Review of the Nerf Rival Phantom Corps Hades XVIII-6000

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Last updated: August 24, 2023

The Nerf Rival Hades XVIII-6000 is a spring-powered, pump-action blaster in the Phantom Corps sub-series, with single and slam fire capabilities.

Similar in size, shape, and internal workings to the Rival Artemis, the Hades is a medium to large-sized weapon that can hold 60 rounds in its built-in magazine.

In this review of the Rival Hades, I am going to walk you through some of the top features of this blaster, and I will share with you my personal opinion.

You can purchase the Nerf Rival Prometheus blaster on Amazon.

First released in 2018, the Hades XVIII-6000 is a 60-round blaster in the Phantom Corps sub-series of the popular Rival range of blasters. It’s a spring-powered blaster that can fire in single mode as well as in slam mode.

Named after an ancient Greek God, the Hades has an integrated magazine that can hold 60 rounds, and also comes with two straps in the colors red and blue which is great if you’d like to battle in teams.

As mentioned, the Hades is very similar to the Rival Artemis XVII-3000 that was released in 2017, with the Hades being a grade bigger with also a larger magazine.

I was, and still am, a massive fan of the compact and robust Artemis, so let’s find out if I like the Nerf Rival Hades just as much.

Here’s my take on the Nerf Rival Phantom Corps Hades.

1. Large Magazine

Compared to the 30-round magazine in the Artemis, the 60-round capacity of the magazine in the Hades is, of course, a huge improvement.

The integrated magazine consists of three separate 20-round tube-style magazines that are not removable. Because they are rather long tubes, the Hades is quite a large Nerf blaster.

To load the rounds into these three tubes, simply use the slider at the top to get access to the slots of the tubes. Each of the three magazines needs to be loaded independently.

While the loading process is super easy, it does take a bit of time to fully load all three magazines completely. Loading the Rival Nemesis or Prometheus, for example, is a much easier and quicker process as their magazines have just one big opening at the top.

2. Priming and Firing Joy

Not all pump-action Nerf blasters work as well as they should, but the Nerf Rival Hades is an absolute pleasure to prime and shoot with.

Once primed, the priming handle is locked into position until you pull the firing trigger. This process of priming and firing overall, both in single and slam fire mode, feels super smooth and solid.

The Hades also has an un-jamming button on the side, allowing you to unlock the priming handle in case of a jamming issue, which almost never happens.

Another thing that is worth mentioning is that the muzzle at the front consists of 4 smaller barrels that rotate. Once you prime, the barrels rotate to help pull the next round out of the magazine. In other words, the rotating forms part of the feeding mechanism.

Interestingly enough, only one of the four barrels actually fires rounds, which is the bottom barrel. So while the three extra barrels aren’t functional, the front of the blaster with the rotating effect actually looks really cool.

3. Superb Ergonomics

It has to be said that the Nerf Rival Hades, in all aspects, is an incredibly ergonomic machine.

The grip, the loading, the priming, the firing, the weight of the blaster; everything works really well, and overall the Hades has a very robust feel.

It is quite a large and long Nerf blaster, though, so perhaps for smaller kids, the Hades may not be the most suitable.

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To answer my own question above, yes, I do like the Hades about just as much as the Artemis. The quality and performance are very similar, and the Hades even has a bigger internal magazine. But for no justified reason, I would still prefer the Artemis, mainly because I generally prefer compact-sized blasters. I also like the color scheme of the Artemis better than that of the Phantom Corps blasters.

All that said, the Hades is a fantastic Rival blaster that I can’t really fault. It has excellent ergonomics, primes and fires smoothly, has great looks, and can hold a staggering amount of 60 rounds.

If there was one thing to pick on, then it’s perhaps that the performance of the Hades is slightly lagging behind other Rival blasters regarding firing velocity. But that’s not at all a deal-breaker because the firing performance of the Hades is still very impressive compared to most non-Rival Nerf blasters.

I like the Nerf Rival Hades XVIII-6000 so much that I have it included in my list of best Nerf Rival blasters ever made.

Review:	Nerf Rival Hades XVIII-6000
Summary:	The Nerf Rival Hades XVIII-6000 in the Phantom Corps sub-series is an outstanding spring-powered pump-action blaster with a large integrated magazine, excellent ergonomics, a smooth priming and firing mechanism, and great looks.
Author:	Thomas Dunnett
Rating:	4.7 (out of 5)