Marth (SSB4)

Marth in Super Smash Bros. 4
Universe	Fire Emblem
Other playable appearances	in Melee in Brawl
Availability	Starter
Final Smash	Critical Hit
Tier	G (41)

Marth (マルス, 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 timeframe; Fire Emblem on November 3rd, 2002 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 and is voiced once again by Hikaru Midorikawa in the international release, using recycled voice clips from Brawl.

Marth is currently ranked 41st out of 56 characters on the tier list, in the upper G-tier, a heavy fall from his 5th position out of 38 characters in Brawl. Marth's upsides include overall good mobility and disjointed range on many attacks. All his sword-based attacks are quite rewarding if they land only on the tip of his sword, often dealing absurdly high knockback despite their quick startup, most notably his side smash. However, the drop on Marth's tier placement is largely due to his initial transition and receiving a significant assortment of nerfs in the process. The transition hindered his reach relative to the cast, created smaller sweetspots, and increased the ending lag on many attacks, making his moveset less safe as a whole. His forward aerial, which played a large part in his approaching and combo games, is laggier and less versatile, and his throws are now ineffective for comboing while still unreliable for KOing, worsening his punish game. Marth's linear recovery is still susceptible to edgeguarding even with the new ledge mechanics, and he is vulnerable to combos, juggling, and projectile camping due to his lack of safe methods to relieve pressure. With such heavy nerfs and insufficient compensation, Marth currently holds the distinction of having undergone through the largest tier list drop between Brawl and Smash 4. While he has a notable player base, his tournament results are poor and, in an almost identical manner to Falco, Marth's most recent iteration is heavily overshadowed by his top-tier placements in Melee and Brawl.

Attributes

Marth is emblematic of sword characters, making extensive use of disjointed hitboxes and his unique tipper mechanic. His attributes remain present; he has overall good mobility, sporting the fastest walking speed (tied with Lucina), an above average dashing speed, average air speed, above average air acceleration, moderate falling speed, and low gravity, along with average weight.

Marth's playstyle remains fundamentally intact, being characterized by the properties of his sword, the Exalted Falchion. His attacks deal more damage and knockback if struck with the tip of the sword, encouraging and rewarding proper spacing. This is more clearly evident in moves such as his side smash: when tippered, it is the third strongest side smash in the game, while it cannot KO until well beyond 100% if not tippered. Being a sword-wielder, Marth has the benefit of disjointed hitboxes. Many of his moves have good reach, fast startup, and cover wide arcs, such as his up tilt and forward aerial. As such, Marth aims to fight a step away from danger, where he can pressure and poke at the opponent without leaving himself open to punishment.

Marth's special moveset has good utility. His neutral special, Shield Breaker, as implied by its name, is designed to break shields. It deals high shield damage, even when uncharged, and is useful for punishing rolls. Side special, Dancing Blade, is a four-hit combo that can be used to punish sidesteps, and is an effective damage racker, dealing 15-20% if all hits connect. Marth possesses a Counter as his down special, giving him the capability to shrug off enemy attacks and return them with 1.2x the knockback, and is able to KO if a strong enough attack is countered, making it a good option against overly aggressive foes. Counter can also be used against opponents with easily predictable recoveries, such as Ness and Lucas. But up special is arguably his most potent: Dolphin Slash has quick startup, and provides intangibility frames during its startup frames, and is relatively strong when it first comes out. These attributes make it an excellent out of shield option and combo-breaker. It is also Marth's main method of recovery, as it grants a high amount of vertical height along with a bit of horizontal distance, and its speed can make it difficult to intercept, while it can stage spike reckless edgeguarders.

Marth's disjointed range gives him a decent edgeguarding ability himself. His forward and back aerials have fast startup and good range, and are decently strong when tipped. Down aerial is relatively quick, and if it hits at the center of the arc (directly below Marth), it powerfully meteor smashes opponents. Side smash's range makes it a good choice against opponents aiming their recoveries towards the ledge. Also, Marth's low gravity and only average falling speed allow him to maneuver effectively offstage.

