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Q&A "Everyone Look At Me!" The Marth Video Critique Thread.

AustinRC

Smash Lord
Joined
Dec 11, 2005
Messages
1,482
There are a few things you can do if people cc a lot. If they are tall enough while crouching you can late uair them or dair them. Grab works well and also run up and then jump back fair ***** hard against CC.

:phone:
 

knightpraetor

Smash Champion
Joined
Oct 20, 2005
Messages
2,321
"

Edit, normally I rely on grab (as a mixup or if it seems appropriate), down tilt, jab and reactive fairs to keep people out, but ccing shuts down so much of that."

this makes no sense..how does CC shut down grab? it also doesn't shut down dtilt if you space it properly cause you can dash away or use another option. tipped jab also doesn't get shut down so that means you are jabbing too close, so you probably could have gone in and grabbed or you needed to use a defensive move like shield.

reactive fair is the bigger issue. CC can deal with that. what char are you talking about? fox's CC dtilt? you have mixups like shielding or not taking the aerial and fading out instead so the opponent ends up grounded and at a frame disadvantage (assuming the opponent is doing a true CC, as opposed to just the smash DI effect from the 2nd C/cancel). you could also mix in dair to keep them honest. you can also roll (though I don't recommend taking this unless you are at high risk of dying).

sorry just now realized austinrc posted. yeah rising retreating fair works well, and nair also works well because if the nair pushes them back they are not in punish range, lose stage positioning and you have frame advantage on them.

edit: why did i say empty sh just out of range puts the opponent at a frame disadvantage..he is at a disadvantage but only cause he has to react to your landing without an aerial, so you do gain frames on him if you properly made him think you were going to fair earlier
 

007-jake

Smash Journeyman
Joined
Apr 18, 2011
Messages
371
Location
Baton rouge, la
I'd like a little feedback on my marf. Ive been playing almost 2 years competitively and this Ganon has been playing almost as long (if im not mistaken). These are some friendlies, ive played with him like 2 other times before this. First I'd like yall to watch this one game http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrIGRiZR3Dc&feature=player_embedded#t=18m38s and this last B05 set we played (if yall dont mind) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrIGRiZR3Dc&feature=player_embedded#t=44m30s. Thanks, id also like to note I was extremely high and smashed out (johns) and the ganon was prob salty hahaha
 

AustinRC

Smash Lord
Joined
Dec 11, 2005
Messages
1,482
another episode of swift vs thorn

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kCseJVnQlA&list=UUrgOLAsUwxZbhxORVjgSkAA&index=4&feature=plcp

not bad i guess but lots of room for improvement
Game 1
At the very beginning of the game th0rn starts on the platform and you are under him yet you run away and give up free stage control.
0:37 you have him on a platform again and uair him to put on some pressure and force him into shield. After that you roll away I can only assume you were nervous about him dropping down and hitting you (or a technical flub in which case ignore this) so you can either continue to uair his shield or start dash dancing a bit so that if he does try and come down you can get a grab or a hit.
1:37 your jab clanks with his side b and he gets back on. Even if you had hit him with the side B it wouldn’t have done much. Instead you should have run up grabbed him and down threw to try and keep him on that side of the stage.
2:36 you have th0rn on the edge of the stage and you begin dash dancing which is good but then you just like run far away from him.
4:07 you cover the option of Falco trying to up B and snag the ledge but instead he goes high. You could instead walk up and dtilt at the ledge. It’s safer and much quicker.
General info:
If you need a moment to breath you can retreat to a platform and do really late fairs on them and also dtilt to keep Falco at bay. Falco has a difficult time getting in on Marth who is doing that if they are not used to it. You could also start dash dancing a little differently. Th0rn was getting you with a lot of dash attacks which is fine it’s one of Falco’s options after a certain percent but he wasn’t lasering you that much. Falco’s who don’t stop Marth’s movement well generally get pooped on.

Just game one for now I might go back and do game two if you found this helpful.
 

