The Ultimate Black Manta Guide

[RoboCop]

The Ultimate Black Manta Guide

​

Welcome to the Ultimate Black Manta Guide! Manta just dropped a few days ago so there is still much to explore and learn. So with that said, this guide is still very much a work in progress. If you have any questions, suggestions, requests, or corrections, please be sure to post them and I'll address them asap. Thanks for reading!

Table of Contents (Click to navigate)

• Part 1: Introduction
• Part 2: Normals & Strings
• Part 3: Specials
• Part 4: Combos
• Part 5: Strategies & Setups
• Part 6: Matchups

 

[RoboCop]

Part 1: Introduction

Name: David Hyde
Alias: Black Manta
Character Type: Power
Fighting Type: Footsie/Space-Control
Trait: Jetpack

Black Manta is a space-control character. His zoning is mostly limited to a single lackluster projectile and his rushdown lacks the mixup potential of other rushdown-focused characters. In order to open up your opponent, you're going to have to hone your whiff-punishing skills, keep them guessing with torpedoes, and master your "trait cancels", which is when you cancel a normal or string into his trait for additional pressure.

If you can get a life lead, Manta becomes a defensive powerhouse. It can be very difficult for opponents to break through his wall of Torpedoes, f2, d2, d1, and mb.f3. Manta is a good choice for patient players.

To play Manta at the highest level, you'll need to master the use of his trait. Similar to Hawkgirl in I1, Manta's trait allows him to briefly and slowly fly around the screen. By canceling into trait from his strings and normals, he can essentially incorporate instant-air attacks into his pressure to keep his opponent guessing.

Pros:

• Amazing space control with f2 and torpedoes.
• Amazing defensive game.
• Amazing pokes and anti-airs.
• Opponent pretty much can't use interactables thanks to Manta's teleport and Shark Attack specials.
• (Air) Shark Attack gives him an option to escape the corner.
• Once he corners you, it can be very difficult for most characters to get out.
• His corner carry is insane, allowing him to easily corner most opponents.
• Overall, he's very safe on most of his normals and strings.
• He's an exceptionally versatile character; most players should be able to develop their own way of playing him.
• He's just a lot of fun to use.
• He's Black Fucking Manta, baller of the high seas. What more do you need?

Cons:

• His mixup game is...nonexistent. While he does have some lows and overheads incorporated into his strings, they won't be opening up a seasoned opponent anytime soon.
• His trait feels a bit wonky, at least at first. Mastering his trait is a requirement, but it's going to take a few hours of dedicated practice to get down.
• Without meter, almost all of his specials are full-combo punishable, severely limiting his options for block-string pressure. They are also all either high or mid, further limiting his options. (Yes, MB.Rising Tide is an overhead, but it whiffs on crouching opponents, so it may as well just be a High.)
• His damage output, especially without trait-cancels, is a bit on the low side. He has to work very hard to start reaching the same damage levels as other much easier-to-play characters.
• Overall, Manta is just a relatively high-risk/low-reward character that is better suited to patient players than those who like to zone or mix their opponent to death.

 

[RoboCop]

Part 2: Normals

• 1
  • an 8-frame high with deceptive range; 0 on block.
  • This is a great starter for punishing your opponent.
• 12
  • a decent stagger string since it's +1 on block; the 2nd hit has massive range
• 123 ***METER BUILDER***
  • a decent punishing starter; only -6 on block
  • A single 123~bf1 builds 50% of a bar when blocked.
• 1232
  • ends in a low but has a massive gap; opponent can just jump out, backdash, poke, or armor, but only -1 on block

• b1
  • a 9-frame high with a bit more range than 1; -3 on block
  • This is one of his primary combo starters and punish starters. Overall, I prefer this to his Standing 1.
• b11
  • ends in a -2 mid, making it an effective stagger string
• b11u3
  • ends in a meterless launcher; at -24, it should always be canceled into d2, trait, or a special
  • This string ends with Manta airborne, allowing him to cancel into trait or any of his aerial specials, making it one of the more open-ended strings in the game.
• b11u3d2 ***METER BUILDER***
  • ends in a -9 overhead; good for making b11u3 mostly safe and for catching opponents trying to d2 your trait cancels (though there is a small gap)
  • on block, builds almost 1/3rd of a bar of meter
  • You can't dial in the d2, you have to input it after the two knife slashes have come out but before Manta has reached peak height.
• b12
  • ends in a -6-on-block overhead and +23 hkd on hit; I hear it whiffs on some characters, but I'm still looking into it; the 2nd hit actually has more range than f2; doesn't cancel into anything

