I’m kind of inclined to say the Mahri. They were probably the most efficient and coordinated, having all members be skilled and able warriors, engineers, adventurers, etc.
Also, I have a lot of nostalgia for those years. 
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The team of elemental heroes who protected the leader of the Brotherhood of Rahi makers.
They were a solid team who remained heroes even after being stripped of their power.
Even though in the end they wound up being the fools of the very animal maker they had once exposed.
No, that’s incorrect. If Matoro hadn’t brought the robot’s body back to life, the inhabitants of the MU would not be able to survive within it.
Furthermore, Spherus Magna would not have been reformed at all.
A compare-and-contrast discussion topic? Time to write an essay!
So, on storyline attention, it looks like this comes down to four teams: The Toa Mata/Nuva, The Metru/Hordika, the Inika/Mahri, and the Okotan Masters/Uniters. Lots of other Toa teams existed in G1, sure, but none were released as sets in full or had all their characters fleshed out and featured as Toa, so when we’re talking about story, four it is. For sets, I’d prefer to judge the waves individually, though, regardless of set lineage. Apart from the early Mata/Nuva, I think the differences between the sets were sufficiently great to allow that.
Set-wise
'01 & '03 Mata/Nuva: The Toa Mata/Nuva will definitely have a big nostalgia factor for a lot of people (particularly their Mata forms where I’m concerned), but objectively their sets were at best middling compared to either what came later or what was released with them. First off, they have garbage for articulation; in particular, the lack of any joint in the neck really hurts their expression in posing. Barring that, though, they had pretty good functions (arm flailing is still the gold standard), and their vibrant color schemes and expressive masks really helped to drive home the characters they represented.
'08 Nuva: The '08 adaptive armor versions did a lot better in the posability department, but threw away most of what looked good and defined the characters in the earlier sets and paled in comparison to their Makuta adversaries to boot. Their silver and gray-centered color schemes were at best bland, and most of their masks looked either outright bizarre or at least didn’t evoke much of who they were before. Nynrah ghost blasters were alright as blasters go, but really, couldn’t Gali and Onua have had at least one secondary weapon? Also, holy fragile sockets, Batman!
Metru: The Metru brought a much greater amount of articulation to the party and were some of the best proportioned humanoid sets that Bionicle ever released. They also retained the arm-swinging function in the package, though the lack of a ball joint in or near the shoulder area meant that it kind of hampered their posability even more than that of the Nuva; maybe it’s just me, but for good-looking action poses shoulder articulation is a lot more useful than working elbows. The Metru’s dour color schemes worked for their environment, but looking at them today, they really are horrifically bland. Good-looking masks, though…
Hordika: The Hordika are, in my opinion, actually an interesting experiment in building Toa mutants, and they definitely pulled that off, though with lots of gaps in their torsos that hampered their appearance. Shoulder posability returned, which was great, but the single-arm function felt a bit… lackluster compared to swinging the entire arm. Having the best of both worlds never really happened in G1. Points to the Hordika for having the rhotuka spinners, though; I had hours of fun with those, which is more than I could say for later launchers. Their mutated masks and weapons were pretty cool, too, but unfortunately only Vakama and Nuju made any effort to return any semblance of color to the sets beyond the addition of silver. Silver which, by the way, actually looked okay when used in modest quantities.
Inika: The Inika, of course, said ‘screw it’ when it came to built-in functions of any kind, opting instead for the launcher-only approach. Their build was new and novel at the time, and they were far more colorful than the Metru or Hordika before them, which is a plus. Light-up weapons were cool, too, though the same cannot be said for weird-looking proprietary masks and heads. Posability was awesome, but underneath the fancy new parts the sets were still clones.
Mahri: The Mahri took the Inika build philosophy, but brought back the normal masks and finally, finally dropped the clone set approach. Yes, they shared the same basic structure (if not necessarily the pieces), but unlike any other Toa before them, each Toa Mahri could actually be considered a relatively unique set, differentiated from its counterparts by more than just its mask, weapons, and color. Speaking of color; unique, vibrant, and more contrasting color schemes were tried on some of the Mahri as well, with only Kongu really suffering from the Metru palette. The Cordak blaster was cool looking, but too big and heavy for many of the sets and unreliable for some. Brittle joints started to become a factor as well, much to the disdain of MOCists everywhere.
Masters: Say what you will about CCBS, but with it and some technic the Masters managed to have the full range of posability of the old Inika build AND complete functions; no compromise except for some minor gripes about open ball joints and/or wacky proportions, and even those were not shared across all the sets. Some did have slightly larger flaws (Lewa’s restricted head movement, for example), but nothing that all of them shared. Vibrant colors were present again, too, along with some really good mask designs.
