Super Smash Bros. 4

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{{ArticleIcons|ssb4=y}}
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{{disambig2|Marth's appearance in ''[[Super Smash Bros. 4]]''|the character in other contexts|Marth}}
{{Disambig2|Marth's appearance in ''Super Smash Bros. 4''|the character in other contexts|Marth}}
{{Infobox Character
{{Infobox Character
|name         = Marth
|name = Marth
|image       = [[File:Marth SSB4.png|250px|Marth]]
|image = [[File:Marth SSB4.png|250px]]
|game         = SSB4
|game = SSB4
|ssbgame1     = SSBM
|ssbgame1 = SSBM
|ssbgame2     = SSBB
|ssbgame2 = SSBB
|ssbgame3 = SSBU
|availability = [[Starter character|Starter]]
|availability = [[Starter character|Starter]]
|tier = A
|tier = A
|ranking = 10
|ranking = 11-12
}}
}}
'''Marth''' ({{ja|マルス|Marusu}}, ''Marth'') is a playable character in ''[[Super Smash Bros. 4]]''. He was announced on the official website on November 7th, 2013; years before, four ''Fire Emblem'' games were released within a similar time frame; ''Fire Emblem'' on November 3rd, 2003 in North America, ''The Sacred Stones'' and ''Path of Radiance'' on November 4th, 2005 in Europe, and ''Radiant Dawn'' on November 11th, 2007 in North America. He was among the first wave of [[amiibo]] figures that are compatible with ''SSB4'', released on the same day as the Wii U version of the game. He is voiced once again by Hikaru Midorikawa in all regions, albeit using recycled voice clips from ''Brawl''.
'''Marth''' ({{ja|マルス|Marusu}}, ''Marth'') is a playable character in ''[[Super Smash Bros. 4]]''. He was announced on the official website on November 7, 2013. He was among the first wave of [[amiibo]] figures that are compatible with ''SSB4'', released on the same day as the Wii U version of the game. Hikaru Midorikawa is the voice of Marth in all regions; the voice clips originate from the recording sessions for ''Melee''<ref name="socgfe">[http://www.sourcegaming.info/2015/12/13/sakurai-fe25/ Source Gaming: "Sakurai Interview: Fire Emblem 25th Anniversary"]</ref> and were all the same ones previously used in ''Brawl''. Marth is one of five ''Smash 4'' characters that only speak Japanese in all its regional versions; the others are [[Takamaru]], the [[Prince of Sablé]], {{SSB4|Roy}}, and {{SSB4|Cloud}}.


Marth currently ranks 10th out of 58 characters on the [[tier list]], in the A tier, the lower end of the top tier. This is a minor fall from his 5th place position out of 38 in ''Brawl''. However, due to the expansion of tiers in ''SSB4'', Marth remains a top tier character, as in all of his past appearances. Marth's positives include good overall mobility and disjointed [[range]] on all of his attacks. All of his sword-based attacks in particular are quite rewarding if they land only at the tip of his sword, often dealing absurdly high knockback despite their quick startup, most notably his forward smash and [[Shield Breaker]]. In addition, his overall frame data is very good, such as possessing one of the lowest landing lag averages in the game, and as alluded to above, the startup of his moves is also very fast, with most of his moveset coming out before frame 10, and certain moves having little endlag to complement this further (neutral attack, forward, up, and down tilts respectively). However, the drop on Marth's tier placement is largely due to his initial transition into the game and the myriad of nerfs he received in the process. The transition had hindered his reach relative to the cast (though he still has a long reach overall, and it was also buffed in its transition), slightly increased the ending lag on many attacks, notably his aerials, and slightly increased his landing lag, making his moveset less safe as a whole. His forward aerial is an example; a staple move in his [[approach]]ing and [[combo]] games in ''Brawl'', is slightly laggier and harder to use than before. His throws are now ineffective for comboing past extremely low percents, while still unreliable for KOing, worsening his [[punish]] game. Marth's linear recovery is still susceptible to [[edgeguarding]] even with the new ledge mechanics (though it remains relatively risky to intercept due to its stage spike potential), and he is vulnerable to combos, [[juggling]], and [[projectile]] [[camping]] due to his lack of safe methods to relieve [[pressure]].
Marth is ranked 11th/12th out of 54 characters on the [[tier list]], tied with {{SSB4|Ryu}} in the bottom of A tier. This is a minor fall from his 5th place position out of 38 in ''Brawl''. Marth's positives include good overall mobility and relatively long disjointed [[range]] on all of his attacks. As with previous incarnations, all of Marth's sword-based attacks are quite rewarding if they land only at the tip of his sword, with the buffs to his tippered moves now causing them to deal very high knockback despite their quick startup, most notably in the case of forward smash, forward/back aerials, and [[Shield Breaker]]. The changes to shield mechanics also indirectly grant his tippers more safety due to them causing higher [[shieldstun]], making it difficult for opponents to punish tippers on shield. In addition, his overall frame data is very good, such as possessing one of the lowest landing lag averages in the game, and as alluded to above, the startup of his moves is also very fast, with most of his moveset coming out before frame 10, and certain moves having little endlag to complement this further (neutral attack, forward, up, and down tilts respectively). All in all, Marth's overall speed in regards to both attacks and mobility give him a dependable [[neutral game]], with optimal spacing being very rewarding due to the danger of his powerful tippers.


His current position is a result of his heavy buffs brought by recent updates like [[1.1.3]] and [[1.1.4]], particularly in reach, [[interruptibility]] and damage for many of his attacks, which patched up the main issues bought about by the initial transition, such as his moveset becoming a lot safer than before, and possessing a better combo game. Additionally, all subsequent patches went to further nerf some of his harder matchups. Since the buffs in said updates, Marth has achieved some notable results in lower-level tournaments and has also achieved significantly better results in bigger tournaments, with {{Sm|Mr.E}} having placed 5th at [[KTAR XVII]] and 13th at [[EVO 2016]] (and notably defeated {{Sm|ZeRo}} 2-1), and {{Sm|Pugwest}} placing 17th at [[Pound 2016]], [[GOML 2016]] and EVO 2016, while such results before the patch were almost unspoken of for him. He has also started gaining results in Japan, one of his driest regions for results, thanks to {{Sm|Fuwa}}. More recently, {{Sm|Leo}} won [[Smash Factor 5]] while using Marth through a majority of the tournament, notably being able to reset the Grand Finals bracket against {{Sm|Mr. R}}'s Sheik 3-0, using Marth. Leo also notably shut out ZeRo 3-0 at [[2GGT: ZeRo Saga]] in the Loser's Semi-Finals and turned around a harsh deficit in Grand Finals against Larry Lurr using only Marth. Finally, Leo won [[GENESIS 4]] using Marth for the entirety of Top 8 (although he used {{SSB4|Cloud}} exclusively prior to this).
Marth's primary flaw is his emphasis on [[spacing]], moreso than in his previous appearances, owing to the reduction in power and efficacy of his sourspotted moves. Furthermore, many of Marth's sourspotted attacks have poor shieldstun, potentially leading to [[punish]]es if Marth does not properly space his attacks. Marth is also susceptible to [[pressure]] tactics, as he lacks combo breaker attacks and his lack of a projectile prevents him from easily dealing with [[projectile]]-based camping. Like in his previous appearances, Marth also suffers from a linear, predictable recovery, and even with [[Edge-guarding#Ledge Trump|ledge trump]]ing and larger ledge sweetspots, Marth is still prone to [[gimp]]ing.


As a result, Marth had the largest rise between the first and the third official ''Smash 4'' tier lists (+31), rising from 41st place to 19th and finally to 10th. Since the buffs, many top players such as {{Sm|Dabuz}} and {{Sm|ZeRo}} claimed that Marth's placement was too low, and that he was a top tier character; this would come true by the third official tier list. Overall, Marth remains a strong and viable pick in competitive play, much like in ''Melee'' and ''Brawl''.
Initially considered a low-tier character in ''Smash 4'' while struggling to make notable tournament impacts, Marth was buffed via [[update]]s to the game, particularly in [[1.1.4]], owing to improvements to his reach, damage, [[interruptibility]], and combo game. Since then, he amassed a large playerbase and above-average tournament representation.


==Attributes==
==Attributes==
Marth is emblematic of sword characters, making extensive use of disjointed hitboxes and his unique [[tipper]] mechanic. His attributes remain present: he has great overall mobility, sporting the fastest [[walking speed]] in the game (tied with his [[clone]], {{SSB4|Lucina}}), a fast [[dashing speed]], average [[air speed]], above average [[air acceleration]], moderate [[falling speed]], and low [[gravity]], all of which is coupled with slightly below average [[weight]].  
Marth is emblematic of sword characters, making extensive use of disjointed hitboxes and his unique [[tipper]] mechanic. His attributes remain present: he has high overall mobility, sporting the fastest [[walking speed]] in the game (tied with his [[clone]], {{SSB4|Lucina}}), a fast [[dashing speed]], average [[air speed]], above average [[air acceleration]], moderate [[falling speed]], and low [[gravity]], all of which is coupled with slightly below average [[weight]].


Marth's playstyle has remained fundamentally intact from past iterations, being characterized by the properties of his sword, the Falchion. His attacks deal significantly more damage and knockback if struck with the tip of the sword, encouraging and rewarding proper [[spacing]]. Being a sword-user, Marth also has the benefit of disjointed hitboxes. Many of his moves possess good [[range]], fast startup, and cover wide arcs (e.g, his jab, up tilt, and forward aerial). As such, Marth aims to fight a step away from danger, where he can [[pressure]] the opponent without leaving himself open to [[punishment]].  
Marth's playstyle has remained fundamentally intact from past iterations, being characterized by the properties of his sword, Falchion. His attacks deal significantly more damage and knockback if struck with the tip of the sword, encouraging and rewarding proper [[spacing]]. Being a sword-user, Marth also has the benefit of disjointed hitboxes. Many of his moves possess good [[range]], fast startup, and cover wide arcs (e.g, his jab, up tilt, and forward aerial). As such, Marth aims to fight a step away from danger, where he can [[pressure]] the opponent without leaving himself open to [[punishment]].


Marth's [[neutral game]] relies heavily on effective spacing. As mentioned before, Marth possesses one of the longest overall ranges in the game, which plays a vital role in his neutral, as his mobility allows him to maneuver around opponents and space attacks with relative ease, with multiple moves that are safe to throw out at tipper range or further. In comparison to ''Melee'' and ''Brawl'', Marth's neutral game is mainly ground based, with the first hit of his [[jab]] being the cornerstone. Said move is fast, disjointed, has high range, low start up, deceptively low [[cooldown]], and due to its hitbox arc, also acts as an anti-air. All of these traits make it exceptionally difficult to challenge. It also has excellent combo potential into many of his moves.
Marth's [[neutral game]] relies heavily on effective spacing. As mentioned before, Marth possesses one of the longest overall ranges in the game, which plays a vital role in his neutral, as his mobility allows him to maneuver around opponents and space attacks with relative ease, with multiple moves that are safe to throw out at tipper range or further. In comparison to ''Melee'' and ''Brawl'', Marth's neutral game is mainly ground based, with the first hit of his [[jab]] being the cornerstone. Said move is fast, disjointed, has high range, low start up, deceptively low [[cooldown]], and due to its hitbox arc, also acts as an anti-air. All of these traits make it exceptionally difficult to challenge. It also has excellent combo potential into many of his moves.
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While his tipper is considered the most optimal, Marth's sourspot also provides benefits when he wins in the neutral, as the lower knockback on his sourspot allows him to more easily combo moves into themselves. Marth's neutral game is also unique by scaling with percent, as set-ups and combos become more rewarding at higher percents (e.g, jab 1 to forward tilt serves as a KO set-up at later percents). He also benefits from being one of the few characters in the game who can outright KO through playing his neutral and spacing game; essentially, while Marth's neutral reward is not as rewarding or damaging as other characters, Marth has the ability to win neutral exchanges with relative ease and safety, as well as having consistent set-ups and follow-ups.
While his tipper is considered the most optimal, Marth's sourspot also provides benefits when he wins in the neutral, as the lower knockback on his sourspot allows him to more easily combo moves into themselves. Marth's neutral game is also unique by scaling with percent, as set-ups and combos become more rewarding at higher percents (e.g, jab 1 to forward tilt serves as a KO set-up at later percents). He also benefits from being one of the few characters in the game who can outright KO through playing his neutral and spacing game; essentially, while Marth's neutral reward is not as rewarding or damaging as other characters, Marth has the ability to win neutral exchanges with relative ease and safety, as well as having consistent set-ups and follow-ups.


Marth's special moveset has exceptional utility. His neutral special, [[Shield Breaker]], can break shields, deals high shield damage regardless, even when uncharged, and is useful for punishing [[roll]]s. It also grants some horizontal recovery. Side special [[Dancing Blade]] is a four-hit combo that can be used to punish [[sidestep]]s and rolls, is an effective damage racker, dealing 15-20% if all hits connect, has combo and mix-up potential, and at later percents, serves as an effective KO option. It can also be used to stall in the air, giving Marth mix-up opportunities to recover, land, and edgeguard. [[Counter]], his down special, provides him with the capability to reverse attacks with 1.2x the damage, KOing if the attack was strong enough; it can also be used against opponents with easily predictable recoveries. His up special, [[Dolphin Slash]], has quick startup, provides intangibility during its startup frames, is relatively strong when it first comes out, and has high knockback scaling. These attributes make it an excellent [[out of shield]] option and combo-breaker. It is also Marth's primary method of recovery, as its speed can make it difficult to intercept, and it can [[stage spike]] reckless edgeguarders.  
Marth's special moveset has high utility. His neutral special, [[Shield Breaker]], deals high shield damage even when uncharged, and is useful for punishing [[roll]]s or covering landings. It also grants some horizontal recovery, moreso when fully charged, and a tippered blow deals enough knockback to KO at reasonably low percents. Side special [[Dancing Blade]] is a four-hit combo that can be used to punish [[sidestep]]s and rolls, is an effective damage racker, dealing 15-20% if all hits connect, has combo and mix-up potential, and at later percents, serves as an effective KO option. It can also be used to stall in the air, giving Marth mix-up opportunities to recover, land, and edgeguard. [[Counter]], his down special, provides him with the capability to reverse attacks with 1.2x the damage, KOing if the attack was strong enough; it can also be used against opponents with easily predictable recoveries. His up special, [[Dolphin Slash]], has quick startup, provides slight intangibility during its startup frames, is relatively strong when it first comes out, and has high knockback scaling. These attributes make it an excellent [[out of shield]] option and combo-breaker. It is also Marth's primary method of recovery, as its speed can make it difficult to intercept, and it can [[stage spike]] reckless edgeguarders.


Marth's low gravity and average falling speed allow him to maneuver effectively in the air, and his disjointed range provides him with an innately strong edgeguarding capability. His forward and back aerials have fast startup and good range, and are strong when tippered. Down aerial is relatively quick, and if it hits at the center of the arc, it [[meteor smash]]es opponents. Forward smash's range makes it a good choice against opponents aiming their recoveries towards the ledge, and down tilt's range and speed make it good at 2-framing opponents. As well, both have the ability to hit below the ledge.
Marth's low gravity and average falling speed allow him to maneuver effectively in the air, and his disjointed range provides him with an innately strong edgeguarding capability. His forward and back aerials have fast startup and good range, and are strong when tippered. Down aerial is relatively quick, and it will powerfully [[meteor smash]] opponents if it hits at the center of the arc, though its timing is very strict at one frame. Forward smash's range makes it a good choice against opponents aiming their recoveries towards the ledge, and down tilt's range and speed make it good at 2-framing opponents. Both have the ability to hit below the ledge as well.


Not without notable flaws, Marth suffers from a myriad of subtle issues. As a result of his heavier reliance on tippers and spacing ability, he has a relatively subpar up-close game at higher percents, giving him a tougher time KO'ing and threatening faster, or smaller characters. Despite having below average weight and only average falling speed, Marth is susceptible to combos, and his tall hurtbox provides an easy target. He also has little defense against [[juggling]], as his aerials are ineffective at relieving pressure, and sometimes unsafe to hit if not tippered. Though his attacks have quick startup, many of them come with high ending and landing lag, and also suffer from short hitbox durations (e.g, his forward aerial has a hitbox that lasts only 3 frames, comparatively high ending lag and noticeable landing lag, and along with its very strict [[autocancel]] window, it is a surprisingly poor [[approach]] option).  Dolphin Slash is his only reliable combo-breaker, but as it leaves him [[helpless]], it can inadvertently put him in an even worse position. Also, while Counter can be used defensively, it leaves Marth extremely vulnerable to punishment should it whiff.  
Despite his strengths, Marth is not without flaws. Due to both the changes to shield mechanics and further polarization of his sweetspots and sourspots, his heavier reliance on tippers and spacing ability gives him a relatively subpar up-close game at higher percents, which makes it more difficult for Marth to KO and threaten faster/smaller characters. The low [[shieldstun]] and hitstun generated by non-tippered moves make it possible for opponents to act out quicker than he can, causing Marth to struggle against shields if his aerials are improperly spaced, and Shield Breaker is highly punishable if predicted. His tipper mechanic can equally disadvantage him when attempting to KO, as his attacks don't generate much knockback if not spaced properly, making his KO potential very inconsistent without proper spacing (most notably with forward smash, forward tilt and aerials). Lastly, his edgeguarding ability, though strong, is flawed, both due to the need for tippers and the moderately high ending lag on his aerials. As a result, Marth is reliant on being in a certain distance for his moves to be safe while retaining the neutral, and to KO effectively without setups.


His neutral suffers from a lack of a [[projectile]], and he can struggle against projectile heavy characters and playstyles. Aside from having a fairly fast [[pummel]], his grab game is mediocre. His throws deal low damage and have high base knockback, making them poor for combos and damage-racking. Except for up throw, they have low knockback scaling, preventing them from KOing at realistic percents, while up throw can only KO starting at 160%, if Marth has no [[rage]]. As such, Marth can struggle against shields, as improperly spaced aerials leave Marth susceptible, and Shield Breaker is highly punishable if predicted. Marth's weak throws tie into his inconsistent KO power. His tipper mechanic can disadvantage him, as his attacks don't generate much knockback if not spaced properly. Lastly, his edgeguarding ability, though strong, is flawed, both due to the need for tippers and the moderately high ending lag on his aerials.
Marth's weak throws tie into his inconsistent KO power. Except for up throw, they have low knockback scaling, preventing them from KOing at realistic percents, while up throw can only KO starting at 160%, if Marth has no [[rage]]. His throw game is poor as well; aside from having a fairly fast [[pummel]], Marth's throws deal low damage and have high base knockback, making them poor for combos and damage-racking outside of very low percents, such as aerials at 0%. However, it should be noted that the high base knockback of his throws allow Marth to take advantage of his good edgeguarding capability, especially at the edge.


Marth himself is somewhat vulnerable to edgeguarding, though he has options for mix-ups with his recovery. Dolphin Slash is his only reliable vertical recovery option, and while it is still a threat to edgeguarders due to it's speed and high stage spike ability, its path is linear and its distance fixed, making it fairly predictable. Additionally since this move grants little horizontal distance, Marth is vulnerable to [[semi-spike]]s. While Shield Breaker can aid his horizontal recovery, it covers little distance without charging. Marth's also heavily reliant on his [[double jump]] for mix-ups in his recovery, and is in significant danger if offstage without it.  
As a solely sword-based character, Marth's neutral also suffers from a lack of a [[projectile]], and he can struggle against projectile heavy characters and playstyles. This ties in with his vulnerability once he loses the neutral: despite having below average weight and only average falling speed, Marth is susceptible to combos, and his tall hurtbox provides an easy target. Dolphin Slash is his only reliable combo-breaker, but as it leaves him [[helpless]], it can inadvertently put him in an even worse position. Also, while Counter can be used defensively, it leaves Marth extremely vulnerable to punishment should it whiff. Marth also has little defense against [[juggling]], as his aerials are ineffective at relieving pressure; though his attacks have quick startup, many of them come with high ending and landing lag, and also suffer from short hitbox durations (e.g, his forward aerial has a hitbox that lasts only 3 frames, comparatively high ending lag and noticeable landing lag, and along with its very strict [[autocancel]] window, it is a surprisingly poor [[approach]] option).
 
Marth himself is somewhat vulnerable to edgeguarding, though he has options for mix-ups with his recovery. Dolphin Slash is his only reliable vertical recovery option, and while it is still a threat to edgeguarders due to its speed and high stage spike ability, its path is linear and its distance fixed, making it fairly predictable. Additionally since this move grants little horizontal distance, Marth is vulnerable to [[semi-spike]]s. While Shield Breaker can aid his horizontal recovery, it covers little distance without charging. Marth's also heavily reliant on his [[double jump]] for mix-ups in his recovery, and is in significant danger if offstage without it.


With [[custom moves]] enabled, Marth gains options to address some of his drawbacks, at the cost of creating different ones. Dashing Assault allows him to punish landings and rolls, create trap situations, and can force opponents off the stage; but it loses the power and utility of Shield Breaker. Crescent Slash provides more horizontal recovery, but less vertical recovery. Also, while it grants him a fairly reliable follow-up from his forward throw and aerials at low percents, and can punish airdodge landings, it loses out of shield functionality. Dolphin Jump provides Marth more vertical distance and greater horizontal control, but loses all of its offensive use. Iai Counter has quicker startup (active from frame 3), increased utility, and deals [[electric]] damage as well; however it requires significantly stricter timing.
With [[custom moves]] enabled, Marth gains options to address some of his drawbacks, at the cost of creating different ones. Dashing Assault allows him to punish landings and rolls, create trap situations, and can force opponents off the stage; but it loses the power and utility of Shield Breaker. Crescent Slash provides more horizontal recovery, but less vertical recovery. Also, while it grants him a fairly reliable follow-up from his forward throw and aerials at low percents, and can punish airdodge landings, it loses out of shield functionality. Dolphin Jump provides Marth more vertical distance and greater horizontal control, but loses all of its offensive use. Iai Counter has quicker startup (active from frame 3), increased utility, and deals [[electric]] damage as well; however it requires significantly stricter timing.


Overall, Marth's strengths considerably outweigh his flaws. He possesses notable advantages in his tipper mechanic, great disjoint, great mobility, fast startup of his moves, and a sourspot to benefit his combo game; however, his spacing and overall safety is so overly centered on his tipper mechanic that it hinders him in many ways, making his punishes unreliable due to their inconsistency. At his purest, Marth is most rewarding for players with good fundamentals, with many playstyles applicable to him. Marth has a dedicated playerbase in competitive play, with notable players such as {{Sm|MkLeo}}, {{Sm|Mr.E}}, {{Sm|Pugwest}}, and {{Sm|False}} achieving strong results at results at top-level play. As such, while he is noticeably nerfed from ''Brawl'', he has proven to be a solid pick in competitive play after his buffs.
Overall, Marth's strengths considerably outweigh his flaws. He possesses notable advantages in his tipper mechanic, effective disjoint, fast mobility, above-average frame data, and a sourspot to benefit his combo game; however, his spacing and overall safety is so overly centered on his tipper mechanic that it hinders him in many ways, making his punishes unreliable due to their inconsistency. At his purest, Marth is most rewarding for players with good fundamentals, with many playstyles applicable to him due to his flaws being easily worked around with careful play. Marth has a dedicated playerbase in competitive play, with notable players such as {{Sm|MkLeo}}, {{Sm|Mr.E}}, {{Sm|Pugwest}}, and {{Sm|False}} achieving strong results at results at top-level play. As such, while he is noticeably nerfed from ''Brawl'', he has proven to be a solid pick in competitive play after his buffs.
 
==Changes from ''[[Super Smash Bros. Brawl]]''==
Possibly as a result of his strengths in previous appearances, Marth was severely [[nerf]]ed overall in his transition from ''Brawl'' to ''Smash 4'' (though this was partially reversed through balance updates). In general, Marth deals less damage and has worse frame data. Marth's hitboxes on most moves are now slightly more disjointed, but smaller and with less absolute range. His tipper hitboxes are generally smaller and more difficult to land, and non-tipper hits are weaker, making KOs less consistent. Although Marth's range is still very good, buffs to other veterans as well as high-tier newcomers with excellent range (e.g. [[Cloud]], [[Corrin]] and [[Bayonetta]]) render his key advantage over other characters much less pronounced.
 
Marth's aerial game has been significantly nerfed. Forward aerial, a key tool in [[Melee]] and [[Brawl]], now has more startup, cooldown, and landing lag, and auto-cancels much later. (Notably, it is no longer possible to perform two forward aerials in a short hop.) Down aerial, previously a very threatening edgeguarding tool, has a new animation with less effective reach and more startup lag, and only [[meteor smash]]es directly below Marth instead of throughout the move. Up aerial and neutral aerial have more landing lag, now being less effective for combos and juggling. Back aerial, though, has less landing lag and better knockback.
 
The base knockback on his throws has been significantly increased. This makes them mostly ineffective for combos and [[tech chase]]s except at very low percents, but more effective at launching opponents away from centre-stage into edgeguard or juggle states. [[Up throw]] remains his only moderately effective KO throw. [[Chain grab]]bing and aerial [[grab release]] follow-ups have been removed wholesale, notably weakening Marth's grab game.


==Changes from ''Brawl''==
Marth has also seen a couple of nerfs to his specials: [[Dancing Blade]]'s first hit is much laggier, and the full move connects less reliably as each hit is stronger and transitions more slowly. [[Dolphin Slash]] is weaker and has less [[intangibility]] when used on the ground.
Possibly as a result of his dominance in previous appearances, Marth has been noticeably [[nerf]]ed overall in his transition from ''Brawl'' to ''SSB4'' during the release of the game, though definitely not to the extent of characters like {{SSB4|Falco}} and {{SSB4|King Dedede}}. While Marth's disjoint has been slightly increased, he has less reach relative to the cast as a result of many characters getting the same treatment, slightly hindering his key advantage from past games (though he still has one of the largest overall reaches in the game). As a result, this makes it much harder for him to control space. His air game, another strength in previous iterations, has been significantly nerfed. His forward and down aerials have very slightly increased startup; the former has a shorter hitbox duration, higher ending and landing lag, and autocancels much later, hindering his main approach option from ''Brawl,'' while the latter's meteor smash sweetspot only lasts one frame, hurting its edgeguarding utility. Down tilt has higher ending lag, rendering it less effective as a defensive option.  


