Marth

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Smash Attacks

SIDE SMASH DAMAGE 13~18%

Marth swings his sword over his head and down in front of him, sending opponents diagonally away. Hitting with the tip of the sword deals 18% damage.

DOWN SMASH DAMAGE 8~17%

A low sword attack first in front of and then behind Marth. Hitting with the tip of the sword deals 17% damage and sends opponents diagonally away.

UP SMASH DAMAGE 3~17% MAX DAMAGE 16% : 2 Hits

Marth thrusts his sword upward. Hitting with the tip of the sword deals 17% damage in a single hit and launches opponents vertically.

Basic Attacks

Standing Attack DAMAGE 4~6%, 4~6%

Marth can slash up to two times with his sword.

Side Tilt DAMAGE 9~12%

Marth swings his sword diagonally in front of him.

Up Tilt DAMAGE 5~9%

Marth uses a backhand upward sword swing that pops opponents up.

Down Tilt DAMAGE 7~10%

A crouching low sword stab.

Dash Attack DAMAGE 9~12%

Marth slides and swipes his sword horizontally at anyone in front of him.

Edge Attack

Marth returns to the stage and attacks at your opponent’s shins with his sword.

Air Attacks

Neutral Air Attack DAMAGE 2~8% MAX DAMAGE 11% : 2 Hits

Two horizontal sword slashes that can combo. Works well when advancing or retreating in the air.

Up Air Attack DAMAGE 9~12%

Marth does a backflip as he swings his sword upward.

Down Air Attack DAMAGE 11~14%

Marth swings his sword in an arc below him. This attack also has a meteor effect.

Forward Air Attack DAMAGE 7~10%

A downward strike of the sword directly in front of Marth. Hitting early against a grounded opponent can bounce that opponent off the ground!

Back Air Attack DAMAGE 9~12%

Marth turns around in the air and swings his sword in an upward arc in front of him.

Special Attacks

Shield Breaker (Neutral Special) DAMAGE 8~9% MAX CHARGE 22~24%

Marth thrusts forward with his sword to stab his opponent. You can charge this up to do a lot more damage! If it’s charged up, you can break some shields in a single hit! Using this while Marth is airborne moves Marth forward slightly.

Storm Thrust DAMAGE 0~4% MAX CHARGE 0~11%

As Marth thrusts his sword forward, he creates a gust of wind that knocks opponents back. The longer the charge, the faster the wind. This version of the attack deals less damage and doesn’t work well to break shields.

Dashing Assault DAMAGE 3~6% MAX CHARGE 9~16%

In this variation, Marth dashes forward as he thrusts his sword. For increased range, Marth sacrifices a bit of damage. This attack is strongest at the beginning of the dash and takes a bit longer to fully charge. The longer you charge it, the farther he will dash, but the speed is the same. Note that this version has less potential to break shields than the regular version.

Dancing Blade (Side Special)

LOW COMBO 3~4%, 3~4%, 3~4%, 2~6% MAX DAMAGE 14% : 5 Hits

MEDIUM COMBO 3~4%, 3~4%, 4~5%, 5~7%

HIGH COMBO 3~4%, 3~4%, 4~5%, 6~8%

Marth performs a multi-hit sword combo as you repeatedly hit the Special button. Pressing Up or Down will also change the attacks you see from this combo. Red indicates medium, blue indicates high, and green indicates low. Blue knocks up higher and red knocks back farther. The second hit can only be high or medium while the third and fourth hits can also be low. Use the first hit in the air as a stall tactic.

Effortless Blade DAMAGE 2~3%, 2~3%, 2~3%, 4~5%

There are no Up or Down variations in this attack string. The first hit is a bit slower to startup, and you have more time to input the next attack between each hit. The damage for each hit is less in this version.

Heavy Blade

LOW COMBO 7~9%, 9~11%, 10~12%, 2.2~13% MAX DAMAGE 21.8% : 5 Hits

MEDIUM COMBO 7~9%, 9~11%, 10~12%, 14~16%

HIGH COMBO 7~9%, 9~11%, 10~12%, 13~15%

In this sword combo, each strike is stronger but launches the opponent. This makes it harder to land all of the hits, even though the range on each hit is slightly increased. Note that each additional strike is slower than it usually is.