However, Marth is plagued by a number of flaws, mainly as a result of his initial transition into Smash 4. As a result of his heavier reliance on tippers and spacing ability, he has a poor up-close game, giving him a hard time against rush-down characters, notably Captain Falcon. In the transition to Smash 4, one of Marth's biggest strengths was weakened, as he no longer has one of the best reaches in the game. While he still has great reach in relation to his hurtbox, other characters received drastically increased reach, leaving Marth with shorter reach than even some non-disjointed characters. This is worsened by the fact that many of Marth's moves are highly unsafe. Though his attacks have quick startup, many of them have high ending lag, with his side smash being a notable case. His attacks also suffer from short hitbox durations. For example, his forward aerial, despite covering a wide arc in front of him, has a hitbox that lasts for only 3 frames, and comparatively high ending lag and noticeable landing lag, and along with its very small autocancel window, it is a surprisingly poor approach option. This combination of Marth's relatively short reach, the high ending lag on his moves, and his requirement for careful spacing result in a lackluster neutral game, as none of his approach tools are particularly reliable or consistent, and this is exacerbated by his lack of a projectile.

Not only does Marth struggle to win in neutral, but his conversions are weak and unreliable. Aside from having one of the fastest pummels in the game, his grab game is poor. 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 growth, preventing them from KOing at realistic percents, while up throw can KO only starting at 160%. As such, Marth has cripplingly poor options against shields, and Shield Breaker is highly punishable. Marth's weak throws tie into his poor KO power. He has no reliable setups into his finishers, often forcing him to fish in neutral, where the short reach and high ending lag of his moves ensure he will be punished for whiffing his KO moves. Furthermore, his tipper mechanic actually puts him at a disadvantage here, for his attacks are weak and do not generate much knockback if not spaced properly. Lastly, his edgeguarding ability is flawed, both due to the need for tippers and the high ending lag on his aerials, with his down aerial suffering from roughly 45 frames of ending lag.

Marth himself is vulnerable to edgeguarding. Dolphin Slash is his only reliable recovery option, but its path is linear and its distance is fixed making his recovery very predictable and easy to intercept. Additionally since this move grants little horizontal distance, Marth is vulnerable to semi-spikes. Shield Breaker can aid his horizontal recovery, but it still covers little distance and has high starting lag. As a result, Marth will be in considerable peril if he is forced offstage without his double jump, since he is heavily reliant on it to mix up the timing of his up B. Despite having only average weight and falling speed, Marth is susceptible to combos, and his tall hurtbox makes him easy to hit. Dolphin Slash is his only reliable combo-breaker, but as it leaves him helpless, it can inadvertently put him in an even worse position. While Counter can be used against overly aggressive foes, a cautious opponent will find ways to bait it and punish accordingly. He also has little defense against juggling. His aerials' high ending and landing lag make them ineffective at relieving pressure, and are sometimes unsafe on hit if not tippered.

With customs turned on, Marth gains some options to address some of his drawbacks, at the cost of creating different ones by doing so. Dashing Assault lets him punish landings and rolls, create trap situations, and force opponents off stage, but loses its tremendous power and shield breaking capabilities. Crescent Slash gives Marth more horizontal recovery, but with much less vertical recovery. It also grants him a fairly reliable followup from his forward throw and aerials at low percents and can punish air dodge landings, but it cannot be used as an out of shield option. Dolphin Jump gives Marth more vertical distance and greater horizontal control, but loses all of its offensive use. Iai Counter has quicker startup (counters from frame 3), increased range and power, and deals electric damage as well, but has much stricter timing.

Overall, while Marth does have notable advantages in his tipper mechanic, reach, mobility, and the fast startup of his moves, his flaws outweigh his strengths, giving him a weak neutral game and making his punishes unreliable due to their inconsistency, and his playstyle is so overly centered on his tipper mechanic that it arguably hinders him more than it helps. As a result of his issues, he has only average tournament representation and poor results.

Changes from Brawl

Possibly as a result of his dominance in previous appearances, Marth was considerably nerfed overall in his transition from Brawl to SSB4. While Marth's range has been slightly increased, he now has less reach relative to the cast, negating his key advantage from past games, and making 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 increased start-up; the former has a shorter hitbox duration, higher ending and landing lag, and auto-cancels much later, effectively removing his main approach option from Brawl, while his down aerial is weaker and has a much smaller sweetspot, hurting its edge-guarding utility. Down tilt has shorter reach and higher ending lag, rendering it less effective as a defensive option.

Marth's damage racking game has also been severely 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 growth is still low, and so, aside from up throw, they cannot KO realistically. This is further compounded by the removal of chain-grabbing, 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.

