Mantis

Mantis is a Skill Champion. Being a Skill Champion, she has a Class Bonus against Science Champions, but is weak to Mutant Champions.

Bio[]

Master martial artist and expert empath, this one is a powerful combatant ready to take on the contest with her emotional influence! After being taught to be a grand mistress of the martial arts by the Priests of Pama, Mantis became the Celestial Madonna, the Mother of a being destined to change the universe. In doing so, she was granted a new body from a race known as the Cotati. With this new body, Mantis gained complete control over her own spirit and emotions, which she uses to fight alongside the Avengers, Fantastic Four, and Guardians of the Galaxy to protect every corner of the universe she calls home.

Mechanics[]

Mantis’ core gameplay is designed around inflicting Mixed Emotions, launching her Heavy Attack, then canceling it into Special 2 for absurd Critical Damage! To inflict Mixed emotions, Mantis needs to play into the Opponent’s Emotional state. By inflicting Infuriate or Intimidate, Mantis will need to either intercept her Opponent or hit their block based on the active effect. Once achieved, charging her heavy attack will inflict a Sleep effect, with the duration of Sleep increased for each Mixed Emotion on the Opponent. This lengthy Sleep effect allows Mantis to gain multiple fury effects as she charges her Heavy Attack longer. Landing her Heavy Attack, players can cancel this into a Special 2 for Guaranteed Critical Hits. Loop these steps to maximize Mantis’ damage!.

Optionally, Mantis can also lean into her Special 1 or Special 3 to remove Debuffs with Purify, Cleanse, or Tranquilize, a brand new effect that lowers the Ability Accuracy of the Opponent’s Debuffs similar to Neutralize.

Stats[]

Max Rating	Max Health	Max Attack
592	2270	225
-	-	-
1574	6033	598
-	-	-
3955	15128	1498
-	-	-
7969	30331	3004
-	-	-
13590	51755	5126
-	-	-
34520	131458	13018
-	-	-

Abilities[]

Tranquilize

While not performing an action, rather than running, Mantis stands still to inflict a 25% potency Tranquilize Passive, or 100% against Science Champions. This Tranquilize begins paused and lasts for 1 second when Mantis performs an action.
Mantis can toggle her ability to stand still when not performing an action by double tapping Block.
As a Defender, Mantis’ Opponent is permanently inflicted with a 25% potency Tranquilize Passive, or 100% against Science Champions. While the Opponent has a Regen effect active, this Tranquilize is removed. The Salve and Willpower Masteries do not remove this Ability.
Whenever the Opponent fails to inflict a Debuff due to Ability Accuracy Reduction while inflicted with Tranquilize, the Opponent gains 1 indefinite Mixed Emotion Passive.

Dev Notes: Tranquilize is an incredibly powerful ability, by denying Debuffs on Mantis, she can deal with numerous different types of defensive challenges in the Contest. This ability is the most effective against the Science class, however, this ability can still prove to be useful against other classes, especially with her Signature Ability.

Mixed Emotions – Max: 20

Dashing backwards after landing the first, second, or third Light Attack inflicts a non-stacking Infuriate Debuff for 7 seconds, making the Opponent more aggressive and reducing their Offensive Ability Accuracy by 50%. This ability has a 14 second Cooldown.
Intercepting the Opponent while they are inflicted with this Infuriate Debuff inflicts 2 indefinite Mixed Emotion Passives.
Landing a Light Combo Ender inflicts a non-stacking X potency Intimidate Debuff for 7 seconds. This ability has a 14 second Cooldown.

Tier	Intimidate Potency
	425
	462.5
	500
	525
	562.5
	687.5

Hitting the Opponent’s Block while they are inflicted with this Intimidate Debuff inflicts 1 indefinite Mixed Emotion Passive.
Opponents can only be inflicted with either an Infuriate or Intimidate. Inflicting one will remove the other or its cooldown.
For each Mixed Emotion on the Opponent, they lose X Block Proficiency. Whenever Mantis is knocked down, she loses her focus and the Opponent loses 1 Mixed Emotion Passive.

Tier	Block Proficiency
	59.83
	65.11
	70.39
	73.91
	79.19
	96.79

Dev Notes: This is where Mantis’ core gameplay shows itself. Mantis has an incredible amount of control over her opponent’s aggression, meaning she can dictate the pacing of the fight. Playing into these abilities inflicts “Mixed Emotions” onto the opponent, fueling the Sleep Ability present in her Heavy Attack.

