Manta

Manta
Participation Information
Reboot Seasons	World Championship VII (Not selected) World Championship VIII
Live	BattleBots Proving Ground BattleBots Faceoffs
Other Names	Drago (WC VII) Drago X
Team Information
Team	Team Tanto Robotics
Team Members	Nick Dobrikov Unnamed team members
From	Tempe, AZ
Associated Robots	Malice (Nick Dobrikov)
Robot Statistics
Weight	230lbs
Top Speed	24mph
Weapons	Eggbeater drum spinner
Statistics correct as of its most recent appearance on the show, or if not applicable, qualification attempt.

Not to be confused with the two middleweight robots of the same name which fought in 2004 and 2008 respectively.

Manta, known formerly as Drago, is a heavyweight robot built by Team Tanto Robotics which has applied for BattleBots World Championship VIII.

It is a four-wheel drive robot armed with a 20" wide, 70lb eggbeater drum spinner machined from 4340 alloy steel. The primary weapon is powered by two TP5870 brushless inrunner motors. Manta also sports four large serrated forks at the front, which are hinged to feed opponents into its 12,000rpm spinning drum. Team captain Nick Dobrikov has previous experience with Malice in both the 2020 and 2021 seasons of BattleBots and has previously designed and built various drum spinners in lower weight classes. Under its original name, Drago was one of two robots to be sponsored by Team Malice ahead of the seventh reboot season, alongside Banshee. Unlike Banshee, however, Drago was not selected to compete.

Drago was renamed Drago X in 2022 before eventually the team eventually settled on the name Manta. In a February 2024 interview with Green Square Talks BattleBots, Nick Dobrikov stated he opted to change the name as a result of similarly-named robots such as Black Dragon and Dragon King, both of which competed in World Championship VII, as well as being unsure what colour scheme to give the robot under its original name. The team applied World Championship VIII following the conclusion of RoboGames 2023, which marked the robot's competitive debut. Dobrikov dropped the separate self-righter arm seen on the robot's CAD, which was also not present at RoboGames, and gave Manta a blue and grey color scheme to accompany its bright yellow weapon.

Manta was scheduled to compete in BattleBots Proving Ground on the weekend of June 24-25, 2023, fighting twice against a robot called Atomic Pumpkin. However, its opponent withdrew in late May and a replacement had to be found. This ended up being Team Overboard and Triton, who Manta twice defeated by knockout to end its run unbeaten.

Manta is penciled in to return to the BattleBox in 2024. Nick Dobrikov teased its return, confirming an unknown opponent is a "dream fight" for him. It was confirmed later in the year that Manta would be competing in BattleBots Faceoffs.

In a September 20, 2023 episode of the Behind the Bots podcast, Greg Munson revealed Manta was effectively accepted for World Championship VIII. pending the season being green-lit and the team being available to compete.

Manta being wheeled out during BattleBots Proving Ground.

A top view of Manta.

A front view of Manta.

A rear view of Manta.

CAD of Manta as Drago in 2022.

Outside BattleBots

Nick Dobrikov regularly competes at National Havoc Robot League events with Noisy Boy and has previously entered the 2017 and 2018 editions of RoboGames with Tsunami and Tsunami Light. Tsunami won gold in the junior bracket of its debut RoboGames campaign, but neither it nor its smaller counterpart would replicate that success a year later.

Team Tanto also entered robots called Maverick and Rogue Wave into RoboGames 2017, ending with 6-2 and 0-2 records respectively. As well as this, Dobrikov's team competed in Sparkfun AVC 2017 with Tsunami, Maverick, as well as a hobbyweight named Typhoon.

With assistance from former Team Malice member David Small, Nick Dobrikov entered the 2023 edition of RoboGames with Manta, which originally signed up under the name Drago X. After receiving a bye in the first round, Manta took out Banana Runt in destructive fashion. Returning for Day 3, Manta lost to veteran HexaDecimator in the winner's bracket, bursting into flames after being flipped upside-down, despite causing serious damage to Team WhoopAss' robot. After having its internals replaced, Manta almost faced disqualification as the team raced to get their robot ready again. Manta returned to winning ways as it knocked out Ray Billings and Stinkeye. It then took the win over BattleBots World Championship VII alternate Terrortops in controversial circumstances. Both robots were on the unfortunate end of an arena breach, in which one of Terrortops' forks damaged the Lexan roof and landed outside the arena, mere feet away from the camera crew. Post-fight, Terrortops captain Ben Burton gifted Nick Dobrikov the dislodged fork. Despite the emerging safety issues with the arena, Manta was still eligible to advance in the bracket. It would win its next fight over Ziggy Jr. before facing White Rabbit in the Loser's Bracket final. Here, the battle was again stopped when an inner Lexan panel got dislodged and fell from the ceiling, after Manta flung one of White Rabbit's weapon teeth against the roof panel above it. The affected inner panel was removed, and the battle restarted with no repairs being carried out to the arena. Manta continued to inflict damage to White Rabbit, eventually throwing it into the ceiling and dislodging another Lexan roof panel in the process. White Rabbit tapped out immediately, enabling Manta to face Cataclysm in the overall final. Manta won the first of two potential encounters against Martin Mason's machine, damaging it so severely that Mason decided to formally forfeit the rematch. Thus, Manta was declared the overall 2023 RoboGames heavyweight champion.

