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Last updated: September 21, 2023
Reviews of the nine best Nerf Rival blasters currently available, plus all the ins and outs of the revolutionary Rival series.
As you may already know, I am a massive fan of the Nerf Rival series. I’ve already published a few reviews of Rival guns on this website, with more to follow.
Rival blasters are generally quite powerful, often have intimidating looks, typically offer a smooth firing mechanism, and come in various shapes and sizes.
In this article, I am going to share what I believe are the nine best Nerf Rival guns, and I will also explain what the Rival series is all about.
Top 9 Nerf Rival Blasters:
Top 9 Nerf Rival Blasters
Let’s go through these nine Nerf Rival guns in more detail.
1. Nerf Rival Nemesis MXVII-10K
Let’s start with what is, for many, the most popular Nerf Rival blaster. The Nemesis is an absolute game-changer in the world of Nerf. It’s a high-performing, fully automatic flywheel and conveyor blaster with a firing capacity of 100 rounds.
The rounds are loaded through a detachable purpose-built hopper system, which allows you to quickly throw 100 rounds in and start firing away with a claimed velocity of 100 per second. This is a fully automatic blaster, though, which I know isn’t for everyone.
The Nemesis is an incredibly fun machine that has set the bar high for future blasters in the Rival series. Even though it’s not the youngest blaster anymore, the Nemesis is still one of the most popular ones in the Rival series.
| Nerf Rival Nemesis MXVII-10K | |
|---|---|
| Year: | 2017 |
| Mode of fire: | Automatic |
| Priming mechanism: | Acceleration trigger |
| More info: | Nerf Rival Nemesis MXVII-10K review |
2. Nerf Rival Artemis XVII-3000
Smaller than the Nemesis, the Artemis came to market in 2017. It’s a spring-powered blaster with a pump-action priming system and a firing capacity of 30 rounds. It has a turret system at the front that rotates when priming.
The Artemis carries three magazines that are integrated into the top of the blaster, with each one holding ten rounds. Each time you prime, the barrel rotates and uses a round from one of the three magazines to fire.
What’s great about the Artemis is that it lets you single-fire and slam fire, and the big sliding handle at the front is essentially the primer. It’s a mechanism that works nicely, is ergonomic, and overall looks really cool, if not intimidating.
| Nerf Rival Artemis XVII-3000 | |
|---|---|
| Year: | 2017 |
| Mode of fire: | Single and slam fire |
| Priming mechanism: | Pump action |
| More info: | Nerf Rival Artemis XVII-3000 review |
3. Nerf Rival Kronos XVIII-500
First released in 2018, the Kronos is a pistol-style spring-action blaster with a firing capacity of 5 rounds. It carries a spring-loaded internal magazine.
Reloading, priming, and priming is an incredibly smooth affair with the Kronos. That, combined with its great looks and fantastic performance, makes the Kronos a must-have Rival machine.
Pistol-style Nerf guns aren’t for everyone, but the Kronos certainly won’t disappoint. It’s perhaps the best blaster you can currently get your hands on in that category of Nerf blasters.
| Nerf Rival Kronos XVIII-500 | |
|---|---|
| Year: | 2018 |
| Mode of fire: | Single fire |
| Priming mechanism: | Slide action |
| More info: | Nerf Rival Kronos XVIII-500 review |
4. Nerf Rival Hades XVIII-6000
The Hades is the first Rival blaster in this list that is part of the exciting Phantom Corps sub-series. Released in 2018, the Hades is a pump-action blaster with single and slam-fire capabilities.
The great-looking Hades has an integrated magazine that holds 60 High-Impact rounds. The priming and firing mechanism is intuitive, and re-loading the rounds into the magazine is just as easy.
You may have noticed that the Hades is very similar to the Artemis, both in looks and mechanics. The Hades has a bigger magazine capacity, and overall, the blaster is larger than the Artemis.
| Nerf Rival Hades XVIII-6000 | |
|---|---|
| Year: | 2018 |
| Sub series: | Phantom Corps |
| Mode of fire: | Single and slam fire |
| Priming mechanism: | Pump action |
| More info: | Nerf Rival Hades XVIII-6000 review |
5. Nerf Rival Perses MXIX-5000
The Perses, first introduced in 2019, is a compact flywheel and conveyor blaster with a generous firing capacity of 50 rounds. The rounds are loaded into a hopper system, similar to how that works with the Nemesis.
