Unit | Quotes | Gallery | Changelog |
“ | Give me something worth shooting. | ” |
—Mantis Tank |
The Mantis Scrap Tank is the main battle tank of the Scorpion Cell.
Official description[]
Much like its namesake, the Mantis Scrap Tank can attack its prey in the blink of an eye. Being by far the cheapest main battle tank, they are quickly produced and can easily swarm an enemy. To further increase their speed and decrease costs, the hull of the Mantis is made up of a unique combination of cheap "smart" polymers and nanofibers, making the tank barely sturdy enough to withstand a few rounds.
What makes the Mantis truly amazing though is the materials the tank is made up of - fully malleable when not under a constant low voltage, which keeps it in rigid shape. This allows for friendly Mantis Tanks to quickly scavenge debris off the wrecks of their brethern and replenish their own damaged armor.[1]
Overview[]
With its combination of speed - in both movement and build time - and low cost, the Mantis is one of the most viable rushing tools available to any faction in Mental Omega. Similarly to its rival the Jaguar Tank, it also punches above its weight, doing more shot-for-shot damage than any of the Allied Nations tanks despite beating all of them in cost.
The main weakness of the Mantis is its extreme fragility. Individual Mantises will fall very quickly to enemy anti-armor fire and while their repair boost ability can help somewhat, the tank's health pool is not large enough to make it a decisive factor. Due to this, deployment in overwhelming numbers is encouraged; however, Proselytes should be aware of the logistical problems brought on by attempting to engage with dozens of tanks at once. Splitting the force and surrounding the enemy in an open space is the recipe for success.
Due to Scorpion Cell's lack of a heavy armor unit and the absence of dedicated anti-armor vehicles aside from the Speeder Trike, the Mantis Tank remains their most cost-effective tank even in the late game. Combined with Malver's deploy ability, a swarm of Mantises can remain a threat to the heaviest of enemy forces - provided they survive long enough to get into range.
AI behavior[]
Mantis Tanks controlled by the AI have the following attack patterns:
All difficulties[]
- 1x entering Tank Bunker
- This task force may be accompanied by 1 additional Mantis Tank
- 4x targeting vehicles
- This task force will only be constructed if a Pandora Hub is not present
- 6x targeting vehicles or structures
Hard[]
- 4x targeting vehicles, accompanied by 6 Brutes
- 4x targeting vehicles, accompanied by 2 Plague Splatters
- 4x targeting vehicles, accompanied by 4 Speeder Trikes
- 2 Speeder Trikes use the artillery mode
Appearances[]
“ | Mantis is a cheap but fragile tank. Its destruction repairs all the Mantis nearby. | ” |
—Epsilon intel during Operation: Scrapyard |
Act One[]
- Mantis Tanks are introduced in Scrapyard as part of Rashidi's forces. After the first part of the mission, they'll fall under control of the player, and more of them can be built from the Stalin's Fist. These first Mantises have white chasses, similar to the color scheme of the Allies, instead of the brown ones like normal Mantises. Mantis Tank is also able to be built from an Epsilon-controlled Stalin's Fist in Co-Op mission Retaliation and Special Ops mission Fallen Ashes.
- In Warranty Void, a Mantis Tank can be found among the ranks of the separatists mind controlled by the Psychic Beacon. When the Psychic Beacon is cut off from power, it will join forces with PsiCorps alongside the rest of the rebels. It is stated in the briefing of Killing Fields that this tank belongs to some of Rashidi's men who operated amongst the rebels.
Assessment[]
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