Lego Mario Kart Starter Set And Buildable Wario Figure Get First Price Cuts

The arrival of a proper starter set featuring Interactive Mario is a good indicator that the Lego Mario Kart series will continue to expand in the coming months/years. If you were knew to Lego Super Mario when the kart-racing sub-series debuted with six playsets at the beginning of 2025, you needed one of the three Adventures with Lego Mario starter sets to take advantage of the visual and audio effects included with each kit.

But now you can get the Mario figure, his Standard Kart, and a slew of accessories with interactive Action Tags. The buildable, battery-operated figure has expressive eyes–each eye is an LCD screen–and a screen on the center of his chest that displays a wide range of elements, colors, and animations based on the Action Tag Mario steps on. When an Interactive figure is in the driver’s seat of a kart, you’ll hear and see reactions when the race starts, while drifting or gliding, when honking your horn, and more. Various accessories in each set also have Action Tags that trigger unique sound effects and expressions.

Mario is accompanied by a Bob-omb with an Action Tag, a Thwomp, and track pieces, including connectible barriers, an interactive Item Box, two traffic cones, a Banana, an interactive platform for starting each race, and a winner’s circle platform with checkered flags and the Mushroom Cup logo that celebrates the victor when standing on the Action Tag. Red and Green Shells can be fired from the removable launcher on the kart.

The Standard Kart is the same signature red vehicle that was part of the launch lineup for $20–though it lacks the Super Glider–so if you already have an Adventures with Lego Mario starter set and the Standard Kart, this probably isn’t the starter set for you. Also, just like with the original starter sets, Mario Kart is starting with only Interactive Mario, though we suspect Luigi and Peach will get their own Mario Kart sets in the future. For now, however, you’ll still need to buy the traditional platforming-focused starter sets to get those figures.

Interactive Mario & Standard Kart is $55, five bucks more than the other three, but it has 60 more pieces than its platforming-focused counterpart. The trio of Adventures with Lego Mario starter sets received refreshes last year. At the moment, you can save $10 on the Peach and Luigi starter sets, while the Mario course is $42 (was $50).

See all Lego Super Mario Interactive Starter Sets

It took five years, but Wario has finally joined the Lego Super Mario collection. We wouldn’t be surprised if this winds up being the most popular of the five new ones simply because of the character’s popularity. Lego accurately captured Wario’s maniacal smile and stare. You can hear Wario’s voice by simply looking at it. He really should have his own starter set with an Interactive Wario figure.

Wario’s signature pink Badwagon comes with the Wario Wing paraglider featuring the top of his face. The glider is detachable, so you can connect it to any kart, including the Teddy Buggy, the adorable blue kart with a teddy bear face. Apologies to King Boo for focusing on Wario here. King Boo is also cool, and he’s clearly happy to be joining the race, but Wario is the star here. Also, from a building perspective, King Boo isn’t as exciting as other characters in the lineup. The cube-shaped figure matches the one included in King Boo’s Haunted Mansion, a Lego Super Mario set that’s retiring soon and on sale for $65 (was $75).

The 512-piece Wario & King Boo set comes with two Green Shells, a Red Shell, and two traffic cones.

Exclusive to Target and the Lego Store, the 588-piece Piranha Plant Power-Up Pursuit has a kart feature not found in any of the other kits.

A Piranha Plant can be attached to the front of Toadette’s Cat Cruiser or Koopa Troopa’s Tanooki Kart. The Potted Piranha Plant has a pair of rubberized tires of its own that are different from the wheels on the karts.

It’s cool to see one of the more interesting Items in the video game series transformed into a Lego build. Originally Princess Peach’s Special Item in Mario Kart Arcade GP, the Potted Piranha Plant was added to the mainline series in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe for Switch–though it’s not in Mario Kart World.

The set also comes with an Item Box with Action Tag, two Red Shells, and one Green Shell. Each kart has an Action Tag that triggers sound effects when the karts are driven by Interactive Lego Mario/Luigi/Peach.

