LEGO® Review: 71795 NINJAGO® Temple of the Dragon Energy Cores

After publishing our overview of all new elements in the Summer 2023 wave of LEGO® NINJAGO® sets, the most commented on elements were the new balls. At the time of writing, the new series hadn't officially started yet, so it was unclear what the spheres represent. 

The best clue comes from the name of one particular set: 71795 Temple of the Dragon Energy Cores, so let's kick off our series of reviews of the Ninjago Dragons Rising wave with this set. 

Products in this article were provided by LEGO®; the author's opinions are their own.

LEGO® 71795 NINJAGO® Temple of the Dragon Energy Cores
US$94.99/ £84.99/ 94.99€/ AU$149.99
1029 parts
Available 01 June 2023
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Ninjago has been turned upside down after an event called The Merge. All realms are joined together into a new world, and it's up to the ninjas and their new allies to figure out what happened and protect the new world against new villains. This leads them to the place we’re building today. 

With 1029 parts, the 71795 Temple of the Dragon Energy Cores is the second-largest set in the wave, not counting 71799 Ninjago City Markets. Aside from the Dragon Energy Cores, there’s another reason to be eager to have a closer look: this is the first large set designed by former New Elementary contributor Lee, after designing a couple smaller sets for the January 2023 wave of sets (see a list of Lee's LEGO sets here).

Sphere with Core and Plate with Hoop (parts 92534 and 3204)

Despite the set's name, it contains only one out of the 6 available colours of the new spheres. It is made out of a ribbed core, here in Pearl Gold, covered by a Trans-Clear mantle (6458054 | 92534).

To integrate the sphere into the build, a new plate is introduced: Plate Special 2 x 2 with Sphere Hoop in Black (6418458 | 3204). The sphere is held securely inside the hoop, but is still able to spin around. Unfortunately, the sphere jams when pressure is applied, making it unsuitable as a transportation method. Still, used in a stationary display, they will look great on a futuristic vehicle. 

If only Trans-Neon Green was still an active LEGO colour, we could give Blacktron II a great new Grid Trekkor!

The sphere fits nicely underneath a 6-plate (2 module) high canopy. This makes it bigger than the soccer ball (left) that’s used in most Great Ball Contraptions, and Zamor spheres (center) from LEGO® BIONICLE®. 

The sphere features a hole all the way through, but it is too big to fit a small pin. I suspect it’s needed in the molding process, as the other 2 spheres sport a similar hole.

Recolors

The set introduces a couple of existing molds in new colors:

• Fence 1 x 4 x 2 Ornamental Asian Lattice with 4 Studs in Tan (6438240 | 32932)
• Fence Spindled 4 x 4 x 2 Quarter Round with 3 Studs in Red (6438241 | 21229)
• Plate Special 1 x 8 with Door Rail in Pearl Gold (6417695 | 4510)
• Door Frame 1 x 4 x 4 (Lift) in Tan (6438243 | 6154)
• Plant, Leaves 4 x 3 in Bright Light Yellow (6438496 | 2423). The palette for foliage keeps on expanding!
• Windscreen 6 x 6 x 2 Canopy in Reddish Brown (6438239 | 87606). An element that one assumes is retired but it just keeps on reappearing!
• Cable, Flexible 21L with 2 Connectors and Bars in Black (6440995 | 2630) is the second color since its introduction in January. Looks very useful for things like suspension bridges.

New prints

Aside from the minifig parts, there is only one new printed part: Head with Gold Decorations print in Trans-Red (6434500). The other decorations are applied with stickers.

Minifigures

Familiar Faces

There are 3 ninjas to be found in the set: Nya, Cole and Kai and all come with new headgear, printed heads, torsos and legs. The heads are all of the new mold type with 2 vent holes (28621), which prior to 2023 was used for translucent colors. They showed up in opaque in the Disney 100 CMF. 

The head wrap (or hood?) and accompanying shoulder guard are new molds, worn by all ninjas in this wave. In the back of the shoulder guard we find a katana holder as seen in earlier versions.

Nya

• Head Wrap in Dark Azure (6437163 | 2187),
• Shoulder Guard with Wrap in Dark Azure (6437161 | 2188)
• New dual sided printed Head with Vented Stud in Yellow (6434431)
• New printed Torso in Dark Azure (6437940)
• New printed Legs in Dark Azure (6434433)

Cole

• Head Wrap in Black (6430272 | 2187)
• Shoulder Guard with Wrap in Black (6430275 | 2188)
• New dual sided printed Head with Vented Stud in Yellow (6434450)
• New printed Torso in Black (6437932)
• New printed Legs in Black (6434452)

Kai

• Head Wrap in Red (6437149 | 2187)
• Shoulder Guard with Wrap in Red (6437147 | 2188)
• New dual sided printed Head with Vented Stud in Yellow (6434427)
• New printed Torso in Red (6438255)
• New printed Legs in Red (6434429)

New Naughties

The villains of the newly emerged world are portrayed by Empress Beatrix and Lord Ras. I’m not sure if Spirit of the Temple is also a baddie, but I do get that general vibe from the fig, so I placed them in this category as well. We’ll have to wait for the series to premiere to find out...

