Pierce7d
Wise Hermit
- Joined
- Dec 20, 2006
- Messages
- 6,289
- 3DS FC
- 1993-9028-0439
Alright, there's lots of threads, and videos and stuff that teaches you how to do all this complex fancy stuff like Breversing Shieldbreaker and using Aerial Dancing Blade, etc. I'm writing a simple little guide that will tell you how to do Marth's most basic strategies. This guide will not only outline Marth's most important moves, but also show how to use them with each other. It won't cover the more advanced moves.
As a novice Marth, the follow are moves you should stay away from:
Dolphin Slash (upB) except for recovery
Shieldbreaker
Dair
Ftilt
Utilt
Jab
Counter
Dsmash
I'll go through the rest of Marth's moves one by one, and then teach you how to tie them together, to play a basic, but proficient Marth. Follow these steps, and you'll be getting past the first few rounds in tourneys, and beating your friends in no time.
Fair: This is Marth's basic. However, there's WAY more to using Fair that just spamming forward A in the air. First of all, you need to understand that there's different ways to use Fair. I'll go into that now.
-Rising Fair is done by jumping, and then Fairing
-Falling Fair is done by Falling, or Fast Falling, and then Fairing
-Approaching Fair is done by jumping towards your opponent, and then using the C-stick forward.
-Retreating/spaced Fair is done by jumping away from your opponent or in place, and then using the C-stick.
Approaching Fair and Retreating/Spaced Fair can be mixed with Rising and Falling Fair.
Now, against more skilled opponents, you'll find that the foe frequently dashes into their shield. This makes it super important to space all your fairs properly, and move backwards sometimes, to adjust your spacing, so you don't get shield grabbed. You should always aim to tipper of course. The best way to get better at tippering is experience. After you play for a while, you get a good feel for it. Rising Fairs are usually done approaching, and Falling Fairs are usually done retreated. Make sure you use the C-stick to Fair, so you can use the joystick to have full control over your character movement. This will greatly help spacing and mobility, so even if you suck at it, practice. Eventually, it will feel natural.
Use Fair because it's safe if spaced on an opponent's shield. It has too much range to shield grab, and too little lag to punish. If they don't shield, then Falling Fair will combo into other stuff, which we'll cover later. For now, onto the next move.
Dtilt: Dtilt is a follow up move, that provides continuous pressure. Fair is fast, but it requires jumping. For this reason, we use dtilt. It has the safety of Fair, but it's used on the ground. The trouble with Dtilt, unlike Fair, you can't actively space Dtilt. Since Fair is an aerial, you can move while using it, but dtilt isn't the same. For this reason, you should Dtilt AFTER you land from a Fair. If you spaced the Fair properly, it will have automatically spaced the dtilt for you. If dtilt hits a shield, it reduces the shield a little, and eventually it will poke through. Your opponent will be forced to jump or roll away.
Dancing Blade: Before I say anything, let me note that at novice level, you should only use regular Dancing Blade, NOT the up or down versions. At higher play, we almost always use the red, foward Dancing Blade ANYWAY.
Now, Dancing Blade's main purposes are to follow up attacks, and to punish your opponent's mistakes. If you land a dtilt or an auto-cancelled Fair at low to mid percents, it will combo into a Dancing Blade. Basically, just pay attention to when you hit your opponent, and when Fair or Dtilt connects, dash into a Dancing Blade. Fair to Dancing Blade, or Dtilt to Dancing Blade, deals over 25 percent if you tipper. Dancing Blade is also fast, and can be done out of a dash, so it's good for punishing your opponent's laggy moves and mistakes.
You can also use the first hit of Dancing Blade to help your spacing on the ground. It allows you to dash forwards or backwards, and then poke your opponent. If you find yourself too close to your opponent, or slightly too far, just dash and space ONLY THE FIRST HIT of Dancing Blade on their shield. If you spaced properly, you should be in perfect dtilt range. Dancing Blade also punishes a roll behind a dtilt on reaction. If you dtilt, and your opponent rolls, you can use Dancing Blade to punish.
