Each hero and villain is unique in Marvel Rivals, and they all have their own specific roles that dictate what they like to do best. Duelists are the best for bursting down their targets, while Vanguards can take a good beating while charging forward at the enemy team.
In the middle, we have Strategists. Always ready to support their teams in various ways, Mantis is one of the best examples of the role. The Celestial empath is one of the game’s dedicated healers, and she might be just the character you were looking for if you need some heavy sustain on your team.
Mantis Overview In Marvel Rivals
|
Health |
275 HP |
|---|---|
|
Difficulty |
🟩⬛⬛⬛⬛ |
Mantis is the perfect example of how powerful a Strategist can be. A truly selfless empath, her kit is all about empowering her allies while she has almost no offensive options for herself. Her damage buff can be granted to multiple allies at once, and her heals will make sure they’ll stay around to enjoy it.
Activating her Ultimate will make her whole team almost invincible for a few seconds, leaving them with some Bonus Health as a parting gift. If your team needs a healer, you can’t go wrong with her.
Like most Strategists, Mantis is extremely squishy and easy to take out, making her a prime target for enemies. If they manage to sneak through her frontline, she’s probably the first to go. She lacks mobility skills, has no big emergency heals outside her Ultimate, and her sole crowd control skill can only hit one target (if it hits, to begin with).
Mantis Abilities
|
Ability |
Description |
|---|---|
|
Life Energy Blast LMB/R2/RT |
Mantis attacks with her energy thorns. Mantis can hold up to 20 thorns at once and immediately recharges once they’re gone. If her thorn scores a critical strike, she immediately recovers a Life Orb. Otherwise, Orbs will regenerate every 3 seconds for a maximum of 4 Orbs. |
|
Healing Flower RMB/L2/LT |
Consume 1 Life Orb to heal an ally. The ally also gets a healing over time effect for 8 seconds. Multiple allies can have Healing Flower at the same time. Recasting on the same ally only refreshes the duration and won’t give them any immediate heal. Mantis cannot target herself. Stacks with Soul Resurgence. |
|
Spore Slumber LSHIFT/L1/R1 |
Mantis launches a seed spore at her target, putting them to sleep if it hits. Can only hit one enemy per cast. Target will awaken once any attack hits them or after 3.5 seconds. They can also awaken if their allies destroy the Mantis illusion manifested at his side. |
|
Allied Inspiration E/R1/RB |
Consume 1 Life Orb to give a damage boost of 12% to an ally. Lasts for 8 seconds. Multiple allies can have Allied Inspiration at the same time. Recasting on the same ally only refreshes the duration and won’t increase the boost. Mantis cannot target herself. |
|
Natural Anger F/Square/X |
Consumes 1 Life Orb to give a damage boost of 12% to herself. Lasts for 8 seconds. Recasting only refreshes the duration and won’t increase the boost. |
|
Soul Resurgence Q/L3+R3 |
Mantis creates a life field around her, immediately healing nearby allies and granting them persistent healing over time and a Movement Boost for the Ultimate’s duration. Excess healing becomes Bonus Health. Stacks with Healing Flower. |
|
Nature’s Favor Passive |
When Mantis is at full health, she receives a Movement Boost. Whenever she uses a Life Orb skill, she grants herself a weaker healing over time effect. The healing effect refreshes if she uses multiple skills. |
|
Nature’s Soul Passive Team-Up Ability |
When Adam Warlock is on the team, Mantis and Star-Lord can revive inside a cocoon where they were killed instead of returning to base. While in cocoon form, Mantis can move and has 12 seconds to choose where she wants to return. If she doesn’t use the cocoon, she’ll be sent back to base as usual. 2 minutes cooldown. |
With an almost fully defensive kit, Mantis is the definition of a dedicated healer, doing everything she can to ensure her allies’ well-being. Her Orbs recharge decently fast, and she’s able to provide their effects to multiple allies at once, so there’s no need to pocket heal someone. Her damage is small but still relevant.
She can come in clutch to help a Duelist finish off his opponent or preemptively throw a heal on a Vanguard before they charge at the enemy team. Toss them a damage buff to make things even better. Her Ultimate ensures no one dies for a while, and it can be used in some neat, creative ways.
However, when pitted against sneaky characters such as Magik, Psylocke, and Moon Knight, Mantis will have a bad time. It’s hard for her to defend herself when those guys are around, so be ready to change heroes if needed.
Spore Slumber can work as an escape tool. If someone’s chasing you down, put them to sleep and don’t attack them until you can heal and find some help.
Recommended Teams
As a potent healer, Mantis is generally a safe pick. She’s notably powerful when paired with Duelists such as Star-Lord, Scarlet Witch, and Psylocke, as Allied Inspiration makes their burst combos even better.
Vanguards with quick access to Bonus Health can make the most out of her heals, as they’ll be harder to bring down while Healing Flower is still going. Venom is a good example.
Her most notable synergy is with Adam Warlock. It’s hard to understate how powerful these two can be together. They provide safety for their team, and being able to return to combat immediately is invaluable.
Enemies can see and follow the cocoon before she decides to revive, so look for a safe place to come back. Otherwise, you might just be gunned down again. Pitifully.
How To Play As Mantis In Marvel Rivals
True to her role, Mantis requires some strategic positioning. You generally want to stay behind others, only extending as much as needed to heal and buff your allies. The initial effect isn’t that big, but the healing over time is amazing.
Her damage using Natural Anger is not bad, but not worth risking exposing yourself. Try to use it when no heals are needed or when there aren’t new targets for Allied Inspiration.
Spore Slumber is the trickiest to use. A perfect tool to stop a Vanguard rampaging on its tracks, immediately bursting them down. You can only hit one target,t and it has a long cooldown, so choose wisely.
Her passive is great for covering distances and keeping her alive. But it’s a weaker heal than Healing Flower, so Mantis still can’t survive much if she’s focused down. Avoid being a target at all costs.
Mantis Combos In Marvel Rivals
- Healing Flower > Allied Inspiration (x2) > Healing Flower
- Spore Slumber > Allied Inspiration > Natural Anger > Life Blast Energy
- Soul Resurgence > Natural Anger > Allied Inspiration (x3) > Life Blast Energy
As many of your skills are situational, you don’t need to follow these combos perfectly. However, try to always have at least one ally with Allied Inspiration active, as it’ll help secure some extra kills.
Putting an enemy to sleep right in front of your allies is one of the best ‘feel good’ moments for Mantis. The Spore can be hard to hit but can be decisive in securing an objective.
Natural Anger should, once again, only be used when buffing or healing isn’t needed. But when you’re pushing the enemy team, some extra damage wouldn’t hurt. Not you, at least.
When To Use Soul Resurgence
Mantis’s Ultimate is very straightforward and can be used to save an ally or herself. The healing effect is very similar to Luna Snow’s Ultimate, but Mantis can still use her other skills, so don’t stop pressing the enemy.
You can counter other powerful Ultimates (such as Psylocke’s or Storm’s) with Soul Resurgence as the Bonus Health negates the burst damage.
There’s no ‘wrong’ moment to use it as long as you can save someone with it. But saving it for big fights (such as a final push during Overtime) is usually your best bet. The Bonus Health won’t stop coming, and the victory screen will soon follow.