What I like most about the Perses is that it has a comfortable and lightweight design, yet it can carry many rounds and perform incredibly well. It’s a fully automatic blaster with a smooth and fast firing mechanism.
The conveyor feeding mechanism, combined with the hopper system, works nicely and makes the Perses such a fun Rival blaster. Jams can happen with this setup, although they are rare and can be easily fixed by popping out the hopper.
| Nerf Rival Perses MXIX-5000 | |
|---|---|
| Year: | 2019 |
| Mode of fire: | Automatic |
| Priming mechanism: | Acceleration trigger |
| More info: | Nerf Rival Perses MXIX-5000 review |
6. Nerf Rival Prometheus MXVIII-20K
The second Phantom Corps machine in this list of best Nerf Rival blasters is the impressive, intimidating, and over-the-top Prometheus MXVIII-20K. But most of all, the Prometheus is a fun machine to play with and should be part of your collection.
The Prometheus was released in 2018 as a fully automatic flywheel blaster with a staggering 200-round firing capacity. As you can tell, the Prometheus is similar to the Nemesis, but I would argue that the Nemesis is perhaps a more serious weapon.
The hopper magazine is removable, which makes reloading your 200 rounds a very easy process. And once you’ve fully loaded the hopper, you can start firing with a claimed maximum of 8 rounds per second rate of fire. Wow, seriously.
| Nerf Rival Prometheus MXVIII-20K | |
|---|---|
| Year: | 2018 |
| Sub series: | Phantom Corps |
| Mode of fire: | Automatic |
| Priming mechanism: | Acceleration trigger |
| More info: | Nerf Rival Prometheus MXVIII-20K review |
7. Nerf Rival Takedown XX-800
Released in early 2020, the Nerf Rival Takedown is a pump-action blaster with an 8-round firing capacity. The takedown has an internal magazine which can be accessed from the top of the blaster by opening the little hole through a priming action.
The priming mechanism with the pump handle at the front is quite smooth, and so is the firing. It’s single-fire only, even though the priming handle makes you want to slam fire.
One thing you’ll notice straight away when looking at the Takedown is the somewhat awkwardly shaped grip. It’s a comfortable grip, though, that fits larger hands nicely.
Overall, the Takedown is a robust and to-the-point Rival blaster that deserves a spot on this list.
| Nerf Rival Takedown XX-800 | |
|---|---|
| Year: | 2020 |
| Mode of fire: | Single fire |
| Priming mechanism: | Pump action |
| More info: | Nerf Rival Takedown XX-800 review |
8. Nerf Rival Roundhouse XX-1500
Released in 2020, the Roundhouse is a spring-powered slide-action gun with a generous 15-round magazine. Despite its bulky appearance, this is still a pistol-style blaster.
The most interesting aspect of the Roundhouse is the rotating magazine, which consists of five integrated mini magazines that are shaped like little tubes. Each magazine tube holds three rounds which leads to a total of 15 rounds. As complicated as it may look, it’s easy to get used to and adds to the fun factor.
Performance-wise, the Roundhouse doesn’t disappoint. The only drawback is that while the priming and firing mechanism is quite intuitive and smooth, the fact that the magazine needs to rotate can lead to jams if the priming action is not done properly.
| Nerf Rival Roundhouse XX-1500 | |
|---|---|
| Year: | 2020 |
| Mode of fire: | Single fire |
| Priming mechanism: | Slide action |
| More info: | Nerf Rival Roundhouse XX-1500 review |
9. Nerf Rival Pathfinder XXII-1200
Released in 2022, the Nerf Rival Pathfinder XXII-1200 is a spring-powered pump-action blaster with an adjustable iron sight, an integrated shoulder stock, and a detachable 12-round magazine.
The Pathfinder is part of a Rival subseries that features blasters with a yellow and light blue color scheme and a new ammunition type called Accu-Rounds. This ammo type is very similar to the classic Rival Round, but the dimples are much larger, designed to improve performance.
