Last week I posted my glowing review of the first half of the Halo Mega Bloks Series 7 assortment, and now I’m back to finish the fight with the latter eight figures from the series! (I’m not into the radioactive gummy bear colored clear figures, so I’ll leave those for someone else to review.) Now it’s time to talk about the remainder of this series, which contains some first-time-ever additions to the Mega Bloks Halo blind bag mystery packs, including a Spec Ops Grunt, a Security Spartan, a Jet Pack Brute and more…

[Note: If you’re looking for the Halo Mega Bloks Series 7 Codes, the Code Number List for Halo Mega Bloks Series 7 is posted over here.]

The Halo Mega Bloks Mystery Pack Blind Bags just may be the most popular branch of the entire line of Halo toys. For about three bucks you get a wonderfully articulated, detailed, well-sculpted little Halo action figure with an authentic weapon and a stand. Kids and parents love it, collectors love it, army-builders love it–everyone loves Mega Bloks Halo blind bags.

It’s for that very reason that MEGA Brands has switched things up with the Halo Mega Bloks Series 7 Mystery Packs, now giving us sixteen figures (plus bonus translucent figures) in the series instead of the traditional eight figures!

With that extra space in the series, MEGA Brands has been able to really spread their wings and let their creativity take flight, giving us loads of figures never-before-released in the blind bags this time out.

The figure I was most ecstatic about when this series was announced–no questions asked–was the steel Spartan Security Mega Bloks figure (who just happens to be the Ultra Rare figure in the assortment). My excitement meter dipped slightly when the Mega Bloks Security Spartan was also announced in green and blue for various figure packs, but I was still pretty psyched for this silver Spartan Security figure.

And, in short, I love the Steel Spartan Security Halo Mega Bloks figure. The steel paint looks just as good on this figure as it does on the McFarlane version (Halo fact: the steel McFarlane Security Spartan was the second action figure of the Security armor permutation ever made). The helmet looks as fun and doofy as I remember it, and the Halo 3 chest armor looks good as well. Solid, all-around well-done figure that’s worth the chase as the Halo Mega Bloks Series 7 Ultra Rare, in my opinion

The last Halo 3 Spartan in this set is the white Scout Spartan figure, which is Rare. There’s not a bunch to say about this figure–we’ve gotten many Spartan Scout Mega Bloks figures over the years, and this is another one. I always like the Scouts, and this one looks nice with some dirt and battle damage paint deco which keeps his armor from looking too white.

There’s only one Brute in Halo Mega Bloks 96978, but it’s the second best one (after the Mega Bloks Brute Chieftain): the Jump Pack Brute in red. This figure is a total repaint of the prior Jet Pack Brute figures, but the Brute does look nice in dark red (crimson). He comes with a Mauler, which is my favorite Halo gun ever, which I’ll never complain about.

The ODSTs also get one new addition in this series–a tan Desert ODST. I thought I was going to hate a sand-colored ODST figure when I saw it at the 2013 Toy Fair, but once I got it in hand I warmed up to it a lot. With the Desert Night Ops Gausshog released this month as well, it’s good to get more desert-themed UNSC troops to complement it.

I included two of the three Covenant Grunts Series 7 figures in my review last week, but I saved the third–and best–of the Grunts for today. Sporting the Grunt Ultra face mask, it’s a navy blue Spec Ops Grunt! He looks deadly serious in his dark paint scheme, and he’s ready to take you down permanently with the Plasma Rifle that he’s wielding. I want a squad of these, plain and simple.

While some have said that the UNSC Marine figure in this series is the same one from the Halo Mega Bloks UNSC Ammo Pack 97037 I reviewed last winter, it’s not quite the same. That Marine is in a darker color scheme with more black paint, whereas this Marine’s paint clearly emphasizes dark grey. It’s not a huge deal, but I definitely prefer the darker version from the Ammo Pack (especially since that one comes with three great weapons with paint deco).

The final Covenant entry in this set is a purple Covenant Elite Assault figure. The bright purple truthfully looks a bit tacky on this figure, yet somehow it’s still a million times better looking than the horrible “gold” Elite Assault figure from last year’s Covenant Armory II 96977 set. We don’t get tons of Assault Elite figures in the line, so for three bucks, I’m okay with adding this particular Elite to my collection.

Last but not least, we have a Halo 4 blue Spartan Mark VI figure. This is another simple repaint, but the dark blue paint suits this mold well. I like this blue paint a lot more than the bright blue paint used in the Red vs. Blue themed set, and I’m excited that I can build a squad of a half-dozen of these blue Mark VI Spartans for under 20 bucks.

“Where Can I Buy It?!”

I’ve heard that the 96978 Halo Mega Bloks Series 7 Blind Bags are starting to turn up in some stores now, but I sure haven’t seen them. I bought a full Halo Mega Bloks Series 7 case of 20 figures from BA Toys, which yielded a complete set of all 16 figures (no gummy worm colored variant Mystery Figures, thankfully).

Overall: As I said in my review of the first half of Halo Mega Bloks Series 7 96978, the bar has now been raised: this is by far the best series of Halo Mega Bloks Hero Packs blind bags ever. Every single figure in this set feels worthwhile, even generic ODSTs and Grunts. It would be next to impossible for me to choose favorite figure from this series, as they’re all so well-done (though it’s likely the purple Elite Zealot). With so much outstanding depth and character diversity in this set, I’m so glad I just ordered a whole case of Halo Mega Bloks Series 7 and got them all in one shot. Excellent series which easily earns a high recommendation.

GRADE: A