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Marth (SSB4)

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This article is about Marth's appearance in Super Smash Bros. 4. For the character in other contexts, see Marth.
Marth
in Super Smash Bros. 4
Marth
FireEmblemSymbol.svg
Universe Fire Emblem
Other playable appearances in Melee
in Brawl
in Ultimate
Availability Starter
Final Smash Critical Hit
Tier A (11)
Marth's stock icon in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.

Marth (マルス, Marth) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. 4. He was announced on the official website on November 7th, 2013; years before, four Fire Emblem games were released within a similar time frame; Fire Emblem on November 3rd, 2003 in North America, The Sacred Stones and Path of Radiance on November 4th, 2005 in Europe, and Radiant Dawn on November 11th, 2007 in North America. He was among the first wave of amiibo figures that are compatible with SSB4, released on the same day as the Wii U version of the game. He is voiced once again by Hikaru Midorikawa in all regions, albeit using recycled voice clips from Brawl.

Marth currently ranks 11th out of 55 characters on the tier list, tied with Ryu in the bottom of A tier. This is a minor fall from his 5th place position out of 38 in Brawl and is technically his worst placement in the series to date, albeit by a small margin. However, due to the expansion of tiers in SSB4, Marth remains a top tier character, as in all of his past appearances. Marth's positives include good overall mobility and relatively long disjointed range on all of his attacks. As with previous incarnations, all of Marth's sword-based attacks are quite rewarding if they land only at the tip of his sword, with the buffs to his tippered moves now causing them to deal absurdly high knockback despite their quick startup, most notably in the case of forward smash, forward/back aerials, and Shield Breaker. The changes to shield mechanics also indirectly grant his tippers more safety due to them causing higher shieldstun, making it difficult for opponents to punish tippers on shield. In addition, his overall frame data is very good, such as possessing one of the lowest landing lag averages in the game, and as alluded to above, the startup of his moves is also very fast, with most of his moveset coming out before frame 10, and certain moves having little endlag to complement this further (neutral attack, forward, up, and down tilts respectively). All in all, Marth's overall speed in regards to both attacks and mobility give him a dependable neutral game, with optimal spacing being very rewarding due to the danger of his powerful tippers.

Marth's primary flaw is his emphasis on spacing, moreso than in his previous appearances, owing to the reduction in power and efficacy of his sourspotted moves. Furthermore, many of Marth's sourspotted attacks have poor shieldstun, potentially leading to punishes if Marth does not properly space his attacks. Marth is also susceptible to pressure tactics, as he lacks combo breaker attacks and his lack of a projectile prevents him from easily dealing with projectile-based camping. Like in his previous appearances, Marth also suffers from a linear, predictable recovery, and even with ledge trumping and larger ledge sweetspots, Marth is still prone to gimping.

Initially considered a low-tier character in Smash 4, Marth was buffed via updates to the game, particularly in 1.1.4, owing to improvements to his reach, damage, interruptibility, and combo game. Marth went from 41st on the first tier list to 11th on the fourth most current tier list, and after struggling to make an impact at tournaments, he now commands a large playerbase and above-average tournament representation.

Attributes

Marth is emblematic of sword characters, making extensive use of disjointed hitboxes and his unique tipper mechanic. His attributes remain present: he has high overall mobility, sporting the fastest walking speed in the game (tied with his clone, Lucina), a fast dashing speed, average air speed, above average air acceleration, moderate falling speed, and low gravity, all of which is coupled with slightly below average weight.

Marth's playstyle has remained fundamentally intact from past iterations, being characterized by the properties of his sword, the Falchion. His attacks deal significantly more damage and knockback if struck with the tip of the sword, encouraging and rewarding proper spacing. Being a sword-user, Marth also has the benefit of disjointed hitboxes. Many of his moves possess good range, fast startup, and cover wide arcs (e.g, his jab, up tilt, and forward aerial). As such, Marth aims to fight a step away from danger, where he can pressure the opponent without leaving himself open to punishment.

Marth's neutral game relies heavily on effective spacing. As mentioned before, Marth possesses one of the longest overall ranges in the game, which plays a vital role in his neutral, as his mobility allows him to maneuver around opponents and space attacks with relative ease, with multiple moves that are safe to throw out at tipper range or further. In comparison to Melee and Brawl, Marth's neutral game is mainly ground based, with the first hit of his jab being the cornerstone. Said move is fast, disjointed, has high range, low start up, deceptively low cooldown, and due to its hitbox arc, also acts as an anti-air. All of these traits make it exceptionally difficult to challenge. It also has excellent combo potential into many of his moves.

While his tipper is considered the most optimal, Marth's sourspot also provides benefits when he wins in the neutral, as the lower knockback on his sourspot allows him to more easily combo moves into themselves. Marth's neutral game is also unique by scaling with percent, as set-ups and combos become more rewarding at higher percents (e.g, jab 1 to forward tilt serves as a KO set-up at later percents). He also benefits from being one of the few characters in the game who can outright KO through playing his neutral and spacing game; essentially, while Marth's neutral reward is not as rewarding or damaging as other characters, Marth has the ability to win neutral exchanges with relative ease and safety, as well as having consistent set-ups and follow-ups.

Marth's special moveset has high utility. His neutral special, Shield Breaker, deals high shield damage even when uncharged, and is useful for punishing rolls or covering landings. It also grants some horizontal recovery, moreso when fully charged, and a tippered blow deals enough knockback to KO at reasonably low percents. Side special Dancing Blade is a four-hit combo that can be used to punish sidesteps and rolls, is an effective damage racker, dealing 15-20% if all hits connect, has combo and mix-up potential, and at later percents, serves as an effective KO option. It can also be used to stall in the air, giving Marth mix-up opportunities to recover, land, and edgeguard. Counter, his down special, provides him with the capability to reverse attacks with 1.2x the damage, KOing if the attack was strong enough; it can also be used against opponents with easily predictable recoveries. His up special, Dolphin Slash, has quick startup, provides slight intangibility during its startup frames, is relatively strong when it first comes out, and has high knockback scaling. These attributes make it an excellent out of shield option and combo-breaker. It is also Marth's primary method of recovery, as its speed can make it difficult to intercept, and it can stage spike reckless edgeguarders.

Marth's low gravity and average falling speed allow him to maneuver effectively in the air, and his disjointed range provides him with an innately strong edgeguarding capability. His forward and back aerials have fast startup and good range, and are strong when tippered. Down aerial is relatively quick, and it will powerfully meteor smash opponents if it hits at the center of the arc, though its timing is very strict at one frame. Forward smash's range makes it a good choice against opponents aiming their recoveries towards the ledge, and down tilt's range and speed make it good at 2-framing opponents. Both have the ability to hit below the ledge as well.