Marth's moves are generally stronger when tippered, and while this is technically a buff, it is overall detrimental given he now has less range relative to the cast. As a result of the weakened power of his non-tippered attacks and increased ending lag, many of his moves are unsafe on hit at lower percents, and along with the loss of his tech-chasing ability, these changes make his KO power heavily inconsistent.

Marth has received a few buffs. Shield Breaker has improved utility due to the weaker shields and higher shield-stun, and Counter reflects attacks with significantly increased knockback. His forward smash, when tippered, is considerably stronger, now being the third strongest of its kind. As Dolphin Slash was relatively susceptible to edge-hogging, it greatly benefits from the new ledge mechanics, improving Marth's recovery. However, these buffs are too few and generally too situational to compensate for his drastic nerfs. As a result, Marth is one of the very few characters to have been truly nerfed in the transition to Smash 4, along with Meta Knight, Falco and King Dedede (though the former is still considered a dominant character unlike Marth). Though he has a dedicated playerbase in competitive play, his poor tournament results pale in comparison to his success in previous games, and he is considered to be a relatively unviable character.

Aesthetics

• Marth's design takes elements from his attire seen in Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem, Heroes of Light and Shadow and Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon, as opposed to his design from Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem, which was used in Melee and Brawl. His eyes are also smaller and less anime-esque. His sword has also been updated and is now the Exalted Falchion instead of the Falchion he had used in Melee and Brawl.
• Marth's sword trails are much brighter at the tip; this makes the sweetspot of his attacks more visible than in previous games.
• 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.

Attributes

• Marth is slightly heavier than in Brawl (87 → 90), improving his endurance but making him easier to combo in the new physics.
• 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).
• Marth dashes faster (1.7 → 1.785).
• Marth's air speed is slower (1.034 → 1.02).
• Marth falls faster (1.5 → 1.58).

Ground attacks

• Neutral attack now transitions faster and the second hit deals more knockback. The first hit also sends opponents at a higher trajectory (Sakurai angle → 78°/65°/90°) and has less ending lag (IASA frame 27 → 25), allowing for follow-ups and mix-ups.
• Neutral attack now comes out one frame later on both hits (4/2 → 5/3).
• Forward tilt is stronger (40 base/80 growth → 55 base/85 growth) and has less ending lag (36 frames → 33 frames).
• Forward tilt comes out one frame later (frame 7 → frame 8).
• Forward tilt has slightly more vertical range.
• Up tilt (8%/9%/12% → 5%/6%/9%), down tilt base (8%/9% → 7%), forward smash (14%/19% → 13%/18%) and up smash sourspot (4%/14% → 3/13%) all deal less damage, though with their knockback compensated.
• Up tilt has decreased ending lag (IASA frame 39 → frame 33). Additionally, all of its hitboxes now produce vertical knockback.
• Down tilt has increased ending lag (IASA frame 22 → frame 24), only lasts 2 frames instead of 3. It also no longer moves Marth forward, removing its ability to pseudo crawl.
• Forward smash has noticeably less reach (10.5 units → 9.05 units) and increased ending lag (IASA frame 49 → frame 51).
• Up smash has a slightly larger hitbox radius overall.
• Up smash has slower start-up (frame 12 → frame 13), shorter hitbox duration (6 frames → 5 frames), and increased ending lag (IASA frame 49 → frame 58).
• Back hit of sweetspotted down smash has more growth (80 → 88) and deals slightly more damage (16% → 17%). It also has less ending lag (64 frames → 54 frames).
• Back hit of down smash deals 1% less damage (13% → 12%) and the front hit deals much less damage (14%/17% → 8%/12%), making it weaker despite its increased growth on both the sweet and sour spots (70/80 → 88). Hitbox duration of both hits is shorter (3 frames → 2 frames).

