Three sister rulers of the Mantis Tribe who gate Deepnest behind a fair challenge in their Fungal Wastes throne room.
The Mantis Lords are the only major bug faction in Hallownest that beat the Infection on their own. Per the wiki, they "managed to resist the Infection throughout Hallownest despite the exile of their brother and his followers, who chose to accept the Infection willingly." That brother becomes Traitor Lord in Queen's Garden; the sisters keep the Tribe clean.
According to the wiki, the fight is a fair challenge, not a hostile encounter. The Knight reaches their throne room and the Mantis Lords "remain passive. They order for the gate to Deepnest to be closed if the Knight approaches it. The Mantis Lords pay attention to the Knight if the Knight challenges them." Striking them starts the duel; walking past does not.
The wiki specifies the structure. "At first, a single Mantis Lord battles the Knight. After her defeat, she regains her throne and the remaining two join the battle together. Once all three have been defeated, they bow respectfully to the Knight and allow them passage into Deepnest." Phase 1 is one sister with three attacks; Phase 2 doubles up.
This guide covers Mantis Village access, the three attacks (Lance Dash, Lance Drop, Blade Boomerang), the two-phase structure with healing windows, the Mark of Pride drop, the Sisters of Battle rematch in the Pantheon of Hallownest, and the Traitor Lord connection that splits the family.
Three sister rulers of the Mantis Tribe, lance-wielding warriors who guard Deepnest.
The throne room of Mantis Village, deep in the Fungal Wastes.
Mark of Pride, a Charm that boosts nail range, plus Geo and a Hallownest Seal.
Sisters of Battle, all three lords fighting at once in the Pantheon of Hallownest.The Mantis Lords are three sisters who lead the Mantis Tribe. Per the wiki, they are the "finest warriors" of the Tribe and "leaders of the Mantis tribe... They bear thin nail-lances and attack with blinding speed." The arena thrones in Mantis Village belong to them; the rest of the Tribe defers.
According to the wiki, the Tribe and old Hallownest were rivals, not allies. "The Mantis tribe and the bugs of old Hallownest had no love for each other. The Mantises outlived their rivals though, and their civilisation still stands." The truce held only because the sisters agreed to keep the Spider Tribe of Deepnest contained.
The wiki specifies the family split. The Mantis Lords "managed to resist the Infection throughout Hallownest despite the exile of their brother and his followers, who chose to accept the Infection willingly." That brother becomes Traitor Lord, the boss locked in Queen's Garden behind Isma's Tear. The Mantis Lords exiled him for accepting what they rejected.
Mantis Village sits in the south of the Fungal Wastes, past the regular Mantis warriors. Per the wiki, the Knight enters the throne room and the sisters remain passive until challenged. Approaching the Deepnest gate first gets it shut; striking a Lord opens the duel.
According to the wiki, the rewards extend past the fight itself. Defeating all three "bow respectfully to the Knight and allow them passage into Deepnest. The other members of the tribe express the same respect and refrain from attacking the Knight. Additionally, the Knight can access the rest of the village, containing a Bench. They can also collect a bounty in Geo, a Hallownest Seal, and a new Charm, the Mark of Pride."
The wiki notes the Lifeblood Cocoon nearby. "There is a Lifeblood Cocoon that can help with the fight in the northwest corner of the room, behind a breakable wall, which can be accessed by using the Mantis Claw to climb up the sealed door to Deepnest. Both the Crystal Heart and the Monarch Wings make reaching the Cocoon easier." Free Lifeblood Masks are the cleanest pre-fight prep.
The Mantis Lords have three attacks across two phases. Per the wiki, Phase 1 is a single sister; Phase 2 brings the remaining two in at once. The final sister fights solo again after one of the pair falls.
According to the wiki, the second phase keeps the three attacks but pairs them. "Both Mantis Lords appear holding onto the walls directly across from each other and throw a spinning blade like a boomerang." The pair launches a wide arc that reconverges at centre, or a short arc that meets mid-arena and slides down together. The Dash and Drop attacks still occur but now arrive from both ends simultaneously.