_Uniters:_I’ll give the Uniters points for ambition in their designs, what with the combining ability and all, but I’ve made no secret in the past of the fact that, across the board, I believe them to be inferior to the Masters. Their gear function, while unique, has made their proportions universally worse, their preference for two-handed weapons reduces posability, and some of them seem to be pulling the '08 trick of picking metallic primary colors. At least they’ve stayed away from gray, and some of them really do look good with their creatures, but on their own merit there are few Uniters that I feel can hold a candle to their previous iterations.
Therefore, set-wise, I believe the Masters to be the best of the lot. No other group of Toa sets ever came close to combining form and function so perfectly. Subjectively, though… I’d actually vote for the Mahri, though only by the slimmest of margins. You see, most of the fun I have with my sets comes from posing them, so even the best integrated function doesn’t hold my interest for long unless it’s a ridiculously clever build and/or allows the set to do something that actually looks… effective. Even the Masters’ well executed arm-flailing is, in the end, still just arm-flailing, as far as I’m concerned. So, throwing the function out of the equation, it comes down to looks… and with a dose of nostalgia, the Mahri just have it for me. Make no mistake; I love the Masters as display sets, but the Mahri really had a widely varied aesthetic of their own down.
Story-wise
Mata/Nuva: no group of characters in either of Bionicle’s runs were as burdened by destiny as this lot… and few squabbled as much among themselves (the Piraka take the prize, but still…). Really, though, the entirety of '01-'08 began and ended with the Toa Nuva, and one of them still featured prominently enough two years later to be released as a Star, not that such a release did any of the characters honored with it any real favors. Of course, I can’t be entirely objective, given the extent to which I’ve delved into the personalities of these Toa on my own time, but they are and always will be Bionicle’s original heroes, and a prime example of people with vastly different personalities and traits having to work together to accomplish one overarching goal. And, by and large, they succeeded, though not without setbacks, most notably their disastrous visit to Voya Nui.
Metru/Hordika: Who knew that '01’s old Turaga had been Toa themselves? Cue two years of flashback! While '05 is often and in my opinion rightfully regarded as a weird shoe-in of a storyline, the Toa Hordika did actually pose some interesting questions that I wished Bionicle would’ve delved into deeper. Also, Vakama betraying the group is, well, iffy. However, big-time stuff went down in '04, and this team was the only one of which we got to see the entire journey from Matoran to Toa to Turaga, with quite a lot of character development along the way. While they never had quite the same feeling of destiny, great victory, or ('05 excepted) internal strife to them as their set-wise predecessors, I think the Metru were at least as significant story-wise.
Inika/Mahri: This team struck me always as the Toa that were never meant to be, or rather, circumstances necessitated drastic action on the part of whatever was running the Red Star to make sure Mata Nui’s entire mission didn’t go kaput with him… So, our intrepid Matoran from the days of MNOG were told to suit up to go save their heroes, and then their God. Tall order, that’s for sure, and with it came the maturing, or as it’s often described, darkening of the Bionicle story, which allowed the now Toa Inika and later Mahri to explore both the trials and tribulations of becoming a Toa and the concepts of leadership, morality, and ultimately sacrifice in far deeper and more meaningful ways than ever before. True, they (quite literally) didn’t get the same amount of ‘screentime’ as the teams that had preceded them, but over the course of two years, they did deliver what I’d consider to be Bionicle’s most powerful moments.
Master/Uniters: err… where to begin? We’re now coming up on two years of G2, and only now is there actually a half-decent volume of story to talk about. So far, though, the Master’s deliberately simple story and frequently cartoonish depictions has done them no real favors in making their journey seem… significant, I guess. The exact license that first the Hordika and then the Inika/Mahri were able to take in telling a more mature story is what’s missing here so far, and hence, while they are great sets, I just don’t really feel very invested in the Masters as characters, or in the struggles they have to overcome. That said, there is still time…
So… story-wise? This one is much more difficult to judge objectively, apart from the fact that, as it stands right now, the Masters clearly come last. All three flagship teams of G1 have a lot going for them; the Mata/Nuva started, drove, and concluded the story, the Metru/Hordika showed us the full life cycle of the Toa, and the Mahri delivered the feels… That said, the Toa Nuva actually adopted a lot of the themes the Mahri explored throughout '08; the sacrifice of the Toa Ignika, while less powerful than Matoro’s, was significant, and Gali’s Nova Blast in Karzahni had the makings of a powerful moment in its own right. So, on overall story impact… I think the Mata/Nuva do have it, both objectively and subjectively. Really, though, I think all the G1 teams won something by presenting a far more deeper and more mature story than pretty much any other Lego line had done up until that point.
