"Your crewmember is insta-killed by a suspicious boarder"

[stylesrj]

Dude, Mantises are Predator-like, tribal, pirate, Genestealers with Space Marine acid spit and some armor to match.
Your meager human is screwed.

Well Humans get a bonus feat. Mantises have a +2 ECL so at the early game they'll be like glass cannons
Then again, because FTL is unfair, Mantises level up very quickly and are overpowered and it'd be Zoltan who have the +2 ECL... and of course space magic

[DarkPhoenix141]

Even so, according to known lore on the Mantis they are Predatory Tribal Space Pirates with the best melee capabilities in the galaxy.
Meaning, they could easily jump out and take you by surprise before eating your face.
Like Genestealers:

[5thHorseman]

All of these explanations go to pot when everywhere else in the game Mantises have to fight just like everybody else. How can this mantis eviscerate my rockman before anybody can move, but then when it comes time to actually fight him another rockman can go toe to toe and (maybe with a tiny bit of help) take down the Mantis no problem?

[stylesrj]

Maybe they had a hidden, one-use Power Claw which they launched at the Rock, bypassing their armour stat and disintegrating them in one hit.
Then it's back to regular claws. Heck, it could have been an assassin from the Rebels. Because the Rebels and Mantises are working together according to some people.

[DarkPhoenix141]

Because ambush?
In the same way Genestealers are most dangerous when they ambush (Toe-to-toe they are still formidable but not invincible), Mantises are strongest when they have the advantage of surprise. That advantage is lost when boarding for the most part.

[stylesrj]

Because ambush?
In the same way Genestealers are most dangerous when they ambush (Toe-to-toe they are still formidable but not invincible), Mantises are strongest when they have the advantage of surprise. That advantage is lost when boarding for the most part.

"I've seen Genestealers tear through Terminator Armour" as a certain HERO OF THE IMPERIUM likes to reiterate every time the Tyrannids are brought up in that book and Genestealers are mentioned.

In the case of the pod, you'd think someone would be standing by, ready to stop any hostile before you pry it open. So either it implies your Rockman was incompetent enough to let a Mantis ambush them or they had a one-shot blade/toxin that kills enemies quickly in an emergency.
If it was your sole Engi on the Type B... well makes sense why it would be viable considering Engi/Mantis relations.

[DarkPhoenix141]

"I've seen Genestealers tear through Terminator Armour" as a certain HERO OF THE IMPERIUM likes to reiterate every time the Tyrannids are brought up in that book and Genestealers are mentioned.

My point exactly. Terminator Armor is far superior to your Rockman's body.

In the case of the pod, you'd think someone would be standing by, ready to stop any hostile before you pry it open. So either it implies your Rockman was incompetent enough to let a Mantis ambush them or they had a one-shot blade/toxin that kills enemies quickly in an emergency.
If it was your sole Engi on the Type B... well makes sense why it would be viable considering Engi/Mantis relations.

This event can be interpreted in numerous ways:
1: Your Rockman was prepared but still caught off guard and eliminated.
2: You didn't guard the pod and got butchered for it.
3: Your Rockman fought the mantis, but lost.

[stylesrj]

Or you made all the preparations, but the Mantis had a disposable Power Claw in case he got picked up by a Vortex. The Rockman was the unfortunate victim on being the first one to try and subdue the pod's occupant.

It even says when you jettison the pod "You're not that stupid."

Although come to think of it, there should be a way of shutting the pod down and then salvaging it for scrap. Although if it turned out there was a Human inside, your crew might be horrified... hang on a minute... to the Captain's Edition thread to suggest this idea!