- Game Versions
- Smash 3DS, Smash Wii U
Act 1: The History
Ah, where to begin. Since him humble beginnings of Melee, Marth has been one of the most sought after characters to use due to his versatility and range. With just a simple sword, many feats have been accomplished with Marth. SephirothKen basically paved the way for almost every Marth player in Melee. His famous Ken Combo, which people love seeing him perform, has brought players to their knees with just a few swipes. But much has changed since the days of Melee, and along came Brawl and everything changed. While his range was reduced by half, Dancing Blade became much easier to use. Combos became much more difficult to execute but Marth did not falter. With tipping still existing in Brawl, killing under 100% was still possible. However, with the addition of characters like Sonic and Snake, the metagame became a much more hostile place for Marth players. Years passed and with Smash 4 coming in, Marth would once again be a playable character. However, after 2 generations of nerfs, Marth has been looked down upon. A mere shadow of what he used to be. He still has his tipper, however, but this means nothing when his damage and range have both been reduced since Brawl. It's been 2 generations and while Marth struggles to maintain a foothold, some of us have been coming up with new strategies to combat the nerfs.
Act 2: The Game Plan
Going into games with Marth in Smash 4 is difficult and must be planned even more so than in the past. When one goes into a game with Marth in Smash 4, one must have a mindset of avoidance. Due to your lack of range in this game, you must make calculated decisions, smart trades, and most importantly spacing. Spacing is key to being good in general. However, with Marth, it's a different story. Your spacing must be on point or you will become quick combo fodder.
Act 3: How to actually play Marth (Strategy)
The age old question, how do I play Marth? Well, I'm not going to start by explaining his specials and movements, because if you've played Melee or Brawl at this point, you probably have a decent idea of how Marth works. If you've never played either game, go watch some combo videos with Marth. They're all over YouTube. So let's start with strategy. Going in, you cannot play too aggressive. It's a lot easier to inch forward a bit and test the waters. If you're opponent is playing aggressive, be defensive. Grabs, combos, the works. Neutrals and tilts will play a very important part of your defensive play. If your opponent plays defensive, utilize shield breaker. It is amazing how fast you can drop shields in this game. The only other character that can break shields faster than Marth is Peach. Peach has the potential to pull out a Mr. Saturn nullifying shields and giving you free combos. Marth does not have the luxury Peach does so you must play smarter. A lot of times, you will want to spend it in the air testing and poking with FAirs, however if your opponent is camping, you will have to approach carefully. I've seen a lot of For Glory Toon Links makes the same moves: Boomerang Arrow arrow arrow rinse and repeat. This is not a legitimate strategy for Toon Link but countering this strategy is easy. A few jumps will make short work of this camping mess of a character. Get those FAirs in and nail some grabs to punish his rolling. Because a lot of what I learned about Marth is conceptual. I cannot give combos, because how I learned Marth was through Melee and Brawl. You'll see a lot of players in Brawl using his Neutral to approach. This is not a bad idea however, keeping in mind the range reduction and the necessary spacing. Gimping is a bad idea in general in Smash 4, however Marth's DAir can spike people who want to try to recover from your gimps. Giving Marth a unique advantage to people who like to gimp in this game.
Act 4: What's Left to Be Said (Comments)
Well, what can I say, Marth has been near and dear to me since Melee (along with Falco) and while I am rather depressed that Sakurai has once again decided to nerf him even more. I fear that Marth players are now diminishing due to the constant nerfs our beloved prince has had over the years. However, new players are coming in all the time so there is some hope that the prince of melee will return once again.
Act 5: How to beat the Odds (Match ups)
So, let's talk match-ups. Well, with the overall reduced range, Marth now has a hard time fighting a lot of fighters. Specifically characters like Ike and Shulk who have superior range over Marth. Below, I will list how well Marth stacks up against most of the characters.
Legend:
+ advantage
- disadvantage
= neutral
Marth Mirror (=)
Mario (-)
Luigi (-)
Peach (-)
Bowser (+)
Yoshi (-)
Rosalina (=)
Bowser Jr. (=)
Wario (=)
G&W (=)
DK (+)
Diddy (-) (Massive disadvantage, you will need to make reads where necessary here)
Link (-) (with Link's new buffs, Marth cannot keep up.)
Zelda (+)
Shiek (-) (Same as with Diddy)
Ganon (+)
Toon Link (=)
Samus (=) (I say this because they kind of balance each other out)
Zamus/ZSS (-)
Pit (=)
Palutena (+) (They're about equal but tena can't kill easily.)
Ike (-/+) (This can go both ways for Marth)
Robin (-) (Marth has a hard time against Robin's frame traps)
Kirby (+)
D3 (+)
MK (+)
Little Mac (+)
Fox (=) (They have the same match up since melee so why change it)
Falco (-) (slight disadvantage due to difference in power)
Pikachu (-)
Charizard (+)
Lucario (=)
Jigglypuff (=)
Greninja (-) (Obvious speed difference)
Duck Hunt (-)
Rob (-)
Ness (+/-) (could go either way; same as Ike)
Falcon (-)
Villager (+)
Olimar (-)
Wii Fit (+)
Doc (-)
Black/Dark Pit (-)
Lucina (=) (they're similar)
Shulk (-)
Pac-Man (-)
Megaman/Rockman (=)
Sonic (-) (Hard counter for Marth because of how fast he can get in your face)
Act 6: Finale (Final thoughts)
Marth, the prince of awesome has seen some tough times over the years with his nerfs. However, those true to Marth will never give up. Marth has been with us since Melee and I'd hate to see people drop him just because he's been down on times. While Marth breaks even with a lot of characters, he still has quite the list of disadvantages. I think, while this will hinder how Marth players perform at major tournaments, I don't think it will be a great upset despite the changes.
