LEGO Minecraft designer dives into the new 2026 sets

The LEGO Minecraft 2026 set reveal at EGX 2025 featured the theme's design manager, who offered plenty of insight into the new builds.

Eight new LEGO Minecraft 2026 sets were recently unveiled at EGX in London, and LEGO Minecraft Design Manager Joe Kyde was on hand at the reveal to properly showcase each of the upcoming builds. The designer also answered questions from the audience, the full extent of which has been shared by Blocks.

From the new fox head to a new release in the Micro World range, here's what Joe had to say at the 2026 set reveal panel. Click here to take a closer look at the eight new models.

LEGO Minecraft design team recognised fans' disappointment

One question at the panel was regarding the new fox head element, which means the LEGO Minecraft figures no longer need to make do with the cat head piece. This part has been a long time coming, and Joe explained why now was the right time for the team.

"We wanted to include the new fox head, and we couldn't do a new piece before, so we used the cat head," Joe explained. "We saw a lot of people were disappointed, and we could see why. So we finally went all out and did a new fox head and have put it in a couple of different sets. We're doing a giant fox too, so look at all the foxes!"

The new head element is a major improvement on the printed cat piece, and you can find it in both 21583 Steve's Taiga Adventure and 21585 Chicken Farm. A giant fox figure can also be found in 21588 The Fox. The older fox figures can still be found in 21178 The Fox Lodge.

Speaking of the new pieces in the 2026 sets, Joe also detailed the single-block chest pieces found in a few of the new sets, stating that he hoped other teams would find a use for the smallest LEGO chest so far.

LEGO Minecraft's Elytra is back, thanks to Mothman

LEGO Minecraft's Eltytra wing piece has only been in three full-sized sets so far, the last of which is 21264 The Ender Dragon and End Ship from 2024. After a hiatus in 2025, the piece is back in 2026's 21586 The Pale Garden, and it's all thanks to one minifigure.

"I don't know if anyone is familiar with Mothman; he's a cryptid from America in a very famous movie," stated Joe. "He's from around the area where I grew up and is my favourite cryptid. I wanted to do Mothman; we were going to do the Pale Garden – a creepy area – and he had to have wings, so we had to bring the wings back."

Why continue the Micro World and BigFig set ranges?

Both the BigFig and Micro World collections are confirmed to continue next year in 21588 The Fox and 21589 Mini Biomes, respectively. At the panel, the design manager explained why January 2026 is the right time for both of these ranges to continue.

"For 21588 The Fox, we wanted to continue the idea from 21276 The Creeper to give you a large mob that you can display, and we thought that the fox was cute," Joe said at the panel. The new fox figure also goes well with the fresh head element for a fox-centric LEGO Minecraft wave.

"For 21589 Mini Biomes, we thought 21265 The Crafting Table was a really cool display set, and it harkens back to old models," Joe continued. "They're great if you don't want a minifigure set, but you want to show your love of Minecraft, and it's something that will fit on your desk."

The eight new LEGO Minecraft sets will launch on January 1, 2026, for a wide range of price points, and most of them are available to pre-order now.

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