Not to be outdone by Target’s own exclusive “Snowbound” theme, Toys R Us has released an exclusive Halo Mega Bloks Covert Ops series of sets of their own!

Completely unannounced and unexpected, the first of the new Covert Ops sets started to appear in Toys R Us stores this week. The earliest set found was the Halo Mega Bloks Covert Ops Battle Unit 97070. The set is priced at $17.99, which is a little higher than usual for what’s primarily a figure pack, but it’s not a bad price for a Toys R Us exclusive and certainly not a bad price when you consider the included Machine Gun Turret and Bubble Shield!

This is the second release of the Bubble Shield, as it was previously included in the Halo Mega Bloks Revenant Attack set at the start of 2012. However, that Bubble Shield was a transparent bright blue, whereas this one is molded in a much more subdued clear grey. The Bubble Shield is, in my opinion, one of the coolest and most unexpected items ever released by MEGA Brands in their Halo line, so I am psyched to get another one so soon!

In addition to the Bubble Shield and Machine Gun Turret, this set includes four figures: two dark grey Marines, a dark grey Spartan II in Mark VI Armor, and an ODST Covert Ops Specialist. The ODST has bright red portions on his armor, making it reminiscent of Mickey, one of the ODST Squad members in the popular “Halo 3: ODST” video game released back in 2009.

On the back of the box we see the other two sets in the Toys R Us exclusive Covert Ops series: 97071 Flood Siege and 97072 Covert Ops Wolverine. This will be the first new version of the Wolverine released since the Arctic UNSC Wolverine was released a few years ago.

Click here to check out more photos and the full review of the Toys R Us Exclusive Halo Mega Bloks Flood Siege 97070 by bravefish90 of The Bloks Forum.