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                           MARIO GUIDE
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[email protected] <- email me here
demonxheihachi <- IM
by TwistedRyu

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Legal Disclaimer
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It should be understood that you are to not profit off of this guide, 
nor should you replicate or pass it off as your own.


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Table of Contents

For convenient access, Ctrl + F and type in the section you want!

1. Why this guide?
2. Mario � Pros and Cons
3. General Moves

4. Mario�s Move List
a. Grabs
b. Regular Attacks
c. Smash Attacks
d. Aerial Attacks
e. Special Attacks

5. Basic Strategy
a. The Fireball Approach
b. Ground to Aerial
c. Edgeguarding
d. Recovering
e. Combos and setups

6. Stages
a. Battlefield
b. Final Destination
c. Yoshi�s Story
d. Smashville

7. Character matchups
a. Snake
b. Metaknight
c. Marth
d. Ganondorf
e. Captain Falcon
f. Ike

8. End


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1. Why this guide?

At the moment, there is none for Mario in SSBB. Okay fine, I also did 
this for fun. Although I never picked up Mario in SSBM, I finally used 
him in Brawl and started to play in a competitive manner (in Melee I 
never got used to the ATs so I was somewhat turned off). I�m still in 
the beginning stages, so I won�t say that I�m a great player yet. But of 
course there�s the one main concept when people look at Mario, and that 
is the fact that he�s labeled basic and a beginner�s character. I would 
say that even so, Mario can be much more than a beginner�s character. He 
may be well rounded and doesn�t excel in one particularly area but he 
has all the tools he needs to compete with any other character in the 
game. Mario can play both defensively and offensively, with a balance of 
fast and powerful strikes coupled with some versatile specials, although 
in my opinion, he�s more of a defensive character. Still, that doesn�t 
stop him from switching up styles in fights and mix up for some real 
intense fights. With that said, let�s get on with the guide!


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2. Mario � Pros and Cons

Pros
-Mario has every single tool the game can give him � a projectile, 
recovery, a spike/meteor smash (from now on called MS), fast moves, slow 
and strong moves, a counter (of sorts) and edgeguarding. He�s versatile 
and balanced in virtually every aspect.

-Mario can be played both offensively and defensively. Ultimately versus 
the better/stronger characters, he would have to play defensively since 
they usually possess stronger and/or better tools than him.

-Mario can actually be quite annoying, thanks to a combination of speed 
and fast strikes in addition to his fireball. You can rack up damage 
quite easily if your opponent doesn�t know what you�re doing.
 
Cons
-Mario doesn�t have enough killing power. A sweetspot Fsmash is the only 
move on the ground that has a chance of killing around 100-110%, and 
even so that�s not very easy to land. It�s likely that you�ll be 
frustrated with how many times your enemy survives and managed to get 
back on unscathed.

-Mario is fairly easy to KO. If you�re around 90-110% then expect to get 
sent flying off the stage several times. Although he has a good recovery 
thanks to his Cape, it�s not hard to intercept him.

-Mario doesn�t do a great job keeping melee characters on the bay. If 
they�re in your zone, expect them to pressure you hard and fast.

 
You would like Mario if:
-It�s your first time playing.

-You want speed and some power.

-You want bragging rights just because he�s �basic� and �nothing 
special�.

-You want to humiliate them by killing them with FLUDD.

You won�t like Mario if:
-You enjoy characters with more power and abusable tools (*cough*Snake 
F-tilt*cough*)

-You want characters that excel in some areas, such as having a better 
aerial game.

-You want to approach an enemy without getting shrugged off. There�s 
only one reliable way for Mario to approach, and that is the fireball � 
even so, it�s laughably weak and doesn�t have enough hitstun for a 
rushdown mentality.

-You want to be more tactical and play a weaker character.

So it all comes down to the basics with Mario. If you use the basics to 
the fullest extent, then I�m sure you�ll enjoy playing as Mario.


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3. General Moves

These are universal for everyone. Note: These are all based off the GC 
CONTROLS.

Jump, Double Jump (Up, Up on analog stick, or X/Y): Mario has a fast 
jump and decent height between both jumps, so that�s a plus for him.

Short Hop (Lightly tap X/Y): In Brawl the tap is so much lenient that 
it�s easier to short hop. Short hopping is crucial since it lets you 
pull off aerial attacks closer to the ground and much more quickly. It�s 
also vital for Mario�s Nair and Bair, his two main offensive aerial 
attacks.

