Wart (Super Smash Bros. Ultimate)

Wart (or Mamu in Japan) is a downloadable newcomer character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, representing both the Mario and the Legend of Zelda series. Wart was included as the packaged-in bonus fighter with Fighter's Pass 3VIL, although he does not come with his own stage and spirits like the others due to his status as a bonus fighter.
==Fighter: Wart Answers the Door!==
Wart 	Wart
/ 	/
Universe 	Mario/The Legend of Zelda
Availability	Downloadable
Final Smash 	Dream Machine
Icon 	
===Overview of the Character===
Wart, self-proclaimed King of Dreams, conquerer of Subcon, and frog choir conductor (in his spare time) joins the battle! Based on both his appearance as a boss in Yume Kojo: Doki Doki Panic (also known as Super Mario Bros. 2 in the West) and his appearance as an ally in Link's Awakening, Wart is a super-heavyweight fighter who is not as straightforward as he may initially seem. Although certainly posessing the typical heavyweight attributes such as powerful attacks and slow movement, Wart also has several unique traits to set him apart from the rest of the roster such as a tether grab in the form of his long slimy tongue (with a potent grab game to go with it), unusual mobility mechanics that make him difficult to pin down especially for such a large character, a super-armored command grab for a Side Special, and a counter that temporarily freezes opponents in place to get around his atrocious framedata. Designed around his status as a retro villain, Wart has an unorthodox fighting style that opponents must adapt to if they want any hope of defeating him, but once they figure out his weaknesses and begin to capitalize on them, he becomes much less challenging.
Wart's most striking unique trait are his mobility mechanics that no other characters share. Wart does not walk or run along the ground, instead performing short hops to get around the battlefield like the frog he is (primarily referencing his Link's Awakening appearance where he is far more associated with frogs). He performs shorter hops when walking and longer hops when running, giving him a constantly moving hurtbox that makes his approaches much easier than they otherwise would be, especially with his slow running speed. Another one of Wart's froggy traits is his jump height, having the second highest jump height in the game other than Falco despite only having two jumps and having surprisingly fast vertical mobility to go with it. This gives Wart a potent defensive airgame that can get him out of harm's way by allowing him to leap high into the air and mix up his landings quite effectively with neutral aerial, forward aerial, and even down special as viable options. Wart's approach game is quite different compared to other characters as a result of his weird mobility, making it optimal for him to make short advancements forwards along the battlefield while staying as high in the air as possible to allow him to use his many aerials to slowly wear opponents down until having the advantage, punishing them with his long grab, and then tossing them into the blast zone.
Speaking of Wart's long grab, his grab game is another one of his most useful traits. While other heavyweights are certainly no slouches in the throw department, many of them posess average grabs that make their throws punish options most times. However, his ability to tether grab opponents with his tongue (which switches appearances from a more humanoid wider tongue to a frog-like extended one depending on the moves he uses) makes his grab a far more aggressive option that significantly shortens his approach game by allowing him aggressive uses of it. Wart's up and back throws are kill throws, while his forward throw can be followed up with a dash attack at middling percentages and his down throw can combo into his aerials. The power of each of his throws combined with the long range of his grab makes it an actually aggressive option for Wart, allowing him the ability to negate his opponents' advantage in seconds by simply getting them within his grab range. 
Much like in his original boss fight in Doki Doki Panic/Super Mario Bros. 2, approaching Wart from below (i.e. offstage) is difficult, due to the wide variety of offstage options he has, both safe and unsafe. His Bubble Belch is one of the most effective edgeguarding tools in the game, both capable of gimping recoveries and punishing safe ones by building up high amounts of damage offstage through the poison effects on his bubbles. Challenging Bubble Belch from a distance is difficult, especially for characters with less than effective recoveries on average, creating a scenario not unlike his original bossfight where getting close enough to him to damage him is difficult. He has two aerials that spike (his forward aerial sweetspot and his down aerial), making him quite deadly up-close offstage as well, with his down aerial even being a niche recovery option to make the spike all the more safe in exchange for its high startup.
