You can say “It’s been over two weeks since the series came out, there are countless reviews already, and you’re just writing about it??” – but please don’t :) The LEGO Dungeons & Dragons CMF series has a special place in my heart. I learned about its existence around 20 years ago, during my college years, and thanks to that my interest in fantasy movies and novels came to life.
Like I said, LEGO Dungeons & Dragons CMF series has a lot of reviews, so I thought I’d do something different. I’ll look closely at the minifigures, but also their races and classes. This way, someone who doesn’t know much about the subject can say “Oh, so that’s what it is”. And of course, as always, I’ll learn and remember as I write.
Before I begin, I’d like to thank the staff of LEGO Store Antalya for all their help. You guys rock!
Tiefling Sorcerer
This is the most important figure in the series for me, because it comes with a super cute and super detailed red baby dragon. With Riyu from Ninjago last year, Norbert from Harry Potter and other small dragons (again, from Ninjago) released this year, we can see that there have been a quick increase in different types of dragons lately.
The tieflings have a demonic origin. They are a mixture of humans and demons, and have different shaped horns, a long tail, and very sharp teeth. The minifigure features two of these, the horns and the tail. The hair piece moulded together with the horns is a new mould, but we have seen a similar hair-horn combination in the Faun figure from the CMF 15 series before. Red is the color that’s usually associated with demonic creatures, but orange works well, too. Our sorcerer also has an effect piece, representing the spell it’s casting.
Mind Flayer
Mind Flayer has the second most interesting creature accompanying him (her?). This cute-looking four-legged brain, known as the Intellect Devourer, is the most dangerous slave of Mind Slayers. They have been roaming the earth invisibly for centuries and feed on human minds, while controlling their bodies. This one made great friends with Morris (from Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) as soon as I let it out of the box, and they found a book they can both enjoy.
Mind Flayers have incredible psychic abilities, so every living thing is afraid of them. While they have humanoid bodies, their heads look like octopi. These alien-like creatures have one goal: To control the minds of the living things on the planet and turn them into slaves. They also use these slaves when they fight, while they sit back and enjoy their popcorn. Well, power like that should have some advantage, right?
Aarakocra Ranger
Since we’re talking about creatures, let the Aarakocra Ranger be next. He comes with a puppy that has been seen in only two sets so far, but this time it’s in bluish dark gray. I see it more like a wolf pup than a dog. Either way, we get a new animal, and of course it immediately makes friends.
Aarakocra have both humanoid and avian features. The head is shaped like a bird’s, they have wings and talons on their hands and feet. Our minifigure looks like an eagle, but other birds can be found as well. The wings use a brand new mould. The legs are usually used in creature-like minifigures, which fit nicely here. He has a bow accessory, which is relatively new, first released in 2023. He got along really well with Eris from Legends of Chima.
Halfling Druid
The Halfling Druid is another minifigure that comes with an animal. A small bird accompanies it, one we have seen in white, dark azure, red and bright light yellow before. This time it’s in dark tan. Its color and printing on top of its head makes it look like a sparrow, or at least a species from that family.
The halflings look almost the same as humans, except they’re half the size – that’s where their name comes from. They call themselves “quick folk”, while others call them “sly folk” or “good folk”. Druids are mages that get their power from nature or a powerful nature deity. The minifigure reflects this well, the hood has antlers attached to it, and it has a reddish brown staff with leaves and flowers. The nougat colored minifigure’s hood and cape is new and unique to it. Mine turned out to be an introvert, it didn’t get friendly with any minifigures but it loved the animals.
Strahd von Zarovich
Our last minifigure with an animal is Str.. Stra… well, this guy. It’s the first time we see the rat in a different color. I don’t know about you, but if I see a creature with red eyes, I’d think twice before getting close to it. But of course, it’s not good to judge a book by its cover, it may be very friendl… ow, it bit me!!
Strahd von Zarovich is one of the four minifigures that represents a specific character. He has an ordinary story; a young prince after power bargains with the dark side and turns into a vampire (yep, ordinary indeed). Like every vampire, Strahd has a very aristocratic appearance. If his sword isn’t scary enough, just turn his head to the other side and you’ll see who he really is. Our light bluish gray skinned vampire has dark long hair, and holds a goblet from which he drinks the blood of his victims (probably).
Dragonborn Paladin
This is my favorite figure of the series. A new (and great) dragon head mould was released with the VIDIYO theme, used by two cool dragon minifigures, in red and medium blue. Using that head mould with LEGO Dungeons & Dragons minifigures are spot on. There was also a green dragonborn in the Red Dragon’s Tale set, and now we have a pearl gold one. It’s getting easier to create a dragonborn army! (or is it?)
The dragonborn are humanoid creatures with dragon heads. Their hands and feet are have claws, but our minifigure uses a standard leg piece. Although sometimes they are born with tails, they are usually without one and having a tail is a deformity for them. They used to have wings but lost them in time. Still, it’s believed, with proper training, those with exceptional heritage can unlock their potential and grow wings.
Our paladin has a brand new body armor, made just for him. He has a mace in one hand and a shield in other. While the shield’s mould isn’t new, its printing is, showing the dragon god Bahamut.
Gith Warlock
The Gith have been slaves of Mind Flayers for centuries. Some believe their origin is human, others think it’s unknown. They usually have pale yellow skin, sometimes with green or brown tones. After they broke free of Mind Flayers, they divided into two because of their philosophical differences, the militaristic githyanki and the ascetic githzerai.
Warlocks usually get their powers by making pacts with powerful entities, usually of demonic origin, so other classes are somewhat skeptical towards them.