Aerial attacks

• Neutral aerial (3%/6% (first hit), 9%/12% (second hit) → 3.5%/5% (first hit), 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 without much compensation on their knockback.
• Except for back aerial, all aerials have worse auto-cancel windows (neutral aerial: frame 25 → frame 47, forward aerial: frame 27 → frame 36, up aerial: frame 27 → frame 38, down aerial: frame 48 → frame 55). Neutral aerial no longer auto-cancels in a short-hop.
• Neutral aerial (9 frames → 12 frames), forward aerial (9 frames → 16 frames), and up aerial (9 frames → 14 frames) have increased landing lag.
• Neutral aerial's hitboxes are 2.5 units larger.
• Neutral aerial has slightly increased ending lag (FAF 49 → 50).
• Forward aerial now possesses increased start-up and reduced duration (frame 4-7 → frame 6-8). Marth can also no longer perform another aerial after a forward aerial in a single short hop due to increased ending lag (IASA frame 34 → frame 38). As such, it is no longer considered the best forward aerial in the game.
• Back aerial (21 frames → 17 frames) and down aerial (32 frames → 24 frames) have reduced landing lag.
• Down aerial's meteor smash hitbox deals 1% more damage (14% → 15%).
• Down aerial has increased startup lag (frame 7 → frame 9). Its sweetspot only lasts 1 frame; it no longer meteor smashes unless the sword hits directly below him (which is the middle of the swing arc, frame 11), has less base knockback (40 → 20), and the hitboxes that used to meteor now send foes sideways with moderate knockback and 1% less damage than the meteor (15% → 14%). In addition, 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 auto-cancel window, these changes hurt his ability to approach with his down air, and drastically worsen the move's overall utility.

Throws/other attacks

• Marth's grab comes out 1 frame later (frame 6 → frame 7), has 1 frame more ending lag, and less range.
• Marth can no longer chaingrab or tech chase opponents with his forward throw.
• All of his setup throws have significantly higher base knockback, which removes most of his follow-up options after a grab, but all except up throw cannot KO reliably even at 250% due to still having low knockback scaling.
• Up throw has more base knockback (60 → 70), allowing all characters except King Dedede to be KOed under 200%.
• Down throw sends foes at an upwards trajectory, which can give some new follow-up options at low percents, but it removes Marth's ability to tech-chase.

Special moves

• Shield Breaker deals less shield damage (42 → 25), but is heavily compensated with the removal of damage reduction on shields, allowing the move to break shields much more easily. It now gives Marth a horizontal boost when used in the air, regardless of whether it is charged or not, aiding Marth's recovery. It also has less ending lag (IASA frame 54 → frame 51).
• Marth no longer steps an extra distance forward when using Shield Breaker. Because of this, the move's range is shorter.
• The first hit of Dancing Blade has less startup (7 → 6) and has one frame less of endlag both grounded and in the air (IASA: 42/32→ 41/31). The downward Dancing Blade also deals slightly more damage.
• Dancing Blade has more ending lag, and the third hit downward no longer meteor smashes. It is also harder to connect each hit together compared to Brawl, due to the fact of each hit having more knockback and less interruptibility. Its hover effect in midair is also much weaker to the point it is almost negligible, hindering Marth's recovery.
• Dolphin Slash has significantly less landing lag (34 frames → 20 frames).
• Dolphin Slash deals less damage (13% → 11%), making it slightly weaker despite its increased knockback growth (68 → 74). A Reversed Dolphin Slash is also slightly harder to hit with.
• Counter has increased knockback growth (40 → 60) and reflects more damage (1.1x multiplier → 1.2x), being able to KO reliably off of strong countered attacks at very low percentages.
• Marth now grunts instead of talking when his Counter is triggered.

Update history

Marth has been buffed ever since update 1.0.6, with the multiple buffs giving him more followup options and lessening lag from all 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 tipped attacks a lot safer on shield, the same changes make his sourspotted attacks less safe than they already were, 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 serious 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. However, the small landing lag reduction on all of his aerials and ending lag on all of his standard ground attacks have helped mitigate his lag issues with most of his moves and improve 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 has also noticeably improved three of his moves that were previously considered situational. Also, increased damage on his sourspots granted to him in 1.1.4 also help improve his aerial combo and juggle games, and the overall damage increases slightly improve his previously poor damage racking game, and he also has larger tippers on his aerials to compliment it. Overall, Marth has been significantly buffed and is more viable since the original version, but he still remains rather nerfed compared to Brawl.

1.0.6

• Jab 1 IASA: Frame 29 → Frame 26
• Forward tilt IASA: Frame 39 → Frame 35.
• Dancing Blade hit 1 IASA: Frame 45 → Frame 42.
• Dancing Blade combos more consistently.

