing that, either.

@Iruni Nuva Don't get me wrong, I loved Pohatu and the kicking f;unction for what they were, but integrating a kicking function like that causes the build to get the short end of the stick. Rather than creating a function that works along with a build, you're forced to create the build around the function which leads to some really weird proportions and other issues. I like functions, but not when they hamper the overall build of a set. 

 

I think the weird proportions of the original Pohatu set were a little more excusable back then since sets in general stuck less to humanoid proportions. The Turaga were extremely similar in terms of construction, but even the slight build variations they had led to some real goofiness, like Nokama's extremely short legs and extremely long arms. By contrast, the proportions of the new Protectors and Toa mostly just vary based on their height and the width of their shoulders — things that might be expected to vary on a real human, and certainly on a cartoon human.

 

Around 2004 is when you first saw Bionicle start to shift towards more standardized humanoid physiques for Toa and villagers, perhaps to better reflect the more controlled proportions the characters had in the Bionicle movies. And I think that could also be declared the point at which a character with proportions like the original Pohatu's could no longer really "fit in" with the other Toa.

 

However, I don't think a kicking function is entirely out of the question. The LEGO Group has surprised me before when it comes to functions. Maybe they could find a way to make it work that wouldn't result in quite such absurdly wide hips. I don't see it being a huge priority for them, though. Not when there are so many other potential functions to draw from.

Doesn't that say Skulta Kal? I love the names, but I am still perfectly happy with our Summer Wave. Did they mention it anywhere that these were 2015 concepts? What if they're 2016 or 2017 concepts.

They're 2015 concepts. It was made quite clear in the presentation. We weren't permitted to take pictures of anything pertaining to the future.

 

That's not to say LEGO can't revisit some of these unused concepts at a later date if they fit a future year better than they did this year, though. But chances are the final product would end up looking much different anyway.

 

Of the unused concepts, the "Battle Bat" is the one that I most regret not making it into a finished product, just because the one flying team member the Toa had gave them a decisive advantage over several of the enemies they faced. A flying enemy would have helped even the odds.

 

The "Voodoo Bros" would have been an interesting and unique enemy too, but probably not fearsome enough to measure up to the enemies we actually ended up getting.

 

It's a shame Skull Scorpio couldn't have been bumped up to the $20 price point, seeing that the sketch model had snapping claws as well as a snapping tail! But it's also worth noting that the tail didn't change much from the sketch model, so I guess people's disappointment with it wasn't a consequence of price reductions. As far as play is concerned, it probably makes more sense to have just one battle function anyway. Otherwise you'd have to operate the claws with one hand and the tail with another.

 

TBH I actually prefer the final versions of Skull Basher and Skull Grinder to the prototypes. The giant claws seem a bit overwrought to me, and I like Basher's axes a lot better both in terms of visuals and play value.

Can I just take a moment to reflect on just how badly Umarak and Tahu are posed?......

This is pretty much par for the course when it comes to LEGO Club Magazine renders that aren't sourced from other places like the website or packaging. I remember back in G1 there was some two-page spread of a fight scene between the Toa Mahri and Barraki that was likewise a bit sloppy-looking compared to other promo images and key visuals for the year.

 

You do get rendering errors on some packaging shots still, like this year's Tahu set having one of its shoulder shells attached at the wrong point, but a lot more attention appears to be put towards their composition so they make the best possible first impression.

 

Anyway, reporting back from BFNJ, I can confirm Kopaka looks really cool. The Technic shell used on his legs is actually pretty consistent with the lower (mechanical) half of the new "crystal" add-on, and with the pistons on the Vorox armor, for that matter. Though I'm less thrilled with Tahu's use of both of this year's add-ons in conjunction with these new elements.

 

I'm not sure just what to think of the new torso shell, since like the Star Wars torso shell, it has very few visible connection points, yet an even more specialized texture. The printing looks nice, though.

 

Kopaka's new mask looks cool, and I can't wait to see the other new masks in more detail. The new sword element looks nice too, although Kopaka's secondary weapon (a combination shooter and shield that uses a Technic panel as the foundation for the shield) is not as nice as this year's larger shield, IMO.

