Minecraft

The Nether Portal

A creepy little slice of the Nether that actually plays like the game.

Brick Rated Score

4.0/5

Set 21143 · 2018

Pieces470

Minifigs3

Year2018

Set number21143

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The verdict

The ghast is what got me the first time I built this.

Nine tentacles, deep red eyes, and it fires two discs from its mouth without reloading, which is a genuinely clever bit of function for a set this size. I'll be straight with you, the portal itself is a fairly simple purple frame with an obsidian border, so if you were hoping for something architecturally showy you'll want to look elsewhere. But as a toy you actually play with, this one earns its keep. It's built for a kid who loves Minecraft first and LEGO second, and it delivers on that promise better than most sets in this theme did.

Best for: Minecraft-obsessed kids who want to act out Nether raids, not display-shelf collectors

The full review

What it is

This is a small, punchy Minecraft set built around one big idea: give a kid a ghast that actually shoots things. And it works. The nine-tentacled ghast with its glowing red eyes and disc-firing mouth is the reason to own this set, and it's a genuinely well-engineered play feature for something built from under 500 pieces. Pull the lava-flow lever and the lava wall on the side crashes down too, so there's more than one interactive moment packed into a set that fits easily on a bookshelf.

The catch

Where it comes up short is the portal itself, which is the namesake feature and also the least interesting part of the build. It's a purple-paneled frame with an obsidian border, functional and instantly recognizable if you know the game, but there's no clever building technique here, no surprise part usage. At $39.99 original price for 470 pieces, you're mostly paying for the figures and the ghast, not for hours of absorbing construction.

Who it's for

Get this one if your kid plays Minecraft and wants Nether creatures to act out fights with, or if you're chasing Steve, the blaze, or the baby zombie pigman for a collection since none of them show up in many other sets. Skip it if you want a set that looks impressive sitting on a shelf, because this one is built for hands, not for display.

The parts story

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

The build itself moves fast and splits cleanly into two jobs: the portal structure with its lava-flow trigger, and the ghast, which is where all the interesting engineering lives. The tentacles are simple bar-and-clip work but there are nine of them, so it takes a while to get the spacing even. The disc-launcher inside the ghast's head is the neat part, a spring-loaded plate that fires two flame-printed discs back to back without needing to reload, which is a smart bit of function design for a set at this price point.

Part-count value is fair rather than generous, you're not swimming in useful bricks here. The standouts are the figures: Steve comes with medium lavender armor pieces unique to this release, and the baby zombie pigman and blaze molds were both fresh to the Minecraft line at the time. The obsidian-colored panels and the flame-printed 1x1 round tiles used for the lava effect are the pieces most parts-hunters go looking for once the set retires.

Fun facts

01The Nether Portal released in December 2017 and was officially retired by LEGO in December 2020
02Since retiring, sealed sets have climbed to roughly $120, about triple the original $39.99 retail price
03The ghast in this set fires two discs from its mouth without needing to be reloaded between shots
04Steve, the blaze, and the baby zombie pigman minifigs included here are exclusive to this set