Spirit of the Temple

The head of the Spirit has the new vented stud like the ninjas.

• New printed Head in Dark Green (6438237)
• New printed Torso in Black (6438244)
• New printed Hips and Legs Under Dress/Robe in Black (6434485)

Lord Ras

• New molded Head with print in Black (6434480 | 4065)
• New molded Shoulder Armor in Pearl Gold (6430283 | 3216)
• New printed Torso in Dark Red (6437743)
• New printed Legs in Pearl Dark Gray (6434479)

Empress Beatrix

• Recolor for Hair Swept to Right in White (6438032 | 70592)
• New molded Shoulder Armor in Pearl Gold (6430283 | 3216)
• New printed Torso in Black (6438100)
• New printed Legs in Pearl Dark Gray (6434482)

Empress Beatrix is wielding a new sword, with an interesting connection option: The hilt features a bar connection set under a 45 degree angle, as well as a straight bar in the hilt and the blade. 

There are some limitations though: the bar in the blade and the angled one have a tight space to move around, limiting their turning radius, as shown by the LBG clips. The straight bar in the hilt has a larger radius, but only when nothing is connected to the angled bar., as shown by the DBG clip. Underneath the hilt is a hole that can fit a bar, unfortunately the holes on the side of the hilt are non-standard. Despite the limitations, it’s still a very aesthetically pleasing piece of weaponry.

Rare elements

The final category of interesting parts are elements that have appeared in 3 sets or fewer.

• Roller Skate in Sand Yellow/ Dark Tan (6300318 | 18747) has been seen in 2 sets previously.
• Slope 45° 2 x 1 with 2/3 Inverted Cut-out in Dark Brown (6360779 | 28192) has appeared in 3 other sets.
• Weapon Uruk-hai in Warm Gold/ Pearl Gold (6398659 | 10050) was introduced in 76989 Horizon Forbidden West: Tallneck and since only appeared in a magazine foil pack.
• Slope Inverted 75° 2 x 1 x 3 in Dark Orange (6385969 | 2449) has been seen only once before in 2022.
• Wedge Sloped 4 x 2 Triple Right in Dark Brown (6258944 | 43711) and Wedge Sloped 4 x 2 Triple Left in Dark Brown (6258948 | 43710) both appeared in 3 other sets.
• Plate Round Corner 5 x 5 with 4 x 4 Round Cutout in Earth Blue/ Dark Blue (6399562 | 80015) appeared once in 2022.
• Plate Round Corner 3 x 3 with 2 x 2 Round Cutout in Earth Blue/ Dark Blue (6361984 | 68568) has been seen in 2 sets prior.
• Claw Mechanical with Clip in Warm Gold/ Pearl Gold (6426622 | 3171) was introduced in January in 3 sets.
• Equipment Flotation Ring in Bright Red/ Red (6202627 | 30340) made a single appearance in 21310 Old Fishing Store from 2017.
• Wedge Plate 10 x 10 Cut Corner in Dark Stone Grey / Dark Bluish Gray (6408298 | 92584) has been seen once in 2022

Building set 71795 Temple of the Dragon Energy Cores

I love the usage of macaroni plates and tiles to create the decoration above the gate. I’m not sure if the black brackets are purely decorative, but they provide a nice stud anchor to pose minifigs. 

There's some nice parts usage too: for the bridge into the tree balcony, the designer used a curved fence on its side. The brackets provide studs on both sides to attach the macaroni plates, decorated with life preservers and frying pans.

Looking at just the box art, I was a bit worried the sleek temple would be fragile, but the designer added enough LEGO® Technic beams to create a sturdy, playable model. 

The brick-built gate with the Dark Blue ‘wave’ above it looks stunning. Inside the temple we find presumably a statue of the Spirit of the Temple, with a Technic gear next to it. One floor up is the object the ninjas are looking for, namely the Dragon Energy Core.

Hidden in a corner is this bookcase with a map, but be careful. On the floor above we find rolling rocks, and the tree section between the floors seems suspiciously hollow. It's a trap! 

The balcony in the tree looks like a very romantic spot to watch the sunrise. But more Technic parts are hidden behind the leaves, so be careful!

After building our way through 9 bags, we get this lovely sleek temple. 

I can honestly say Lee did an awesome job on this set. If it wasn’t for the weaponry and potentially life-threatening traps, it looks like a very peaceful place to meditate and clear your mind. 

As mentioned, the model is very sturdy, allowing for play, but the finished temple also works as an addition to an East Asia themed display. The build is enjoyable, with some interesting techniques making it appealing to both children and older builders.

In the model we find various gears to turn and levers to pull, adding to the playability. This is best demonstrated in a video:

 

Overall, this is a fun set with plenty of playability and minifigures for younger Ninjago fans but also contains all ingredients for your own temple MOC should you prefer to build with the set as a parts pack.  There are enough brown elements and foliage to place the temple in a forest area should you wish, and it could easily be expanded to be part of a larger display.

READ MORE: LEGO® parts review: 71799 NINJAGO® City Markets 

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