Arcadia157

Smash Journeyman
Joined
May 19, 2012
Messages
245
Location
Richmond, VA
These were a couple of tournament matches from a little over a week ago (Skip to 2:28:40): http://www.twitch.tv/epsilon933/b/393503928

I'd appreciate any general advice and pointing out any bad habits. I know why I lost both my matches, but they were still really close and I feel like I could've won them both if my tech skill was crisper and my decision making was better. Dem tournament jitters doe.
 

Xyzz

Smash Champion
Joined
Feb 7, 2011
Messages
2,170
Location
Gensokyan Embassy, Munich, Germany
If anybody feels like it, here's some random friendly of mine vs Luigi: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VAyjpKLdiA

Any critique of the horribly stupid things I do in the neutral position (or about anything else, really) would be super appreciated. Be as harsh as you want to (:
Yeah I do end up winning and everything, but it's one of the few instances of me watching my game-play without feeling like screaming at myself for being an idiot... I feel I'm doing a rather fine job here ... so I need somebody else to scold me :D
 

AceDudeyeah

Smash Ace
Joined
Dec 13, 2007
Messages
967
Location
Floridaa!
If anybody feels like it, here's some random friendly of mine vs Luigi: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VAyjpKLdiA

Any critique of the horribly stupid things I do in the neutral position (or about anything else, really) would be super appreciated. Be as harsh as you want to (:
Yeah I do end up winning and everything, but it's one of the few instances of me watching my game-play without feeling like screaming at myself for being an idiot... I feel I'm doing a rather fine job here ... so I need somebody else to scold me :D

0:13 - You must be pretty confident or have a lot of experience against this Luigi. I woulda ledgehopped airdodged or just waited and punished with such a telegraphed fsmash.
0:15- When he side-b'ed into you, instead of rolling onto the stage, he can't grab the edge. So let go and regrab to refresh your invincibility for the imminent up-B. He woulda been dead because Luigi can't land on the stage with his up-B.
0:40- Again, refresh invincibility
1:27- Once I saw that Luigi use his double-jump(DJ) I'da stayed on his glass. Even if he still had his double jump, get under him and pressure him to use it, then and abuse shffl up-airs all day.
1:30- Same with the upairs
1:50- Should be an inescapable trap for Luigi- Fair then uptilt if he DJ's to avoid the fair.
2:08- Your spacing's a little weird for whenever he comes down. Stay under him and readjust as needed. The Luigi needs to feel the danger of being in range of your uptilt.
2:21- Just a quick uptilt to beat him would have worked rather than guessing with a wavedash committal fsmash
2:28- When you fair a low-percent floaty, be sure to keep good tipper spacing so they can't retaliate(even if there wasn't a platform there, a peach, luigi, or samus can nair you off in between fairs if you're too close)
3:39- Yeah, more of that! Although you wanna wait just a few frames more so you don't have to reach with DJ. Just right after you reach for him again with a DJ and are stuck floating back to the ground while he gets a free escape(or at least, he would have if he didn't antsily jump because you missed a fair).
3:48- You were out of his range so a nair was not needed. He saw it and was able to punish you. In neutral game, toss out a walling-out move when they put you in their range. Barely outside is still the same as farthest outside.
4:10- Not sure if you've been toying with him now because you're up 2 stocks, but I would have taken the side-b lag to line up a tipper rather than a fair and end it right there.

What I noticed. Good job on keeping him out though.
 

