Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge

Has there ever been a better day to get into Nerf? I’m having a hard time thinking of one. Two of the best, most competitive unmodded blasters cost half their normal price today — including the Dart Zone MK-3 and the Nerf Rival Perses — and I’m seeing huge discounts on a bunch of other actually-fun foam throwers as well.

Just note that you won’t actually find most of these blasters at Amazon. Target and Walmart are holding the best blaster sales, likely in an attempt to draw focus from their competitor.

• Dart Zone MK-3 for $65 (normally $130) at Target. The hobby’s never seen a stock blaster like the MK-3 before, pictured atop this story. You get semi-auto AND full-auto; short darts AND long darts; 8AAs or the option of a drop-in lithium polymer pack if you buy one yourself. That’s all in one sci-fi rifle that shoots 150 feet-per-second right out of the box. Just know that its serrated flywheels can be harsh on darts.

• Nerf Rival Perses for $50 (normally $100ish) at Walmart. I explained the Perses’ benefits when it saw a similar sale last November, but to recap: 50 rounds of fully auto flying foam balls from an internal hopper, and it comes with its own rechargeable NiMH battery pack and charger.
• Dart Zone Max Stryker for $42 (normally $60) at Target. The Target-exclusive version of Dart Zone’s Adventure Force Nexus Pro, which changed the hobby by introducing unheard of accuracy and range with normal long and especially short darts for a mere $50 out of the box. It’s got a cooler look and more comfortable grips than the Nexus if you ask me, and now it costs less than a typical Nexus as well.
• Adventure Force Nexus Pro for $40 (normally $50) at Walmart. And here’s the Nexus Pro itself, for slightly cheaper. Same blaster as the Max Stryker above internally, but different design and grip. One bonus: you can stuff a Nerf Mega or Rival round into the front barrel and it’ll fire a short distance!
• Nerf Mega XL Boom Dozer for $15 (normally $40) at Amazon, Target, Walmart, Kohl’s. A six-shot revolving grenade launcher featuring Nerf’s biggest darts ever. Or 3D-print some aftermarket cylinders to launch shotgun blasts of smaller darts. Not competitive, but loads of fun. Retailers are clearing this one out, so don’t expect it to stay for long!
• Nerf Rival Curve Shot Helix for $16.49 (normally $33) at Target. Looks like retailers are clearing out this line of blasters as well, which let you curve your shots like Angelina Jolie in Wanted. The Helix is the highest-end model, a pump-action shotgun-esque blaster that holds 20 rounds in an internal hopper.
• Nerf Rival Curve Shot Sidewipe for $10 (normally $25) at Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart. Hard to ignore this blaster when it’s more than half-off!
• Nerf Zombie Strike FlipFury for $13.37 (normally $22) at Amazon. This older blaster isn’t remotely competitive, but I found it fun! At close to its best price ever, you can buy two for back to back, cylinder flipping wild west revolver duels.