Despite his strengths, Marth is not without flaws. Due to both the changes to shield mechanics and further polarization of his sweetspots and sourspots, his heavier reliance on tippers and spacing ability gives him a relatively subpar up-close game at higher percents, which makes it more difficult for Marth to KO and threaten faster/smaller characters. The low shieldstun and hitstun generated by non-tippered moves make it possible for opponents to act out quicker than he can, causing Marth to struggle against shields if his aerials are improperly spaced, and Shield Breaker is highly punishable if predicted. His tipper mechanic can equally disadvantage him when attempting to KO, as his attacks don't generate much knockback if not spaced properly, making his KO potential very inconsistent without proper spacing (most notably with forward smash, forward tilt and aerials). Lastly, his edgeguarding ability, though strong, is flawed, both due to the need for tippers and the moderately high ending lag on his aerials. As a result, Marth is reliant on being in a certain distance for his moves to be safe while retaining the neutral, and to KO effectively without setups.

Marth's weak throws tie into his inconsistent KO power. Except for up throw, they have low knockback scaling, preventing them from KOing at realistic percents, while up throw can only KO starting at 160%, if Marth has no rage. His throw game is poor as well; aside from having a fairly fast pummel, Marth's throws deal low damage and have high base knockback, making them poor for combos and damage-racking outside of very low percents, such as aerials at 0%. However, it should be noted that the high base knockback of his throws allow Marth to take advantage of his good edgeguarding capability, especially at the edge.

As a solely sword-based character, Marth's neutral also suffers from a lack of a projectile, and he can struggle against projectile heavy characters and playstyles. This ties in with his vulnerability once he loses the neutral: despite having below average weight and only average falling speed, Marth is susceptible to combos, and his tall hurtbox provides an easy target. Dolphin Slash is his only reliable combo-breaker, but as it leaves him helpless, it can inadvertently put him in an even worse position. Also, while Counter can be used defensively, it leaves Marth extremely vulnerable to punishment should it whiff. Marth also has little defense against juggling, as his aerials are ineffective at relieving pressure; though his attacks have quick startup, many of them come with high ending and landing lag, and also suffer from short hitbox durations (e.g, his forward aerial has a hitbox that lasts only 3 frames, comparatively high ending lag and noticeable landing lag, and along with its very strict autocancel window, it is a surprisingly poor approach option).

Marth himself is somewhat vulnerable to edgeguarding, though he has options for mix-ups with his recovery. Dolphin Slash is his only reliable vertical recovery option, and while it is still a threat to edgeguarders due to its speed and high stage spike ability, its path is linear and its distance fixed, making it fairly predictable. Additionally since this move grants little horizontal distance, Marth is vulnerable to semi-spikes. While Shield Breaker can aid his horizontal recovery, it covers little distance without charging. Marth's also heavily reliant on his double jump for mix-ups in his recovery, and is in significant danger if offstage without it.

With custom moves enabled, Marth gains options to address some of his drawbacks, at the cost of creating different ones. Dashing Assault allows him to punish landings and rolls, create trap situations, and can force opponents off the stage; but it loses the power and utility of Shield Breaker. Crescent Slash provides more horizontal recovery, but less vertical recovery. Also, while it grants him a fairly reliable follow-up from his forward throw and aerials at low percents, and can punish airdodge landings, it loses out of shield functionality. Dolphin Jump provides Marth more vertical distance and greater horizontal control, but loses all of its offensive use. Iai Counter has quicker startup (active from frame 3), increased utility, and deals electric damage as well; however it requires significantly stricter timing.

Overall, Marth's strengths considerably outweigh his flaws. He possesses notable advantages in his tipper mechanic, effective disjoint, fast mobility, above-average frame data, and a sourspot to benefit his combo game; however, his spacing and overall safety is so overly centered on his tipper mechanic that it hinders him in many ways, making his punishes unreliable due to their inconsistency. At his purest, Marth is most rewarding for players with good fundamentals, with many playstyles applicable to him due to his flaws being easily worked around with careful play. Marth has a dedicated playerbase in competitive play, with notable players such as MkLeo, Mr.E, Pugwest, and False achieving strong results at results at top-level play. As such, while he is noticeably nerfed from Brawl, he has proven to be a solid pick in competitive play after his buffs.

Changes from Brawl

Possibly as a result of his dominance in previous appearances, Marth has been nerfed overall in his transition from Brawl to SSB4 during the release of the game. While Marth's disjoint has been slightly increased, he has less range relative to the cast as a result of many characters getting the same treatment, slightly hindering his key advantage from past games (though he still has one of the longest ranges in the game). As a result, this makes it slightly harder for him to control space. Arguably the largest nerf he has received is to his aerial game, another strength in previous iterations: his forward and down aerials have very slightly increased startup; the former has a shorter hitbox duration, higher ending and landing lag, and autocancels much later, hindering his main approach option from Brawl, while the latter's meteor smash only lasts one frame and no longer reaches in front of him, hurting its edgeguarding utility.

Marth's damage racking game has also been nerfed slightly. The base knockback on his throws has been significantly increased, making them ineffective for combos past extremely low percents, and removes his ability to tech-chase. However, their knockback scaling is still low, and so, aside from up throw, they cannot KO realistically. This is further compounded by the removal of chain grabbing, as the low damage output of his throws is more pronounced. His aerials are also less effective for comboing and juggling due to their increased landing lag and (in the case of forward aerial) ending lag. Despite these nerfs, he has not been compensated in the damage output of his individual moves, as all of his smash attacks and aerials deal less damage. As a result of the weakened power of his non-tippered attacks and increased ending lag, his KO power is more inconsistent than before.

However, Marth has received noticeable buffs in other areas. Shield Breaker has improved utility due to the weaker shields and higher shieldstun, and Counter reflects attacks with significantly increased knockback. His moves are significantly stronger when tippered, an example being forward smash, which is now the third strongest in the game. As Dolphin Slash was relatively susceptible to edge-hogging, it greatly benefits from the new ledge mechanics, improving Marth's recovery. His ground game has also been buffed, with his neutral attack, forward tilt, up tilt and down smash all having decreased ending lag, as well as the former launching targets vertically, allowing for many new combo and KO setups he lacked in previous games, which compensates for the loss of the combo ability in his throws. Many of his tipper hitboxes have grown larger as well, and largely benefit from both the increased shieldstun (as of update 1.1.1) and moves with above average hitlag multipliers being safer on shield, improving his spacing game. His mobility options are also far better too, such as possessing a faster dashing speed, but he is more noticeably helped by the general mechanic changes in this area; the removal of random tripping gifts him one of the better and most useful extended dash dances of the game, and the re-addition of perfect pivots gives him yet another microspacing option. Both of these aid his ground game further and give him options to extend his bait and punish options. These changes give him a better grounded spacing and combo game at the cost of having to more properly space and time his aerials.