The wiki notes the asymmetric exception. "In Phase 2, with the exception of the Boomerang attack, the Mantis Lords attack independently of each other, making it possible for a number of move combinations." Cross-arena Dashes that pass through the Knight's position are the most common Phase 2 chip damage.
Per the wiki, "when the two remaining Mantis Lords perform a Boomerang attack with a shorter arc, it is possible to avoid the attack by standing in the centre of the arena, as the blades do not travel low enough to damage the Knight. This gives enough time for the Knight to heal two Masks, even without Charms." In practice, this is the single biggest heal window of the fight; commit to it on sight.
The cleanest Mantis Lords loadout pairs nail-range with heal-speed. Per the wiki, "the Quick Focus Charm is immensely helpful, despite its high cost." The attacks come fast and the heal windows are short; cutting Focus time matters more than total Charm value.
Grubsong (SOUL on taken hits to keep Vengeful Spirit available)
Soul Catcher (more SOUL per Nail hit for Shade Soul spell casts)
Stalwart Shell (longer invuln after a Dash-clipped hit)According to the wiki, positioning beats movement. "Keeping to one side of the stage keeps the fight more consistent, as the Mantis Lord farther from the Knight typically sticks to the Boomerang attack, and the closer one uses melee attacks. However, keeping away from the corners of the stage prevents taking contact damage from the Mantis Lords teleporting to perform the Dash attack." Hug the edge, leave a Knight-width of room behind you.
The wiki specifies a Shape of Unn tech. "It is possible to duck underneath the Mantis Lords with the Shape of Unn Charm when one of them is performing a Dash attack. This makes healing significantly easier. By standing in the middle and healing, this can also be done during the Dual Boomerang attack when it is doing the second pattern." In actual play, Shape of Unn turns the Dash into a free heal beat.
Ranged spells help on solo-Lord recovery frames. Per the wiki on the Sisters rematch, "Vengeful Spirit/Shade Soul Spell is also very helpful to deal damage to the Sisters, as they can move fast, and normal Nail strikes are only able to hit them a few times before they retreat." Same principle applies to the base Mantis Lords fight.
Sisters of Battle is the Pantheon of Hallownest variant where all three Mantis Lords attack at once. Per the wiki, "the Sisters of Battle are a quest boss in Hollow Knight introduced in Godmaster. First encountered in the Pantheon of Hallownest, they are a form of the Mantis Lords where all three sisters battle together instead of separately."
According to the wiki, the rematch keeps Phase 1 identical and triples Phase 2. "Phase 1 of Sisters of Battle is exactly like Phase 1 of Mantis Lords. In Phase 2, all three Sisters emit a battle cry and drop in to fight. The Sisters of Battle use all attacks of the 2nd Phase of the Mantis Lords, but with an additional attack from a 3rd Sister." Phase 1 single-Lord is the same fight; Phase 2 adds a staggered third pattern that arrives just after the first two attacks land.
The wiki notes the single heal window. "One major point where healing is possible is at the end of Phase 1 and the transition to Phase 2, where there is a large window of time to heal, as the Sisters of Battle's shout does not stagger the Knight." Shade Cloak is also flagged: "the continuous barrage from the Sisters often leads to the Knight getting cornered. The ability to phase through said attacks is practically needed to avoid damage at times."
The wiki specifies the Hall of Gods access. The Sisters appear in the Pantheon of Hallownest and can be reattempted via the Hall of Gods statue, where the three thrones in the arena match the Mantis Village setup. Across multiple runs, this fight sits among the hardest dream-tier rematches in Godmaster.
The Mantis Lords tie into Pantheon rematches, Charm progression, and the Traitor Lord lore split. These spokes pick up the threads.
Game data and screenshots adapted from hollowknight.fandom.com, used under CC BY-SA 3.0. Original content remains the property of the wiki contributors and Team Cherry.
