Review: LEGO 76218 Sanctum Sanctorum (2022)

July 14, 2022 | 19

Hot off the heels of Doctor Strange Multiverse of Madness premiering at the movies, LEGO and Marvel have teamed up to bring you the definitive version of Doctor Strange’s Sanctum Sanctorum – 76218 Sanctum Sanctorum which will be released on 1 August 2022.

A gorgeous, fully self-contained building, this 2022 version of the LEGO Sanctum Sanctorum dwarfs the 2019 version and is sure to make LEGO Marvel and MCU fans incredible happy.

This set is a hybrid containing scenes and characters from Avengers Infinity War, and Multiverse of Madness, a simple way to infuse it with more characters and scenes that take place in and around the Sanctum Sanctorum.

76218 Sanctum Sanctorum will be released globally on 1 August 2022, and you can order them from these regional links below.

• 76218 Sanctum Sanctorum [US] – US$249.99
• 76218 Sanctum Sanctorum [AUS]  – AU$379.99
• 76218 Sanctum Sanctorum [UK] – £214.99
• 76218 Sanctum Sanctorum [EU] – €249.99
• 76218 Sanctum Sanctorum [CA] – CAD$309.99

Special thanks to the LEGO Group for providing this set for review

76218 Sanctum Sanctorum – Set Details

Name: Sanctum Sanctorum
Set Number: 76218
Pieces: 2,708
Price: AU$379.99 | US$249.99 | £214.99 – Buy from LEGO.com [AUS] [USA] [UK]
Exclusive to: N/A
Theme: Marvel Super Heroes / Doctor Strange Multiverse of Madness
LEGO Designer: Justin Ramsden / Ashwin Visser
Release Date: 1 August 2022

Firstly, let’s take a look at the instruction manual – there are 3 booklets, and I love this incredible photograph of Doctor Strange staring out the Sanctum window on the front.

Each booklet builds you each floor, making this a perfect “Build Together” set, that you can share with a partner, or friend to make this a group activity. I really appreciate this, as I was able to build this partially with my wife, who built most of it!

Here’s a look at the back of each booklet, where we have more of these gorgeous illustrations from the Sanctum – I especially love the cosmic one, which has studs floating around.

And here’s a look at the insides, featuring a profile and reflections from the lead designer Justin Ramsden, and Graphic Designer Ashwin Visser.

If you hate stickers, this set is sure to get on your nerves as there is the one of the biggest collection of stickers I’ve ever seen in a set.

Granted, some of these stickers are really fun, and a cost-effective way to infuse this set with a multiverse of Marvel Cinematic Universe references. Thankfully, these stickers are incredibly well designed,

Here’s a look at the 9 minifigures included in the set, with characters from both Avengers: Infinity War, and Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness. While 9 seems a lot, I feel like the minifigure lineup is quite lacking, and I would’ve loved to see more character from Multiverse of Madness, namely America Chavez and Dr. Christine Palmer. I would’ve also liked to see The Ancient One in the set.

Here’s a look at the three Doctor Strange minifigures – we have Sinister Strange, who has a sickly tan complexion (probably suffering from scurvy), and his third eye open, prime Doctor Strange with his trusty red cape, and Dead Strange, the zombie Dr. Strange that was reanimated and possessed by Prime Strange.

They all have unique torsos and features which are nice, and I especially like the gory details on Dead Strange.

Prime Doctor Strange isn’t unique to this set, its identical to the one in 76205 Gargantos Showdown.

Here’s a look at their back printing, and dual-sided faces.

Up next, we have the antagonist of Multiverse of Madness, Wanda Maximoff aka the Scarlet Witch. She sports a new exclusive torso, and benefits from detailed printing of her crown on her head.

Her legs are sadly just black legs, which look disappointingly plain, but are relatively movie-accurate.

Here’s a look at her back printing, and dual-sided face where she has angry red eyes.

Compared against the Scarlet Witch that we got from the Marvel Studios Minifigures Series, she’s dropped a lot of detail, especially her legs and plain arms as well.

I do like the printing on her torso, and the more detailed crown, but it feels like a pretty bland character, not something you’d expect from The Scarlet Witch at the apex of her powers.