1.0.8

• Jab 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 followup potential outside of transiting to the second hit.
  • Due to the angle change of Jab 1, the move can no longer jab lock.
• All hitboxes of jab 1 deal 1% less damage (4%/6% → 3%/5%).
• 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.
• Neutral aerial has 3 less frames of landing lag.
• Dolphin Slash has slightly improved knockback scaling.
• 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

1.1.0

• All hits of neutral aerial deal 1% more damage.
• Up tilt's ending lag is reduced by 3 frames.
• Forward, up, and back aerials have 2 less frames of landing lag.
• Down aerial has 4 less frames of landing lag.
• All variations of Dolphin Slash have 3 less frames of landing lag.
• All variations of Shield Breaker have 2 less frames of ending lag.
• Dancing Blade's first, second and third strikes have 5 more frames of input window duration. This allows them to connect better, but makes the first hit harder to followup with other attack than another hit of Dancing Blade.

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
All variations of Dolphin Slash landing lag	23 frames	20 frames

1.1.1

• Partially charged Shield Breaker shield damage decreased. (30 → 25).

1.1.3

• 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 scaling (hitboxes 0/2)	70	30
Dancing Blade/Effortless Blade hit 2 forward knockback scaling (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 scaling (hitbox 0)	60	28
Dancing Blade hit 3 down knockback scaling (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

1.1.4

• The first hit of neutral attack has less ending lag: (28 frames → 25) and both hits have larger hitboxes: (6.5u → 7u.)
• Forward tilt has less ending lag: (36 frames → 33) and a larger sour x and tipper hitbox: (2u (sour)/6.7u (tipper) → 2.5u/7.7u.
• Up tilt has less ending lag: 36 frames → 33.
• Down tilt has a larger tipper and sour x hitbox: 6.7u (tipper)/15.2u (sour x) → 8.2u/16.7.
• Down tilt's sour y hitbox is smaller: 3.2u → 2.7u.
• Down smash has moderately decreased ending lag: 64 frames → 54.
• All aerials deal slightly more damage: 3%/4% (neutral, first hit), 9% (neutral, second hit), 7%/10% (forward), 12% (back), 9%/12% (up), 11%/13%/14% (down) → 3.5%/5%, 9.5%, 8%/11.5%, 12.5%, 9.5%/13%, 12%/14%/15%.
• The tipper hitboxes on neutral, forward, and back aerial are larger: 6.7 (neutral, first hit)/6.5 (neutral, back hit), 6.7 (forward and back) → 7.7/7.5, 7.7.
• Back aerial's sour x hitbox is slightly bigger: 2 → 2.5.
• Dancing Blade improved. The first hit has less startup (7 → 6) and has one frame less of endlag both grounded and in the air (IASA: 42/32→ 41/31.)

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%.

