Manticore enemy line

The Manticore, Magicore, and Manticore King are species of monsters randomly battled in Golden Sun and Golden Sun: The Lost Age. These monsters, resembling quadrupedal lion-like beasts with wings and scorpion tails, are palette-swapped variants of each other that have differing levels of power and defense and are fought in different locations in the games. This monster line includes one boss.

Manticore
The Manticore is a giant-sized variant with features in tan, brown, and red, and is a boss in Golden Sun. Statistically, this monster has 1700 HP, 83 PP, 168 Attack, 48 Defense, 61 Agility, and 36 Luck, and it acts twice per turn. In terms of resistance, it has a Mars Resistance rating of 175, Venus and Jupiter Resistance ratings of 100 each, and a Mercury Resistance rating of 25, and in regards to its abilities it uses its available Mars-based attacks with a Mars power rating of 115 and its available Venus-based attacks with a Venus power rating of 95.

The Manticore is unusual because it cycles through these eight battle commands in the following order, unlike most enemies which randomly choose their abilities based on the Random Number Generator:
 * Turn 1:
 * Mad Blast: This is a Psynergy spell that generates a fiery, almost lava-like explosion at the position of the party of Adepts, dealing a Mars-based attack with a power rating of 50 and a range of 3. It consumes 9 of its user's PP.
 * Poison Tail: This is a Monster Skill where the monster shoots a green projectile at a targeted Adept, dealing a Venus-based attack equal to its normal physical attack with an additional 30 damage points, and there is a chance that the struck Adept will be inflicted with Deadly Poison.


 * Turn 2:
 * Attack: This is this monster's standard physical attack.
 * Curse: This is a Psynergy spell that briefly generates a candle icon at the target Adept's position, and the target has a chance to get inflicted with a 7-turn Death Curse status ailment. This ability consumes 6 of the monster's PP. Since this is a boss battle, it may last long enough to down an Adept, which might cause a problem.


 * Turn 3:
 * Nova: This is a Psynergy spell that generates a large explosion of fiery energy at the entire party, dealing a Mars-based attack with a power rating of 70 and a range of 5. It consumes 13 of its user's PP.
 * Delude: This is a Psynergy spell that wraps multiple Adepts in a bright blue mist, for each one having a chance to inflict Delusion. This ability consumes 4 of its user's PP and has a range of 3.


 * Turn 4:
 * Poison Tail: This is a Monster Skill where the monster shoots a green projectile at a targeted Adept, dealing a Venus-based attack equal to its normal physical attack with an additional 30 damage points, and there is a chance that the struck Adept will be inflicted with Deadly Poison.
 * Impair: This is a Psynergy spell that attempts to debuff a targeted Adept and lower its current Attack rating by 25%. It consumes 4 of its user's PP.

Felling the Manticore yields 590 Experience Points and 3400 Coins, and the boss is guaranteed to drop a Psy Crystal. If the player manages to land the finishing blow on the Boss an offensive Mercury Djinni, its rewards increase to 767 EXP and 4420 Coins. In Golden Sun it is a mandatory boss battle that takes place near the end of the Lamakan Desert; when Isaac's party goes through the desert, they come across a sandfall. Using the Reveal Psynergy reveals a large cave entrance with this monster right at its entrance. Interacting with the monster while the Reveal field is still up begins the boss battle. You must defeat it in order to pass into the cave, which leads out of the desert into the southwest region of Angara.

This is the first boss in the first game that acts more than once per turn. That can make it quite powerful and capable as a boss monster depending on the strength of your party. But if Mia has four Mercury Djinn set onto her so that she's a Cleric, she will have access to the Wish Psynergy series, which makes all the difference in keeping your party alive through the Manticore's repeated assaults. Since the Manticore is extremely weak to Mercury, any Crystal Powders you might have in your party should be used, since they are essentially free uses of the Hail Prism Psynergy.

Magicore
A Magicore is a normal-sized variant with features in various tones of green. Statistically, this monster has 321 HP, 34 PP, 253 Attack, 74 Defense, 109 Agility, and 11 Luck. In terms of resistance, it has a Mars Resistance rating of 175, Venus and Jupiter Resistance ratings of 100 each, and a Mercury Resistance rating of 25, and in regards to its abilities it uses its available Mars-based attacks with a Mars power rating of 115 and its available Venus-based attacks with a Venus power rating of 95.

