>>10085779The EVO sets and other ones with the same style figs and branding are the "Ninjago Core" subtheme. Like the other anons said they're Ninjago sets that are divorced from the TV show and instead based on the "core" aspects of the theme's sets, namely dragons, combat vehicles, mechs and playsets.
It was started as a way to make Ninjago sets that don't need you to watch 14 fucking seasons of the show to catch up on the context of what you're buying; it's just Ninjago. The EVO stuff is targeted at younger kids to create new fans (which worked, I bought my dino-tistic daughter the Kai's Fire Dragon set and now she's dead into the theme).
Apparently their plan going forward is a wave of Core for the first half of the year and a wave tied to the series. Given how out there a lot of the Crystalised sets are, seems like it was a good call.
Apparently core is getting a few more mechs and vehicles and a $35 earth dragon and a $100 Ice dragon.
There's a "mech duel set" coming too, so hopefully the villains are something other than "2 neon orange, teal and gunmetal grey snakes with the colour placements swapped". Monkie Kid year 1 and 3 had villain factions which were just multiples of the same guy which managed to feel less generic somehow.
I've got the combiner set in my backlog and I'm really tempted to engage in some heresy and prime the gold glasses pieces with gloss black so I can make it look even more like Gurren Lagann.