THOSE ARE THE THREE MAIN BREAD AND BUTTER MOVES. Fair, Dtilt, Dancing Blade working together. That is actually how you'll rack up the damage.
Bair/Uair: Back air is good because it swings from low, and hits high. Fair is sometimes useful because it hits underneath Marth with O.K. range. It swings high and hits low. So, if you want to hit an opponent above you, you should space a back air. One advantage of using Bair over Uair is the horizontal range, making you less susceptible to pesky Dairs. It also has MUCH less lag than Uair in the air (though Uair auto-cancels and Bair does not). For these reasons, Bair is good while rising, and Uair is better for falling, if you're trying to hit an opponent above you. Both fresh Bair and Uair can kill. Bair is extremely effective at edgeguarding, because of it's angle and range. However, it's important to note that Marth's Bair turns him around, so you can only do it once. Space well and swing true.
Nair: Nair is good because it has two swings instead of one. This allows it to occupy an area for more time. It also kills very well if you tipper the second hit. If you do a rising Nair, make sure to FastFall it. It takes practice to learn how to move around forwards and backwards while using Nairs repeatedly. If your opponent is at kill percents, try a tippered Nair. Mix this in with lots ot Fairs.
Fsmash: For now, this move should only be used to punish your opponent's mistakes for a kill. Airdodging into the ground in front of Marth is a mistake, and can be punished with Fsmash if you have good timing. This is a good way to kill your opponent.
Usmash: Usmash, like Fsmash, should only be used to punish your opponent's really laggy moves, but this move is good because it can be used out of a dash. Do it basically when your opponent majorly messes up, so it can kill them.
That covers all of the different moves. Basically, stick to Fairs to space. Then, use dtilt if you hit a shield off a spaced landing Fair, to continue pressure. If either of these attacks connect, or your ground spacing is bad, Dash into the right spacing for First hit Dancing Blade, and resume spacing. When you break through your opponent's guard, hit them as stated above, or juggle them as described above. Use Fsmash and Usmash to punish laggy moves of your opponent, and try not to use laggy moves yourself, especially the ones I recommended you not to use.
One more thing. If your opponent is shielding, grab them. Though you can space moves on a shield, it's always always better to get the grab. If you do grab, Fthrow Dancing Bblade is a good set-up.
I'm happy to take questions.
As a novice Marth, the follow are moves you should stay away from:
Dolphin Slash (upB) except for recovery
Shieldbreaker
Dair
Ftilt
Utilt
Jab
Counter
Dsmash
I'll go through the rest of Marth's moves one by one, and then teach you how to tie them together, to play a basic, but proficient Marth. Follow these steps, and you'll be getting past the first few rounds in tourneys, and beating your friends in no time.
Fair: This is Marth's basic. However, there's WAY more to using Fair that just spamming forward A in the air. First of all, you need to understand that there's different ways to use Fair. I'll go into that now.
-Rising Fair is done by jumping, and then Fairing
-Falling Fair is done by Falling, or Fast Falling, and then Fairing
-Approaching Fair is done by jumping towards your opponent, and then using the C-stick forward.
-Retreating/spaced Fair is done by jumping away from your opponent or in place, and then using the C-stick.
Approaching Fair and Retreating/Spaced Fair can be mixed with Rising and Falling Fair.
Now, against more skilled opponents, you'll find that the foe frequently dashes into their shield. This makes it super important to space all your fairs properly, and move backwards sometimes, to adjust your spacing, so you don't get shield grabbed. You should always aim to tipper of course. The best way to get better at tippering is experience. After you play for a while, you get a good feel for it. Rising Fairs are usually done approaching, and Falling Fairs are usually done retreated. Make sure you use the C-stick to Fair, so you can use the joystick to have full control over your character movement. This will greatly help spacing and mobility, so even if you suck at it, practice. Eventually, it will feel natural.
Use Fair because it's safe if spaced on an opponent's shield. It has too much range to shield grab, and too little lag to punish. If they don't shield, then Falling Fair will combo into other stuff, which we'll cover later. For now, onto the next move.