Marth's damage racking game has also been nerfed. The base knockback on his throws has been significantly increased, making them ineffective for combos past extremely low percents, and removes his ability to [[tech-chase]]. However, their knockback scaling is still low, and so, aside from [[up throw]], they cannot KO realistically. This is further compounded by the removal of [[chain grab]]bing, as the low damage output of his throws is more pronounced. His aerials are less effective for comboing and juggling due to their increased lag. Despite these nerfs, he has not been compensated in the damage output of his individual moves, as all of his smash attacks and aerials deal less damage. As a result of the weakened power of his non-tippered attacks and increased ending lag, and along with the loss of his tech-chasing ability, these changes now make his KO power inconsistent.  
However, Marth has received noticeable buffs in other areas. [[Shield Breaker]] has improved utility due to Smash 4's weaker shields and higher [[shieldstun]], and [[Counter]] reflects attacks with significantly increased knockback. Some of his moves are stronger when tippered, an example being forward smash, which is now the third strongest in the game. As [[Dolphin Slash]] was relatively susceptible to [[edge-hogging]] and suffered from the [[landing lag glitch]], it greatly benefits from the new ledge mechanics, improving Marth's recovery. His ground game has also been buffed in some ways, with his neutral attack, forward tilt, up tilt and down smash all having decreased ending lag. The first hit of jab now launches opponents vertically upwards, allowing many new combos into different moves (although removing its ability to [[jab lock]]). Many of his tipper hitboxes have moved further along his sword, and largely benefit both from the increased shieldstun and shield damage and the fact that moves with high [[hitlag]] multipliers are now more advantageous on shield. His grounded mobility options are also improved: his dash speed is higher, making his extended [[dash-dance]] and perfect [[pivot]] very effective. These changes give him a better grounded spacing and combo game. Marth also benefits from [[rage]] when facing characters who are lighter than him.


Marth has received buffs in other areas, however. [[Shield Breaker]] has improved utility due to the weaker shields and higher shield-stun, and [[Counter]] reflects attacks with significantly increased knockback. His moves are significantly stronger when tippered, an example being forward smash, which is now being the third strongest in the game. As [[Dolphin Slash]] was relatively susceptible to [[edge-hogging]], it greatly benefits from the new ledge mechanics, improving Marth's recovery. His ground game has also been buffed, with his jab, tilts, and down smash having decreased ending lag allowing for new combo and kill set ups. Many of his tipper hitboxes have grown larger as well, improving his spacing game. His mobility options are also far better too, such as possessing a faster dashing speed, but he is more noticeably helped by the general mechanic changes in this area; the removal of random tripping gifts him one of the better and most useful extended dash dances of the game, and the introduction of perfect pivots gives him yet another microspacing option. Both of these aid his ground game further and give him options to extend his bait and punish options. These changes give him a better grounded spacing and combo game at the cost of having to more properly space and time his aerials. Overall though, Marth is one of the very few characters to have been truly nerfed in the transition to ''Smash 4,'' along with {{SSB4|Meta Knight}}, {{SSB4|King Dedede}}, {{SSB4|Falco}}, {{SSB4|Jigglypuff}} and {{SSB4|Olimar}}. While his strength are less prominent in comparison to his previous two iterations, game updates brought useful buffs that significantly increased his effectiveness, once again allowing him to become a notable force in the metagame.
In the end, while Marth was previously considered to be one of the characters to have been the most severely nerfed in the transition to ''Smash 4'' (alongside {{SSB4|Meta Knight}}, {{SSB4|King Dedede}}, {{SSB4|Dr. Mario}}, {{SSB4|Falco}}, {{SSB4|Olimar}}, and {{SSB4|Wario}}), game updates brought useful buffs that significantly increased his effectiveness, while his key strengths remain from his previous two iterations were retained albeit to a lesser extent. While he is still nerfed from ''Brawl'' overall, the changes to the game's mechanics benefit him (despite receiving some noticeable nerfs from them) and most other returning veterans who were in ''Brawl''{{'}}s higher tiers saw a similar treatment which has lead him to being similarly effective relative to the cast and he is still be considered as a viable character in ''Smash 4''{{'}}s metagame.


===Aesthetics===
===Aesthetics===
*{{change|Marth's design takes elements from ''{{s|fireemblemwiki|Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem: Heroes of Light and Shadow}}'' and his older design in ''[[Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem]]'', which was used in ''Melee'' and ''Brawl''. His eyes are also smaller, and he has shorter hair.}}
*{{change|Marth's design takes elements from ''{{s|fireemblemwiki|Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem: Heroes of Light and Shadow}}'' and his older design in ''[[Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem]]'', which was used in ''Melee'' and ''Brawl''. This is most notable in the new designs for his cuirass, pauldrons, shirt, belt, and boots. Notably, the armor near his shoulders now hugs them rather than being attached to the chest piece like in ''Melee'', ''Brawl'', and the design it is based on, giving him a less imposing silhouette. His eyes are also smaller, and he has shorter hair.}}
*{{change|Marth's white [[alternate costume]] has been updated to the monochromatic palette, which makes no longer based on {{s|fireemblemwiki|Leif}}. Additionally, Marth has received three new alternate costumes, two of which are based on his appearance in ''Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem'' and [[Roy]]'s appearance in ''Melee'', respectively. One replaces his previous blue costume.}}
*{{change|Marth's sword trails are much brighter at the tip; this makes the [[sweetspot]] of his attacks more visible than in previous games.}}
*{{change|Marth's sword trails are much brighter at the tip; this makes the [[sweetspot]] of his attacks more visible than in previous games.}}
*{{change|Marth's sound effects for his sword slashes are less pronounced than in ''Brawl'', overall being quieter. His Dolphin Slash in particular now produces a soft, short slashing sound, compared to the loud and prolonged noise it produced in ''Brawl''.}}
*{{change|Marth's sound effects for his sword slashes are less pronounced than in ''Brawl'', overall being quieter. His Dolphin Slash in particular now produces a soft, short slashing sound, compared to the loud and prolonged noise it produced in ''Brawl''.}}
*{{change|Marth's shielding animation has been updated. He no longer sheaths his sword, instead holding it up via an underhanded-grip. However, his sidestepping animation still has his sword sheathed, which is a carryover from ''Brawl''.}}
*{{change|Marth's previously unused damage yells from ''Brawl''{{'}}s [[Sound Test]] are now heard when taking high knockback.}}


===Attributes===
===Attributes===
*{{change|Marth is slightly heavier than in ''Brawl'' (87 → 90), improving his endurance but making him easier to combo at early percentages from the changes to hitstun cancelling.}}
*{{buff|Almost all of Marth's attacks have slightly increased range compared to ''Brawl'' (apart from forward smash and Shield Breaker), ranging from a 0.25 increase to a 3.5 increase (2.5 before 1.1.4, as certain moves were increased further in said patch).}}
*{{buff|Marth [[dash]]es faster (1.7 → 1.785).}}
*{{buff|Marth [[dash]]es faster (1.7 → 1.785).}}
*{{nerf|Marth's [[air speed]] is slightly slower (1.034 → 1.02).}}
*{{nerf|The changes to [[pivot walk]]ing hinders Marth's approach options with his [[walk]].}}
*{{nerf|Marth's [[air speed]] is slightly slower (1.034 → 1.02), going from the 11th fastest out of 39 characters to the 29th fastest out of 58.}}
*{{change|Marth [[falling speed|falls]] faster (1.5 → 1.58). This slightly improves his vertical endurance, but makes him more susceptible to combos.}}
*{{change|Marth [[falling speed|falls]] faster (1.5 → 1.58). This slightly improves his vertical endurance, but makes him more susceptible to combos.}}
*{{buff|Marth's [[fast-falling]] speed is faster (2.1 → 2.528), making him less susceptible to vertical juggling.}}
*{{buff|Marth's [[fast fall]]ing speed is faster (2.1 → 2.528), improving his air game and making him less susceptible to juggling. It is also faster than his fast falling speed in ''Melee'' (2.5 → 2.528).}}
*{{change|Marth's [[gravity]] is higher (0.06715 → 0.075), hindering his endurance and making him more susceptible to combos, but allowing him to reach his falling speed faster.}}
*{{change|Marth's [[gravity]] is higher (0.06715 → 0.075), hindering his endurance, making him more susceptible to combos and reducing the height of his jumps, but allowing him to reach his falling speed faster.}}
*{{buff|Marth's soft landing is 1 frame faster (3 frames → 2).}}
**{{change|Due to Marth's lower short hop, he now lands before his forward jumping animation ends. This means that Marth no longer enters his aerial transition frame before landing from a forwards short hop.}}
*{{nerf|Marth's [[item throw]] is weaker (1 → 0.966).}}
*{{buff|Marth's [[double jump]] is higher (height multiplier: 0.88x → 1x).}}
*{{buff|Marth's [[roll]]s have less ending lag (FAF 35 → 31).}}
*{{buff|Marth is heavier (87 → 90), improving his endurance.}}
*{{nerf|Marth's rolls provide less [[intangibility]] frames (frame 4-19 (forward)/4-23 (back) → 4-17).}}
*{{change|Marth is smaller (model size multiplier: 1x → 0.96x). This makes him harder to hit but reduces his range.}}
*{{nerf|Marth's [[spot dodge]] has more start-up with a shorter duration (frame 2-20 → 3-17) and has more ending lag (FAF 24 → 26).}}
*{{nerf|Marth's [[item throw]] is weaker (1 → 0.966). Additionally, the removal of [[glide toss]]ing hinders his approach with items.}}
*{{buff|Marth's [[roll]]s have less ending lag (FAF 36 → 31).}}
*{{nerf|Marth's rolls have a shorter duraiton (frame 4-19 (forward)/4-23 (back) → 4-17).}}
*{{nerf|Marth's rolls cover less distance due to his smaller size.}}
*{{nerf|Marth's [[spot dodge]] has more startup lag with a shorter duration (frame 2-20 → 3-17) and it has more ending lag (FAF 25 → 27).}}
*{{change|Marth has a new spot dodge animation: he shifts backwards instead of crouching forward.}}
*{{change|Marth has a new spot dodge animation: he shifts backwards instead of crouching forward.}}
*{{buff|Marth's [[air dodge]] has less start-up (frame 5 → 3) and much less ending lag (FAF 49 → 32), no longer being considered among the worst air dodges as a result.}}
*{{buff|Marth's [[air dodge]] has less startup (frame 5 → 3) and much less ending lag (FAF 50 → 33), no longer being the slowest air dodge in terms of startup lag.}}
*{{nerf|Marth's air dodge's lasts 1 frame shorter (25 frames → 24).}}
*{{nerf|Marth's air dodge's has a shorter duration (frames 5-30 → 3-27).}}
*{{buff|Most of Marth's attacks have slightly increased reach compared to ''Brawl'' due to the tipper hitboxes on a large majority of his moves being positioned further along his sword (although most of his tipper hitboxes are now smaller).}}
**{{nerf|Despite this, his overall range is worse due to most of his attacks having smaller hitboxes making his attacks harder to land and hindering his ability to wall out his opponents. This is further exacerbated by the nerfs some of his key spacing tools received such as his [[forward aerial]].}}


===Ground attacks===
===Ground attacks===
*{{buff|[[Neutral attack]] has more range, the first hit transitions faster, and the second hit deals more knockback. The first hit also sends opponents at a higher trajectory ([[Sakurai angle|361°]] → 78°/65°/90°) and has less ending lag (FAF 29 → 25), allowing for follow-ups and mix-ups.}}
*[[Neutral attack]]:
*{{nerf|Both hits of neutral attack come out 1 [[frame]] later (4/2 → 5/3).}}
**{{buff|Neutral attack's first hit transitions into the second hit faster (frame 20 → 17) and has has less ending lag (FAF 28 → 26).}}
*{{buff|[[Forward tilt]] is stronger (40 base/80 scaling → 55/85), and has slightly more vertical range. Like his ''Brawl'' down tilt, Marth now moves a step forward when using the move repeatedly, further increasing it's horizontal range. It also has noticeably less ending lag (FAF 40 → 34).}}
**{{buff|The first hit has altered knockback (20 (base), 50 (scaling) (sourspot), 30/70 (tipper) → 30/55 (both)), sends opponents at a higher trajectory ([[Sakurai angle|361°]] → 78°/65°/90°) significantly improving its [[jab cancel]]ling potential.}}
*{{nerf|Forward tilt hits 1 frame later (frame 7 → 8).}}
***{{nerf|However, its new angles also remove its ability to [[jab lock]] removing Marth's most reliable method to lock opponents.}}
*{{nerf|[[Up tilt]] (8%/9%/12% → 5%/6%/9%), down tilt base (8%/9% → 7%), forward smash (14%/19% → 13%/18%) and up smash sourspots (4%/14% → 3/13%) all deal less damage, though with their knockback compensated.}}
**{{nerf|The first hit has more startup lag with a shorter duration (frames 4-7 → 5-7). Its animation has not been changed reducing the move's range below Marth.}}
*{{buff|Up tilt deals overall more knockback (40/30 base/120/118/116/90 scaling → 65/52 base/100 scaling), has more max reach (6.85u → 8.45u), and has decreased ending lag (FAF 40 → 34). Additionally, all of its hitboxes now produce vertical knockback (110°/361°/85° → 100°/85°), making it more consistent.}}
**{{nerf|The first hit deals less damage (4%/6% → 3%/5%).}}
*{{change|Like his ''Brawl'' down tilt, and his current forward tilt, up tilt now moves Marth a step forward when using the move repeatedly. However, this provides no real noticeable advantages or disadvantages.}}
**{{buff|The second hit has less startup lag (frame 4 → 3) with no animation change giving it slightly more range below Marth.}}
*{{buff|[[Down tilt]] deals more base knockback (50/40/25/20 → 50/40), resulting in the tipper dealing more knockback, and also has slightly increased max range. The base deals less knockback due to dealing lower damage, and this gives Marth more follow ups from a sourspot down tilt, such as a tipper forward aerial, grab, or Dancing Blade.}}
**{{buff|The second hit deals more knockback (20 (base), 50 (scaling) (sourspot), 30/70 (tipper) → 62/75 (both)).}}
*{{nerf|Down tilt has 2 more frames of ending lag (FAF 22 → 24), and has a slightly shorter hitbox duration (3 frames → 2). It also no longer moves Marth forward, removing its ability to pseudo-crawl.}}
**{{nerf|The second hit has a shorter duration (frames 4-8 → 3-5) considerably decreasing its range above Marth.}}
*{{buff|The tipper hitbox of [[forward smash]] is slightly larger (3u → 3.5u) and has more knockback scaling (70 → 80), now being the third strongest forward smash in the game.}}
**{{nerf|The second hit has more ending lag (FAF 28 → 29).}}
*{{change|Sourspotted forward smash deals less base knockback, but more knockback scaling (60 base/70 scaling → 55/80). This makes it less effective at lower percents, but the increased scaling means it still KOs at the same percent as in ''Brawl'', and is even more effective as the percent's rise higher due to the higher scaling.}}
**{{nerf|The second hit's angle has been altered (361° → 45°) which hinders its effectiveness against grounded opponents and removes its ability to jab lock when combined with its higher knockback.}}
*{{nerf|Forward smash has less reach (10.5u → 9.05u), due to a slight animation change, where Marth doesn't step forward as much as before. It also has slightly increased ending lag (FAF 49 → 51).}}
**{{buff|The tipper on both hits has been repositioned (z offset: 5.1 → 6.7) now fully covering the tip of the sword.}}
*{{buff|[[Up smash]] has a slightly larger hitbox radius overall, giving it slightly more vertical range (8.45u → 10.2u). The sourspot hitbox of up smash deals more knockback overall, and tippered up smash also has much more knockback scaling (70 → 95).}}
**{{nerf|Both hits have smaller hitboxes (4u/4u/3.5u/2.5u → 3.5u/3.5u/3u) and they no longer have a hitbox on Marth's shoulder.}}
*{{nerf|Up smash has slightly slower startup (frame 12 → 13), shorter hitbox duration (6 frames → 5), and increased ending lag (FAF 49 → 58).}}
*[[Forward tilt]]:
*{{buff|Down smash has less ending lag (FAF 64 → 54), and slightly more max range (7.2u → 9.05u). Back hit of tippered [[down smash]] also has more knockback scaling (80 → 88) and deals slightly more damage (16% → 17%).}}  
**{{buff|Tippered forward tilt deals more knockback (40 (base), 80 (scaling) → 55/85).}}
*{{nerf|Though down smash has more max range, the tipper hitboxes are slightly smaller (3.5u → 3u). Back hit of down smash also deals 1% less damage (13% → 12%) and the front hit deals much less damage (14%/17% → 8%/12%), making it weaker despite its increased scaling on both the sweet and sourspots (70/80 → 88). The hitbox duration on both hits is shorter (3 frames → 2).}}
**{{buff|The tipper has been repositioned (z offset: 6.5 → 7.7) which makes it reach slightly further.}}
**{{buff|Forward tilt has less ending lag (FAF 36 → 34) which gives it a peculiar property; a move buffered during the end of the animation will start a small step forward than usual, similar to his ''Brawl'' down tilt moving him forward slightly when buffering the repeated attack. Overall, this property can grant any of Marth's moves slightly increased horizontal range.}}
**{{nerf|Forward tilt has smaller hitboxes (4u/4u/3.5u/2.5u → 3.5u/3.5u/3u) and it no longer has a hitbox on Marth's shoulder.}}
*[[Up tilt]]:
**{{buff|Up tilt now always launches opponents vertically (110°/361° (clean), 85°/361 (late) → 100° (clean)/85° (late)), making it more consistent.}}
**{{buff|The tipper has been repositioned (z offset: 5.1 → 6.7) now fully covering the tip of the sword.}}
**{{buff|Up tilt has less ending lag (FAF 40 → 34) which gives it a peculiar property; a move buffered during the end of the animation will start a small step forward than usual, similar to his ''Brawl'' down tilt moving him forward slightly when buffering the repeated attack. Overall, this property can grant any of Marth's moves slightly increased horizontal range.}}
**{{nerf|Up tilt deals less damage (8%/9%/10%/12% → 5%/6%/9%) and its knockback was only compensated for the tipper (40 (base), 90 (scaling) → 65/100). The other hitboxes did not have their knockback fully compensated (40/30 (base), 120/118/116 (scaling) → 65/100) making them much weaker.}}
**{{nerf|Up tilt previously had much more powerful knockback on a "sourspot" hitbox for the last active frame, being a stronger KO move than tippered Up tilt and sourspot Up Smash. }}
**{{nerf|Up tilt has smaller hitboxes (5u/3.5u/3.5u/2.5u → 3.5u/3.5u/3u/2u).}}
*[[Down tilt]]:
**{{buff|Down tilt's tipper has been repositioned (z offset: 4.8 → 8.2) now fully covering the tip of the sword.}}
**{{change|Down tilt's sourspots with reduced base knockback (25/20 → 40) have been removed with the sourspot now being one single extended hitbox instead of 3 normal hitboxes.}}
**{{nerf|Down tilt has a shorter duration (frames 7-9 → 7-8) and more ending lag (FAF 22 → 24).}}
**{{nerf|The sourspot deals less damage (9%/8% → 7%).}}
**{{nerf|Down tilt has smaller hitboxes (4.8u/3.36u/3.74u/4.8u → 2.7u/2.7u) giving it less vertical range and no longer covering Marth's head.}}
**{{nerf|Down tilt no longer moves Marth forward, removing its ability to pseudo-crawl.}}
*[[Dash attack]]:
**{{buff|Dash attack's tipper has been repositioned (z offset: 5.2 → 6.5) making it overlap less with the sourspots.}}
**{{nerf|Dash attack has smaller hitboxes (4u/4u/3.5u/2.5u → 3.5u/3.5u/3u/2u).}}
*[[Forward smash]]:
**{{buff|The tipper hitbox of forward smash is slightly larger (3u → 3.5u) and has more knockback scaling (70 → 80), slightly improving its KO potential despite its lower damage now being the third strongest forward smash in the game.}}
**{{nerf|Forward smash has slightly increased ending lag (FAF 50 → 52).}}
**{{nerf|Forward smash deals less damage (14%/19% → 13%/18%) although the sourspot's knockback was compensated (60 (base), 70 (scaling) → 55/80).}}
**{{nerf|Forward smash has smaller hitboxes overall especially around Marth's body (3u/3u/3u/4u/3u → 3.5u/3.5u/3u/2u) and the move has a new animation, where Marth doesn't step forward as much as before.}}
**{{nerf|The tipper has been repositioned (z offset: 9 → 7.3) giving it less range in front of Marth.}}
**{{nerf|Marth's forward smash with a battering item no longer has a initial sword hit which increases the startup lag of Marth's battering item forward smashes (frame 10 → 15) and makes them deal 5% less damage than they otherwise would.}}
***{{buff|However, this also makes his forward smash with battering items more reliable.}}
*[[Up smash]]:
**{{buff|Up smash's sourspot is now one large extended hitbox which fully covers Marth's lower body rather than 2 normal hitboxes which cover a space around Marth's feet.}}
**{{buff|Up smash's non tipper main hitboxes are larger (4.9u/4.9u → 5.8u/5.8u).}}
**{{buff|Both the main sourspot and tipper have higher knockback scaling (80 (sourspot), 70 (tipper) → 90/95) improving their KO potential especially the tipper.}}
**{{buff|The tipper has been repositioned (z offset: 6 → 7.3) which makes it reach slightly higher.}}
**{{nerf|Up smash has more startup lag with a shorter duration (frames 12-17 → 13-17) as well as increased ending lag (FAF 50 → 58).}}
**{{nerf|The main sourspot deals less damage (14% → 13%).}}
**{{nerf|The tipper is smaller (4.9u → 4.6u) and no longer takes priority over the sourspots.}}
*[[Down smash]]:
**{{buff|Down smash has less ending lag (FAF 65 → 55).}}
**{{buff|The tipper on both hits has been repositioned (z offset: 5.2 → 7.3) now fully covering the tip of the sword.}}
**{{buff|Down smash deals more knockback scaling (70/80 → 88) and the back tipper deals slightly more damage (16% → 17%) improving the tipper's KO potential.}}
**{{change|The tipper on both hits now launches opponents horizontally (75° → 361°).}}
**{{nerf|The front hit deals much less damage (14%/17% → 8%/12%), significantly hindering its KO potential.}}
**{{nerf|The front hit has a shorter duration (frames 6-8 → 6-7).}}
**{{nerf|The back hit's sourspot deals 1% less damage (13% → 12%).}}
**{{nerf|Both hits have smaller hitboxes (4u/4u/4u/3.5u → 3.5u/3.5u/3u/2u).}}