In the end, while Marth was previously one of the few characters to have been truly nerfed in the transition to Smash 4 (along with Meta Knight, King Dedede, Falco, Jigglypuff and Olimar), game updates brought useful buffs that significantly increased his effectiveness, while his key strengths remain from his previous two iterations, which has lead him to still be considered as a viable character in the current metagame.

Aesthetics

  • Change Marth's design takes elements from Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem: Heroes of Light and Shadow and his older design in Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem, which was used in Melee and Brawl. This is most notable in the new designs for his cuirass, pauldrons, shirt, belt, and boots. His eyes are also smaller, and he has shorter hair.
  • Change Marth's sword trails are much brighter at the tip; this makes the sweetspot of his attacks more visible than in previous games.
  • Change Marth's sound effects for his sword slashes are less pronounced than in Brawl, overall being quieter. His Dolphin Slash in particular now produces a soft, short slashing sound, compared to the loud and prolonged noise it produced in Brawl.

Attributes

  • Change Marth is slightly heavier than in Brawl (87 → 90), improving his endurance but making him easier to combo at early percentages from the changes to hitstun cancelling.
  • Buff Almost all of Marth's attacks have slightly increased range compared to Brawl (apart from forward smash and Shield Breaker), ranging from a 0.25 increase to a 3.5 increase (2.5 before 1.1.4, as certain moves were increased further in said patch).
  • Buff Marth dashes faster (1.7 → 1.785).
  • Nerf Marth's air speed is slightly slower (1.034 → 1.02).
  • Change Marth falls faster (1.5 → 1.58). This slightly improves his vertical endurance, but makes him more susceptible to combos.
  • Buff Marth's fast falling speed is faster (2.1 → 2.528), improving his air game and making him less susceptible to juggling.
  • Change Marth's gravity is higher (0.06715 → 0.075), hindering his endurance and making him more susceptible to combos, but allowing him to reach his falling speed faster.
  • Buff Marth's soft landing is 1 frame faster (3 frames → 2).
  • Nerf Marth's item throw is weaker (1 → 0.966).
  • Buff Marth's rolls have less ending lag (FAF 35 → 31).
  • Nerf Marth's rolls provide less intangibility frames (frame 4-19 (forward)/4-23 (back) → 4-17).
  • Nerf Marth's spot dodge has more start-up with a shorter duration (frame 2-20 → 3-17) and has more ending lag (FAF 24 → 26).
  • Change Marth has a new spot dodge animation: he shifts backwards instead of crouching forward.
  • Buff Marth's air dodge has less start-up (frame 5 → 3) and much less ending lag (FAF 49 → 32), no longer being considered among the worst air dodges as a result.
  • Nerf Marth's air dodge's lasts 1 frame shorter (25 frames → 24).

Ground attacks

  • Buff Neutral attack has more range, the first hit transitions faster, and the second hit deals more knockback. The first hit also sends opponents at a higher trajectory (361° → 78°/65°/90°) and has less ending lag (FAF 29 → 25), allowing for follow-ups and mix-ups.
  • Nerf Both hits of neutral attack come out 1 frame later (4/2 → 5/3).
  • Buff Forward tilt is stronger (40 base/80 scaling → 55/85), and has slightly more vertical range. It also has noticeably less ending lag (FAF 40 → 34).
  • Nerf Forward tilt hits 1 frame later (frame 7 → 8).
  • Nerf Up tilt (8%/9%/12% → 5%/6%/9%), down tilt base (8%/9% → 7%), forward smash (14%/19% → 13%/18%) and up smash sourspots (4%/14% → 3/13%) all deal less damage, though with their knockback mostly compensated.
  • Buff Up tilt has more max reach (6.85u → 8.45u) and has decreased ending lag (FAF 40 → 34). Additionally, all of its hitboxes now produce vertical knockback (110°/361°/85° → 100°/85°), making it more consistent.
  • Buff Marth's forward and up tilts now have a peculiar property; a move buffered during the end of the animations will start a small step forward than usual, similar to his Brawl down tilt moving him forward slightly when buffering the repeated attack. Overall, this property can grant any of Marth's moves slightly increased horizontal range.
  • Buff Down tilt deals more base knockback (50/40/25/20 → 50/40), resulting in the tipper dealing more knockback, and also has slightly increased max range. The base deals less knockback due to dealing lower damage, and this gives Marth more follow ups from a sourspot down tilt, such as a tipper forward aerial, grab, or Dancing Blade.
  • Nerf Down tilt has 2 more frames of ending lag (FAF 22 → 24), and has a slightly shorter hitbox duration (3 frames → 2). It also no longer moves Marth forward, removing its ability to pseudo-crawl.
  • Buff The tipper hitbox of forward smash is slightly larger (3u → 3.5u) and has more knockback scaling (70 → 80), now being the third strongest forward smash in the game.
  • Change Sourspotted forward smash deals less base knockback, but more knockback scaling (60 base/70 scaling → 55/80). This makes it less effective at lower percents, but the increased scaling means it still KOs at the same percent as in Brawl, and is even more effective as the percent's rise higher due to the higher scaling.
  • Nerf Forward smash has less reach (10.5u → 9.05u), due to a slight animation change, where Marth doesn't step forward as much as before. It also has slightly increased ending lag (FAF 49 → 51).
  • Buff Up smash has a slightly larger hitbox radius overall, giving it slightly more vertical range (8.45u → 10.2u). The sourspot hitbox of up smash deals more knockback overall, and tippered up smash also has much more knockback scaling (70 → 95).
  • Nerf Up smash has slightly slower startup (frame 12 → 13), shorter hitbox duration (6 frames → 5), and increased ending lag (FAF 49 → 58).
  • Buff Down smash has less ending lag (FAF 64 → 54), and slightly more max range (7.2u → 9.05u). Back hit of tippered down smash also has more knockback scaling (80 → 88) and deals slightly more damage (16% → 17%).
  • Nerf Back hit of down smash deals 1% less damage (13% → 12%) on the sourspot and the front hit deals much less damage (14%/17% → 8%/12%), making it weaker despite its increased scaling on both the sweet and sourspots (70/80 → 88). The front hit also has a shorter hitbox duration (3 frames → 2).