However, Wart has several weaknesses as well. While his legs are strong from having to hop around, his arms are rather stubby and weak and as a result he rarely uses them to attack. Unfortunately, this means that he doesn't have a lot of up-close options for attacks on the ground and, if he doesn't space his grab properly, he can easily be punished with little way to fight back minus his Stopwatch counter (which, while useful, is easy to predict due to being one of his only options). This means that if Wart wishes to be aggressive and knock opponents around when grabbing isn't an option that makes sense (i.e. at lower percents), he must mainly stick to the air and thus not be able to shield if opponents manage to figure out how to punish him. While his previously mentioned "hop walk" helps mitigate this, he still finds approaching difficult and is far more content to sit back from a distance and build up damage with his bubbles while grabbing opponents once they're in his range. As previously mentioned, Wart is also quite slow, both in movement and in attack speed. His movement speed has several work-arounds built into the moveset, but his attacks have a lot of endlag that he is simply forced to deal with. While his long attack range somewhat mitigates this issue, it makes him especially vulnerable to punishes if he misses an attack with little way of fighting back, as most characters can out-speed him and easily start wailing on him. 
Overall, Wart is a character who is best when fighting from a distance and only bringing opponents close as a punish option. With an aggressive ranged grab that can get opponents in and out of his range with ease, spectacular vertical movement for a heavyweight, a projectile that racks up damage fast while being a very effective offstage tool, and sometimes being able to avoid lower attacks if he is able to anticipate his hops properly as he walks across the stage, Wart is by far at his best when he controls the stage. However, the moment opponents manage to get in his face, much like in the original boss fight, he will have few effective options to fight back and will be forced to eat a whole lot of damage before being able to fight back.
===Moveset===
====Neutral Attacks/Tilts====
*Neutral attack/jab - In a reference to the dance he does while performing the Frog's Song of Soul in Link's Awakening, Wart bops his head up and down, each bop doing slight damage and knockback to opponents as he warbles loudly. This jab doesn't lock opponents in place and only really combos into multiple hits at lower percents, but comes out fast and can be used as a get-off-me tool at high percents.
*Forward tilt - Wart sweeps his cape in front of himself, doing light damage as well as lifting opponents into the air. While not very powerful, this move comes out fast for a move in Wart's kit and is good for stopping approaches before using a more powerful move for the punish, as well as potentially starting combos.
*Up tilt - Wart grabs his crown and takes it off his head before tipping it like a hat, doing light damage to all opponents who touch it. While useful as a weak anti-air, opponents hit by the crown right as Wart "tips" it will take high knockback and be sent flying. This move is best used for comedic effect after breaking a shield, as if Wart stands close enough the sweetspot will likely hit.
*Down tilt - Wart leans down before doing a single slurp with his tongue upwards, similar to Bowser Jr.'s but trading the multi-hit for higher knockback and range. This move functions well as a combo-starter due to putting opponents in the air, but is on the slower side and can lead to a punish if he misses.
*Dash attack - Wart delivers a running kick after winding up his leg, sending opponents flying with high damage and knockback. However, it is highly telegraphed by him winding his leg up and has a lot of endlag, making it easy to avoid if he uses it too frequently but giving him a lot of reward if he is able to land it, KOing at lower percents than most dash attacks.
====Smash Attacks====
*Forward smash - Wart rears his head back as he charges before performing a headbutt forwards and slamming his tongue into the ground in front of himself, not travelling as far as his grab and coming out slower but doing high damage and knockback to all opponents unfortunate enough to be hit by it. However, if it misses, there is high endlag as Wart slurps his tongue back into his mouth, making it a move with both high risk and high reward.
*Up smash - Wart looks upwards and begins blowing a bubble that slowly inflates as he charges before popping upon the button being released, causing an explosion-like effect that sends opponents flying. While powerful and capable of KOing at high percents, the hitbox is primarily vertical and as a result it is only really useful as an anti-air or punish option.
*Down smash - As he charges, Wart gradually summons the two frogs from his frog choir in Link's Awakening to appear on either side of him, singing loudly as the button is released and creating a soundwave around them that gets larger the more time Wart has charged the attack up (it will become more powerful if fully charged, but otherwise the attack power is the same no matter the size of the soundwave). Wart will not have both frogs if he simply uses the attack without charging, as one frog will appear when it is halfway charged and another when the move is fully charged to enhance the size of the soundwave. When fully charged, this has the biggest range of any down smash in the series, but takes time to summon the frogs to give it this range and thus Wart must make the decision between range and speed depending on the situation he finds himself in. 
====Aerials====
*Neutral aerial - Wart thrusts his stomach out, acting as a lingering hitbox that does moderate damage and knockback to opponents. Like other attacks similar to this such as Wario and King K. Rool's neutral air, this move's best utility is as a landing tool, and it is one of the key parts of his neutral game due to the sheer size of the hitbox.
*Forward aerial - Wart performs a headbutt with his crown as the primary hitbox, causing him to go into a somersault that puts him in faux-freefall for a few frames before being able to act again. This move has a high amount of endlag, but opponents hit by the crown will be spiked and those hit by the rest of Wart's body during the attack will take high damage and knockback, making it a useful tool for ending stocks or punishing opponents offstage.