Next we have the trio of magic folk, Master Mordo from Multiverse of Madness, Ebony Maw from Infinity War, and Master Wong, who is currently the Sorcerer Supreme.

Mordo is fantastic, and makes his long-awaited debut in this set, and features what I think is a new hairpiece with braided dreadlocks/cornrows.

Here’s a look at their back printing, and dual-sided heads, of which only Mordo has an alternate face.

It’s ironic that in a Doctor Strange-themed set, the most impressive minifigures are Iron Man and Spider-man. Tony Stark shows up in a new version of the Mark 50 Armour, and Spidey is attired in the most detailed version yet of his “Stark Suit” which was given to him by Tony Stark.

Here’s a look at the back printing on both minifigures.

This version of the Iron Man Mark 50 comes with the new version of the Iron Man helmet, which was newly introduced in 76216 Iron Man Armoury, so in essence, this also makes this the most cutting edge Iron Man Mark 50 yet.

The printing of Spidey’s face is fantastic, and I love that they printed his boots this time, and this will make Spider-Man fans very happy.

Here’s a look at the Sanctum’s ground floor – if you’ve built modular buildings before, this format should feel very familiar. Each level can be detached fairly easily for you to access each floor, and apart from the highly detailed exteriors, the interiors are teeming with all kinda of Marvel Cinematic Universe references.

In one corner of the room, we have Doctor Strange’s medical degree, and a funny photo of Strange and Wong freezing – a reference to Spider-Man: No Way Home when they accidentally let in a blizzard into the Sanctum.

There’s also a nice grandfather clock across the green lounge chair.

Across the other side of the room is a globe in a glass enclosure, a poster of Doctor Strange as well as a world map depicting the locations of different Sanctums located across the world.

In the back there is a tiny storage room with some curious oddities, such as this phone from LEGO friends, and a switchboard.

At the back of a building are some posters featuring an advertisement for Shawarma King, a nod to the first Avengers movie, Darcy’s dog walking service, an a recruitment poster featuring SHIELD’s Nick Furry Fury.

Over on the left is a portal that opens up, revealing access to a chamber full of Doctor Strange’s most powerful artifacts.

Here’s a look inside, which has the Book of Cagliostro secured safely by a gold chain and the Time Stone.

Speaking of Time Stones, right outside there is a large yellow crate containing a nod to the Shady Acres Care Home (from Thor: Ragnarok), and 3 spare Time Stones, as well as a can of drink.

The first floor is more of a mezzanine level, with the staircare extending to Doctor Strange’s library.

In the middle of a library is a door, which can teleport people to distant lands, or even Cosmic areas. Behind library, you can see these full panels with the Himalayas, Cosmic Space (very cool illustration) and a desert.

The library is also packed with references, such as a Magic ABC book, a book on Anger by Bruce Banner, and some simple magic trick book.

On the other side, is Doctor Strange’s red lounge chairs, which you may remember where he enjoys hosting guests such as Thor. There’s even a reference to the scene from Ragnarok where there’s a frothy mug of beer there.

Oh, and there’s also a secret attic area, with a box labelled Wong’s secret stuff, Stormbreaker Pizza (nice continuity from Bro Thor’s New Asgard), as well as a travel brochure for Kamar Taj.

And last but not least, the top floor of the Sanctum, which has plenty of cool artifacts and references.

The highlight here is the printed domed glass of the Sanctum Sanctorum, which is designed beautifully – with all the stickers, I’m so glad this is a printed piece, and it looks exquisite from the inside and outside.

The room is filled with various artifacts and weapons – is that Sensei Wu’s hat?

Here’s the other side of the room – love that they included an umbrella, as well as a red fire extinguisher, a staple in all LEGO Marvel Super Heroes sets. There’s also a poster of Doctor Strange and Wong fighting Gargantos.

Most interestingly is this brand new very accurate medieval helmet which I’ve never seen before. It looks awesome, and I can’t wait to see what LEGO are using this for. Fingers crossed, we get more Castle-type sets after the roaring perfection of 10305 Lion Knights’ Castle.

Update: the helmet isn’t brand new, but has made an appearance in Series 20’s viking, albeit in a different colour!

And there’s also a portrait of the Ancient One, and fittingly, for a room of mystical and powerful artifacts, Monkie Kid’s staff!