Aerial attacks

  • Buff Neutral aerial's first hit sourspotted deals 0.5% more damage: 3% → 3.5%.
  • Nerf Neutral aerial (6% (first hit, tippered), 9%/12% (second hit) → 5% (first hit, tippered), 7%/9.5% (second hit)), forward aerial (10%/13% → 8%/11.5%), back aerial (11%/14% → 9%/12.5%), and up aerial sourspot (10% → 9.5%) all deal less damage than in Brawl. The knockback has been compensated on tipper forward, back and up aerials, along with sourspot up aerial. However, all of neutral aerial, and sourspot forward and back aerials have not had their knockback compensated.
  • Nerf Except for back aerial, all aerials have worse autocancel windows (neutral aerial: frame 25 → 47, forward aerial: frame 27 → 36, up aerial: frame 27 → 38, down aerial: frame 48 → 55). Neutral aerial no longer autocancels in a short-hop.
  • Nerf Neutral aerial (9 frames → 12 frames), forward aerial (9 frames → 16), and up aerial (9 frames → 14) have increased landing lag.
  • Buff Back aerial (21 frames → 17) and down aerial (32 frames → 24) have less landing lag.
  • Buff Neutral aerial has noticeably more range (6u → 9.45u).
  • Nerf Neutral aerial has 1 more frame of ending lag (FAF 49 → 50).
  • Nerf Forward aerial now possesses increased startup and reduced duration (frames 4-7 → 6-8). Marth can also no longer perform another aerial after a forward aerial in a single short hop due to increased ending lag (FAF 34 → 38).
  • Buff As of patch 1.1.4, forward aerial has significantly more range (7.8u → 9.45u), and the tipper hitbox is slightly larger.
  • Buff Back aerial also has more range (7.4u → 9.45u).
  • Buff Up aerial is stronger overall, due to the move having increased knockback scaling across all hitboxes (70 base/80 tipper → 80/84). It also has slightly more range (7.9u → 8.45u).
  • Nerf Up aerial is harder to sweetspot due to the tipper hitbox having the lowest priority (ID# 0 → 3). The tipper hitbox is also slightly smaller (4.8 → 3.5).
  • Change Down aerial tipper no longer meteor smashes and now launches horizontally, making the 1 frame hitbox in the middle of the swing only meteor smash. As such, it is harder to meteor smash opponents, but the tipper's new horizontal knockback grants it some niche KO ability off stage if the meteor smash hitbox is missed.
  • Buff Down aerial's meteor smash hitbox deals 1% more damage (14% → 15%) and has a higher priority (ID# 3 → 0), making it easier to land. The move also has much more overall range (7.16u → 8.45u) and a longer duration (4 frames → 5).
  • Nerf Marth now starts down aerial from the back instead of his front, essentially flipping its animation around from Melee and Brawl, and giving the move slightly more startup (frame 7 → 9/11 (meteor)). The tipper and meteor smash hitbox also have less base knockback (40 → 20). Combined with its worse autocancel window (frame 48 → 55), these changes hurt his ability to approach with his down aerial, and drastically worsen the move's overall utility.

Throws/other attacks

  • Nerf Marth's grab comes out 1 frame later (frame 6 → 7), has 1 frame more ending lag, and less range.
  • Buff Dash grab comes out 1 frame earlier (frame 9 → 8).
  • Buff Forward throw's significant increase in base knockback improves its ability to set-up edgeguards at lower percents, especially on characters with weak recoveries.
  • Nerf Forward throw has significantly higher knockback (70 base/45 scaling → 100/50). This removes many of his follow-up options after a forward throw unless at extremely low percentages, as he can now only lead into a neutral aerial or forward aerial until around 20%, as opposed to having multiple follow-up options right up until high percents. Due to the aforementioned change, Marth can also no longer chaingrab or tech chase opponents with his forward throw.
  • Change Back throw has much more base knockback (50 → 80). While this harms its follow-up ability, this makes it better at creating space and getting opponents off-stage and setting up for potential edge-guards.
  • Buff Up throw has more base knockback (60 → 70), improving its KO potential.
  • Buff Down throw sends foes at an upwards trajectory (135° → 100°), with more base knockback (65 → 95), which gives some new follow-up options with his aerials at low percents. This new trajectory also gives Marth a new throw for getting opponents above him without needing to stale his kill throw in up throw.
  • Nerf Down throw's upwards trajectory removes its ability for tech-chases.

Special moves

  • Buff Uncharged Shield Breaker now gives Marth a bigger horizontal boost when used in the air, aiding Marth's recovery. A fully charged Shield Breaker also deals more shield damage (40 → 50), and a tippered Shield Breaker has more base knockback (50 → 60) and has increased hitlag (1.5× (uncharged)/1× (fully charged) → 1.6×), combined with the aforementioned shield changes, this makes the fully charged variant even more effective at breaking shields. It also has less ending lag (FAF 54 → 50).
  • Nerf Uncharged Shield Breaker deals less shield damage (42 → 25) and less hitlag when uncharged and sourspotted (1.3× → 1×), making the move worse at breaking shields despite the removal of damage reduction on shields as well as the increase in shieldstun. Marth also no longer steps an extra distance forward when using Shield Breaker, making the move's range shorter. In addition, a sourspotted Shield Breaker deals less knockback (30 (uncharged)/50 (fully charged) base/100 scaling → 30 base/90 scaling). Lastly, Shield Breaker has a shorter duration (4 frames → 2).
  • Buff The downward hits of Dancing Blade deal slightly more damage (down hit 3: 4%/5% → 4.5%/5.5%, down hit 4 final hit: 3%/5% → 4%/6%).
  • Nerf The first hit of Dancing Blade has slightly more startup with a shorter duration (frame 4-7 → 6-8). Additionally, all the strikes have slightly more ending lag, and the third hit downward no longer meteor smashes. It is also harder to connect each hit together compared to Brawl, due to the fact of each hit having slightly increased base knockback and less interruptibility (though it still connects far better than it did in comparison to Melee, and still connects together very well until just over 100%). Its hover effect in midair is also much weaker to the point it is almost negligible, hindering Marth's recovery.
  • Change The third upward hit of grounded Dancing Blade has a new animation, where Marth twists around and swings up instead of downwards.
  • Buff Dolphin Slash has significantly less landing lag (34 frames → 20).
  • Nerf Dolphin Slash has less intangibility frames when grounded (frame 1-5 → 4-5), making it less safe as an out of shield option. Sweetspotted Dolphin Slash also deals less damage (13% → 11%), making it slightly weaker despite its increased knockback scaling (68 → 74). Dolphin Slash's sweetspot hitbox is smaller (6.5u → 4u), which makes hitting with a reverse Dolphin Slash harder.
  • Change Sweetspotted Dolphin Slash has more hitlag (0.5× → 0.7×). This makes it safer on shield, but easier to DI.
  • Buff Counter has increased base knockback (40 → 60) and has a slightly higher damage multiplier (1.1× → 1.2×), being able to KO reliably off of strong countered attacks at very low percentages.
  • Nerf Counter has more start-up with a shorter duration (frame 4-27 → 6-27) and more ending lag (FAF 59 → 60).
  • Change Marth now grunts instead of talking when his Counter is triggered.