===Aerial attacks===
===Aerial attacks===
*{{buff|Neutral aerial's first hit sourspotted deals 0.5% more damage|3%|3.5%.}}
*[[Neutral aerial]]:
*{{nerf|[[Neutral aerial]] (6% (first hit, tippered), 9%/12% (second hit) → 5% (first hit, tippered), 7%/9.5% (second hit)), [[forward aerial]] (10%/13% → 8%/11.5%), [[back aerial]] (11%/14% → 9%/12.5%), and [[up aerial]] sourspot (10% → 9.5%) all deal less damage than in ''Brawl''. The knockback has been compensated on tipper forward, back and up aerials, along with sourspot up aerial. However, all of neutral aerial, and sourspot forward and back aerials have not had their knockback compensated.}}  
**{{buff|The first hit's sourspots deal more damage (3% → 3.5%).}}
*{{nerf|Except for back aerial, all aerials have worse [[autocancel]] windows (neutral aerial: frame 25 → 47, forward aerial: frame 27 → 36, up aerial: frame 27 → 38, down aerial: frame 48 → 55). Neutral aerial no longer autocancels in a short-hop.}}
**{{buff|The sword hitboxes on both hits have been moved further along the sword (z offset: 0 (near)3.6 (tipper) → 2.5/7.7 (hit 1 tipper)/7.5 (hit 2 tipper)) giving the tipper more range as well as making it easier to land.}}
*{{nerf|Neutral aerial (9 frames → 12 frames), forward aerial (9 frames → 16), and up aerial (9 frames → 14) have increased landing lag.}}
**{{change|Neutral aerial's first hit now has weight independent knockback, making it more consistent across the cast.}}
*{{buff|Back aerial (21 frames → 17) and down aerial (32 frames → 24) have less landing lag.}}
**{{nerf|Neutral aerial has more landing lag (9 frames → 12).}}
*{{buff|Neutral aerial has noticeably more range (6u → 9.45u).}}
**{{nerf|Neutral aerial [[auto-cancel]]s much later (frame 25 → 47), no longer doing in a short hop. This considerably hinders its spacing potential.}}
*{{nerf|Neutral aerial has 1 more frame of ending lag (FAF 49 → 50).}}
**{{nerf|Neutral aerial has a shorter initial auto-cancel window (frames 1-5 → 1).}}
*{{nerf|Forward aerial now possesses increased startup and reduced duration (frames 4-7 → 6-8). Marth can also no longer perform another aerial after a forward aerial in a single short hop due to increased ending lag (FAF 34 → 38).}}
**{{nerf|Both hits have smaller hitboxes (4.8u/3u/4.8u/4.8u → 3.5u/3u/2u/3.5u), with the nearest hitboxes now being positioned on Marth's arm rather than his back, reducing the move's vertical range as well as its range inside of Marth.}}
*{{buff|As of patch 1.1.4, forward aerial has significantly more range (7.8u → 9.45u), and the tipper hitbox is slightly larger.}}
**{{nerf|The first hit no longer launches opponents towards Marth (100°/90° → 80°/75°/65°/90°) and has higher knockback scaling (40 → 50) hindering its reliability.}}
*{{buff|Back aerial also has more range (7.4u → 9.45u).}}
**{{nerf|The first hit's tipper deals less damage (6% → 5%).}}
*{{buff|Up aerial is stronger overall, due to the move having increased knockback scaling across all hitboxes (70 base/80 tipper → 80/84). It also has slightly more range (7.9u → 8.45u). }}
**{{nerf|The second hit deals less damage (9% (near)/12% (tipper) → 7%/9.5%). The previous body hitbox did not receive full compensation on its knockback scaling (80 → 90), the previous head and sword hitbox received no compensation to their knockback and the tipper only received an increase to its base knockback (50 → 60). This considerably hinders its KO potential, no longer being the strongest neutral aerial.}}
*{{nerf|Despite having more reach, up aerial's tipper hitbox is slightly smaller (4.8 → 3.5).}}
*[[Forward aerial]]:
*{{change|Down aerial now has 3 different types of hitboxes; in ''Brawl'', it has the blade hitbox which launches horizontally with weak knockback, and the tipper hitbox, which meteor smashes opponents. In ''Smash 4'', it retains the blade hitbox which launches horizontally with weak knockback, but now meteor smashes on one frame only (directly below Marth, which is the middle of the swing arc, frame 11), and any point of the blade will do so. Due to this change, the tipper hitboxes for the rest of the move (frames 9, 10, 12 and 13) now launch horizontally like the blade hitbox, but with significantly more knockback. As such, it is harder to meteor smash opponents, but the new tipper hitboxes dealing more horizontal knockback than before grants it some niche KO ability off stage if the meteor smash hitbox is missed.}}
**{{buff|Forward aerial's sword hitboxes have been moved further along the sword (z offset: 1 (near)/5.8 (tipper) → 2/7.7), giving the tipper more range and overall making it easier to land.}}
*{{buff|Down aerial's [[meteor smash]] hitbox deals 1% more damage (14% → 15%). The move also has much more overall range (7.16u → 8.45u).}}
**{{buff|Forward aerial has higher knockback scaling (70 (near)/80 (tipper) → 80/90), slightly improving the tipper's KO potential despite its lower damage.}}
*{{nerf|Down aerial has slightly more startup (frame 7 → 9). As mentioned above, it's meteor smash hitbox only lasts 1 frame, which only meteor smashes if the sword hits directly below him (frame 11), as opposed to any tipper hitbox doing so. It has less base knockback (40 → 20), and the move now starts from Marth's back instead of his front, essentially flipping its animation around from ''Melee'' and ''Brawl'', taking longer to hit foes in front of him. Combined with its worse autocancel window, these changes hurt his ability to approach with his down aerial, and drastically worsen the move's overall utility.}}
**{{nerf|Forward aerial has more startup lag with a shorter duration (frames 4-7 → 6-8).}}
**{{nerf|Forward aerial has more ending lag (FAF 34 → 38). When combined with Marth's lower short hop, this prevents him from performing another aerial after it in a short hop, considerably hindering its spacing potential.}}
**{{nerf|Forward aerial has more landing lag (9 frames → 16).}}
**{{nerf|Forward aerial auto-cancels later (frame 27 → 36).}}
**{{nerf|Forward aerial has a new animation where Marth starts his sword swing at a more diagonal angle. This reduces the move's range above Marth, while the move's shorter duration reduces its range below Marth.}}
***{{nerf|Additionally, this animation is also slightly longer than the previous one (39 frames → 40). This slightly increases the amount of time Marth cannot grab the ledge after using forward aerial.}}
**{{nerf|Forward aerial deals less damage (10% (near)/13% (tipper) → 8%/11.5%). The near hitboxes did not receive full compensation on their knockback scaling, hindering their KO potential.}}
**{{nerf|Forward aerial has smaller hitboxes (4u/4u/4u → 3.5u/3.5u/3.5u).}}
*[[Back aerial]]:
**{{buff|Back aerial has less landing lag (21 frames → 17).}}
**{{buff|The tipper deals more knockback (30 (base), 90 (scaling) → 40/94), improving its KO potential close to the blastzone despite its lower damage.}}
**{{buff|Back aerial's sword hitbox have been moved further along the sword (z offset: 0 (near)/5 (tipper) → 2.5/7.7), giving the tipper more range as well as making it easier to land.}}
**{{nerf|Back aerial has a shorter initial auto-cancel window (frames 1-5 → 1-2).}}
**{{nerf|Back aerial deals less damage (11%/14% → 9%/12.5%). The tipper's knockback scaling was not fully compensated, hindering its KO potential from far distances from the blastzone. The sourspots only received an increase to their base knockback (30 → 40), hindering their KO potential.}}
**{{nerf|Back aerial has smaller hitboxes (4.8u/4.6u/4.8u → 3.5u/3.5u/3.5u).}}
*[[Up aerial]]:
**{{buff|Up aerial has higher knockback scaling (70 (near)/80 (tipper) → 80/84), improving its KO potential.}}
**{{nerf|Up aerial has more landing lag (9 frames → 14) hindering its followup potential at lower percents.}}
**{{nerf|Up aerial auto-cancels later (frame 27 → 38).}}
**{{nerf|Up aerial has a shorter initial auto-cancel window (frames 1-4 → 1-2).}}
**{{nerf|The near hits deal less damage (10% → 9.5%).}}
**{{nerf|Up aerial has smaller hitboxes (4.8u/4.8u/4.8u/4.8u → 3.5u/3u/2u/3.5u). This gives up aerial less range (especially inside of Marth), despite the sword hitboxes being moved further along the sword (z offset: 1 (near)/5.5 (tipper) → 2/6.7).}}
**{{nerf|The tipper now has the lowest hitbox priority (ID# 0 → 3). This makes it much more difficult to land, despite the near sword hitbox's smaller size.}}
*[[Down aerial]]:
**{{buff|Down aerial has a longer duration (frames 6-9 → 9-13).}}
**{{buff|Down aerial has less landing lag (32 frames → 24).}}
**{{buff|The sword hitboxes have been moved further along the sword (z offset: 1 (near)/5 (base) → 2/6.7), now fully covering the tip of the sword.}}
**{{buff|The meteor hitbox deals more damage (14% → 15%).}}
**{{buff|The meteor hitbox now has the highest hitbox priority (ID# 3 → 0), making it easier to land despite its altered position.}}
**{{buff|The removal of [[meteor canceling]] improves the meteor hitbox's reliability.}}
**{{change|Down aerial has a new animation where Marth now starts down aerial from the back instead of his front, essentially flipping its animation around.}}
***{{change|With this new animation, the hitboxes start at a higher position but end at a lower position. The move has more vertical range on the right but less vertical range on the left.}}
***{{nerf|This new animation is longer however (64 frames → 69), increasing the amount of time Marth cannot grab the ledge after using down aerial.}}
**{{nerf|Down aerial has more startup lag (frame 6 (sword)/7 (meteor) → 9/11).}}
**{{nerf|Down aerial auto-cancels later (frames 48 → 55).}}
**{{nerf|Down aerial has a shorter initial auto-cancel window (frames 1-5 → 1-2).}}
**{{nerf|The tipper and meteor hitbox have lower base knockback (40 → 20), hindering their KO and edgeguarding potential, despite the meteor hitbox's higher damage.}}
**{{nerf|The tipper no longer meteor smashes and now launches horizontally (280° → 361°), making the 1 frame hitbox in the middle of the swing the only hitbox which can meteor smash. This significantly reduces the amount of time and space where the move can meteor smash, hindering its edgeguarding potential.}}
***{{buff|However, this also improves its KO potential on stage despite its lower base knockback.}}
**{{nerf|The sword hitboxes are smaller (4.32u/4.32u/4.32u → 3.5u/3.5u/3u).}}
**{{nerf|The meteor hitbox is smaller (6u → 4.32u) and it is positioned higher (y offset: -3.4 → -3), reducing its range.}}
***{{nerf|This combined with its higher startup lag notably removes Marth's ability to land the meteor hitbox out of a [[footstool]].}}
**{{nerf|The meteor hitbox is positioned closer to Marth (z offset: 2 → -3), with the hitbox now overlapping with the sword (rather than being next to Marth's foot), reducing down aerial's horizontal range while it is active.}}


===Throws/other attacks===
===Throws/other attacks===
*{{nerf|Marth's [[grab]] comes out 1 frame later (frame 6 → 7), has 1 frame more ending lag, and less range.}}
*[[Grab]]s:
*{{buff|Dash grab comes out 1 frame earlier (frame 9 → 8).}}
**{{nerf|Standing grab more startup lag (frame 6 → 7).}}
*{{buff|[[Forward throw]]'s significant increase in base knockback improves its ability to set-up edgeguards at lower percents, especially on characters with weak recoveries.}}
***{{buff|However, its total duration was unchanged, giving it less ending lag.}}
*{{nerf|[[Forward throw]] has significantly higher knockback (70 base/45 scaling → 100/50). This removes many of his follow-up options after a forward throw unless at extremely low percentages, as he can now only lead into a neutral aerial or forward aerial until around 20%, as opposed to having multiple follow-up options right up until high percents. Due to the aforementioned change, Marth can also no longer chaingrab or tech chase opponents with his forward throw.}}  
**{{buff|Dash grab has less startup (frame 9 → 8) and ending lag (FAF 40 → 37).}}
*{{change|[[Back throw]] has much more base knockback (50 → 80). While this harms its follow-up ability, this makes it better at creating space and getting opponents off-stage and setting up for potential edge-guards.}}
**{{buff|Pivot grab has less ending lag (FAF 36 → 35).}}
*{{buff|[[Up throw]] has more base knockback (60 → 70), allowing all characters except {{SSB4|King Dedede}} to be KOed under 200%.}}
**{{nerf|Marth's grabs have smaller grabboxes (4u/4u (standing), 4u/4u/4u (dash/pivot) → 3.3u (standing/pivot), 2.6u (dash)). This gives Marth's grab less range, despite dash grab extending further away from Marth (z offset: 9 → z stretch: 9.6).}}
*{{buff|[[Down throw]] sends foes at an upwards trajectory (135° → 100°), with more base knockback (65 → 95), which gives some new follow-up options with his aerials at low percents. This new trajectory also gives Marth a new throw for getting opponents above him without needing to stale his kill throw in up throw.}}
**{{nerf|Standing and pivot grab do not extend as far away from Marth (z offset: 8 (standing)/-15 (pivot) → z stretch: 7/-13.7) which along with their smaller size, gives them less range.}}
*{{nerf|[[Down throw]]'s upwards trajectory removes its ability for tech-chases.}}
**{{nerf|Dash and pivot grab do not extend as far inside of Marth (z offset: 1 (dash)/0 (pivot) → 4/-4) which along with their smaller size, gives them less range inside of Marth.}}
*{{nerf|The changes to aerial [[grab release]]s hinder Marth as he no longer has any guaranteed followups out of his aerial grab release on any character outside of his new custom [[up special]] Crescent Slash.}}
*[[Pummel]]:
**{{buff|Pummel has a marginally larger hitbox (5.76u → 5.8u).}}
*[[Forward throw]]:
**{{nerf|Forward throw has significantly higher knockback (70 (base), 45 (scaling) → 100/50) although the throw is still too weak to KO at realistic percents. While this does allow forward throw to set up edgeguards on its own more effectively, this also removes many of Marth's followup options after a forward throw outside of very low percents, as he can now only lead into a neutral aerial or forward aerial until around 20%, as opposed to having multiple mixups right up until high percents.}}
***{{nerf|This change also means that Marth can also no longer [[chaingrab]] or tech chase opponents with his forward throw, as well as preventing the throw from benefitting as much from the changes to hitstun canceling and DI as much as it could have with its original knockback.}}
*[[Back throw]]:
**{{buff|Back throw has much more base knockback (50 → 80). Considering its high ending lag, this allows the throw to set up for potential edgeguards more effectively without losing any potential followups.}}
*[[Up throw]]:
**{{buff|Up throw has more base knockback (60 → 70), improving its KO potential.}}
*[[Down throw]]:
**{{buff|Down throw now sends opponents vertically (135° → 100°) and it has higher base knockback (65 → 95). When combined with the changes to hitstun canceling and DI, this gives Marth some new followup options with his aerials at low percents. This new trajectory also gives Marth a new throw for getting opponents above him without needing to stale his up throw.}}
***{{nerf|However, these changes also remove its tech chasing and chain grab potential, while also removing Marth's ability to lead into a forward smash at lower percents.}}


===Special moves===
===Special moves===
*{{buff|[[Shield Breaker]] now gives Marth a horizontal boost when used in the air, regardless of whether it is charged or not, aiding Marth's recovery. A fully charged Shield Breaker also deals more shield damage (40 → 50), and a tippered Shield Breaker has more base knockback (50 → 60) and has increased hitlag (1.5x (uncharged)/1x (fully charged) → 1.6x), combined with the aforementioned shield changes, this makes the fully charged variant even more effective at breaking shields. It also has less ending lag (FAF 54 → 50).}}
*[[Shield Breaker]]:
*{{nerf|An uncharged Shield Breaker deals less [[shield damage]] (42 → 25) and less [[hitlag]] when uncharged and sourspotted (1.3x → 1x), making the move worse at breaking shields despite the removal of damage reduction on shields as well as the increase in [[shieldstun]]. Marth also no longer steps an extra distance forward when using Shield Breaker, making the move's range shorter. In addition, a sourspotted Shield Breaker deals less knockback (30 (uncharged)/50 (fully charged) base/100 scaling → 30 base/90 scaling). Lastly, Shield Breaker has a shorter duration (4 frames → 2).}}
**{{buff|Shield Breaker has less ending lag (FAF 53 → 51) although it is still laggier than {{SSBB|Kirby}}'s version from ''Brawl''.}}
*{{buff|The downward hits of [[Dancing Blade]] deal slightly more damage (down hit 3: 4%/5% → 4.5%/5.5%, down hit 4 final hit: 3%/5% → 4%/6%).}}
**{{buff|A fully charged Shield Breaker deals more shield damage, now completely guaranteeing a shield break.}}
*{{nerf|The first hit of Dancing Blade has slightly more startup with a shorter duration (frame 4-7 → 6-8). Additionally, all the strikes have slightly more ending lag, and the third hit downward no longer [[meteor smash]]es. It is also harder to connect each hit together compared to ''Brawl'', due to the fact of each hit having slightly increased base knockback and less [[interruptibility]] (though it still connects far better than it did in comparison to ''Melee'', and still connects together very well until just over 100%). Its hover effect in midair is also much weaker to the point it is almost negligible, hindering Marth's recovery.}}
**{{buff|The tipper now has a larger extended hitbox rather than a normal hitbox (2.5u → 3u). It also has increased base knockback (50 → 60) and hitlag (1.5× (uncharged)/1× (fully charged) → 1.6×).}}
*{{change|The third upward hit of grounded Dancing Blade has a new animation, where Marth twists around and swings up instead of downwards.}}
**{{change|The sourspot now has one extended hitbox rather than 4 normal hitboxes.}}
*{{buff|[[Dolphin Slash]] has significantly less landing lag (34 frames → 20).}}
***{{buff|As a result, the charged version's sourspot deals consistent damage (22%/20%/18% → 22%).}}
*{{nerf|Dolphin Slash has less intangibility frames when grounded (frame 1-5 → 4-5), making it less safe as an [[out of shield]] option. Sweetspotted Dolphin Slash also deals less damage (13% → 11%), making it slightly weaker despite its increased knockback scaling (68 → 74). Dolphin Slash's sweetspot hitbox is smaller (6.5u → 4u), which makes hitting with a reverse Dolphin Slash harder.}}  
**{{nerf|Shield Breaker has a shorter duration (frames 19-22 → 19-20).}}
*{{change|Sweetspotted Dolphin Slash has more hitlag (0.5x → 0.7x). This makes it safer on shield, but easier to DI.}}
**{{nerf|Uncharged Shield Breaker deals less [[shield damage]] (42 → 25) and less [[hitlag]] when uncharged and sourspotted (1.3× → 1×), making the move worse at breaking shields despite the significant increase in shield damage (having a 1.19x multiplier instead of a 0.7x multiplier) as well as the increase in [[shieldstun]].}}
*{{buff|[[Counter]] has increased base knockback (40 → 60) and has a slightly higher damage multiplier (1.1x → 1.2x), being able to KO reliably off of strong countered attacks at very low percentages.}}
**{{nerf|Marth also no longer steps an extra distance forward when using Shield Breaker, making the move's range shorter despite the tipper being larger.}}
*{{nerf|Counter has more start-up with a shorter duration (frame 4-27 → 6-27) and more ending lag (FAF 59 → 60).}}
**{{nerf|The sourspot deals less knockback (30 (uncharged base)/50 (charged base), 100 (scaling) → 30/90 (both)).}}
*{{change|Marth now grunts instead of talking when his Counter is triggered.}}
*[[Dancing Blade]]:
**{{nerf|All swings except the fourth ones have higher hitlag multipliers (0.3× → 1×), making the move transition slower and making it easier to [[SDI]] out of despite its decreased SDI multiplier (1x → 0.8x).}}
*Hit 1:
**{{nerf|The first hit has more startup lag with a shorter duration (frame 4-7 → 6-8) and more ending lag (FAF 30 → 42 (grounded)/32 (aerial)) significantly hindering its followup potential.}}
***{{nerf|Marth's higher gravity also makes its hover effect in midair much weaker to the point it is almost negligible, hindering Marth's recovery.}}
**{{nerf|The first hit has altered knockback (35/50 (base), 25 (scaling) → 25/75) making it connect into the later hits less reliably.}}
*Hit 2:
**{{buff|Both variants of the second hit have less ending lag on the ground (FAF 41 → 39).}}
**{{nerf|The upwards second hit has increased knockback (20 (base), 30 (scaling) → 30/(70/50)) making it connect into the later hits less reliably.}}
**{{nerf|The downwards second hit has increased base knockback (22 → 30) making it connect into the later hits slightly less reliably.}}
***{{buff|However, it now has weight independent knockback making it more consistent across the cast.}}
*Hit 3:
**{{buff|All variants of the third hit have less ending lag on the ground (FAF 47 → 44).}}
**{{change|The upwards third hit has a new animation when used on the ground, where Marth twists around and swings up instead of downwards.}}
**{{nerf|The upwards third hit's sourspots have increased base knockback (30 → 40) making it connect into the fourth hit less reliably.}}
**{{buff|The upwards third hit's sweetspot has decreased knockback (30 (base), 60 (scaling) → 40/40) making it connect into the fourth hit more reliably.}}
**{{nerf|The forward third hit no longer has set knockback (55/60 (set), 100 (scaling) → 40 (base)/(50/35)) making it connect into the fourth hit less reliably.}}
**{{buff|The downwards third hit deals more damage (4%/5% → 4.5%/5.5%), has decreased knockback (30 (base), 80 (scaling) → 28/50) and now has weight independent knockback making it connect into the fourth hit more reliably.}}
**{{nerf|The downwards third hit's angles have been altered (361°/270° → 44°) no longer having a meteor smash hitbox. This along with its reduced knockback hinders its edgeguarding potential.}}
*Hit 4:
**{{nerf|The upwards fourth hit has decreased knockback scaling (130 → 118).}}
**{{nerf|The forward fourth hit deals less damage (6%/8% → 5%/7%) although its knockback was compensated (50 (base), 125 (scaling) → 60/130).}}
**{{buff|The final hit of the downwards fourth hit deals more damage (3%/5% → 4%/6%).}}
**{{nerf|The downwards fourth hit has more ending lag on the ground (FAF 66 → 72) and its final hit has significantly decreased knockback (60 (base), 120 (scaling) → 70/80).}}
***{{nerf|Altogether, these changes hinder Dancing Blade's utility and reliability.}}
*[[Dolphin Slash]]:
**{{buff|Dolphin Slash has much less landing lag (35 frames → 20 (normal)/30 ([[Landing lag glitch|RCO]] hard landing)).}}
**{{nerf|Dolphin Slash grants less height due to Marth's smaller size.}}
**{{nerf|The grounded version has less intagibility (frame 1-5 → 4-5), hindering its utility as an [[out of shield]] option or as an option to stuff out approaches.}}
**{{nerf|The clean hit deals less damage (13% → 11%) without full compensation on its knockback scaling (68 → 74), hindering its KO potential.}}
**{{nerf|The clean hit has smaller hitboxes (6.5u/6.5u → 4u/4u) and the far hitbox has been moved closer to Marth (z offset: 9 → 8), considerably reducing its range.}}
**{{nerf|The clean hit has a higher hitlag multiplier (0.5× → 0.7×).}}
*[[Counter]]:
**{{buff|Counter has increased knockback scaling (40 → 60) and has a slightly higher damage multiplier (1.1× → 1.2×), being able to KO reliably off of strong countered attacks at very low percentages.}}
**{{nerf|Counter's damage is now capped at 50%.}}
**{{nerf|Counter has more start-up with a shorter duration (frames 5-29 → 6-27).}}
**{{nerf|Counter's hitbox has a shorter duration (frames 5-9 → 5-7) with no animation change, giving it less range behind Marth.}}
**{{nerf|Counter can no longer be wavebounced/b-reversed, which previously allowed it to negate its mid-air stall while moving quickly forward or away with it.}}
**{{change|Marth now grunts instead of talking when his Counter is triggered.}}
*[[Critical Hit]]:
**{{bugfix|The [[regenerating terrain glitch]] has been fixed.}}
**{{buff|Critical Hit ignores armor.}}


==Update history==
==Update history==
Marth has been considerably buffed ever since patch [[1.0.6]], giving him more follow-up options, and drastically improved frame data on all of his aerials and some special moves; however, it is unclear whether the many changes to shield mechanics in [[1.1.0]] and [[1.1.1]] have affected Marth for the better or for the worse. While these changes to shield mechanics make Marth's tippered attacks much safer on shield, the same changes reduce his sourspotted attacks safety even further, due to their lower [[hitlag]], making them overall less safe than those of his moveset [[clone]], {{SSB4|Lucina}}. These changes make precise spacing of his attacks mandatory, as the decreased safety of his sourspotted moves can result in heavy [[punish]]ment; though when properly spaced, they are almost unpunishable. Shield Breaker also deals less shield damage, making it more difficult to wear down shields when partially charged, though the increased shield damage of tippered aerials can mitigate this. The small landing lag reduction on all of his aerials and ending lag on all of his ground attacks have helped mitigate the lag issues with most of his moves and improved his combo game, giving him a more offensive playstyle with fewer flaws in defending. The strengthening of up tilt and [[Dolphin Slash]], and the multiple buffs to [[Dancing Blade]] so its hits link better together have also noticeably improved three of his moves that were previously considered situational. Marth was significantly buffed in patch [[1.1.4]], with increased damage improving his previously poor damage racking, better frame data, and the increased tipper hitboxes that not only address his worsened range, but also improved his aerial game and juggle abilities. Overall, Marth has been significantly buffed and is more viable since the original version, but he still remains rather nerfed compared to ''Brawl''.
Marth has been considerably buffed ever since patch [[1.0.6]], giving him more follow-up options, and drastically improved frame data on all of his aerials and some special moves; however, it is unclear whether the many changes to shield mechanics in [[1.1.0 (SSB4)|1.1.0]] and [[1.1.1]] have affected Marth for the better or for the worse. While these changes to shield mechanics make Marth's tippered attacks much safer on shield, the same changes reduce his sourspotted attacks safety even further, due to their lower [[hitlag]], making them overall less safe than those of his moveset [[clone]], {{SSB4|Lucina}}. These changes make precise spacing of his attacks mandatory, as the decreased safety of his sourspotted moves can result in heavy [[punish]]ment; though when properly spaced, they are almost unpunishable. Shield Breaker also deals less shield damage, making it more difficult to wear down shields when partially charged, though the increased shield damage of tippered aerials can mitigate this. The small landing lag reduction on all of his aerials and ending lag on all of his ground attacks have helped mitigate the lag issues with most of his moves and improved his combo game, giving him a more offensive playstyle with fewer flaws in defending. The strengthening of up tilt and [[Dolphin Slash]], and the multiple buffs to [[Dancing Blade]] so its hits link better together have also noticeably improved three of his moves that were previously considered situational. Marth was significantly buffed in patch [[1.1.4]], with increased damage improving his previously poor damage racking, better frame data, and the increased tipper hitboxes that not only address his worsened range, but also improved his aerial game and juggle abilities. Overall, Marth has been significantly buffed and is more viable since the original version, but he still remains rather nerfed compared to ''Brawl''.


