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New to competitive scene, help with approaches?

xCO2x

Smash Rookie
Joined
Dec 7, 2013
Messages
4
Location
Connecticut
So I just started getting into melee/PM and i need some help with approaches with Marth. I have a solid aerial game, but it's really my only tactic. Any recommendations/tips for new tactics? also I can't really play anyone who's really spammy so help with that would be appreciated as well XD just wanna get better at the game ya know?
 

Alexo30

Smash Journeyman
Joined
Oct 9, 2013
Messages
355
Location
Memphis
Learn how to dash dance and wavedash, and learn how to wait for your opponent to make a mistake. Dash dance grab is one of your strongest options as a Marth player.

Against the spammy people, you need to wait for them to approach and punish accordingly. Start reading them. Hope this helped.
 

xCO2x

Smash Rookie
Joined
Dec 7, 2013
Messages
4
Location
Connecticut
Yeah reading people is probably my strongest weakness. My wavedashing is okay but i usually screw it up with an airdodge after like 2 or 3. I've also heard dtilt is a good combo starter. Thanks! :D
 

R:U:N

Smash Cadet
Joined
Mar 5, 2012
Messages
68
Location
Lawrenceville, NJ
Often times when playing Marth, you want your opponent to come to you, and you don't necessarily want to be the one approaching, so just think about using Marth's greatest strengths when you're in neutral situations-- His fantastic range (on both his grab and attacks) and his great dash dance and wave dash (you'll see that spacing is the name of the game with Marth-- It's really the name of the game in general, but Marth REALLY emphasizes this considering the composition of his character.)
For this reason, just try to really get familiar with just how far your attacks reach, understand this kind of threatening "bubble" you have around yourself when you're standing and have access to all of your tilts, smashes, jab, grab, etc. (or in the air with all of your aerials), and play around with your dash dance, how far you can go with it at its maximum length, how you can shorten it, how you can move around the stage while still doing it, and think about the advantage it gives you in your ability to fake your opponent out, cause him to throw out an attack, instantly dash back in and punish.
There really isn't a flowchart to Marth in terms of approaches, neutral game, and so on, and the game in general rarely has "flowchart situations," which is the beauty of it because it leaves so much room for creativity, so try to get less into the mindset of "what's my best option" and more into the mindset of "what's my best option in this situation?" or even "what might be my best option?"
As for the spammy opponents, it's something that all new players struggle with (I still get hit by stupid stuff when playing against friends who aren't too much into the game), and it's something you'll be able to deal with once you start understanding the concepts of spacing, adaptation mid-match, etc.
Before you know it, you'll be JV 5-ing those scrubs :awesome:
Anyway, sorry if this is such a damn essay (I'm pretty bored right now lol), and hope it was at least helpful!
 

Ausp

Smash Apprentice
Joined
Jan 30, 2010
Messages
86
Location
Kgn, Jamaica
Learn how to dash dance and wavedash, and learn how to wait for your opponent to make a mistake. Dash dance grab is one of your strongest options as a Marth player.

Against the spammy people, you need to wait for them to approach and punish accordingly. Start reading them. Hope this helped.

Also, combine that with developing the reactions/reflexes to punish or capitalize on those opportunities.
 

Zoler

Smash Ace
Joined
Aug 30, 2009
Messages
991
Location
Sweden
Dashdance, Dashdance, Dashdance!

Learn how to weave in and out of range of your opponent and bait him into attacking you, while you are dashdancing away he will be missing and then you grab him!

Approach with running dtilt is pretty good too!
 

Varist

Smash Lord
Joined
Feb 7, 2011
Messages
1,603
Location
Austin
Approaching in melee is rock paper scissors. With Marth, the standard thing to do is dash dance and watch their movements. Fake the approach. Do they run in and use a move? Quickly assess the spacing, and either shieldgrab it or position out of range to grab their landlag.

Do that enough and he'll get scared and second-guess his approaches. He'll start being careful.

That's when you change it up. Dash dance like you're waiting for him to do something, but before he knows it you actually just ran right up and grabbed him. Do that enough and he'll start trying to beat your grab with full jump dair or a spot dodge. Keep the pace and wait to aerial.

This is really what the neutral game is. Some characters have safe, brainless options. Some characters are more prone to being red or very nonthreatening when defensive. I think finding a character you can win the neutral game with is the most important aspect of picking a character to play.

I will always say that the game is split into two phases: neutral, and punishment, with punishment being either you punishing them or them punishing you.

Fox and Falco get punished the hardest, but they still manage to be on top. In some match-ups they may not even be able to punish the other character very hard, but they still manage to be on top.

It's because their neutral game is so strong. The neutral game is everything because it is the decider of the stock. When you're being punished, all you're doing is trying to minimize the damage you take by the end of the punishment series. When you punish them, all you're trying to do is maximize your combo.

The neutral game creates that scenario in the first place. It doesn't matter how good I am at comboing or capitalizing on my opponent's techs, if I keep losing the neutral game, I will never get to use those skills.

So look at yourself as a player and determine what you're like. If you're cerebral and you are able to slow the pace of the game down in your head and see what your opponent is doing, you will have success in the neutral game. Then you just pick a character that fits your style.

You play Marth. I used to play Marth, but I didn't like the fact that I couldn't just put up my shield and still remain a threat to the enemy during the neutral game.

So I switched to Falco. Having the ability to shine OOS is a distinctive difference between those two characters and it made up for my biggest shortcoming, which was feeling helpless while shielding.

You'll probably switch mains many times in an attempt to find the character you're best at playing. Don't feel stuck with just one because you've "invested all this time into practicing him". The investment wasn't as big as you think and you learned things that are still applicable on other characters. Switch characters freely.
 

xCO2x

Smash Rookie
Joined
Dec 7, 2013
Messages
4
Location
Connecticut
Thanks so much everyone for replying to this thread! A lot of great advice was spilled here, and i just got the freshman 5 - stock on one of my notoriously good friends :D thanks again everyone, i hugely appreciate it!
 

MookieRah

Kinda Sorta OK at Smash
Joined
Mar 7, 2004
Messages
5,384
Location
Umeå, Sweden
You should go to the Marth forums and read up there. There is a lot of good information to sink your teeth into there.
 
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