World of Warcraft Mega Bloks got off to a strong start last year, boasting some of the most well-executed Mega Bloks figures ever created. But as amazing as the Orcs, Tauren, Elves, and Worgen figures were in that first series, it felt like the line was missing a little something. And it was, in the form of some of the fantastical, non-humanoid creatures that inhabit the World of Warcraft. MEGA Brands is rectifying that this year, as the 2013 World of Warcraft Mega Bloks series includes an entire set of just Creature Packs. I couldn’t live without having all three sets instantly, and the first of the trio I’ll be reviewing here today is the Mega Bloks World of Warcraft Creature Pack 3, featuring green and blue Murlocs–and a mystery creature…

The Right:

Murlocs are an amphibious race of NPCs (Non-Playable Characters) from the Warcraft series of video games. They’ve never been playable in any Warcraft game to date, but there’s a large community of gamers who love Murlocs. There’s also a large base of gamers who utterly loathe Murlocs, however, due to their propensity for swarming players and attacking in large groups. So I think that it’s a stroke of pure genius that MEGA Brands chose to give us a Creature Pack consisting of not one, but two Murlocs (in different colors, no less!) in the same box. Great for army-builders, and a whole lot nicer than having to buy larger sets to amass Murloc figure groups.

The Murlocs look absolutely nothing like any playable race in World of Warcraft, and add a welcome touch of diversity to the collection. The non-clothed Murlocs are like human-sized frog creatures with bodies in eye-searing bright colors. They have spikes on their backs which are made of a rubbery material that isn’t brittle or breakable at all. Huge props to MEGA Brands for investing in a race of figures that might not be the most prominent or popular race in Azeroth–world-building like this is what will really make the World of Warcraft Mega Bloks line feel complete and expansive.

The WoW Mega Bloks Creature Pack series has an extra gimmick, which is that every set includes a life-size Hearthstone with a mystery creature hidden inside. There are five possible mystery creatures with rarities of “Common”, “Rare”, and “Epic” that are randomly inserted into the packs, and you’ll obviously need to buy multiples of the different packs to get them all. What was inside my Murlocs’ Hearthstone?

It’s… a Ghoul figure! One of the “common” Mystery Creatures, the Warcraft Mega Bloks Ghoul figure is alright to have as a mystery bonus, though I can honestly say I would have preferred to have drawn any other creature. Ghouls are creatures that many collectors are going to want to army-build, so it makes sense to have them packed into the Creatures pack as easy to get commons.

The Wrong:

I love that MEGA Brands is making it easy to army-build pairs of Murlocs figures at a time, but I hate that they are constructed inferior in several ways to the rest of the World of Warcraft Mega Bloks figures. The biggest hindrance to the Warcraft Murlocs figures is that they have far less articulation than the other WoW Mega Bloks figures. While the missing articulation makes the sculpts of the Murloc figures look a lot more seamless, it’s pretty frustrating to not be able to move their heads or knees or elbows the way that I want to.

In addition, the plastic used for the Murlocs seems a lot more “rubbery” than the other Mega Bloks Warcraft figures. Yes, the Murlocs are pretty vibrant colors in the World of Warcraft games, but these figures in particular seem off, as they lack paint washes and weathering that makes many of the other WoW Mega Bloks figures look more realistic and detailed. The soft plastic used is nice because it keeps the Murlocs’ spikes from breaking, but lined up with the rest of my Warcraft Mega Bloks figures, they just don’t seem quite right. And for creatures that wallow in the dirt and mud all their lives, these figures look spotlessly clean.

“Where Can I Buy It?!”

I got my World of Warcraft Mega Bloks from BA Toys, which is the first retailer in the world to get these Mega Bloks World of Warcraft Creature Pack sets into stock (as far as I can tell). BA Toys currently has the sets in-stock both on their ebay store and on the BA Toys website.

Overall: When MEGA Brands announced the World of Warcraft license, I never thought we’d be getting Ghouls or Murlocs figures. The fact that we are is pretty cool and impressive. While both the Ghouls and the Murlocs figures have room for improvement and are lacking in articulation, that doesn’t nullify the pure joy in owning them, nor does is negate how well-sculpted and fun they are. I wouldn’t mind seeing both of these races upgraded in their future, but for the moment, I’m a happy Murloc army-builder.