Marth (Super Smash Flash 2)

Marth is a veteran starter character in Super Smash Flash 2. He was announced along with and at the McLeodGaming booth for Super Smash Flash 2 at APEX 2014. Unlike in the Super Smash Bros. series, he is the only character representative of the Fire Emblem universe. His sprites are custom-made and based on his appearance in , but with his hairstyle from recent games like in Ultimate. His moveset is taken directly from Brawl, as well as his voice clips.
Marth is ranked 21st on the current tier list, placing him in the A- tier. Marth has disjointed range, fast attacks, amazing combo ability, great ground mobility, and finishers in his tipped smash attacks, tipped up aerial, down aerial, and back aerial. Marth has a strong air game thanks to his fast, disjointed aerials. Marth is also a good edgeguarder, making it very difficult for his opponents to make it back to the stage.
However, Marth has below average weight, which makes him vulnerable to horizontal KOs. His recovery is very linear and it is difficult for him to sweetspot the ledge with Dolphin Slash, making it difficult for him to return to the stage without getting edge guarded. He has problems KOing his opponents if he is unable to properly connect with his tippers, as his attacks normally have below-average knockback. He has no projectiles of his own, thus forcing him to approach when fighting against defensive zoning characters. Marth is slightly taller than most other characters, making him an easier target. He requires precise spacing to be used to his full power.
Due to his popularity in the official Super Smash Bros. games, Marth has a large player base and fairly good representation in tournaments, occasionally leading to victory.
== Attributes ==
Marth is a medium-light character who can be described as being emblematic of swordfighters: his playstyle revolves around spacing to keep opponents away, as well as dealing high damage and knockback, thanks to his unique "tipper" mechanic, in which many of his attacks are stronger at the Falchion's tip compared to the base. His grounded movement is above-average for a character of his weight class, and due to his tipper, he has a wide array of potent KO moves, mainly with his forward smash and forward tilt. This also extends to his air game, with quick aerials that can be formidable edgeguarding tools or KO options if the tipper is landed, giving Marth an amazing air game and edgeguarding game. Additionally, despite his tipper dealing the most damage and knockback, his sourspots can also serve as useful combo tools.
Marth also possesses an excellent grab and throw game, possessing one of the longest-reaching grabs in the game. His forward throw can chain grab most characters, while also being able to be followed up with a forward smash, if the opponent does not react, or can set up tech chases. His up throw can be followed up by up tilt or up air, depending on a character's accelerated falling speed, which can allow for some juggling. It can chain grab certain characters from 0% to mid percentages. His back throw sends opponents behind him where he might put them into unfavorable positions. His down throw can set up tech chases and, if used at the ledge, can set up some edge guarding situations.
His special moves give him an interesting variety of options for him to use. His neutral special, aptly named Shield Breaker, deals a good amount of shield damage, even if uncharged, and is useful for covering rolls and landings. His side special, Dancing Blade, can serve as a useful damage-racking tool, especially with the downward-angled hits, which can also deal extra shield damage due to their damage output. His up special, Dolphin Slash, is a potent out of shield option thanks to its quick startup, and decent damage and knockback output if tippered, which can make it a superb option for stage-spiking reckless edgeguarders. It also covers a good amount of vertical distance, which makes it a useful vertical recovery option. Lastly, his down special, Counter, can serve as a useful gimping tool due to its attack power (though its damage caps at 20%, making it unreliable for on-stage KOing).
However, Marth's main weakness is his below-average weight which allows him to be KO'd horizontally early or knocked off to far where he might not be able to recover. Also, despite having below-average weight, he is susceptible to combos due to being tall and being an above-average faller. His tall frame also makes him more susceptible to shield stabbing.
Arguably, his most prominent flaw is his reliance on his tippers and spacing to maximize his damage output. As his tippers deal the most damage and knockback, it gives Marth an extremely poor up-close game due to his sourspots' unimpressive damage and knockback output. Additionally, most of his non-tippered moves deal low shieldstun, which makes Marth very poor with attacking shields, and Shield Breaker is punishable if it misses. This tipper reliance also extends to his aerials, as they need to be sweetspotted to have decent KO potential, which give him a polarized KO game.
His main recovery move, Dolphin Slash, relies on momentum, and despite its good vertical distance, its horizontal distance is only mediocre at best, and has problems sweet spotting the ledge, which makes it easy to edgeguard against. Trying to sweet spot the ledge can leave him vulnerable to edgehogging, but trying to land on stage can leave him open to being knocked off-stage again. This forces players to mix up their recovery to avoid this. Additionally, while Dancing Blade can reposition Marth for safety, it cannot do this again if he is hit, and it does not reliably protect Marth most of the time unless he performs more inputs, which can lead to an SD if he goes too low.
