Last week’s announcement of 75222 Betrayal at Cloud City left a number of people concerned as to what the ‘Master Builder Series’ might be, and what implications there might be for the Ultimate Collectors Series line. There is no doubt that this Cloud City set is a departure in style from last year’s Snowspeeder and this year’s Y-Wing Starfighter. 
Clarification of the term was sought from the LEGO® Star Wars team, and they responded via the LEGO Ambassador’s Network this morning:
The Master Builder Series models are large playsets and beside being complex builds they are characterized by having many play features and functions, interior details as well as a range of minifigures. Ultimate Collectors Series will remain highly detailed display models providing complex builds with a focus on authenticity and both Ultimate Collectors Series and Master Builder Series will continue as a way to highlight the unique characteristic of each style of model.
While I suspect there will still be some people who consider this to be a dumbing down of the UCS line, I think it is good that in the future the label will now be reserved for brilliant display pieces, rather than large playsets such as 75159 Death Star and 70598 Assault on Hoth. What do you think of this conceptually? Why not leave your thoughts below.
Play well.
That’s fine by me. Complex ‘playable’ sets aimed at ‘older’ audiences provide some of the best parts and minifigs. Even the Christmas Winter Village sets have been more likely as seasonal display pieces but retain a playability/fun element and can be vital sources of pieces or inspiration for MOC’ing.