The Magicore uses these battle commands:
 * Poison Tail: Used 2 out of 8 times, this is a Monster Skill where the monster shoots a green projectile at a targeted Adept, dealing a Venus-based attack equal to its normal physical attack with an additional 30 damage points, and there is a chance that the struck Adept will be inflicted with Deadly Poison.
 * Nova: Used 2 out of 8 times, this is a Psynergy spell that generates a large explosion of fiery energy at the entire party, dealing a Mars-based attack with a power rating of 70 and a range of 5. It consumes 13 of its user's PP.
 * Bind: Used 2 out of 8 times, this is a Psynergy spell that displays a holographic symbol onto a targeted Adept, attempting to Seal that Adept's Psynergy capabilities. It consumes 4 of its user's PP.
 * Attack: Used 1 out of 8 times, this is this monster's standard physical attack.
 * Sleep: Used 1 out of 8 times, this is a Psynergy spell that affects up to 3 Adepts, with each one having a chance to get afflicted with the Sleep status ailment as a flock of sheep falls around at their positions. This ability consumes 5 of its user's PP.

Felling a Magicore yields 169 Experience Points and 208 Coins, and there is a 1/128 chance that the monster will randomly drop Aura Gloves. If felled by the effect of an an offensive Mercury Djinni, its rewards increase to 219 EXP and 270 Coins, and the chance to drop its item becomes 1/32. In Golden Sun it is fought throughout the Suhalla Desert. In The Lost Age it is fought throughout Tundaria Tower.

In the first game it is generally strong, fast, and durable among the monsters it is fought alongside in Suhalla Desert. In the second, however, it is lesser in comparison to the other monsters in Tundaria Tower. In both cases, its rarely dropped item, if you manage to get it, would probably be a good defensive improvement over what hand armor your Adepts currently have, and it can be acquired through specific abuse of the Random Number Generator. It might not be worth trying to get this item the hard way of felling each Magicore you see with a Mercury Djinni, though.

Manticore King
A Manticore King is a normal-sized variant with features in dark purple and blue. Statistically, this monster has 348 HP, 33 PP, 317 Attack, 106 Defense, 134 Agility, and 12 Luck. In terms of resistance, it has a Mars Resistance rating of 175, Venus and Jupiter Resistance ratings of 100 each, and a Mercury Resistance rating of 25, and in regards to its abilities it uses its available Mars-based attacks with a Mars power rating of 115 and its available Venus-based attacks with a Venus power rating of 95.

The Manticore uses these battle commands:
 * Poison Tail: Used 2 out of 8 times, this is a Monster Skill where the monster shoots a green projectile at a targeted Adept, dealing a Venus-based attack equal to its normal physical attack with an additional 30 damage points, and there is a chance that the struck Adept will be inflicted with Deadly Poison.
 * Attack: Used 2 out of 8 times, this is this monster's standard physical attack.
 * Bind: Used 2 out of 8 times, this is a Psynergy spell that displays a holographic symbol onto a targeted Adept, attempting to Seal that Adept's Psynergy capabilities. It consumes 4 of its user's PP.
 * Eruption: Used 1 out of 8 times, this is a Psynergy spell that causes 2 columns of lava-like fire to spontaneously combust out of the ground at the position of the target Adepts, dealing a Mars-based attack with a power rating of 90 and a range of 3. This ability consumes 14 of its user's PP.
 * Lucid Prophecy: Used 1 out of 8 times, this is a Monster Skill that briefly generates a candle icon at the target Adept's position, and the target has a chance to get inflicted with a 7-turn Death Curse status ailment. Identical to the Curse Psynergy except it doesn't consume Psynergy Points.

Felling a Manticore King yields 342 Experience Points and 240 Coins, and there is a 1/64 chance that the monster will randomly drop a Psy Crystal. If felled by the effect of an an offensive Mercury Djinni, its rewards increase to 444 EXP and 312 Coins, and the chance to drop its item becomes 1/16. In Golden Sun it is first battled at Babi Lighthouse, and subsequently through Tunnel Ruins and the later dungeon portion of Venus Lighthouse.

The Manticore King, even at Babi Lighthouse, is already outperformed by the Wild Gryphon, and becomes all the more average as a random monster by Venus Lighthouse when even stronger monsters like the Fenrir and Grand Golem are introduced.

Cultural References
Origin: Persia, Greece

The Manticore is a mythical creature often depicted with a man's head, a lion's body and the tail of either a dragon or a scorpion. Its name means "man-eater", referring to its habit of devouring humans found in small groups in the desert. Other aspects of the creature vary from story to story; in some cases, it can shoot poisonous spines, much like Golden Sun 's Manticore.