I said this last time we were discussing Marth, and all my experiences since then reinforce it - this matchup is a spacing war and is extremely momentum-based, and the first character to falter gets punished severely. Once Marth gets a hit in he goes off, Nana's dead, then you're dead. Once ICs get a grab in, well, that's stock. I'd say this matchup lies somewhere between 50:50 and 60:40 Marth, purely because Marth has more spacing tools than we do.
Also, recently I played the best Marth/player in Aus in tournament. 2-1 to him, first game was fairly even (smashville), second game I 2-stocked him (battlefield), third game he 2-stocked me (delfino). Momentum.
- Up B out of solo cg actually doesn't make a difference, he can get out just as early jumping away. If the Marth thinks the answer is Up B then it puts him in a really bad position, you can predict and punish.
- As mentioned, his sword trades with Blizz, and you generally come off worse in the trade, just don't do it unless you really need to. Although, keep in mind that it's difficult for Marth to hit through it, you can still use Blizz as a surprise attack (or as normal if the Marth is ****).
- Squall's even ****ter.
- You can shieldgrab his Side B 3, no need to worry about Side B 4.
- Be wary of his DTilt, although I think our DTilt has its uses. Not sure if we outrange it, but I doubt it.
- Pivot grab everything.
- Blizzard the FAir-happy Marth. Normally Blizzard's bad, but if they're spamming FAir then you can time the Blizz so they fall into it, rather than hit you out of it.
- BAir/NAir oos depending on what side the Marth is on. In most cases shieldgrabbing is a bad idea.
- Marth's great walking speed gives him more options on the ground than you. Most of his moves clank with ours but they all come out faster.
- If you need to recover, it's hard, so be tricky about it. Personally I like Side B'ing AWAY with massive lift and holding toward the stage after the initial away-momentum, keeps you safe from most options but if he predicts it you can be in a bad spot. Otherwise Up B and hope for a tether.
As for stages, FD is your best bet. If FD is banned, try Battlefield or Smashville, in that order. Generally stay as neutral as possible, with static plats if you can.