*Back aerial -  Wart belches a bubble over his shoulder which is more powerful than the bubbles in his neutral special, does high knockback, and still acts as a projectile and thus can be used as an edgeguarding tool, but has high startup meaning that it can only really be used from far away without it resulting in a punish for Wart.
*Up aerial - Wart looks up before sticking out his tongue straight upwards and "punching" opponents with it. While this move has a lot of range and can do moderate knockback throughout the entire move, the sweetspot is on the tip of the tongue and opponents hit by it will be sent flying upwards, even being Star KO'd at higher percentages. This move has a decent amount of startup but the size of the hitbox and the reward gained from the sweetspot means that this is more likely to lead to an opponent having to avoid Wart altogether rather than going for a punish.
*Down aerial - Wart kicks with both legs downwards, spiking opponents hit with it as if he was bouncing off of them like a frog. This move functions similarly to Greninja and Bugzzy's down airs in that he bounces off opponents high into the air if it manages to land, but is not a stall-and-fall like theirs making this move more of a niche recovery option and making it far more viable as a low punish, especially if Wart has extra jumps and the Magic Carpet to make it back to the stage.
====Special Moves====
*Neutral Special - Bubble Belch - Wart inhales, inflating like a bullfrog, before belching out a stream of bubbles in an arc depending on how long the button was held, an attack that he uses against Mario and Co. in the original Super Mario Bros. 2. While only a single bubble that does moderate damage on a single button tap (albeit useful for gimping recoveries), the furthest bubble of the five Wart releases travels even farther than Bowser’s Fire Breath when fully charged (and can in fact be seen as a counterpart to it, referencing their shared status as final bosses for Mario), making it one of his most potent tools for approaching in Wart's kit. The bubbles, while doing little knockback, do moderate damage and lightly poison opponents (doing about 10% in poison damage over 3 seconds), making it very effective at racking up damage without opponents even being aware of it. However, this move also shares a weakness with its original counterpart; Wart’s mouth remains open for a short while after the bubbles are fired, meaning that, if an opponent manages to hit/throw a projectile in his mouth, he will take 1.2x damage and knockback. The bubbles are affected by gravity and will disappear upon hitting the ground, but will also fall off a ledge if used near it making it a useful edgeguarding option with gimpable recoveries. This move is most effective from far away, as using it up-close can often lead to Wart getting punished due to the endlag.
*Side Special - Froggy Slam - Wart quickly crouches down before leaping forward through the air in a high arc like the frog he is, his arms outstretched. If he does not touch an opponent throughout the arc he travels, this move works as a more horizontal version of King Dedede’s Up Special with less power, creating a light shockwave upon him landing. However, if he does manage to make contact with an opponent on the first half of the jump, he will hold them against his chest and land on his stomach, crushing opponents beneath his weight. Once this move begins, it is very difficult to knock Wart out of it due to the high amount of super armor covering his entire body until the move ends. This is one of Wart’s most versatile options, functioning as both a burst movement option and a command grab designed to punish approaches, but has a lot of endlag if it misses and thus can be easily punished. Wart also gains a sacrificial KO option through this move, as he will drag grabbed opponents to the blast zone if he grabs them while leaping away from the stage.
*Up Special - Magic Carpet - While Wart can jump high into the air, his royal highness can get tired easily and may need other vertical support; enter the Magic Carpet! Based on the carpets that his Pidgit minions ride in Super Mario Bros. 2, Wart snaps his fingers to summon one, which appears out of nowhere before swooping him up and giving him a short vertical boost. While not traveling too high on its own, the carpet acts as a platform and hovers in the air for a while after being summoned, meaning Wart can jump off of the carpet and get back to the stage easily with his high jumps, a similar Up Special to Pac-Man’s. However, despite the carpet giving Wart another platform, once he leaves the carpet he will not be able to summon a new one or touch the old one again until he has touched the solid ground of the stage. He can still be hit or even more severely spiked through it as a result of this, meaning that he must move quickly after summoning it to avoid being punished.
*Down Special - Stopwatch - Wart readies himself in a defensive stance, clutching the medallion on his necklace in his hand. If an opponent attacks Wart while he is in this stance, he will give a deep chuckle as he turns around his medallion to reveal a Stopwatch, which freezes opponents in place for two seconds, completely unable to act and leaving them completely open to whatever attack Wart may wish to subject them to, or give him time to get away if he stops a punish. This move’s most effective use is in setting up Wart’s potent grab combos, as the brief time opponents are frozen is more than enough for Wart to get a hold of them and throw them around as he pleases.
