2014 New-ness -- Should I buy [blaster]?

A zebra in lion's clothing..

So a new year brings new toys.
And boy, do they get better every year.

What am I talking about? Well if you've been keeping up (which, I'm sure you have), then you know about all of the crazy new Nerf blasters that'll be hitting shelves later this year. It started out with the Zombiestrike "Slingfire" which Hasbro revealed to the US Nerf blogs a couple of weeks ago. Then came along the MEGA Thunderbox-- erm, bow. I mean ThunderBOW. And not soon after, the (strangely) anticipated Elite Demolisher. Just recently the Rebelle Agent Bow was revealed.

That's FOUR new blasters Hasbro revealed for us, one for each current line of blasters. That's great for every fan, no matter what line(s) they prefer.

Now there's a lot of rumors and facts getting shot into the wild blue NIC, and I'm here to both
(A) Set fact from fiction.
(B) Throw my opinion on all this into you face.
Leap across the jump, and read on!




Let's start with my favorite: The Zombiestrike Slingfire.

Before the Slingfire, there was only...crap.

This...oh, man. This beauty. The Slingfire began as a rumor back before the Sledgefire (don't get those mixed up) was even seen. In fact, when the Sledgfire came out, most people thought the Sledgefire was the rumored "Winchester-style" blaster. (See My Last Dart's post on it HERE.)
Now let's talk about the thing.
What we know for sure is that it's about the size of a Sledgefire, is the first Zombiestrike blaster to be mag-fed, and is lever-action -- a first for the Nerf brand. UK Nerf went to the London Toy Fair and confirmed it's size and functionality (read his post HERE. Apparently, the level-action uses a gear system, akin to the RoughCut. Also, standard Elite ranges.

This is no rumor. Nor is it a Sledgefire.

I LOVE this thing. I've wanted a lever-action blaster for as long as I've been in the Nerf scene. There's something exceptionally manly about a lever-action rifle/shotgun and the way it functions. Lever-action weapons are fairly rare as well, so having one is just badassery. Plus, it just looks COOL.
Green is my favorite color, so that's also a win for me. In addition, and unlike much of the current 2014 Zombiestrike lineup, the Sling-er goes back to it's roots and matches up with it's Hammershot and Sledgefire brethren. The bandage wrap is novel, but cool, and adds to that survivor-apocalypse-cobbled-together look the Zombiestrike line should have. One thing a couple people I know have brought up is the strange mish-mash of wooden-esque stock and clunky, mechanical body. And bandage wraps. Again, I believe this adds to the look the line should have -- cobbled together. (Although I do believe the design choice in regards to this was unintentional)
It also accepts the tried-and-true magazine system. So that means players can go into battle using whatever mags they want. Unlike the terrible BuzzBee RapidfireTek, which used SHELLS in addition to a magazine, a crumby air delivery system, and stupid sucker darts; the Zombiestrike Slingfire should be a welcome addition to any Nerfer's arsenal.

VERDICT: Winx10 for color, design, and functionality!!

Am I getting a Slingfire? Why is that even a question.

What in the name of--

And next, the new MEGA Thunderbow. I am so torn apart by the sight of this, it makes me want to cry.
Let me start in the beginning.
The MEGA Thunderbow is a big...bow. The top lever primes the blaster when the string is pulled back, and fires a dart when the string is released. The blaster accepts 5 mega darts, and fires them sequentially from top to bottom. Not unlike...a RoughCut. Or Crossfire Bow.
I'll be honest, I'm glad to see this kind of tech come to the MEGA line. This type of repeating firearm is definitely cool with MEGA darts. In the wars I run here in California, MEGA darts count as one-hit tag. A mega to the chest, arm, or leg, etc lands you out of a round. So having the power of multiple mega darts in one's hand, with the ability to load on the fly (unlike the Centurion) is a huge advantage in games.
However, I have NO IDEA why Hasbro decided to go the bow route here. Don't we have enough? The base blaster, the body itself, looks AWESOME. In fact, it reminds me of the fusion cutter from Star Wars: Dark Forces.