Dtilt: Dtilt is a follow up move, that provides continuous pressure. Fair is fast, but it requires jumping. For this reason, we use dtilt. It has the safety of Fair, but it's used on the ground. The trouble with Dtilt, unlike Fair, you can't actively space Dtilt. Since Fair is an aerial, you can move while using it, but dtilt isn't the same. For this reason, you should Dtilt AFTER you land from a Fair. If you spaced the Fair properly, it will have automatically spaced the dtilt for you. If dtilt hits a shield, it reduces the shield a little, and eventually it will poke through. Your opponent will be forced to jump or roll away.
Dancing Blade: Before I say anything, let me note that at novice level, you should only use regular Dancing Blade, NOT the up or down versions. At higher play, we almost always use the red, foward Dancing Blade ANYWAY.
Now, Dancing Blade's main purposes are to follow up attacks, and to punish your opponent's mistakes. If you land a dtilt or an auto-cancelled Fair at low to mid percents, it will combo into a Dancing Blade. Basically, just pay attention to when you hit your opponent, and when Fair or Dtilt connects, dash into a Dancing Blade. Fair to Dancing Blade, or Dtilt to Dancing Blade, deals over 25 percent if you tipper. Dancing Blade is also fast, and can be done out of a dash, so it's good for punishing your opponent's laggy moves and mistakes.
You can also use the first hit of Dancing Blade to help your spacing on the ground. It allows you to dash forwards or backwards, and then poke your opponent. If you find yourself too close to your opponent, or slightly too far, just dash and space ONLY THE FIRST HIT of Dancing Blade on their shield. If you spaced properly, you should be in perfect dtilt range. Dancing Blade also punishes a roll behind a dtilt on reaction. If you dtilt, and your opponent rolls, you can use Dancing Blade to punish.
THOSE ARE THE THREE MAIN BREAD AND BUTTER MOVES. Fair, Dtilt, Dancing Blade working together. That is actually how you'll rack up the damage.
Bair/Uair: Back air is good because it swings from low, and hits high. Fair is sometimes useful because it hits underneath Marth with O.K. range. It swings high and hits low. So, if you want to hit an opponent above you, you should space a back air. One advantage of using Bair over Uair is the horizontal range, making you less susceptible to pesky Dairs. It also has MUCH less lag than Uair in the air (though Uair auto-cancels and Bair does not). For these reasons, Bair is good while rising, and Uair is better for falling, if you're trying to hit an opponent above you. Both fresh Bair and Uair can kill. Bair is extremely effective at edgeguarding, because of it's angle and range. However, it's important to note that Marth's Bair turns him around, so you can only do it once. Space well and swing true.
Nair: Nair is good because it has two swings instead of one. This allows it to occupy an area for more time. It also kills very well if you tipper the second hit. If you do a rising Nair, make sure to FastFall it. It takes practice to learn how to move around forwards and backwards while using Nairs repeatedly. If your opponent is at kill percents, try a tippered Nair. Mix this in with lots ot Fairs.
Fsmash: For now, this move should only be used to punish your opponent's mistakes for a kill. Airdodging into the ground in front of Marth is a mistake, and can be punished with Fsmash if you have good timing. This is a good way to kill your opponent.
Usmash: Usmash, like Fsmash, should only be used to punish your opponent's really laggy moves, but this move is good because it can be used out of a dash. Do it basically when your opponent majorly messes up, so it can kill them.
That covers all of the different moves. Basically, stick to Fairs to space. Then, use dtilt if you hit a shield off a spaced landing Fair, to continue pressure. If either of these attacks connect, or your ground spacing is bad, Dash into the right spacing for First hit Dancing Blade, and resume spacing. When you break through your opponent's guard, hit them as stated above, or juggle them as described above. Use Fsmash and Usmash to punish laggy moves of your opponent, and try not to use laggy moves yourself, especially the ones I recommended you not to use.
One more thing. If your opponent is shielding, grab them. Though you can space moves on a shield, it's always always better to get the grab. If you do grab, Fthrow Dancing Bblade is a good set-up.
I'm happy to take questions.
you always have good advice and share it freely 