AceDudeyeah

Smash Ace
Joined
Dec 13, 2007
Messages
967
Location
Floridaa!
0:08- Not sure why you shielded. Fox and Falcos can shine you out of your chaingrab(only if they don't DI) at 20%. And even then, it's best to keep the ball in your court by pivot grabbing at that percent rather than trying to guess what they'll do when you hand them the ball by shielding and hoping they'll shine it.
0:14- When Fox and Falco's don't DI an upthrow at around 20%, Marth's grab hitbox won't grab 'em unless you pivot.
0:28- After the fthrow, immediately stay on them by foxtrotting(tap and release the stick to dash just a little bit) to where they are landing. Rather than staying in place and then reacting to where they tech, go to their teching location so the direction they pick requires less time for you to get there.
1:05- You seem to be stuck in your shield a lot. Learning aerials outta shield gives you more options and breathing room. I woulda stationary naired to get that Falco off of me.
1:20- Again, stay on them with the fthrow(and later with the bthrow) or whenever you are in a neutral state and they are in hitstun/tumbling. It was incredibly hard for you to convert when they tech away and create that much space for you.
1:40- When a Falco lasers you from far away, you can fair the incoming shffl outta your shield. If they laser too close, they risk you shieldgrabbing the laser.
1:50- Picture an upwards facing trapezoid above the stage. That trapezoid represents the other character's ranged, determined by how high and horizontal they can jump with a bair/fair. Don't side-b while you're in this trapezoid. Fall out of their range so you can get to the edge or fair them if they try extending too far.
2:30- When they don't have many recovering options(you took away his jump), you can beat out his side-b and up-b with an attack right there rather than letting them get their jump back with a wavedash fsmash.
3:00- Lawl
3:08- Fair outta shield after he dair'd it.
3:25- A fair or bair (or even dair so you can turn it into a grab)outta shield for when they're out of shieldgrab range.
3:30- A grab would have been nicer because he's at low-percents you can turn it into a bigger combo than a one-hit fsmash, which is the choice only if they're at killing %.
3:40- Low % fairs can and should be comboed into grabs.

All I got for now. Reviewing for the MCAT so I'll visit your second game/future videos later in mid-july. lolol
 

CyberZixx

Smash Lord
Joined
Oct 26, 2012
Messages
1,189
I like how you are actually looking at the matches and giving detailed feedback, AceDudeyeah. Great to see such support.
 

Xyzz

Smash Champion
Joined
Feb 7, 2011
Messages
2,170
Location
Gensokyan Embassy, Munich, Germany
[...]What I noticed.[...]
First of all: Thanks a lot.
The overall pattern seems to be less unnecessary ballsy reads, working on spacing a bit more, and not throwing out stuff just because I feel like it. Pretty obvious, but somehow I have a hard time sticking to that in matches :x
At the 4:10 thing: I kinda didn't feel confident in getting anything else in. Now that I think about it, that's pretty stupid, because the fsmash would've been easily in time as well ^^
 

AceDudeyeah

Smash Ace
Joined
Dec 13, 2007
Messages
967
Location
Floridaa!
First of all: Thanks a lot.
The overall pattern seems to be less unnecessary ballsy reads, working on spacing a bit more, and not throwing out stuff just because I feel like it. Pretty obvious, but somehow I have a hard time sticking to that in matches :x
At the 4:10 thing: I kinda didn't feel confident in getting anything else in. Now that I think about it, that's pretty stupid, because the fsmash would've been easily in time as well ^^
Your welcome! Yeah, throwing out random stuff is bad. Remember: Keep as many options open while eliminating as many of your opponents'.

I like how you are actually looking at the matches and giving detailed feedback, AceDudeyeah. Great to see such support.
I appreciate the notice. Feels good, man.
I just saw how there were 3 unanswered requests in a row and shook my head.

Getting a video critiqued here was one of the major stages in my Marth(lol, so many full hops). Trying to help the new generation enjoy that.
I critique'd Xyzz because his was just posted, but if you ever visit this thread again, lemme know, Arcadia157, Swiftbass, and RedEyes and I'll do your videos next! (Either after my MCAT or my next I'm-sick-of-looking-at-books-break. lolol)
 