Heavy Attack

Charging a Heavy Attack while close to the Opponent consumes all Mixed Emotions on the Opponent to inflict a Sleep Passive for 0.5 seconds, increased up to 4 seconds based on the amount of Mixed Emotions consumed. This ability cannot be activated with no Mixed Emotions on the Opponent and cannot be activated on Defense.
Mantis’ Heavy Attack can be charged for an extended duration. While charging, Mantis builds up Fury Passives over time, each increasing Attack Rating by X. When Mantis releases her Heavy attack, these Furies remain for 5 seconds. Max: 10.

Tier	Attack Rating
	61.88
	164.45
	411.95
	826.1
	1409.65
	3579.95

Each hit grants Mantis a Cruelty Buff, increasing her Critical Damage Rating by X for 12 seconds. Max: 2.

Tier	Critical Damage Rating
	398.77
	433.95
	469.14
	492.59
	527.78
	645.06

Dev Notes: With Mantis, we are also introducing our new “Sleep” Ability, this is similar to Stun, however, this effect is removed when opponents are struck for the first time, making it much more situational as an Attacker. Mantis uses this effectively, by granting herself Fury effects based on how long she charges her Heavy Attack. Pair this with a Special 2 for devastating damage!

Signature Ability[]

Celestial Madonna - Always Active

All Tranquilize effects under 100% potency have their potency increased by 5-25% flat.
Inflicting a Mixed Emotion Passive while the Opponent is inflicted with Tranquilize effect pauses all Tranquilize effects for X seconds.

Tier	Tranquilize Pause (sec)
	0.2 - 0.8
	0.2 - 0.8
	0.2 - 0.8
	0.2 - 1.2
	0.2 - 1.2
	0.2 - 1.2

Dev Notes: Mantis’ Tranquilize abilities get boosted to emphasize them as one of her core abilities. By increasing their potency, and tying a pause towards her core gameplay loop of building Mixed Emotions, it gives her a kit a nice boost that wraps everything together a little bit more.

Special Attacks[]

Special 1 - Induced Hypersomnia
This one is making you feel very.... sleeeepy

Mantis waves her hand to inflict an Encroaching Sleep Passive for 14 seconds. Upon expiry, inflict a Sleep Passive for 2 seconds. This Encroaching Sleep can be removed early if Mantis is struck by a Special Attack while the Opponent has a Prowess effect.
On activation, Mantis attempts to Purify up to 2 Debuffs. For each Purify that does not remove a Debuff, Mantis gains a Cleanse Passive for 16 seconds. Each Cleanse will consume itself to instantly Purify the next Debuff applied to Mantis.
Whenever a Debuff is purified due to these effects, Mantis inflicts 2 indefinite Mixed Emotion Passives on the Opponent.

Dev Notes: Mantis’ Special 1 grants her Purify and Cleanse effects depending on the situation she finds herself in. While her Tranquilize effect is incredibly powerful, it can be easy for certain Debuffs to hit Mantis due to the mistiming of Tranquilize or due to the lower potency against other Classes. Special 1 grants her a safety net to instantly remove Debuffs, or preemptively remove debuffs with Cleanse as a safety precaution.

Special 2 - Emotional Outburst
This one performs a powerful palm strike to annihilate her opponents with critical hits!

If this Special Attack was activated during Mantis’ Heavy Attack, this Special Attack deals Guaranteed Critical Hits.

Dev Notes: This makes the opponent’s health go down a lot.

Special 3 - Dance Off to Save the Contest
This one knows how to break it down!

Inflict a 100% potency Tranquilize Debuff for 26 seconds.

Dev Notes: If Mantis is dealing with a non-Science fight against someone with a lot of Debuffs, she can use her Special 3 to inflict an incredibly powerful Tranquilize to shut down all Debuffs for a long period of time. This time can also be extended with her Signature ability as well.