Update history

Marth has been considerably buffed ever since patch 1.0.6, giving him more follow-up options, and drastically improved frame data on all of his aerials and some special moves; however, it is unclear whether the many changes to shield mechanics in 1.1.0 and 1.1.1 have affected Marth for the better or for the worse. While these changes to shield mechanics make Marth's tippered attacks much safer on shield, the same changes reduce his sourspotted attacks safety even further, due to their lower hitlag, making them overall less safe than those of his moveset clone, Lucina. These changes make precise spacing of his attacks mandatory, as the decreased safety of his sourspotted moves can result in heavy punishment; though when properly spaced, they are almost unpunishable. Shield Breaker also deals less shield damage, making it more difficult to wear down shields when partially charged, though the increased shield damage of tippered aerials can mitigate this. The small landing lag reduction on all of his aerials and ending lag on all of his ground attacks have helped mitigate the lag issues with most of his moves and improved his combo game, giving him a more offensive playstyle with fewer flaws in defending. The strengthening of up tilt and Dolphin Slash, and the multiple buffs to Dancing Blade so its hits link better together have also noticeably improved three of his moves that were previously considered situational. Marth was significantly buffed in patch 1.1.4, with increased damage improving his previously poor damage racking, better frame data, and the increased tipper hitboxes that not only address his worsened range, but also improved his aerial game and juggle abilities. Overall, Marth has been significantly buffed and is more viable since the original version, but he still remains rather nerfed compared to Brawl.

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS 1.0.4

  • Bug fix Using Counter after being trumped from the ledge no longer changes momentum.


Super Smash Bros. 4 1.0.6

  • Buff The first hit of neutral attack has less ending lag (FAF 30 → 27).
  • Buff Forward tilt has less ending lag (FAF 40 → 36).
  • Buff The first hit of Dancing Blade has less ending lag on the ground (FAF 47 → 43).
  • Buff The third hit of Dancing Blade launches opponents at a lower angle (60°/70°/35° → 50°/55°/40°) and has more base knockback (30 → 40) allowing it to connect into the fourth hit more reliably.


Super Smash Bros. 4 1.0.8

  • Buff Neutral attack has been improved. Both hits link more reliably as the transition is faster and the first hit now produces vertical-based knockback, while the second deals increased knockback. The first hit also now has follow-up potential outside of transitioning to the second hit.
  • Nerf Due to the angle alteration of neutral attack's first hit, neutral attack can no longer jab lock.
  • Nerf All hitboxes of neutral attack's first hit deal 1% less damage (4%/6% → 3%/5%).
  • Buff All hitboxes of up tilt now deal vertical knockback, with improved base knockback, making it a better KO move. It additionally has 3 less frames of ending lag.
  • Buff Neutral aerial has 3 less frames of landing lag.
  • Buff Dolphin Slash has slightly improved knockback growth.
  • Change Dolphin Slash and Crescent Slash deal slightly more hitlag.

Technical changelist 1.0.8

Change Old value New value
Jab 1 damage 4%/6% 3%/5%
Jab 1 angle Sakurai angle 78°/65°/90°
Jab 1 knockback growth 50/70 30
Jab 1 base knockback 20/30 55
Jab 1 hitlag 1 0.7
Transition from Jab 1 to Jab 2 frame 21 frame 17
Jab 1 ending frame increased 26 28
Jab 2 angle Sakurai angle 100
Jab 2 initial base knockback 50 65
Jab 2 (late) base knockback 40 52
Up tilt angle Sakurai angle/100° 100°
Up tilt base knockback 50/40 65/52
Up tilt endlag 42 frames 39 frames
Neutral air landing lag 15 frames 12 frames
Dolphin Slash knockback growth 68 74
Dolphin Slash/Crescent Slash hitlag multiplier 0.5 0.7


Super Smash Bros. 4 1.1.0

  • Buff Neutral aerial's first hit damage (2%/3% → 3%/4% and second hit damage increased (6%/8% → 7%/9%) increased.
  • Buff Up tilt's ending lag reduced (39 → 36).
  • Buff Forward aerial landing lag reduced (18 → 16).
  • Buff Back aerial landing lag reduced (19 → 17).
  • Buff Up aerial landing lag reduced (16 → 14).
  • Buff Down aerial landing lag reduced (28 → 24).
  • Buff Shield Breaker endlag reduced (52 → 50). Also affects customs.
  • Buff Dancing Blade input window length increased by 5 frames on all strikes from 1st to 3rd.
  • Buff Dolphin Slash landing lag reduced (23 → 20). Also affects customs.


Technical changelist 1.1.0

Super Smash Bros. 4 1.1.1


Super Smash Bros. 4 1.1.3

  • Buff Multiple changes to the knockback, hitbox sizes, and damage have made Dancing Blade/Effortless Blade link better.

Technical changelist 1.1.3

Change Old value New value
Dancing Blade/Effortless Blade hit 2 forward knockback growth (hitboxes 0/2) 70 30
Dancing Blade/Effortless Blade hit 2 forward knockback growth (hitbox 1) 50 30
Dancing Blade/Effortless Blade hit 2 forward base knockback (all 3 hitboxes) 28 30
Dancing Blade hit 3 down damage (hitbox 0) 3% 4.5%
Dancing Blade hit 3 down damage (hitbox 1) 4% 5.5%
Dancing Blade hit 3 down knockback growth (hitbox 0) 60 28
Dancing Blade hit 3 down knockback growth (hitbox 1) 40 28
Dancing Blade hit 3 down angle (both hitboxes) 20° 44°
Dancing Blade hit 3 down base knockback (both hitboxes) 30 50
Dancing Blade hit 3 down size (hitbox 1) 4.3 4.6


