Minecraft

The Illager Raid

The Ravager is the whole reason to buy this, and it earns it.

Brick Rated Score

4.1/5

Set 21160 · 2020

Pieces562

Minifigs5

Year2020

Set number21160

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The verdict

The Ravager got me before anything else did, that brick-built beast with a jaw that actually snaps open and shut and a back wide enough for a figure to ride.

Around it you get three little modular scenes and a genuinely generous cast of five figures. It is a playset first and a display piece a distant second, so if you want something to pose on a shelf this is not it. But for a Minecraft fan who wants a proper raid to act out, it delivers.

Best for: Minecraft-obsessed kids (and parents) who want a battle to play out, not a shelf piece

The full review

What it is

The Illager Raid is one of those Minecraft sets that knows exactly what it is. You get three small modular locations, a flat-roof desert house, a trading post, and a field of crops, and then the piece that the whole thing is built around, a brick-built Ravager. That beast is what got me. It is chunky and heavy in the hand, its jaws really do snap open and shut, and its back is wide enough for a figure to sit and charge into the village. For a kid who has spent hours fending off raids in the actual game, seeing that translated into LEGO you can smash together is a real thrill. The three scenes are meant to be rearranged however you like, so there is no single correct layout, just a sandbox to set up your own siege.

The catch

I will be straight with you about where the value sits. At its original 59.99 dollars this was a fair deal, but the buildings themselves are tiny and quick. The desert house and trading post are barely more than a few walls and a roof each, so if you are expecting a detailed village you will feel the gap. Most of what you are paying for is the Ravager and the figures, not architecture. The Minecraft pixel style is also just never going to win over someone who does not already love the look, and that is fine, but worth knowing going in. And since it retired in December 2022 the aftermarket price has jumped well past what it cost new, so the bargain window has closed.

Who it's for

This one is easy to place. If you have a Minecraft fan in the house who wants to act out a raid, charge the Ravager, defend the villagers, swing the Vindicator's axe, this is a lot of fun for the money it originally asked. The figure lineup alone makes it worthwhile for players who collect Minecraft minifigures, since Villagers are genuinely tricky to get elsewhere. If you build for display, or you want an intricate model to admire finished, look somewhere else in the theme. This is a toy in the best sense, made to be knocked apart and set up again.

The parts story

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

Building this is fast and friendly, which is the point. The three little locations go together in short, satisfying bursts, perfect for a younger builder working alongside you or on their own. The real time sink is the Ravager, which is a proper brick-built creature rather than a molded shell, so you actually construct its body, legs, and that hinged snapping jaw piece by piece. Watching it come together is the most rewarding part of the box, and because it is built from standard elements it feels solid and playable rather than fragile.

The figures are where the parts value really lives. Five minifigures, four of them exclusive to this set, including two Villagers with those unmistakable printed unibrow faces, a Pillager captain, a Vindicator, and the Kai figure kitted out in near-full diamond armor with a diamond sword, which is a rare loadout to pull from a single box. Accessories are generous too, a sword, an axe, two bows, the Illagers' banner, plus a pig and a posable-tailed cat. For anyone slowly assembling a Minecraft village population, this set punches above its part count on figures alone.

Fun facts

01The Illagers here, the Pillager and Vindicator, were new for January 2020, marking their first appearance in minifigure-scale LEGO Minecraft.
02The Kai figure is a nod to Ninjago, dropped in as an easter-egg hero to fight off the raiders, and he arrives in near-complete diamond armor.
03The Ravager is fully brick-built with a jaw that snaps open and shut, and its back is sized for a figure to ride into battle.
04The set retired in December 2022 after roughly 35 months on shelves, and its value has since climbed well above the original 59.99 dollar price.