Synergy Bonuses[]

Synergy	Partner(s)	Effect(s)
This One Also Has Mixed Emotions!		Mantis: Whenever Mantis inflicts a Mixed Emotion Passive, there is a 25% chance to inflict another. Psycho-Man: Whenever Psycho-Man cycles his Control Box Mode, he gains 20% of a Bar of Power over 1 second. Unique Synergy: Does not stack with duplicate synergies.
This One Puts The “Guard” In Guardian!		Guardians and Synergy Members: +350 Block Proficiency for each Synergy Member present.
This One Can Sense That Things Are Complicated		Mantis: The duration of personal Infuriate and Intimidate Debuffs are increased by 2 seconds flat. Gamora: While Gamora has at least 6 Personal Buffs active, her Special 2 becomes passively Unblockable. Star-Lord: Elemental Guns are no longer random, effects can be cycled by double tapping Block. Effects are cycled: Fire, Air, Water, Earth. Unique Synergy: Does not stack with duplicate synergies.
This One Won't Let Anything Go Over Your Head!		Mantis: Mantis’ Sleep inflicted by charging a Heavy Attack has its duration increased by 0.5 seconds flat. Drax: Drax can now Parry non-contact hits. Unique Synergy: Does not stack with duplicate synergies.
This One Thinks That Violence Is Not The Answer		Mantis: While at least 1 personal Cruelty Buff is active, gain a Precision Passive, increasing Critical Rating by 350. Rocket Raccoon: Inflicting Power Drains with Special 1 now consumes 12 scrap instead of 15. Unique Synergy: Does not stack with duplicate synergies.
This One Has Found Romance		All Champions: +5% Combat Power Rate.
This One Has Enemies		All Champions: Gain +155 Critical Rating.
Incoming Synergy	Partner(s)	Effect(s)
Boogie Boogie Uprising		Synergy Members: Dodging back and holding Block activates a 1.2 second timer. Releasing Block just as the timer expires grants a Jiggy With It Buff for 20 seconds, increasing Critical Rating by +150 and granting an Unstoppable Passive while Dodging backwards or Dashing forwards. Unique Synergy: Does not stack with duplicate synergies.
Psycho-Mantis		Moondragon: While Psionic Transcendence is not active, gain a +750 Energy Resistance Buff. Mantis: Start each fight with a dormant Physical Resistance Charge. When struck, the charge is removed and replaced with a 1400 Physical Resistance Buff for 6 seconds. Unique Synergy: Does not stack with duplicate synergies.
Bring Me A Dream		Mantis: Gain a True Accuracy Buff for 10 seconds when the Opponent is inflicted with Sleep. Sandman: After Special Attack 3, Sandman gains a Fury Passive granting 30% Attack Rating for 10 seconds. Unique Synergy: Does not stack with duplicate synergies.

Strengths and Weaknesses[]

Strengths[]

Emotional Control over the Opponent
- Mantis’ burst damage is heavily determined by how well she plays around her opponent’s emotional state. By inflicting the Opponent with Intimidate and Infuriate, Mantis can build up her main resource, “Mixed Emotions”.
- Of course, these two abilities by themselves are also incredibly powerful. Manage them carefully to reduce their cooldowns.
Strong Tranquilize
- Tranquilize is a brand new effect similar to the Neutralize effect found present in the Mystic class. Tranquilize reduces the Ability Accuracy of Debuffs on the target. To inflict this ability, Mantis needs to stand still to prevent the Debuffs of Science opponents. This ability is also useful against non-Science opponents, although at a lower potency.
Powerful Burst of Critical Damage
- By throwing a Special 2 after the first two hits of Heavy. This lets Mantis inflict a gigantic burst of guaranteed Critical Damage. With the help of the Fury and Cruelty effects received from Mantis’ Heavy Attack, Special 2 allows Mantis to annihilate her opponent.

Weaknesses[]

Complete Control, until you lose it
- While Mantis has incredibly easy access to Infuriate and Intimidate effects. Managing them can be a stressful task, leading to moments where players can forget which emotional state they find the opponent in, leading to them being intercepted or caught out when they least expect it.
Little to no Defenses
- Mantis is one of the most potentially dangerous Glass Cannon archetypes in the Contest. By gaining so much control over the fight, she can deal incredible damage whilst controlling her opponent. However, her defenses are quite pitiful, meaning her world can come crashing down if she gets hit by a powerful Special Attack.

Recommended Masteries[]

Recoil
- For shorter-duration fights, Mantis’s absurd amount of damage often only needs one Special Attack to end the fight.
Liquid Courage/Double Edge
- With Special 1 Purifying 2 Debuffs on Mantis, this allows her to run Liquid Courage and Double Edge, granted she has the time to rush up to a quick Special 1.
Cruelty
- The Cruelties on Mantis’ Heavy Hits can have their potency increased via Masteries as well. Granting her burst damage even higher heights.