Marth vs. Falcon?

[L33thal]

I get really confused by this matchup. I keep hearing different things; people say it's supposed to be 50-50 at top level, Marth should avoid nairs/grabs at all cost, etc.

In my Marth FB group chat, people say that spaced d-tilt is Marth's main tool to control a grounded Falcon and that nairs/fairs are good for catching Falcon when he's in the air. But aren't Marth's aerials too committal (even if they're in place or retreating)? It seems like Falcon can just punish Marth's aerials by waiting and doing his own aerial/grab. Also, it seems like there isn't much reward for Marth to land an aerial if I'm not mistaken? Maybe I'm just a scrub but this is how this matchup usually turns out for me:

Any thoughts on this matchup?

 

[Elyssa Xey Hexen]

This is guess work on my part. However, the more recent understanding I am getting is that yes, you are committing with aerials, but you need to use them at times to establish the fact that you can do them. Otherwise, a person has no reason to worry at all about your aerials and can abuse that against you. The hard part is deciding how to frequent them in the right situation.

Again, the balance of the match-up number (50:50) does not matter at all. The only thing which matters is the choices you are making to win or lose the match-up. Either character can pretty much combo the other to death.

If you break it down the goals do not change too much for other match-ups you might know. The goal is to get someone off stage. Your tools for doing this are not really any different for other characters. The only major difference is that certain combinations work until higher percents due to Falcon's fast falling speed. At lower percentages, the preferred combo starter is in grabbing due to being able to tech chase Falcon until the right percentage (reference Kadano's chart in his thread), then you can start Uthrow for guaranteed options and use that to start the juggle to carry him offstage into edgeguarding.

Those are your goals and do not change much from character to character apart from those minor nuances.

The real struggle point I guess is you have no idea how to tackle neutral? Well, that is where I fail as well. All I can say is the bit I did before where you have tools in Nair/Fair, DD, wavedash, Dtilt, and grab for trying to worm out an advantage and nail a solid hit to start your combo/juggle/edgeguard.

 

[Hunybear]

I'd recommended ,at the level your playing at, to CC grab a lot more. The falcon MU is about zoning just as much as it is about movement so keep him honest and try to get him to over shoot areals. Tech chase off D-throw until 50% is always amazing and make sure not to get grabbed... as it will lead to instant death. U-throw F smash is very real in this MU and leads to easy edge guards. Stay away from FD and DL. This MU is Close to even at high levels but at mid to low level play falcon definitely gives Marth some trouble. (pro tip. if you can smash DI the first hit of nair it's amazing as that's his primary approach option)

 

[Sutekh]

What's tough about Falcon is that because he's so heavy, it's really hard to follow up on your grabs at low percents. Generally if I get a grab at 0%, I'll d-throw and techchase until around 30%, when he gets a little easier to juggle. You'll want to check out Kadano's thread to see what is guaranteed for sure, but I know you can start getting tipper fmash from uthrow at around 68%. His recovery is super predictable without his double jump, so if you can read his decent, you can just keep fsmashing him to death (just be careful of the fade back after up-b, they can be tricky like that).

 

[KムエN]

If the matchup is confusing, just take a step back and analyze everything. Captain Falcon is a character that depends on his speed and movement to throw you off and create offensive opportunities, and Marth is a character with an unpassable zone giving him the best defense in the game. With that said, you can count on Captain Falcon to approach you. It is all on him to do so as long as you're tied or leading. He cannot harass you with a projectile, and if he sits back too patiently like you do, you will eventually grab too much stage control and trap him, and then deal some damage or worse. So now that we've established that he will approach, what do you do? Respond. Respond to every single thing he will do, and find ways to counter his approaches. And when you stop him, kill him for it. Work on shutting him down and not letting him reset to neutral.
Now, in neutral, you defintely have the advantage. You do not have to shield or defensively space all the time like other characters- you can just attack and beat out his moves. For example if he's going to use D-air on you in neutral, you can just prepare to tipper Up Air (if it's more disjointed than his D-air), tipper F-air, or UpTilt to counter it and he can't do anything. And will you get followups just for defending yourself with your hitbox (assuming you did things right- proper spacing, late aerial or double/triple aerial, acting immediately after L Cancel).
You were worried that Marth's aerials are pretty commital. They are, but I personally don't feel that they're nearly as commital as Falcon's. If you're sure you can land one properly, go for it. Marth gets excellent followups on them, and if you use aerials you will have many more offensive & self-defensive options available to use, if you choose. Nobody who is good is going to tell you this is wrong. Do not be one of those stubborn Marths who refuse to jump & learn to aerial properly- whether from bad experiences or because scrubs told you not to.
Anyway. On the ground- UTilt, DTilt, and grab are all good, of course, but you have two more great options. Practice landing tipper Ftilts & FSmashes on a Falcon who's moving around. When you hit, he is usually guaranteed to hit the floor or fly offstage (don't use Ftilt until about mid %'s though).
And with that, I am shutting up. I have said what I needed to, and this post has become a walltext, lol. But I hope this helps you, and best of luck improving.

 

[Uchihadark7]

Falcon is definitely a tricky matchup. People underestimate how good Falcon actually is In this matchup. The way Falcon plays this matchup, is by capitalizing on Marth's mistakes. The only real tip i can give is to remain unpredictable. You can always keep him away with your nair and D tilt, but if Falcon wavedashes back, his wavedash is short enough that he can dodge the sword and still punish Marth with a grab. Marth's advantage however is that Falcon's hitboxes are a part of his body, but Marth's aren't. So you have to play by keeping Falcon away, but you must not just through out attacks, Falcon will easily punish.