*Final Smash - Dream Machine - Wart summons the Dream Machine that he originally stole in Doki Doki Panic/Super Mario Bros. 2 and turns it on, laughing his deep croaky laugh. Upon him turning the machine, the stage is flooded with Snifits, Beezos, Pidgits, and even his more powerful minions like Birdo, Mouser, and Triclyde appear to hit any opponents who may be in their path. After four seconds of the onslaught, the minions are sucked back into the Dream Machine, but have a chance to drag Wart’s opponents in with them, instantly KOing them when the machine disappears.
====Grab and Throws====
*Grab - Wart extends his long slimy tongue to grab opponents, functioning as a ranged grab that extends slightly farther than Samus' Grapple Beam in exchange for coming out slightly slower and not being able to grab ledges, acting similarly to Min Min's grab. For a pummel, Wart sloshes opponents around in his mouth, doing damage to them.
*Forward throw - Wart spits opponents out in front of him, launching them a small distance forwards and allowing him to follow up with an attack. This move doesn't do high knockback on its own, but can leave opponents in hitstun for long enough to follow up with an attack.
*Back throw - Wart takes the opponents out of his mouth, still wrapped in his tongue, before spinning them around and hurling them behind him a la Mario or Banjo's back throws. This throw can KO at higher percentages and is great for setting up Wart's many edgeguarding options.
*Up throw - Wart's two frog minions stretch his cape out behind him before he turns over his shoulder and spits the opponents onto it before the frogs tighten the cape, bouncing the opponent into the air like a trampoline. This move does low damage, but high knockback and can KO at higher percents while leading into his up air at middling ones, making it a deadly throw throughout a wide percentage range.
*Down throw - Wart spits the opponent onto the ground in front of him before hopping on them with all his weight, sending them into the air. Wart can follow up this move with one of his aerials quite easily, making it a good combo starter.
====Miscellaneous Animations====
*Side taunt - Wart sneers at the camera and croaks a "ribbit" before going back to resume the fight.
*Up taunt - Wart sings the first seven notes of the Frog's Song of Soul, music notes appearing from his mouth as he does so.
*Down taunt - Wart performs the pose he does in the Switch version of Link's Awakening before performing the Frog's Song of Soul; a toothy grin with one finger pointed up in the air.
*Victory pose 1 - Wart conducts his two frogs to sing the bottom two notes of a chord while he warbles the high one before striking a pose as the frogs hop alongside him.
*Victory pose 2 - An open book appears on the ground of the stage before Wart materializes out of it, taking two bows before spinning around and striking a pose, a reference to the intro of Yume Kojo: Doki Doki Panic, Wart's debut game.
*Victory pose 3 - Wart belches out a stream of bubbles before beginning to cough and hacking up a turnip, tossing it over his shoulder as he grins nervously, trying to cover up for it.
===Alternate Costumes===
*His default attire and coloration, with bright green skin, a white underbelly, a gold necklace and crown, and a blue cape with yellow trim.
*A costume based on the American bullfrog (where Wart takes his ability to bloat up from), with a more yellow shade of green for skin, a yellow underbelly, a gold necklace and crown, and a brown cape with blue trim.
*A costume based on the Australian tree frog with teal skin, a grey underbelly, a gold necklace and crown, and a white cape with black trim.
*A costume based on the Panamian golden frog with orange-yellow skin, a black underbelly, a chrome necklace and crown, and a spotted black and yellow cape with white trim.
*A costume based on the Cope's grey tree frog, with grey skin, a darker grey underbelly, a bronze necklace and crown, and a brown-grey cape with black trim.
*A costume based on fellow obscure Mario antagonist Tatanga (specifically his design from the Game Boy comics), with purple skin, a grey underbelly, a chrome necklace and crown, and a black cape with red trim.
*A costume based on Wizpig, with pink skin, a purple underbelly, a red necklace and crown, and a red cape with purple trim.
*A costume based on his appearance in artwork for the original Link's Awakening, with paler green skin, a lighter green underbelly and eyes, a dark green necklace and crown, and a black cape with white trim.
==Trivia==
*Wart is the first fighter to explicitly represent two different franchises in Smash, being both a Mario representative and a Legend of Zelda representative.
Category:Fighter's Pass 3VIL
Category:Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Category:Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Downloadable Content
Category:Fan DLC
Category:Downloadable Content
Category:Mario Characters
Category:The Legend of Zelda Characters
Category:Mario (series)
Category:The Legend of Zelda (series)