LEGO NINJAGO 71796 Elemental Dragon vs. The Empress Mech review

It’s time for an epic battle in LEGO NINJAGO 71796 Elemental Dragon vs. The Empress Mech – a surprisingly innovative set that can’t quite live up to its impressive concept.

Mechs and dragons are the bread and butter of NINJAGO, but it’s not often that we see a model that has the vehicle and beast face off against each other – and especially not when they are both sizeable builds.

LEGO NINJAGO Dragons Rising’s 71796 Elemental Dragon vs. The Empress Mech depicts just that, even if it’s not exactly a fair fight and some of its features aren’t quite as functional as the designers intended.

— LEGO NINJAGO 71796 Elemental Dragon vs. The Empress Mech set details —

Theme: LEGO NINJAGO Set name: 71796 Elemental Dragon vs. The Empress Mech Release date: June 1, 2023

Price: £94.99 / $129.99 / €104.99  Pieces: 1,038 Minifigures: 6

LEGO: Available June 1, 2023

— Where to buy LEGO NINJAGO 71796 Elemental Dragon vs. The Empress Mech —

71796 Elemental Dragon vs. The Empress Mech launches on June 1, 2023, on LEGO.com, in LEGO Stores, in standard retailers and widely online for £94.99 / $129.99 / €104.99. You’ll find 1,038 pieces and six minifigures inside.

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— LEGO NINJAGO 71796 Elemental Dragon vs. The Empress Mech build —

The concept of 71796 Elemental Dragon vs. The Empress Mech is undoubtedly exciting, and it should be something that can be executed flawlessly in a theme that is all about mechs and dragons. However, the set has a few shortcomings that drag the entirety of the experience down with it.

The Imperium mech is visually impressive with a giant sword, unique blaster hand, a striking colour scheme and a size of mech that we don’t usually see with the open cockpit element. It’s extremely poseable and a joy to mess around with. However, it’s far too small still.

Despite the name of 71796 Elemental Dragon vs. The Empress Mech, this battle won’t be lasting long unless that cannon is packing some serious heat. The Imperium mech is dwarfed by Jiro (the dragon) and leaves the encounter more than a little one-sided.

As good as the mech looks, it’s a bit of a disappointment as the largest Imperium vehicle in this new wave. And in a set such as this, it really needs to be bigger to not come off as a side model.

Comparatively, Jiro is astounding – one of the best LEGO NINJAGO dragons in the theme so far. There are some disappointments but it’s amazing to look at and appreciate every detail. The lightning effects bursting from the mouth, tail and body are a nice touch and the shaping manages to distance itself from previous NINJAGO dragons.

The dragon can be upgraded with a small flyer. However, it was disappointing to see how unstable parts of the combined creation were. The blasters simply don’t fit on the Technic axles, so it was ultimately better to leave them attached to the body of the flyer. Otherwise, the combined form is nice, but not a massive improvement over the standard Jiro build.

— LEGO NINJAGO 71796 Elemental Dragon vs. The Empress Mech characters —

The minifigure selection in 71796 Elemental Dragon vs. The Empress Mech is solid, but most of these characters can be sourced in cheaper sets. Still, it’s not a bad cast if you’re only getting one or two of the new models.

Empress Beatrix is the highlight here, only otherwise featuring in 71795 Temple of the Dragon Energy Cores and her expressions, prints and hair piece make her an intimidating figure, well-suited to the mech. We’ve said it before in other NINJAGO summer 2023 reviews, but it’s worth mentioning again that Lord Ras’s specialised head element does a poor job of highlighting his teeth and some extra printing could have fixed this.

Sora is included as one of the new characters in Dragons Rising and her printing is excellent, including the mechanical arm. Jay and Zane’s outfits feel a bit simple, but the visor prints that can go on when wearing the masks are an appreciated touch. 71796 Elemental Dragon vs. The Empress Mech is also a good way to grab Baby Riyu’s exclusive piece, but it comes in much cheaper sets too.

— LEGO NINJAGO 71796 Elemental Dragon vs. The Empress Mech price —

In most regions, the price of 71796 Elemental Dragon vs. The Empress Mech feels fair for the volume of content, even though the mech should have been bigger for a fairer fight. However, the US price of $129.99 feels unreasonable given the piece count, minifigures and overall contents, especially when compared to other regional prices.

Those looking to pick up the minifigures might want to look at other sets first but as long as you’re not in the US, you won’t be disappointed too much by the mech and dragon in this model.

— LEGO NINJAGO 71796 Elemental Dragon vs. The Empress Mech pictures —

— LEGO NINJAGO 71796 Elemental Dragon vs. The Empress Mech pros and cons —

The concept of 71796 Elemental Dragon vs. The Empress Mech may be exciting but as amazing as the models look, parts of the new NINJAGO set fail to hit the mark and you’ll likely be left wanting more for this set to reach its true potential.

Confusing design choices and an unfair fight add disappointment to the overall experience of 71796 Elemental Dragon vs. The Empress Mech – but Jiro is still one of the best dragons ever created for NINJAGO. A mixed bag overall, then.

71796 Elemental Dragon vs. The Empress Mech pros	71796 Elemental Dragon vs. The Empress Mech cons
One of the best-looking LEGO NINJAGO dragons ever	Mech needs to be bigger
Interesting mech in a style not usually seen at this scale	Disappointing for the biggest Imperium vehicle in the wave
An interesting concept, one that should be done more often	Dragon combining feature is pretty flimsy

This set was provided for review by the LEGO Group.

Support the work that Brick Fanatics does by purchasing your LEGO using our affiliate links.

— Alternatives to LEGO NINJAGO 71796 Elemental Dragon vs. The Empress Mech —

There aren’t any other sets that we can recall that focus on a mech vs. dragon fight quite as much as 71796 Elemental Dragon vs. The Empress Mech so for an alternative, you’ll need multiple models. From the Core wave 71766 Lloyd’s Legendary Dragon isn’t a bad alternate dragon for Jiro and the size looks to be similar enough.

For the mech, we’d recommend 80040 Monkie Kid’s Combi Mech, even though it’s not from NINJAGO. Ultimately, it’s hard to find an exact alternative for 71796 Elemental Dragon vs. The Empress Mech as the concept is surprisingly unique for the world of LEGO.

— LEGO NINJAGO 71796 Elemental Dragon vs. The Empress Mech FAQs —