What?! Well what was the point in picking those things up for review if they're just going to dump 'em?!

First, anything that gets 10,000 supports goes to review. The LEGO Group doesn't hand-pick them. Second, the LEGO Group often doesn't know what would actually be viable as a set UNTIL they get to review. That's what the review process is for — determining which projects have what it takes to become a set and which ones don't. The LEGO Group isn't going to lower their standards for what they release as sets just so something makes it through in a crowded review period.

I didnt know that the target public was 3-5 years old. Now, it makes more sense, but as T1Shadow said, their marketing seens a little bit low compared to what it used to be.

I thought I just plainly established (with sources) that the target audience ISN'T ages 3–5? It never has been. Even LEGO System is never aimed at three-year-olds. Juniors and Classic sets begin at age 4. Bionicle is aimed at ages 6–14, and the current chapter book is considered an appropriate reading level for 9– or 10-year-olds (smack in the middle of that age range).

 

Most three-year-olds aren't good enough readers to be reading chapter books at all, particularly ones that aren't illustrated.

Gee, who has $400 to spend on Lego?

 

Obviously some people must, considering that the Death Star playset (which actually costs $50 MORE than this Ghostbusters Firehouse for 800 FEWER pieces) has been a strong seller for around seven years!

I wonder if Slimer will be a new mold or they will just reuse the Skreamer mold from the Ninjago Ghost wave just with a Slimer face print.

Slimer uses the same molds as the Slimer Fun Pack from LEGO Dimensions, while the pink and blue ghosts are recolored Skreemers.

 

Here's a high-resolution image from LEGO.com which shows the set with all the figures and ghosts!

So, it's the anti-order, pro-chaos argument? Didn't we debunk that already with the Lego Movie, how you need a balance between order and chaos to achieve true awesomeness? Unless...

 

OMG EKIMU IS EBIL TOO

 

Actually, maybe Ekimu is too chaotic, and the Toa have to show both him and Makuta that they need to be balanced and work together and be nice to each other and don't run with scissors and the heart of the cards, blah blah blah.

 

There could very well be a similar moment of reconciliation in store for Ekimu and Makuta further down the line. It's important to remember that the Mask of Control isn't what made Makuta evil. It was his jealousy that made him evil. And the evil thing he did was creating a new mask — a Mask of Ultimate Power.

 

Rather than the lesson being that the Mask of Control was inferior to Ekimu's Mask of Creation, perhaps Makuta simply didn't appreciate the mask's benefits, because they didn't result in his masks getting the same praise as Ekimu's.

Well, the first book isn't any different. The dialogue in it is taken straight from the webisodes, with only a few added lines for when the story doesn't focus on Tahu. Plus, I found the book in the "Beginning Readers" section at Barnes & Noble. They weren't marketing the story to 6-14 year olds, but 3-5 year olds.

 

The storytelling itself is just starting out, so I can forgive that. But their marketing aim is a bit low, I'll say.

Your Barnes and Noble obviously shelved the book in entirely the wrong place if it was shelved with books for 3–5 year olds. Even the Scholastic website identifies the interest level as Grades 2–5 (so, about ages 6 and up) and the reading level as Grade 5 (so ideally suited for nine– or ten-year-olds). For reference, that's the same as what they listed for Raid on Vulcanus back in 2009.

 

Anyway, I've really enjoyed this year's webisodes. They're not flawless, but they're about on par with what we might expect from free webisodes. Even if you cut out every one of the "recaps",

, there's still a solid 25 minutes of storytelling, which is more than either of the past two years' Hero Factory webisodes (and for that matter, more than the seven 2002 webisodes all put together). The animation is colorful and expressive, the characterization is fairly solid (though some characters get more of a spotlight than others), the tone is suitably mythic, and the short, episodic format gave us something new to look forward to every few weeks instead of telling the whole story at the beginning of the year and having nothing more to offer for months on end. Also, rather than a story told in bits and pieces like the 2002 Bionicle webisodes, this year's webisodes told a story with a well-defined beginning, middle, and end.

