Marth (SSB4)

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

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.

Marth is voiced once again by Hikaru Midorikawa in the international release, using recycled voice clips from Brawl, despite at this point having an official release outside of Japan.

Attributes

Marth is a character based around the concept of tippers, gaining the most reward for proper spacing and remaining a specific distance away from his opponent. However, compared to his strong showing in the previous two games, he is weaker overall in SSB4 due to the many nerfs placed upon him, which make this iteration of him in SSB4 inferior to his Melee and Brawl iterations.

The fundamental ideas of Marth remain intact. He has above average movement speed and a moveset full of disjointed hitboxes, courtesy of his Exalted Falchion, that tend to cover wide arcs with low startup, allowing him to fight a step away from danger most of the time while being able to react quickly. His tilt attacks and forward aerial are good examples of attacks that cover a lot of ground and keep Marth relatively safe when properly spaced. As mentioned before, the tip of Marth's sword deals much higher knockback and damage, and with proper spacing, Marth has some of the strongest punishes of any character, with his sweetspotted forward smash having the third highest knockback in the game and several other moves gaining impressive power if landed. Having the fastest walk speed in the game also lets him move quickly without being forced into his dash attack, up smash or grab.

Marth is also decent with edgeguarding relative to the cast (as edgeguarding is much less effective). The range, startup, and wide arc of his forward and back air attacks make them reliable for punishing careless recoveries from above the ledge, as well as to the side of it. His down tilt sends opponents at a semi-spike angle, making good at edgeguarding as well. His down air is a powerful meteor smash, but it suffers from high endlag and a strict sweetspot (the only meteor smash is if it hits on frame 11, though any part of the sword will meteor smash), making it more situational than his past appearances.

His specials have good utilities: his up special, Dolphin Slash lets him recover from below and edge sweetspot very quickly, though its path is linear and easy to intercept. The move has minimal startup, allowing him to use it as an effective out of shield or as a method to escape combos. Shield Breaker is an effective punish against shields due to its high shield damage, and can improve his recovery by giving him a slight horizontal boost when used in the air (even more so if fully charged), acting as an alternate recovery option or situational edgeguard tool, although the move is punishable if missed. Dancing Blade is useful for racking up damage or catching poor dodges due to its multiple hits, and his Counter can now KO at moderate percentages upon countering a strong enough move, making it a formidable tool for reading his opponents.

However, Marth has a number of weaknesses. One of his more notable weaknesses is the fact that compared to his previous iterations, he has less reach relative to the cast despite him possessing a disjointed weapon. Even though almost all of his moves have slightly more reach than in Brawl, other veterans were also buffed drastically in range (such as Bowser and Donkey Kong), and some newcomers have disjointed properties that surpass his own (such as Shulk and Cloud), meaning he no longer has one of the best ranges in the game. This heavily undermines one of his former advantages.

Compounding this issue is the increased ending lag on almost all his attacks, resulting in Marth having a less effective and more punishable spacing game, which also affects a recurring issue for him since Melee: while his attacks have fast startup and good reach, they travel in predictable, low duration arcs, making his neutral game poor as he must take large risks to win in a neutral position. Even if he does, his punishes can be rather inconsistent: unlike some characters with easy KO-confirm set-ups (such as throw-combo-to-KO setups), Marth lacks reliable KO setups excluding very precise readings with tippered attacks, making it difficult to KO opponents compared to other fighters. With the removal of chaingrabbing and an increase of base knockback for all his throws, Marth's throws are now far less feasible to take advantage of, being too weak for reliable KOs (excluding up throw) and too strong for reliable followups. Finally, his sourspotted attacks now deal much weaker knockback than before, making it more difficult for him to KO opponents if he is unable to land a tipper. He also lacks a projectile, making him heavily susceptible to camping. Overall, these changes combine to hinder both his approach and his punishing abilities, and makes Marth highly dependent on his tipper mechanic to pose a threat to his opponents. These disadvantages give Marth an overall below average representation and poor results in the competitive scene, despite the work of dedicated Marth mains.

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.

Changes from Brawl

Possibly as a result of his dominance in previous appearances, Marth was heavily nerfed overall in his transition from Brawl to SSB4. Although he did receive a few positive changes, they do not fully account for the removal of what made him a threat in previous games. As many other characters have increased range, Marth now has less reach relative to the rest of the cast, overall possessing above average range as opposed to one of the best, weakening one of his key advantages in previous games. Many of his staple moves, most notably his forward aerial and down tilt, have more ending lag, weakening his ability to control space effectively. His throws are also too strong to combo past extremely low percentages but too weak to KO, effectively removing most confirmed follow-ups from his grab and hindering his ability to put opponents in unsafe positions. Because of these changes, Marth's moves are more punishable, especially on shield, and less rewarding when landed overall, making his neutral and punish games much more inconsistent than they were in Brawl. As such, Marth is one of the very few characters to have been truly nerfed from Brawl to SSB4, along with Meta Knight and King Dedede. While some changes, like a stronger Counter and better Shield Breaker, serve to aid Marth slightly in tournaments, Marth nonetheless has a middling playerbase with decent to slightly below average low-level results but sparse high-level results.

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.
• Marth's attack trails are much brighter at the tip; this makes the sweetspot of his attacks more visible than in previous games.

Attributes

• Marth is slightly heavier than in Brawl, improving his endurance but making him easier to combo in the new physics (87 → 90).
• 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 2.5 increase.
• The change in units grants Marth more disjoint relative to his hurtboxes but since the change affects the entire cast, Marth ends up having less reach overall relative to the reach of other characters. Overall, Marth's moves are less safe than they were in previous games.
• Marth's air speed is slower (1.034 → 1.02).
• Marth dashes faster (1.7 → 1.785).
• Marth's falls faster (1.5 → 1.58).