Alongside Banshee and JackPot, Manta was on display during the June 2023 Arizona Robot Combat RoboRumble event.

Looking to defend its title, Manta competed at RoboGames 2024 despite uncertainty on whether they would compete in the heavyweight division, following the safety concerns surrounding the 2023 competition. Manta received a Round 1 bye and took on former champion Original Sin in the second round of the winner's bracket. After a worrying moment which cost Manta part of its drum, it tore a tire away from Gary Gin's robot and edged out a pushing match and won by knockout. Manta then dispatched of Echo 3.0 and BlackJack to earn a match against Chad New and Magnitude. Manta got the better of the Team Wazio robot and advanced to the finals, where it took on Ragin Scotsman - winner of the loser's bracket. Manta won the final and earned its second RoboGames heavyweight championship in as many years.

In June 2024, Manta was on display at that year's Open Sauce event.

Manta on display in June 2023.

Nick Dobrikov (center) during the awards ceremony.

CAD of Manta ahead of RoboGames 2023.

Robot History

BattleBots Proving Ground
Manta vs. Atomic Pumpkin (6/24/2023) Manta's BattleBots debut was scheduled to come against Atomic Pumpkin, but its opponent withdrew so Manta had to fight a replacement.
Manta vs. Triton (6/24/2023) Manta's replacement turned out to be Triton, as announced on June 11, 2023 by BattleBots. For Manta's first fight, it was armed with a wide front plow rather than its forks of various sizes. The initial impact. In the opening seconds, Triton was struck by Manta and sent twisting and turning through the air. "Oh my... oh my... OHHHH!!" — Bil Dwyer reacts to the initial impact As soon as Triton landed, Manta immediately dealt a follow-up shot which threw Bradley Hanstad's bot towards the screws. Now smoking and with its blade warped and unable to spin, Triton's vulnerable back end was left exposed and Manta capitalized, biting into its frame. With its left-side drive also compromised, Manta's assault continued, throwing Triton into the air again and almost out of the arena completely. Triton post-fight. Manta powered its weapon down and returned to the blue starting square as a count mercifully began on just thirty seconds into the fight. Triton was immobilized and Manta picked up its first BattleBots win, taking only cosmetic damage.
Manta vs. Atomic Pumpkin (6/25/2023) Manta was due to fight Atomic Pumpkin again that weekend, but due to the aforementioned withdrawal, this fight could not go ahead.
Manta vs. Triton (6/25/2023) Triton vs. Manta, as revealed by BattleBots. Manta fought Triton for a second time during the weekend. Both robots began this fight slightly more tentatively than the day prior, but Manta quickly got its weapon up to speed and struck the side of Triton, propelling it through the air again. Steve Judkins: "How's the noise, Bil?!" Bil Dwyer: "My goodness!" — Steve Judkins and Bil Dwyer react to Manta's 'death hum' Triton immobile near the red square. These attacks snapped all of Triton's weapon belts, rendering its horizontal spinner useless. One final attack saw Manta get underneath Triton and strike the frame again, and from this moment, Triton was no longer mobile. A count began and Manta won by knockout again, ending the weekend unbeaten.
BattleBots Faceoffs
Please note that the order of the following fights is unknown, as documentation on the event itself is either limited or non-existent. This is typically true of untelevised events such as BattleBots IQ and those sanctioned by the BattleBots name. Manta vs. Hellfire Manta will face three opponents during the special event BattleBots Faceoffs. One of these, though not necessarily its first opponent, is confirmed to be Hellfire, captained by Rick Russ.
Manta vs. Traves T. Another is set to be Traves T., captained by Kurt Krueger.
Manta vs. UFWoe Manta will also take on a rookie entry in UFWoe.

Results

Exhibition Wins/Losses

• Wins: 2
• Losses: 0

Competition	Wins	Losses
BattleBots Proving Ground	Triton Triton	None
BattleBots Faceoffs	TBC	TBC

Trivia

• If accepted, Manta's 20" weapon would make it the second widest drum spinner in BattleBots history, next to the full-body drum spinner Axe Backwards.
• According to an interview on the Green Square Talks podcast, the robot's drum was originally going to be made from S7 steel. This was changed to 4340 alloy steel for unknown reasons.
• Manta was mentioned by name during the second episode of BattleBots: Champions II, which featured Malice and Nick Dobrikov.