Super Smash Bros. 4 1.1.4

  • Buff Neutral attack's first hit has less ending lag: (28 frames → 25) and both hits have larger hitboxes: (6.5u → 7u.)
  • Buff Forward and up tilt have less ending lag: 36 frames → 33.
  • Buff Forward tilt has a larger sour x and tipper hitbox: (2u (sour)/6.7u (tipper) → 2.5u/7.7u.
  • Buff Down tilt has a larger tipper and sour x hitbox: 6.7u (tipper)/15.2u (sour x) → 8.2u/16.7.
  • Nerf Down tilt's sour y hitbox is smaller: 3.2u → 2.7u.
  • Buff Down smash has significantly decreased ending lag: 64 frames → 54.
  • Buff All aerials deal slightly more damage: 3%/4% (neutral, first hit), 9% (neutral, back hit), 7%/10% (forward), 12% (back), 9%/12% (up), 11%/13%/14% (down) → 3.5%/5%, 9.5%, 8%/11.5%, 12.5%, 9.5%/13%, 12%/14%/15%.
  • Buff The tipper hitboxes on neutral, forward, and back aerial are larger: 6.7 (neutral, first hit)/6.5 (neutral, back hit), 6.7 (forward and back) → 7.7/7.5, 7.7.
  • Buff Back aerial's sour x hitbox is slightly bigger: 2 → 2.5.
  • Buff Dancing Blade improved. The first hit has less startup (7 → 6) and has one frame less of ending lag both on the ground and in the air (IASA: 42/32→ 41/31.)


Moveset

For simplicity if, for example, Marth's blade does 4% damage while the tip does 6%, and the attack has no other hitboxes, it is written as 4%/6%.

  Name Damage Description
Neutral attack   3%/5% Slashes the Falchion twice in front of himself. If spaced and timed correctly, the first hit has many follow-up capabilities as it can link into any of his smash attacks or tilts that can link into his other moves when untippered, but some of these followups only work if the opponent is very close to the player.
4%/6%
Forward tilt   9%/12% A fast upward swipe while leaning forward. Has a large arc that is useful for spacing, and deals moderately strong knockback when tippered, making it a go-to spacing and KO option. Deals much weaker knockback if untippered.
Up tilt   6% (blade), 5% (body), 9% (tip) Swings the Falchion in a large arc above his head, with a large hitbox that can hit enemies behind him. Can combo into itself at low percentages and KO at high percents when tippered.
Down tilt   7%/10% A quick crouching sword poke. Marth's fastest tilt, which is useful for creating space. Can follow up into a grab, dash attack, or running Dancing Blade if the move is untippered, and the tipper hitbox can hit opponents on and below the ledge, while dealing semi-spike knockback.
Dash attack   10% (blade), 9% (body), 12% (tip) A quick, running, upward-sweeping diagonal slash. Low knockback, but deals decent semi-spike knockback if tipped. Moderate ending lag and very low hitlag if untippered, making it rather unsafe against shields.
Forward smash   13%/18% Rotates his body counterclockwise with a strong overarching one-handed swing from his head to the ground. Moderately fast startup, but high ending lag. Although lackluster when sourspotted, this move has the third highest knockback scaling of any forward smash in the game when tippered, being able to KO opponents at 75% from the stage's center and as low as 37% near the edge. Despite this, the move's low range compared to Marth's previous incarnations makes landing a tipper somewhat difficult and highly susceptible to punishment.
Up smash Justice Sword 3% (ground), 13% (blade), 17% (tip) A quick, direct upward thrust. The weak grounded hit can knock nearby opponents into the main attack. Good for aerial protection and chasing down landing opponents. If tippered, it deals extremely high knockback, KOing around 76%, although this is difficult to do unless an opponent falls directly on top of Marth.
Down smash   8%/12% (hit 1), 12%/17% (hit 2) Sweeps the Falchion on the ground toward the front outward then toward the back inward. The back hit has much stronger power, while the front hit is significantly weak unless tippered, where it will do moderate knockback. It also has high ending lag.
Neutral aerial   3.5%/5% (hit 1), 7%/9.5% (hit 2) Two horizontal slashes around himself via an inward slash followed into a full 360° outward spin. The second hit can hit on both sides of Marth, and can be used to create space by short hopping then fast-falling immediately after using the move in the air. The tipper of the second hit is very strong, being the most powerful neutral aerial in the game, KOing near the edge at around 100%.
Forward aerial   8%/11.5% Does a descending crescent slash in front of him with great coverage. This is Marth's best tool for air combat but is risky to use in the neutral game unless used immediately out of a short hop, due to its weak damage if untippered, low hitbox duration and its strict autocancel window, only cancelling if used in a few specific frames immediately after a short hop. However, it is powerful when tippered for how quickly the move comes out, KOing near the edge at around 110%.
Back aerial   9%/12.5% An upward crescent slash behind him in an inward swipe. Has the interesting property of turning Marth around, changing the direction he is facing. Similar use to his forward aerial, although with more knockback and a smaller hitbox. Can be used a few frames before landing to catch opponents with a tipped blow, with correct spacing. Another very powerful move when tippered considering its speed it can KO near the edge at around 90%, and around 145% at the stages' center.
Up aerial   9.5%/13% An overhead crescent slash with good coverage, ending in a delayed somersault. Marth's fastest aerial, it is good for juggling at low percents thanks to its large arc, making it a good anti-air as well, but it has weak knockback unless tippered. Due to its angle and low ending lag during the first few frames, it can be used for a somewhat reliable KO confirm of a landing up aerial to down aerial meteor smash at around 55-60% near the edge. It can also KO at high percents from a down throw on a handful of the cast when tippered, but only in stages with platforms.
Down aerial   12% (blade), 14% (non-meteor tip), 15% (meteor) A downward, wide crescent slash with large coverage. If the attack connects at the middle of the swinging arc (directly below Marth), it serves as a powerful meteor smash. However, the meteor smash window lasts only one frame (frame 11). Other hitboxes when tippered result in moderate knockback. It also has high ending and landing lag.