Ah, where to begin. Since him humble beginnings of Melee, Marth has been one of the most sought after characters to use due to his versatility and range. With just a simple sword, many feats have been accomplished with Marth. SephirothKen basically paved the way for almost every Marth player in Melee. His famous Ken Combo, which people love seeing him perform, has brought players to their knees with just a few swipes. But much has changed since the days of Melee, and along came Brawl and everything changed. While his range was reduced by half, Dancing Blade became much easier to use. Combos became much more difficult to execute but Marth did not falter. With tipping still existing in Brawl, killing under 100% was still possible. However, with the addition of characters like Sonic and Snake, the metagame became a much more hostile place for Marth players. Years passed and with Smash 4 coming in, Marth would once again be a playable character. However, after 2 generations of nerfs, Marth has been looked down upon. A mere shadow of what he used to be. He still has his tipper, however, but this means nothing when his damage and range have both been reduced since Brawl. It's been 2 generations and while Marth struggles to maintain a foothold, some of us have been coming up with new strategies to combat the nerfs.
Act 2: The Game Plan
Going into games with Marth in Smash 4 is difficult and must be planned even more so than in the past. When one goes into a game with Marth in Smash 4, one must have a mindset of avoidance. Due to your lack of range in this game, you must make calculated decisions, smart trades, and most importantly spacing. Spacing is key to being good in general. However, with Marth, it's a different story. Your spacing must be on point or you will become quick combo fodder.
Act 3: How to actually play Marth (Strategy)
The age old question, how do I play Marth? Well, I'm not going to start by explaining his specials and movements, because if you've played Melee or Brawl at this point, you probably have a decent idea of how Marth works. If you've never played either game, go watch some combo videos with Marth. They're all over YouTube. So let's start with strategy. Going in, you cannot play too aggressive. It's a lot easier to inch forward a bit and test the waters. If you're opponent is playing aggressive, be defensive. Grabs, combos, the works. Neutrals and tilts will play a very important part of your defensive play. If your opponent plays defensive, utilize shield breaker. It is amazing how fast you can drop shields in this game. The only other character that can break shields faster than Marth is Peach. Peach has the potential to pull out a Mr. Saturn nullifying shields and giving you free combos. Marth does not have the luxury Peach does so you must play smarter. A lot of times, you will want to spend it in the air testing and poking with FAirs, however if your opponent is camping, you will have to approach carefully. I've seen a lot of For Glory Toon Links makes the same moves: Boomerang Arrow arrow arrow rinse and repeat. This is not a legitimate strategy for Toon Link but countering this strategy is easy. A few jumps will make short work of this camping mess of a character. Get those FAirs in and nail some grabs to punish his rolling. Because a lot of what I learned about Marth is conceptual. I cannot give combos, because how I learned Marth was through Melee and Brawl. You'll see a lot of players in Brawl using his Neutral to approach. This is not a bad idea however, keeping in mind the range reduction and the necessary spacing. Gimping is a bad idea in general in Smash 4, however Marth's DAir can spike people who want to try to recover from your gimps. Giving Marth a unique advantage to people who like to gimp in this game.
Act 4: What's Left to Be Said (Comments)
Well, what can I say, Marth has been near and dear to me since Melee (along with Falco) and while I am rather depressed that Sakurai has once again decided to nerf him even more. I fear that Marth players are now diminishing due to the constant nerfs our beloved prince has had over the years. However, new players are coming in all the time so there is some hope that the prince of melee will return once again.
Act 5: How to beat the Odds (Match ups)
So, let's talk match-ups. Well, with the overall reduced range, Marth now has a hard time fighting a lot of fighters. Specifically characters like Ike and Shulk who have superior range over Marth. Below, I will list how well Marth stacks up against most of the characters.
Legend:
+ advantage
- disadvantage
= neutral
Marth Mirror (=)
Mario (-)
Luigi (-)
Peach (-)
Bowser (+)
Yoshi (-)
Rosalina (=)
Bowser Jr. (=)
Wario (=)
G&W (=)
DK (+)
Diddy (-) (Massive disadvantage, you will need to make reads where necessary here)
Link (-) (with Link's new buffs, Marth cannot keep up.)
Zelda (+)
Shiek (-) (Same as with Diddy)
Ganon (+)
Toon Link (=)
Samus (=) (I say this because they kind of balance each other out)
Zamus/ZSS (-)
Pit (=)
Palutena (+) (They're about equal but tena can't kill easily.)
Ike (-/+) (This can go both ways for Marth)
Robin (-) (Marth has a hard time against Robin's frame traps)
Kirby (+)
D3 (+)
MK (+)
Little Mac (+)
Fox (=) (They have the same match up since melee so why change it)
Falco (-) (slight disadvantage due to difference in power)
Pikachu (-)
Charizard (+)
Lucario (=)
Jigglypuff (=)
Greninja (-) (Obvious speed difference)
Duck Hunt (-)
Rob (-)
Ness (+/-) (could go either way; same as Ike)
Falcon (-)
Villager (+)
Olimar (-)
Wii Fit (+)
Doc (-)
Black/Dark Pit (-)
Lucina (=) (they're similar)
Shulk (-)
Pac-Man (-)
Megaman/Rockman (=)
Sonic (-) (Hard counter for Marth because of how fast he can get in your face)
Act 6: Finale (Final thoughts)
Marth, the prince of awesome has seen some tough times over the years with his nerfs. However, those true to Marth will never give up. Marth has been with us since Melee and I'd hate to see people drop him just because he's been down on times. While Marth breaks even with a lot of characters, he still has quite the list of disadvantages. I think, while this will hinder how Marth players perform at major tournaments, I don't think it will be a great upset despite the changes.
