Marth (SSBU): Difference between revisions

|tier = B-

|ranking = 54

Marth is ranked 54th out of 82 on the current [[tier list]], placing him in the B- tier. This is a large drop from his placement of 11th/12th out of 54 in ''SSB4'' where he was tied with {{SSB4|Ryu}}, and is his worst placement in the series to date. This is also a significant drop compared to his [[Echo Fighter]], {{SSBU|Lucina}}, who is currently ranked 22nd out of 82 and is placed in the A+ tier. This drastic difference in tier placement is due to Marth's reliance on landing tipper hits to get KOs. This combined with ''Ultimate''{{'}}s faster engine and removal of certain microspacing techniques (such as [[perfect pivoting]]) makes it more inconsistent at landing said sweetspots and netting KOs, while his sourspots, though effective for setting up combos, are unsafe at low percents and struggle to take stocks even at high percentages. Lucina's attacks, on the other hand, deal the same amount of damage and knockback regardless of where on her sword the attack lands, giving her more consistent KO capabilities.

Marth has been a high-ranking character in all of his appearances in the series, with both ''Melee'' and ''Brawl'' ranking him as one of the best characters, and although ''SSB4'' initially heavily nerfed him, he was significantly buffed by game updates, allowing him to be ranked as top tier once again. Possibly as a result of this, Marth has received a mixture of buffs and nerfs in his transition to ''Ultimate'', but he has been nerfed overall.

Overall, the buffs he got and the benefits Marth gained from the engine do not compensate the nerfs he received and the hindrances the engine has also indirectly given him, as Marth now has a harder time landing his tipper sweet spots, which is especially troublesome as he relies on spacing in order to KO opponents below high percentages. In addition, the knockback nerfs to some of his attacks have made it more difficult for him to consistently KO his opponents at low percentages. This causes Marth to shift to a more offensive playstyle, where he relies more on his sourspotted hits to combo his opponents while remaining at a safe distance from where he can poke them with tippered attacks. Game updates have remedied some of Marth's issues, making it slightly easier and more rewarding for him to land some of his tipper hitboxes and slightly improving his dash grab range, though these buffs did not raise his standing significantly. While Marth remains a viable character, he performs worse in ''Ultimate'' compared to ''SSB4'', and is generally seen as inferior to {{SSBU|Lucina}} and {{SSBU|Roy}}, who are widely regarded as more rewarding than him and thus superior as a result.

Marth was slightly buffed via game updates. Marth received a small, yet worthwhile buff to his dash grab's vertical range in update {{SSBU|3.0.0}}, which was shared with his three derivatives ({{SSBU|Lucina}}, {{SSBU|Roy}}, and {{SSBU|Chrom}}). This most notably increased the consistency of their grabs against some shielding opponents, such as {{SSBU|R.O.B.}}.

|neutraldesc=Slashes Exalted Falchion twice in front of himself. The first hit's tipper pulls opponents toward Marth, ensuring that the second hit connects, although connecting it into the tippered second hit can be difficult. The first hit can also [[jab lock]].

|utiltdesc=Swings Exalted Falchion in a large arc above his head, with a large hitbox that can hit enemies behind him. Can combo into itself or aerials at low percentages and KO at high percents when tippered. Covers platforms very well and is useful for juggling, and as of update 12.0, when tippered it is the 6th strongest up tilt in the game, narrowly beating {{SSBU|Roy}}’s and only losing to {{SSBU|King Dedede}}’s.

|dtiltdesc=A quick crouching sword poke. Has the lowest ending lag out of Marth's tilts, making it useful for interrupting grounded approaches and creating space. Deals [[semi-spike]] knockback, making it useful for edgeguarding. The tipper knocks opponents into a [[tumble]] around roughly 60%, with the blade hit starting to do so around roughly 125%, which can force opponents into a [[tech chase]] situation.