'''{{GameIcon|ssb4-3ds}} [[1.0.4]]'''
'''{{GameIcon|ssb4-3ds}} [[1.0.4]]'''
Line 141: Line 298:
{{UpdateList/1.0.8|char=Marth}}
{{UpdateList/1.0.8|char=Marth}}


'''{{GameIcon|ssb4}} [[1.1.0]]'''
'''{{GameIcon|ssb4}} [[1.1.0 (SSB4)|1.1.0]]'''
{{UpdateList/1.1.0|char=Marth}}
{{UpdateList/1.1.0|char=Marth}}


'''Technical changelist 1.1.0'''
'''Technical changelist 1.1.0'''
{| class="wikitable sortable collapsible collapsed" style="text-align:center"
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
! Change!!Old value!!New value
! Change!!Old value!!New value
|-
|-
Line 164: Line 321:
|All variations of Shield Breaker ending lag||52 frames||50 frames
|All variations of Shield Breaker ending lag||52 frames||50 frames
|-
|-
|All variations of Dolphin Slash landing lag||23 frames||20 frames
|Dolphin Slash landing lag||22 frames||19 frames
|-
|Crescent Slash landing lag||39 frames||36 frames
|-
|Dolphin Jump landing lag||42 frames||39 frames
|}
|}


Line 178: Line 339:
==Moveset==
==Moveset==
For simplicity if, for example, Marth's blade does 4% damage while the tip does 6%, and the attack has no other hitboxes, it is written as 4%/6%.
For simplicity if, for example, Marth's blade does 4% damage while the tip does 6%, and the attack has no other hitboxes, it is written as 4%/6%.
''For a gallery of Marth's hitboxes, see [[/Hitboxes|here]].''
{{MovesetTable
{{MovesetTable
|game=SSB4
|game=SSB4
|neutralcount=2
|neutralcount=2
|neutralname=&nbsp;
|neutralname=Slash ({{ja|スラッシュ|Surasshu}}) / Combination Slash ({{ja|コンビネーションスラッシュ|Konbinēshon Surasshu}})
|neutral1dmg=3%/5%
|neutral1dmg=3%/5%
|neutral2dmg=4%/6%
|neutral2dmg=4%/6%
|neutraldesc=Slashes the Falchion twice in front of himself. If spaced and timed correctly, thie first hit has many follow-up capabilities as it can link into any of his smash attacks or tilts that can link into his other moves when untippered, but some of these followups only work if the opponent is very close to the player.
|neutraldesc=Slashes Falchion twice in front of himself. If spaced and timed correctly, the first hit has many follow-up capabilities as it can link into any of his smash attacks or tilts that can link into his other moves when untippered, but some of these followups only work if the opponent is very close to the player.
|ftiltname=&nbsp;
|ftiltname=Hard Edge ({{ja|ハードエッジ|Hādo Ejji}})
|ftiltdmg=9%/12%
|ftiltdmg=9%/12%
|ftiltdesc=A fast upward swipe while leaning forward. Has a large arc that is useful for spacing, and deals moderately strong knockback when tippered, making it a go-to spacing and KO option. Deals much weaker knockback if untippered.
|ftiltdesc=A fast upward swipe while leaning forward. Has a large arc that is useful for spacing, and deals moderately strong knockback when tippered, making it a go-to spacing and KO option. Deals much weaker knockback if untippered.
|utiltname=&nbsp;
|utiltname=Anti-air Slash ({{ja|アンチエアスラッシュ|Anchi Ea Surasshu}})
|utiltdmg=6% (blade), 5% (body), 9% (tip)
|utiltdmg=6% (blade), 5% (body), 9% (tip)
|utiltdesc=Swings the Falchion in a large arc above his head, with a large hitbox that can hit enemies behind him. Can combo into itself at low percentages and KO at high percents when tippered.
|utiltdesc=Swings Falchion in a large arc above his head, with a large hitbox that can hit enemies behind him. Can combo into itself at low percentages and KO at high percents when tippered.
|dtiltname=&nbsp;
|dtiltname=Low Thrust ({{ja|ロースラスト|Rō Surasuto}})
|dtiltdmg=7%/10%
|dtiltdmg=7%/10%
|dtiltdesc=A quick crouching sword poke. Marth's fastest tilt, which is useful for creating space. Can follow up into a grab, dash attack, or running Dancing Blade if the move is untippered, and the tipper hitbox can hit opponents on and below the ledge, while dealing [[semi-spike]] knockback.
|dtiltdesc=A quick crouching sword poke. Marth's fastest tilt, which is useful for creating space. Can follow up into a grab, dash attack, or running Dancing Blade if the move is untippered, and the tipper hitbox can hit opponents on and below the ledge, while dealing [[semi-spike]] knockback.
|dashname=&nbsp;
|dashname=Raid Chop ({{ja|レイドチョップ|Reido Choppu}})
|dashdmg=10% (blade), 9% (body), 12% (tip)
|dashdmg=10% (blade), 9% (body), 12% (tip)
|dashdesc=A quick, running, upward-sweeping diagonal slash. Low knockback, but deals decent semi-spike knockback if tipped. Moderate ending lag and very low hitlag if untippered, making it rather unsafe against shields.
|dashdesc=A quick, running, upward-sweeping diagonal slash. Low knockback, but deals decent semi-spike knockback if tipped. Moderate ending lag and very low hitlag if untippered, making it rather unsafe against shields.
|fsmashname=&nbsp;
|fsmashname=Dragon Killer ({{ja|ドラゴンキラー|Doragon Kirā}})
|fsmashdmg={{ChargedSmashDmgSSB4|13}}/{{ChargedSmashDmgSSB4|18}}
|fsmashdmg={{ChargedSmashDmgSSB4|13}}/{{ChargedSmashDmgSSB4|18}}
|fsmashdesc=Rotates his body counterclockwise with a strong overarching one-handed swing from his head to the ground. Moderately fast startup, but high ending lag. Although lackluster when sourspotted, this move has the third highest knockback scaling of any forward smash in the game when tippered, being able to KO opponents at 75% from the stage's center and as low as 37% near the edge. Despite this, the move's low range compared to Marth's previous incarnations makes landing a tipper somewhat difficult and highly susceptible to punishment.
|fsmashdesc=Rotates his body counterclockwise with a strong overarching one-handed swing from his head to the ground. Moderately fast startup, but high ending lag. Although lackluster when sourspotted, this move has the third highest knockback scaling of any forward smash in the game when tippered, being able to KO opponents at 75% from the stage's center and as low as 37% near the edge. Despite this, the move's low range compared to Marth's previous incarnations makes landing a tipper somewhat difficult and highly susceptible to punishment.
|usmashname=Justice Sword
|usmashname=Justice Sword ({{ja|ジャスティスソード|Jasutisu Sōdo}})
|usmashdmg={{ChargedSmashDmgSSB4|3}} (ground), {{ChargedSmashDmgSSB4|13}} (blade), {{ChargedSmashDmgSSB4|17}} (tip)
|usmashdmg={{ChargedSmashDmgSSB4|3}} (ground), {{ChargedSmashDmgSSB4|13}} (blade), {{ChargedSmashDmgSSB4|17}} (tip)
|usmashdesc=A quick, direct upward thrust. The weak grounded hit can knock nearby opponents into the main attack. Good for aerial protection and chasing down landing opponents. If tippered, it deals extremely high knockback, KOing around 76%, although this is difficult to do unless an opponent falls directly on top of Marth.
|usmashdesc=A quick, direct upward thrust. The weak grounded hit can knock nearby opponents into the main attack. Good for aerial protection and chasing down landing opponents. If tippered, it deals extremely high knockback, KOing around 76%, although this is difficult to do unless an opponent falls directly on top of Marth.
|dsmashname=&nbsp;
|dsmashname=Whirlwind ({{ja|ワールウインド|Wāru'uindo}})
|dsmashdmg={{ChargedSmashDmgSSB4|8}}/{{ChargedSmashDmgSSB4|12}} (hit 1), {{ChargedSmashDmgSSB4|12}}/{{ChargedSmashDmgSSB4|17}} (hit 2)
|dsmashdmg={{ChargedSmashDmgSSB4|8}}/{{ChargedSmashDmgSSB4|12}} (hit 1), {{ChargedSmashDmgSSB4|12}}/{{ChargedSmashDmgSSB4|17}} (hit 2)
|dsmashdesc=Sweeps the 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.
|dsmashdesc=Sweeps 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.
|nairname=&nbsp;
|nairname=Double Slash ({{ja|ダブルスラッシュ|Daburu Surasshu}})
|nairdmg=3.5%/5% (hit 1), 7%/9.5% (hit 2)
|nairdmg=3.5%/5% (hit 1), 7%/9.5% (hit 2)
|nairdesc=Two horizontal slashes around himself via an inward slash followed into a full 360° outward spin. The second hit can hit on both sides of Marth, and can be used to create space by short hopping then fast-falling immediately after using the move in the air. The tipper of the second hit is very strong, being the most powerful neutral aerial in the game, KOing near the edge at around 100%.
|nairdesc=Two horizontal slashes around himself via an inward slash followed into a full 360° outward spin. The second hit can hit on both sides of Marth, and can be used to create space by short hopping then fast-falling immediately after using the move in the air. The tipper of the second hit is very strong, being the second most powerful neutral aerial in the game without rage (only Ganondorf's neutral aerial is stronger, but not by much), KOing near the edge at around 100%.
|fairname=&nbsp;
|fairname=Flag Cut ({{ja|フラッグカット|Furaggu Katto}})
|fairdmg=8%/11.5%
|fairdmg=8%/11.5%
|fairdesc=Does a descending crescent slash in front of him with great coverage. This is Marth's best tool for air combat but is risky to use in the neutral game unless used immediately out of a short hop, due to its weak damage if untippered, low hitbox duration and its strict autocancel window, only cancelling if used in a few specific frames immediately after a short hop. However, it is powerful when tippered for how quickly the move comes out, KOing near the edge at around 110%.
|fairdesc=Does a descending crescent slash in front of him with great coverage. This is Marth's best tool for air combat but is risky to use in the neutral game unless used immediately out of a short hop, due to its weak damage if untippered, low hitbox duration and its strict autocancel window, only cancelling if used in a few specific frames immediately after a short hop. However, it is powerful when tippered for how quickly the move comes out, KOing near the edge at around 110%.
|bairname=&nbsp;
|bairname=About Face ({{ja|アッパースイング|Appā Suingu}}, ''Upper Swing'')
|bairdmg=9%/12.5%
|bairdmg=9%/12.5%
|bairdesc=An upward crescent slash behind him in an inward swipe. 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. Can be used a few frames before landing to catch opponents with a tipped blow, with correct spacing. Another very powerful move when tippered considering its speed it can KO near the edge at around 90%, and around 145% at the stages' center.
|bairdesc=An upward crescent slash behind him in an inward swipe. 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. Can be used a few frames before landing to catch opponents with a tipped blow, with correct spacing. Another very powerful move when tippered considering its speed it can KO near the edge at around 90%, and around 145% at the stages' center.
|uairname=&nbsp;
|uairname=Luna Slash ({{ja|ルナスラッシュ|Runa Surasshu}})
|uairdmg=9.5%/13%
|uairdmg=9.5%/13%
|uairdesc=An overhead crescent slash with good coverage, ending in a delayed somersault. Marth's fastest aerial, it is good for juggling at low percents thanks to its large arc, making it a good anti-air as well, but it has weak knockback unless tippered. Due to its angle and low ending lag during the first few frames, it can be used for a somewhat reliable KO confirm of a landing up aerial to down aerial meteor smash at around 55-60% near the edge. It can also KO at high percents from a down throw on a handful of the cast when tippered, but only in stages with platforms.
|uairdesc=An overhead crescent slash with good coverage, ending in a delayed somersault. Marth's fastest aerial, it is good for juggling at low percents thanks to its large arc, making it a good anti-air as well, but it has weak knockback unless tippered. Due to its angle and low ending lag during the first few frames, it can be used for a somewhat reliable KO confirm of a landing up aerial to down aerial meteor smash at around 55-60% near the edge. It can also KO at high percents from a down throw on a handful of the cast when tippered, but only in stages with platforms.
|dairname=&nbsp;
|dairname=Halfmoon ({{ja|ハーフムーン|Hāfumūn}})
|dairdmg=12% (blade), 14% (non-meteor tip), 15% (meteor)
|dairdmg=12% (blade), 14% (non-meteor tip), 15% (meteor)
|dairdesc=A downward, wide crescent slash with large coverage. If the attack connects at the middle of the swinging arc (directly below Marth), it serves as a powerful meteor smash. However, the meteor smash window lasts only one frame (frame 11). Other hitboxes when tippered result in moderate knockback. It also has high ending and landing lag.
|dairdesc=A downward, wide crescent slash with large coverage. If the attack connects at the middle of the swinging arc (directly below Marth), it serves as a powerful meteor smash. However, the meteor smash window lasts only one frame (frame 11). Other hitboxes when tippered result in moderate knockback. It also has high ending and landing lag.
|grabname=&nbsp;
|grabname=Grab ({{ja|つかみ|Tsukami}})
|grabdesc=Grabs the enemy with his left hand.
|grabdesc=Reaches out with his free hand.
|pummelname=&nbsp;
|pummelname=Grab Kneebutt ({{ja|つかみニーバット|Tsukami Nībatto}})
|pummeldmg=2%
|pummeldmg=2%
|pummeldesc=Knees the enemy. A fairly fast pummel.
|pummeldesc=A knee strike. A fairly fast pummel.
|fthrowname=&nbsp;
|fthrowname=Roll Over ({{ja|ロールオーバー|Rōru Ōbā}})
|fthrowdmg=4%
|fthrowdmg=4%
|fthrowdesc=Throws the opponent forward. Can be used to set up a tippered forward aerial until around 20%, or a Crescent Slash until around 150%. Can also be followed up with a neutral or forward aerial at very low percents against heavier characters.
|fthrowdesc=Throws the opponent forward. Can be used to set up a tippered forward aerial until around 20%, or a Crescent Slash until around 150%. Can also be followed up with a neutral or forward aerial at very low percents against heavier characters.
|bthrowname=&nbsp;
|bthrowname=Leg Hooker ({{ja|レッグフッカー|Reggu Fukkā}})
|bthrowdmg=4%
|bthrowdmg=4%
|bthrowdesc=Tosses the opponent over his leg, sending them behind him. Its high base knockback allows him to set up edgeguarding, but it cannot combo or KO reliably.  
|bthrowdesc=Tosses the opponent over his leg, sending them behind him. Its high base knockback allows him to set up edgeguarding, but it cannot combo or KO reliably.
|uthrowname=&nbsp;
|uthrowname=Casting ({{ja|キャスティング|Kyasutingu}})
|uthrowdmg=4%
|uthrowdmg=4%
|uthrowdesc=A powerful one-armed upward throw. Marth's strongest throw, which can KO at around 170%. It is also rather tricky to DI due to its lauch angle being behind Marth.
|uthrowdesc=A powerful one-armed upward throw. Marth's strongest throw, which can KO at around 170%. It is also rather tricky to DI due to its launch angle being behind Marth.
|dthrowname=&nbsp;
|dthrowname=Grab Drop ({{ja|グラブドロップ|Gurabu Doroppu}})
|dthrowdmg=5%
|dthrowdmg=5%
|dthrowdesc=Throws opponent to the ground with one arm, bouncing them upwards. His primary throw for follow-ups due to its low base knockback, allowing him to follow up with an up or back aerial at low percentages. However, it quickly loses combo potential due to its high knockback growth, sending opponents too high after medium percentages. At low to mid percentage though by reading opponent's air dodge, Marth can setup into a charged up smash.
|dthrowdesc=Throws opponent to the ground with one arm, bouncing them upwards. His primary throw for follow-ups due to its low base knockback, allowing him to follow up with an up or back aerial at low percentages. However, it quickly loses combo potential due to its high knockback growth, sending opponents too high after medium percentages. At low to mid percentage though by reading opponent's air dodge, Marth can setup into a charged up smash.
|floorfname=&nbsp;
|floorfname=&nbsp;
|floorfdmg=7%
|floorfdmg=7%
|floorfdesc=Spins around gracefully and slashes the Falchion in a circle.
|floorfdesc=Spins around gracefully and slashes Falchion in a circle.
|floorbname=&nbsp;
|floorbname=&nbsp;
|floorbdmg=7%
|floorbdmg=7%
|floorbdesc=Swings the Falchion behind, then in front of him before getting up.
|floorbdesc=Swings Falchion behind, then in front of him before getting up.
|floortname=&nbsp;
|floortname=&nbsp;
|floortdmg=5%
|floortdmg=5%
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|nsdefname=Shield Breaker
|nsdefname=Shield Breaker
|nsdefdmg=8%/9% (uncharged), 22%/24% (fully charged)
|nsdefdmg=8%/9% (uncharged), 22%/24% (fully charged)
|nsdefdesc= Marth assumes a readying stance and charges the Falchion at chest level before powerfully thrusting it forward. This attack deals massive [[shield damage]]. If fully charged and used in the air, this move will thrust Marth in whatever direction he's facing, giving him a strong horizontal recovery option, albeit with very high startup. Deals very high knockback when tippered, making it a powerful KOing option, especially against dazed opponents.
|nsdefdesc=Marth assumes a readying stance and charges 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 [[powershield]]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 very high startup. Deals very high knockback when tippered, making it a powerful KOing option, especially against dazed opponents.
|nsc1name=Storm Thrust
|nsc1name=Storm Thrust
|nsc1dmg=4% (uncharged), 11% (fully charged)
|nsc1dmg=4% (uncharged), 11% (fully charged)
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|nsc2name=Dashing Assault
|nsc2name=Dashing Assault
|nsc2dmg=6%/5%/3% (ground uncharged early/mid/late), 7%/6%/4% (air uncharged early/mid/late), 16%/13%/9% (ground fully charged early/mid/late), 17%/14%/10% (air fully charged early/mid/late)
|nsc2dmg=6%/5%/3% (ground uncharged early/mid/late), 7%/6%/4% (air uncharged early/mid/late), 16%/13%/9% (ground fully charged early/mid/late), 17%/14%/10% (air fully charged early/mid/late)
|nsc2desc=Marth performs a lunging thrust with the Falchion. Deals less damage and slightly less shield damage, but propels Marth forward, even when used on the ground.
|nsc2desc=Marth performs a lunging thrust with Falchion. Deals less damage and slightly less shield damage, but propels Marth forward, even when used on the ground.
|ssdefname=Dancing Blade
|ssdefname=Dancing Blade
|ssdefdmg=Varies (see table below).
|ssdefdmg=Varies (see table below)
|ssdefdesc=A sequence of sword slashes with several variations based on directional input. Four slashes total, with each capable of being altered in direction, allowing for eighteen total possible combinations. Standard strikes are trailed red, high strikes are trailed blue, and low strikes are trailed green (see table below for details and limits of the move). The first hit comes out on frame 6 and is arguably Marth's best tool for catching and punishing rolls, airdodges, and landings.
|ssdefdesc=A sequence of sword slashes with several variations based on directional input. Four slashes total, with each capable of being altered in direction, allowing for eighteen total possible combinations. Standard strikes are trailed red, high strikes are trailed blue, and low strikes are trailed green (see table below for details and limits of the move). The first hit comes out on frame 6 and is arguably Marth's best tool for catching and punishing rolls, airdodges, and landings.
|ssc1name=Effortless Blade
|ssc1name=Effortless Blade
|ssc1dmg=2%/3% (parts 1-3), 4%/5% (part 4)
|ssc1dmg=2%/3% (parts 1-3), 4%/5% (part 4)
|ssc1desc=Makes the hits easier to link, but can only use the standard variation. Since Marth swings with less vigor, the attack is also weaker.
|ssc1desc=Makes the hits easier to link, but only allows forward (red) swings. On top of swings being slower and slightly weaker, damage potential is limited by only allowing one combination.
|ssc2name=Heavy Blade
|ssc2name=Heavy Blade
|ssc2dmg=7%/9% (part 1), 9%/11% (part 2), 10%/12% (part 3), 13%/15% (part 4 up), 14%/16% (part 4 side), 2.2% (part 4 down hits 1-4), 11%/13% (part 4 down hit 5)
|ssc2dmg=7%/9% (part 1), 9%/11% (part 2), 10%/12% (part 3), 13%/15% (part 4 up), 14%/16% (part 4 side), 2.2% (part 4 down hits 1-4), 11%/13% (part 4 down hit 5)
|ssc2desc=Marth slashes with more force, but the controller input time is much stricter and the hits are harder to link. Each slash also has more startup and ending lag.
|ssc2desc=Each swing is more forceful and has more range, dramatically increasing each swing's KO potential, especially the fourth swing. However, the swings are slower, further negating button mashing for controller input and focusing more on timing. The move also has more startup and ending lag, while resultant increase in knockback also makes each separate hit almost impossible to link together.
|usdefname=Dolphin Slash
|usdefname=Dolphin Slash
|usdefdmg=11% (clean), 7% (late blade), 6% (late body)
|usdefdmg=11% (clean), 7% (late blade), 6% (late body)
|usdefdesc=Marth performs a high-speed jumping uppercut slash that can be B-reversed. Has a powerful sweetspot located in the first few frames, which can easily cause stage-spikes under the right circumstances.
|usdefdesc=Marth performs a high-speed jumping uppercut slash that can be B-reversed. It grants good vertical distance but is rather lacking in horizontal distance. It has very fast startup lag at frame 5, with a sweetspot with solid power and grants some [[intangibility]] during its startup, especially in the air. This makes Dolphin Slash a rather versatile attack, being a great Out of Shield option, a combo ender or even a tool to escape combos.
|usc1name=Crescent Slash
|usc1name=Crescent Slash
|usc1dmg=7% (clean), 12% (late blade), 6% (late body)
|usc1dmg=7% (clean), 12% (late blade), 6% (late body)
|usc1desc=Marth uses a lower Dolphin Slash that gains more horizontal distance. It gives Marth an access to his only true follow-up from forward throw and grab release combo against some characters. However, it has less vertical distance. Most damage at midpoint, and high landing lag.
|usc1desc=Marth uses a lower Dolphin Slash that gains more horizontal distance, and deals the most damage at the midpoint of the arc rather than the start. The move overall has more horizontal recovery potential but less vertical recovery potential. The move travels a good distance horizontally with a strong hitbox with horizontal knockback. Marth gains access to a whole bunch of new followups and KO confirms he normally does not have by using Crescent Slash (such as from a forward throw or a landing aerial). KO confirms with Crescent Slash can KO middleweights at the ledge as low as 50% without rage, with Marth still being able to make it back to the stage. The move does have more startup lag than Dolphin Slash however and the initial hit is much weaker, making it worse as an Out of Shield option at close range (although it is an excellent punishment tool from far distances). The move also has more landing lag.
 
Crescent Slash is overall a great alternative to Dolphin Slash due to the new combo opportunities it opens up.
|usc2name=Dolphin Jump
|usc2name=Dolphin Jump
|usc2dmg=0%
|usc2dmg=0%
|usc2desc=The jump is purely vertical and gains more height. Lots of landing lag and deals no damage.
|usc2desc=Marth performs a purely vertical and gains more height. Dolphin Jump lacks any sort of hitbox however, and it has even more landing lag than Crescent Slash. This makes the move largely useless outside of recovering as while it still has intangibility frames, the opponent can easily punish Marth once he starts falling, as they cannot get hit by the move. This also means that the move cannot be used as a punishment option OoS or as a combo ender. Even in a recovery situation, the move can be contested without much risk due to its lack of a hitbox.
 
Dolphin Jump is overall Marth's least effective up special by far, as its lack of hitbox is far more detrimental than what it gains from its greater vertical recovery potential.
|dsdefname=Counter
|dsdefname=Counter
|dsdefdmg=1.2x (min 8%)
|dsdefdmg=1.2× (minimum 8%)
|dsdefdesc=Marth assumes a defensive stance and retaliates against incoming attacks. The power of the counterattack scales with the strength of the attack blocked. Starts up on frame 6 and lasts 22 frames. Ineffective against projectiles and attacks with sufficiently long reach, such as many of {{SSB4|Shulk}}'s tilts and smash attacks.
|dsdefdesc=Marth assumes a defensive stance and retaliates against incoming attacks. The power of the counterattack scales with the strength of the attack blocked. Starts up on frame 6 and lasts 22 frames. Ineffective against projectiles and attacks with sufficiently long reach, such as many of {{SSB4|Shulk}}'s tilts and smash attacks.
|dsc1name=Easy Counter
|dsc1name=Easy Counter
|dsc1dmg=0.7x (min 4%)
|dsc1dmg=0.7× (minimum 4%)
|dsc1desc=Marth holds his stance longer and strikes with less power. Has a decreased multiplier, but has a wider trigger window. Starts up on frame 6 and lasts 29 frames.
|dsc1desc=Marth holds his stance longer and strikes with less power. Has a decreased multiplier, but has a wider trigger window. Starts up on frame 6 and lasts 29 frames.
|dsc2name=Iai Counter
|dsc2name=Iai Counter
|dsc2dmg=1.3x (min 6%)
|dsc2dmg=1.3× (minimum 6%)
|dsc2desc=Marth strikes the opponent while moving behind them at lightning speed. Inflicts more damage, knocks foes behind him, and is much quicker, but the trigger window is stricter. Deals [[electric]] damage. Starts up on frame 3 and lasts 14 frames.  
|dsc2desc=Marth strikes the opponent while moving behind them at lightning speed. Inflicts more damage, knocks foes behind him, and is much quicker, but the trigger window is stricter. Deals [[electric]] damage. Starts up on frame 3 and lasts 14 frames. Though the in-game description mentions it’s weaker, that only applies to the minimum % damage, making the difference somewhat negligible.
|fsname=Critical Hit
|fsname=Critical Hit
|fsdmg=60%
|fsdmg=60%
|fsdesc=Marth raises the 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. Pressing the special button again will cause him to stop mid-dash.
|fsdesc=Marth raises Falchion skyward, then lunges in one direction, attacking the first opponent he connects. One of the strongest Final Smashes, also inflicting immense knockback, enough to [[one-hit KO]] any character on any roofless stage. Pressing the special button again will cause him to stop mid-dash.
}}
}}


{| class="wikitable sortable collapsible collapsed"
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+Dancing Blade
|+Dancing Blade
! Hit
! Hit
Line 303: Line 470:
| Second Hit (Neutral) || 3%/4% || Does a right-to-left swiping stab angled slightly downwards. Can sometimes fail to hit at higher percents on certain floaty characters.
| Second Hit (Neutral) || 3%/4% || Does a right-to-left swiping stab angled slightly downwards. Can sometimes fail to hit at higher percents on certain floaty characters.
|-
|-
| Third Hit (Up) || 4%/5% || Turns his body and swings upwards. If used after the second upwards hit at high percents, this slash can often miss, although a second neutral hit can lead into this move.
| Third Hit (Up) || 4%/5% || Turns his body and swings upwards. If used after the second upwards hit at high percents, this slash can often miss, although a second neutral hit can lead into this move. The aerial version sees Marth doing a downward slash instead, identical to the version from ''Melee''.
|-
|-
| Third Hit (Neutral) || 4%/5% || Does an upwards swing while stepping forward. May miss if done too fast after any second hit.
| Third Hit (Neutral) || 4%/5% || Does an upwards swing while stepping forward. May miss if done too fast after any second hit.
|-
|-
| Third Hit (Down) || 4.5%/5.5% || Steps forward and does a backhanded stab towards the ground before twirling. Deals slightly more damage than the other hits before, but has a small hitbox and can fail to link after the second neutral hit at higher percents if both hits are rushed and not timed properly. Can set up an easy tipper fourth neutral finisher from mid to high percents, due to the angle of 40°. Is also the safest 3rd variant on shield, due to hitting two frames later and having the same interuptability, as well as Marth stepping backwards a little after performing this swing.
| Third Hit (Down) || 4.5%/5.5% || Steps forward and does a backhanded stab towards the ground before twirling. Deals slightly more damage than the other hits before, but has a small hitbox and can fail to link after the second neutral hit at higher percents if both hits are rushed and not timed properly. Can set up an easy tipper fourth neutral finisher from mid to high percents, due to the angle of 40°. Is also the safest 3rd variant on shield, due to hitting two frames later and having the same interruptibility, as well as Marth stepping backwards a little after performing this swing. The aerial version sees Marth doing a downward stab before twirling instead, identical to the version from ''Melee''.
|-
|-
| Fourth Hit (Up) || 6%/8% || Performs a twirling overhead half-moon slash, with strong KOing potential if tippered (KO's Mario at 130% on Final Destination), although it has a rather small horizontal hitbox which can make it miss quite easily as high percentages. On fast fallers at low percents, this move can whiff, as the opponents will land before the strike and avoid the hit.
| Fourth Hit (Up) || 6%/8% || Performs a twirling overhead half-moon slash, with strong KOing potential if tippered (KO's Mario at 130% on Final Destination), although it has a rather small horizontal hitbox which can make it miss quite easily as high percentages. On fast fallers at low percents, this move can whiff, as the opponents will land before the strike and avoid the hit.
Line 315: Line 482:
| Fourth Hit (Down) || 2% (hit 1-4), 4%/6% (hit 5) || Steps forward, bends close to the ground, and does a flurry of five stabs. The last hit launches opponents away. The weakest finisher in terms of KO power, but deals the most damage, wears down shields well, and can shield poke low shields. The first four hits may be DI'd out of if an opponent is caught right at the tip of each blow and are at a high percentage.
| Fourth Hit (Down) || 2% (hit 1-4), 4%/6% (hit 5) || Steps forward, bends close to the ground, and does a flurry of five stabs. The last hit launches opponents away. The weakest finisher in terms of KO power, but deals the most damage, wears down shields well, and can shield poke low shields. The first four hits may be DI'd out of if an opponent is caught right at the tip of each blow and are at a high percentage.
|}
|}
===Stats===
{{Attributes
|cast = 58
|weight = 90
|rweight = 41-42
|dash = 1.5
|rdash = 25-41
|run = 1.785
|rrun = 18-19
|walk = 1.5
|rwalk = 1-2
|trac = 0.055
|rtrac = 28-33
|airfric = 0.00375
|rairfric = 57-58
|air = 1.02
|rair = 29-30
|baseaccel = 0.01
|rbaseaccel = 10-54
|addaccel = 0.07
|raddaccel = 18-28
|gravity = 0.075
|rgravity = 49-51
|fall = 1.58
|rfall = 28-29
|ff = 2.528
|rff = 27-28
|jumpsquat = 5
|rjumpsquat = 14-41
|jumpheight = 33.660133
|rjumpheight = 28-29
|shorthop = 16.263107
|rshorthop = 31-32
|djump = 33.660133
|rdjump = 30-31
}}
===[[Announcer]] call===
{{audio|Needs announcer calls from other languages.}}
<gallery>
Marth English Announcer SSB4-SSBU.wav|English/Japanese/Chinese
Marth French Announcer SSBU.wav|French
Marth French EU Announcer SSBU.wav|French (PAL)
</gallery>