Grab   Reaches out with his free hand.
Pummel   2% A knee strike. A fairly fast pummel.
Forward throw   4% Throws the opponent forward. Can be used to set up a tippered forward aerial until around 20%, or a Crescent Slash until around 150%. Can also be followed up with a neutral or forward aerial at very low percents against heavier characters.
Back throw   4% Tosses the opponent over his leg, sending them behind him. Its high base knockback allows him to set up edgeguarding, but it cannot combo or KO reliably.
Up throw   4% A powerful one-armed upward throw. Marth's strongest throw, which can KO at around 170%. It is also rather tricky to DI due to its launch angle being behind Marth.
Down throw   5% Throws opponent to the ground with one arm, bouncing them upwards. His primary throw for follow-ups due to its low base knockback, allowing him to follow up with an up or back aerial at low percentages. However, it quickly loses combo potential due to its high knockback growth, sending opponents too high after medium percentages. At low to mid percentage though by reading opponent's air dodge, Marth can setup into a charged up smash.
Floor attack (front)   7% Spins around gracefully and slashes the Falchion in a circle.
Floor attack (back)   7% Swings the Falchion behind, then in front of him before getting up.
Floor attack (trip)   5% Stabs behind him, then slashes in front of himself before getting up.
Edge attack   7% Backflips onto the stage and slashes.
Neutral special Default Shield Breaker 8%/9% (uncharged), 22%/24% (fully charged) Marth assumes a readying stance and charges the Falchion at chest level before powerfully thrusting it forward. This attack deals massive shield damage even when uncharged, and will instantly break shields at full charge, although it can be safely powershielded. The aerial version gives Marth a very slight horizontal boost, while a fully charged aerial version will thrust Marth in whatever direction he's facing, giving him a strong horizontal recovery option, albeit with very high startup. Deals very high knockback when tippered, making it a powerful KOing option, especially against dazed opponents.
Custom 1 Storm Thrust 4% (uncharged), 11% (fully charged) The stab produces a gust of wind from the tip, with pushing strength dependent on the charge level. In exchange, the attack is much weaker than normal.
Custom 2 Dashing Assault 6%/5%/3% (ground uncharged early/mid/late), 7%/6%/4% (air uncharged early/mid/late), 16%/13%/9% (ground fully charged early/mid/late), 17%/14%/10% (air fully charged early/mid/late) Marth performs a lunging thrust with the Falchion. Deals less damage and slightly less shield damage, but propels Marth forward, even when used on the ground.
Side special Default Dancing Blade Varies (see table below) A sequence of sword slashes with several variations based on directional input. Four slashes total, with each capable of being altered in direction, allowing for eighteen total possible combinations. Standard strikes are trailed red, high strikes are trailed blue, and low strikes are trailed green (see table below for details and limits of the move). The first hit comes out on frame 6 and is arguably Marth's best tool for catching and punishing rolls, airdodges, and landings.
Custom 1 Effortless Blade 2%/3% (parts 1-3), 4%/5% (part 4) Makes the hits easier to link, but only allows forward (red) swings. Since Marth swings with less vigor, the attack is also much weaker.
Custom 2 Heavy Blade 7%/9% (part 1), 9%/11% (part 2), 10%/12% (part 3), 13%/15% (part 4 up), 14%/16% (part 4 side), 2.2% (part 4 down hits 1-4), 11%/13% (part 4 down hit 5) Each swing is more forceful and has more range, dramatically increasing each swing's KO potential, especially the fourth swing. However, the controller input time is much stricter and the move also has more startup and ending lag, while the resultant increase in knockback also makes each separate hit almost impossible to link together.
Up special Default Dolphin Slash 11% (clean), 7% (late blade), 6% (late body) Marth performs a high-speed jumping uppercut slash that can be B-reversed. Has a powerful sweetspot and grants very slight intangibility in the first few frames, which can easily cause stage-spikes under the right circumstances. Grants good vertical distance but is rather lacking in horizontal distance.
Custom 1 Crescent Slash 7% (clean), 12% (late blade), 6% (late body) Marth uses a lower Dolphin Slash that gains more horizontal distance, and deals the most damage at the midpoint of the arc. It gives Marth an access to his only true follow-up from forward throw and grab release combo against some characters. However, it has less vertical distance and high landing lag.
Custom 2 Dolphin Jump 0% The jump is purely vertical and gains more height. However, landing lag is significantly increased, and the jump deals no damage.
Down special Default Counter 1.2× (minimum 8%) Marth assumes a defensive stance and retaliates against incoming attacks. The power of the counterattack scales with the strength of the attack blocked. Starts up on frame 6 and lasts 22 frames. Ineffective against projectiles and attacks with sufficiently long reach, such as many of Shulk's tilts and smash attacks.
Custom 1 Easy Counter 0.7× (minimum 4%) Marth holds his stance longer and strikes with less power. Has a decreased multiplier, but has a wider trigger window. Starts up on frame 6 and lasts 29 frames.
Custom 2 Iai Counter 1.3× (minimum 6%) Marth strikes the opponent while moving behind them at lightning speed. Inflicts more damage, knocks foes behind him, and is much quicker, but the trigger window is stricter. Deals electric damage. Starts up on frame 3 and lasts 14 frames.
Final Smash Critical Hit 60% Marth raises the Falchion skyward, then lunges in one direction, attacking the first opponent he connects. Immense knockback, enough to one-hit KO any character on any roofless stage. Pressing the special button again will cause him to stop mid-dash.