|dashdesc=A quick, running, upward-sweeping diagonal slash. It is rather slow for a dash attack but deals quite high knockback if tippered; This move sports impressively high base knockback but poor knockback growth, capable of KO'ing lightweights at around 45% at ledge and yet being incapable of KO'ing those same characters from center stage until around 130%, making it very fickle as a KO option. It has notable ending lag and very low hit lag if untippered, making it rather unsafe against shields, especially since the tipper is quite hard to connect with. The ability to use the faster, safer, and more consistent forward tilt out of dash makes this move's use rather niche. Resembles Marth's attack after sprinting toward an enemy in ''Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light''.

|fsmashdesc=Rotates his body counterclockwise with a strong overarching one-handed swing from his head to the ground. Very fast startup at frame 10 (tied with several others for the fastest of any forward smash), but high ending lag. Although lackluster when hit with the blade, only beginning to KO starting from 120% at ledge and much later at center stage, the tipper of this attack has incredible knockback, being able to KO middleweights at 75% from the stage's center and as low as 37% near the edge. This makes it incredibly potent compared to other forward smashes with the same damage output, and when the speed difference versus forward smashes of similar KO potential is taken into account, it becomes one of the strongest forward smashes in the game. Due to its fast startup and the upwards angle of the initial hitbox, it can be combo'd into for a kill with his sourspot up aerial at certain percentages. The tipper is capable of 2-framing at the ledge, allowing for incredibly early KOs.  Similar to some of Marth's attacks with the Falchion in ''Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light''.

|dsmashdesc=Sweeps Exalted Falchion on the ground toward the front-outward then toward the back inward. The back hit has much stronger power, while the front hit is significantly weak unless tippered, where it will do moderate knockback. It also has high ending lag.

|fairdesc=Does a descending crescent slash in front of him with great coverage. This is Marth's best tool for air combat, and its reasonably low landing lag and strong tipper make it very safe when spaced properly. Its tipper is also decently strong, KOing middleweights at the edge around 133%. Around 24% with the tipper, or around 40% with the sour spot, it begins to knock opponents into a tumble, which can force a tech chase situation. Similar to the animation some units have when attacking in ''Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light''.

|bairdesc=An upward crescent slash behind him in an inward swipe. It has the interesting property of turning Marth around, changing the direction he is facing. Similar use to his forward aerial, although with more knockback and a smaller hitbox. It can be used a few frames before landing to catch opponents with a tipped blow, with correct spacing. Has a rather strong tipper given its speed, KOing middleweights at the edge around 90%.

|floorfdesc=Spins around gracefully and slashes Exalted Falchion in a circle.

|floorbdesc=Swings Exalted Falchion behind, then in front of him before getting up.

|nsdesc=Marth assumes a readying stance and charges Exalted Falchion at chest level before powerfully thrusting it forward. This attack deals massive [[shield damage]] even when uncharged, and will instantly break shields at full charge, although it can be safely [[perfect shield]]ed. The aerial version gives Marth a very slight horizontal boost, while a fully charged aerial version will thrust Marth in whatever direction he's facing, giving him a strong horizontal recovery option, albeit with a very high startup. Deals very high knockback when tippered, making it a powerful KOing option, (bring one of the strongest neutral specials in the game) although it is still weaker than his tippered forward smash. It can be angled up or down, though this does not change the damage or knockback. The attack deals 1.15× regular damage if it hits the opponent's head.

|fsdesc=Marth raises Exalted Falchion skyward, then lunges in one direction, attacking the first opponent he connects. Immense knockback, enough to [[one-hit KO]] any character on any roofless stage. This move is impossible to [[tech]] unless using Final Smash Meter or against Shulk's [[Monado Arts|Shield Monado Art]] at a very low percentage. Pressing the special button again will cause him to stop mid-dash.

*'''Up taunt''': Hoists the Exalted Falchion into the air, emitting light from the tip while saying "This is it!" ({{ja|行くぞ！|Iku zo!}}, ''Let's go!'') Resembles his critical hit animation from ''[[Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light]]''.

*'''Side taunt''': Swings the Exalted Falchion once before resheathing it, saying "I won't lose!" ({{ja|僕は負けない！|Boku wa makenai!}}, ''I won't lose!'')