Marth, as a sword-based character, also does not have a projectile or any means to deal with them, which gives him problems approaching characters with projectile-heavy playstyles, such as . Marth also has problems finishing his opponents off due to the majority of his finishers needing to be tippered, outside of Counter. Thus, a Marth player must have excellent spacing to land the tipper the majority of the time. Without excellent spacing, Marth will have to resort to edgeguarding, which can be inconsistent at best due to his tippers. Additionally, while Counter can serve as a defensive tool, it is very punishable if Marth is not hit during his counter frames and deals mediocre knockback at the 20% cap, making it unreliable at KOing.
Overall, Marth is a character who represents the archetype of swordfighters: players who use him rely on spacing to keep opponents away, while also dealing damage and knockback with his tippers.
== Moveset ==
=== Ground attacks ===
Attack 	Description 	Damage
Neutral attack	Swings the Falchion in front of him twice. Its minimal ending lag allows it to be used repeatedly. 	
Neutral attack	Swings the Falchion in front of him twice. Its minimal ending lag allows it to be used repeatedly. 	
Forward tilt 	Does a quick slash forward. 	
Forward tilt 	Does a quick slash forward. 	
Up tilt 	Swings the Falchion in a large arc above his head from front to back. Covers a large area and sends opponents diagonally back. His arm and head have separate sour spots.	
Up tilt 	Swings the Falchion in a large arc above his head from front to back. Covers a large area and sends opponents diagonally back. His arm and head have separate sour spots.	
Up tilt 	Swings the Falchion in a large arc above his head from front to back. Covers a large area and sends opponents diagonally back. His arm and head have separate sour spots.	
Up tilt 	Swings the Falchion in a large arc above his head from front to back. Covers a large area and sends opponents diagonally back. His arm and head have separate sour spots.	
Up tilt 	Swings the Falchion in a large arc above his head from front to back. Covers a large area and sends opponents diagonally back. His arm and head have separate sour spots.	
Up tilt 	Swings the Falchion in a large arc above his head from front to back. Covers a large area and sends opponents diagonally back. His arm and head have separate sour spots.	
Down tilt 	Pokes the Falchion forward while crouching. 	
Down tilt 	Pokes the Falchion forward while crouching. 	
Down tilt 	Pokes the Falchion forward while crouching. 	
Dash attack 	Performs a dashing upward diagonal slash. 	
Dash attack 	Performs a dashing upward diagonal slash. 	
Dash attack 	Performs a dashing upward diagonal slash. 	
Forward smash 	Rotates his body counter-clockwise with a strong arc-like swing from his head to the ground. Very strong knockback if it is tippered. Otherwise, has mediocre knockback. 	
Forward smash 	Rotates his body counter-clockwise with a strong arc-like swing from his head to the ground. Very strong knockback if it is tippered. Otherwise, has mediocre knockback. 	
Up smash 	Thrusts the Falchion quickly upward. Has a hitbox at his feet at the start that hits grounded opponents upward, connecting with the rest of the attack. 	
Up smash 	Thrusts the Falchion quickly upward. Has a hitbox at his feet at the start that hits grounded opponents upward, connecting with the rest of the attack. 	
Up smash 	Thrusts the Falchion quickly upward. Has a hitbox at his feet at the start that hits grounded opponents upward, connecting with the rest of the attack. 	
Down smash 	Performs a crouching slashes in front of and then behind him. 	
Down smash 	Performs a crouching slashes in front of and then behind him. 	
=== Aerial attacks ===
Attack 	Description 	Damage
Neutral aerial	Performs two horizontal slashes around himself. 	
Neutral aerial	Performs two horizontal slashes around himself. 	
Neutral aerial	Performs two horizontal slashes around himself. 	
Forward aerial	Performs a downwards vertical slash in front of him. Can be performed twice off of a single short hop, making it good for combos. 	
Forward aerial	Performs a downwards vertical slash in front of him. Can be performed twice off of a single short hop, making it good for combos. 	
Forward aerial	Performs a downwards vertical slash in front of him. Can be performed twice off of a single short hop, making it good for combos. 	
Back aerial 	Performs a reverse upwards crescent slash. The move turns Marth around when used. 	
Back aerial 	Performs a reverse upwards crescent slash. The move turns Marth around when used. 	
Back aerial 	Performs a reverse upwards crescent slash. The move turns Marth around when used. 	
