Today I’m covering a Halo Mega Bloks set that’s a little bit different. I usually only cover newly-released sets, but I came across this Halo Mega Bloks EVA’s Last Stand 96937 set on sale. I’d been holding out on this set for a better price, so when I saw it for 25% off at Target, I finally succumbed to temptation. This set is unique in that it’s more playset than vehicle set, and the main selling point is the figures rather than the vehicle/playset itself. Why? One word for you: Hunters. The Halo Mega Bloks EVA’s Last Stand set is your one and only chance in the Halo Mega Bloks line to get a pair of Hunters in one set. Is this set worth your dollars?

The Right:

The main attraction in Halo Mega Bloks 96937 is the Covenant Hunter Mega Bloks figures, so I’ll cover them first. The Mega Bloks Hunters were first issued with the UNSC Wolverine and Arctic Wolverine sets a couple years back, but you only got one Hunter with each $30+ set and the two Hunters were in a wacky purple color instead of the proper indigo.

Halo Collectors cried out for a pair of correct-colored Hunters at a more obtainable price, and MEGA Brands answered with the EVA’s Last Stand set in Fall 2011. The very fact that you can get two Mega Bloks Hunters in the set in the right colors for less than one Hunter in the wrong color would have previously cost is a definite right.

The Hunters themselves are far more complex than any other Halo Mega Bloks figures, because they’re each made of a whopping 15 pieces each! I was caught off-guard by the fact that even the spikes on the Hunters are separate pieces, but the fact that they are adds an extra 6 points of swivel articulation (though I’m fairly certain Hunters can’t rotate their spikes at will–or at all).

And speaking of flexibility, despite being massive and larger than any other Halo Mega Bloks figures, the Hunters retain the same great ball-jointed arms and legs articulation that we’ve come to appreciate in this line. With their iconic shield and plasma cannon arms, the Covenant Hunters Mega Bloks figures are all-around fantastic. I couldn’t ask for anything more from them.

The other figure included is a dark green Spartan EVA. Considering the set’s name, the necessity of this figure is pretty obvious. I actually think we don’t get nearly enough militaristic green Spartans like this, so I’m happy to have this green EVA Spartan. He comes with a rifle rather than any heavy ordnance like a rocket launcher, which really drives home the dire situation this Spartan is stuck in.

Finally, we come to the largest and main part of the 169 piece set: the wrecked UNSC Warthog diorama. You can see the complete build of this part of the set in the step-by-step photo preview I posted last week. As I mentioned in that post, the diorama portion of this set is a lot more intricate and time-consuming to build than I expected. That’s not a bad thing–just a surprise. In total, it took me about an hour to build and photograph the set (though I made mistakes along the way as always).

The Warthog in this set is toast, but at least the turret is still fully-functional, enabling the poor EVA Spartan figure to defend himself! The large rocks and bushes on the terrain base make it look more lifelike, but my favorite detail of the diorama is unquestionably the various pieces of Warthog debris on it (particularly the severed wheel). The playset portion of this set is nothing huge or all-encompassing, but I really like that it adds something new and interesting to the Halo Mega Bloks universe.

As a special bonus, the wrecked Warthog’s upper-body can be combined with the pre-Halo 4 Warthog vehicles to create a Desert Warthog! Obviously MEGA Brands couldn’t include a whole non-wrecked Warthog here without upping the price, but I love the creativity shown in allowing these pieces to combine with other old UNSC Warthogs to form a Desert Warthog! This is MEGA Brands’ ingenuity at its very best. Brilliant.

The Wrong:

Though I really enjoy all the different aspects of the EVA’s Last Stand set itself, the set definitely seems to be somewhat overpriced. The MSRP on this set is about $25, which is quite a bit for a set containing three figures and otherwise only about 130 other pieces. As cool as the Hunters are, it doesn’t seem right that this set which is basically just some scenery and a couple figures costs about $5 more than other small-medium vehicle sets like the Orbital Banshee Blitz 97010 that contain substantially more pieces.

“Where Can I Buy It!?”

I picked up my Halo Mega Bloks EVA’s Last Stand set from Target, where I got it on sale for a better price than the MSRP. Amazon has it right now for $17.48–25% off MSRP–which I would consider a fair price for the set.

Overall: The EVA’s Last Stand set is a breath of fresh air in the Halo Mega Bloks line. It’s a small-medium sized set that’s more of a diorama than anything else, something we really don’t get much of (at all) in the Halo Mega Bloks line. I’m pretty ecstatic about getting two properly-colored Covenant Hunters in the same set, and even the Spartan EVA is nice to have in a plain, standard army green. I love the ingenuity of having the wrecked Warthog be compatible with the old UNSC Warthog to make it possible to kitbash a Desert Warthog, and having a Spartan try to survive in the wreckage of the vehicle while hopelessly outmatched is just too fun. The only thing about this set I’m not in love with is the price–$24.99 seems rather high for what’s included here. I’d have felt much happier and more comfortable with a $19.99 MSRP. Overall, I think that Halo Mega Bloks EVA’s Last Stand 96937 is a worthwhile niche set that earns a recommendation–but that recommendation becomes much stronger if you can find this set on sale.

GRADE: B