Nuju Metru and I are having a debate about the Mistika. He wanted someone to convince him to like the Mistika more and I decided to help him out.

CAUTION -- This is pretty long and this is only part one of our debate, but I hope you guys find this enlightening.

Nuju Metru --

I read your post/signature saying that you would like people to convince you to buy the Mistika. I can help you in debate form. What I mean is that you say why you don't like them, and I'll respond. Hopefully, when we're done, you'll like the Mistika more.

Do you want me to help you in this way? You don't have to if you don't want to.

~SB~

Shadowbolt-

Thanks for taking on the Challenge. You'd like me to list my reasons to dislike the Mistika? I pretty much only dislike them as sets, so there will only be one story-related point. NOTE: this is an excruciatingly long PM, and everything below is my opinion, not fact. Okay, here goes...

TOA

1) The Toa Mistika use far too much silver. Silver was origionaly used with the first Nuva, in 2002, and was used in sparse, but well-distributed amounts. Since then, this metalic hue has become more and more dominant, and peices that don't really need silver (Organic wings, hands, etc.) are silver anyways. I understand that silver is an "armor color," but considering all Biomechanical beings have armor, and haven't been solidly silver, the Toa Newva's use of the color is abusive. It looks as though they have fallen into Protodermis again!

2) Related to the above point, the Toa don't have enough of their primary colors, red, blue, and black. If silver is to be considered their primary color, than my first argument covers that. As I assume it isn't the case, these three heroes need to be more colorful, unless Lego's point was to make beings less alive than mechanical.

3) Gali is a Sniper. Although ranged arms are a more effective method of combat (otherwise, soldiers would go into battle nowadays with swords and axes!), It doesn't seem at all like honorable Gali to pick off her enemies from afar. After all, when one pictures "honorable," (if romanticized) fighting, oftentimes a fencing match, or tournament, is pictured. And you may argue that we've had launcher-only Toa in the past, like Vakama and Kopaka Newva, but with Gali, the idea has exausted itself; it is no longer original.

4) Onua apears to be anorexic. His pathetically thin build is nothing like the healthy-looking Toa of stone of the past. It seems he NEEDS the mask of strenght to carry out such menial tasks as walking! With barely any armor, save for those obnoxious shoulder shields, he is basically scarcely there appendages. On the topic of his shields, many argue that these shoulderpads make up for his lack of hand-to-hand tool. A sheild is NOT a melee weapon, it is a mobile peice of armor, nothing more.

5) Tahu is far too large. His behemoth form harks to Transformers, and retro-style '50s robots. Even though Tahu has 4 jets, it seems his girth could only be supported by one of the T-series vehicles! And his mask seems to have been some prototype gone wrong, due to its bulky, sparsely featured face. The only highlight is the fact that he has a short-ranged weapon, a buzzsaw.

6) These Heroes look nothing like their original counterparts. I have barely any problem with this: did the Inika at all resemble the Mahri, or the Metru look like the Hordika? No. My main problem with this is the excuse: adaptive armor. The fact that Lego is condoning the various faults above with armor that changes is unimaginative, and makes little sense, in my opinion.

MAKUTA

1) The three latest additions to the Brotherhood of Makuta look like MOCs of a five-year old. With tiny, basic torsos, matoran limbs, and big, simple parts, Bitil, Gorast and Krika seem like Juniorized canister sets. Their bright, contrasting colors of red, white, lime green and yellow (not keetorange, but yellow) add to this aura.

2) Krika is a body on sticks. Everything from his legs to his hands to his head are long and thin, resultuing in a disproportioned look. Krika is the largest canister set ever, but for all his size, he has very little volume.

3) Bitil and Gorast have Matoran Bodies. These peices were over-large on their first sets, the Kardatoran, but on canister-level sets, a Matoran's torso will not do. Its simplicity and inadequate size are not appropriate for these two Makuta.

As you can see, the Makuta are less disliked by me, but their shorter arguments may have also resulted in me becoming more tired as this was wrote. PM back soon with your reasons!

-Nuju Metru

Okay, and I look forward to reading your post. Also, I'll be using some storyline reasons too.

TOA

1. Well, the Mistika a lot of silver, I won't argue with that, but silver has always been used before as armor in relatively small amounts. In the Mistika's case, they're used as one of the primary colors and since that's never happened before, many people aren't used to it. Also, I could argue that Nuparu Mahri used too much black or that Vakama Metru used too much red, etc...

2. You're right, they don't have a lot of their primary colors but they have enough ( IMO ). Just a question, does the overall appearance look good to you (Toa Nuva or not)? I think what Lego wanted to do with the whole "adapted armor" thing is that this year (or whenever it is in effect), it's main color is gray/silver with a color of the Toa wearing it is used in small amounts.