 

I'm with you in hoping that the Netflix series will expand the story further. This year, the LEGO Group was definitely "playing it safe" and not taking any unprecedented risks. A Netflix exclusive series already shows that the LEGO Group is expanding their storytelling approach next year to include something they've never done before. But I don't think this year's story did badly at all, for what it was and how it was told. Even if it had, you seem to be taking it awfully personally. Calling a story "exploiting" because it's not as good as you think you deserve is a bit overblown, don't you think?

We don't yet know what the Mask of Control does. Chances are, it IS extremely powerful, like the Mask of Creation. But it's a huge stretch to assume that calling it the Mask of Control means it can control anything and everything. That'd be like asking "if Vakama wears the Mask of Concealment, why didn't he just use it to conceal the Vahi so Makuta couldn't find it?" Or "if Matau wears the Mask of Illusion, why didn't he just trap Makuta in an illusion where he's already won?" That's simply not within the scope of what those mask powers can do, even though those powers could theoretically be described as "concealment" and "illusion".

@Aanchir While that is an excellent point, it should be considered that whenever the Skull Villain's tap into the power of the masks, they also steal power from the Toa. Pohatu's line:"There is a special link between Master and mask" comes to mind. Ekimu didn't feel his power being drained, and despite the mask having a plausible wealth of "magic", Ekimu himself might not be so lucky. 1/5th of the Mask of Creation's magic might equal one Ekimu in terms of energy. 

 

But bear in mind that the Toa were maskless when the Skull Creatures drained their power, while Ekimu had been buried with an entirely different mask for over 1,000 years. So maybe the Mask of Creation's "imprint" on him had worn off and his new golden mask had effectively taken its place.

 

Or maybe the power draining from a mask's wearer is proportionate. So if, say, a Skull Creature drained half the power of a mask, it would drain half the power of its wearer, regardless of whether the mask and wearer had equal power to begin with. So then, draining a tiny fraction of a mask's power would only drain a tiny fraction of its wearer's power.

Something else to take note of — we've already seen that the Skull Creatures can drain the power from Masks of Power and convert it to other uses like raising additional forces. So it's not hard to assume Skull Grinder might be able to similarly "convert" the Mask of Creation's inherent magical energy into strength. Some might bring up that the Mask of Creation's color wasn't drained like the other golden masks' color was, but it's possible that the Mask of Creation just has so much inherent power that draining it enough to enhance one's own strength isn't enough to "deplete" it.

 

In that case, enhanced strength isn't necessarily a power of the Mask of Creation, it's just a power of the Skull Creatures to convert mask power of any kind to other uses.

 

 

Anyway, yeah, I know what you mean, in a couple of ways. I just got a Skull Scorpio set, and was amazed at just how many new molds there were. While I do really enjoy discovering new pieces and imagining ways I can use them, I do wish to some degree that LEGO would, instead, use existing pieces in different ways to do what they need. I realize, of course, that they really do need to make new molds, especially for masks and weapons and feet and stuff like that, but I think you get what I'm meaning.

Kind of an odd set to use as an example. A lot of the criticisms I've seen of this year's Bionicle reboot are from people who feel like there are not enough new parts compared to G1. Skull Scorpio has only four new molds: the mask and blades, shared with Skull Basher, and the torso shell and bones, shared with all the skull villains.

-trimmed-

I'm not talking specifically about pieces that are new only to that set, I'm just looking at all of the pieces in it that I haven't seen before. I realize some of those may not be "new" as in that they were molded specifically for that set or even that wave, but they're new to me. For example, the 5-long version of this, with an extra hole in the middle. I hadn't seen that piece until I got this set. (Honestly, though, that is a piece I'm glad they made, it will be quite useful.)

The point is, though, it seems that every time I buy a new set, I'm flooded with new pieces. (Not necessarily a bad thing, but still.) I don't remember that happening near as much a few years ago, when I could buy a bunch of different sets and there wouldn't be as many new molds.

 

I think you just hinted at a possible reason why you see more "new" molds than you used to. If you're not buying as many sets as you used to, you're probably a lot less familiar with the parts that already exist. The part you mentioned, 11478, actually came out two years ago, and had already been in about 30 different sets from 8 different themes by the time Skull Scorpio came out, but unless you were buying or reading reviews of those themes (especially Technic) it'd be easy not to realize it exists.

