I really, truly intended for the Halo Mega Bloks Brute Battle Unit 97085 to be the first of the Summer/Fall 2013 Halo Mega Bloks sets that I reviewed, but one after the next, newer and more captivating sets started being released. Now, almost two months after receiving it, I’m stepping back to give the Mega Bloks Halo Brute Battle Unit the review spotlight it so richly deserves…

The Right:

When the 97085 Halo Mega Bloks Brute Battle Unit set was announced, I was on cloud nine with delight over the figures chosen for the set. In the past the Combat Units were all single faction sets, which was cool for army-building, but getting a little old after we had almost every possible color-themed set (sorry, pink and purple fans). Rather than just getting four matching color Spartans or Covenant aliens figures, we were getting a more random assortment with four totally random and very exciting rare figure molds.

The figure that caught my attention instantly from this series was the olive green Security Spartan figure. This is the only non-exclusive Spartan Security Mega Bloks figure available (other than the Halo Mega Bloks Series 7 Ultra Rare one), and the olive Security Spartan armor permutation also has a bit of history, as it’s also the first McFarlane Security Spartan armor figure ever released.

As I said in my review of the Series 7 Steel Security Spartan, the Security armor mold is exactly what I wanted. The visor on the helmet is as strange and bug-eyed as I remembered it, and the new chest armor mold looks great. The green Spartan Security figure also comes with a very rare Mega Bloks Grenade Launcher, which I for one am glad to add to my armory.

Co-headlining this set, for just the second time ever in release, is the Halo Mega Bloks Brute Chieftain figure! I adored this figure when I reviewed it last year as part of the Brute Chieftain Charge 96993 set, and I’m stoked to see him making a return engagement in a low-priced army-builder set like this. I’m not as big a fan of the blue secondary color on this version of the Brute Chieftain Mega Bloks figure as opposed to the prior version’s red coloration, but it’s still a very nice looking figure with a rare Gravity Hammer included.

The third figure in the set, the UNSC Officer Halo Mega Bloks figure, is also back for his second deployment! Included in last year’s high-priced UNSC Countdown set with the UNSC Sabre, this is one of the most-requested figures for inclusion in a Halo Mega Bloks Mystery Pack series or Combat Unit. It’s not exactly what I wanted (as I’ll explain at length momentarily), but I’m still very pleased to see this mold show up in a cheap army-builder set.

The Wrong:

While the four different figure molds included with this set are all outstanding, MEGA Brands made two choices with the Halo Mega Bloks Brute Battle Unit 97085 that really, really bug me. The first is that they went to the trouble of developing a great-looking Brute Stalker figure mold, then stuck it in this set as unpainted Active Camo Brute Stalker.

In general I don’t like Active Camo Halo figures much, but I especially dislike them when we don’t have a painted version of said character available yet except in an expensive set (like the $50 Cobra). Just like the Active Camo Storm Grunt from the UNSC Siege Bike set, now we’re going to have to go until 2014 before we get a proper, painted Brute Stalker Mega Bloks figure in a feasible army-builder form.

The other thing that grates on me about the Brute Battle Unit is that we’re finally getting a Mega Bloks Halo UNSC Officer figure outside of a high-priced set, and once again the figure isn’t a “not” Sergeant Johnson. I wish MEGA Brands had at least made this figure an African American so we could easily paint on a mustache for him or something. The giant googly eyes on the UNSC Officer Mega Bloks figure look silly and ridiculous, which is another strike against it. It’s nice to have a cheap UNSC Officer army-builder, but the execution is a bit lacking.

Overall: The Halo Mega Bloks 97085 Brute Battle Unit is a pretty strong set, albeit not a perfect one. I’m feeling really positive about the decision to move away from single faction Combat Units if it means we get more great mixed sets filled with rare figures like this one. It’s nice to be able to army-build Brute Chieftain figures without having to buy an armada of Brute Choppers, and the green Security Spartan is a fantastic mold that I’m thrilled we’re getting three times this year. The Halo Brute Stalker Mega Bloks figure looks like a stellar sculpt, but I’m disappointed we’re stuck with just this clear Active Camo one as an army-builder until next year. And I’m doubly disappointed we have another UNSC Officer figure that isn’t Sergeant Johnson. Overall this set is filled with quarter of fantastic figures, that’s held back only by some paint and design choices. Highly recommended.

GRADE: B+