On-screen appearance

  • Warps onto the stage using a warp circle with a twirl and unsheathes his sword.
MarthOnScreenAppearanceSSB4.gif

Taunts

  • Up taunt: Points the Falchion skyward with a quick spark of light emitting at the tip. This is similar to his stance before he performed his Critical Hit animation in the Fire Emblem series and identical to his stance while performing his Lodestar technique.
  • Side taunt: Swings the Falchion twice before sheathing it. Marth quickly unsheathes it before the taunt ends.
  • Down taunt: Swings the Falchion downwards before holding it in front of his face, then going back to his idle pose. Marth says: みんな、見ていてくれ! ("Everyone, watch over me!" or in official Fire Emblem Fates English dub as "My prayers are with you!")
Up taunt Side taunt Down taunt
Marth's up taunt in Smash 4 Marth's side taunt in Smash 4 Marth's down taunt in Smash 4

while doing so.

Idle poses

  • Holds his hand to his chest, closes his eyes, and silently takes a breath.
  • Brushes his hair out of his face.
Marth's first idle pose in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. Marth's second idle pose in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.

Crowd cheer

English Japanese
Cheer
Description Marth! Marth! Marth! Ma-ru-su!
Pitch Group chant Group chant

Victory poses

This victory theme is a small orchestral cover from the title theme of the first Fire Emblem game, which has since become the main theme of the series.
  • Turns with pride, spins the Falchion then poses with it pointed to the ground, and says "今回は僕の勝ちだね?", which translates to "It's my victory this time around, right?"
  • Poses with the Falchion sheathed and his right hand over his face before dramatically moving his arm away from his head while saying "僕は負ける訳には行かないんだ。", which translates to "I can't afford to lose." or in the official Fire Emblem Fates English localization as "I cannot afford to fail." Marth keeps a stern expression before smiling once the victory pose is over on the Nintendo 3DS version, while smiling throughout the entire pose on the Wii U version.
  • Sheaths the Falchion and stands facing the camera, while saying "今日も生き延びることが出来た。", which translates to "Even today I was able to survive."
MarthPose1WiiU.gif MarthPose2WiiU.gif MarthPose3WiiU.gif

In competitive play

Official Custom Moveset Project

Character Custom sets available
Marth's stock icon in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. Marth 3113 3123 1123 3133 1133
3121 1121 3111 1131 3131

Notable players

Active

Tier placement and history

In the early lifespan of Smash 4, players quickly recognized the changes and nerfs to Marth's moveset, with players mostly picking up on his range; while still notable, and even improved in some aspects from Brawl, it was nowhere near as impressive due to other characters receiving significant range increases. This culminated in Marth being widely regarded poorly early on; however, Marth received small buffs in balance patches, and by the time of updates 1.0.8 and 1.1.0, Marth received some notable buffs that helped mitigate some of his initial issues, which contributed to the growth of his playerbase, thanks to dedicated players such as False, Mr.E and Pugwest. While Marth's results were still poor overall, the buffs improved his perception as a character, culminating in him being ranked 41st on the first 4BR tier list.

Marth would continue to improve with time, and gained his most significant buffs in updates 1.1.3 and 1.1.4. These buffs, supplemented with previous ones, allowed Marth's game to flow far more consistently, and allowed his playerbase to gain significantly better and more consistent results. His playerbase continued to grow significantly, with players like Fuwa gaining results in Japan, one of his driest regions for results. In the USA and Canada, Mr.E was able to place 5th at KTAR XVII, 17th at GOML 2016 and 13th at EVO 2016 (defeating ZeRo 2-1 in the latter tournament), while Pugwest placed 17th at Pound 2016 and EVO 2016, and False placed 17th at GOML 2016, with such results before the patch being almost unspoken of for him. Most notably, MKLeo begun bringing in abundant results: this included 1st place at Smash Factor 5 while using Marth through a majority of the tournament, and notably resetting the Grand Finals bracket against Mr.R's Sheik 3-0. Overall, Marth gained between the 12th and 16th best overall tournament results from patch 1.1.4 to present time, and all of these traits allowed Marth to rise to 19th on the second official tier list, gaining the second largest rise between the first and second tier lists.

While his placement on the second tier list was considered to be fairly accurate, some top players (e.g, ZeRo and Dabuz) believed Marth to be too low, and his increasing tournament success further called his placement into question: Leo won Canada Cup 2016 after beating Ally in very close sets of Grand Finals with Marth, he beat ZeRo 3-0 at 2GGT: ZeRo Saga in Losers Semi-finals and turned around a harsh deficit in Grand Finals against Larry Lurr using only Marth, and he won GENESIS 4 using Marth for the entirety of Top 8 (although he used Cloud exclusively prior to this). These even stronger results have helped Marth rise further in the third and current tier list, at 10th place, this tier rise being the third highest between the second and third tier lists.

However, while Marth has continued to perform well in the current metagame and has achieved strong results, his current placement has been recently disputed due to some smashers viewing Leo as the only Marth player to place very high at major tournaments, while Leo himself has used his other main, Cloud, more frequently over Marth. Mr.E has also began to use Lucina more often in tournament. In addition, characters ranked below him on the tier list such as Corrin have placed higher than Marth in tournaments as of late. As a result of this, Marth dropped one spot to 11th place, now sharing the spot with Ryu, though he certainly has noticeably improved during the lifespan of the game, and is arguably one of the characters that has developed the most, alongside Mewtwo.

Trophies

Marth
Ntsc The first hero from the Fire Emblem series, Marth is the prince of Altea and descendant of the hero Anri. In Smash Bros., he's known as an exceptional swordfighter, swinging his blade with grace. Striking with the tip will maximize the damage dealt. Teach aggressive foes a lesson with his strong Counter move.
Pal Marth, the prince of Altea, is the hero of the first ever Fire Emblem game and its remake, Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon. In this game, his graceful sword skills are what set him apart. Strike with the tip of his blade to deal extra damage, and use his Counter skill to defend yourself, no matter which directions you're being attacked from.
NES: Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light (JP)
SNES: Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem (JP)
Marth (Alt.)
Ntsc Marth's side special Dancing Blade is a four-stage attack. Aim and time your strikes carefully! The tip of his sword does the most damage. For his up smash, Justice Sword, he thrusts his blade into the air. You can use it to block attacks from above and launch nearby foes.
Pal Marth's side special, Dancing Blade, is a four-stage attack. Aim and time your strikes carefully! As usual, the tip of his sword does the most damage. For his up smash, Justice Sword, he thrusts his blade into the air. You can use it to block attacks from above, and even to launch nearby enemies off the ground."
NES: Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light (JP)
SNES: Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem (JP)
Critical Hit (Marth)
Ntsc Marth raises his Exalted Falchion to the sky and then rushes forward to deal an incredibly powerful blow, almost certainly KO'ing anyone and everyone who gets hit! When it's used in the air, he'll fly forward a certain distance. On the ground, however, he'll only dash to the edge of the platform he's standing on.
Pal Marth raises his Exalted Falchion to the sky, then rushes forwards to deal an incredibly powerful blow, almost certainly KOing anyone and everyone who gets hit! When used in the air, he'll fly forwards a set distance, but on the ground, he'll only dash up to the edge of the platform he's standing on.

In Event Matches

Solo Events

Co-op Events

  • A Royal Errand: Marth and Robin must work together to collect 500G from Wario and Bowser in a coin battle before the stage reaches the Bazaar.
  • The Ultimate Battle: Two players must select their characters and defeat the entire roster (prior to DLC).

Alternate costumes

Marth Palette (SSB4).png
Marth's stock icon in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. MarthHeadRedSSB4-U.png MarthHeadGreenSSB4-U.png MarthHeadBlackSSB4-U.png MarthHeadWhiteSSB4-U.png MarthHeadBlueSSB4-U.png MarthHeadYellowSSB4-U.png MarthHeadPurpleSSB4-U.png

Gallery

Trivia

  • Despite now only grunting instead of talking when doing his Counter, the voice clips of him speaking are still in his Sound Test. Interestingly, Marth can be heard talking while countering in Roy's reveal trailer.
  • Dashing Assault makes a "woosh" sound when used, but in Corrin's reveal trailer it makes the "shing" sound when executed, likewise when Marth performs his standard Shield Breaker.
  • Marth, Roy and Cloud are the only characters to speak Japanese in every regional version of Super Smash Bros. 4.
  • Marth's sword and its sheath are not present in his artwork for the cover of Super Smash Bros. for 3DS.
  • Super Smash Bros. 4. marks the only appearance of Marth as a starter character.

References