Marth (SSB20)

Marth is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. 20. Marth was confirmed alongside , , and apart of the "Four Swordsman" release.
==Attributes==
Marth is emblematic of sword characters, making extensive use of disjointed hitboxes and his unique tipper mechanic. His attributes remain present; he has overall good mobility, sporting the fastest walking speed, an above average dashing speed, average air speed, above average air acceleration, moderate falling speed, and low gravity, along with average weight.
Marth's playstyle remains fundamentally intact, being characterized by the properties of his sword, the Exalted Falchion. His attacks deal more damage and knockback if struck with the tip of the sword, encouraging and rewarding proper spacing. This is more clearly evident in moves such as his forward smash: when tippered, it is the third strongest forward smash in the game, while it cannot KO until well beyond 100% if not tippered. Being a sword-wielder, Marth has the benefit of disjointed hitboxes. Many of his moves have good reach, fast startup, and cover wide arcs, such as his up tilt and forward aerial. As such, Marth aims to fight a step away from danger, where he can pressure and poke at the opponent without leaving himself open to punishment.
Marth's special moveset has good utility. His neutral special, Shield Breaker, as implied by its name, is designed to break shields. It deals high shield damage, even when uncharged, and is useful for punishing rolls. Side special, Dancing Blade, is a four-hit combo that can be used to punish sidesteps, and is an effective damage racker, dealing 15-20% if all hits connect. Marth possesses a Counter as his down special, giving him the capability to shrug off enemy attacks and return them with 1.2x the knockback, and is able to KO if a strong enough attack is countered, making it a good option against overly aggressive foes. Counter can also be used against opponents with easily predictable recoveries. But up special is arguably his most potent: Dolphin Slash has quick startup, and provides intangibility frames during its startup frames, and is relatively strong when it first comes out. These attributes make it an excellent out of shield option and combo-breaker. It is also Marth's main method of recovery, as it grants a high amount of vertical height along with a bit of horizontal distance, and its speed can make it difficult to intercept, while it can stage spike reckless edgeguarders.
Marth's disjointed range gives him a decent edgeguarding ability himself. His forward and back aerials have fast startup and good range, and are strong when tipped. Down aerial is relatively quick, and if it hits at the center of the arc (directly below Marth), it powerfully meteor smashes opponents. Forward smash's range makes it a good choice against opponents aiming their recoveries towards the ledge. Also, Marth's low gravity and only average falling speed allow him to maneuver effectively offstage.
However, Marth also exhibits glaring flaws, largely as a result of his initial transition into Smash 20. As a result of his heavier reliance on tippers and spacing ability, he has a poor up-close game, giving him a hard time against rush-down characters, notably . Though his attacks have quick startup, many of them have high ending lag, with his forward smash being a notable case. His attacks also suffer from short hitbox durations. For example, his forward aerial, despite covering a wide arc in front of him, has a hitbox that lasts for only 3 frames, and comparatively high ending lag and noticeable landing lag, and along with its very small autocancel window, it is a surprisingly poor approach option. This combination of high ending lag on his moves and his requirement for careful spacing result in a lackluster neutral game, as none of his approach tools are particularly reliable or consistent, and this is exacerbated by his lack of a projectile.
Not only does Marth struggle to win in neutral, but his conversions are weak and unreliable. Aside from having one of the fastest pummels in the game, his grab game is poor. His throws deal low damage and have high base knockback, making them poor for combos and damage-racking. Except for up throw, they have low knockback growth, preventing them from KOing at realistic percents, while up throw can KO only starting at 160%. As such, Marth has poor options against shields, and Shield Breaker is highly punishable. Marth's weak throws tie into his poor KO power. Furthermore, his tipper mechanic actually puts him at a disadvantage here, for his attacks are weak and do not generate much knockback if not spaced properly. Lastly, his edgeguarding ability is flawed, both due to the need for tippers and the high ending lag on his aerials, with his down aerial suffering from roughly 45 frames of ending lag.
Marth himself is vulnerable to edgeguarding. Dolphin Slash is his only reliable recovery option, but its path is linear and its distance is fixed making his recovery very predictable and easy to intercept. Additionally since this move grants little horizontal distance, Marth is vulnerable to semi-spikes. Shield Breaker can aid his horizontal recovery, but it still covers little distance and has high starting lag. As a result, Marth will be in considerable peril if he is forced offstage without his double jump, since he is heavily reliant on it to mix up the timing of his up B. Despite having only average weight and falling speed, Marth is susceptible to combos, and his tall hurtbox makes him easy to hit. Dolphin Slash is his only reliable combo-breaker, but as it leaves him helpless, it can inadvertently put him in an even worse position. While Counter can be used against overly aggressive foes, a cautious opponent will find ways to bait it and punish accordingly. He also has little defense against juggling. His aerials' high ending and landing lag make them ineffective at relieving pressure, and are sometimes unsafe on hit if not tippered.
verall, while Marth does have notable advantages in his tipper mechanic, reach, mobility, and the fast startup of his moves, his flaws outweigh his strengths, giving him a weak neutral game and making his punishes unreliable due to their inconsistency. And his playstyle is so overly centered on his tipper mechanic that it arguably hinders him as much as it helps. As a result of his issues, he has only average tournament representation and poor results.
