FishkeeperTimmay!
Smash Ace
Forward
Hey guys, you may know me from the Ike boards, or possibly from these boards as well. I used to be called Trebor-Nella a month or so back. My name aside, I am an avid Marth user and often spout about his sheer awesomeness to many people. My faith in Marth is mainly derived in his B-moves, two of which Emblem Lord has covered oh so well. However, I do believe it is time to analyze another one of Marth's great B-moves; the Counter.
Introduction
Counter is the best defensive option that the game has ever offered a character. No joke, I love this more than air-dodging and spot-dodging. Why? Because no other character can do it. Its unique. Sure, Ike, Lucario and Metaknight have SIMILAR moves, but none compare to Marth's sheer speed and versatility. Marth's Counter is far, far better, for several reason I will outline now...
Enter... Aggressive Defense
Counter is a great move because of how fast it activates. In a mere few frames, you go from a vulnerable state to be invincible, and ready to counterattack anything that comes at you (save a grab...). C-C-combo breaker anyone? Screw airdodges, Counter allows you to stifle aggression while damaging your opponent at the same time. Mixing this up into your C-C-Combo breaking regime will make your opponent weary to pressure you, and if he continues to press you for damage, he's essentially giving you free % and space. Why NOT use this?
On the ground, its not quite as safe. Your opponent has the option to grab here. But, as I've learned in my matches, an opponent should be weary of shielding-grabbing versus a Marth. If he is shielding and not worrying about it, you're playing Marth wrong. Essentially, the only time your opponent SHOULD be grabbing is offensively. This is the one case that Counter shouldn't be used. While against grab heavy opponents like DK/IC/etc., spot-dodging is a far better option. However, versus character that try to out-space you, like Snake and ZZS, Counter is a godsend. I can't count how many tilt happy Snake's I've screwed over with Counter.
This should seem obvious, but you should train yourself to "Counter on reaction". There is a long list of moves you should be able to Counter apon hearing them, or seeing them, activate. It is a better reaction to use than shielding, as your best follow ups to shielding are likely grabs, which aren't nearly as effective anymore. It's also better than spot-dodging, because they can be tech chased and punished easier. Wouldn't you rather take the time to learn the reaction, so that you could cause more damage and increase the likelihood of getting your opponent off the edge to gimp?
Counter is awesome out of a shield. Characters like G&W will shield pressure you with poking techniques, and Counter is a great way to punish. Hold your shield up, bait the attack, and punish by dropping and Countering. I've successfully done this several times. Against those "epic" freeze attacks - that often are very powerful - Counter is great to use out of a shield. I've successfully shielded a PKT2 from Ness, dropped my shield, and Countered that same PKT2. It's applications are nearly as viable as Dolphin Slash.
Counter is excellent to use to get back on the ledge. You can ledgehop Counter to prevent aggressive edgeguarders from tilting/smashing you back off. You can also use it prevent getting gimped, as it essentially puts a huge "Can't Touch This" aura around you. The biggest advantage is, while Countering, you don't fall. This is particularly useful versus characters like Metaknight that are extremely aggressive off the stage and while your on the ledge.
Counter has one final trait I'd like to touch on... Momentum stopping. Brawl is a game that we are sadly at the mercy of momentum... unless you have moves to STOP that momentum. Counter does that. A short hop can be canceled into a Counter to land you on the ground with a defensive wall up extremely easily. This is extremely practical on approaches that are risky, like against tilt happy Snakes. You can short hop, giving the implication of a F-air, and cancel all your momentum, landing on the ground ready to Counter.
Thats my thoughts on Counter. Counter essentially allows Marth to be aggressive, even when he is on the defensive. This move will allow you to consistently punish predictable, aggressive, and often life threating behavior in your opponent. It gives you space, damage and potential edge guarding set ups.
Thoughts? Comments?
Hey guys, you may know me from the Ike boards, or possibly from these boards as well. I used to be called Trebor-Nella a month or so back. My name aside, I am an avid Marth user and often spout about his sheer awesomeness to many people. My faith in Marth is mainly derived in his B-moves, two of which Emblem Lord has covered oh so well. However, I do believe it is time to analyze another one of Marth's great B-moves; the Counter.
Introduction
Counter is the best defensive option that the game has ever offered a character. No joke, I love this more than air-dodging and spot-dodging. Why? Because no other character can do it. Its unique. Sure, Ike, Lucario and Metaknight have SIMILAR moves, but none compare to Marth's sheer speed and versatility. Marth's Counter is far, far better, for several reason I will outline now...
Enter... Aggressive Defense
Counter is a great move because of how fast it activates. In a mere few frames, you go from a vulnerable state to be invincible, and ready to counterattack anything that comes at you (save a grab...). C-C-combo breaker anyone? Screw airdodges, Counter allows you to stifle aggression while damaging your opponent at the same time. Mixing this up into your C-C-Combo breaking regime will make your opponent weary to pressure you, and if he continues to press you for damage, he's essentially giving you free % and space. Why NOT use this?
On the ground, its not quite as safe. Your opponent has the option to grab here. But, as I've learned in my matches, an opponent should be weary of shielding-grabbing versus a Marth. If he is shielding and not worrying about it, you're playing Marth wrong. Essentially, the only time your opponent SHOULD be grabbing is offensively. This is the one case that Counter shouldn't be used. While against grab heavy opponents like DK/IC/etc., spot-dodging is a far better option. However, versus character that try to out-space you, like Snake and ZZS, Counter is a godsend. I can't count how many tilt happy Snake's I've screwed over with Counter.
This should seem obvious, but you should train yourself to "Counter on reaction". There is a long list of moves you should be able to Counter apon hearing them, or seeing them, activate. It is a better reaction to use than shielding, as your best follow ups to shielding are likely grabs, which aren't nearly as effective anymore. It's also better than spot-dodging, because they can be tech chased and punished easier. Wouldn't you rather take the time to learn the reaction, so that you could cause more damage and increase the likelihood of getting your opponent off the edge to gimp?
Counter is awesome out of a shield. Characters like G&W will shield pressure you with poking techniques, and Counter is a great way to punish. Hold your shield up, bait the attack, and punish by dropping and Countering. I've successfully done this several times. Against those "epic" freeze attacks - that often are very powerful - Counter is great to use out of a shield. I've successfully shielded a PKT2 from Ness, dropped my shield, and Countered that same PKT2. It's applications are nearly as viable as Dolphin Slash.
Counter is excellent to use to get back on the ledge. You can ledgehop Counter to prevent aggressive edgeguarders from tilting/smashing you back off. You can also use it prevent getting gimped, as it essentially puts a huge "Can't Touch This" aura around you. The biggest advantage is, while Countering, you don't fall. This is particularly useful versus characters like Metaknight that are extremely aggressive off the stage and while your on the ledge.
Counter has one final trait I'd like to touch on... Momentum stopping. Brawl is a game that we are sadly at the mercy of momentum... unless you have moves to STOP that momentum. Counter does that. A short hop can be canceled into a Counter to land you on the ground with a defensive wall up extremely easily. This is extremely practical on approaches that are risky, like against tilt happy Snakes. You can short hop, giving the implication of a F-air, and cancel all your momentum, landing on the ground ready to Counter.
Thats my thoughts on Counter. Counter essentially allows Marth to be aggressive, even when he is on the defensive. This move will allow you to consistently punish predictable, aggressive, and often life threating behavior in your opponent. It gives you space, damage and potential edge guarding set ups.
Thoughts? Comments?