AceDudeyeah

Smash Ace
Joined
Dec 13, 2007
Messages
967
Location
Floridaa!
0:08- Lawl, fullhops. I remember when I did those. They’re really predictable because all you telegraph that all you can do is come down. Don’t do ‘em against a Fox at neutral game.
0:15- Don’t side-b above the stage when you’re in a character’s “bair trapezoid”(defined by how far and high they can quickly jump and bair/upair you off the stage). Either side-b far off the stage or keep your Marth at neutral when you’re in the trapezoid so if you see movement, you can dair, counter, or air-dodge on reaction.
0:27- Pay attention to your opponent’s percents. Uptilt at late 20’s to early 30’s so you can grab. If you uptilt sooner than that, be prepared to techchase or jab reset.
0:38- Not sure what that empty short-hop was for. Coulda either stood there and tech-chased or daired. If you’re going to be fancy, still keep in mind their options so you’re not surprised when they tech and was expecting a missed tech.
1:05- This fox isn’t taking advantage of his shine-spike opportunities. But against a better Fox, you should hold down as you’re getting shined until you fall off the stage, at which point you let go so you grab the edge. That way, you don’t have to double-jump to grab the edge and risk getting shined in the process.
1:12- Turn around dtilt would accomplish the same thing without the massive commitment of an fsmash. You actually lost your stock because of the resulting shield pressure. (I would have buffered a roll since my back was turned to him while in my shield.)
1:28- You can’t keep expecting your opponent to miss a tech for the sake of your combo video.
1:30- Too early of a percent for an up-B; grab while he’s still combo-able.
1:36- I think you had enough hitstun to either Ken combo or land and then dair.
1:40- You wavedashed back too early. When a Fox up-b’s at that position above the stage, Marth can either stay at the edge saying “I’m going to dtilt or fsmash the edge when you up-b so you’re dead if you pick a downwards angle.” That makes them want to go horizontal or high, which is what the Marth baited and wavedashes backwards to punish it. Or an advanced Fox will know you’re going to wavedash backwards and picks the downwards angle anyways, which is countered by you just sticking to fsmash the edge. If you wavedash that early away, you telegraph which option you wanted him to go for. In this case, either that Fox’s reactions are horrible or is confident you won’t be able to finish the stock or continue the edgeguard well enough if he does.
1:56- Oooh, nice pivot.
2:20- Watch the early % dair outta shieds. The Fox was back to neutral before you were. Either jump as far away as you can or just wavedash through him and grab.
2:48- Ouch, double powershield to upsmash. Although your fair spacing made it really easy for him to connect.
3:41- While it wouldn’t do much for me to say “space your edgeguards better”, I do notice you tend to whiff because your too far away from the Fox. Tighten it up and get closer just a little bit on your edgeguards. The tip isn’t the only part of his sword that’s disjointed.
3:48- Veery bad idea. Whenever you double jump for the edge against Fox, always space it outside of his ledgedrop shine area as if he’s hanging on there, even if he isn’t.
4:00- When you f-throwed him, I noticed you dashed away before going towards him. Always dash towards them as long as they’re in tumble so if they tech in place or away, you’re heading the right direction. And you can dash dance on reaction if they teched towards you.
4:05- Same as above

The rest of the match and the entire set are pretty much the same: work on your combo spacing so that you’re nair isn’t too far away or you’re upair came out too early/late or you have a lot of space to close because he didn’t tech that way. Against Fox, Marth relies heavily on his punish game. The Fox will win if the Marth can’t capitalize and has to rely on winning neutral exchanges.
 
D

Deleted member

Guest
Alot of the mistakes you caught were simply from me being REALLY nervous. When I play against certain people (I have a close record with him) I just tend to make so many mistakes, so I think I need to focus more on just keeping calm.
0:38 thats a perfect example of me getting nervous and unable to play. I full hop and for some reason tense up and don't input anything, then air dodge because I can tell I'm going to get hit.
 

Dr Peepee

Thanks for Everything <3
Moderator
BRoomer
Joined
Sep 29, 2007
Messages
27,766
Location
Raleigh, North Carolina
First link g1:

21:40- Uair imo so you can react to airdodge.

21:41- jumped too much. should have waited a little more. you made him feel your threat so quit trying so hard to get him. be okay letting falco come to you or do something stupid.

21:44- could have pushed for more stage.

21:48- too far away to grab. just wd in and hold position or maybe ground attack since falco can't deal with it at that point.

22:00- could have gone out there? either way just get close to the edge then and doing the m2k is pretty solid lol.

22:03- waited far too long to bair since you were busy moving. just hold position and don't swing unless you want to put fear into him or can hit him. pressure with Marth works like that and not with just swinging on his shield.

22:09- held shield forever. need to be more comfortable WD'ing oos away and holding position that way.

22:22- just dtilt?

22:27- should have died for that. swinging so much will get you killed. have patience!

22:33- react! patience!

<.<


watched 5 seconds of the other set and saw you swinging wildly and concluded the same thing lol. patience! or at least quit trying to ONLY hit him lol.
 

