Remzi
formerly VaBengal
Punishing Defensive Maneuvers with Marth- BengalsRZ
Marth has a truly awesome pressure game. He has all the proper tools to force defensive reactions and punish them for damage or even kills. I hear very often that Marth has trouble punishing rolls and whatnot, but I don't buy that at all. I'll go through all of the basic defensive options a character can take when you are applying pressure and explain how to deal with each of them.
Shield:
Might as well start if off with the most basic one. When you are attacking, you will often see your opponent throw up their shield. As long as you are spacing well with safe attacks, the shield shouldn't be a problem. Your best tool against a shield is your dtilt. If at tipper range, it is the closest thing to safe on block that we have. Once you hit their shield with it once, you may want to simply dtilt again. Shield pushback isn't a factor because of the small distance you move when dtilting consecutively. Dtilt attacks the feet, so there is a good chance it will shield poke if your opponents shield has been weakened a bit. Once your opponents shield is weakened enough, they will be reluctant to shield, thus allowing you a much easier time attacking until their shield regenerates.
Another excellent shield pressure tool is fair. Fair has so many possible mixups, as long as you keep yourself unpredictable and space well you should have no trouble using fair to break down your opponents shield. Grabbing is an obvious option, and standing pivot grabs are especially nice. Once your opponents shield is weak, DB becomes a more than viable option. It being unsafe no longer matters as it can shield poke very easily. Your best bet at having it shield poke is with DDB4.
Marth also has a very unique shield pressure tool in Shield Breaker. Show your opponent that you are willing to use SB, even if just to keep them on edge. If anything, it will make them weary to bring out their shield in fear of having it broken. When actually trying to break your opponents shield, it's important to get a grasp of their tendencies. Try running straight past your opposition. If they shield, next time try a B-Reversal SB. I've found using SB in that specific scenario to be especially effective. But that's just one example, be creative, know when your opponent will shield and use it to your advantage. Once you do break it, it can lead to an easy KO.
Roll Dodge:
I've said it multiple times, and I'll say it again. Marth does NOT have difficulty punishing rolls. I can at least say with certainty that he has an easier time punishing rolls than most characters in the game. Let's consider some of the times you'll often find an opponent rolling and go over how to appropriately deal with them. People often try to roll behind you when you dtilt. There are so many options to cover this. You could pivot a second dtilt and follow up with a DB for a good amount of damage, you could do a retreating fair, or you could simply turn around and DB or perhaps fsmash if they are at killing percents.
Now, what if you are in the air about to fair and your opponent rolls behind you? Your reaction depends entireley on whether or not you fast fell it or not. If so, simply DB upon landing to punish. If not, double jump and bair into where your opponent is rolling.
How about if you are approaching the enemy and he rolls backwards? You could dash > Usmash, grab, DB, or anything really. Punishing rolls is all about reacting quickly. If you can't do it, it's because you failed to react quickly enough, and not because Marth is bad at it. It's definitely not a character flaw.
Characters such as Falco, MK, Lucario, and Sheik are much more difficult to punish if they roll at a good time. While it is still possible if you react quickly enough, doing it consistently is far from easy.
Spot Dodge:
This one is a bit simpler then the others. Again, I'll go over the options for each situation where you might see a spot dodge. I will begin with an opponent attempting to spot dodge a DB after it hitting their shield. Simply change up the timing of your DB to throw off their ability to time their invincibility frames and chances are you will hit them. Another time you'll see a spot dodge is when you are let out a fair. If you appropriately space a SHFFfair and it is dodged, you can DB our opponent upon landing. But an even safer option is to SHDFair or double jump and fair again instead. If you force a spot dodge with a dtilt you can dtilt again, grab, smash, or DB. There are plenty of options; as you can see, punishing spot dodging isn't really a problem for Marth.
Practice reacting immediately to these defensive options so that you can punish them easily and make the most of Marth's top notch offense. Well that's all for now, I may update it later with some more stuff. Anyways, hope you learned something reading this.