 

That's nothing to be ashamed of! Keeping tabs on every single LEGO release is nobody's obligation. I can't tell you how many times as a kid I was excited for a set to include a "new part" or a "new color", only for me to discover later that it had actually been around for quite a while by that point. And to be honest, often a part being new to you is enough to make it feel exciting. Just so long as you don't make the mistake of thinking that seeing a lot of unfamiliar parts means LEGO is going crazy with new molds.

Anyway, yeah, I know what you mean, in a couple of ways. I just got a Skull Scorpio set, and was amazed at just how many new molds there were. While I do really enjoy discovering new pieces and imagining ways I can use them, I do wish to some degree that LEGO would, instead, use existing pieces in different ways to do what they need. I realize, of course, that they really do need to make new molds, especially for masks and weapons and feet and stuff like that, but I think you get what I'm meaning.

Kind of an odd set to use as an example. A lot of the criticisms I've seen of this year's Bionicle reboot are from people who feel like there are not enough new parts compared to G1. Skull Scorpio has only four new molds: the mask and blades, shared with Skull Basher, and the torso shell and bones, shared with all the skull villains. They make up eight pieces total, or about 7.5% of the set's inventory. The other 92.5% of the inventory is parts reused or recolored from earlier Technic, Bionicle, Hero Factory, and Legends of Chima sets. The 2015 Bionicle range as a whole introduces 27 new molds across 18 sets, so about 1.5 new molds per set.

 

By comparison, a single Bohrok or Rahkshi included twelve entirely new molds and only eight pre-existing molds. Those new molds made up 22 parts of each Bohrok (54% of their inventory) and 16 parts of each Rahkshi (36% of their inventory). Overall, the 2001l, 2002, and 2003 Bionicle ranges each introduced about 36 new molds across about 24 sets. So again, about 1.5 new molds per set. Note: there were more individual new part designs in these years than there were molds, because one Krana mold produced all eight Krana designs and one Kraata mold produced all six Kraata designs. This is why the shape of a Krana or Kraata was always randomized, while the shape of a Kanohi was only randomized in blind-packaged accessory packs.

 

And in the later years of Bionicle, Barraki Carapar introduced eight new molds that made up 15 parts, or 30% of its inventory. The 2007 Bionicle range as a whole introduced 52 new molds across 20 sets. That's 2.6 new molds per set! And that's not counting the three playsets which introduced nine new molds of their own. The number of new molds getting out of control like that took a huge bite out of the theme's profits in the later years of G1, when sales were already down from their peak in 2002. Obviously, the G2 Bionicle range strives to be a lot more frugal.

 

As for the question in the first posts: in general, no, I don't think the level of detail of minifigures and sets is going too far. Some individual minifigures do get more detailed than usual, but LEGO has settled on some pretty comfortable standards for minifigures over time, and most figs stay about on par with those standards. And when things do get too detailed, they quickly bounce back — last year's Luke Skywalker started to get a little bit too detailed for its own good, but this year his face has been simplified back to about how it was previously.

 

I think some minifigures, even from the licensed themes, could actually stand to be MORE detailed. Original Trilogy Han Solo is still using the classic "male" hair, which is an exceptionally poor fit for his "scruffy-looking" appearance in the actual movies. The Episode 7 version, at least, opts for something that better suits the character.

 

With sets, I think LEGO is defined more by the number and versatility of the parts rather than by some specific look. And even if you do believe there is such a thing as a specific LEGO "look", sets in general are still much more obviously "LEGO" than many AFOL MOCs that go out of their way to hide every exposed stud. There's no denying the new Millennium Falcon looks like a LEGO set, arguably more so than the classic version that used giant quarter-circle elements to create its main shape and a bizarre, chunky windscreen element for its cockpit.

 

It also gives us the names of the set's five Nexo Powers, though it's a mystery what exactly "Chicken Power" is supposed to mean.

My guess is that it makes enemies scared of you, so they run away in fright. 

 

Perhaps. Or it could summon a flock of chickens to attack the enemy, like the Cuccos from The Legend of Zelda franchise. There are a lot of possibilities.

