Some miniatures just stop you mid-scroll, and the Mantis Folk is one of them. If you're looking for something that'll genuinely reward careful brushwork — layered chitin plates, angular limbs, that distinctive raptorial stance — this one delivers in a way that's hard to put down once you've started painting.
In terms of scale and approach, we'd treat this as a natural hero or elite unit piece. The sculpt has enough surface variation that a simple zenithal basecoat followed by washes and edge highlights will get you somewhere really satisfying. Greens are the obvious route, but a deep teal-to-black scheme or even something bone-pale with crimson accents would look brilliant against a forest or jungle basing theme.
Mantis-folk as a concept have a long, quiet life in folklore and fantasy — the idea of an insectoid hunter with near-human intelligence crops up across cultures, usually as something between a warrior caste and a predatory spirit. There's genuinely good storytelling material there if you want to build a faction around them, or just drop one in as an unsettling encounter your players weren't expecting.
The Mantis Folk arrives cast in grey resin, clean and ready for primer. The detail holds up well — the compound eyes read clearly, the segmented armour across the torso and limbs has real depth to it, and the overall pose has weight without feeling static. This is part of our insectoid miniatures range, which covers everything from smaller swarm-scale creatures right up to centrepiece pieces like this one.
If anthropomorphic warriors are your thing more broadly, it's worth a look at our wider fantasy humanoid miniatures — there's a lot in there that pairs well with the Mantis Folk thematically. And if you fancy something with a similar folk-creature energy but a completely different flavour, the Squirrel Folk with Sword and Shield from Duncan Shadows is a brilliant companion piece — same humanoid-monster vibe, very different personality on the table.
Whether you're building out a homebrew insectoid faction, need a memorable encounter boss, or just want a genuinely interesting sculpt to sit on your painting desk for a weekend, the Mantis Folk is one we're really pleased to stock. It's the kind of piece that earns its place in a collection.