Ground attacks

• Neutral attack now comes out one frame later on both hits (4/2 → 5/3) and the first hit has slightly more cooldown (FAF 27 → 29).
• 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°), allowing for follow-ups and mix-ups.
• 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.
• Forward tilt has more knockback (40 base/80 growth → 55 base/85 growth).
• Forward tilt has slightly more vertical range, but has slightly less horizontal range.
• Forward tilt comes out one frame later (7 → 8).
• Up tilt has decreased cooldown (FAF 39 → 36). Additionally, all of it's hitboxes now produce vertical knockback.
• Down tilt has increased cooldown (FAF 22 → 24), only lasts 2 frames instead of 3, has a significantly smaller tipper hitbox and it no longer moves Marth forward, removing its ability to pseudo crawl.
• Forward smash has noticably less reach (10.5 units → 9.05 units). It also has slightly more ending lag (FAF 49 → 51).
• Up smash has a slightly larger hitbox radius overall.
• Up smash comes out one frame later (12 → 13), 1 frame shorter hitbox duration (6 frames → 5), and has slightly more ending lag (FAF 49 → 58).
• Back hit of sweet-spotted down smash has more growth (80 → 88) and deals slightly more damage (16% → 17%).
• 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 sourspots (70/80 → 88). Hitbox duration of both hits additionally lasts 1 frame shorter (3 frames → 2).

Aerial attacks

• Neutral aerial (3%/6% (first hit), 9%/12% (second hit) → 3%/4% (first hit), 7%/9% (second hit)), forward aerial (10%/13% → 7%/10%), back aerial (11%/14% → 9%/12%), up aerial (10%/13% → 9/12%), and down aerial sourspots (12% → 11%) all deal less damage than in Brawl without much compensation on their knockback.
• Except for back aerial, all aerials have worse auto-cancel frames (neutral aerial: frame 25 → 47, forward aerial: frame 27 → 36, up aerial: frame 27 → 38, down aerial: frame 48 → 55). Neutral aerial no longer auto-cancels in a short-hop.
• Neutral aerial's hitboxes are 2.5 units larger.
• Neutral aerial has more landing lag (9 → 12 frames), and has 1 frame more cooldown (FAF 49 → 50)
• Forward aerial now possesses, increased startup and reduced duration (frame 4-7 → 6-8), and increased landing lag (9 → 16 frames). Marth can no longer perform another aerial after a forward aerial in a single short hop due to increased aerial cooldown (IASA 34 → 38 frames).
• Back aerial has reduced landing lag (21 → 17 frames).
• Up aerial has increased landing lag (9 → 14 frames).
• Down aerial has significantly reduced landing lag (32 → 24 frames).
• Down aerial has more startup lag (6 → 9 frames). 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 deal 1% less damage (14% → 13%). The aforementioned changes to auto-cancel frames also means down aerial can no longer auto-cancel from a full hop on a Battlefield platform, reducing it's safety. All of this significantly worsens his ability to approach with his down air.
• Marth now instead swipes outward from the back instead of his front, essentially flipping its animation around from Melee and Brawl.

Throws/other attacks

• Marth's grab comes out 1 frame later (6 → 7), has 1 frame more ending lag, and less grab 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.
• 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.
• Up throw has more base knockback (60 → 70), allowing all characters to be KOed under 200%.

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 also 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 cooldown (FAF 54 → 51).
• Marth no longer steps an extra distance forward when using Shield Breaker. Because of this, the move's range is shorter.
• Downward Dancing Blade 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. It aids Marth's recovery much less.
• 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.
• Dolphin Slash has significantly less landing lag (34 → 20 frames).
• 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 while using Counter.

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. Overall, Marth is considered to be buffed and more viable since the original version, but he still remains considerably nerfed compared to Brawl.

1.0.6

• Jab hit 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.
• Both hits of jab deal 1% less damage.
• 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

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 smashes and tilts which can link into his other moves. (Some of this will only work if the opponent is very close to the player.)
			4%/6%
Forward tilt			9%/12%	A fast, forward leaning swipe upward. Has a large arc which 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.
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-tipped. Deals semi-spike knockback when tipped.
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 forward smash, 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. Weak for a smash attack unless tipped, where it'll do moderate knockback. Possesses high ending lag, making it highly punishable.
Neutral aerial			3%/4% (hit 1), 7%/9% (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.
Forward aerial			7%/10%	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 due to heavy landing lag and poor autocancel windows.
Back aerial			9%/12%	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%/12%	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.
Down aerial			11% (blade), 13% (non-meteor tip), 14% (meteor tip)	A downward, wide crescent slash with large coverage. If the Falchion hits in the middle of the swinging arc (directly below Marth), it sends opponents downwards, meteor smashing powerfully; 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 with his leg. Can be used to set-up a Crescent Slash from low to mid-high percentages.
Back throw			4%	Turns around and pulls the enemy over his outstretched leg, tripping them.
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 percents. Loses combo potential once the opponent is at mid-percents.
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 KO'ing 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 KO'ing potential; sword trails are blue. Forward: Produces a strong downward swing; sword trails are red. Tilted 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/neutral option. Since Marth swings with less vigor (hence the name), 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 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 a 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, watch me!")

Up taunt	Side taunt	Down taunt

.

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
•  False
•  Mr.E
•  Nicko
•  Pugwest
•  Raphy

Alternate costumes

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

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, he still has his sound effects in his Sound Test.
  • In Roy's trailer, Marth can be heard talking while using Counter, rather than grunting.