Dolphin Slash (Up Special) DAMAGE 6~11%

This upward strike is primarily in front of Marth. It’s his main recovery tool and deals the most damage when the attack begins.

Crescent Slash DAMAGE 6~12%

Marth rises in the path of an arc as he strikes. The most damaging part of the attack is around the midpoint of the arc. As a recovery tool, this doesn’t travel as high up, but you can move more horizontally on your way back down. This version has a lot of recovery upon landing.

Dolphin Jump DAMAGE 0%

There is no attack in this version, but Marth jumps higher than usual! Similar to Crescent Slash, this version has a lot of recovery upon landing.

Counter (Down Special) DAMAGE See Counter Data Table

Marth lifts his sword to counter his opponent’s attacks. The amount of damage returned in the counterstrike depends on the strength of the strike being countered. Countering a Smash attack can KO an opponent.

Easy Counter DAMAGE See Counter Data Table

The window to counter attacks is larger; however, the attack power is lower than usual.

Iai Counter DAMAGE See Counter Data Table

After a successful counter, the opponent is knocked behind you. The minimum counter does less damage, but when countering more damaging attacks, it deals more damage. The counter window is smaller than the default version as well.

Final Smash

Critical Hit

Marth dashes incredibly far across the screen to deliver a critical blow to the first opponent he runs into. Any enemies caught nearby will also be hit. This move has enough knockback to take out the heaviest opponents, even at 0%! You can cancel this attack by hitting any attack button. This can be useful to stop yourself from flying too far off-stage and save you from a self-destruct.

Strategy

Marth is a lightweight swordsman who must get in on his opponent and force an up-close fight. He has above-average ground speed and decent mobility in the air. Thanks to the range of his sword, up-close fighting is usually in his favor. The biggest challenge in using Marth is learning to hit with just the tip of his sword to maximize damage and knockback potential. All of his attacks are improved by hitting with the tip! Use short hop Forward and Neutral Air to pressure opponents and poke with Side Tilt and Down Tilt. When opponents are pressured by your offense and are trying to shield a lot, this is the time to use throws. Against projectile-heavy characters, focus on shielding, dodging, and rolling to make your way in.

Marth’s Shield Breaker can deal significant amounts of damage if fully charged, and as its name implies, it can even completely break weaker shields in a single hit! If you happen to break a shield, either fully charge another Shield Breaker as an attack or follow up with a charged Side Smash that will hit at the tip. Dancing Blade is a multi-hit attack you can use to keep your opponents on their toes or to choose how you want to launch an opponent. Ending with Forward sends opponents horizontally while ending with Up can get you a KO at high percentages. More important, because Dancing Blade counts as multiple hits, it’s a good way to refresh your stronger KO options! Dolphin Slash is extremely fast and high for an attack, but it leaves you in a fall state. You have some invincibility at the start of this move, though, so it’s particularly useful to beat out incoming attacks. This is much better used in a one-on-one situation where landing the attack won’t leave you vulnerable to other opponents during your fall state. Marth’s Counter starts up quickly and returns more damage than it originally received, so look to counter larger, slower attacks!

When using Marth’s Smash attacks for KOs, Side Smash is your best bet, as it does the most damage even without hitting the tip. From the air, finish with Forward Air and Neutral Air for KOs or Down Air for meteor smashes. KOing heavier characters may be difficult, so maximize your edge-guarding potential. Try to meet opponents off-stage with Neutral Air or Forward Air and Counter if they attack their way back to the stage. Using Down Tilt at the edge can also be very annoying for opponents returning to the stage.

Recovery

Marth’s recovery tools are fairly straightforward. His primary recovery tool is Dolphin Slash. This reaches extremely high, but you have to aim it accurately to reach the edge, plus it leaves you in a fall state. For horizontal recovery, Marth really doesn’t have a good fast option, though uncharged Shield Breakers do move him slightly forward. Charging the Shield Breaker is best used immediately after using your second jump for the extra height and momentum. A fully charged Shield Breaker in the air launches you horizontally, though it takes a while to charge up. If knocked away very high, follow up a fully charged Shield Breaker with Dolphin Slash for best results! Finally, to stall in the air a little, use the first hit of Dancing Blade.