• d1
  • a 7-frame mid with significant range for a d1; only -2 on block

• 2
  • a 13-frame double-hitting mid; the 2nd hit has a nit more range than the first; unsafe on block
  • Because this is double-hitting, it can break a lot of armored moves.
  • This normal has a massive 14 active frames, making it an effective wall against some characters and attacks.
• 21 ***METER BUILDER***
  • also a double-hitting mid, making the full string 4 hits in total; -4 on block
  • This extension has 15 active frames, giving the entire string a total of 30 active frames.
  • After the first two strikes, Manta takes a step forward to deliver the final 2; because of this, the string has about twice the range of his d1 and can be an effective way to close in on a poke-happy or armor-happy opponent.
  • When all 4 hits are blocked, builds over 1/4th of a bar of meter. A single 21~bf1 builds around 55% of a bar.
• 213 ***METER BUILDER***
  • ends in a mid kick that's only -2 on block; mostly good for keeping the opponent in check if they're trying to poke you out of staggers and torpedoes
  • Each blocked 213 builds over 1/3rd of a bar of meter.
• 2d3
  • ends in a cancelable low; -7 on block
  • Canceling into MB.f3 does work, making this a somewhat effective low-overhead mixup if you have the bar.

• b2
  • a 14-frame low with about the same range as his d1; -4 on block
• b22
  • a gapless low-overhead that's only -6 on block
  • By canceling b22 into trait, you can connect a j2~db2 into a decent combo; hold down-forward after activating trait to ensure the j2 connects.

• ***f2
  • This is where the magic happens; 17-frame lunging mid with nice range and priority; -2 on block
• ***f21
  • at -3 on block, this is another great stagger string
• ***f213
  • ends in an overhead that's only -2 on block, though it cannot be canceled into anything; good for training your opponent to respect the 3-hit string, opening them up to your staggers

• d2
  • an overall solid 8-frame uppercut; has about the same range as d1 but -14 on block

• 3
  • a weird short-range 14-frame mid; not too sure how useful it is
• 33
  • ends in a -1 mid +29 hkd, so not bad, but still not sure when it would be more useful than other options

• b3
  • a pretty standard b3 that slightly outranges his d1; f3 is better in almost every way

• f3
  • preferred over b3 since it's overhead, reaches further, starts up faster, and has more block-advantage (28 startup, +7 on block)
  • Since Manta lacks an overhead starter, you'll be relying on this button quite a bit.
  • In order to combo into a j3 extension, the j3 must be delayed a little bit. An easy 372 meterless combo is f3-j3-b11-b11u3~db3. If you have trouble with that, you can just leave off the first b11 for 356ish damage.

• d3
  • a decent, though slow (17 frames) d3, it's only -5 on block but d1 has more range

• j1
  • an anti-air slash; haven't used enough to really comment on it
• j2
  • a decent j2 with a hitbox that covers slightly below Manta's hurtbox
  • it's best to throw it out a bit early
• j3
  • overall, a strong j3 with a disjointed hitbox and great range. It's not Catwoman j2 but you'll still be using it a lot.
  • it's best to throw it out a bit early.

 

[RoboCop]

Part 3: Specials

• Manta Rays (bf1) ***METER BUILDER*** ***CHIP DAMAGE***
  • 17 Startup, -17 on block, +2 on hit; has about 3 times the range of d1; mid
  • This is essentially Manta's version of Trident Rush; it's a great space control tool that deals massive chip damage (almost 60 chip damage on Superman).
  • It's mostly safe from max range. Canceling into it from a well-spaced d1 or standing 3 makes it almost totally safe.
  • It hits 4 times in rapid succession, meaning it can break most kinds of armor.
  • It has 25 active frames, making it a great meaty oki option.
  • When blocked, it builds almost 1/3rd of a bar of meter.
  • MB: deals more damage, becomes -2 on block, and goes full-screen; a great use of meter!
    • If you have meter then you can usually use the meterless version pretty safely once you have your opponent conditioned to block the MB followup

• Shark Attack (bf2) ***WAKEUP ATTACK***
  • 15 startup, -14 on block, +4 on hit
  • This is similar to Zod Charge from I1; a quick dashing attack that reaches about 3/4-screen
  • It becomes safer the further away you are when you use it, though it's still at least -11 from max range
  • It has a very good hitbox, making it easy to catch opponents who jump or try to use interactables
  • Midscreen you can cancel b112u3 into bf2; if it hits, you deal a nice chunk of damage; if it misses, Manta flies away to safety
  • MB: deals additional damage