The Sledgefire also reminds me of the Imperial Repeater...
which also fired a triangular three-round burst :)

I only wish it weren't a bow. In fact, the arms kind look like they've just been slapped on there, just to make a bow. It would have been AWESOME with a trigger and an alternate way to prime it. A slide, a pump, SOMETHING to make this blaster far from a bow.
Here's some truly wishful thinking: an air-pump blaster. Think something along the lines of a Blastfire...the first true semi-auto Nerf blaster, and the predecessor to the Hornet. If the Thunderbow could be fired one at a time, or all at once, this blaster would gain a whole new aspect to it that would make it worth the forty dollars USD and pain and trouble of maintaining the darts of a MEGA blaster.

Also, where's the white stripe?

VERDICT: Interesting, could be useful in wars where MEGA darts count as "insta-kills." Otherwise, I see no use in this AT ALL. Buy a Magnus.

Next up is the highly anticipated Elite Demolisher. And boy...is this a fun one

...or a lion in zebra's clothing.

It's an orange, semi-auto (flywheel) rifle with a skeleton stock, banana mag, and (the "best" part) a MEGA grenade launcher. It takes four AA batteries. Now, let me pick it apart here...
Originally, I saw this and thought oh hey...it's an ugly, forty dollar Stryfe with an ugly stock and ANOTHER stupid ammo type they won't sell replacements for (ie Sledgefire shells/arrows/Titan Rockets). But this was for the prototype.
As of reading this post by UK Nerf, I've changed my mind. Because it's cons are now fixed. Hasbro says the plans are to make this blaster full auto (after the successful Rapidstrike). And the reason the blaster has that new, semi-ugly-gotta-get-used-to-it orange paintjob is because the orange (instead of blue) signifies Elite's new ranges of...

85ft.

Woot.

I also learned that the MEGA grenade's inner diameter is that of a MEGA dart. So MEGAs can be used in lieu of the grenade -- who's tailfins cause to SPIN, making the grenade more accurate and fly farther. Whoa.
The launcher is man powered, by the way. You push the pump forward to fill the tank with air, and pull it back real quick to fire.
Oh, and it's got that sick banana mag.

So, in summary, it's not this

So this isn't a mini Demolisher.

--with a barrel, silly stock, and crummy grenade launcher that makes it cost twice as much.

It's better. It's more like a Rapidstrike with a grenade launcher and curved mag. The only drawback I see to this thing is that the banana mag only holds a measly 10 darts, and the curved portion is only for show -- it's all dead space.

Personally, I see this getting used in wars a lot, especially with the rules my group uses. This blaster is full auto, and has the ability to fire a projectile that counts as an instant-outer. If the pump fails, a player could lob the grenade, and it'd still count as an insta-kill.

VERDICT: Must buy now.

And lastly...

It's..it's a REAL BOW!
(with whistling arrows)

The Rebelle Agent Bow. Bo-y that's cool. I'm not big on the Rebelle lne (and it's not because I'm a dude, but they have yet to appeal to me), but this means a lot. It's power literally comes from how hard you pull on the string. The arms don't flex, but the string is apparently made of "some sort of silicone" according to UK Nerf. The trigger you see activates a little red dot, not like a Firestrike, but like a PinPoint Sight.

This...on a bow?

It's pretty slick looking piece of bow. I'm sure the Elite/Zombiestrike line(s) will get something similar if you aren't willing to paint it.

VERDICT: Oh, yeah, this is nice.

All in all, what we have been shown so far is nice. I like what I see, except...nah, it all looks good. Everything has a purpose or certain aspect that has potential. Especially in the wars I go to/run. It's a good time to be playing with toy guns.

If you haven't already, please read UK Nerf's write up he did on these blasters after having attended the UK Toy Fair. I got a lot of my information from there, and he gives more details than I bothered to.

Alright I'm done. I'll see you guys the next time I post!

Oh, and thanks for reading.