Lego’s Next ‘Lord of the Rings’ Set Is Its Biggest Yet

Lego’s Lord of the Rings line has already given us some pretty hefty sets, from the elaborate halls of Rivendell to the dark spires of Barad-dûr. Even its smallest set, taking us there and back again to Bag End, was still pretty sizeable. But now its latest addition is blowing them all out of the water—in both piece count and price.

After months of rumors, today Lego officially announced the next big set in the Lord of the Rings line: the capital of Gondor, Minas Tirith. Clocking in at 8,278 pieces, it’s now the biggest Lord of the Rings set the company has made so far (beating Rivendell by over two thousand pieces!), and one of the biggest sets by piece count it has ever released.

Rather than a traditional playset-style set Rivendell or The Shire weres, or even the half-way display/playset style used by Barad-dûr, Minas Tirith will depict the entirety of the White City on the exterior as a micro-scaled display piece, capturing the tiered rings of the city, from its gates all the way up to the fountain court where the White Tree of Gondor resides. However, by opening up the lowest walls and flipping the whole build around, you can reveal a minifigure-scaled rendition of the streets of the city, and perhaps more crucially, a build of Minas Tirith’s Tower Hall, housing the throne room where Denethor resided as Steward of Gondor… until the return of the king, of course.

That means that Minas Tirith does need some minifigures to flesh out its full play abilities, and it comes with plenty (although not so many as Rivendell did). Inspired by both the massive battle that takes place besieging the city in Return of the King and the events of the film’s climax once Sauron is defeated, Minas Tirith comes with 10 minfigures, including Gandalf the White, complete with Shadowfax; Merry in his Gondorian squire armor; Denethor (yes, he comes with cherry tomatoes to eat), Faramir; Aragorn in his kingly armor; and Arwen carrying the banner of the elves from Aragorn’s coronation. The set is rounded out by four Warriors of Minas Tirith, carrying spears and shields ready to defend the White City.

Being the most elaborate Lord of the Rings set so far, that means it’s going to have a whopping price tag to match—at $650, it’s also the most expensive Lego Lord of the Rings set we’ve ever had, beating Rivendell by $150. To try and soften the blow of emptying your coffers when Gondor calls for aid, Lego is sweetening the deal with a special Gift With Purchase set for people who buy Minas Tirith within the first week of availability: a build of Grond the legendary battering ram that also comes with two Mordor Orc minifigures, ready to undo all your hard work building Minas Tirith by bringing its defenses down.

The Lego Lord of the Rings Minas Tirith set will be available from June 4, with access opening up on June 1 for members of the Lego Insiders rewards program.

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