LEGO Elves got off to a good start this year, but I was wondering what compelling twist TLG could put on the theme in order to keep the momentum going strong in 2016. Well, the simple answer can be summarized in one word: Dragons! The LEGO Elves 2016 sets definitely won’t just feel like slightly more colorful Friends set with 2016’s heavy emphasis on brick-built Dragons!

I really like that The LEGO Group (TLG) created the Elves theme for little girls who want to build brick adventures that go beyond going to the mall or being a rock star, and that adventure is about to get a whole lot fantastical with the Elves Dragons sub-theme this winter!

Five new Winter 2016 LEGO Elves sets are on the way, and all of them have to do with a new storyline involving human girl Emily and the Elves teaming up to save baby Dragons!

The first-half 2016 North American LEGO catalog revealed images of all these sets this week, but didn’t subtitle the names of the various Elves Minidolls included in these sets, so I may (re: do) need some help identifying the various characters. Help me out, please, readers!

The set that I think is the most visually-appealing from this new wave is the Fire Dragon Adventure. The bright orange adult Fire Dragon is very striking visually, and this is a case where I think that the various decals actually do add a lot to the overall appearance of the dragon.

The Fire Dragon is helping Emily to roast marshmallows! Awwww! How sweet!

The Secret Mark Place 41176 is the largest of this year’s sets, and includes several companion animals such as an owl and a fox in addition to male and female minidolls. This 2016 Elves set also has a unique dragon color that no other set does–a green dragon!

It’s not immediately obvious to me what element this green dragon is meant to represent. If I had to take a guess, I would say that TLG has opted to represent “Earth” with green dragons rather than brown ones for aesthetic purposes, but we won’t know for sure until the official description for this set is out. For the noment, though, let’s assume this is an Earth Dragon!

The 2016 LEGO Elves The Water Dragon Adventure 41172 set includes a grown-up water dragon, which is actually quite beautiful, along with a Naida minidoll (the one Elves character that I can actually remember the name of!). Sadly, you can see that the adult dragons feature only basic swivel joints and not the awesome ball-joints that the Ninjago dragons get.

The LEGO 41174 Starlight Inn set includes the baby Fire Dragon, Spark, as well as two minidolls (one of which with green hair I totally don’t recognize), and what appears to be the front of a building which is an inn… for dragons? Weird.

Emily, the sole human girl in this theme, also appears in the LEGO Elves 2016 Emily Jones & The Baby Wind Dragon 41171 set. Apparently, baby dragons can be easily coaxed out with chocolate. Who knew! This is a cute little set that will sell well as an impulse buy, and also includes the only Wind Dragon so far in the theme–baby Fledge.

Finally, we’ve got the 41173 The Elvendale School of Dragons set. This set is unique in that it’s only LEGO Elves set I can remember being released, well… ever… containing solely a male minidoll! In addition, this set includes the only Baby Water Dragon in the theme. It looks like the main feature of this set is a sort of “sky-line” ride that the dragons are put on when teaching them how to ride. Nifty!

I’ll post updates here and/or on the Bricks and Bloks Facebook Page once these new LEGO Elves sets hit stores this winter, so be sure to check back and follow us on social media if you want to get the latest news as it happens.

What do you think of the addition of dragons to the LEGO 2016 Elves sets? Does this storyline choice reinvigorate your enthusiasm for the theme, generate interest you never had before, or fail to make any impression on you whatsoever?