Up aerial 	Slashes in an arc over him. Useful for juggling. 	
Up aerial 	Slashes in an arc over him. Useful for juggling. 	
Up aerial 	Slashes in an arc over him. Useful for juggling. 	
Down aerial 	Does a forward to back downward slash. It is a meteor smash if tippered, though its low hitstun makes it less useful at low percents.	
Down aerial 	Does a forward to back downward slash. It is a meteor smash if tippered, though its low hitstun makes it less useful at low percents.	
Down aerial 	Does a forward to back downward slash. It is a meteor smash if tippered, though its low hitstun makes it less useful at low percents.	
=== Grab and throws ===
Attack 	Description 	Damage
Grab 	Swipes an arm out. 	
Pummel 	Knees the opponent. 	2%
Forward throw	Pushes the opponent forward, tripping with the leg. Can chain grab certain opponents and lead into a forward smash at low percentages, assuming the opponent does not DI away from Marth.	4%
Back throw 	Pulls and extends his leg simultaneously. 	7%
Up throw 	Powerful upwards throw with one arm. Can chain grab certain opponents. 	3%
Down throw 	Hook his arms and drags the opponent to the floor sending the opponent backwards. 	4%
=== Other attacks ===
Attack 	Description 	Damage
Floor attack	Does a quick sweep on each side of him. 	5%
Ledge attack	Flips onto ledge with a downward diagonal slash.	7%
=== Special moves ===
Attack 	Name 	Description 	Damage
Neutral special move	Shield Breaker	Performs a powerful forward stab with the Falchion. Very high shield damage, even when uncharged, hence the name. Combined with its ability to be charged and low startup frames when released, it makes the move a very useful tool for catching rolls or punishing predictable shielding. 	
Neutral special move	Shield Breaker	Performs a powerful forward stab with the Falchion. Very high shield damage, even when uncharged, hence the name. Combined with its ability to be charged and low startup frames when released, it makes the move a very useful tool for catching rolls or punishing predictable shielding. 	
Side special move 	Dancing Blade 	Performs a combination of up to four sword strikes. After the first strike, the move can be altered by holding up or down while attacking to perform different strikes, each with their own properties. Neutral (forward) strikes are trailed red, upward strikes are trailed blue, and downward strikes are trailed green. The second slash can not be altered downward. The first strike can stall Marth in midair. 	
Side special move 	Dancing Blade 	Performs a combination of up to four sword strikes. After the first strike, the move can be altered by holding up or down while attacking to perform different strikes, each with their own properties. Neutral (forward) strikes are trailed red, upward strikes are trailed blue, and downward strikes are trailed green. The second slash can not be altered downward. The first strike can stall Marth in midair. 	
Side special move 	Dancing Blade 	Performs a combination of up to four sword strikes. After the first strike, the move can be altered by holding up or down while attacking to perform different strikes, each with their own properties. Neutral (forward) strikes are trailed red, upward strikes are trailed blue, and downward strikes are trailed green. The second slash can not be altered downward. The first strike can stall Marth in midair. 	
Side special move 	Dancing Blade 	Performs a combination of up to four sword strikes. After the first strike, the move can be altered by holding up or down while attacking to perform different strikes, each with their own properties. Neutral (forward) strikes are trailed red, upward strikes are trailed blue, and downward strikes are trailed green. The second slash can not be altered downward. The first strike can stall Marth in midair. 	
Side special move 	Dancing Blade 	Performs a combination of up to four sword strikes. After the first strike, the move can be altered by holding up or down while attacking to perform different strikes, each with their own properties. Neutral (forward) strikes are trailed red, upward strikes are trailed blue, and downward strikes are trailed green. The second slash can not be altered downward. The first strike can stall Marth in midair. 	
Side special move 	Dancing Blade 	Performs a combination of up to four sword strikes. After the first strike, the move can be altered by holding up or down while attacking to perform different strikes, each with their own properties. Neutral (forward) strikes are trailed red, upward strikes are trailed blue, and downward strikes are trailed green. The second slash can not be altered downward. The first strike can stall Marth in midair. 	
Side special move 	Dancing Blade 	Performs a combination of up to four sword strikes. After the first strike, the move can be altered by holding up or down while attacking to perform different strikes, each with their own properties. Neutral (forward) strikes are trailed red, upward strikes are trailed blue, and downward strikes are trailed green. The second slash can not be altered downward. The first strike can stall Marth in midair. 	
Side special move 	Dancing Blade 	Performs a combination of up to four sword strikes. After the first strike, the move can be altered by holding up or down while attacking to perform different strikes, each with their own properties. Neutral (forward) strikes are trailed red, upward strikes are trailed blue, and downward strikes are trailed green. The second slash can not be altered downward. The first strike can stall Marth in midair. 	