===[[On-screen appearance]]===
===[[On-screen appearance]]===
Line 325: Line 537:
{{Taunt/SSB4
{{Taunt/SSB4
|char=Marth
|char=Marth
|desc-up=Points the Falchion skyward with a quick spark of light emitting at the tip. This is similar to his stance before he performed his Critical Hit animation in the ''Fire Emblem'' series and identical to his stance while performing his Lodestar technique.
|desc-up=Points Falchion skyward with a quick spark of light emitting at the tip. This is similar to his stance before he performed his Critical Hit animation in the DS games of the ''Fire Emblem'' series and identical to his stance while performing his Lodestar technique.
|desc-side=Swings the Falchion twice before sheathing it. Marth quickly unsheathes it before the taunt ends.
|desc-side=Swings Falchion twice before sheathing it. Marth quickly unsheathes it before the taunt ends.
|desc-down=Swings the Falchion downwards before holding it in front of his face, then going back to his idle pose. Marth says: {{ja|みんな、見ていてくれ！|Minna, miteite kure!}} (''"Everyone, watch over me!"'' or in official ''Fire Emblem Fates'' English dub as ''"My prayers are with you!"'')}} while doing so.
|desc-down=Swings Falchion downwards before holding it in front of his face, then going back to his idle pose. Marth says: {{ja|みんな、見ていてくれ！|Minna, miteite kure!}} (''"Everyone, watch over me!"'' or in official ''Fire Emblem Fates'' English dub as ''"My prayers are with you!"'') while doing so.}}


===[[Idle pose]]s===
===[[Idle pose]]s===
Line 349: Line 561:
|victory-theme=FireEmblemTheme.ogg
|victory-theme=FireEmblemTheme.ogg
|victory-desc=This victory theme is a small orchestral cover from the title theme of the first ''Fire Emblem'' game, which has since become the main theme of the series.
|victory-desc=This victory theme is a small orchestral cover from the title theme of the first ''Fire Emblem'' game, which has since become the main theme of the series.
|desc-1=Turns with pride, spins the Falchion then poses with it pointed to the ground, and says "{{ja|今回は僕の勝ちだね?|Konkai wa boku no kachi da ne?}}", which translates to "This time it's my victory isn't it?"
|desc-1=Turns with pride, spins Falchion then poses with it pointed to the ground, and says "{{ja|今回は僕の勝ちだね?|Konkai wa boku no kachi da ne?}}", which translates to "It's my victory this time around, right?"
|desc-2=Poses with the Falchion sheathed and his right hand over his face before dramatically moving his arm away from his head while saying "{{ja|僕は負ける訳には行かないんだ。|Boku wa makeru wake ni wa ikanainda.}}", which translates to "There's no way for me to lose." or in official ''Fire Emblem Fates'' English dub as "I cannot afford to fail." Marth keeps a stern expression before smiling once the victory pose is over on the Nintendo 3DS version, while smiling throughout the entire pose on the Wii U version.
|desc-2=Poses with Falchion sheathed and his right hand over his face before dramatically moving his arm away from his head while saying "{{ja|僕は負ける訳には行かないんだ。|Boku wa makeru wake ni wa ikanainda.}}", which translates to "I can't afford to lose." or in the official ''Fire Emblem Fates'' English localization as "I cannot afford to fail." Marth keeps a stern expression before smiling once the victory pose is over on the Nintendo 3DS version, while smiling throughout the entire pose on the Wii U version.
|desc-3=Sheaths the Falchion and stands facing the camera, while saying "{{ja|今日も生き延びることが出来た。|Kyō mo ikinobiru koto ga dekita.}}", which translates to "Today I have risen to survive."
|desc-3=Sheaths Falchion and stands facing the camera, while saying "{{ja|今日も生き延びることが出来た。|Kyō mo ikinobiru koto ga dekita.}}", which translates to "Even today I was able to survive."
|char=Marth}}
|char=Marth}}


==In competitive play==
==In [[competitive play]]==
===Tier placement and history===
In the early lifespan of ''Smash 4'', players quickly recognized the changes and nerfs to Marth's moveset, with players mostly criticizing on his range; while still notable, and even improved in some aspects from ''Brawl'', it was nowhere near as impressive due to other characters receiving significant range increases. This culminated in Marth being widely regarded poorly early on; however, Marth received small buffs in balance patches, and by the time of updates [[1.0.8]] and [[1.1.0]], Marth received some notable buffs that helped mitigate some of his initial issues, which contributed to the growth of his playerbase, thanks to dedicated players such as {{Sm|False}}, {{Sm|Mr E}} and {{Sm|Pugwest}}. While Marth's results were still poor overall, the buffs improved his perception as a character, culminating in him being ranked 41st on the first ''4BR'' [[tier list]].
 
Marth would continue to improve with time, and gained his most significant buffs in updates [[1.1.3]] and [[1.1.4]]. These buffs, supplemented with previous ones, allowed Marth's game to flow far more consistently, and allowed his playerbase to gain significantly better and more consistent results. As an example, {{Sm|Fuwa}} was able to achieve strong placings in Japan, a region considered to be difficult for him to earn high results. In the USA and Canada, Mr E was able to place 5th at [[KTAR XVII]], 17th at [[GOML 2016]] and 13th at [[EVO 2016]] (defeating {{Sm|ZeRo}} 2-1 in the latter tournament), while Pugwest placed 17th at [[Pound 2016]] and EVO 2016, and False placed 17th at GOML 2016, with such finishes prior to the patch being almost unspoken of for him. Most notably, {{Sm|MkLeo}} begun bringing in his share of highlights: this included 1st place at [[Smash Factor 5]] while using Marth through a majority of the tournament, and notably resetting the Grand Finals bracket against {{Sm|Mr.R}}'s Sheik 3-0. Overall, [https://smashboards.com/threads/tournament-placing-database-scoring-project.437773/ Marth gained between the 12th and 16th best overall tournament results from patch 1.1.4 to present time], and all of these traits allowed Marth to rise to 19th on the second official tier list, gaining the second largest rise between the first and second tier lists.
 
While his placement on the second tier list was considered to be fairly accurate, some top players (e.g, ZeRo and {{Sm|Dabuz}}) believed Marth to be too low, and his increasing tournament success further called his placement into question: Leo won [[Canada Cup 2016]] after beating {{Sm|Ally}} in very close sets of Grand Finals with Marth, he beat ZeRo 3-0 at [[2GGT: ZeRo Saga]] in Losers Semi-finals and turned around a harsh deficit in Grand Finals against Larry Lurr using only Marth, and he won [[GENESIS 4]] using Marth for the entirety of Top 8 (although he used {{SSB4|Cloud}} exclusively prior to this). These even stronger results have helped Marth rise further in the third tier list, at 10th place, this tier rise being the third highest between the second and third tier lists.
 
However, while Marth has continued to perform well in the current metagame and has achieved strong results, his current placement has been recently disputed due to some smashers viewing Leo as the only Marth player to place very high at major tournaments, while Leo himself has used his other main, Cloud, more frequently over Marth. Mr E had also began to use Lucina more often in tournament. In addition, characters ranked below him on the tier list such as {{SSB4|Corrin}} have placed higher than Marth in tournaments as of late. As a result of this, Marth dropped one spot to 11th/12th place, now sharing the spot with {{SSB4|Ryu}}. In spite of these slight downturns, he has tremendously improved throughout the competitive lifespan of the game, and is one of the characters that had its meta developed the most, alongside {{SSB4|Mewtwo}}.
===[[Official Custom Moveset Project]]===
===[[Official Custom Moveset Project]]===
{{OfficialCustomMoves
{{OfficialCustomMoves
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}}
}}
===Notable players===
===Notable players===
====Active====
''Any number following the Smasher name indicates placement on the [[PGR 100]], which recognizes the official top 100 players in [[Super Smash Bros. 4]] of all time.''
*{{Sm|AirVault|USA}} - Ranked 9th on the [[Arizona Smash 4 Power Rankings]]; 7th at [[MVG Sandstorm]].
*{{Sm|AirVault|USA}} - Ranked 9th on the [[Arizona Smash 4 Power Rankings]]; 7th at [[MVG Sandstorm]].
*{{Sm|False|USA}} - Ranked 41st on the [[Panda Global Rankings|Panda Global Rankings v2]], and 5th on the [[New Jersey Smash 4 Power Rankings]]; 1st at [[Midwest Mayhem 3]], 7th at [[CEO 2016]], 13th at [[2GGT: KTAR Saga]], and 17th at [[Pound 2016]] and [[Get On My Level 2016]].  
*{{Sm|Dexter|p=Maryland|USA}} - The best Marth in MD/VA. Ranked 4th on the [[MD/VA Power Rankings]]. Has set wins over {{Sm|Pink Fresh}}, {{Sm|ZD}} and {{Sm|Seagull Joe}}.
*{{Sm|Fuwa|Japan}} - Japan's best Marth main. Ranked 20th on the [[JAPAN Power Rankings]]; 2nd at [[Sumabato 13]], 3rd at [http://challonge.com/Karisuma11T Karisuma 11], 5th at [[Waseda Festival 2016]], and 9th at [[Umebura BenQ ZOWIE Cup]]. An excellent [[Doubles]] player with {{Sm|Earth}}; 1st at [http://challonge.com/Karisuma10T Karisuma 10], 2nd at [[Sumabato 14]].
*{{Sm|False|USA}} (#73) - One of the best Marth players in the United States. Ranked 41st on the [[Panda Global Rankings|Panda Global Rankings v2]], and 5th on the [[New Jersey Smash 4 Power Rankings]]; 1st at [[Midwest Mayhem 3]], 7th at [[CEO 2016]], 13th at [[2GGT: KTAR Saga]], and 17th at [[Pound 2016]] and [[Get On My Level 2016]].
*{{Sm|MKLeo|Mexico}} - Widely considered to be the best Marth player in the world. Ranked 8th on the [[Panda Global Rankings|Panda Global Rankings v2]], and 1st on the [[Mexican Smash 4 Power Rankings]]; 1st at [[Smash Factor 5]], [[Canada Cup 2016]], [[2GGT: ZeRo Saga]], and [[GENESIS 4]], 5th at [[Get On My Level 2016]] and [[2GGC: GENESIS Saga]].
*{{Sm|Fuwa|Japan}} - One of Japan's best Marth players. Ranked 110th on the [[JAPAN Power Rankings]]; 2nd at [[Sumabato 13]], 3rd at [http://challonge.com/Karisuma11T Karisuma 11], 5th at [[Waseda Festival 2016]], and 9th at [[Umebura BenQ ZOWIE Cup]]. An excellent [[Doubles]] player with {{Sm|Earth}}; 1st at [http://challonge.com/Karisuma10T Karisuma 10], 2nd at [[Sumabato 14]].
*{{Sm|Mr.E|USA}} - One of the world's best Marth mains. Ranked 18th on the [[Panda Global Rankings|Panda Global Rankings v2]], and 2nd on the [[New York City Smash 4 Power Rankings]]; 1st at [[Glitch 2]], 5th at [[Endgame]] and [[UGC Smash Open]], 9th at [[The Big House 6]], and 13th at [[EVO 2016]].  
*{{Sm|MkLeo|Mexico}} (#3)- Widely considered to be the best Marth player in the world. Ranked 1st on the [[Panda Global Rankings|Panda Global Rankings v5]], and 1st on the [[Mexican Smash 4 Power Rankings]]; placed 1st at [[Smash Factor 5]], [[2GGT: ZeRo Saga]], [[GENESIS 4]] and [[GENESIS 5]], [[GameTyrant Expo 2017]], [[2GG Championship]], [[EVO Japan 2018]], {{Trn|CEO 2018}}, and [[Super Smash Con 2018]].
*{{Sm|Pugwest|USA}} - One of the best Marth players worldwide. Ranked 39th on the [[Panda Global Rankings|Panda Global Rankings v2]], and 2nd on the [[New England Smash 4 Power Rankings]] and the [[Rhode Island Smash 4 Power Rankings]]; 1st at [[GUMS 9]], 9th at [[Showdown: Battle Royale]], and 17th at EVO 2016. He and {{Sm|Marss}} comprise one of the best Doubles teams in the world; 3rd at The Big House 6, 4th at UGC Smash Open, 5th at [[GENESIS 3]] and CEO 2016, and 9th at GENESIS 4.
*{{Sm|Mr E|USA}} (#37)- The second best Marth player in the world prior to solo maining {{SSB4|Lucina}}. Formerly ranked 28th on the [[Panda Global Rankings|Panda Global Rankings v4]], and 2nd on the [[New York City Smash 4 Power Rankings]]; 1st at [[Glitch 2]], 5th at [[Endgame]] and [[UGC Smash Open]], 9th at [[The Big House 6]], and 13th at [[EVO 2016]].
*{{Sm|Pugwest|USA}} (#91) - One of the best Marth players in the United States. Ranked 39th on the [[Panda Global Rankings|Panda Global Rankings v2]], 2nd on the [[New England Smash 4 Power Rankings]] and 1st on the [[Rhode Island Smash 4 Power Rankings]]; 1st at [[GUMS 9]], 9th at [[Showdown: Battle Royale]], and 17th at EVO 2016. He and {{Sm|Marss}} comprise one of the best Doubles teams in the world; 3rd at The Big House 6, 4th at UGC Smash Open, 5th at [[GENESIS 3]] and CEO 2016, and 9th at GENESIS 4.
*{{Sm|Rizeasu|Japan}} (#68) - A master of diversity. Currently the best Marth player in Japan, though he also plays other characters in tournament. 4th at [http://challonge.com/Karisuma10T Karisuma 10] and [[Sumabato 15]], 5th at [http://challonge.com/Hirosuma5T Hirosuma 5], 9th at [[Sumabato 9]] [[Sumabato 12]], [[Karisuma Tokaigi Qualifiers]] and [[Sumabato 17]]. Ranked 20th on the JAPAN Power Rankings.


====Inactive====
==In Solo Modes==
*{{Sm|Nicko|USA}} - 25th at [[Final Battle]].
===[[All-Star Mode]]===
In All-Star Mode, Marth is fought in Stage 3 in the 3DS version or Stage 5 in the Wii U version alongside {{SSB4|Yoshi}}, {{SSB4|Captain Falcon}}, {{SSB4|Dr. Mario}}, {{SSB4|Pit}}, {{SSB4|Mega Man}}, {{SSB4|Palutena}}, and {{SSB4|Ryu}}.


===Tier placement and history===
==={{GameIcon|SSB4-U}}[[Event Match]]es===
In the early lifespan of ''Smash 4'', players quickly recognized changes and nerfs to Marth's moveset; in particular, players picked up on the increased lag on his staple moves (i.e, his aerials), his weaker damage output and combo game, the decreased utility of his throws, his tilts and [[Dolphin Slash]] becoming noticeably weak, and the fact that his range, while still notable, and even improved in some aspects from ''Brawl'', was nowhere near as impressive, due to other characters receiving significant range increases. This culminated in Marth being widely considered a bottom tier character early on; however, Marth received small buffs in balance patches, and by the time of patches [[1.0.8]] and [[1.1.0]], Marth received some notable buffs that helped mitigate some of his initial issues (e.g, receiving less lag on his tilts, less landing lag on all aerials, and improved angles and/or knockback on some attacks), which contributed to the growth of his playerbase, and allowed players like {{Sm|Mr.E}} and {{Sm|Pugwest}} to gain better results. While Marth's results were still poor overall, the buffs improved his perception as a character, culminating in him being ranked 41st on the first ''4BR'' [[tier list]].
====Solo Events====
 
* '''[[All-Star Battle: Melee]]''': Marth is one of the opponents fought in this event. All opponents featured had debuted in ''Melee''.
Marth would continue to improve with time, and gained his most significant buffs in patches [[1.1.3]] and [[1.1.4]] (i.e, increasing many of his tipper hitbox sizes, the damage output of his aerials, and further reduced the lag on some of his moves). These buffs, supplemented with previous ones, allowed Marth's game to flow far more consistently, improving his combo game and supplying his aerials with augmented KO power, and allowed his playerbase to gain significantly better and more consistent results. His playerbase has continued to grow, with players like {{Sm|MKLeo}} and {{Sm|Fuwa}} having gained more results with Marth in regions previously lacking them. As a result, [https://smashboards.com/threads/tournament-placing-database-scoring-project.437773/ Marth gained between the 12th and 16th best overall tournament results from patch 1.1.4 to present time]. Combined, these traits contributed to Marth's rise on the second official tier list, at 19th place, gaining the second largest rise between the first and second tier lists.
* '''[[In the Name of the Hero-King]]''': Marth must defeat {{SSB4|Lucina}} in a [[Stamina Mode|stamina]] battle.
 
* '''[[The Ultimate Swordsman]]''': Marth is one of the seven opponents {{SSB4|Ike}} must defeat.
While his placement on the second tier list was considered to be fairly accurate, some top players (e.g, ZeRo and {{Sm|Dabuz}}) believed Marth to be too low, and his increasing tournament success further called his placement into question, most notably after Leo won [[Canada Cup 2016]], [[2GGT: ZeRo Saga]] (while defeating ZeRo 3-0) and [[GENESIS 4]]. These even stronger results have helped Marth rise further in the third and current tier list, at 10th place, this tier rise being the third highest between the second and third tier lists. Overall, Marth has noticeably improved during the lifespan of the game, and is arguably one of the characters that has developed the most, alongside {{SSB4|Mewtwo}}.
* '''[[Unwavering Chivalry]]''': {{SSB4|Meta Knight}} must defeat Marth without KOing {{SSB4|Peach}} or {{SSB4|Zelda}}.
 
====Co-op Events====
==Trophies==
* '''[[A Royal Errand]]''': Marth and {{SSB4|Robin}} must work together to collect 500G from {{SSB4|Wario}} and {{SSB4|Bowser}} in a coin battle before the stage reaches the Bazaar.
 
* '''[[The Ultimate Battle]]''': Two players must select their characters and defeat the entire roster.
:'''Marth'''
::{{flag|ntsc}} ''The first hero from the Fire Emblem series, Marth is the prince of Altea and descendant of the hero Anri. In Smash Bros., he's known as an exceptional swordfighter, swinging his blade with grace. Striking with the tip will maximize the damage dealt. Teach aggressive foes a lesson with his strong Counter move.''
 
::{{flag|pal}} ''Marth, the prince of Altea, is the hero of the first ever Fire Emblem game and its remake, Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon. In this game, his graceful sword skills are what set him apart. Strike with the tip of his blade to deal extra damage, and use his Counter skill to defend yourself, no matter which directions you're being attacked from.''
 
{{Trophy games|console1=NES|game1=Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light (JP)|console2=SNES|game2=Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem (JP)}}
 
:'''Marth (Alt.)'''
::{{flag|ntsc}} ''Marth's side special Dancing Blade is a four-stage attack. Aim and time your strikes carefully! The tip of his sword does the most damage. For his up smash, Justice Sword, he thrusts his blade into the air. You can use it to block attacks from above and launch nearby foes.''
 
::{{flag|pal}} ''Marth's side special, Dancing Blade, is a four-stage attack. Aim and time your strikes carefully! As usual, the tip of his sword does the most damage. For his up smash, Justice Sword, he thrusts his blade into the air. You can use it to block attacks from above, and even to launch nearby enemies off the ground."
 
{{Trophy games|console1=NES|game1=Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light (JP)|console2=SNES|game2=Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem (JP)}}
 
:'''Critical Hit (Marth)'''
::{{flag|ntsc}} ''Marth raises his Exalted Falchion to the sky and then rushes forward to deal an incredibly powerful blow, almost certainly KO'ing anyone and everyone who gets hit! When it's used in the air, he'll fly forward a certain distance. On the ground, however, he'll only dash to the edge of the platform he's standing on.''
 
::{{flag|pal}} ''Marth raises his Exalted Falchion to the sky, then rushes forwards to deal an incredibly powerful blow, almost certainly KOing anyone and everyone who gets hit! When used in the air, he'll fly forwards a set distance, but on the ground, he'll only dash up to the edge of the platform he's standing on.''


===[[Congratulations screen]]s===
<center>
<center>
====3DS====
<gallery>
SSB4-3DS Congratulations Classic Marth.png|Classic Mode
SSB4-3DS Congratulations All-Star Marth.png|All-Star Mode
</gallery>
====Wii U====
<gallery>
<gallery>
MarthTrophy3DS1.png|Classic (3DS)
SSB4-Wii U Congratulations Classic Marth.png|Classic Mode
MarthTrophy3DS2.png|Alt. (3DS)
SSB4-Wii U Congratulations All-Star Marth.png|All-Star Mode
MarthTrophyWiiU.png|Classic (Wii U)
MarthAltTrophyWiiU.png|Alt. (Wii U)
CriticalHitMarthTrophyWiiU.png|[[Critical Hit]]
</gallery>
</gallery>
</center>
</center>


==In [[Event Match]]es==
==[[Trophies]]==
===Solo Events===
Marth's default trophy is obtained by clearing Classic Mode as Marth. His alternate trophy is obtained by clearing All-Star Mode as Marth in the 3DS version or purchasing it in the Trophy Shop for 1000G in the Wii U version. The Critical Hit (Marth) trophy is obtained only in the Wii U version by clearing All-Star Mode as Marth.
* '''[[All-Star Battle: Melee]]''': Marth is one of the opponents fought in this event. All opponents featured had debuted in ''Melee''.
{{Trophy/Fighter
* '''[[In the Name of the Hero-King]]''': Marth must defeat {{SSB4|Lucina}} in a [[Stamina Mode|stamina]] battle.
|name=Marth
* '''[[The Ultimate Swordsman]]''': Marth is one of the seven opponents {{SSB4|Ike}} must defeat.
|image-3ds=MarthTrophy3DS.png
* '''[[Unwavering Chivalry]]''': {{SSB4|Meta Knight}} must defeat Marth without KOing {{SSB4|Peach}} or {{SSB4|Zelda}}.
|image-wiiu=MarthTrophyWiiU.png
|mode=Classic
|desc-ntsc=The first hero from the Fire Emblem series, Marth is the prince of Altea and descendant of the hero Anri. In Smash Bros., he's known as an exceptional swordfighter, swinging his blade with grace. Striking with the tip will maximize the damage dealt. Teach aggressive foes a lesson with his strong Counter move.
|desc-pal=Marth, the prince of Altea, is the hero of the first ever Fire Emblem game and its remake, Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon. In this game, his graceful sword skills are what set him apart. Strike with the tip of his blade to deal extra damage, and use his Counter skill to defend yourself, no matter which direction you're being attacked from.
|gamelist-ntsc={{Trophy games|console1=FC|game1=Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light|release1=Japan|console2=SFC|game2=Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem|release2=Japan}}
|gamelist-pal={{Trophy games|console1=FC|game1=Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light|release1=1990 (JP)|console2=SFC|game2=Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem|release2=1994 (JP)}}
}}
{{clrl}}


===Co-op Events===
{{Trophy/Fighter
|name=Marth (Alt.)
|image-3ds=MarthAltTrophy3DS.png
|image-wiiu=MarthAltTrophyWiiU.png
|mode=Alt
|desc-ntsc=Marth's side special Dancing Blade is a four-stage attack. Aim and time your strikes carefully! The tip of his sword does the most damage. For his up smash, Justice Sword, he thrusts his blade into the air. You can use it to block attacks from above and launch nearby foes.
|desc-pal=Marth's side special, Dancing Blade, is a four-stage attack. Aim and time your strikes carefully! As usual, the tip of his sword does the most damage. For his up smash, Justice Sword, he thrusts his blade into the air. You can use it to block attacks from above, and even to launch nearby enemies off the ground.
|gamelist-ntsc={{Trophy games|console1=FC|game1=Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light|release1=Japan|console2=SFC|game2=Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem|release2=Japan}}
|gamelist-pal={{Trophy games|console1=FC|game1=Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light|release1=1990 (JP)|console2=SFC|game2=Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem|release2=1994 (JP)}}
}}
{{clrl}}


* '''[[A Royal Errand]]''': Marth and {{SSB4|Robin}} must work together to collect 500G from {{SSB4|Wario}} and {{SSB4|Bowser}} in a coin battle before the stage reaches the Bazaar.
{{Trophy/Fighter
* '''[[The Ultimate Battle]]''': Two players must select their characters and defeat the entire roster (prior to DLC).
|name=Critical Hit (Marth)
|image=CriticalHitMarthTrophyWiiU.png
|desc-ntsc=Marth raises his Exalted Falchion to the sky and then rushes forward to deal an incredibly powerful blow, almost certainly KO'ing anyone and everyone who gets hit! When it's used in the air, he'll fly forward a certain distance. On the ground, however, he'll only dash to the edge of the platform he's standing on.
|desc-pal=Marth raises his Exalted Falchion to the sky, then rushes forwards to deal an incredibly powerful blow, almost certainly KOing anyone and everyone who gets hit! When used in the air, he'll fly forwards a set distance, but on the ground, he'll only dash up to the edge of the platform he's standing on.
|game=ssb4-wiiu
}}
{{clrl}}


==[[Alternate costume (SSB4)#Marth|Alternate costumes]]==
==[[Alternate costume (SSB4)#Marth|Alternate costumes]]==
Line 453: Line 685:
Smash.4 - Marth Front and Back.jpg|Front and Back shots of Marth's new design.
Smash.4 - Marth Front and Back.jpg|Front and Back shots of Marth's new design.
SSB4 Marth Screen-10.jpg|Marth's appearance in the 3DS version.
SSB4 Marth Screen-10.jpg|Marth's appearance in the 3DS version.
SSB4 Marth Screen-1.jpg|Posing with the Falchion.
SSB4 Marth Screen-1.jpg|Posing with Falchion.
SSB4 Marth Screen-2.jpg|Battling with {{SSB4|Link}}.
SSB4 Marth Screen-2.jpg|Battling with {{SSB4|Link}}.
SSB4 Marth Screen-3.jpg|Using down smash on {{SSB4|Wii Fit Trainer}}.
SSB4 Marth Screen-3.jpg|Using down smash on {{SSB4|Wii Fit Trainer}}.
SSB4 Marth Screen-4.jpg|Holding the Falchion out.
SSB4 Marth Screen-4.jpg|Holding Falchion out.
SSB4 Marth Screen-5.jpg|Attacking around himself with the Falchion; appears to be his neutral aerial.
SSB4 Marth Screen-5.jpg|Attacking around himself with Falchion; appears to be his neutral aerial.
SSB4 Marth Screen-6.jpg|Using [[Counter]] against {{SSB4|Fox}}'s dash attack.
SSB4 Marth Screen-6.jpg|Using [[Counter]] against {{SSB4|Fox}}'s dash attack.
SSB4 Marth Screen-7.jpg|Using Dolphin Slash on {{SSB4|Mega Man}}.
SSB4 Marth Screen-7.jpg|Using Dolphin Slash on {{SSB4|Mega Man}}.
Line 475: Line 707:
*Despite now only [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIns19mp1Gg grunting instead of talking] when doing his Counter, the voice clips of him speaking are still in his [[Sound Test]]. Interestingly, Marth can be heard talking while countering in Roy's reveal trailer.
*Despite now only [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIns19mp1Gg grunting instead of talking] when doing his Counter, the voice clips of him speaking are still in his [[Sound Test]]. Interestingly, Marth can be heard talking while countering in Roy's reveal trailer.
*Dashing Assault makes a "woosh" sound when used, but in {{SSB4|Corrin}}'s reveal trailer it makes the "shing" sound when executed, likewise when Marth performs his standard Shield Breaker.
*Dashing Assault makes a "woosh" sound when used, but in {{SSB4|Corrin}}'s reveal trailer it makes the "shing" sound when executed, likewise when Marth performs his standard Shield Breaker.
*Marth, Roy and {{SSB4|Cloud}} are the only characters to speak Japanese in every regional version of ''Super Smash Bros. 4''.
*Marth's sword and its sheath are not present in his artwork for the cover of ''Super Smash Bros. for 3DS''.
*Marth's sword and its sheath are not present in his artwork for the cover of ''Super Smash Bros. for 3DS''.
*''Super Smash Bros. 4'' marks the only appearance of Marth as a starter character.


