About
This is one of those NINJAGO sets that immediately impresses because of its scale and the amount of things happening at the same time. Tournament Temple City is not just a temple, it almost feels like a small world inside the NINJAGO universe. You get architecture, nature, water, rockwork, battle areas, interiors, mechanisms, and lots of small details spread across the entire model.
Visually, the set works really well. The idea of having a temple city built into a cliffside gives it a very strong and distinctive silhouette. The multi-level temple, bridge, waterwheel, and rocky base make the model feel alive, almost like a location taken directly from the show. It is big, vertical, colorful, and full of personality.
One of its strongest points is the balance between display and play features. Closed or viewed from the front, it has enough presence to work as a display piece on a shelf. But once you start exploring it, you realize there is much more going on: the waterwheel can be turned to move two battle platforms and the blacksmith’s hammer, there are falling rocks activated by pressing a lantern, hidden storage, a secret door, open interiors at the back, a poseable dragon, and even an airship to transport characters.
I really like when NINJAGO manages to do this: deliver a large and beautiful set without losing its playset soul. It is not just a nice-looking façade. There are functions, spaces for minifigures, areas for storytelling, and several ways to create action around the temple. For anyone who enjoys setting up scenes with characters, this set is basically a complete stage.
The build also seems very varied. The rocky base, temple architecture, interior areas, waterwheel, and extra elements like the dragon and airship help break up the repetition. It is a large set, but it does not feel like one where you are constantly building the same thing. There is enough visual and structural variety to keep the experience interesting.
For me, the real charm is the feeling of a miniature NINJAGO city. It does not have the urban scale of the NINJAGO City sets, but it has its own identity, more connected to adventure, the tournament, and the mystical side of Dragons Rising. It is a full, busy set with that classic NINJAGO energy where everything seems to be happening at once.
Minifigure review
he minifigure selection is one of the biggest strengths of the set. Tournament Temple City includes 14 minifigures: Lloyd, Cole, Nya, Zane, Arin, Wyldfyre, Lord Ras, Jordana, Mr. Pale, Blacksmith, Temple Guard, Roby, Bleckt and a Statue. For a set of this size, this number of characters makes a lot of sense and really helps bring the temple to life. I especially like that we get such a good mix of main ninja, Dragons Rising characters, villains, and temple inhabitants. It is not just a selection of heroes and enemies, there are also figures that help build the setting, like the Blacksmith, Temple Guard, Roby, and Bleckt. That is very important in a set like this, because it turns the model into a lived-in location and not just a battle backdrop. Having Lloyd, Cole, Nya, and Zane immediately gives the set weight for any NINJAGO fan. Then Arin and Wyldfyre strengthen the connection to Dragons Rising, while Lord Ras and Jordana bring the main conflict into the box. The inclusion of Mr. Pale is also very interesting, because it adds a less common character and gives the lineup even more variety.
Some of these figures are exclusive to this set, which adds even more value for collectors. In a large model like this, the minifigures need to match the scale, and here I think they do that really well. There are enough characters to fill the temple, create battles, use the platforms, occupy the airship, and bring the interior spaces to life.
Box design
Instruction manual
Stickers
So…
Tournament Temple City is one of the great modern NINJAGO sets. It has scale, presence, a very varied build, several well-integrated play features, and a huge minifigure selection that helps bring the model to life. What I like most about this set is that it is not just beautiful to display. Yes, it has a fantastic silhouette and works really well as a display piece, but it still keeps that NINJAGO DNA: mechanisms, battle areas, characters, a dragon, an airship, interiors, and plenty of space to create stories. The price is high, but we are also talking about a set with 3,489 pieces, 13 minifigures, and a huge presence in any collection. For fans of Dragons Rising, NINJAGO temples, or large sets packed with details, this is one of those models that really feels like a complete adventure in one box.
