Mantis, the kindhearted, hope-filled and slightly weird alien girl, inspires her allies in Marvel Rivals with her unwavering optimism. Using her impressive mental manipulation abilities, she becomes an asset that provides much needed strength to her friends in battle.
Although Mantis may be a Strategist, she’s no pushover and can heavily punish careless foes who don’t take her seriously. This guide will provide a deeper understanding of her abilities as well as what to expect when facing her. More importantly, it will also suggest which heroes can effectively counter her to prevent you from being put under her telepathic control.
How To Counter Mantis
Whilst Mantis is a Strategist, her healing isn’t the strongest in her kit. Her main strength comes from her ability to lock a single target in place using her Spore Slumber and the ability to provide a damage buff to her allies using Allied Inspiration, making them more dangerous.
Fortunately, she has no mobility and is a relatively easy target for Duelists and Vanguards. Be cautious, however, her damage and crowd control (CC) abilities can and will put you in a bad spot. Be sure to bait out her abilities before engaging her, or pick heroes with anti-CC.
How To Counter Mantis as a Strategist
There aren’t many situations where you’ll need to engage a Mantis. In most cases, it’s better to help your allied Vanguards and Duelists by providing heals and preventing them from being CC’d by Mantis’ Spore Slumber.
Cloak and Dagger are perfect for countering Mantis or, more specifically, Cloak. His abilities Dark Teleportation and Terror Cape both work to protect and disrupt enemy CC and damage. Dark Teleportation shrouds allies in darkness, preventing them from receiving damage and countering CCs, whilst Terror Cape blinds enemies, causing them to not be able to effectively use their abilities.
How To Counter Mantis as a Duelist
As a Duelist, your main priority is to eliminate Mantis to prevent her from buffing her team. As stated previously, the best strategy is to bait out her abilities before engaging her. Picking heroes with high mobility can be extremely useful to avoid said abilities.
Black Panther is an exceptional flanker and can easily avoid Mantis’ Spore Slumber thanks to his quick movement abilities. Spinning Kick and Spirit Rend both propel Black Panther forward with the added benefit of providing overhealth when they connect to targets marked with Vibranium Mark.
Spinning Kick can be steered in a different direction mid-animation to confuse and hit more than one target.
Winter Soldier is also a great pick against Mantis. Though instead of going into the backline and attacking the Mantis head on, you can pull her towards you and your team using Bionic Hook. Should she attempt to use Spore Slumber, she can only stun one of your allies and won’t be of much use.
How To Counter Mantis as a Vanguard
Vanguards have a much easier time dealing with Mantis due to their high health pools and defensive abilities. Heroes with barriers are a must as they can negate her ability to stun and flee to safety.
Magneto has the most effective counters to Mantis as he has access to multiple barrier abilities in the forms of Metallic Curtain and Metal Bulwark. Metallic Curtain is a simple rectangular shield wall that protects anything behind it, including abilities. Metal Bulwark is a more powerful version of the prior, as it will protect from any angle and can be applied to allies.
Hulk can also be used against Mantis as he too has a barrier ability. Indestructible Guard works similarly to Metal Bulwark and provides a barrier to both himself and other nearby allies. Pair that with his ability to dive in and out of the backline using his Incredible Leap and Mantis will be unable to do anything.
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