One of the top features of the Pathfinder is that it comes with two iron sights: one rear sight that is adjustable, and one front sight above the muzzle. The rear sight can be moved from left to right and up and down.
While the performance of the Pathfinder isn’t seemingly much better than your average Rival blaster, the Pathfinder looks great, performs as one would expect from a Rival Blaster, is reasonably ergonomic, and is well-priced.
| Nerf Rival Pathfinder XXII-1200 | |
|---|---|
| Year: | 2022 |
| Sub series: | Accu |
| Mode of fire: | Single fire |
| Priming mechanism: | Pump action |
| More info: | Nerf Rival Pathfinder XXII-1200 review |
About the Nerf Rival Series
The Nerf Rival series was first announced in 2015, with the Apollo XV-700 and the Zeus MXV-1200 being the first blasters in that series.
The purpose of the Rival series (officially written with full caps as RIVAL) was to bring to market high-performing blasters for competitive team vs team play. Rival blasters are typically available in red and blue color schemes, supporting the team play aspect.
A new ammo type was designed specifically for the Rival series. These High-Impact Rounds are not darts. Instead, they are small yellow balls with dimples, similar to what golf balls look like.
Naming Convention
You may have noticed the rather interesting names given to Rival Blasters. For example, Artemis XVII-3000, and Prometheus MXVIII-20K.
If the blasters themselves aren’t impressive enough already, then their names certainly are! What’s even better is that these funky names weren’t just randomly chosen.
The names actually refer to Greek and Roman mythological figures. Prometheus, for example, is a Titan God of fire.
The letters are Roman numbers that refer to the year the blaster was first released. For example, the Artemis was released in 2017, indicated with the Roman number XVII, which means 17.
Some Rival blasters also have an M, which means they’re motorized blasters. For example, the Prometheus is a motorized blaster that was released in 2018. As such, the name includes (M) and XVIII.
But it gets even more complicated. The 3000 bit in the Artemis name means it has a magazine capacity of 30 rounds * 100. The Prometheus, on the other hand, has a capacity of 200, which is 100 * 200 = 20K.
To recap, this is how the Prometheus MXVIII-20K got its name:
Prometheus = Greek mythological figure
M = Motorized blaster
XVIII = The year (20)18
20K = 100 * 200 Rounds
How cool is that?
Safety
The target market for the Rival series was older kids and adults. Rival blasters were never designed for young kids because they are so powerful. Plus, the ammo, High-Impact rounds, is very different from the classic Nerf darts.
The official recommended age for Rival blasters is 14 years and older, which I think is fair enough. That older target audience makes sense, given the power of these blasters and the type of ammo used.
When the Rival series first came out, the blasters weren’t actually allowed in Australia because they didn’t meet the local toy safety standards. That might be a bit excessive, but it does say a lot about this range of blasters.
Overall though, I can honestly say that I find Nerf Rival blasters pretty safe. Getting hit by a High-Impact round can certainly be felt, but it doesn’t hurt. Wearing goggles to protect the eyes, though, is a good idea.
Sub Series
As with other Nerf series, the Rival series of blasters also has a few sub-series. The most notable Rival sub-series are the following:
- Edge:
A sub-series with a focus on precision and target shooting. Blasters in the Edge sub-series have a lime-green color scheme. - Phantom Corps:
A sub-series with blasters that are promoted as non-team based. Phantom Corps blasters have a black-and-white color scheme to visually separate them from the red and blue Rival models. - Accu:
A sub-series with a new ammunition type called Accu-Rounds designed to improve shooting accuracy and velocity. Blasters in this range have a yellow and light blue color scheme and come with adjustable sights.
Three blasters in the above list of best Nerf Rival guns are from various sub-series.
The Hades and Prometheus are part of the successful Phantom Corps sub-series, and the Pathfinder is part of the Accu sub-series.
Good, but you have a mistake, as the upgrade of Nerf Rival Saturn is much better than Takedown. It is much bigger, more powerful, and has slamfire.
Hi Kuhan, you’re making a valid point, and many may agree with you.
However, I do actually prefer the Takedown over the Saturn. I like the simplicity, the handling, and the overall look-and-feel of the Takedown.