Side special move 	Dancing Blade 	Performs a combination of up to four sword strikes. After the first strike, the move can be altered by holding up or down while attacking to perform different strikes, each with their own properties. Neutral (forward) strikes are trailed red, upward strikes are trailed blue, and downward strikes are trailed green. The second slash can not be altered downward. The first strike can stall Marth in midair. 	
Side special move 	Dancing Blade 	Performs a combination of up to four sword strikes. After the first strike, the move can be altered by holding up or down while attacking to perform different strikes, each with their own properties. Neutral (forward) strikes are trailed red, upward strikes are trailed blue, and downward strikes are trailed green. The second slash can not be altered downward. The first strike can stall Marth in midair. 	
Side special move 	Dancing Blade 	Performs a combination of up to four sword strikes. After the first strike, the move can be altered by holding up or down while attacking to perform different strikes, each with their own properties. Neutral (forward) strikes are trailed red, upward strikes are trailed blue, and downward strikes are trailed green. The second slash can not be altered downward. The first strike can stall Marth in midair. 	
Side special move 	Dancing Blade 	Performs a combination of up to four sword strikes. After the first strike, the move can be altered by holding up or down while attacking to perform different strikes, each with their own properties. Neutral (forward) strikes are trailed red, upward strikes are trailed blue, and downward strikes are trailed green. The second slash can not be altered downward. The first strike can stall Marth in midair. 	
Side special move 	Dancing Blade 	Performs a combination of up to four sword strikes. After the first strike, the move can be altered by holding up or down while attacking to perform different strikes, each with their own properties. Neutral (forward) strikes are trailed red, upward strikes are trailed blue, and downward strikes are trailed green. The second slash can not be altered downward. The first strike can stall Marth in midair. 	
Side special move 	Dancing Blade 	Performs a combination of up to four sword strikes. After the first strike, the move can be altered by holding up or down while attacking to perform different strikes, each with their own properties. Neutral (forward) strikes are trailed red, upward strikes are trailed blue, and downward strikes are trailed green. The second slash can not be altered downward. The first strike can stall Marth in midair. 	
Side special move 	Dancing Blade 	Performs a combination of up to four sword strikes. After the first strike, the move can be altered by holding up or down while attacking to perform different strikes, each with their own properties. Neutral (forward) strikes are trailed red, upward strikes are trailed blue, and downward strikes are trailed green. The second slash can not be altered downward. The first strike can stall Marth in midair. 	
Side special move 	Dancing Blade 	Performs a combination of up to four sword strikes. After the first strike, the move can be altered by holding up or down while attacking to perform different strikes, each with their own properties. Neutral (forward) strikes are trailed red, upward strikes are trailed blue, and downward strikes are trailed green. The second slash can not be altered downward. The first strike can stall Marth in midair. 	
Side special move 	Dancing Blade 	Performs a combination of up to four sword strikes. After the first strike, the move can be altered by holding up or down while attacking to perform different strikes, each with their own properties. Neutral (forward) strikes are trailed red, upward strikes are trailed blue, and downward strikes are trailed green. The second slash can not be altered downward. The first strike can stall Marth in midair. 	
Up special move 	Dolphin Slash 	Performs a leaping, high-speed uppercut slash. Due to its fast speed, it can serve as a reliable tool to use against careless edgeguarders, while its vertical gain makes it a semi-reliable recovery. Its fast startup, along with its decent knockback when tippered on startup, makes it a useful out of shield option. The first frame is intangible, and the upward slash can be angled slightly or reversed at startup. However, it is hampered by its low horizontal distance, even when angled.	
Up special move 	Dolphin Slash 	Performs a leaping, high-speed uppercut slash. Due to its fast speed, it can serve as a reliable tool to use against careless edgeguarders, while its vertical gain makes it a semi-reliable recovery. Its fast startup, along with its decent knockback when tippered on startup, makes it a useful out of shield option. The first frame is intangible, and the upward slash can be angled slightly or reversed at startup. However, it is hampered by its low horizontal distance, even when angled.	
Up special move 	Dolphin Slash 	Performs a leaping, high-speed uppercut slash. Due to its fast speed, it can serve as a reliable tool to use against careless edgeguarders, while its vertical gain makes it a semi-reliable recovery. Its fast startup, along with its decent knockback when tippered on startup, makes it a useful out of shield option. The first frame is intangible, and the upward slash can be angled slightly or reversed at startup. However, it is hampered by its low horizontal distance, even when angled.	