==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
*[http://www.smashbros.com/sp/us/characters/marth.html Official character page]
*[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ITPEEtexc0Q Art of Marth] by {{Sm|Izaw}}


{{SSB4Characters}}
{{SSB4Characters}}
{{Fire Emblem universe}}
{{Fire Emblem universe}}
[[Category:Marth (SSB4)]]
[[Category:Marth (SSB4)| ]]
[[Category:Trophies (SSB4-3DS)]]
[[Category:Trophies (SSB4-3DS)]]
[[Category:Trophies (SSB4-Wii U)]]
[[es:Marth (SSB4)]]

Latest revision as of 19:52, November 12, 2024

This article is about Marth's appearance in Super Smash Bros. 4. For the character in other contexts, see Marth.
Marth
in Super Smash Bros. 4
Marth SSB4.png
FireEmblemSymbol.svg
Universe Fire Emblem
Other playable appearances in Melee
in Brawl
in Ultimate
Availability Starter
Final Smash Critical Hit
Tier A (11-12)
Marth (SSB4)

Marth (マルス, Marth) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. 4. He was announced on the official website on November 7, 2013. He was among the first wave of amiibo figures that are compatible with SSB4, released on the same day as the Wii U version of the game. Hikaru Midorikawa is the voice of Marth in all regions; the voice clips originate from the recording sessions for Melee[1] and were all the same ones previously used in Brawl. Marth is one of five Smash 4 characters that only speak Japanese in all its regional versions; the others are Takamaru, the Prince of Sablé, Roy, and Cloud.

Marth is ranked 11th/12th out of 54 characters on the tier list, tied with Ryu in the bottom of A tier. This is a minor fall from his 5th place position out of 38 in Brawl. Marth's positives include good overall mobility and relatively long disjointed range on all of his attacks. As with previous incarnations, all of Marth's sword-based attacks are quite rewarding if they land only at the tip of his sword, with the buffs to his tippered moves now causing them to deal very high knockback despite their quick startup, most notably in the case of forward smash, forward/back aerials, and Shield Breaker. The changes to shield mechanics also indirectly grant his tippers more safety due to them causing higher shieldstun, making it difficult for opponents to punish tippers on shield. In addition, his overall frame data is very good, such as possessing one of the lowest landing lag averages in the game, and as alluded to above, the startup of his moves is also very fast, with most of his moveset coming out before frame 10, and certain moves having little endlag to complement this further (neutral attack, forward, up, and down tilts respectively). All in all, Marth's overall speed in regards to both attacks and mobility give him a dependable neutral game, with optimal spacing being very rewarding due to the danger of his powerful tippers.

Marth's primary flaw is his emphasis on spacing, moreso than in his previous appearances, owing to the reduction in power and efficacy of his sourspotted moves. Furthermore, many of Marth's sourspotted attacks have poor shieldstun, potentially leading to punishes if Marth does not properly space his attacks. Marth is also susceptible to pressure tactics, as he lacks combo breaker attacks and his lack of a projectile prevents him from easily dealing with projectile-based camping. Like in his previous appearances, Marth also suffers from a linear, predictable recovery, and even with ledge trumping and larger ledge sweetspots, Marth is still prone to gimping.

Initially considered a low-tier character in Smash 4 while struggling to make notable tournament impacts, Marth was buffed via updates to the game, particularly in 1.1.4, owing to improvements to his reach, damage, interruptibility, and combo game. Since then, he amassed a large playerbase and above-average tournament representation.

Attributes[edit]

Marth is emblematic of sword characters, making extensive use of disjointed hitboxes and his unique tipper mechanic. His attributes remain present: he has high overall mobility, sporting the fastest walking speed in the game (tied with his clone, Lucina), a fast dashing speed, average air speed, above average air acceleration, moderate falling speed, and low gravity, all of which is coupled with slightly below average weight.

Marth's playstyle has remained fundamentally intact from past iterations, being characterized by the properties of his sword, Falchion. His attacks deal significantly more damage and knockback if struck with the tip of the sword, encouraging and rewarding proper spacing. Being a sword-user, Marth also has the benefit of disjointed hitboxes. Many of his moves possess good range, fast startup, and cover wide arcs (e.g, his jab, up tilt, and forward aerial). As such, Marth aims to fight a step away from danger, where he can pressure the opponent without leaving himself open to punishment.

Marth's neutral game relies heavily on effective spacing. As mentioned before, Marth possesses one of the longest overall ranges in the game, which plays a vital role in his neutral, as his mobility allows him to maneuver around opponents and space attacks with relative ease, with multiple moves that are safe to throw out at tipper range or further. In comparison to Melee and Brawl, Marth's neutral game is mainly ground based, with the first hit of his jab being the cornerstone. Said move is fast, disjointed, has high range, low start up, deceptively low cooldown, and due to its hitbox arc, also acts as an anti-air. All of these traits make it exceptionally difficult to challenge. It also has excellent combo potential into many of his moves.

While his tipper is considered the most optimal, Marth's sourspot also provides benefits when he wins in the neutral, as the lower knockback on his sourspot allows him to more easily combo moves into themselves. Marth's neutral game is also unique by scaling with percent, as set-ups and combos become more rewarding at higher percents (e.g, jab 1 to forward tilt serves as a KO set-up at later percents). He also benefits from being one of the few characters in the game who can outright KO through playing his neutral and spacing game; essentially, while Marth's neutral reward is not as rewarding or damaging as other characters, Marth has the ability to win neutral exchanges with relative ease and safety, as well as having consistent set-ups and follow-ups.

Marth's special moveset has high utility. His neutral special, Shield Breaker, deals high shield damage even when uncharged, and is useful for punishing rolls or covering landings. It also grants some horizontal recovery, moreso when fully charged, and a tippered blow deals enough knockback to KO at reasonably low percents. Side special Dancing Blade is a four-hit combo that can be used to punish sidesteps and rolls, is an effective damage racker, dealing 15-20% if all hits connect, has combo and mix-up potential, and at later percents, serves as an effective KO option. It can also be used to stall in the air, giving Marth mix-up opportunities to recover, land, and edgeguard. Counter, his down special, provides him with the capability to reverse attacks with 1.2x the damage, KOing if the attack was strong enough; it can also be used against opponents with easily predictable recoveries. His up special, Dolphin Slash, has quick startup, provides slight intangibility during its startup frames, is relatively strong when it first comes out, and has high knockback scaling. These attributes make it an excellent out of shield option and combo-breaker. It is also Marth's primary method of recovery, as its speed can make it difficult to intercept, and it can stage spike reckless edgeguarders.

Marth's low gravity and average falling speed allow him to maneuver effectively in the air, and his disjointed range provides him with an innately strong edgeguarding capability. His forward and back aerials have fast startup and good range, and are strong when tippered. Down aerial is relatively quick, and it will powerfully meteor smash opponents if it hits at the center of the arc, though its timing is very strict at one frame. Forward smash's range makes it a good choice against opponents aiming their recoveries towards the ledge, and down tilt's range and speed make it good at 2-framing opponents. Both have the ability to hit below the ledge as well.

Despite his strengths, Marth is not without flaws. Due to both the changes to shield mechanics and further polarization of his sweetspots and sourspots, his heavier reliance on tippers and spacing ability gives him a relatively subpar up-close game at higher percents, which makes it more difficult for Marth to KO and threaten faster/smaller characters. The low shieldstun and hitstun generated by non-tippered moves make it possible for opponents to act out quicker than he can, causing Marth to struggle against shields if his aerials are improperly spaced, and Shield Breaker is highly punishable if predicted. His tipper mechanic can equally disadvantage him when attempting to KO, as his attacks don't generate much knockback if not spaced properly, making his KO potential very inconsistent without proper spacing (most notably with forward smash, forward tilt and aerials). Lastly, his edgeguarding ability, though strong, is flawed, both due to the need for tippers and the moderately high ending lag on his aerials. As a result, Marth is reliant on being in a certain distance for his moves to be safe while retaining the neutral, and to KO effectively without setups.

Marth's weak throws tie into his inconsistent KO power. Except for up throw, they have low knockback scaling, preventing them from KOing at realistic percents, while up throw can only KO starting at 160%, if Marth has no rage. His throw game is poor as well; aside from having a fairly fast pummel, Marth's throws deal low damage and have high base knockback, making them poor for combos and damage-racking outside of very low percents, such as aerials at 0%. However, it should be noted that the high base knockback of his throws allow Marth to take advantage of his good edgeguarding capability, especially at the edge.

As a solely sword-based character, Marth's neutral also suffers from a lack of a projectile, and he can struggle against projectile heavy characters and playstyles. This ties in with his vulnerability once he loses the neutral: despite having below average weight and only average falling speed, Marth is susceptible to combos, and his tall hurtbox provides an easy target. Dolphin Slash is his only reliable combo-breaker, but as it leaves him helpless, it can inadvertently put him in an even worse position. Also, while Counter can be used defensively, it leaves Marth extremely vulnerable to punishment should it whiff. Marth also has little defense against juggling, as his aerials are ineffective at relieving pressure; though his attacks have quick startup, many of them come with high ending and landing lag, and also suffer from short hitbox durations (e.g, his forward aerial has a hitbox that lasts only 3 frames, comparatively high ending lag and noticeable landing lag, and along with its very strict autocancel window, it is a surprisingly poor approach option).

Marth himself is somewhat vulnerable to edgeguarding, though he has options for mix-ups with his recovery. Dolphin Slash is his only reliable vertical recovery option, and while it is still a threat to edgeguarders due to its speed and high stage spike ability, its path is linear and its distance fixed, making it fairly predictable. Additionally since this move grants little horizontal distance, Marth is vulnerable to semi-spikes. While Shield Breaker can aid his horizontal recovery, it covers little distance without charging. Marth's also heavily reliant on his double jump for mix-ups in his recovery, and is in significant danger if offstage without it.

With custom moves enabled, Marth gains options to address some of his drawbacks, at the cost of creating different ones. Dashing Assault allows him to punish landings and rolls, create trap situations, and can force opponents off the stage; but it loses the power and utility of Shield Breaker. Crescent Slash provides more horizontal recovery, but less vertical recovery. Also, while it grants him a fairly reliable follow-up from his forward throw and aerials at low percents, and can punish airdodge landings, it loses out of shield functionality. Dolphin Jump provides Marth more vertical distance and greater horizontal control, but loses all of its offensive use. Iai Counter has quicker startup (active from frame 3), increased utility, and deals electric damage as well; however it requires significantly stricter timing.

Overall, Marth's strengths considerably outweigh his flaws. He possesses notable advantages in his tipper mechanic, effective disjoint, fast mobility, above-average frame data, and a sourspot to benefit his combo game; however, his spacing and overall safety is so overly centered on his tipper mechanic that it hinders him in many ways, making his punishes unreliable due to their inconsistency. At his purest, Marth is most rewarding for players with good fundamentals, with many playstyles applicable to him due to his flaws being easily worked around with careful play. Marth has a dedicated playerbase in competitive play, with notable players such as MkLeo, Mr.E, Pugwest, and False achieving strong results at results at top-level play. As such, while he is noticeably nerfed from Brawl, he has proven to be a solid pick in competitive play after his buffs.

Changes from Super Smash Bros. Brawl[edit]

Possibly as a result of his strengths in previous appearances, Marth was severely nerfed overall in his transition from Brawl to Smash 4 (though this was partially reversed through balance updates). In general, Marth deals less damage and has worse frame data. Marth's hitboxes on most moves are now slightly more disjointed, but smaller and with less absolute range. His tipper hitboxes are generally smaller and more difficult to land, and non-tipper hits are weaker, making KOs less consistent. Although Marth's range is still very good, buffs to other veterans as well as high-tier newcomers with excellent range (e.g. Cloud, Corrin and Bayonetta) render his key advantage over other characters much less pronounced.

Marth's aerial game has been significantly nerfed. Forward aerial, a key tool in Melee and Brawl, now has more startup, cooldown, and landing lag, and auto-cancels much later. (Notably, it is no longer possible to perform two forward aerials in a short hop.) Down aerial, previously a very threatening edgeguarding tool, has a new animation with less effective reach and more startup lag, and only meteor smashes directly below Marth instead of throughout the move. Up aerial and neutral aerial have more landing lag, now being less effective for combos and juggling. Back aerial, though, has less landing lag and better knockback.

The base knockback on his throws has been significantly increased. This makes them mostly ineffective for combos and tech chases except at very low percents, but more effective at launching opponents away from centre-stage into edgeguard or juggle states. Up throw remains his only moderately effective KO throw. Chain grabbing and aerial grab release follow-ups have been removed wholesale, notably weakening Marth's grab game.

Marth has also seen a couple of nerfs to his specials: Dancing Blade's first hit is much laggier, and the full move connects less reliably as each hit is stronger and transitions more slowly. Dolphin Slash is weaker and has less intangibility when used on the ground.

However, Marth has received noticeable buffs in other areas. Shield Breaker has improved utility due to Smash 4's weaker shields and higher shieldstun, and Counter reflects attacks with significantly increased knockback. Some of his moves are stronger when tippered, an example being forward smash, which is now the third strongest in the game. As Dolphin Slash was relatively susceptible to edge-hogging and suffered from the landing lag glitch, it greatly benefits from the new ledge mechanics, improving Marth's recovery. His ground game has also been buffed in some ways, with his neutral attack, forward tilt, up tilt and down smash all having decreased ending lag. The first hit of jab now launches opponents vertically upwards, allowing many new combos into different moves (although removing its ability to jab lock). Many of his tipper hitboxes have moved further along his sword, and largely benefit both from the increased shieldstun and shield damage and the fact that moves with high hitlag multipliers are now more advantageous on shield. His grounded mobility options are also improved: his dash speed is higher, making his extended dash-dance and perfect pivot very effective. These changes give him a better grounded spacing and combo game. Marth also benefits from rage when facing characters who are lighter than him.

In the end, while Marth was previously considered to be one of the characters to have been the most severely nerfed in the transition to Smash 4 (alongside Meta Knight, King Dedede, Dr. Mario, Falco, Olimar, and Wario), game updates brought useful buffs that significantly increased his effectiveness, while his key strengths remain from his previous two iterations were retained albeit to a lesser extent. While he is still nerfed from Brawl overall, the changes to the game's mechanics benefit him (despite receiving some noticeable nerfs from them) and most other returning veterans who were in Brawl's higher tiers saw a similar treatment which has lead him to being similarly effective relative to the cast and he is still be considered as a viable character in Smash 4's metagame.

Aesthetics[edit]

  • Change Marth's design takes elements from Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem: Heroes of Light and Shadow and his older design in Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem, which was used in Melee and Brawl. This is most notable in the new designs for his cuirass, pauldrons, shirt, belt, and boots. Notably, the armor near his shoulders now hugs them rather than being attached to the chest piece like in Melee, Brawl, and the design it is based on, giving him a less imposing silhouette. His eyes are also smaller, and he has shorter hair.
  • Change Marth's white alternate costume has been updated to the monochromatic palette, which makes no longer based on Leif. Additionally, Marth has received three new alternate costumes, two of which are based on his appearance in Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem and Roy's appearance in Melee, respectively. One replaces his previous blue costume.
  • Change Marth's sword trails are much brighter at the tip; this makes the sweetspot of his attacks more visible than in previous games.
  • Change Marth's sound effects for his sword slashes are less pronounced than in Brawl, overall being quieter. His Dolphin Slash in particular now produces a soft, short slashing sound, compared to the loud and prolonged noise it produced in Brawl.
  • Change Marth's shielding animation has been updated. He no longer sheaths his sword, instead holding it up via an underhanded-grip. However, his sidestepping animation still has his sword sheathed, which is a carryover from Brawl.
  • Change Marth's previously unused damage yells from Brawl's Sound Test are now heard when taking high knockback.

Attributes[edit]

  • Buff Marth dashes faster (1.7 → 1.785).
  • Nerf The changes to pivot walking hinders Marth's approach options with his walk.
  • Nerf Marth's air speed is slightly slower (1.034 → 1.02), going from the 11th fastest out of 39 characters to the 29th fastest out of 58.
  • Change Marth falls faster (1.5 → 1.58). This slightly improves his vertical endurance, but makes him more susceptible to combos.
  • Buff Marth's fast falling speed is faster (2.1 → 2.528), improving his air game and making him less susceptible to juggling. It is also faster than his fast falling speed in Melee (2.5 → 2.528).
  • Change Marth's gravity is higher (0.06715 → 0.075), hindering his endurance, making him more susceptible to combos and reducing the height of his jumps, but allowing him to reach his falling speed faster.
    • Change Due to Marth's lower short hop, he now lands before his forward jumping animation ends. This means that Marth no longer enters his aerial transition frame before landing from a forwards short hop.
  • Buff Marth's double jump is higher (height multiplier: 0.88x → 1x).
  • Buff Marth is heavier (87 → 90), improving his endurance.
  • Change Marth is smaller (model size multiplier: 1x → 0.96x). This makes him harder to hit but reduces his range.
  • Nerf Marth's item throw is weaker (1 → 0.966). Additionally, the removal of glide tossing hinders his approach with items.
  • Buff Marth's rolls have less ending lag (FAF 36 → 31).
  • Nerf Marth's rolls have a shorter duraiton (frame 4-19 (forward)/4-23 (back) → 4-17).
  • Nerf Marth's rolls cover less distance due to his smaller size.
  • Nerf Marth's spot dodge has more startup lag with a shorter duration (frame 2-20 → 3-17) and it has more ending lag (FAF 25 → 27).
  • Change Marth has a new spot dodge animation: he shifts backwards instead of crouching forward.
  • Buff Marth's air dodge has less startup (frame 5 → 3) and much less ending lag (FAF 50 → 33), no longer being the slowest air dodge in terms of startup lag.
  • Nerf Marth's air dodge's has a shorter duration (frames 5-30 → 3-27).
  • Buff Most of Marth's attacks have slightly increased reach compared to Brawl due to the tipper hitboxes on a large majority of his moves being positioned further along his sword (although most of his tipper hitboxes are now smaller).
    • Nerf Despite this, his overall range is worse due to most of his attacks having smaller hitboxes making his attacks harder to land and hindering his ability to wall out his opponents. This is further exacerbated by the nerfs some of his key spacing tools received such as his forward aerial.

Ground attacks[edit]

  • Neutral attack:
    • Buff Neutral attack's first hit transitions into the second hit faster (frame 20 → 17) and has has less ending lag (FAF 28 → 26).
    • Buff The first hit has altered knockback (20 (base), 50 (scaling) (sourspot), 30/70 (tipper) → 30/55 (both)), sends opponents at a higher trajectory (361° → 78°/65°/90°) significantly improving its jab cancelling potential.
      • Nerf However, its new angles also remove its ability to jab lock removing Marth's most reliable method to lock opponents.
    • Nerf The first hit has more startup lag with a shorter duration (frames 4-7 → 5-7). Its animation has not been changed reducing the move's range below Marth.
    • Nerf The first hit deals less damage (4%/6% → 3%/5%).
    • Buff The second hit has less startup lag (frame 4 → 3) with no animation change giving it slightly more range below Marth.
    • Buff The second hit deals more knockback (20 (base), 50 (scaling) (sourspot), 30/70 (tipper) → 62/75 (both)).
    • Nerf The second hit has a shorter duration (frames 4-8 → 3-5) considerably decreasing its range above Marth.
    • Nerf The second hit has more ending lag (FAF 28 → 29).
    • Nerf The second hit's angle has been altered (361° → 45°) which hinders its effectiveness against grounded opponents and removes its ability to jab lock when combined with its higher knockback.
    • Buff The tipper on both hits has been repositioned (z offset: 5.1 → 6.7) now fully covering the tip of the sword.
    • Nerf Both hits have smaller hitboxes (4u/4u/3.5u/2.5u → 3.5u/3.5u/3u) and they no longer have a hitbox on Marth's shoulder.
  • Forward tilt:
    • Buff Tippered forward tilt deals more knockback (40 (base), 80 (scaling) → 55/85).
    • Buff The tipper has been repositioned (z offset: 6.5 → 7.7) which makes it reach slightly further.
    • Buff Forward tilt has less ending lag (FAF 36 → 34) which gives it a peculiar property; a move buffered during the end of the animation will start a small step forward than usual, similar to his Brawl down tilt moving him forward slightly when buffering the repeated attack. Overall, this property can grant any of Marth's moves slightly increased horizontal range.
    • Nerf Forward tilt has smaller hitboxes (4u/4u/3.5u/2.5u → 3.5u/3.5u/3u) and it no longer has a hitbox on Marth's shoulder.
  • Up tilt:
    • Buff Up tilt now always launches opponents vertically (110°/361° (clean), 85°/361 (late) → 100° (clean)/85° (late)), making it more consistent.
    • Buff The tipper has been repositioned (z offset: 5.1 → 6.7) now fully covering the tip of the sword.
    • Buff Up tilt has less ending lag (FAF 40 → 34) which gives it a peculiar property; a move buffered during the end of the animation will start a small step forward than usual, similar to his Brawl down tilt moving him forward slightly when buffering the repeated attack. Overall, this property can grant any of Marth's moves slightly increased horizontal range.
    • Nerf Up tilt deals less damage (8%/9%/10%/12% → 5%/6%/9%) and its knockback was only compensated for the tipper (40 (base), 90 (scaling) → 65/100). The other hitboxes did not have their knockback fully compensated (40/30 (base), 120/118/116 (scaling) → 65/100) making them much weaker.
    • Nerf Up tilt previously had much more powerful knockback on a "sourspot" hitbox for the last active frame, being a stronger KO move than tippered Up tilt and sourspot Up Smash.
    • Nerf Up tilt has smaller hitboxes (5u/3.5u/3.5u/2.5u → 3.5u/3.5u/3u/2u).
  • Down tilt:
    • Buff Down tilt's tipper has been repositioned (z offset: 4.8 → 8.2) now fully covering the tip of the sword.
    • Change Down tilt's sourspots with reduced base knockback (25/20 → 40) have been removed with the sourspot now being one single extended hitbox instead of 3 normal hitboxes.
    • Nerf Down tilt has a shorter duration (frames 7-9 → 7-8) and more ending lag (FAF 22 → 24).
    • Nerf The sourspot deals less damage (9%/8% → 7%).
    • Nerf Down tilt has smaller hitboxes (4.8u/3.36u/3.74u/4.8u → 2.7u/2.7u) giving it less vertical range and no longer covering Marth's head.
    • Nerf Down tilt no longer moves Marth forward, removing its ability to pseudo-crawl.
  • Dash attack:
    • Buff Dash attack's tipper has been repositioned (z offset: 5.2 → 6.5) making it overlap less with the sourspots.
    • Nerf Dash attack has smaller hitboxes (4u/4u/3.5u/2.5u → 3.5u/3.5u/3u/2u).
  • Forward smash:
    • Buff The tipper hitbox of forward smash is slightly larger (3u → 3.5u) and has more knockback scaling (70 → 80), slightly improving its KO potential despite its lower damage now being the third strongest forward smash in the game.
    • Nerf Forward smash has slightly increased ending lag (FAF 50 → 52).
    • Nerf Forward smash deals less damage (14%/19% → 13%/18%) although the sourspot's knockback was compensated (60 (base), 70 (scaling) → 55/80).
    • Nerf Forward smash has smaller hitboxes overall especially around Marth's body (3u/3u/3u/4u/3u → 3.5u/3.5u/3u/2u) and the move has a new animation, where Marth doesn't step forward as much as before.
    • Nerf The tipper has been repositioned (z offset: 9 → 7.3) giving it less range in front of Marth.
    • Nerf Marth's forward smash with a battering item no longer has a initial sword hit which increases the startup lag of Marth's battering item forward smashes (frame 10 → 15) and makes them deal 5% less damage than they otherwise would.
      • Buff However, this also makes his forward smash with battering items more reliable.
  • Up smash:
    • Buff Up smash's sourspot is now one large extended hitbox which fully covers Marth's lower body rather than 2 normal hitboxes which cover a space around Marth's feet.
    • Buff Up smash's non tipper main hitboxes are larger (4.9u/4.9u → 5.8u/5.8u).
    • Buff Both the main sourspot and tipper have higher knockback scaling (80 (sourspot), 70 (tipper) → 90/95) improving their KO potential especially the tipper.
    • Buff The tipper has been repositioned (z offset: 6 → 7.3) which makes it reach slightly higher.
    • Nerf Up smash has more startup lag with a shorter duration (frames 12-17 → 13-17) as well as increased ending lag (FAF 50 → 58).
    • Nerf The main sourspot deals less damage (14% → 13%).
    • Nerf The tipper is smaller (4.9u → 4.6u) and no longer takes priority over the sourspots.
  • Down smash:
    • Buff Down smash has less ending lag (FAF 65 → 55).
    • Buff The tipper on both hits has been repositioned (z offset: 5.2 → 7.3) now fully covering the tip of the sword.
    • Buff Down smash deals more knockback scaling (70/80 → 88) and the back tipper deals slightly more damage (16% → 17%) improving the tipper's KO potential.
    • Change The tipper on both hits now launches opponents horizontally (75° → 361°).
    • Nerf The front hit deals much less damage (14%/17% → 8%/12%), significantly hindering its KO potential.
    • Nerf The front hit has a shorter duration (frames 6-8 → 6-7).
    • Nerf The back hit's sourspot deals 1% less damage (13% → 12%).
    • Nerf Both hits have smaller hitboxes (4u/4u/4u/3.5u → 3.5u/3.5u/3u/2u).