Okay, I think I’m done now…
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As much as I like the Inika/Mahri, I feel the Metru had one of the biggest tasks of rescuing the captured Matoran. Definitely one of the most important tasks.
Although I feel the Mahri had the best cooperation as a team.
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Well.
The Mata / Nuva: are the classic and most powerful team, but they often clash with each other in terms of strategy and ideology. Which leads to a disorganized team.
The Metru / Hordika: are… well, not the team you’re probably used to see. They lack severely of team coordination and respect for their leader. It was basically a Toa team that was made out of teenagers.
The Inika / Mahri:, Ironically, i’ve always considered these to be the ‘teenagers team’ (Y’know, because they’re the youngest). However, they’ve showed cooperation, teamwork and mutual respect, making them (In my opinion) the best toa team.
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Well if every Toa Team where like DC/Marvel Superhero teams then be like
Toa Mata/Nuva= Justice League: While since Takanuva isn’t a part team so Tahu is most iconic Toa so he is the Superman of the group, while Kopaka is the Batman of the Group, the other Toa are the other member of the Justice League minus Aquaman.
Toa Metru/Hordika= JSA: Since both teams are old, but some differences like Vakama is kind a like Anakin Skywalker, & the others I can’t say.
Toa Hagah/Rahaga= GOTG Suicide Squad or Thunderbolts : Because they once with the baddies one time, than been Heroes themselves, but the Hagah become Rahaga from Roodika’s Mutation Spinner.
Toa Inika/Marhi= Teen Titans or Young Mutants: Since their young to the Toa Years, but if one of the members of the teams, save their own God by wear a Ultimate McGriffin Mask.
I’d say Suicide Squad/Thunderbolts over the GOTG. Otherwise, this is perfect.
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I’d say the Titans that are compromised of Beast Boy, Red Robin, Wonder Girl, Superboy, and Bart Allen Kid Flash.
I know it’s missing one, but I’d say that Matoro is Superboy (Due to his self sacrifice on multiple occasions), Nuparu and Jaller are Red Robin (Due to intelligence and technical skills along with being very skilled in combat before being on the team), Kongu is Beast Boy (Due to being a pretty happy guy), and Hahli is Wonder Girl (Due to being a girl (duh) along with personality correlation)
The Metru accomplished a lot and the Adventures series (with the exception of Web of Shadows) is fantastic, as a team they were lovely to read about. They’re personally my favorite team because they have such T character interactions, but I’ve gotta disagree with you if we’re looking at this objectively. I’d love to discuss this topic, and I’m open to changing my mind. But right now I think I’d go with the Mahri, even though you said “suffered less damage” as a guideline for choosing the best team. They didn’t once hesitate to do the right thing, and as much as I love the Metru they had some serious issues. Onewa was unwilling to even out his power into a Toa Stone, I don’t see him being capable of going along with the tough decisions the Mahri had to do. If it was up to the Toa Metru to find the Mask of Life, they probably would’ve ended up like the Toa Nuva when they first faced the Piraka. Maybe with age they could’ve grown to be a better team, but in the time they were Toa they spent too much time bickering and infighting to hold up against the Nuva and Mahri.
Not to mention the fact Vakama turned evil.
I was going to write an in-depth analysis but it looks like I was beaten to it @Scorpion_Strike 
. Well I can still throw in my opinions
I feel that my personal best team would be the Toa Metru, based set wise and story wise. Firstly, set wise we get the articulation and the nice multi functional weapons not to mention some sweet masks, definitely one of the greatest if not the greatest gear functions of all time throughout the original run. Secondly story wise, we get to see these guys grow up and age, now the Inika/Mahri get this to but we actually get to see their full life cycle and complete development of the Metru. We see them learn the ropes of being Toa to then achieving their destinies and becoming mentors to the next waves of Toa.
At the end of the day I think it should go to the Metru but there are a lot of good reasons for the other teams for the title of best.
Mmm, I’d have to say that the Mahri would be my pick for “best Toa team”. The fact that they managed to be thrown into such an important task, with little to no prior experience, and succeeded gives them a lot of points from me. Not only did they succeed, but they were also able to work together as a team, respected each other and were involved in possibly the most memorable moment in G1’s story. RIP Matoro #neverforget.
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Hi! Thank you! No, no, don’t worry! You can discuss this subject! I don’t care if you’re subjective! Actually, a subjective discussion would be better! So c’mon, join! I like “open-minded” people like you!