DireDrop

Smash Journeyman
Joined
Jul 16, 2013
Messages
332
Location
Lake Geneva, WI
I finally found some time to head over to my friends house and record some matches! The only issue was that we accidentally captured audio from the room mic, rather than game audio, so you'll have to listen to us bickering, cursing, and chatting in addition to the game. Any criticism would be greatly appreciated!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueFYeA64xkY

Reference Code: DireDrop01
 

Beat!

Smash Master
Joined
Jan 8, 2010
Messages
3,214
Location
Uppsala, Sweden
@Dire

- You used SH nairs almost constantly, and pretty much all of them were rising approaching nairs. It worked out for you in these matches because your opponent didn't catch on and adapt to it, but a ton of those nairs were easily punishable by things like raptor boosting under them or just shield grabbing (he did shield grab one of your nairs at 0:27. The majority of your nairs were just as unsafe as that one).

- (kind of related to the first point) You need to utilize Marth's grounded game in neutral much more, instead of just using approaching SH nair as the go-to move in almost every situation. Dtilts, solid dash dancing, pivot grabs (and grabs in general) etc. Marth does not want to jump against grounded opponents if he can avoid it, especially not against Falcon, because once he gets you above him, you're gonna stay there for a while. Try to play a session (or just a couple of matches) where you're not allowed to use SH nair at all, and try to explore your other options instead.

- Speaking of grabs, I would've liked to see more of those (instead of some of all those side-Bs you did, for example). More importantly, out of the few times you did grab him you used fthrow almost every single time. Look at the matches and see how little you gained from fthrowing. 9/10 times you either did fthrow -> nothing (3-4% damage, minuscule increase in stage control) or fthrow -> fthrow -> nothing (6-7% damage, slightly less minuscule increase in stage control). Compare this to uthrow, which sets up juggles, combos and platform tech chases, or dthrow, which at least knocks him over at 0%, giving you a sort of decent tech chase opportunity. Basically, when in doubt, uthrow (and definitely don't fthrow).

- You're making the edgeguarding way more complicated and RPS-y than it has to be. A simple SH weak fair -> (tipper) fsmash will suffice in the vast majority of edgeguard situations against Falcon. If he goes low, just dtilt. It's only when the Falcon gets really sneaky and learns how to go low AND dodge dtilts that you need to start going off stage sometimes. Now, to be fair, you did a couple of simple and efficient edgeguards, so you seem to have a decent grasp of the general idea, but those all-or-nothing FH dairs/fairs have to go.

- You use side-B a lot. It's decent against Falcon and it seemed to be working out for you in these matches, so it's not necessarily a bad thing, I suppose. Just make sure to pay attention and use it cleverly or you're going to get punished for it.
 

DireDrop

Smash Journeyman
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Jul 16, 2013
Messages
332
Location
Lake Geneva, WI
Thanks for the solid advice! I'll try to stick to the ground more and use grabs more efficiently. What exactly does RSP-y mean? I can guess from the context, but I've never heard that phrase before.
 

Beat!

Smash Master
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Jan 8, 2010
Messages
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Uppsala, Sweden
RPS = Rock Paper Scissors (in hindsight, RPS-esque would've been more clear than RPS-y). It relates to what I said about all-or-nothing dairs/fairs. Basically, by doing those you're turning the edgeguard into a guessing situation where his chances of getting past you and back on-stage are suddenly as good (or at least almost as good) as your chances of killing him.
 

Salepate

Smash Cadet
Joined
Jan 30, 2008
Messages
57
Location
Lyon, France
Hello,

I think you could try to be more reactive / anticipating the aftermaths of your attacks, especially the ones that send your opponent off the stage. You can approximate his trajectory, and depending on certain factors (whether he still has his second jump or not, or the knockback delay) decide to descend along with him and tilt him using the first F-B hit so he'll keep getting lower, you could even try to reverse Up-B as it'll make you recover and most likely kill your opponent at the same time. Through trials & errors you'll eventually handle it.

