Marvel Rivals Mantis: How to Play, Counter & Abilities

Mantis is one of those characters that might not look impressive at first glance, but she’s currently one of the strongest supports in Marvel Rivals. At first, you might think she’s just another healer, but there’s a lot more to her than that.

The key to understanding Mantis is realizing that she’s a hybrid character. You’ll be juggling between keeping your team alive and contributing meaningful damage. Her Life Orb system might seem complicated at first, but once you get the hang of it, you’ll see why she’s so effective. It’s all about managing your resources and knowing when to heal, when to boost damage, and when to go on the offensive yourself.

In this guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know about playing Mantis: her abilities, how to manage your Life Orbs, positioning tips, and most importantly, how to make the biggest impact in team fights. You’ll also learn about her counters and how to deal with them effectively.

Before diving into the details, it’s worth noting that while Mantis isn’t the most mechanically demanding character, she does require good game sense and decision-making skills. If you’re new to support characters, you might want to start with someone simpler – but if you’re ready to put in the time, Mantis can be incredibly rewarding to master.

Marvel Rivals Mantis Stats

Mantis fills a special spot in the current roster as a Strategist who can both keep her team alive and help secure kills. Her kit revolves around managing Life Orbs, which power both her healing and damage-boosting abilities. This resource management aspect makes her more engaging to play than traditional healers.

	Mantis
Role	Strategist
Health	275 HP
Difficulty	⭐⭐ (2/5)

How to Play Mantis in Marvel Rivals

The first thing you need to understand about Mantis is her Life Orb system. You get a maximum of 4 orbs, with one regenerating every 3 seconds. Landing headshots with your primary attack instantly gives you an orb back. This mechanic rewards good aim and lets you stay active in fights while maintaining resources for healing.

Positioning is crucial when playing Mantis. Stay about 10-15 meters behind your frontline – this gives you enough distance to stay safe while keeping everyone in the healing range. Look for high-ground positions that offer good sightlines on both your team and the enemy. This lets you heal allies while still contributing damage.

For healing, focus on prevention rather than reaction. Apply Healing Flower to allies before they take heavy damage. The heal-over-time effect lasts 8 seconds, so timing it right is more effective than panic-healing after they’re already low. Keep track of enemy ultimates and save some orbs to heal through big damage moments.

Your damage amplification is just as important as healing. Allied Inspiration gives a 12% damage boost for 8 seconds. Prioritize buffing allies who are about to use their ultimates or who are in good positions to deal damage. A buffed Star-Lord or Scarlet Witch can quickly turn a fight in your team’s favor.

Don’t be afraid to use Natural Anger to boost your own damage. If your team is healthy and you’re landing headshots consistently, you can put out surprising damage while still maintaining healing resources. Focus on shooting at enemy supports or anyone who’s out of position.

Spore Slumber is your main defensive tool. Save it for when flankers try to dive you or to help your team secure kills. The sleep effect only hits one target but can completely shut down an enemy ultimate or save a teammate from being picked off.

Your ultimate, Soul Resurgence, requires careful timing. Use it to counter enemy ultimates, support a strong push, or save your team during crucial moments. The bonus health it provides can be the difference between winning and losing a team fight.

How to Counter Mantis in Marvel Rivals?

Beating Mantis requires a combination of good target prioritization and pressure application. Her healing is strong but not unlimited, and she’s vulnerable when her cooldowns are forced out.

To counter Mantis effectively, you need to either overwhelm her healing output or isolate her from her team. Forcing her to use Life Orbs defensively means she can’t support her team as effectively. Watch for when she uses Spore Slumber – this is her main defensive ability, and once it’s gone, she’s much more vulnerable to dives.

Coordinate with your team to focus fire on a single target. Mantis can’t outheal concentrated damage, especially if you can land headshots or critical hits. If you see her use Allied Inspiration on someone, try to disengage from that target until the buff wears off.

When Mantis uses her ultimate, either disengage completely or commit fully to taking her down. The healing field is strong but temporary, and if you can eliminate her, her team loses both healing and damage amplification.

Strong Mantis Counters:

• Thor – A good Thor player can easily stick to you and harass you.
• Spider-man – Spidey is one annoying hero to play against, he can flank you from different angles of pull you out of your team’s defense making you vulnerable.
• Black Panther – His speed and close-range damage make him particularly effective at hunting down Mantis.
• Iron Fist – Can easily pressure Mantis and force her to use resources defensively rather than supporting her team.

Thor	Spider-man	Black Panther	Iron Fist

All Mantis Abilities in Marvel Rivals

Ability	Description	Stats
Life Energy Blast	Fire an energy thorn projectile that rewards critical hits	• Damage: 50 per round • Fire Rate: 2.5 rounds/second • Projectile Speed: 150m/s • Ammo: 20 • No damage falloff • Critical hits generate 1 Life Orb
Healing Flower	Target an ally to provide healing over time	• One-time Heal: 55 HP • Healing over Time: 20 HP/second • Duration: 8 seconds (non-stacking) • Cost: 1 Life Orb • Targeting required
Spore Slumber	Throw a spore that sedates enemies	• Damage: 10 • Range: 3m radius • Duration: 3.5 seconds • Cooldown: 15 seconds • Mantis illusion spawns (100 HP) • Allies can break sleep by attacking illusion
Allied Inspiration	Grant damage boost to target ally	• Damage Boost: 12% • Duration: 8 seconds (non-stacking) • Cost: 1 Life Orb • Targeting required
Natural Anger	Grant self damage boost	• Damage Boost: 12% • Duration: 8 seconds (non-stacking) • Cost: 1 Life Orb • Instant cast
Soul Resurgence	Create healing field around Mantis	• Initial Heal: 200 HP • Healing over Time: 150 HP • Movement Speed Boost: 3m/s • Range: 15m radius • Duration: 8 seconds • Excess Healing to Bonus Health: 70% • Max Bonus Health: 100 • Energy Cost: 3700
Nature’s Favor	Movement speed and healing bonus	• Out-of-Combat Speed: 8.5m/s • Combat Exit Time: 3 seconds • Life Orb Healing: 12.5 HP/second • Healing Duration: 8 seconds
Nature’s Soul	Cocoon revival when paired with Adam Warlock	• Allows revival in cocoon form • 12 seconds to choose revival location • 120 second cooldown

When I first started playing Mantis, I underestimated how impactful her ultimate could be. Soul Resurgence isn’t just for healing – it’s perfect for countering enemy ultimates or supporting a strong push. The bonus health it provides can make your entire team surprisingly tanky.

Remember, success with Mantis comes down to balancing your offensive and supportive capabilities while managing your Life Orbs efficiently. Keep practicing, and you’ll soon find yourself carrying games through both healing and damage output. Don’t be afraid to experiment with different playstyles to find what works best for you.