*'''Down taunt''': Swings the Exalted Falchion around and says "Keep your eyes open!" ({{ja|みんな、見ていてくれ！|Minna, miteite kure!}} ''Everyone, watch over me!'')

*'''Left:''' Performs Shield Breaker, then poses with Exalted Falchion at his right side, saying "The day is mine!" ("{{ja|今回は僕の勝ちだね。|Konkai wa boku no kachi da ne.}}", ''This time victory is mine.''). His ending pose mirrors his official artwork from '' Smash 4''.

*{{Sm|Kreeg|USA}} - The best Marth player in the United States. Placed 13th at {{Trn|LVL UP EXPO 2023}}, 17th at {{Trn|MAJOR UPSET}}, 33rd at {{Trn|Crown the Third}}, and 49th at both {{Trn|Crown 2}} and {{Trn|GENESIS 9}} with wins over players such as {{Sm|Jakal}}, {{Sm|BassMage}}, and {{Sm|Scend}}.

*{{Sm|MkLeo|Mexico}} - Uses Marth from time and time as a secondary and is considered one of the best Marth players in the world. He notably won {{Trn|Ultimate Fighting Arena 2019}} using Marth in most of the sets and placed 4th at {{Trn|Let's Make Big Moves 2023}} and 5th at {{Trn|Scuffed World Tour}} using Marth to defeat players such as {{Sm|Cosmos}} and {{Sm|Riddles}}. Ranked 1st on the [[Fall 2019 PGRU]] using Marth as one of his characters.

*{{Sm|Rizeasu|Japan}} -  The best Marth player in the world. Notably won the superregional {{Trn|Sumabato SP 32}} and also placed 2nd at the major {{Trn|Maesuma TOP 14}} using Marth to win several crucial sets.

In stark contrast to pre-release ''Ultimate'', where it was speculated that Marth could be the best character in the game, Marth initially saw a near-nonexistent playerbase due to nerfs such as smaller tipper hitboxes and the removal of perfect pivoting to space tippers consistently. As a result of the nerfs, all of Marth's prominent players from ''Smash 4'' dropped him in favor of other characters, most notably his echo {{SSBU|Lucina}}, who is widely considered to be more effective and easier than Marth as a character. Despite seeing brief usage from {{Sm|MkLeo}} in 2019, Marth was considered an "irrelevant" character in tournament play, with data collected from [[OrionRank]] co-founder {{Sm|Barnard's Loop}} showing that Marth had the third-worst representation in the game in April 2020.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/LoopBarnard/status/1252705963557208064|title=Barnard's Loop's stats}}</ref>  

Subsequent patches buffed several of Marth's tipper hitboxes, making it easier to connect tippers reliably. Furthermore, since the end of the [[COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on competitive Smash|COVID-19 pandemic]], Marth has seen steadily improved representation at locals and minor circuits, with success from players such as {{Sm|Kreeg}} and {{Sm|Rizeasu}}. Furthermore, MkLeo has brought the character out on occasion, although success with Marth have remained rather limited. This has led to a small improvement in Marth's reputation, and he currently sits at 54th on the tier list as a mid-tier character. However, arguments remain on whether Marth should be ranked lower, due to the tipper reliability remaining inconsistent, mixed consistency from his best players, and poor representation in the metagame, which continues to be in or near the bottom 10.

|2||{{Head|Yoshi|g=SSBU|s=20px}}{{Head|Yoshi|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Red}}{{Head|Yoshi|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Blue}}{{Head|Yoshi|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Pink}}{{Head|Yoshi|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Purple}} {{SSBU|Yoshi}} (x5)||[[Arena Ferox]]||''{{SSBUMusicLink|Fire Emblem|Under This Banner}}''||Horde Battle.

|6||{{Head|Corrin|g=SSBU|s=20px}}{{Head|Corrin|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Female}} {{SSBU|Corrin}} (x2)||[[Coliseum]]||''{{SSBUMusicLink|Fire Emblem|Lost in Thoughts All Alone (Remix)|Lost in Thoughts All Alone (Remix)}}''||