As for the time you spend on the ground, you should never stand still, always think about keeping a sword-size distance, but do not let him get closer. You can easily reach for a grab if he gets defensive too often. Dance around, don't hesitate to make fast paced movements so you can change direction anytime, that'll also prevent some unexpected shines to hit you.

I'm sorry if I'm not clear, just let me know!

Regards
 

AppleAppleAZ

Smash Journeyman
Joined
Nov 29, 2011
Messages
318
Location
Ayy Zeee
Moar vids from a couple weeks ago: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWVn1i7h5aM (Me vs Axe)

I feel like I over committed a lot on times with aerials where I should have just stayed on the ground and grabbed or pressured with dtilt, and I got effed up by projectiles (I have no idea how to deal with projectile spam aka Samus, (Y) Link, Falco to a degree) I would appreciate any critique especially how to keep my space better.
 

Beat!

Smash Master
Joined
Jan 8, 2010
Messages
3,214
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Uppsala, Sweden
Edgehog @ 5:50 was slick as ****.

My experience vs YL is fairly limited so I can't give much specific advice, but this
I feel like I over committed a lot on times with aerials where I should have just stayed on the ground and grabbed or pressured with dtilt
is spot on. It not only made the neutral game difficult in general for you, but you also missed several clear-cut grab opportunities because you had already decided to do an aerial and went with it, instead of being aware of what was actually available. 3:46 is probably the best example of this. The WD back was excellent and would've resulted in a free grab, but instead you did a fair that didn't really accomplish anything.

Speaking of grabs, less fthrow/dthrow, more upthrow. Upthrow should be your default throw, not only because it's usually the best option, but also because it's never ever bad. You'll always in the very least get a positional advantage, and usually more than that. You generally only want to use the others when you're more or less certain that you'll get something out of it (this is especially true for fthrow, because at least dthrow gives you a techchase even at 0%, so it's an okay throw to default to).

Anyway, your own reflection indicates that you already have a good idea of what you need to work on. One last piece of general advice I want to give you (you may already be aware of this, but it's based on the feeling I got from watching the set) is to not just do moves because they seem to be good in the situation you're in, or because you've seen a good Marth like M2K or PPU do it in a situation that resembles the one you're in. Always play "in the moment". Observe each situation individually and always question the decisions you -as well as other Marths you're watching - make. Maybe you'll find that fadeaway nair is in fact always the "best" move in a given situation, or maybe you'll notice that when examined more carefully, the "given" situation can actually be be dissected further into sub-situations, each of which may have separate "solutions". Basically, don't take anything for granted.

Kinda started rambling in the end there lol.
 

AppleAppleAZ

Smash Journeyman
Joined
Nov 29, 2011
Messages
318
Location
Ayy Zeee
One last piece of general advice I want to give you (you may already be aware of this, but it's based on the feeling I got from watching the set) is to not just do moves because they seem to be good in the situation you're in, or because you've seen a good Marth like M2K or PPU do it in a situation that resembles the one you're in. Always play "in the moment". Observe each situation individually and always question the decisions you -as well as other Marths you're watching - make. Maybe you'll find that fadeaway nair is in fact always the "best" move in a given situation, or maybe you'll notice that when examined more carefully, the "given" situation can actually be be dissected further into sub-situations, each of which may have separate "solutions". Basically, don't take anything for granted.
Your smash intuition seems to be pretty much spot on. Actually that's something I just started realizing lol. Trying to just imitate play styles seems kind of awful in hindsight, but it's definitely something I've been working on. Thanks for the great advice Beat!
 

Beat!

Smash Master
Joined
Jan 8, 2010
Messages
3,214
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Uppsala, Sweden
@CABC I tried to watch but it lagged so much that I couldn't even make out what was happening. Sorry. :/

@Apple

You get stuck in shield way too often. Every laser he did shut you down completely, even standing ones. Learn to dash away PS and crouch PS, and learn to move swiftly out of shield (wavedashing). Also learn to recognize different laser heights. You can dash attack under high ones and nair over low ones. Basically, you want him to feel as uncomfortable about lasering as possible, because that'll cause him to cut down on lasers, which frees up your movement even more.