The Gith minifigure is the only one with a yellow skin tone. Honestly, this makes it look like a bit ordinary, as if it was a regular LEGO character. However, both the head, torso and leg printing are exceptional, so are its accessories. It has a cool staff and very stylish new daggers. The black hair piece is moulded with elf ears – the same part was used in the Elf Wizard in the Red Dragon’s Tale set.
Elf Bard
Bards aren’t only skilled in entertainment, but also good fighters and spellcasters. They use their magic to either strengthen their teammates or weaken their enemies. Elves are skilled in magic, too. They look like humans, except with longer ears. They are more athletic and swift, but also more fragile.
Our bard has a beautiful lute. It uses the lute mould first released in 2022 with a new print. Its sword, while looking very similar to the ones from the Pirates theme, has a new mould as well. It has a medium tan skin color. The hair-ear combination has a new mould and the scarf has a new color.
Dwarf Barbarian
Well, it makes sense to go with dwarves after elves (Legolas-Gimli anyone?). Like you can imagine, barbarians are warriors. They are slower than other classes, but deal serious damage. Dwarves are warriors as well, but they are also craftsmen. They are shorter than humans, but thanks to their robust build they weigh the same.
Our reddish brown barbarian has a brand new axe in one hand, a torch in the other. There’s also a fur piece to go with its outfit. While the skin color is good in terms of variety, the head printing is hard to see, especially the male one’s beard. I tweaked the image below so it can be seen more clearly.
The Lady of Pain
This lady is the ruler of a city called Sigil, which claims it’s the center of the multiverse. Nobody knows which race she belongs to, but everyone agrees she isn’t human. She’s so powerful, she can keep gods and goddesses from entering her city. Her purpose is to maintain the balance and security of her city, so she doesn’t keep up with daily dealings. It’s not common to see her roaming the streets, but those who have seen her says she floats around surrounded by sparkling blades.
Her minifigure is as impressive as the real (!) thing. To give the floating effect, a 2×2 trans-clear round brick is included. She wears a golden mask surrounded by blades – a new mould. She has an orange dress and a new, reddish orange cape. She holds a cubic gate in her hand, a device used for opening planar gates. Apparently nobody really knows what she really looks like, so the head of the minifigure is plain black.
Szass Tam
Like Strahd von Zarovich and Lady of Pain, Szass Tam represents a specific character as well. Szass is a lich, a race of undead spellcasters that is almost always evil. All mortals fear them, because they are strong, intelligent, and ready to become an undead to live forever.
Szass has tan skin color, red eyes, a red robe and a dark red cape. The cape is made of two parts, the upper part being new. Both the head and torso printing tells us he hasn’t been among the living for some time. He has a trans-orange spell effect in one hand, and a brand new trans-red skull in the other. We’re used to see this cute skull since 1995 in white. There has been a glow in dark white one released in two sets, too. Szass brings trans-red into the family.
Tasha the Witch Queen
And here’s our last minifigure, also representing a specific character. Tasha is also known as Iggwilv or Zybilna, and belongs to a race called archfey, who has god-like powers. From what I understand, this race goes back and forth between neutral and evil. Apparently Tasha had a similar journey recently, going neutral instead of evil.
Tasha has a light nougat skin color and dark orange hair moulded together with her pointy hat. This part was first seen in a minifigure from the Hocus Pocus set. I was thinking about getting the minifigure for that part, thanks to Tasha I now have it :)
Tasha has a spell book and a cauldron. The spell book shows her famous spell, hideous laughter. The mark (or scar) under her right eye is also present in the minifigure, which is a nice touch.
To be honest, this minifigure doesn’t say “an evil and very powerful witch” to me. Even the Never Witch that came with the Dreamzzz sets this year looks more evil. Nevertheless, it’s a good looking minifigure.
Thoughts on LEGO 71047 Dungeons & Dragons CMF Series
In terms of new head, hair and weapon moulds and different characters, I think LEGO Dungeons & Dragons CMF is a great series – that is, if you’re into this kind of thing. Those who don’t know anything about Dungeons & Dragons, or not interested in fantasy worlds may not like it very much.
Apart from the ones with special mould heads and ones representing a specific character, all minifigures come with two heads, a male and a female. This gives us the chance to customize our character as we like. Both the hair pieces and the outfits are fitting for both sexes.
Again, apart from the ones representing specific characters (plus Mind Flayer), all the minifigures’ hands are differently colored than their skin. Are they wearing gloves? Armor? No matter what it is, this makes it easier to swap heads and create your own character. I mean, it would be a bit harder with ear-hair combinations, but I’m sure people will find creative solutions for that as well.
What can I say, the series managed to rekindle my love for D&D. I wish I knew someone who played so I can go and be a part of their game. Well, at least there are lots of books to keep me busy.
Right, that’s it for today. I’d love to hear your thoughts about the LEGO Dungeons & Dragons CMF series as well. See you in the next article!
Sources:
Most of the information on races and classes came from the Forgotten Realms Wiki page. All the images including D&D minifigures and creatures belong to me. The small Ninjago dragon is from Bricklink, blue VIDIYO dragon is from Bricksfanz, red VIDIYO dragon and the dragonborn from Red Dragon’s Tale is from Bricks and Minifigures.
Since its fandom is huge, it wasn’t hard to find illustrations of the characters. You can see the original illustrations by clicking the names of the minifigures below.
- Tiefling Sorcerer
- Mind Flayer
- Aarakocra Ranger
- Halfling Druid
- Strahd von Zarovich
- Dragonborn Paladin
- Gith Warlock
- Elf Bard
- Dwarf Barbarian
- The Lady of Pain
- Szass Tam
- Witch Queen Tasha
Some girls play with Barbie dolls, while others create small worlds with LEGO minifigures and continue to do so when they grow up. You can probably guess which group I belong to :)