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			3%/5%	Slashes the Exalted Falchion twice in front of himself. If spaced and timed correctly, this move has many follow-up capabilities as it can link into any of his smash attacks or tilts that can link into his other moves. (Some of this will only work if the opponent is very close to the player). As of the 1.1.4 patch, this attack is significantly faster and easier to perform mix-ups with if un-tippered.
			4%/6%
Forward tilt			9%/12%	A fast forward-leaning swipe upward. Has a large arc that is useful for spacing, and deals moderately strong knockback when tipped.
Up tilt			6% (blade), 5% (body), 9% (tip)	Swings the blade in a large arc above his head, with a large hitbox that can hit enemies behind him. As of the 1.1.4 update, this move is considerably faster, allowing it to true combo into itself at low percentages.
Down tilt			7%/10%	A quick crouching Falchion poke. Marth's fastest tilt, which is useful for creating space. Can link into a grab if the move is un-tippered. As of 1.1.4, the tipper hitbox can now hit opponents on/below the ledge much easier. Deals semi-spike knockback when tippered.
Dash attack			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.
Forward smash			13%/18%	Rotates his body counter-clockwise with a strong overarcing one-handed swing from his head to the ground. Moderately fast startup, but high ending lag. Although lackluster when sourspotted, this move has surprisingly potent knockback when tipped, being able to KO opponents near the edge at as low as 37%. In fact, when tippered it has the third highest knockback of any side smash in the game, being tied with Ganondorf. Despite this, the move's low range compared to Marth's previous incarnations makes landing a tipper somewhat difficult.
Up smash		Justice Sword	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.
Down smash			8%/12% (hit 1), 12%/17% (hit 2)	Sweeps the blade on the ground toward the front outward then toward the back inward. An otherwise weak attack unless tipped, where it will do moderate knockback. High ending lag, but as of the 1.1.4 update this move has much less ending lag than before, making it harder to punish.
Neutral aerial			3.5%/5% (hit 1), 7%/9.5% (hit 2)	Two horizontal slashes around himself via an inward slash followed into a full 360 degree 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%.
Forward aerial			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 very risky to use in neutral unless used immediately out of a short hop, due to relatively high landing lag and poor autocancel windows.
Back aerial			9%/12.5%	An upward crescent slash behind him in an inward swipe. Has the interesting property of turning Marth around, changing facing direction. Similar use to his forward air, although with slightly more knockback and a smaller hitbox.
Up aerial			9.5%/13%	An overhead crescent slash with good coverage, ending in a delayed somersault. Decent juggling tool at low percents thanks to its large arc, making it a good anti-air as well. Weak knockback unless tipped. Due to its angle and low ending lag during the first few frames, it can be used for a somewhat reliable follow up of an on-stage down air meteor smash at around 60% near the edge. And as of 1.1.4, it's tipper damage was increased, in turn dealing more knockback from before, allowing for down throw to tipper up aerial kill confirms on a handful of the cast.
Down aerial			12% (blade), 14% (non-meteor tip), 15% (meteor)	A downward, wide crescent slash with large coverage. If the Exalted Falchion hits in the middle of the swinging arc (directly below Marth), it serves as a powerful meteor smash. This is easier said than done, as the window for said meteor smash lasts only one frame (frame 11). Other hitboxes when tipped results in moderate knockback. High ending and landing lag.
Grab			—	Grabs the enemy with his left hand. Has good range.
Pummel			2%	Knees the enemy. A fast pummel.
Forward throw			4%	Grabs and pushes forward, tripping them with his leg. Can be used to set-up a tipper forward air until around 20%, or a Crescent Slash from low to mid-high percentages.
Back throw			4%	Turns around and pulls the enemy over his outstretched leg, tripping them. Its high base knockback allows him to set up edgeguarding, but cannot combo effectively.
Up throw			4%	A powerful upward throw with one arm. Can KO around 170%.
Down throw			5%	Throws opponent to the ground with one arm, bouncing them upwards. His primary throw for follow-ups, as it can follow up with an up or back aerial at low to mid percents, where after it starts losing combo potential. However, as of 1.1.4, it can be used with tipper up aerial to set up a down throw to up aerial kill confirm on a handful of characters.
Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge		—	—
Techs		—	—
Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front)			7%
Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back)			7%
Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip)			5%
Edge attack Edge getups			7%
Neutral special	Default	Shield Breaker	8%/9% (uncharged), 22%/24% (fully charged)	Marth assumes a readying stance and charges the Exalted Falchion at chest level before powerfully thrusting it forward. This attack deals high amounts of shield damage. If fully charged and used in the air, this move will thrust Marth in whatever direction he's facing, giving him a somewhat horizontal recovery. Deals very high knockback when tipped, 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 the blade. Deals less damage and slightly less shield damage, but propels Marth forwards, even when used on the ground.
Side special	Default	Dancing Blade	3%/4% (parts 1-2), 4%/5% (part 3 up/side), 3%/4% (part 3 down), 6%/8% (part 4 up), 5%/7% (part 4 side), 2% (part 4 down hits 1-4), 4%/6% (part 4 hit 5)	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. If it is tilted up on the final blow, Marth will perform an overhead half-moon slash with good KOing potential; sword trails are blue. Side: Produces a strong downward swing; sword trails are red. Down: A flurry of stabs that wears down shields; sword trails are green.
	Custom 1	Effortless Blade	2%/3% (parts 1-3), 4%/5% (part 4)	Makes the hits easier to link, but can only use the side variation. Since Marth swings with less vigor, the attack is also weaker.
	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)	Marth slashes with more force, but the controller input time is stricter and the hits are harder to link.
Up special	Default	Dolphin Slash	11% (clean), 7% (late blade), 6% (late body)	Marth performs a high-speed jumping slash that can be reversed. Has a powerful sweetspot located in the first few frames, which can easily cause stage-spikes under the right circumstances.
	Custom 1	Crescent Slash	7% (clean), 12% (late blade), 6% (late body)	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. Lots of landing lag.
	Custom 2	Dolphin Jump	0%	The jump is purely vertical and gains more height. Lots of landing lag and deals no damage.
Down special	Default	Counter	1.2x (min 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 the 6th frame 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	0.7x (min 4%)	Marth holds his stance longer and strikes with less power. Has decreased damage scaling, but has a wider trigger window. Starts up on the 6th frame and lasts 29 frames.
	Custom 2	Iai Counter	1.3x (min 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 the 3rd frame and lasts 14 frames.
Final Smash		Critical Hit	60%	Marth raises the Exalted Falchion skyward, then lunges in one direction, attacking the first opponent he connects. Immense knockback, enough to one-hit KO any character on any roofless stage. Press the button again to stop.