Toadette only has two prior appearances in Lego Super Mario, and this is the most affordable set featuring the popular character. The other two sets with a Toadette figure are no longer in print, but you can still get them for retail price or less at Amazon.

Other Lego Mario sets featuring Toadette:

For a larger Piranha Plant, check out the 540-piece Lego Super Mario: Piranha Plant display model for adults, which is on sale for $48 (was $60).

Shy Guy & P-Wing is the third Mario Kart Lego set that’s essentially a character pack. The 249-piece build features Shy Guy and his P-Wing kart with a detachable. Plane Glider, Red and Green Shells, and a Banana. The set is exclusive to Target and the Lego Store.

This is a notable addition to the lineup as Red Shy Guy isn’t easy to find these days. He was featured in multiple series of Lego Super Mario Character Packs, but those were mystery bags. Red Shy Guy was also in the retired Boomer Bill Barrage set that sells for way above MSRP now. You can still get Pink Shy Guy in the Soda Jungle Maker playset, but this one is retiring soon, so grab it while you can.

More Lego Mario sets with Shy Guy

Bowser’s Castle is the first Lego Mario Kart playset to eclipse 1,000 pieces. That’s a trifecta for King Koopa, as the iconic villain also owns the titles in the other two Lego Mario categories: display model for adults (The Mighty Bowser) and traditional Super Mario playset (The Bowser Express Train).

The 1,068-piece set features Bowser and Green Yoshi with their Standard ATV and Mach 8 karts. Each kart has an Action Tag for Interactive Lego Mario/Luigi/Peach. The castle wall is 14 inches wide and the decorative horns at the top are over 10 inches from the ground. The gated walls on each side fold inward/outward with a maximum depth of 8 inches.

The castle has many interactive elements. The Thwomp is connected to a chain that drops down to block the fiery underpass. Racers can fling Red/Green shells at the flames and the Thwomp, and the small ramp in front of the door will help launch karts safely through the entrance. There are two other ways to enter the (imaginary) castle. Both of the gated walls, although built with different pieces, are destructible, allowing karts to smash through to the other side. Each route has an additional obstacle, though. One gate is guarded by a spinning Fire Bar, while the other is overlooked by a Lava Bubble that plummets to the floor with the press of a lever.

Since it’s Bowser’s Castle, there’s a spot in the tower for the Bowser figure to stand. Other Lego Mario figures can drive Bowser’s kart, but it does have his logo on the front, so one of his minions or his son Bowser Jr.–included with the Lego Super Mario starter set–would feel the most appropriate thematically.

With Bowser’s Castle, you can start to see how Lego Mario Kart kits can combine together to create larger courses. It’s essentially the wave two version of the Grand Prix set, which includes three racers/karts, the starting gate, and track barriers that that can run from the starting line to the castle walls.

If you want a Lego Bowser figure but don’t want to spend $100, you should grab the 458-piece Bowser’s Muscle Car for $30. Slated to retire soon, this playset includes the same Lego Bowser figure. The blue and yellow Muscle Car from Super Mario 3D World is larger than Lego Mario Kart vehicles, but you can connect the Bowser figure to a kart from another set. As for Yoshi, this is the character’s second appearance in the Mario Kart series, but Yoshi’s Bike set includes the Light Blue variant.

More Bowser-themed Lego sets

Mario Kart: Mario & Standard Kart is the only building set in the series geared toward adults. The 1,972-piece model includes a far larger and more detailed version of the Standard Kart. You’re also getting the most detailed version of the mustachioed racer’s modern 3D design. His head, arms, and thumbs are posable, but he can’t stand up outside of the kart. You can, however, display Mario separately if you prop him up against something.