Aerial attacks[edit]

  • Neutral aerial:
    • Buff The first hit's sourspots deal more damage (3% → 3.5%).
    • Buff The sword hitboxes on both hits have been moved further along the sword (z offset: 0 (near)3.6 (tipper) → 2.5/7.7 (hit 1 tipper)/7.5 (hit 2 tipper)) giving the tipper more range as well as making it easier to land.
    • Change Neutral aerial's first hit now has weight independent knockback, making it more consistent across the cast.
    • Nerf Neutral aerial has more landing lag (9 frames → 12).
    • Nerf Neutral aerial auto-cancels much later (frame 25 → 47), no longer doing in a short hop. This considerably hinders its spacing potential.
    • Nerf Neutral aerial has a shorter initial auto-cancel window (frames 1-5 → 1).
    • Nerf Both hits have smaller hitboxes (4.8u/3u/4.8u/4.8u → 3.5u/3u/2u/3.5u), with the nearest hitboxes now being positioned on Marth's arm rather than his back, reducing the move's vertical range as well as its range inside of Marth.
    • Nerf The first hit no longer launches opponents towards Marth (100°/90° → 80°/75°/65°/90°) and has higher knockback scaling (40 → 50) hindering its reliability.
    • Nerf The first hit's tipper deals less damage (6% → 5%).
    • Nerf The second hit deals less damage (9% (near)/12% (tipper) → 7%/9.5%). The previous body hitbox did not receive full compensation on its knockback scaling (80 → 90), the previous head and sword hitbox received no compensation to their knockback and the tipper only received an increase to its base knockback (50 → 60). This considerably hinders its KO potential, no longer being the strongest neutral aerial.
  • Forward aerial:
    • Buff Forward aerial's sword hitboxes have been moved further along the sword (z offset: 1 (near)/5.8 (tipper) → 2/7.7), giving the tipper more range and overall making it easier to land.
    • Buff Forward aerial has higher knockback scaling (70 (near)/80 (tipper) → 80/90), slightly improving the tipper's KO potential despite its lower damage.
    • Nerf Forward aerial has more startup lag with a shorter duration (frames 4-7 → 6-8).
    • Nerf Forward aerial has more ending lag (FAF 34 → 38). When combined with Marth's lower short hop, this prevents him from performing another aerial after it in a short hop, considerably hindering its spacing potential.
    • Nerf Forward aerial has more landing lag (9 frames → 16).
    • Nerf Forward aerial auto-cancels later (frame 27 → 36).
    • Nerf Forward aerial has a new animation where Marth starts his sword swing at a more diagonal angle. This reduces the move's range above Marth, while the move's shorter duration reduces its range below Marth.
      • Nerf Additionally, this animation is also slightly longer than the previous one (39 frames → 40). This slightly increases the amount of time Marth cannot grab the ledge after using forward aerial.
    • Nerf Forward aerial deals less damage (10% (near)/13% (tipper) → 8%/11.5%). The near hitboxes did not receive full compensation on their knockback scaling, hindering their KO potential.
    • Nerf Forward aerial has smaller hitboxes (4u/4u/4u → 3.5u/3.5u/3.5u).
  • Back aerial:
    • Buff Back aerial has less landing lag (21 frames → 17).
    • Buff The tipper deals more knockback (30 (base), 90 (scaling) → 40/94), improving its KO potential close to the blastzone despite its lower damage.
    • Buff Back aerial's sword hitbox have been moved further along the sword (z offset: 0 (near)/5 (tipper) → 2.5/7.7), giving the tipper more range as well as making it easier to land.
    • Nerf Back aerial has a shorter initial auto-cancel window (frames 1-5 → 1-2).
    • Nerf Back aerial deals less damage (11%/14% → 9%/12.5%). The tipper's knockback scaling was not fully compensated, hindering its KO potential from far distances from the blastzone. The sourspots only received an increase to their base knockback (30 → 40), hindering their KO potential.
    • Nerf Back aerial has smaller hitboxes (4.8u/4.6u/4.8u → 3.5u/3.5u/3.5u).
  • Up aerial:
    • Buff Up aerial has higher knockback scaling (70 (near)/80 (tipper) → 80/84), improving its KO potential.
    • Nerf Up aerial has more landing lag (9 frames → 14) hindering its followup potential at lower percents.
    • Nerf Up aerial auto-cancels later (frame 27 → 38).
    • Nerf Up aerial has a shorter initial auto-cancel window (frames 1-4 → 1-2).
    • Nerf The near hits deal less damage (10% → 9.5%).
    • Nerf Up aerial has smaller hitboxes (4.8u/4.8u/4.8u/4.8u → 3.5u/3u/2u/3.5u). This gives up aerial less range (especially inside of Marth), despite the sword hitboxes being moved further along the sword (z offset: 1 (near)/5.5 (tipper) → 2/6.7).
    • Nerf The tipper now has the lowest hitbox priority (ID# 0 → 3). This makes it much more difficult to land, despite the near sword hitbox's smaller size.
  • Down aerial:
    • Buff Down aerial has a longer duration (frames 6-9 → 9-13).
    • Buff Down aerial has less landing lag (32 frames → 24).
    • Buff The sword hitboxes have been moved further along the sword (z offset: 1 (near)/5 (base) → 2/6.7), now fully covering the tip of the sword.
    • Buff The meteor hitbox deals more damage (14% → 15%).
    • Buff The meteor hitbox now has the highest hitbox priority (ID# 3 → 0), making it easier to land despite its altered position.
    • Buff The removal of meteor canceling improves the meteor hitbox's reliability.
    • Change Down aerial has a new animation where Marth now starts down aerial from the back instead of his front, essentially flipping its animation around.
      • Change With this new animation, the hitboxes start at a higher position but end at a lower position. The move has more vertical range on the right but less vertical range on the left.
      • Nerf This new animation is longer however (64 frames → 69), increasing the amount of time Marth cannot grab the ledge after using down aerial.
    • Nerf Down aerial has more startup lag (frame 6 (sword)/7 (meteor) → 9/11).
    • Nerf Down aerial auto-cancels later (frames 48 → 55).
    • Nerf Down aerial has a shorter initial auto-cancel window (frames 1-5 → 1-2).
    • Nerf The tipper and meteor hitbox have lower base knockback (40 → 20), hindering their KO and edgeguarding potential, despite the meteor hitbox's higher damage.
    • Nerf The tipper no longer meteor smashes and now launches horizontally (280° → 361°), making the 1 frame hitbox in the middle of the swing the only hitbox which can meteor smash. This significantly reduces the amount of time and space where the move can meteor smash, hindering its edgeguarding potential.
      • Buff However, this also improves its KO potential on stage despite its lower base knockback.
    • Nerf The sword hitboxes are smaller (4.32u/4.32u/4.32u → 3.5u/3.5u/3u).
    • Nerf The meteor hitbox is smaller (6u → 4.32u) and it is positioned higher (y offset: -3.4 → -3), reducing its range.
      • Nerf This combined with its higher startup lag notably removes Marth's ability to land the meteor hitbox out of a footstool.
    • Nerf The meteor hitbox is positioned closer to Marth (z offset: 2 → -3), with the hitbox now overlapping with the sword (rather than being next to Marth's foot), reducing down aerial's horizontal range while it is active.

Throws/other attacks[edit]

  • Grabs:
    • Nerf Standing grab more startup lag (frame 6 → 7).
      • Buff However, its total duration was unchanged, giving it less ending lag.
    • Buff Dash grab has less startup (frame 9 → 8) and ending lag (FAF 40 → 37).
    • Buff Pivot grab has less ending lag (FAF 36 → 35).
    • Nerf Marth's grabs have smaller grabboxes (4u/4u (standing), 4u/4u/4u (dash/pivot) → 3.3u (standing/pivot), 2.6u (dash)). This gives Marth's grab less range, despite dash grab extending further away from Marth (z offset: 9 → z stretch: 9.6).
    • Nerf Standing and pivot grab do not extend as far away from Marth (z offset: 8 (standing)/-15 (pivot) → z stretch: 7/-13.7) which along with their smaller size, gives them less range.
    • Nerf Dash and pivot grab do not extend as far inside of Marth (z offset: 1 (dash)/0 (pivot) → 4/-4) which along with their smaller size, gives them less range inside of Marth.
  • Nerf The changes to aerial grab releases hinder Marth as he no longer has any guaranteed followups out of his aerial grab release on any character outside of his new custom up special Crescent Slash.
  • Pummel:
    • Buff Pummel has a marginally larger hitbox (5.76u → 5.8u).
  • Forward throw:
    • Nerf Forward throw has significantly higher knockback (70 (base), 45 (scaling) → 100/50) although the throw is still too weak to KO at realistic percents. While this does allow forward throw to set up edgeguards on its own more effectively, this also removes many of Marth's followup options after a forward throw outside of very low percents, as he can now only lead into a neutral aerial or forward aerial until around 20%, as opposed to having multiple mixups right up until high percents.
      • Nerf This change also means that Marth can also no longer chaingrab or tech chase opponents with his forward throw, as well as preventing the throw from benefitting as much from the changes to hitstun canceling and DI as much as it could have with its original knockback.
  • Back throw:
    • Buff Back throw has much more base knockback (50 → 80). Considering its high ending lag, this allows the throw to set up for potential edgeguards more effectively without losing any potential followups.
  • Up throw:
    • Buff Up throw has more base knockback (60 → 70), improving its KO potential.
  • Down throw:
    • Buff Down throw now sends opponents vertically (135° → 100°) and it has higher base knockback (65 → 95). When combined with the changes to hitstun canceling and DI, this gives Marth some new followup options with his aerials at low percents. This new trajectory also gives Marth a new throw for getting opponents above him without needing to stale his up throw.
      • Nerf However, these changes also remove its tech chasing and chain grab potential, while also removing Marth's ability to lead into a forward smash at lower percents.

Special moves[edit]

  • Shield Breaker:
    • Buff Shield Breaker has less ending lag (FAF 53 → 51) although it is still laggier than Kirby's version from Brawl.
    • Buff A fully charged Shield Breaker deals more shield damage, now completely guaranteeing a shield break.
    • Buff The tipper now has a larger extended hitbox rather than a normal hitbox (2.5u → 3u). It also has increased base knockback (50 → 60) and hitlag (1.5× (uncharged)/1× (fully charged) → 1.6×).
    • Change The sourspot now has one extended hitbox rather than 4 normal hitboxes.
      • Buff As a result, the charged version's sourspot deals consistent damage (22%/20%/18% → 22%).
    • Nerf Shield Breaker has a shorter duration (frames 19-22 → 19-20).
    • Nerf Uncharged Shield Breaker deals less shield damage (42 → 25) and less hitlag when uncharged and sourspotted (1.3× → 1×), making the move worse at breaking shields despite the significant increase in shield damage (having a 1.19x multiplier instead of a 0.7x multiplier) as well as the increase in shieldstun.
    • Nerf Marth also no longer steps an extra distance forward when using Shield Breaker, making the move's range shorter despite the tipper being larger.
    • Nerf The sourspot deals less knockback (30 (uncharged base)/50 (charged base), 100 (scaling) → 30/90 (both)).
  • Dancing Blade:
    • Nerf All swings except the fourth ones have higher hitlag multipliers (0.3× → 1×), making the move transition slower and making it easier to SDI out of despite its decreased SDI multiplier (1x → 0.8x).
  • Hit 1:
    • Nerf The first hit has more startup lag with a shorter duration (frame 4-7 → 6-8) and more ending lag (FAF 30 → 42 (grounded)/32 (aerial)) significantly hindering its followup potential.
      • Nerf Marth's higher gravity also makes its hover effect in midair much weaker to the point it is almost negligible, hindering Marth's recovery.
    • Nerf The first hit has altered knockback (35/50 (base), 25 (scaling) → 25/75) making it connect into the later hits less reliably.
  • Hit 2:
    • Buff Both variants of the second hit have less ending lag on the ground (FAF 41 → 39).
    • Nerf The upwards second hit has increased knockback (20 (base), 30 (scaling) → 30/(70/50)) making it connect into the later hits less reliably.
    • Nerf The downwards second hit has increased base knockback (22 → 30) making it connect into the later hits slightly less reliably.
      • Buff However, it now has weight independent knockback making it more consistent across the cast.
  • Hit 3:
    • Buff All variants of the third hit have less ending lag on the ground (FAF 47 → 44).
    • Change The upwards third hit has a new animation when used on the ground, where Marth twists around and swings up instead of downwards.
    • Nerf The upwards third hit's sourspots have increased base knockback (30 → 40) making it connect into the fourth hit less reliably.
    • Buff The upwards third hit's sweetspot has decreased knockback (30 (base), 60 (scaling) → 40/40) making it connect into the fourth hit more reliably.
    • Nerf The forward third hit no longer has set knockback (55/60 (set), 100 (scaling) → 40 (base)/(50/35)) making it connect into the fourth hit less reliably.
    • Buff The downwards third hit deals more damage (4%/5% → 4.5%/5.5%), has decreased knockback (30 (base), 80 (scaling) → 28/50) and now has weight independent knockback making it connect into the fourth hit more reliably.
    • Nerf The downwards third hit's angles have been altered (361°/270° → 44°) no longer having a meteor smash hitbox. This along with its reduced knockback hinders its edgeguarding potential.
  • Hit 4:
    • Nerf The upwards fourth hit has decreased knockback scaling (130 → 118).
    • Nerf The forward fourth hit deals less damage (6%/8% → 5%/7%) although its knockback was compensated (50 (base), 125 (scaling) → 60/130).
    • Buff The final hit of the downwards fourth hit deals more damage (3%/5% → 4%/6%).
    • Nerf The downwards fourth hit has more ending lag on the ground (FAF 66 → 72) and its final hit has significantly decreased knockback (60 (base), 120 (scaling) → 70/80).
      • Nerf Altogether, these changes hinder Dancing Blade's utility and reliability.
  • Dolphin Slash:
    • Buff Dolphin Slash has much less landing lag (35 frames → 20 (normal)/30 (RCO hard landing)).
    • Nerf Dolphin Slash grants less height due to Marth's smaller size.
    • Nerf The grounded version has less intagibility (frame 1-5 → 4-5), hindering its utility as an out of shield option or as an option to stuff out approaches.
    • Nerf The clean hit deals less damage (13% → 11%) without full compensation on its knockback scaling (68 → 74), hindering its KO potential.
    • Nerf The clean hit has smaller hitboxes (6.5u/6.5u → 4u/4u) and the far hitbox has been moved closer to Marth (z offset: 9 → 8), considerably reducing its range.
    • Nerf The clean hit has a higher hitlag multiplier (0.5× → 0.7×).
  • Counter:
    • Buff Counter has increased knockback scaling (40 → 60) and has a slightly higher damage multiplier (1.1× → 1.2×), being able to KO reliably off of strong countered attacks at very low percentages.
    • Nerf Counter's damage is now capped at 50%.
    • Nerf Counter has more start-up with a shorter duration (frames 5-29 → 6-27).
    • Nerf Counter's hitbox has a shorter duration (frames 5-9 → 5-7) with no animation change, giving it less range behind Marth.
    • Nerf Counter can no longer be wavebounced/b-reversed, which previously allowed it to negate its mid-air stall while moving quickly forward or away with it.
    • Change Marth now grunts instead of talking when his Counter is triggered.
  • Critical Hit:

Update history[edit]

Marth has been considerably buffed ever since patch 1.0.6, giving him more follow-up options, and drastically improved frame data on all of his aerials and some special moves; however, it is unclear whether the many changes to shield mechanics in 1.1.0 and 1.1.1 have affected Marth for the better or for the worse. While these changes to shield mechanics make Marth's tippered attacks much safer on shield, the same changes reduce his sourspotted attacks safety even further, due to their lower hitlag, making them overall less safe than those of his moveset clone, Lucina. These changes make precise spacing of his attacks mandatory, as the decreased safety of his sourspotted moves can result in heavy punishment; though when properly spaced, they are almost unpunishable. Shield Breaker also deals less shield damage, making it more difficult to wear down shields when partially charged, though the increased shield damage of tippered aerials can mitigate this. The small landing lag reduction on all of his aerials and ending lag on all of his ground attacks have helped mitigate the lag issues with most of his moves and improved his combo game, giving him a more offensive playstyle with fewer flaws in defending. The strengthening of up tilt and Dolphin Slash, and the multiple buffs to Dancing Blade so its hits link better together have also noticeably improved three of his moves that were previously considered situational. Marth was significantly buffed in patch 1.1.4, with increased damage improving his previously poor damage racking, better frame data, and the increased tipper hitboxes that not only address his worsened range, but also improved his aerial game and juggle abilities. Overall, Marth has been significantly buffed and is more viable since the original version, but he still remains rather nerfed compared to Brawl.

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS 1.0.4

  • Bug fix Using Counter after being trumped from the ledge no longer changes momentum.


Super Smash Bros. 4 1.0.6

  • Buff Neutral attack has less ending lag on both hits (FAF 30 → 27).
  • Buff Forward tilt has less ending lag (FAF 40 → 36).
  • Buff The first hit of Dancing Blade has less ending lag on the ground (FAF 47 → 43).
  • Buff The third hit of Dancing Blade launches opponents at a lower angle (60°/70°/35° → 50°/55°/40°) and has more base knockback (30 → 40) allowing it to connect into the fourth hit more reliably.


Super Smash Bros. 4 1.0.8

  • Buff Neutral attack has been improved. Both hits link more reliably as the transition is faster and the first hit now produces vertical-based knockback, while the second deals increased knockback. The first hit also now has follow-up potential outside of transitioning to the second hit.
  • Nerf Due to the angle alteration of neutral attack's first hit, neutral attack can no longer jab lock.
  • Nerf All hitboxes of neutral attack's first hit deal 1% less damage (4%/6% → 3%/5%).
  • Buff All hitboxes of up tilt now deal vertical knockback, with improved base knockback, making it a better KO move. It additionally has 3 less frames of ending lag.
  • Buff Neutral aerial has 3 less frames of landing lag.
  • Buff Dolphin Slash has slightly improved knockback growth.
  • Change Dolphin Slash and Crescent Slash deal slightly more hitlag.

Technical changelist 1.0.8

Change Old value New value
Jab 1 damage 4%/6% 3%/5%
Jab 1 angle Sakurai angle 78°/65°/90°
Jab 1 knockback growth 50/70 30
Jab 1 base knockback 20/30 55
Jab 1 hitlag 1 0.7
Transition from Jab 1 to Jab 2 frame 21 frame 17
Jab 1 ending frame increased 26 28
Jab 2 angle Sakurai angle 100
Jab 2 initial base knockback 50 65
Jab 2 (late) base knockback 40 52
Up tilt angle Sakurai angle/100° 100°
Up tilt base knockback 50/40 65/52
Up tilt endlag 42 frames 39 frames
Neutral air landing lag 15 frames 12 frames
Dolphin Slash knockback growth 68 74
Dolphin Slash/Crescent Slash hitlag multiplier 0.5 0.7


Super Smash Bros. 4 1.1.0

  • Buff Neutral aerial's first hit damage (2%/3% → 3%/4% and second hit damage increased (6%/8% → 7%/9%) increased.
  • Buff Up tilt's ending lag reduced (39 → 36).
  • Buff Forward aerial landing lag reduced (18 → 16).
  • Buff Back aerial landing lag reduced (19 → 17).
  • Buff Up aerial landing lag reduced (16 → 14).
  • Buff Down aerial landing lag reduced (28 → 24).
  • Buff Shield Breaker endlag reduced (52 → 50). Also affects customs.
  • Buff Dancing Blade input window length increased by 5 frames on all strikes from 1st to 3rd.
  • Buff Dolphin Slash landing lag reduced (23 → 20). Also affects customs.


Technical changelist 1.1.0

Change Old value New value
Up tilt ending lag 39 frames 36 frames
Neutral aerial damage (1st hit) 2%/3% 3%/4%
Neutral aerial damage (2nd hit) 6%/8% 7%/9%
Forward aerial landing lag 18 frames 16 frames
Up aerial landing lag 16 frames 14 frames
Back aerial landing lag 19 frames 17 frames
Down aerial landing lag 28 frames 24 frames
All variations of Shield Breaker ending lag 52 frames 50 frames
Dolphin Slash landing lag 22 frames 19 frames
Crescent Slash landing lag 39 frames 36 frames
Dolphin Jump landing lag 42 frames 39 frames

Super Smash Bros. 4 1.1.1


Super Smash Bros. 4 1.1.3

  • Buff Multiple changes to the knockback, hitbox sizes, and damage have made Dancing Blade/Effortless Blade link better.

Technical changelist 1.1.3

Change Old value New value
Dancing Blade/Effortless Blade hit 2 forward knockback growth (hitboxes 0/2) 70 30
Dancing Blade/Effortless Blade hit 2 forward knockback growth (hitbox 1) 50 30
Dancing Blade/Effortless Blade hit 2 forward base knockback (all 3 hitboxes) 28 30
Dancing Blade hit 3 down damage (hitbox 0) 3% 4.5%
Dancing Blade hit 3 down damage (hitbox 1) 4% 5.5%
Dancing Blade hit 3 down knockback growth (hitbox 0) 60 28
Dancing Blade hit 3 down knockback growth (hitbox 1) 40 28
Dancing Blade hit 3 down angle (both hitboxes) 20° 44°
Dancing Blade hit 3 down base knockback (both hitboxes) 30 50
Dancing Blade hit 3 down size (hitbox 1) 4.3 4.6


Super Smash Bros. 4 1.1.4

  • Buff Neutral attack's first hit has less ending lag (FAF 29 → 26) and the tipper on both hits has been moved further away from Marth (Z offset: 6.5 → 7), improving their range.
  • Buff Forward tilt and up tilt have less ending lag (FAF 36 → 34).
  • Buff Down tilt has its sourspot (Y/Z offsets : 3.2/15.2 → 2.7/16.7u) and tipper (Z offset: 6.7 → 8.2) moved further away from Marth, improving the move's range.
  • Buff Down smash has significantly less ending lag (FAF 65 → 55).
  • Buff All aerials deal more damage:
    • Buff Neutral aerial (3%/4% (hit 1 near/tipper), 9% (hit 2 tipper) → 3.5%/5%, 9.5%).
    • Buff Forward aerial (7%/10% (near/tipper) → 8%/11.5%.
    • Buff Back aerial 12% (tipper) → 12.5%).
    • Buff Up aerial aerial 9%/12% (near/tipper) → 9.5%/13%).
    • Buff Down aerial 11%/13%/14% (near/tipper/meteor) → 12%/14%/15%).
      • Buff The knockback values on these aerials were not compensated, improving their KO potential.
  • Buff The tipper hitboxes on neutral, forward, and back aerial have been moved further away from Marth: Z offset: 6.7/6.5 (neutral hit 1/hit 2), 6.7 (forward and back) → 7.7/7.5, 7.7), improving their range.
  • Change Back aerial's lower sword hitbox has been mvoed further away from Marth (Z offset: 2 → 2.5). This moves the hitbox closer to the tipper although it does not fully compensate for the tipper's increased range, making the tipper easier to land despite this change.
  • Buff Dancing Blade's first hit has less startup lag (frame 7 → 6) with its total duration subsequently reduced (FAF 43 (ground)/33 (aerial) → 42/32.)
  • Nerf Critical Hit can no longer hit invincible opponents.


Moveset[edit]

For simplicity if, for example, Marth's blade does 4% damage while the tip does 6%, and the attack has no other hitboxes, it is written as 4%/6%.

For a gallery of Marth's hitboxes, see here.