Marth has a truly awesome pressure game. He has all the proper tools to force defensive reactions and punish them for damage or even kills. I hear very often that Marth has trouble punishing rolls and whatnot, but I don't buy that at all. I'll go through all of the basic defensive options a character can take when you are applying pressure and explain how to deal with each of them.
Shield:
Might as well start if off with the most basic one. When you are attacking, you will often see your opponent throw up their shield. As long as you are spacing well with safe attacks, the shield shouldn't be a problem. Your best tool against a shield is your dtilt. If at tipper range, it is the closest thing to safe on block that we have. Once you hit their shield with it once, you may want to simply dtilt again. Shield pushback isn't a factor because of the small distance you move when dtilting consecutively. Dtilt attacks the feet, so there is a good chance it will shield poke if your opponents shield has been weakened a bit. Once your opponents shield is weakened enough, they will be reluctant to shield, thus allowing you a much easier time attacking until their shield regenerates.
Another excellent shield pressure tool is fair. Fair has so many possible mixups, as long as you keep yourself unpredictable and space well you should have no trouble using fair to break down your opponents shield. Grabbing is an obvious option, and standing pivot grabs are especially nice. Once your opponents shield is weak, DB becomes a more than viable option. It being unsafe no longer matters as it can shield poke very easily. Your best bet at having it shield poke is with DDB4.
Marth also has a very unique shield pressure tool in Shield Breaker. Show your opponent that you are willing to use SB, even if just to keep them on edge. If anything, it will make them weary to bring out their shield in fear of having it broken. When actually trying to break your opponents shield, it's important to get a grasp of their tendencies. Try running straight past your opposition. If they shield, next time try a B-Reversal SB. I've found using SB in that specific scenario to be especially effective. But that's just one example, be creative, know when your opponent will shield and use it to your advantage. Once you do break it, it can lead to an easy KO.
Roll Dodge:
I've said it multiple times, and I'll say it again. Marth does NOT have difficulty punishing rolls. I can at least say with certainty that he has an easier time punishing rolls than most characters in the game. Let's consider some of the times you'll often find an opponent rolling and go over how to appropriately deal with them. People often try to roll behind you when you dtilt. There are so many options to cover this. You could pivot a second dtilt and follow up with a DB for a good amount of damage, you could do a retreating fair, or you could simply turn around and DB or perhaps fsmash if they are at killing percents.
Now, what if you are in the air about to fair and your opponent rolls behind you? Your reaction depends entireley on whether or not you fast fell it or not. If so, simply DB upon landing to punish. If not, double jump and bair into where your opponent is rolling.
How about if you are approaching the enemy and he rolls backwards? You could dash > Usmash, grab, DB, or anything really. Punishing rolls is all about reacting quickly. If you can't do it, it's because you failed to react quickly enough, and not because Marth is bad at it. It's definitely not a character flaw.
Characters such as Falco, MK, Lucario, and Sheik are much more difficult to punish if they roll at a good time. While it is still possible if you react quickly enough, doing it consistently is far from easy.
Spot Dodge:
This one is a bit simpler then the others. Again, I'll go over the options for each situation where you might see a spot dodge. I will begin with an opponent attempting to spot dodge a DB after it hitting their shield. Simply change up the timing of your DB to throw off their ability to time their invincibility frames and chances are you will hit them. Another time you'll see a spot dodge is when you are let out a fair. If you appropriately space a SHFFfair and it is dodged, you can DB our opponent upon landing. But an even safer option is to SHDFair or double jump and fair again instead. If you force a spot dodge with a dtilt you can dtilt again, grab, smash, or DB. There are plenty of options; as you can see, punishing spot dodging isn't really a problem for Marth.
Practice reacting immediately to these defensive options so that you can punish them easily and make the most of Marth's top notch offense. Well that's all for now, I may update it later with some more stuff. Anyways, hope you learned something reading this.
Good job.