The completed model measures in at approximately 12.5 inches long, 7.5 inches wide, and 8.5 inches tall. It includes a cleverly designed, buildable display stand that can be tilted in different directions to make Mario appear as if he is going uphill/downhill and drifting around a bend in the track. The rubberized wheels are functional and roll smoothly, but just know that this large-scale model is not made for play, and crashing the kart into a real wall–or Bowser’s Castle–could jar some pieces free. The same goes for the Mario figure, who needs to be handled delicately. There’s a reason why the Interactive Lego Mario figures–and most of the figures in general–are blocky rather than rounded: The rounded design makes the build more fragile. But as a display model? The Mario figure might be Lego’s most impressive Nintendo build yet. It looks incredible.

Like some of the other Nintendo display models, Mario & Standard Kart comes with a physical instruction booklet and support for an interactive guide in the Lego Builder app on iOS and Android. With the free app, you can watch each step of the build process in 3D and manipulate the diagram to look at the work-in-progress from any angle you desire.

Check out our Mario Kart: Mario & Standard Kart review for more details on the set. This set launched as a Lego Store exclusive on May 15 before arriving at major retailers July 1.

As mentioned, Mario’s Standard Kart was part of the January 2025 launch lineup. But even if you buy the Interactive Lego Mario Kart starter set, this 174-piece build has a couple of key features that may make it worthwhile to double-dip on the ubiquitous vehicle. Most notably, this version includes Mario’s detachable Super Glider and Pit Crew Toad. You’ll also get Red and Green Shells, a Banana, and a workstation for Toad that doubles as a target to fling Shells at. The workstation and kart have Action Tags for Interactive Lego Mario/Luigi/Peach.

If you don’t have one of the Lego Mario starter sets, the included Pit Crew Toad figure can drive the kart instead.

The Yoshi Bike remains the cheapest set in the series. The 133-piece set includes a green bike modeled after Yoshi–it even has Yoshi Egg rims–a Light Blue Yoshi, two red and two blue traffic cones, an Item Box, a Banana, and Red and Green Shells.

Mario, Luigi, and Peach figures react as the race starts, while drifting, when honking the bike’s horn, and when the bike is in hover mode. In addition to the physical items, colliding with the Item Box plays out just like in the games. Sound and visual effects will let you know which item you landed on.

One of the three Interactive Super Mario figures from the starter sets is required to create audio and visual effects, but Yoshi sure does look cool on the bike. This is the first time Light Blue Yoshi has been featured in a Lego Mario set. You can connect Yoshi figures from other sets to the bike, too. The Adventures with Mario starter set includes Green Yoshi. Besides the aforementioned Bowser’s Castle, you’ll find Yoshi figures in the following sets. Note: Most of the sets below are discontinued.

The ridiculously cute Baby Mario vs. Baby Luigi set rewinds the clock to a time before the brothers knew how to use a toilet, let alone fix one. Arguably the cutest Lego Super Mario set ever made, this 321-piece kit features buildable Baby Mario and Luigi figures as well as the Biddybuggy and Tri-Speeder karts. The former is a red buggy modeled after the Para-Biddybud enemy that first appeared in Super Mario 3D Land. Meanwhile, Baby Luigi drives one of the few three-wheeled karts in the series.

As for the accessories, it comes with Red and Green Shells and six balloons to use as targets. Alternatively, the Super Baby Bros. can wield the balloons like hammers and bop each other on the head.

Adult Mario, Luigi, and Peach can steal the karts from the babies and talk. Baby Mario and Luigi haven’t learned how to talk yet (they aren’t interactive).

Luigi’s kart is the only one in the lineup with three wheels.

Toad’s Garage is a 390-piece set that comes with two Blue Toad figures, the B Dasher kart, a Customization Machine with an operable car elevator, a tire rack with four spare tires, a raised platform for one of the Toads to stand on, two-way radio and wrench accessories, and a Red Shell.

Toad’s Garage has a unique customization features not found in the other Mario Kart sets. You can swap between blue and black wheels with the help of the Customization Machine (the long hose). It can also be used to connect the engine and hose. The car elevator has a crank you can turn to raise the platform.

The Customization Machine can be used with other karts in the series, so this is a great build to have in your collection if you are buying Lego Mario Kart kits for play.

