Minecraft

The Nether Portal Ambush

A cracked obsidian portal, a pack of piglins, and just enough pieces to make it work on a shelf

Brick Rated Score

3.8/5

Set 21255 · 2024

Pieces352

Minifigsn/a

Year2024

Set number21255

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The verdict

The purple glow of that portal piece is what sold me the second I saw it, it genuinely looks like it is mid-teleport rather than just a slab of translucent plastic bolted to a frame.

This is a set that plays first and displays second, the ambush setup gives kids an actual reason to line up the piglins and defend the crossing instead of just admiring a static diorama. I will be honest that at 352 pieces it is a smaller build than the price tag makes it feel, so if you are shopping purely by piece count per dollar this one will sting a bit. For a Minecraft fan who wants a self contained battle scene they can reset and replay, though, it earns its spot.

Best for: Minecraft players who want a compact, replayable battle scene rather than a big display build

The full review

What it is

This is a small ambush scene built around a Nether portal, and the portal is genuinely the star. LEGO uses a molded purple piece to suggest the shimmering gateway effect, set into a cracked black and purple stone frame that actually reads as obsidian instead of just generic dark gray brick. Around it you get a chunk of nether terrain, some spawned mobs, and a player minifigure geared up to hold the line, so the whole thing is built to be picked up and acted out rather than left alone on a shelf.

The catch

Where this set gets a fair caveat is value. At 352 pieces it sits on the smaller end of the Minecraft catalog, and builders who like to measure a set by pieces per dollar will notice the gap right away. The build itself is also quick, which makes sense for the age range LEGO is targeting but means there is not much of a construction challenge if you are buying it for yourself rather than a kid. A few reviewers also wished the terrain used more nether specific colors and textures instead of leaning on standard gray and black brick for bulk.

Who it's for

I would grab this one for a Minecraft obsessed kid who wants a scene they can actually play with, reset, and play again, or for a completist filling out a shelf of Minecraft sets who wants that portal centerpiece. If you are an adult builder chasing a satisfying construction process or someone counting pieces against price, this is a fine impulse buy but not the set that will wow you.

What works

The portal build itself has real presence, the cracked obsidian texture and purple glow effect read as an actual doorway rather than a flat backdrop
The ambush setup gives the set a built in play pattern, kids can stage the fight over and over instead of just posing figures once
Small footprint means it slots onto a shelf or into a rotation of other Minecraft sets without hogging space

Worth knowing

Piece count feels light for the price compared to other sets in the Minecraft line, so value hunters may want to wait for a sale
The build itself is quick and fairly simple, which is great for a younger builder but leaves older LEGO fans wanting more of a challenge
Some of the terrain pieces are fairly plain gray brick, which some builders felt was a missed chance for more nether specific texture

Sold? Grab it.

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The parts story

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

The build goes together fast, which is by design, this is squarely an all ages Minecraft set rather than an engineering showcase. You start with the cracked obsidian portal frame, work outward into a chunk of nether terrain, and finish by staging the mobs around the player minifigure so the ambush is ready to act out the moment the last brick clicks in. There is no fiddly technique here, just clean stacking and a couple of simple hinge or clip moments to angle the terrain pieces.

The standout piece is the translucent purple portal element itself, it is doing a lot of visual work to sell the idea of a shimmering gateway and it succeeds. The cracked black and dark purple stone bricks around the frame are the other highlight, giving the obsidian look some real texture instead of flat color blocking. Piece count wise this is a lean build, so most of the value here is in the scene and the minifigures rather than in bulk brick count, which is worth knowing going in if you are comparing it against bigger Minecraft sets on a price per piece basis.

Fun facts

01The Nether Portal Ambush is part of LEGO's ongoing Minecraft line, which translates the game's blocky aesthetic directly into brick form rather than smoothing it out the way most licensed themes do
02Nether portals are one of the most recognizable structures in Minecraft, marking the crossing point between the overworld and the dangerous nether dimension, which is exactly the tension this set is built to capture
03LEGO's Minecraft sets consistently favor compact, playable scenes over large display models, and this set follows that pattern with a self contained scene built for repeated play rather than a single static pose