Every LEGO Ninjago Core (2022-2023) Set Ranked

Added: 2026-06-01

[00:00:00]LEGO Ninjago Core was the replacement for Legacy that focused on the core elements of Ninjago and it ran from 2022 to 2023 with 21 sets. In this video, I'm going to rank every LEGO Ninjago Core set from 2022 to 2023 and I'm not including the poly bags or spinners.

[00:00:18]Number 21 is Lloyd's Ninja Mech. It comes with two mini figures, Lloyd in the core suit which are good standard suits and a boa destructor and the boa destructors fit cores and snakes are synonymous with Ninjago, but they aren't the most interesting villains. For the build, it being a 4+ mech means it isn't that great with its simplified blocky design and limited articulation, especially the legs looking very static, but it can spin around above the waist and comes with a small terrain side build. Number 20 is Lloyd's Ninja Street Bike. It comes with two mini figures, Lloyd and a bone guard and the green bone warriors are much cooler villains for the second wave compared to the snakes. The main build follows the standard 4+ motorcycle template making it nothing special with a streamline design, but it actually looks pretty decent and the build for the shrine looks good with a sword in the middle above a disc shooter.

[00:01:09]Number 19 is Ninja Dragon Temple. It comes with four mini figures, Kai, Nya and two Cobra mechanics. The build for the water dragon doesn't look good with a very stubby design and small wings and the snake motorcycle looks rough, but the location builds aren't that bad being a temple with a sword inside and spinning training thing next to it and a smaller cave shrine with an egg also with a separate catapult.

[00:01:34]Number 18 is Jay's Thunder Dragon EVO.

[00:01:36]It comes with two mini figures, Jay and a Viper Flyer. This is the first of the EVO dragons and they are very weak. The main thing behind the EVO sets is that you can add or take away parts to the builds, but they just don't look complete without all the parts. For this build, I like the colors with the lighter blue and yellow, but this is my least favorite of these dragons because the body looks stiff and the wings on the arms are placed weirdly.

[00:02:00]Number 17 is Nya's water dragon Evo. It comes with three mini figures, Nya, Lloyd, and a bone guard. I like this dragon slightly more than Jay's because I think it looks a little more interesting with the water elements to it and the shaping for the body looks fuller. But with no proper wings, it feels like it's missing something.

[00:02:18]Number 16 is Zane's power up mech Evo.

[00:02:21]It comes with two mini figures, Zane and a cobra mechanic. The Evo mechs are okay smaller mechs, but this is one of the better ones with Zane's colors giving it a sleeker look and with a saw blade on one hand.

[00:02:34]Number 15 is Kai's fire dragon Evo. It comes with three mini figures, Kai, a cobra mechanic, and a boa destructor.

[00:02:42]Kai's Evo dragon is a slight improvement on the previous ones because I think the body looks more complete and the wings are bigger and in a less awkward place.

[00:02:50]This set also comes with a weird drone that has a stud shooter.

[00:02:54]Number 14 is Kai's ninja race car Evo.

[00:02:57]It comes with one Kai mini figure and the build for Kai's ninja race car is a pretty simple and compact car build that looks decent.

[00:03:05]Number 13 is Lloyd's mech battle Evo. It comes with two mini figures, Lloyd in a new golden suit that I like with the scaly design, and a bone warrior. It's nice to get a dual mech set. I think Lloyd's mech is fine with the gold additions, but I like the villain's mech more. It has a much more interesting design with the hat and bone elements and a cooler color scheme.

[00:03:26]Number 12 is Kai's mech rider Evo. It comes with four mini figures, Kai, Nya, the bone king, and a bone hunter. The mech rider is a unique type of vehicle with a standard core mech which actually looks okay with the added black shoulder pads to fill it out more and a big weapon to wield. And the bike is of course big enough for the mech to ride, which is fun, but it looks awkward without the mech being very tall.

[00:03:50]Number 11 is ninja training center. It comes with three minifigures, Jay, Zane with a spinner and rip cord to spin it, and a Boa Destructor. This set is made up of a few smaller builds of a nice outdoor training area to play with the spinner in. The main section is a rocky area with a slide built into a tree, which is fun with a feature to drop the spinner down the slide. Then the smaller sections are an entrance, stuff to train on, and a section to launch the spinner over a snake pit into a snake target statue. It also comes with a snake dummy, which is very charming.

[00:04:23]Number 10 is Jay's Lightning Jet Evo, and it comes with one Jay minifigure.

[00:04:28]The build reminds me of a smaller version of Jay's Storm Fighter. I always like smaller fighter jets like this, and this one is well done for the size with stud shooters on the sides. The only thing I don't really like about this is the open cockpit. Number nine is Cole's Earth Dragon Evo. It comes with two minifigures, Cole and a Bone Hunter.