Along with the standard interactive elements when driving the B Dasher, Mario/Luigi/Peach have sound and visual effects for the engine and horn when working with the Customization Machine.

Toad enthusiasts can also save on the Lego Super Mario Party at Toad’s House, a 276-piece build with Blue and Green Toads. Launched in August for $30, Party at Toad’s House is on sale for $24 on November 15.

New Lego Super Mario Toad Sets

Note: Lego is retiring this set soon.

Donkey Kong’s DK Jumbo is the largest vehicle in the lineup–not including the Mario Kart set for adults. Beyond the buildable Donkey Kong figure and barrel-inspired kart, it comes with Red and Green Shells and a target with a Banana item on top. The objective here is to fling the shells at the target to knock over the smiling fruit.

Along with the usual Mario Kart audio/visual effects, the DK Jumbo kart also pulls from the Donkey Kong Country series when Interactive Mario, Luigi, or Peach are behind the wheel.

DK and his crew previously appeared in four Lego Super Mario sets, but all four were retired late last year. The good news is that Amazon recently restocked these sets. Amazon is the only major retailer carrying these sets, so grab them while you can. Note: Donkey Kong’s Tree House includes the same figure.

More Lego Donkey Kong Characters

The 823-piece Grand Prix set has some fairly integral components of the Mario Kart experience, including a starting gate, track barriers, a podium for the top three finishers in the race, and a Lakitu on a cloud holding a traffic light.

Technically, this is called Baby Peach & Grand Prix Set, which makes sense since Peach is the obvious standout of the three included racers. Baby Peach may still use a pacifier, but she has her license and drives an adorable Wild Wiggler kart. Peach is joined by Red Toad on a Standard Bike and the Koopaling Lemmy on the Landship kart. All three karts have Action Tags, as do several of the buildable accessories.

Other accessories include two red traffic cones, two Item Boxes, a snack wagon, directional signposts, Green and Red Shells, and a Banana.

Adventures with Interactive Lego Mario will almost certainly be the most popular starter set to pair with the Mario Kart building kits. As mentioned, Amazon has already sold out of Adventures with Lego Mario twice this week, and it remains out of stock on Lego Mario Kart’s launch day. You can get Adventures with Interactive Lego Mario for $42 at Amazon right now.

Mario is always the most popular of the three, but in this case, he’s also an obvious choice due to the 174-piece Standard Kart set. This $20 kit lets fans build a red kart emblazoned with Mario’s M logo. The kit also comes with a small buildable Toad who works on the pit crew, but the kart was designed for Interactive Lego Mario. At this time, similarly styled Luigi and Peach karts don’t exist, but it’s worth reiterating that all three figures can be connected to any of the Lego Mario Kart vehicles.

Adventures with Interactive Lego Mario comes with 218 pieces, including three additional buildable figures: Bowser Jr., Yoshi, and a Goomba. Bowser. Jr. even has his flying Clown Car.

Adventures with Interactive Lego Peach is currently on sale for the best price of the three. Amazon has the 208-piece Lego set featuring the Mushroom Kingdom’s beloved princess for $40. Like the Mario starter course, it comes with three other buildable figures–Yellow Toad, Lava Bubble, and Lakitu. While Peach dashes and jumps for the flag at the end of the mini course, Lakitu tries to stop her atop their cloud with a fishing hook.

Luigi’s 210-piece starter set includes Kamek on her broomstick, Boo, and Pink Baby Yoshi. His original set came with Boom Boom, Bone Goomba, Pink (Adult) Yoshi. Kamek zips around her magic broomstick.

Just like the other Super Mario Lego starter sets, the Luigi kit includes a tall flag and Warp Pipe. If you buy multiple starter kits, you can combine the unique platforms and accessories together to create larger levels. All three interactive figures are compatible with Lego’s wide range of Super Mario playset expansions as well as the small lineup of display models for adults, including the recently released pixel art Mario & Yoshi model based on Super Mario World.