3. Using your logic, we could say that melee weapons have been used over and over and therefore, they are unoriginal. Like you said, it is much more effective for a Toa to carry a launcher for obvious reasons and remember this. Makuta are physically stronger than Toa so I don't know why the average Toa would want to have a sword duel.

4. Onua has always been thin and "anorexic". Also, if you buy Onua, in some poses, he'll look very strong and sturdy while in others, he'll look skinny and weak. Depends on how you look at him. He could use some more upper limb armor and that's what I intend to do in my Mistika modifications.

I'm sure you've never seen a movie with medevial or ancient combat in it. You CAN use a shield as a melee weapon. Hit them with it and in Onua's case, when Gorast (for example) flys at him, Onua can turn his shield at her and put all his force behind it. You're going to have a knocked out Gorast soon...

5. Can you explain what you mean about Tahu being too big? I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean.

However, Tahu's new mask does have the shape of his original Hau. Also, the Hau Nuva didn't have any similarities to the normal Hau, except for the mouth hole.

6. Look, you say it is unimaginative? I've never heard any storyline use automatic armor that changes to the environment before. You could say that the Mutagen was unoriginal because it was too similar to the EP turning the Mata to the Nuva.

MAKUTA

First of all, let me say this. The Mistuka are shapeshifted and mutated to insect forms and please keep in mind of what insects look like. Many of them are "disproportionate" in nature... Also, I suggest you look up the building instructions on Bionicle.com for the Mistika.

1. Y'know, Bitil is the most simple of the Mistuka torso wise, but he has a few little neat things in his build which I like. The other two are a little more complex and Gorast is probably the most interesting of the three torso-wise. IMO

2. He's an stick insect. 'Nuff said.

3. Only Bitil does and he's an insect. Gorast has a bigger Inika torso. Why isn't a Matoran torso "appropriate" for a Makuta? That idea has never been done before.

Sincerely,
~SB~

TOA

1) You have a good point, but I think it looks far too mechanical. As a primary color, however, that hue may be used in places where it isn't needed. As for Nuparu Mahri, he had too much black, but Vakama looked good, and he and the other Metru had dark gray in there to break it up.

2) Hmmm...that's possible. I think that with the dark grey, however, it was better, as it seemed less...forced. I dunno, but the overuse of silver makes it seem like they weren't trying too hard on these Toa. "Let's add some shiny colors to cover up our below-acceptable work" Is the feel I get, even though it may not be strictly true.

3) Well, guns make the whole thing feel like some Transformers duel, with a Bang-bang here and a Boom-Boom there, if you get my logic. And hand weapons are vastly more numerous in their differences, allowing for many types of sword, axe, and claw. To me, a gun is a gun, be it an Uzi pistol or a Sniper rifle.

4) Well, a claw-weilding hunch-backed tunneler seems to have to be pretty strong. I think the poses do have a lot to do with it, too; with Takadox, if you see him straight-on, he looks like a stick on legs. pose him dramatically, or from an angle, and this flaw is covered.

I have seen many a fantasy/medeival movie fight! They use shields as melee weaponry, but everything about that combat is romantacized. Also, Onua's is attached to his shoulder, and is merely a block for incoming projectiles as he fires, considering he fires to his left, and it is on his left shoulder.

5) Tahu has a squat, wide piraka torso, 4 jutting jets coming out of his torso at 45 degree angles, short legs and long arms. All this gives the Toa of Fire a bulky appeearance, compared to the others. True, the origional Hau Nuva lookde very little like the first Hau, but the Newva mask simply doesn't strike my fancy, regardless of its previous forms.

6) I think that being able to change based on your enviroment is origional, but the fact that Lego uses it to excuse every change makes no sense. I don't think masks can chande shape by any mechanicalprocess; the Kanohi Nuva were "upgraded" by Energized Proto, the Metru's masks were changed by organic Visorak venom, and the Mahri got new masks all together. Realistically, the Mistoa should have masks that are the same, if not similar, to their first ones.

MAKUTA

I've looked at their instructions. But considering they used to have humanoid forms, they should look more proportioned than they do now.

1) They are overall simpler than the Toa Mistika, and their colors, as I said before, look juniorized. They all have their unique traits, of course, but those don't really make up for the matoran limbs on 2 miskuta, and a matoran body on Bitil.

2) Maybe, but I doubt a stick insect could really defeat anything...

3) Sorry, my mistake. Only Bitil has one. Gorast's body is unique, but a backwards Inika torso looks rather flat, in my opinion.

-Nuju Metru