And here’s a look at the roof, where there’s a small veggie garden. Is that Groot?

And here’s the completed Sanctum Sanctorum’s exterior. The exterior is done beautifully, with some really interesting and satisfying tiling techniques. I also love the design of the trees out the front.

Here’s a look at the doors, which are stickered, and swing open. It’s a really iconic Marvel location, and it’s designed really well here.

Over on the side, there is a portal with Gargantos erupting from it tentacles and all.

It’s a bit much, and depending on your tastes, can be quite distracting from the clean exterior and architecture of the set, so you can always pop it out and hide Gargantos within the Sanctum which is a nice feature.

And here’s a look at the back.

More Marvel references aplenty with some Ten Rings graffiti, and AV the initials of Ashwin Visser, the graphic designer on the set.

Last but not least is a poster celebrating Captain America, on show at the Bricksonian Museum in New York.

And the front from another angle, which really shows off the gorgeous New York-style architecture of the building, and the sand green roof.

And yes, the million dollar question – this is undoubtedly a Modular Building, and connects effortlessly to your other modular buildings, which is really exciting it’s now possible for Modular Buildings to exist outside of the LEGO Icons/Creator Expert banner.

Oh, and this is totally a modular building because it has a lamppost which is the number one requirement to qualify as a Modular Building.

What I liked:

• A great and aesthetically pleasing Marvel modular
• Exterior architecture perfectly captures the Sanctum Sanctorum
• Heaps of Marvel references strewn across all 3 floors
• Plenty of playability in the set
• Did I mention how happy I am that this is Modular Compatible?

What I didn’t like: 

• Minifigure lineup is quite weak, with notable absentees
• Huge sticker sheet might not be for everyone
• Quite pricey

FINAL THOUGHTS:

LEGO Marvel Super Heroes sets are usually known for their minifigure lineups, its the main drawcard for most sets, and after the sensational 76178 Daily Bugle, the bar has been set really high.

At 2,708 pieces, and commanding a US$250 pricetag, I really expected more from the minifigure lineup, which drags down what is a sensationally designed set.

While it’s nice to get Doctor Strange’s variants Sinister Strange, and Dead Strange, it just doesn’t have that x-factor that you’d expect from a flagship Marvel set. Not including America Chavez, and Dr. Christine Palmer are big misses in my books, as is The Ancient One, who you know, was one of the custodians of the Sanctum.

That said, the design of the Sanctum Sanctorum will absolutely delight any LEGO Marvel fan. Justin Ramsden has done remarkable job capturing the Sanctum Sanctorum at this scale, and I think the decision to turn this into a Modular-compatible building is absolutely inspired, allowing fans to connect the Sanctum up to their Modular Streets.

The set is also teeming with MCU references, so hardcore Marvel fans are in for a delight as they discover Easter Egg, after Easter Egg, after Easter Egg contained in the set – albeit achieved by stickers, but that’s just how it is as it wouldn’t be feasible for everything to be printed.

Design-wise, this is a brilliant set, and Modular Fans might also be prompted to add this to their collection, as this is technically a modular building, and the design integrates really well into any Modular Street.

I’d love to see more like this from LEGO, and despite the flaws in the minifigure department, is a set well-worth your money, especially if you’re a Marvel fan.

This is THE definitive version of Doctor Strange’s Sanctum Sanctorum, and makes for a great location for any Marvel scene. X-Mansion next? 🤞

Rating and score: 4/5 ★★★★✰

Build [3] – A fun modular-style build with plenty of interesting techniques for the interior, as well as interior furniture
Real Value [3] – As a modular, this is decently priced, especially with all the Marvel minifigures who are exclusive to the set
Innovation [4] – It’s groundbreaking that we’re seeing Modular seep into other licensed themes
Coolness [4] – If you’re a Marvel fan, you’ll be absolutely satisfied with the scale and complexity of the Sanctum’s design
Keepability [4] – A great set piece for your LEGO Marvel collection

Thanks so much for reading my review! 76218 Sanctum Sanctorum will be released globally on 1 August 2022, and will be available from LEGO.com or your local LEGO Store.

What do you think of the Sanctum Sanctorum, and what other Marvel buildings and locations would you like to see in this format?

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Special thanks to the LEGO Group for providing this set for review