So, you’ve got your starter course and you survived the first wave of the expansions. Now your kids are getting bored and bugging you for the 2020 expansions. Well great news because there has never been a better time to stock up – before they start bugging you for Luigi.
I am here to tell you what is good and what isn’t.
I’ll be using the same structure as last time, looking at each set and how it appeals to certain kinds of kids.
The cuteness connoisseur – These are the kids that only care about one thing; that the sets are cute. They don’t care as much about how many coins you get or specific play features.
The action kid – These are the kids that love the things that they can slam around, stuff that sends pieces flying across your table.
The coin collector – The kids who want the highest score possible. The ones who will tweak their layouts to get every possible coin from each run.
Let’s get in to it…
71386 Character packs S2
These proved so popular that it was a bit hard to track down the first wave. Luckily the hype has died down and series 2 is much easier to come by.
Like series 1 there are 10 characters to collect in the range.
The coin collector
As you would expect these packs are not big coin earners. You are essentially just getting the one enemy and not the big earning play features of an actual set. If you do decide to get all ten of these character packs then you will be able to bulk up your earnings per run.
The cuteness connoisseur
An interesting mix of characters in this wave and honestly I don’t think you’d consider many of them to be cute. Sure there is a certain charm to them, but cute? I don’t think so.
The action kid
All of these are a very simple “jump on it” play feature. This isn’t really going to appeal to the action kids on their own. These really are to fill out the play throughs.
71380 Master Your Adventure Maker Set
The name is a bit of a mouthful but this set is a great addition to the LEGO Mario line-up. Why? Because it shakes things up. The key to this set is that it is programable. The brick built “contraption” allows you to change up what the special mystery blocks do in your game. You get two customisable item blocks and one customisable time block.
The coin collector
This one is all about the coin collector. The new “dash” start pipe gives you less time but will reward the risk with more coins.
The key is being able to use the customisation blocks to tweak your runs for maximum coins. You can set them both as coin blocks for an instant boost or you can use power ups to quickly take out enemies and earn coins that way.
The customisable time block allows you to extend your run at a key point to maximise your earnings.
The cuteness connoisseur
Nothing really stands out in this as being super cute. Larry is kind of cute but there are definitely better buys if you after cuteness alone.
The action kid
The biggest issue with this one for action kids is that the customisation of the blocks is done outside of runs and you have to be particular about how you use the customisation “machine”. A kid who just wants to smash stuff may find this tedious. Action kids might like the shorter run time.
71383 Wiggler’s Poison Swamp Expansion
That’s right, Mario works with purple areas now! The Wiggler’s Poison swamp set features some interesting play features and cool giant purple plates.
The coin collector
You get two enemies to defeat for coins, which means this isn’t the highest earner. What does boost your earning potential is the little wooden raft that you can put Mario on. Moving him around on this earns a decent amount of coins.
The included star block allows you to quickly earn coins from enemies. Always a good way to boost your coins per second.
The cuteness connoisseur
The Goomba and Koopa are not unique to this set and neither are particularly cute. What is cute is the Wiggler. Wigglers are adorable, and the recreation here is very cute.
The action kid
Wiggler may not sound like the most action packed set but there are some cool play features included here. You’ve got to get the wiggler moving with a decent amount of force to get the bridge with Goomba to unroll. I think this one is good for action kids.
My only complaint is that wiggler itself doesn’t have an action tile.
71381 Chain Chomp Jungle Encounter Expansion Set
The coin collector
This set is a must for the coin collector because of the included coin block. This block allows you to earn multiple coins in a relatively short amount of time. The action tile on the Bramball will also allow you to stack up coins as it is a repeatable tile.
The cuteness connoisseur
I don’t think either the Bramball or Chain Chomp could be considered cute.
The action kid
You will need to slam down pretty hard to get the Chain Chomp to move and uncover the coin block, which I think makes for a decent action feature.
Bouncing on the Bramball is also pretty fun and the rubbery vines allow you to be a bit rough with this.
71382 Piranha Plant Puzzling Challenge Expansion Set
The coin collector
I am a bit torn on this one for the coin collector kids. Overall you can get a good amount of coins but if you are going for a pure coin heavy run then the puzzle part of this set is going to chew up time, and you have to do things in a certain way to get the coins. I like the puzzle and I think it’s a fun set to add to a run but I am unsure if it’s the best way to earn coins quickly.
The cuteness connoisseur
This wave is really lacking in cuteness. Neither the included Spiny or Piranha plants are what I would call cute.
The action kid
This one is awesome for action kids. The puzzle part of this requires a fair bit of force and speed to knock each piranha plant off the coin blocks in order. You turn the centre platform to line up the piranha plants and then have to absolutely smash down on one side. This is super action packed.
71384 Penguin Mario Power-Up Pack
Did you look at the original LEGO Mario and think “damn I wish this was a penguin”. Well you are in luck with this Power-Up pack.
The coin collector
The Power-Up packs are all designed to introduce new ways to earn coins. I really like the mechanism of sliding Penguin Mario around on his belly to earn coins. It’s fun and you can earn a decent amount of coins.
The cuteness connoisseur
Penguin Mario is super cute. I mean come on! It’s adorable.
The action kid
The sliding action is fun. It’s not smashing stuff around but I still think there is appeal there.
71385 Tanooki Mario Power-Up Pack
Another awesome Power-Up option for Mario
The coin collector
The spin action to earn coins is a nice little boost on each run.
The cuteness connoisseur
Tanooki Mario is arguably the cutest possible Mario. This is a must for the cuteness connoisseur.
The action kid
The spin action is not the most exciting play feature but it’s a nice little extra.
Price Guide
Amazon Australia has some great prices for the LEGO Mario Wave 2 expansions. Check out the prices below (correct at time of publication).
Set # | Name | Price | Link |
---|---|---|---|
71386 | Character packs Series 2 | $4.00 | View |
71380 | Master Your Adventure Maker Set | $51.68 | View |
71383 | Wiggler’s Poison Swamp Expansion | $36.12 | View |
71381 | Chain Chomp Jungle Encounter Expansion Set | $25.74 | View |
71382 | Piranha Plant Puzzling Challenge Expansion Set | $37.49 | View |
71384 | Penguin Mario Power-Up Pack | $9.60 | View |
71385 | Tanooki Mario Power-Up Pack | $9.00 | View |
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