• (Air) Shark Attack (j.bf2)
  • The aerial version of Shark Attack; it can be instant-aired to make it safer, though it's still at least -11

• Torpedo Cannon (db2) ***METER BUILDER*** ***CHIP DAMAGE***
  • This is one of Manta's most important moves. The torpedoes have slightly more range than his f2; great for keeping opponents locked down in the corner.
  • Once fired, the torpedo will track the opponent, even looping back around if the opponent manages to cross over it. This makes it great for catching high-mobility aerial opponents like Adam, Brainiac, and Beetle. However, if Manta is hit during this time, the torpedo will harmlessly fly away.
  • The in-game frame data that says Torpedo Cannon is -1 on block is incorrect; Manta is at least +9 if the opponent blocks a torpedo.
  • These are pretty spammable, though you do have to watch out for fast reversals, like WoWo's shield, that can hit you between torpedoes, causing the last torpedo to fly away.
  • Each torpedo builds 1/5th of a bar of meter when blocked, making it a great way to build up meter quickly.
  • Each torpedo does roughly 20 chip damage.
  • MB: Sends out a 2nd torpedo that launches for a combo; this torpedo will travel full-screen; slightly more + than regular torpedo, though there is a substantial gap between the release of the torpedoes.

• (Air Torpedo Cannon (j.db2)
  • [notes coming soon]

• Rising Tide (df3)
  • A "teleport" that allows Manta to sink into the ground and come up under his opponent.
  • With 28 frames of start-up, it's difficult to use as a punisher without a hard read; at -14 on block, you want to be very careful throwing this out.
  • Manta has a hurtbox the entire time and he comes up in front of his opponent, so moves with a lot of active frames can essentially meaty him as he comes out of the ground; not great.
  • Overall, this is a great move to use if you see your opponent go for an interactable or you make a hard read on a slow special; otherwise, don't throw this out unless you have meter.
  • MB: Possibly bugged? It releases an overhead laser blast that launches for a combo, however the blast will completely whiff on crouching opponents, allowing them to easily d2 you. You can input the MB very late in the animation (right when Manta reaches peak height), so it's good to hit-confirm into, though really if they block the first hit, you're almost certainly getting full-combo punished,

• Harpoon (db3)
  • Manta's only meterless full-screen attack, this is a lackluster projectile with a decent hitbox.
  • It's great for catching jumpers and for making people respect you from full-screen, but not much else.
  • If you're hit out of the attack, you'll only deal roughly 32 damage. However, the first part of the attack is a pretty standard projectile, which means even if you are hit out of the 2nd part of the attack, the first part can still trade and interrupt other characters' attacks.
  • Overall, this is just a utility special that you use to cover your options in certain situations; you'll usually want to be too close to your opponent for Harpoon to be a viable option.

• (Air) Harpoon (j.db3)
  • A damaging combo ender and decent anti-zoning tool.
  • Best used from max range, as it's -39 on block.
  • If you make a hard read and jump over a projectile, this can be an effective punishment tool.
  • MB: does a bit more damage

• (Air) Close Harpoon (j.db3d)
  • Like regular Air Harpoon but with a steeper trajectory; I've yet to really need to whip this out.

• Trait
  • Similar to Hawkgirl in I1, Manta's trait allows him to briefly and slowly fly around the screen.
  • By canceling into trait from his strings and normals, he can essentially incorporate instant-air attacks into his pressure to keep his opponent guessing.
  • To cancel trait you have to press the Stance Switch button.
  • While in use, Manta's trait bar continuously runs down. Attacking causes it to drain more quickly; you typically have enough bar to activate trait and immediately attack up to 3 times.

 

[RoboCop]

Part 4: Combos

All damage is based on Competitive Mode Superman. If you ever need to switch sides with your opponent, just end your combo with Harpoon (db3)