On-screen appearance

• Warps onto the stage using a warp circle with a twirl and unsheathes the Exalted Falchion.

File:Battle Entrance (Marth).jpg

Taunts

• Up taunt: Points the Exalted Falchion upwards with light emitting at the tip. This is similar to his stance before he performed his Critical Hit animation in Fire Emblem and his stance while performing his Lodestar technique.
• Side taunt: Swings the blade twice before resheathing it.
• Down taunt: Swings the blade around and says: みんな、見ていてくれ！ ("Everyone, please watch over me!")

Up taunt	Side taunt	Down taunt

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Idle poses

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

Crowd cheer

	English	Japanese
Cheer
Description	Marth! Marth! Marth!	Mar-u-su!
Pitch	Group chant	Group chant

Victory poses

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 the Exalted Falchion then clashes it to the ground, and says "今回は僕の勝ちだね。", which translates to "This time, it's my victory, isn't it?"
• Poses with the blade sheathed and his right arm out and says "僕は負ける訳には行かないんだ。", which translates to "There's no way I can lose!"
• Sheaths the blade and says "今日も生き延びることが出来た。", which translates to "Today I have survived."

In competitive play

Official Custom Moveset Project

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

Notable players

•  AirVault
•  Ally
•  Chrom
•  Mr.E
•  BraveHeart
•  Nicko
•  Pugwest
•  Raphy
•  Ecchin
•  Starblind

Trophies

Marth

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.

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.

: Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light (JP)

: Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem (JP)

Marth (Alt.)

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.

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."

: Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light (JP)

: Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem (JP)

Critical Hit (Marth)

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.

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.

• MarthTrophy3DS1.png

  Classic (3DS)

• MarthTrophy3DS2.png

  Alt. (3DS)

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  Classic (Wii U)

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  Alt. (Wii U)

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  Critical Hit

In Event Matches

Solo Events

• All-Star Battle: Melee: Marth is one of the opponents fought in this event. All opponents debuted in Melee.
• In the Name of the Hero-King: Marth must defeat Lucina in a stamina battle.
• The Ultimate Swordsman: Marth is one of the opponents Ike must defeat.
• Unwavering Chivalry: Meta Knight must defeat Marth without KOing Peach or Zelda.

Co-op Events

• A Royal Errand: Marth and Robin must work together to collect 500G from Wario and Bowser in a coin battle before the stage reaches the Bazaar.
• The Ultimate Battle: Two players select a character and must defeat the entire roster.

Alternate costumes

Gallery

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

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  Marth's amiibo.

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

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  Front and Back shots of Marth's new design.

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  Marth's appearance in the 3DS version.

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  Posing with the Falchion.

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  Battling with Link.

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  Using down smash on Wii Fit Trainer.

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  Holding the Falchion out.

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

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  Using Counter against Fox's dash attack.

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  Using Dolphin Slash on Mega Man.

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  Dancing Blade.

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  Posing with Peach.

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

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  Marth lying down after being knocked onto the ground.

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

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  Marth and Samus near a Steel Diver.

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  The results of Marth using Shield Breaker on Mega Man.

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  In battle with Zelda.

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  Landing with Ike.

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  Marth on the cover of the 3DS version.

Trivia

• Despite now grunting instead of talking when doing his Counter, his voice clips of him speaking are still in his Sound Test. Interestingly, Marth can be heard talking while countering in Roy's trailer.
• Marth, Roy and Cloud are the only characters to speak Japanese in every regional release of Super Smash Bros. 4.
• During Corrin's reveal trailer, when all the other Fire Emblem characters show up, Marth can be seen using Dashing Assault. However, instead of the "woosh" sound it usually makes, it makes the "shing" sound, as if Marth is using the default Shield Breaker.