LEGO Super Mario

Super Mario is the most unusual theme in the range: the sets are interactive courses (with an electronic figure that reacts) rather than dioramas, and the expansions depend on the starter set. That dependency completely changes the retirement logic: an expansion without a starter pack is a paperweight, and the starter packs mark the generations.

The practical advice almost nobody gives: before buying any expansion that is being retired, make sure the compatible starter pack is still available or already at home. The collaborations within the theme (other Nintendo sagas, the collector sets for adults) are the pieces with a life of their own that people look for later. The rest of the courses rotate with each wave — there will always be new pipes and question blocks.

The theme's second generation added another leg that changes the criteria: the Mario Kart sets, which work as conventional display and play models — without depending on the electronic figure. That takes them out of the "expansion without starter = paperweight" logic and brings them closer to a regular licensed theme, with their flagship karts as long-lasting pieces. If you come from Nintendo and the interactive system means nothing to you, that line is your door: pure building of the vehicles and characters you have always known. The starter pack rule still applies only to the classic interactive courses — check on the product page which family the one you are looking at belongs to. The data block above points to the theme's next wave — and in a lineup divided into starter pack generations, knowing the month it closes is knowing almost everything.