Midscreen Meterless

• 1
  • 123~bf1: 197
• b1 (my favorite meterless punish)
  • b11u3~4-(hold down-forward)-j3-j3~bf2: 296
    • After trait, just hold diagonally down/toward your opponent, then press 3 as soon as possible after your trait activates and then 3 again, canceled into bf2.
    • If you can't seem to get the double 3's, you can instead do b11u3~4-(hold down-forward)-j.3~db3 for 253 damage.
    • If you still can't do it then you can just do the super-easy b11u3~db3 for 204 damage, just make sure to confirm into it or you'll eat a full combo on block.
  • b11u3~bf2: 189
    • I love this little combo midscreen because if it's blocked, Manta flies away to safety (against most characters).
• 2
  • 21~bf2: 201
    • This is such a good meter-building string when blocked, just be careful or you can be punished.
  • 213: 169
    • This is just an all-around great meter-building string.
  • 2d3~4-(hold down-forward)-3~db3: 249
    • After you dial in 2d3~4, hold diagonally down/toward your opponent, then press 3 as soon as possible after your trait activates. The timing isn't too terribly tight and it's worth the practice.
• 3
  • 3~4-(hold down-forward)-j3~db3: 238
• b2
  • b22~4-(hold down-forward)-3~db3: 219
• f2
  • f21~bf1: 173
    • This is another great chip string.
• d2
  • d2-b11-b11u3~db3: 208
  • d2-b11u3~4-(hold down-forward)-(air)3~bf1: 217
• f3 (or b3)
  • f3-j3-b11-b11u3: 372
    • This is the most consistent combo I could find; some did up to around 382, but the last hit would whiff inconsistently.

Midscreen 1-Bar

• 1
  • 123~df3.MB-b11-b11u3~db3: 344

• 2
  • 2d3~db2.MB-f3-j3-b11u3~db3: 374

• b2
  • b22~db2.MB-b3-j3-b11u3~db3: 337

• f2
  • f21~db3.MB-b11-b11u3~db3: 328

Midscreen 2-Bar

• 1
  • 123~MB.f3-j3-b11u3~db3: 454
• 2
  • 2d3~MB.f3-j3-b11u3~db3: 444
  • This is a great combo because the overhead after the low is unexpected as long as you don't abuse it.
• b2
  • b22~MB.f3-j3-b11u3~db3: 403
• f2
  • f21~MB.f3-j3-b11u3~db3: 443

All of Manta's midscreen combos work in the corner. The only difference is that in the 2d3~4 combos, you want to hold down-back instead of down-forward for the 3 to hit.

The following combos only work in the corner:

Corner Meterless

• j3-b11u3~4-3~db3: 337

Corner 1-Bar

• n/a

Corner 2-Bar

• j3-12~MB.f3-b11u3~db3: 430

 

[RoboCop]

Part 5: Strategies and Setups

After any combo that ends with an (Air) Harpoon, the opponent is stuck in a hard knockdown within your d1 range. This means you can follow up all such combos relatively safely with d1~bf1 to add roughly 60 chip damage to all of those combos. This also applies to Shark Attack (bf2), (Air) Shark Attack, b11u3d2, b12, 213 (after a dash), f213, and 33, though not all of those enders are hard knockdowns.

Don't be afraid to spam f213. It's a great, safe way to frustrate your opponent and condition them to block all three hits. Once they start blocking all three you can start staggering them and slipping in some throws and d1~bf1.

Always try to have one bar of meter. When you have at least one bar, your opponent doesn't know whether or not you will meter-burn your Manta Rays, allowing you to remain safe when using the meterless version. Manta builds meter so quickly that this should never really be a problem.

J3~(air)db2.MB seems like it could be really good. If the j3 is blocked, the torpedoes still seem quite safe and will leave you +9 or so. If the j3 hits, the first missile will whiff but the 2nd will connect just as the opponent is waking up, putting Manta in a very advantageous oki situation.

Instant-Ait Trait

When Manta activates his trait normally, either naked or canceled into from a string, he lifts about 3/4 character height off the ground. However, if you press trait immediately after jumping, you can activate trait incredibly close to the ground. This gives you a number of additional options and tools:

• an (air)3 leaves you around +10 on block
• you can avoid command grabs and punish
• if you cancel trait with stance-switch, you land almost immediately, allowing you to go for tic throws, d1, or additional pressure

The Corner

 

[RoboCop]

Part 6: Matchups

COMING SOON

 

[Darth Mao]

Thanks Boon for another black character <3

 

[legion666]

This guide sucks! Haven't found any useful information about the character!

 

[RoboCop]

It has begun!

 

[Shaka]

I wouldn't say his mix ups are nonexistent, decent guide so far.

 

[Reauxbot]

Thanks Boon for another black character <3

"Black" Manta.

 

[Reauxbot]

Can we at least wait a little while longer before making this.?
You're one of my favorite posters and all, but I feel like Manta has more potential.

 

[RoboCop]

Can we at least wait a little while longer before making this.?
You're one of my favorite posters and all, but I feel like Manta has more potential.

I agree, and as new stuff is discovered I'll update the guide. It will grow with the character.

 

[Misky]

b11u3~bf1: 189

Noticed a little typo here. I think you mean bf2 and not bf1.

Loving the content though, this guide is fantastically useful. Labbing a lot of stuff right now and you've taught me a lot so far.