I also thing the Toa Metru/Hordika are the best!!
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Toa nuva in karda nui? I think Its cool how they went airborne
Well I noticed that the more obscure Toa teams have been excluded, such as the Hagah (my personal favorite) and the Mangai, etc. The exclusion of these bring up the question how do you define best? If split into story and sets like @Scorpion_Strike did, then typically the newer the sets mean the newer parts, armor/weapons, and redesigns, allowing for greater function and detail, meaning the most recent wave is the best.
Story-wise is much more difficult to answer and it goes back to the obscurity of some Toa teams, like Lesovikk’s, Jovan’s, Hagah and Mangai. Does less story coverage mean that these teams are worse?
The Hagah once successfully raided the Makuta Fortress of Destral, beating the Makuta on their home turf, an achievement that nobody has mentioned directly, and even as Rahaga, they overcame their physical transformation and helped the universe against the Visorak and other beasties. Toa Jovan’s team also saved Mata Nui from dying, sacrificing one of their members like Matoro @Hutere, yet they aren’t even considered. The Toa Mangai saved Metru Nui(the brain of the robot) from Dark Hunter takeover and the Kanohi Dragon, but aren’t seriously considered @Mar .
And with regard to the Toa Metru it can be said that they had one major failure, which was to “save the heart of Metru Nui,” or the Matoran, which they had to resort to plan B(get them out later when they were in the spheres), allowing Makuta to cause the Great Cataclysm and shutting down the entire Great Spirit Robot. Despite failing to prevent the rise of Makuta and failing to prevent the Great Cataclysm, which would later lead to Mata Nui dying, the Toa Metru are still considered story-wise as one of the better teams because of their development in the story, that is, they became Turaga.
The point being, best story-wise can’t be determined because, of the vague meaning of “best.” Does best mean more story coverage, more importance to the story, more development in the story, or more achievement in the story? Because a team is less famous than the Toa Mata, Metru and Inika, or is deceased does it mean that it can’t be considered as best?
A more specific answerable question would be which is the Most Powerful Toa Team?
Edited for Double Posting - Waj
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In my opinion only Kopaka, Lewa, Pohatu, and Onua do this. Gali and Tahu were downgrades, Gali having terrible proportions and a build almost identical to that of Pohatu, and Tahu having WAY TOO MUCH GOLD
In terms of Toa team from best to worst:
- Inika/Mahri: They had the most cohesion in the team, and Jaller was a solid leader, even more than Tahu. And we can’t forget about Matoro
T-2. Mata/Nuva: Even though they accomplished a lot, they constantly squabbled and at one point the team was dissolved. Only later did they learn the value of unity.
T-2. Metru/Hordika: Even though they accomplished a lot (like the Nuva) the team (with the exception of Nokama) more often than not questioned Vakama’s leadership, with Matau and Onewa calling him out with derogatory terms (i.e. firespitter). This led Vakama to defect to the Visorak.
- The Okotan Toa: They had little to no cooperation, with Tahu and Kopaka constantly fighting over who leads the team. They were also very flat and stagnant characters, and the only lesson they learn (somewhat) is unity.
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Subjectively, I like the Mahri. Objectively, idk.
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Where would the Mangai rank on this team?
True, we saw more of their members turn evil than that of any other team presented in-story, but they also had the most members of any Toa Team we’ve seen (11, almost double that of the usual 6 members), so proportionally, does it balance out? Also, this team survived and kept going even through losing 2 of its members to the dark side, whereas the Metru might have never pulled-off the great rescue had they not gotten Vakama back. The Mangai played a key role in saving Metru Nui from all the evil agents the Shadowed One threw at them during the Toa-Dark-Hunter War, and were only finally taken out when Turaga Dume, the wise leader they had guarded with their lives for so long, was replaced by arguably the single being most skilled in deception in all the Matoran Universe (a move that the Toa Metru and the entire Matoran population of Metru Nui also fell for), and sent them on “missions” that got them picked of one-by-one. Even then, they still fought to the last man, and with Lhikan’s final days, he made the sacrifice plays that ensured the survival of the next generation.
Personally I think the best toa team was Inika/Mahri. They were strong even as matoans, but later when they became toa they fixed other toa teams mistakes. They were nicely led by Jaller and all of them were ready for sacrefices. Also no one was questioning his role in the team. They fought even the most dangerous oponents like Piraka, Zyglak and even six warlords themselves - Barraki. Also we can’t forget that Matoro literally sacreficed himself to revive Great Spirit.
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