Nexo Knights

Tech Wizard Showdown

A mech inside a mech, and the little battle suit is the part that won me over.

Brick Rated Score

3.8/5

Set 72004 · 2018

Pieces506

Minifigs3

Year2018

Set number72004

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The verdict

This is Clay's big showdown set from the last gasp of Nexo Knights, and the clever bit is that his small battle suit actually pilots a much bigger mech shell that wraps around it.

I went in expecting another shooter-heavy licensed brawler and came out genuinely charmed by how sturdy and poseable the thing is. It is squat and permanently bent-kneed, and the price on the secondary market is a bit wild now, but as a play set it holds up. Best for a kid who loved the show or an adult who wants a chunky, actually-fun robot on a budget of patience.

Best for: kids and collectors who want a big, sturdy poseable mech with genuine play value

The full review

What it is

Tech Wizard Showdown came out right at the end of Nexo Knights, in the TerrorBytes season, and it is one of those sets that is smarter than its box art suggests. The headline gimmick is a mech inside a mech: Clay's little battle suit figure is its own poseable robot, and it slots into a cockpit inside a much larger shell that closes around him. The first time I clicked the small suit into the big frame I actually grinned, because it is the kind of nesting-doll engineering that kids adore and that a lot of pricier sets never bother to attempt. For 506 pieces you get a chunky, satisfying build with a real payoff at the end.

The catch

I will be straight with you about the downsides, because there are a few. The finished mech is squat. The knees sit in a permanent half-bend, so it reads more like a linebacker in a crouch than a towering war machine, and if you were hoping for elegant proportions this is not that. It also leans hard on the Nexo Knights toolkit of the era: a six-stud rapid shooter, a Combo NEXO Power shield, scannable shields that tied into an app that no longer exists. Those features felt gimmicky even in 2018 and they have not aged well. And then there is the money. This set had a retail price of about 40 dollars, retired after roughly a year, and now changes hands for well north of a hundred. That appreciation is great if you already own it and rough if you are shopping for it today.

Who it's for

So who should chase this one down. If you or your kid loved the Nexo Knights show, or you already have other mechs from the line (the big shell is compatible with earlier ones, which is a lovely touch), this is an easy yes and a genuinely fun toy. If you are a display-focused adult builder who wants clean lines on a shelf, the squat stance and the dated shooters will probably bug you, and the current asking price makes it a hard sell for what it is. I land on very good with real caveats: a clever, sturdy, playable mech that happens to be trapped in an awkward-looking body and an inflated resale market.

The parts story

What the build is actually like, and the pieces worth knowing about.

The build itself is more engaging than the average licensed action set. Most of your time goes into the large outer mech, which uses a lot of Technic-style connections under the armor plating to keep those broad shoulders and arms stable, and you can feel the weight adding up as you go. Because the small battle suit is a complete little figure of its own, you essentially build two robots here, and the moment where the smaller one nests into the larger is the satisfying beat the whole thing is built around. The articulation is limited at the knees but the ball joints elsewhere give you plenty of arm and torso posing.

The standout pieces are the printed hologram figures. Merlok 2.0 and Monstrox both come as detailed, glow-toned printed characters, Merlok on a little flyer with a sword-and-shield holder and Monstrox on a four-legged critter base with a pair of shooters. Collectors single those two out as the best-printed parts in the box. You also get Clay in his battle suit plus CyberByter and InfectoByter, three proper minifigs with the crisp face and armor printing Nexo Knights did well. For the piece count and the original 40 dollar price, the parts value was strong, which is part of why the set climbed so hard after retirement.

Fun facts

01The set arrived near the very end of Nexo Knights, LEGO's TerrorBytes season, before the theme was retired for good.
02It retailed at 39.99 dollars, left shelves after only about a year, and now sells for roughly 105 to 110 dollars on the secondary market, a gain of around 174 percent.
03The large mech shell was designed to be compatible with other Nexo Knights mechs in the line, so earlier figures could pilot it too.
04Both Merlok 2.0 and Monstrox appear as printed hologram figures rather than standard minifigures, each on its own small base.