Mantis
Unit
Affiliation	Nod (Black Hand only)
Role	Anti-aircraft tank
Armament	SAM Launcher
Properties
Armor type	Light
Production
Cost	$1200
Build time	0:12
Produced by	Nod War Factory
Function
Upgrades	Tiberium core missiles

The Mantis is a support droid available to the Black Hand in Kane's Wrath.

BackgroundEdit

Designed specifically for anti-air defense to fill the gap left after the cult rejected optic camouflage technology, including the stealth tank. It has a large capacity anti-air missile battery (which can be upgraded to Tiberium core missiles) and a set of sophisticated sensors, allowing it to detect any cloaked vehicles or infantry. When massed in sufficient numbers, it is more than capable of taking on Scrin warships.

While the Mantis lacks the optic camouflage and the ability to attack ground-based targets that the stealth tank has, it is less expensive and requires far less technological knowledge to build.

Strangely, it was deployed by the Black Hand as a replacement from the stealth tank (having rejected stealth technology) despite it loathing "soulless" machines. The Mantis was upgraded to attack air and ground targets in the Fourth Tiberium War. Due to it having it's own artificial intelligence, mind control units are incredibly useless.

UpgradesEdit

Tiberium core missiles

Doubles damage output

Game unitEdit

The Mantis is highly maneuverable, having a surprising firepower against enemy aircraft. However, its thin armour can make lone ones vulnerable aircraft that target them before they can fire back enough to do much damage. Therefore, when used in air defense, they may need to be deployed in groups, or with other units which are AA-capable. Their stealth detection ability gives them some extra advantages in ground battles, where they can double as a scout unit due to their high speed when necessary, though they are not cost-efficient for this role.

ProsEdit

• Detects nearby stealthed units
• Upgradable with Tiberium Core Missiles, considerably increasing firepower
• Relatively fast and cheap; available at Tier 2
• Devastates air units when massed, including Scrin Motherships, Devastator Warships and Planetary Assault Carriers
• Can crush infantry
• Automated; impervious to Masterminds, Cultists and Prodigies.

ConsEdit

• Light armour; easily destroyed
• No stealth capability
• Helpless against ground units (except crushing infantry)
• Only available to the Black Hand
• Consistently outdone by the Slingshot mobile AA
• Slow to fire; can not shoot down more than one aircraft before being destroyed
• Much slower than the GDI Slingshot; more susceptible to heavier vehicles and anti-vehicle ordnance^{[citation needed]}
• Enemy counterparts (GDI Slingshot and Scrin Shard Walker) are far superior^{[citation needed]}

v·d·e Brotherhood of Nod Third Tiberium War Arsenal

Units Infantry Militants (Nod) • Confessor Cabal (BH) • Awakened (MoK) • Militant rocket squad • Fanatics • Enlightened (MoK) • Shadow Team (Nod/MoK) • Saboteur • Tiberium trooper (MoK) • Black Hand trooper (BH/Nod) • Commando Vehicles Attack bike • Raider buggy • Reckoner • Scorpion tank • MCV • Emissary • Harvester • Flame tank (Nod/BH) • Specter artillery • Beam cannon • Stealth tank (Nod/MoK) • Mantis (BH) • Purifier Warmech (BH) • Avatar Warmech (Nod/MoK) • Redeemer Aircraft* Venom patrol craft • Vertigo bomber • Carryall • Armageddon Bomber Vessels Battleship • Hovercraft   Structures Buildings Construction yard • Power plant • Tiberium refinery • Hand of Nod • War factory • Operations center • Air tower (Nod/MoK) • Secret Shrine • Tech lab • Tiberium chemical plant • Crane • Redeemer engineering facility Support structures Tiberium silo • Shredder turret • Laser turret • SAM turret • Obelisk of Light • Disruption tower • Temple of Nod •Voice of Kane • Air support tower   Support Powers & Upgrades Support Powers Radar jamming missile • Decoy army • Cloaking field (Nod/MoK) • Shadow strike team (Nod/MoK) • Mine drop (Nod) • Tiberium vapor bomb • Seed Tiberium • Catalyst missile • Master computer countermeasures • Nuclear missile strike • Laser fencing • Redemption (Nod) • Tiberium vein detonation • Power signature scan (BH) • Decoy Temple of Nod (BH) • Magnetic mine drop (MoK) Upgrades Tiberium infusion (Nod/MoK) • Confessor upgrade (Nod) • EMP coils • Dozer blades • Laser capacitors (Nod) • Signature generators (Nod/MoK) • Liquid Tiberium core • Quad turrets • Disruption pods (Nod/MoK) • Tiberium core missiles • Black Disciple (BH) • Purifying flame (BH) • Charged particle beams (BH) • Cybernetic legs (MoK) • Supercharged particle beams (MoK) Items marked in italics are exclusive to Kane's Wrath *The Black Hand does not use aircraft. The listed entries are exclusive to Nod and the Marked of Kane.