Realize that dashdancing is one of Marth's best tools, regardless of matchup. Don't let him completely negate it that easily. It's obviously a lot harder to maintain against a character with a spammable projectile that stuns, but you kinda just let it happen without even trying to put up a fight. I understand that it can feel a bit scary because Falco can laser constantly and almost any solid move he lands will lead to a big combo, but you if you let that fluster you to the extent it did in these matches then you've lost the match before it's even started.

Then there are all those counters and optimistic fsmashes, but those seem to largely be a result of you getting stuck so often, so once you start improving that part of your neutral game I think the counters and fsmashes will go away naturally. This is not to say they don't have their value as rare mix-ups, but you're using them as main options in the neutral game.

You also jump way too much, but that's once again a result of you not being able to deal with Falco on the ground.

Your punishment game leaves a lot to be desired. Lots of slight mis-timings and poor move choices. Practice combos against lvl 1-4 CPUs until your hands bleed. Always look for optimizations. Don't settle for the weird-hit uptilt that gives you a questionable tech chase when you can get guaranteed followups from a uair. Don't go for fair chains that have no hope of connecting when you could be looking for a grab. And so forth. Generally, prioritize moves that send him up.

Fthrowing Falco in the middle of FD when he's at any % other than 0 (like the one you did at 12:19) is a big no-no. You've got upthrow -> anything you want, dude! Don't let the bird get away so easily. Fthrow is just bad in general. Only use it if you have a really good idea of what you're aiming to do. Default to upthrow otherwise. Dthrow is decent as well, at least if it corners him.

When it comes to edgeguarding you seem to have the right idea, but like with the rest of your punishment game, your timing is slightly off. Keep working on that while keeping the same general idea overall. Not much specific advice to give here, except that you want to avoid having to resort to counter against Falco's up-B if possible (11:30), because it's so easy to dodge. Just go down there and hit him!


I think that covers most of it.
 

coolusername

Smash Rookie
Joined
Feb 1, 2013
Messages
12
Location
Phoenix, AZ
@AppleAppleAZ: I think the important most important lesson you should take away from this is that you should just stop being such a fraud. Obviously, this MexRay guy is much better than you and you should just give up on trying to be better than him. :awesome:
 

MookieRah

Kinda Sorta OK at Smash
Joined
Mar 7, 2004
Messages
5,384
Location
Umeå, Sweden
DkDKDkDkDk, I watched your Marth ditto vid. Pretty good stuff, but there is a lot you can do to improve.

General Stuff:


Throwing, Observing, and Manipulating:
OK, right off the bat I noticed something that you can work on that will make you a much better player. You should never force something from Marth when you want it, it's generally a bad idea. If you don't beleive me, watch my match that is up in the Dr Peepee thread, when I try to force something to happen I get punished.

Immediately after you uthrow you need to look for one thing whether or not they second jump or not.

If they don't jump and they are at low percents, then just uptilt them. If they are at higher percents and too far away to uptilt I generally advise people to shorthop towards your opponent but just wait.

Usually this prompts your opponent to jump or perform some kind of stall (in Marth's case his forward B). If it doesn't and you are in range, uair/fair/bair depending on your position.

This is a great thing, because if they jump or stall then you have enough time to land and consider your next option, but your opponent is still stuck in the air with one less way of avoiding your attacks.

This isn't easy, but it's definitely the best way to go about it. Limiting your opponents options makes it a lot easier to figure out what they are able to do in a circumstance and gives you a higher chance of being successful.

On this same note, you kept forward and downthrowing him and always tossing out an fsmash. Again, you can't force things to happen with Marth, react instead. I know just how tempting it is to try and force a quick KO to one of your opponents stocks, but in most of these cases you would have been better off uthrowing and playing off of that. For a point of reference, out of all the fthrow/backthrow fsmashes you did, only one landed. So that is at least 4-5 wasted grab oppertunities that could have been a nice juggle that could have led to a KO if not a lot of percent.

I would say that this is you and your opponents's biggest error in play overall. You are both so eager to fsmash that you give up so many more better options that you have at your disposal. Fsmash is a great move, but it should not be spammed, and you shouldn't toss it out very often in a match unless you are certain it will land.