Up special move 	Dolphin Slash 	Performs a leaping, high-speed uppercut slash. Due to its fast speed, it can serve as a reliable tool to use against careless edgeguarders, while its vertical gain makes it a semi-reliable recovery. Its fast startup, along with its decent knockback when tippered on startup, makes it a useful out of shield option. The first frame is intangible, and the upward slash can be angled slightly or reversed at startup. However, it is hampered by its low horizontal distance, even when angled.	
Down special move 	Counter 	Holds the Falchion in a reverse grip while taking a defensive stance. Upon getting hit while flashing, the opponent will be put in hitlag, and Marth will retaliate with an outward slash. Counter's damage and knockback can vary, although they are restricted by both a ceiling and a floor amount. 	
Final Smash 	Critical Hit 	Marth dashes forwards at an incredible speed, one-hit KOing and stopping at opponents he comes into contact with, if any. Pressing the special input stops him manually. 	60%
=== Misc. ===
Misc. 	Description 	Description 	Description
On-screen appearance	Teleports on to the stage, wrapped in his cape. 	Teleports on to the stage, wrapped in his cape. 	Teleports on to the stage, wrapped in his cape.
Taunts 	Neutral 	Twirls his sword, then raises it in front of him saying "". 	
Taunts 	Side 	Swings his sword twice before resheathing it. 	
Taunts 	Down/Up 	Raises sword, which causes a clashing sound. 	
Idle poses 	colspan="3" 	 	
Victory theme 	A remix of an excerpt of the title theme from . 	A remix of an excerpt of the title theme from . 	A remix of an excerpt of the title theme from .
Victory pose 	Spins the Falchion, then poses with it pointed to the ground and says "".	Spins the Falchion, then poses with it pointed to the ground and says "".	Spins the Falchion, then poses with it pointed to the ground and says "".
== Changes from 0.9b ==
=== Aesthetics ===
*
=== Attributes ===
*
=== Ground attacks ===
*
=== Aerial attacks ===
=== Grabs & throws ===
*
=== Special moves ===
*
*
== In competitive play ==
=== Match ups ===
=== Notable players ===
==== Active ====
* Rigel
==== Inactive ====
=== Tier placement history ===
On the first tier list for v0.9b, Marth was 3rd of S tier on the tier list, showing off a strong start at the beginning of the metagame. For the second tier list of v0.9b, Marth dropped to 4th, still in S tier. However, for the third tier list for v0.9b, Marth dropped to 8th of A tier. This is most likely due to more characters being able to deal with Marth and mu experience against Marth allowed for him to be exploited more as the metagame went on.
Marth has been dropped to 12th of A tier on the first Beta tier list due to find weaknesses that can be exploited. However, on the second tier list of Beta, Marth has rose to the 3rd spot of the A+ tier list.
== Gallery ==
=== Costumes ===
=== Artwork ===
Marth PA.png|Marth's first artwork in the DOJO!!! and v0.9b.
=== Screenshots ===
Marth and Lyn.png|Marth next to Lyn on Castle Siege.
MarthspikeDK2.png|Marth meteor smashing with his down aerial on Hylian Skies.
Marthtaunt.png|Marth and taunting on Hyrule Castle.
Marth 1.png|Marth and charging Shield Breaker at Giga Bowser, who is taunting on Castle Siege.
Ball - Marth.png|Marth's Ball version.
=== Early designs ===
Marth attack.png|Marth hitting with his forward smash on .
Marth and chibi.png|Marth facing , who is performing his forward tilt on Rainbow Route.
New temple 1.png|Marth sending flying after hitting him with his forward smash on .
Bowser Fair on Marth.png|Marth being attacked by 's forward aerial on Gangplank Galleon.
=== Misc. ===
SSF2 - Classic mode - Marth.png|Marth's congratulations screen on Classic mode.
SSF2 - All-Star mode - Marth.png|Marth's congratulations screen on All-Star mode.
== Trivia ==
*In the initial release of SSF2's v0.9a demo, an unfinished Marth file was included. This caused rumors and speculation about his inclusion in the upcoming v0.9b demo, which turned out to be true. This is also true for and , even though they came to the game on later dates.
*Marth, along with , , , , , and are the only characters so far who wear their default costumes in Team Battle when they are on the blue team.
*Marth's official artwork is based on his artwork from Mystery of the Emblem.
Category:Bonus characters
Category:First-party characters
Category:Starter characters
Category:Veteran characters
Category:Super Smash Flash 2
Category:Super Smash Flash series