 

Even though the app was on-hand for demonstrations at New York Comic Con, I haven't heard any detailed reports about what exactly the game is like, which makes it that much harder to know what effects the different Nexo Powers would have.

I've generally been pretty open about liking Bionicle. I don't like going out of my way to hide any of my interests. It doesn't feel honest. Obviously, I'm not going to wear a Bionicle T-shirt or cap to a job interview, because it wouldn't be professional. Nor do I try to bring Bionicle up in conversation unless it's relevant to what's being discussed. But if I'm just walking around town, I'm not afraid to wear a Bionicle T-shirt. I never hesitate to share my Bionicle drawings and creations on Facebook or Twitter, or even as part of my creative portfolio.

 

During my first semester at college, some fellow students did tease me about Bionicle. My mom managed to convince me I'd make more friends at college if I left the door to my room open. One day while my brother and I were looking at something Bionicle related on my computer, a dude walks by and asks "Hey, you looking at *insert thing I shouldn't be discussing on BZPower*?". Being honest, I said, "No, I'm looking at Bionicle discussion". This jerk walked off laughing, and then he and his circle of friends made a habit of shouting "Bionicle!" any time they walked by my room or I walked by the area outside the dorm where they liked to stand around and smoke. After a while I decided it would be better to keep my door closed most of the time, and to use the other exit to the building when possible.

However, I feel like they were really just trying to make me uncomfortable any way they could, because they knew I was socially awkward and thus an easy target. That much was obvious from the way the whole debacle started, with one of them asking a really intrusive question. If they hadn't known I liked Bionicle, they'd have found something else to tease me about in a heartbeat. Even something as insignificant as the way I dressed. Or they'd have even made something up to make fun of me for, like how some bullies in high school wrote obscene (yet completely untrue) stuff about me and my relatives in my physical science notebook in the eighth grade.

 

Remember, being a victim of bullying or harassment usually doesn't mean you've done something wrong or have something to be ashamed of. Just that somebody else has chosen to make themselves feel powerful at your expense.

This theme really sounds like it's trying to appeal to the younger generation (at least more so than other themes). I mean the whole sounds like they went to a meeting and said "hey what do kids like". And then someone responded with "well they sure do like their smartphones" and then someone said "well let's throw that in with knights kingdom". Although I will give the theme credit for it's creativity. But the characters don't sound all that interesting so there seems to be nothing for me to grab onto here. 

 

Well, I mean, almost all LEGO themes are trying to appeal to "the younger generation". It's a toy, after all. The only current themes I can think of off the top of my head that are aimed squarely at teens or adults are Architecture and Mindstorms. Even smaller Technic sets are often designed for kids as young as seven.

 

Nexo Knights is seemingly aimed at ages 7–14, same as Ninjago, Legends of Chima, and Ultra Agents. Fortrex in particular is aimed at ages 9–14, same as many of the largest Ninjago, Chima, and Ultra Agents sets. By contrast, more traditional themes like LEGO City, LEGO Castle, and LEGO Pirates are generally aimed at ages 5–12, with their largest non-exclusive sets aimed at ages 7–12 or 7–14. So Nexo Knights is clearly aimed at an older audience than those three themes.

 

Since Nexo Knights mostly seems to be replacing the cartoon-driven Legends of Chima theme and the app-driven Ultra Agents theme, both of which are ending this year, it's really no surprise that it's being designed with both a cartoon and an app to help promote it. Neither of these are strategies that the LEGO Group hasn't used before — this will just be the first time they use them in tandem.

I don't see how this article brings anything new compared to the previous reveal. 

 

It has the Fortrex box pic, which wasn't in the previous news story. But that's far from "the first unleaked image" — pretty much every news story about the NYCC reveal, including BZPower's own article, featured unleaked, out-of-box pics of Fortrex. It's worth noting that the box pic appears to be more finalized, on account of the shields on Fortrex's towers being decorated, but that doesn't mean the previous image was leaked.

 

The Toy Insider's report also has a description of the Fortrex which gives us the names of some of the characters and vehicles, like the Scurriers, Ash Attacker, Knight Cycle, and Aero-Striker V2. It also gives us the names of the set's five Nexo Powers, though it's a mystery what exactly "Chicken Power" is supposed to mean.