Spacing:
Both you and your opponent have pretty poor spacing in this match. If you or your opponent was spacing attacks well, it would have been a very different match. Against other characters Marth has a bit of leeway on spacing, but not against himself. Your spacing has to be spot on in order to punish your opponent from bad positioning or juggling. You can't afford to drop potential combos AND take a hit yourself when one tipped attack could spell out a stock. You should really spend some time focused on mastering the tipper range of Marth's aerials.

Try placing bomb-ombs on platforms in training mode. Put cpu's at each end of the stage so that you can see everything and then just practice spacing your fairs so that you can attack the bombs without them exploding on you.

Out of shield options:
There are several times when you are locked in shield and choose to roll instead of wavedashing, or took a hit to the shield and then failed to capitalize on the possible punish by not wavedash and grabbing your opponent. Marth's out of shield options are immensely important to learn, as rolling is fairly easy to punish. Practice to wavedash out of shield against computers after they land an attack so that it becomes something that feels natural to do. Learn when you can actually follow up on it with wavedash > grab/attacks.

Neutral Game:
Both you and your opponent toss out aerials and fsmashes from neutral all the time. You are much better off not approaching with aerials at all, and it's definitely unwise to throw out random fsmashes. That works right now against opponents your level, but it will only hurt you later on when people play a lot safer.

If you feel that your opponent will be in a zone for a random fsmash, try dtilting instead. Focus more on your ground game and using movement to create openings. Use dtilt more, it's an amazing move that you and your opponent underuse. Be sure to practice moving during your IASA frames and you can get away with a lot of nice pokes from neutral with it.

Risk reward:
Both you and your opponent are engaging in very risky maneuvers that are completely not worth it that cost you stocks. Try to focus on playing as safe as possible and don't try to hard read your opponent. Sure, you won't get flashy crazy kills this way, but you won't whiff so many fsmashes or die from being overzealous off the ledge either.

Stick to the ground:
You have a similar habit that I do in which you sometimes short hop for no apparent reason. You also full hop over your opponent whenever you are pressed against the ledge, even though you aren't really forced to do so yet. It would be very easy to punish this behavior if your opponent caught onto it. Focus on spending more time on the ground and spacing dtilts more.

Using platforms:
You could have used the platforms better in your match. Learn to waveland! It's a must, really. Also, focus on locking your opponent to the platform for as long as possible. Also be aware of their options while on the platform.

Keep in mind their position. If they are further away from the ledge then their options are to either drop down, or to go to the top middle platform. If they are closer to the ledge they can drop down, drop down and grab the ledge, or make a break for the middle platform. Always look for that moment when they begin to make their move and be there waiting for them.

Edgeguarding:
When edgeguarding from the stage there is very little benefit to get to the ledge as soon as possible. When you do this you forfeit a lot of potential options and leave yourself open to being vulnerable on the ledge after your invincibility frames wear off. It's better to stay on the stage close to the ledge and wait it out. If they are getting close to the stage and aren't coming from above then your opponent only has two options: sweetspot the ledge, or try to upB to the stage.

It's not a terrible idea, at this point, to take the ledge because this will force them to upB onto the stage. This often leads to a KO, or at least putting your opponent off stage again. If your timing is good though, you can wait by the ledge at the proper distance and simply wavedash > ledge grab whenver they have past the point of not being able to land on the stage.

Small specific things:
Whenever you wavedash off the stage to grab the ledge you need to press down right after you start falling. This allows you to catch the ledge near instantly, and makes edgehogging much more efficient and easier to time.

While falling, try not to dair into your opponents so much. It's very telegraphed and you get punished for it most of the time you try it.

Kudos and Props:
Your movement at 8 minutes is really good. Where was that in all of the other matches? You had complete control over your opponent when you used your movement to put pressure on your opponent. That entire match was so one sided because of the fact that you played safer and used your movement more. You relied less on random fsmashes (although there were still several of them) and you played more patiently.

Overall:

Watching you play is like watching me play around six or so months ago before I started working on being safe and playing more reactively. I think you have a lot of potential and that with a slight change of mindset you can improve tremendously in a short amount of time. Go and read up as much as you can in Peepee's thread and take in all that advice towards playing in this new way and you will be a much better player for it.
 
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