[00:04:47]Cole's is my favorite of the Evo dragons because it has a much more unique design with the big horns and a more hunched look. It is a bit weak underneath, but it still looks cool. It also comes with a cooler side build of a scorpion walker for the Bone Hunter.

[00:05:02]Number eight is Creative Ninja Brick Box. It comes with six minifigures, Kai, Nya, Master Wu, a Bone Hunter, and two apprentices. This is a different type of set because of the packaging, but the builds themselves aren't that special.

[00:05:16]The buildings look pretty good having the green roofs that stand out with three sections. The main section has nothing for interior, and the two smaller sections have a blacksmith area and a tea area, also with a bunch of side builds of stuff to train on, which are fun for play with spinning features, and weapon racks. Lastly, there's two vehicles of Kai's car with stud shooters and Nya's bike, which are such a downgrade from the buildings being very ugly.

[00:05:41]Number seven is Lloyd's Race Car Evo. It comes with three minifigures, Lloyd, a Cobra Mechanic, and Python Dynamite. The build for Lloyd's race car is a little messy, and I don't like the gap behind the windshield, but I actually like the look of this car. It's like his Ninja Nightcrawler, but less memorable, and in some ways I like it more, mainly the proportions with it looking less wide and flat. It also has stud shooters in the front that match okay with the engine, and comes with a weak vehicle for the snakes.

[00:06:11]Number six is Jay and Nya's race car Evo. It comes with four mini figures, Jay, Nya, a Cobra Mechanic, and a Boa Destructor. The build for the race car does look a little chunky, but I like it, especially the smoother front with stud shooters, and Nya's glider that can detach from the back. I also like the snake helicopter with its more rugged design and good spinning blades.

[00:06:33]Number five is Ninja Ultra Combo Mech.

[00:06:36]It comes with seven figures, Kai, Jay, Zane, Cole, a Cobra Mechanic, a Boa Destructor, and a Wu Bot. The Ultra Combo Mech being a big mech made up of smaller vehicles of each of the Ninja is an incredible idea, and it comes together well to make an awesome looking mech with drill hands, and colors that surprisingly work. The individual vehicles by themselves are mixed though.

[00:07:01]Kai's mech is the best on its own, looking the most complete and solid.

[00:07:05]Zane's tank is cool. Jay's flyer is all right, and Cole's dual driller is the weakest, looking empty in the back. It also comes with a weird vehicle for the snakes that has a clunky design with stud shooters.

[00:07:17]Number four is Jay's Titan Mech. It comes with six figures, Jay, Nya, the Bone King, a Bone Knight with banners, a Bone Hunter, and a Pixel Bot. The build is another one of the epic Titan Mechs, this time for Jay with a sleeker, more lanky look, and a unique head tail design. It also wields a big sword with two other separate swords that can be stored on the side like a sheath, and with two rubber tip missile cannons on the shoulders. Then, for a side build, it comes with a ballista that can fire off missiles.

[00:07:48]Number three is Zane's ice dragon creature. It comes with five minifigures: Zane, Pixel, the Bone King, a Bone Knight, and a Bone Warrior.

[00:07:58]The build is a pretty different dragon with its beefy six-legged design that I like the colors for with the light aqua on top and some sand blue underneath.

[00:08:07]It's also a two-in-one set with the second model being a warrior dragon standing up on two legs and wielding a sword, which is odd-looking but neat.

[00:08:16]Lastly, for side builds, there's a shrine gateway and a spring-loaded missile turret.

[00:08:21]Number two is Lloyd's legendary dragon.

[00:08:24]It comes with four minifigures: Lloyd, Nya, a Viper Flyer, and Python Dynamite.

[00:08:30]This is definitely my favorite of the core dragons being a bulkier design with a big chest to give it a different look and a different color scheme for Lloyd being green and dark blue. The head is pretty good being a combination of brick build and specific head pieces, also with a flapping wing feature and coming with a spring-loaded missile turret for the villains.

[00:08:50]And number one is Ninja Dojo Temple. It comes with eight minifigures: Lloyd, Kai, Cole, Master Wu, Pixel, a Boa Destructor, and a Cobra Mechanic. The build is a very smooth and elegant-looking temple that looks gorgeous from the front with the big door, a bridge going over to an outdoor area, a wall that can be smashed open, and a smaller entrance at the side. The structure of the back doesn't look as good, and there isn't too much for interior, including a workshop at the bottom and a tea room and armory above that. It also comes with a mech for Kai, which is okay with the stud shooter on the shoulder, but I don't like the short arms, and a rammer vehicle for the snakes that's lackluster.

[00:09:33]So, that was my ranking of every LEGO Ninjago core 2022 to 2023 set. It was an underwhelming and mixed subtheme for Ninjago that didn't live up after Legacy, having some weak sets but also some fantastic ones. But anyway, that's all I have to say. See you next time.

[00:09:51]Goodbye.