==Moveset==
Attack 	Name 	Damage 	Description
Neutral Attack 	 	3%, 5% 	Slashes Falchion twice in front of himself. If spaced and timed correctly, this move has amazing and almost limitless follow-up capabilities as it can link into any of his smashes and tilts which can link into his other moves. (Some of this will only work if the opponent is very close to the player.)
Side Tilt 	 	12% 	A fast forward leaning Falchion swipe upward.
Up Tilt 	 	6%, 9% (tip) 	Swings Falchion in a large arc above his head, with a large hitbox that can hit enemies behind him.
Down Tilt 	 	7%, 10% 	A quick crouching Falchion poke. Can link into a grab if the move is un-tipped.
Dash Attack 	 	10% (blade), 9% (body), 12% (tip) 	A quick upward sweeping diagonal slash.
Side Smash 	 	13%, 19% 	Rotates body counter-clockwise with a strong arc-like one-handed swing from his head to the ground. Moderately fast startup, but high ending lag. Although lackluster when sourspotted, this move has surprisingly potent knockback when tipped, being able to KO opponents near the edge at as low as 37%. In fact, when tippered it has the 3rd highest knockback of any forward smash. Despite this, the move's low range compared to Marth's previous incarnations makes this a somewhat difficult move to hit.
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.
Down Smash 	 	8%/12% (hit 1), 12%/17% (hit 2) 	Sweeps Falchion on the ground toward the front outward then toward the back inward. Weak for a smash attack unless tipped, where it'll do moderate knockback. High ending lag makes it punishable.
Neutral Ariel 	 	2%, 3%, 6%, 8% 	Two horizontal slashes around himself via in 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.
Forward Ariel 	 	7%, 10% 	Does a forward vertical slash
Back Ariel 	 	9%, 12% 	Slashes Falchion from bottom to top behind him in an inward swipe. Has the interesting property of turning Marth around, changing facing direction.
Up Ariel 	 	9%, 12% 	A forward to back upward Falchion slash in a delayed somersault.
Down Ariel 	 	11%, 13%, 14% 	A forward to back downward outward slash with Falchion. If the tipper hits in the middle of the swinging arc, it sends opponents downwards, meteor smashing powerfully; this is easier said than done, and players have to learn the timing and range of this move to put its meteor effect to good use. Other hitboxes when tipped results in moderate knockback. High ending and landing lag.
Forward Throw 	 	4% 	Grabs and pushes forward, tripping with his leg. Can be used to set-up a Crescent Slash from low to high percentage.
Back Throw 	 	4% 	Turns around and pulls the enemy over his outstretched leg, tripping them.
Up Throw 	 	4% 	Powerful upward throw with one arm. Can KO at very high percentages.
Down Throw 	 	5% 	Throws opponent to the ground with one arm, bouncing them upwards. Primary follow-up throw.
Neutral Special	Shield Breaker	8%, 24% 	Marth charges up Falchion at chest level before powerfully thrusting it forward. This attack deals high amounts of shield damage. If fully charged and used in the air, this move will thrust Marth in whatever direction he's facing, giving him a somewhat horizontal recovery.
Side Special 	Dancing Blade 	3%/4% (parts 1-2), 4%/5% (part 3 up/side), 3%/4% (part 3 down), 6%/8% (part 4 up), 5%/7% (part 4 side), 2% (part 4 down hits 1-4), 4%/6% (part 4 hit 5)	A sequence of Falchion slashes with several variations based on control stick tilts; If it is tilted up on the final blow, Marth will perform an uppercut with good KO'ing potential. Tilted down: A flurry of stabs that wears down shields. Neutral or side: Produces a strong swing downwards.
Up Special 	Dolphin Slash 	11% 	Marth performs a rapid jumping slash that can be reversed. Has a powerful sweetspot located in the first few frames.
Down Special 	Counter 	1.2x 	Marth assumes a defensive stance and retaliates against incoming attacks. The power of the counterattack scales with the strength of the attack blocked.
Final Smash 	Critical Hit 	60% 	Marth lunges in one direction, attacking the first opponent. Immense knockback, enough to one-hit KO any character.
===Taunts===
*Up: Points his sword in the air, where it shines. Similar to his stance before performing a critical hit in Fire Emblem.
*Side: Slashes his sword twice in front of himself, then sheathes it.
*Down: Twirls his sword, then raises it in front of him saying "みんな、見ていてくれ", which is Japanese for "Everyone, look at me!" (same in Melee).
===On-Screen Apperance===
*Warps onto the stage using warp magic with a twirl and unsheathes his sword.
===Idle Poses===
*Holds chest and takes a breath.
*Brushes hair out of his face.
===Victory Poses===
*Sheaths his sword and says "今日も生き延びることが出来た", which translates to "Today I have survived."
*Turns with pride, spins his sword then clashes it to the ground, and says "今回は僕の勝ちだね", which translates to "This time it's my victory, isn't it?"
*Poses with his sword sheathed and his right arm out and says "僕は負ける訳には行かないんだ", which translates to "There's no way I can lose!"
==In Competitive Play==
===Match ups===
==Alternate Costumes==
==Trivia==
Category:Characters (SSB20)
Category:Fire Emblem Universe