  Name Damage Description
Neutral attack Slash (スラッシュ) / Combination Slash (コンビネーションスラッシュ) 3%/5% Slashes Falchion twice in front of himself. If spaced and timed correctly, the first hit has many follow-up capabilities as it can link into any of his smash attacks or tilts that can link into his other moves when untippered, but some of these followups only work if the opponent is very close to the player.
4%/6%
Forward tilt Hard Edge (ハードエッジ) 9%/12% A fast upward swipe while leaning forward. Has a large arc that is useful for spacing, and deals moderately strong knockback when tippered, making it a go-to spacing and KO option. Deals much weaker knockback if untippered.
Up tilt Anti-air Slash (アンチエアスラッシュ) 6% (blade), 5% (body), 9% (tip) Swings Falchion in a large arc above his head, with a large hitbox that can hit enemies behind him. Can combo into itself at low percentages and KO at high percents when tippered.
Down tilt Low Thrust (ロースラスト) 7%/10% A quick crouching sword poke. Marth's fastest tilt, which is useful for creating space. Can follow up into a grab, dash attack, or running Dancing Blade if the move is untippered, and the tipper hitbox can hit opponents on and below the ledge, while dealing semi-spike knockback.
Dash attack Raid Chop (レイドチョップ) 10% (blade), 9% (body), 12% (tip) A quick, running, upward-sweeping diagonal slash. Low knockback, but deals decent semi-spike knockback if tipped. Moderate ending lag and very low hitlag if untippered, making it rather unsafe against shields.
Forward smash Dragon Killer (ドラゴンキラー) 13%/18% Rotates his body counterclockwise with a strong overarching one-handed swing from his head to the ground. Moderately fast startup, but high ending lag. Although lackluster when sourspotted, this move has the third highest knockback scaling of any forward smash in the game when tippered, being able to KO opponents at 75% from the stage's center and as low as 37% near the edge. Despite this, the move's low range compared to Marth's previous incarnations makes landing a tipper somewhat difficult and highly susceptible to punishment.
Up smash Justice Sword (ジャスティスソード) 3% (ground), 13% (blade), 17% (tip) A quick, direct upward thrust. The weak grounded hit can knock nearby opponents into the main attack. Good for aerial protection and chasing down landing opponents. If tippered, it deals extremely high knockback, KOing around 76%, although this is difficult to do unless an opponent falls directly on top of Marth.
Down smash Whirlwind (ワールウインド) 8%/12% (hit 1), 12%/17% (hit 2) Sweeps 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.
Neutral aerial Double Slash (ダブルスラッシュ) 3.5%/5% (hit 1), 7%/9.5% (hit 2) Two horizontal slashes around himself via an inward slash followed into a full 360° outward spin. The second hit can hit on both sides of Marth, and can be used to create space by short hopping then fast-falling immediately after using the move in the air. The tipper of the second hit is very strong, being the second most powerful neutral aerial in the game without rage (only Ganondorf's neutral aerial is stronger, but not by much), KOing near the edge at around 100%.
Forward aerial Flag Cut (フラッグカット) 8%/11.5% Does a descending crescent slash in front of him with great coverage. This is Marth's best tool for air combat but is risky to use in the neutral game unless used immediately out of a short hop, due to its weak damage if untippered, low hitbox duration and its strict autocancel window, only cancelling if used in a few specific frames immediately after a short hop. However, it is powerful when tippered for how quickly the move comes out, KOing near the edge at around 110%.
Back aerial About Face (アッパースイング, Upper Swing) 9%/12.5% An upward crescent slash behind him in an inward swipe. 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. Can be used a few frames before landing to catch opponents with a tipped blow, with correct spacing. Another very powerful move when tippered considering its speed it can KO near the edge at around 90%, and around 145% at the stages' center.
Up aerial Luna Slash (ルナスラッシュ) 9.5%/13% An overhead crescent slash with good coverage, ending in a delayed somersault. Marth's fastest aerial, it is good for juggling at low percents thanks to its large arc, making it a good anti-air as well, but it has weak knockback unless tippered. Due to its angle and low ending lag during the first few frames, it can be used for a somewhat reliable KO confirm of a landing up aerial to down aerial meteor smash at around 55-60% near the edge. It can also KO at high percents from a down throw on a handful of the cast when tippered, but only in stages with platforms.
Down aerial Halfmoon (ハーフムーン) 12% (blade), 14% (non-meteor tip), 15% (meteor) A downward, wide crescent slash with large coverage. If the attack connects at the middle of the swinging arc (directly below Marth), it serves as a powerful meteor smash. However, the meteor smash window lasts only one frame (frame 11). Other hitboxes when tippered result in moderate knockback. It also has high ending and landing lag.
Grab Grab (つかみ) — Reaches out with his free hand.
Pummel Grab Kneebutt (つかみニーバット) 2% A knee strike. A fairly fast pummel.
Forward throw Roll Over (ロールオーバー) 4% Throws the opponent forward. Can be used to set up a tippered forward aerial until around 20%, or a Crescent Slash until around 150%. Can also be followed up with a neutral or forward aerial at very low percents against heavier characters.
Back throw Leg Hooker (レッグフッカー) 4% Tosses the opponent over his leg, sending them behind him. Its high base knockback allows him to set up edgeguarding, but it cannot combo or KO reliably.
Up throw Casting (キャスティング) 4% A powerful one-armed upward throw. Marth's strongest throw, which can KO at around 170%. It is also rather tricky to DI due to its launch angle being behind Marth.
Down throw Grab Drop (グラブドロップ) 5% Throws opponent to the ground with one arm, bouncing them upwards. His primary throw for follow-ups due to its low base knockback, allowing him to follow up with an up or back aerial at low percentages. However, it quickly loses combo potential due to its high knockback growth, sending opponents too high after medium percentages. At low to mid percentage though by reading opponent's air dodge, Marth can setup into a charged up smash.
Forward roll
Back roll
Spot dodge
Air dodge 		— —
Techs — —
Floor attack (front)
Floor getups (front) 		  7% Spins around gracefully and slashes Falchion in a circle.
Floor attack (back)
Floor getups (back) 		  7% Swings Falchion behind, then in front of him before getting up.
Floor attack (trip)
Floor getups (trip) 		  5% Stabs behind him, then slashes in front of himself before getting up.
Edge attack
Edge getups 		  7% Backflips onto the stage and slashes.
Neutral special Default Shield Breaker 8%/9% (uncharged), 22%/24% (fully charged) Marth assumes a readying stance and charges 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 powershielded. 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 very high startup. Deals very high knockback when tippered, making it a powerful KOing option, especially against dazed opponents.
Custom 1 Storm Thrust 4% (uncharged), 11% (fully charged) The stab produces a gust of wind from the tip, with pushing strength dependent on the charge level. In exchange, the attack is much weaker than normal.
Custom 2 Dashing Assault 6%/5%/3% (ground uncharged early/mid/late), 7%/6%/4% (air uncharged early/mid/late), 16%/13%/9% (ground fully charged early/mid/late), 17%/14%/10% (air fully charged early/mid/late) Marth performs a lunging thrust with Falchion. Deals less damage and slightly less shield damage, but propels Marth forward, even when used on the ground.
Side special Default Dancing Blade Varies (see table below) A sequence of sword slashes with several variations based on directional input. Four slashes total, with each capable of being altered in direction, allowing for eighteen total possible combinations. Standard strikes are trailed red, high strikes are trailed blue, and low strikes are trailed green (see table below for details and limits of the move). The first hit comes out on frame 6 and is arguably Marth's best tool for catching and punishing rolls, airdodges, and landings.
Custom 1 Effortless Blade 2%/3% (parts 1-3), 4%/5% (part 4) Makes the hits easier to link, but only allows forward (red) swings. On top of swings being slower and slightly weaker, damage potential is limited by only allowing one combination.
Custom 2 Heavy Blade 7%/9% (part 1), 9%/11% (part 2), 10%/12% (part 3), 13%/15% (part 4 up), 14%/16% (part 4 side), 2.2% (part 4 down hits 1-4), 11%/13% (part 4 down hit 5) Each swing is more forceful and has more range, dramatically increasing each swing's KO potential, especially the fourth swing. However, the swings are slower, further negating button mashing for controller input and focusing more on timing. The move also has more startup and ending lag, while resultant increase in knockback also makes each separate hit almost impossible to link together.
Up special Default Dolphin Slash 11% (clean), 7% (late blade), 6% (late body) Marth performs a high-speed jumping uppercut slash that can be B-reversed. It grants good vertical distance but is rather lacking in horizontal distance. It has very fast startup lag at frame 5, with a sweetspot with solid power and grants some intangibility during its startup, especially in the air. This makes Dolphin Slash a rather versatile attack, being a great Out of Shield option, a combo ender or even a tool to escape combos.
Custom 1 Crescent Slash 7% (clean), 12% (late blade), 6% (late body) Marth uses a lower Dolphin Slash that gains more horizontal distance, and deals the most damage at the midpoint of the arc rather than the start. The move overall has more horizontal recovery potential but less vertical recovery potential. The move travels a good distance horizontally with a strong hitbox with horizontal knockback. Marth gains access to a whole bunch of new followups and KO confirms he normally does not have by using Crescent Slash (such as from a forward throw or a landing aerial). KO confirms with Crescent Slash can KO middleweights at the ledge as low as 50% without rage, with Marth still being able to make it back to the stage. The move does have more startup lag than Dolphin Slash however and the initial hit is much weaker, making it worse as an Out of Shield option at close range (although it is an excellent punishment tool from far distances). The move also has more landing lag.

Crescent Slash is overall a great alternative to Dolphin Slash due to the new combo opportunities it opens up.

Custom 2 Dolphin Jump 0% Marth performs a purely vertical and gains more height. Dolphin Jump lacks any sort of hitbox however, and it has even more landing lag than Crescent Slash. This makes the move largely useless outside of recovering as while it still has intangibility frames, the opponent can easily punish Marth once he starts falling, as they cannot get hit by the move. This also means that the move cannot be used as a punishment option OoS or as a combo ender. Even in a recovery situation, the move can be contested without much risk due to its lack of a hitbox.

Dolphin Jump is overall Marth's least effective up special by far, as its lack of hitbox is far more detrimental than what it gains from its greater vertical recovery potential.

Down special Default Counter 1.2× (minimum 8%) Marth assumes a defensive stance and retaliates against incoming attacks. The power of the counterattack scales with the strength of the attack blocked. Starts up on frame 6 and lasts 22 frames. Ineffective against projectiles and attacks with sufficiently long reach, such as many of Shulk's tilts and smash attacks.
Custom 1 Easy Counter 0.7× (minimum 4%) Marth holds his stance longer and strikes with less power. Has a decreased multiplier, but has a wider trigger window. Starts up on frame 6 and lasts 29 frames.
Custom 2 Iai Counter 1.3× (minimum 6%) Marth strikes the opponent while moving behind them at lightning speed. Inflicts more damage, knocks foes behind him, and is much quicker, but the trigger window is stricter. Deals electric damage. Starts up on frame 3 and lasts 14 frames. Though the in-game description mentions it’s weaker, that only applies to the minimum % damage, making the difference somewhat negligible.
Final Smash Critical Hit 60% Marth raises Falchion skyward, then lunges in one direction, attacking the first opponent he connects. One of the strongest Final Smashes, also inflicting immense knockback, enough to one-hit KO any character on any roofless stage. Pressing the special button again will cause him to stop mid-dash.
Dancing Blade
Hit Damage Description
First Hit (Neutral) 3%/4% A downwards slash towards the left while stepping forwards. At very high percents, this hit launches opponents too far away for the second slash variants to connect, but is generally useful until just under 90%.
Second Hit (Up) 3%/4% Does an upwards lifting slash. Has a larger hitbox than the standard second slash, meaning it can catch opponents in it when the latter would otherwise fail to at high percents.
Second Hit (Neutral) 3%/4% Does a right-to-left swiping stab angled slightly downwards. Can sometimes fail to hit at higher percents on certain floaty characters.
Third Hit (Up) 4%/5% Turns his body and swings upwards. If used after the second upwards hit at high percents, this slash can often miss, although a second neutral hit can lead into this move. The aerial version sees Marth doing a downward slash instead, identical to the version from Melee.
Third Hit (Neutral) 4%/5% Does an upwards swing while stepping forward. May miss if done too fast after any second hit.
Third Hit (Down) 4.5%/5.5% Steps forward and does a backhanded stab towards the ground before twirling. Deals slightly more damage than the other hits before, but has a small hitbox and can fail to link after the second neutral hit at higher percents if both hits are rushed and not timed properly. Can set up an easy tipper fourth neutral finisher from mid to high percents, due to the angle of 40°. Is also the safest 3rd variant on shield, due to hitting two frames later and having the same interruptibility, as well as Marth stepping backwards a little after performing this swing. The aerial version sees Marth doing a downward stab before twirling instead, identical to the version from Melee.
Fourth Hit (Up) 6%/8% Performs a twirling overhead half-moon slash, with strong KOing potential if tippered (KO's Mario at 130% on Final Destination), although it has a rather small horizontal hitbox which can make it miss quite easily as high percentages. On fast fallers at low percents, this move can whiff, as the opponents will land before the strike and avoid the hit.
Fourth Hit (Neutral) 5%/7% Twirls counterclockwise and produces a strong downward swing that has good knockback if tippered. Can KO early near the edge if tippered (KO's Lucina near the ledge of Final Destination at 90%), although at extremely high percents the first three hits may knock opponents out before the final hit.
Fourth Hit (Down) 2% (hit 1-4), 4%/6% (hit 5) Steps forward, bends close to the ground, and does a flurry of five stabs. The last hit launches opponents away. The weakest finisher in terms of KO power, but deals the most damage, wears down shields well, and can shield poke low shields. The first four hits may be DI'd out of if an opponent is caught right at the tip of each blow and are at a high percentage.

Stats[edit]

Stats Weight Dash speed Walk speed Traction Air friction Air speed Air acceleration Gravity Falling speed Jumpsquat Jump Height Double jump Height
Value 90 1.5 – Initial dash
1.785 – Run		 1.5 0.055 0.00375 1.02 0.01 – Base
0.07 – Additional		 0.075 1.58 – Base
2.528 – Fast-fall		 5 33.660133 - Base
16.263107 - Short hop		 33.660133

Announcer call[edit]

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The editor who added this tag suggests: Needs announcer calls from other languages.
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  • English/Japanese/Chinese

  • French

  • French (PAL)

On-screen appearance[edit]

  • Warps onto the stage using a warp circle with a twirl and unsheathes his sword.
MarthOnScreenAppearanceSSB4.gif

Taunts[edit]

  • Up taunt: Points Falchion skyward with a quick spark of light emitting at the tip. This is similar to his stance before he performed his Critical Hit animation in the DS games of the Fire Emblem series and identical to his stance while performing his Lodestar technique.
  • Side taunt: Swings Falchion twice before sheathing it. Marth quickly unsheathes it before the taunt ends.
  • Down taunt: Swings Falchion downwards before holding it in front of his face, then going back to his idle pose. Marth says: みんな、見ていてくれ！ ("Everyone, watch over me!" or in official Fire Emblem Fates English dub as "My prayers are with you!") while doing so.
Up taunt Side taunt Down taunt
MarthUpTauntSSB4.gif MarthSideTauntSSB4.gif MarthDownTauntSSB4.gif

Idle poses[edit]

  • Holds his hand to his chest, closes his eyes, and silently takes a breath.
  • Brushes his hair out of his face.
MarthIdlePose1WiiU.jpg MarthIdlePose2WiiU.jpg

Crowd cheer[edit]

English Japanese
Cheer
Description Marth! Marth! Marth! Ma-ru-su!
Pitch Group chant Group chant

Victory poses[edit]

This victory theme is a small orchestral cover from the title theme of the first Fire Emblem game, which has since become the main theme of the series.
  • Turns with pride, spins Falchion then poses with it pointed to the ground, and says "今回は僕の勝ちだね?", which translates to "It's my victory this time around, right?"
  • Poses with Falchion sheathed and his right hand over his face before dramatically moving his arm away from his head while saying "僕は負ける訳には行かないんだ。", which translates to "I can't afford to lose." or in the official Fire Emblem Fates English localization as "I cannot afford to fail." Marth keeps a stern expression before smiling once the victory pose is over on the Nintendo 3DS version, while smiling throughout the entire pose on the Wii U version.
  • Sheaths Falchion and stands facing the camera, while saying "今日も生き延びることが出来た。", which translates to "Even today I was able to survive."
MarthPose1WiiU.gif MarthPose2WiiU.gif MarthPose3WiiU.gif

In competitive play[edit]

Tier placement and history[edit]

In the early lifespan of Smash 4, players quickly recognized the changes and nerfs to Marth's moveset, with players mostly criticizing on his range; while still notable, and even improved in some aspects from Brawl, it was nowhere near as impressive due to other characters receiving significant range increases. This culminated in Marth being widely regarded poorly early on; however, Marth received small buffs in balance patches, and by the time of updates 1.0.8 and 1.1.0, Marth received some notable buffs that helped mitigate some of his initial issues, which contributed to the growth of his playerbase, thanks to dedicated players such as False, Mr E and Pugwest. While Marth's results were still poor overall, the buffs improved his perception as a character, culminating in him being ranked 41st on the first 4BR tier list.

Marth would continue to improve with time, and gained his most significant buffs in updates 1.1.3 and 1.1.4. These buffs, supplemented with previous ones, allowed Marth's game to flow far more consistently, and allowed his playerbase to gain significantly better and more consistent results. As an example, Fuwa was able to achieve strong placings in Japan, a region considered to be difficult for him to earn high results. In the USA and Canada, Mr E was able to place 5th at KTAR XVII, 17th at GOML 2016 and 13th at EVO 2016 (defeating ZeRo 2-1 in the latter tournament), while Pugwest placed 17th at Pound 2016 and EVO 2016, and False placed 17th at GOML 2016, with such finishes prior to the patch being almost unspoken of for him. Most notably, MkLeo begun bringing in his share of highlights: this included 1st place at Smash Factor 5 while using Marth through a majority of the tournament, and notably resetting the Grand Finals bracket against Mr.R's Sheik 3-0. Overall, Marth gained between the 12th and 16th best overall tournament results from patch 1.1.4 to present time, and all of these traits allowed Marth to rise to 19th on the second official tier list, gaining the second largest rise between the first and second tier lists.

While his placement on the second tier list was considered to be fairly accurate, some top players (e.g, ZeRo and Dabuz) believed Marth to be too low, and his increasing tournament success further called his placement into question: Leo won Canada Cup 2016 after beating Ally in very close sets of Grand Finals with Marth, he beat ZeRo 3-0 at 2GGT: ZeRo Saga in Losers Semi-finals and turned around a harsh deficit in Grand Finals against Larry Lurr using only Marth, and he won GENESIS 4 using Marth for the entirety of Top 8 (although he used Cloud exclusively prior to this). These even stronger results have helped Marth rise further in the third tier list, at 10th place, this tier rise being the third highest between the second and third tier lists.

However, while Marth has continued to perform well in the current metagame and has achieved strong results, his current placement has been recently disputed due to some smashers viewing Leo as the only Marth player to place very high at major tournaments, while Leo himself has used his other main, Cloud, more frequently over Marth. Mr E had also began to use Lucina more often in tournament. In addition, characters ranked below him on the tier list such as Corrin have placed higher than Marth in tournaments as of late. As a result of this, Marth dropped one spot to 11th/12th place, now sharing the spot with Ryu. In spite of these slight downturns, he has tremendously improved throughout the competitive lifespan of the game, and is one of the characters that had its meta developed the most, alongside Mewtwo.

Official Custom Moveset Project[edit]

Character Custom sets available
Marth (SSB4) Marth 3113 3123 1123 3133 1133
3121 1121 3111 1131 3131

Notable players[edit]

Any number following the Smasher name indicates placement on the PGR 100, which recognizes the official top 100 players in Super Smash Bros. 4 of all time.

In Solo Modes[edit]

All-Star Mode[edit]

In All-Star Mode, Marth is fought in Stage 3 in the 3DS version or Stage 5 in the Wii U version alongside Yoshi, Captain Falcon, Dr. Mario, Pit, Mega Man, Palutena, and Ryu.

Super Smash Bros. for Wii UEvent Matches[edit]

Solo Events[edit]

Co-op Events[edit]

Congratulations screens[edit]

3DS[edit]

  • Classic Mode

    Classic Mode

  • All-Star Mode

    All-Star Mode

Wii U[edit]

  • Classic Mode

    Classic Mode

  • All-Star Mode

    All-Star Mode

Trophies[edit]

Marth's default trophy is obtained by clearing Classic Mode as Marth. His alternate trophy is obtained by clearing All-Star Mode as Marth in the 3DS version or purchasing it in the Trophy Shop for 1000G in the Wii U version. The Critical Hit (Marth) trophy is obtained only in the Wii U version by clearing All-Star Mode as Marth.

3DS Classic Mode trophy
Wii U Classic Mode trophy
Marth
NTSC The first hero from the Fire Emblem series, Marth is the prince of Altea and descendant of the hero Anri. In Smash Bros., he's known as an exceptional swordfighter, swinging his blade with grace. Striking with the tip will maximize the damage dealt. Teach aggressive foes a lesson with his strong Counter move.
Famicom: Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light (Japan)
Super Famicom: Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem (Japan)
PAL Marth, the prince of Altea, is the hero of the first ever Fire Emblem game and its remake, Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon. In this game, his graceful sword skills are what set him apart. Strike with the tip of his blade to deal extra damage, and use his Counter skill to defend yourself, no matter which direction you're being attacked from.
Famicom: Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light (1990 (JP))
Super Famicom: Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem (1994 (JP))
3DS All-Star Mode trophy
Wii U alternate trophy
Marth (Alt.)
NTSC Marth's side special Dancing Blade is a four-stage attack. Aim and time your strikes carefully! The tip of his sword does the most damage. For his up smash, Justice Sword, he thrusts his blade into the air. You can use it to block attacks from above and launch nearby foes.
Famicom: Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light (Japan)
Super Famicom: Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem (Japan)
PAL Marth's side special, Dancing Blade, is a four-stage attack. Aim and time your strikes carefully! As usual, the tip of his sword does the most damage. For his up smash, Justice Sword, he thrusts his blade into the air. You can use it to block attacks from above, and even to launch nearby enemies off the ground.
Famicom: Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light (1990 (JP))
Super Famicom: Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem (1994 (JP))
Critical Hit (Marth) trophy
Critical Hit (Marth)
NTSC Marth raises his Exalted Falchion to the sky and then rushes forward to deal an incredibly powerful blow, almost certainly KO'ing anyone and everyone who gets hit! When it's used in the air, he'll fly forward a certain distance. On the ground, however, he'll only dash to the edge of the platform he's standing on.
PAL Marth raises his Exalted Falchion to the sky, then rushes forwards to deal an incredibly powerful blow, almost certainly KOing anyone and everyone who gets hit! When used in the air, he'll fly forwards a set distance, but on the ground, he'll only dash up to the edge of the platform he's standing on.

Alternate costumes[edit]

Marth Palette (SSB4).png
Marth (SSB4) Marth (SSB4) Marth (SSB4) Marth (SSB4) Marth (SSB4) Marth (SSB4) Marth (SSB4) Marth (SSB4)

Gallery[edit]

  • Marth in the Nintendo Direct from April 8th, 2014.

    Marth in the Nintendo Direct from April 8th, 2014.

  • Marth's amiibo.

    Marth's amiibo.

  • The pic of the day shown during Marth's reveal.

    The pic of the day shown during Marth's reveal.

  • Front and Back shots of Marth's new design.

    Front and Back shots of Marth's new design.

  • Marth's appearance in the 3DS version.

    Marth's appearance in the 3DS version.

  • Posing with Falchion.

    Posing with Falchion.

  • Battling with Link.

    Battling with Link.

  • Using down smash on Wii Fit Trainer.

    Using down smash on Wii Fit Trainer.

  • Holding Falchion out.

    Holding Falchion out.

  • Attacking around himself with Falchion; appears to be his neutral aerial.

    Attacking around himself with Falchion; appears to be his neutral aerial.

  • Using Counter against Fox's dash attack.

    Using Counter against Fox's dash attack.

  • Using Dolphin Slash on Mega Man.

    Using Dolphin Slash on Mega Man.

  • Posing with Peach.

    Posing with Peach.

  • Marth and Link performing their, respectively, forward tilt and neutral jab.

    Marth and Link performing their, respectively, forward tilt and neutral jab.

  • Marth lying down after being knocked onto the ground.

    Marth lying down after being knocked onto the ground.

  • Close-up image of Marth and Luigi's faces.

    Close-up image of Marth and Luigi's faces.

  • Marth and Samus near a Steel Diver.

    Marth and Samus near a Steel Diver.

  • The results of Marth using Shield Breaker on Mega Man.

    The results of Marth using Shield Breaker on Mega Man.

  • In battle with Zelda.

    In battle with Zelda.

  • Landing with Ike.

    Landing with Ike.

  • Marth on the cover of the 3DS version.

    Marth on the cover of the 3DS version.

Trivia[edit]

  • Despite now only grunting instead of talking when doing his Counter, the voice clips of him speaking are still in his Sound Test. Interestingly, Marth can be heard talking while countering in Roy's reveal trailer.
  • Dashing Assault makes a "woosh" sound when used, but in Corrin's reveal trailer it makes the "shing" sound when executed, likewise when Marth performs his standard Shield Breaker.
  • Marth's sword and its sheath are not present in his artwork for the cover of Super Smash Bros. for 3DS.
  • Super Smash Bros. 4 marks the only appearance of Marth as a starter character.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Source Gaming: "Sakurai Interview: Fire Emblem 25th Anniversary"


v • d • e
Fighters in Super Smash Bros. 4
Veterans Bowser · Captain Falcon · Charizard · Diddy Kong · Donkey Kong · Dr. Mario · Falco · Fox · Ganondorf · Ike · Jigglypuff · King Dedede · Kirby · Link · Lucario · Lucas · Luigi · Mario · Marth · Meta Knight · Mewtwo · Mr. Game & Watch · Ness · Olimar · Peach · Pikachu · Pit · R.O.B. · Roy · Samus · Sheik · Sonic · Toon Link · Wario · Yoshi · Zelda · Zero Suit Samus
Newcomers Bayonetta · Bowser Jr. · Cloud · Corrin · Dark Pit · Duck Hunt · Greninja · Little Mac · Lucina · Mega Man · Mii Fighter (Mii Brawler · Mii Gunner · Mii Swordfighter) · Pac-Man · Palutena · Robin · Rosalina & Luma · Ryu · Shulk · Villager · Wii Fit Trainer
v • d • e
Fire Emblem (universe) Fire Emblem universe
Fighters Marth (SSBM · SSBB · SSB4 · SSBU) · Roy (SSBM · SSB4 · SSBU) · Ike (SSBB · SSB4 · SSBU) · Lucina (SSB4 · SSBU) · Robin (SSB4 · SSBU) · Corrin (SSB4 · SSBU) · Chrom (SSBU) · Byleth (SSBU)
Assist Trophies Lyn · Black Knight · Tiki
Stages Castle Siege · Arena Ferox · Coliseum · Garreg Mach Monastery
Item Killing Edge
Other Sothis
Trophies, Stickers and Spirits Trophies (SSBM · SSBB · SSB4) · Stickers · Spirits
Music Brawl · SSB4 · Ultimate
Masterpieces Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light · Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem
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