Dash (double tap Left or Right): Mario breaks into a sprint. Use this to 
execute your slide attack (Mario�s dash attack), or cancel your run with 
down and go into a smash for mixup. You can also fox trot by slamming 
your stick right or left and letting go, repeating it so that Mario is 
continually dashing.

Shield (L or R): A red shield surrounds Mario. The uses are obvious, 
although the Shield dissipates when it�s being hit. If there�s enough of 
an opening, you can get shield stabbed if you�re hit anywhere that�s not 
covered by the shield (Metaknight�s Mach Tornado, for example). There�s 
some lag when you put your shield down, so it�s better to roll away 
instead of letting go the button. If you time it right, you can 
Powershield with no shield stun or loss. However, it doesn�t reflect 
projectiles anymore. You can counter out of your shield with an Up 
smash, Up B or shield grab with A.

Dodge (L or R, down on analog stick): The dodge is a great move if you 
want to counter any telegraphed incoming attacks (Captain Falcon�s Side 
B, for example) without leaving any room between your enemy. If you 
Dodged an attack, go for an Usmash to hopefully hit them before they 
shield, or Dsmash if they�re trying to roll behind you. You can also go 
for grabs, but there�s enough time for them to dodge it.

Roll (L or R, left or right on analog stick): The Roll is your best 
means of backing up and creating space. However there is some lag 
afterwards, so try to avoid rolling incessantly lest you back up and 
land right in front of a smash or grab. Mario�s roll is pretty fast, but 
somewhat short.

Air Dodge (L or R in the air): In Brawl, you can only air dodge in one 
direction, but you can use it as many times as you like before you hit 
the ground (or to your death). You have about 2-seconds of 
invincibility. It�s great when you�re coming down and an enemy is trying 
to hit you from below. However, a persistent enemy can still hit you 
after your air dodge, namely multi-hitting moves such as Metaknight�s 
Mach Tornado. So avoid Air Dodging if you know your enemy�s going to 
Uair or do some other multi-hitting move.

Shield-Counter: During a shield, you have one of three options to 
counter: Usmash, UpB, and A for a shield grab. I recommend the Usmash 
because you can either launch into a combo or KO an enemy at high%; it 
works well if your enemy has single-hit Dairs. The shield grab should 
not be used, given Mario�s short grabbing range. However, if an enemy is 
using their Jab combo on you or some other move and delays it, you can 
catch them in the middle of it with a Shield Grab. You can also shield 
grab if their attack has little to no shield stun. The UpB should only 
be used as a panic button, if you want to knock your enemy away or 
interrupt with better speed.

Taunt: Press either Up, side, or Down to taunt. I don�t recommend it, 
though. If your opponent recently got KO�ed, charge up the FLUDD so that 
you can use it for spacing or edgeguarding. If you want to remember 
Mario�s taunts, Up is his classic Super Mushroom growth pose but it 
takes longer, so only use it at the end of the match (on your enemy�s 
last stock). Side causes Mario to turn around and take his cap off, and 
down causes him to flip around and butt-stomp the ground.


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4. Mario�s Move List

a. Grabs
========

Z / no damage / grabs enemy
Mario�s grab is best used after a fireball approach in order to take 
advantage of the enemy�s small hitstun (a bait of sorts) to take them by 
surprise. Given his short range, there�s no reason to use grabs in any 
other case.

A / 3% / Mario headbutts the grabbed enemy
Not much to say, use it for a bit of extra damage. Use 2 As as the 
maximum to prevent your enemy from escaping the grab.

Up / 8% / Mario throws enemy up
Down throw is a better option, unless your enemy is at a higher% and you 
want to KO with a throw. Unfortunately the Up throw doesn�t KO until 
170%+ or above. In short, don�t use this throw.

Down / 6% / Mario throws enemy down
The enemy bounces off the ground and is usually in Usmash or Utilt 
range. On a heavy character or fast faller, you can juggle them with 
Utilts until 30%, so this is his strongest throw. Of course, you also 
have other options. If they try to attack right away, go for a Shield-
USmash counter. If they don�t move, give them an Uair and hopefully 
start some edgeguarding. If they use their double jump, then start 
charging the FLUDD. Overall, this throw is easily Mario�s best and you 
should always use it when you get a grab.

Forward / 9% / Mario throws the enemy forward
The enemy doesn�t get thrown pretty far. Not only that, they also are 
thrown up diagonally, so it�s not really possible to get a KO from this. 
However, if you do this throw near an edge, you can set up your Fair 
meteor or Cape for some nice edgeguarding. 

Back / 12% / Mario throws the enemy backward
The classic swing-toss from Super Mario 64. This is Mario�s strongest 
throw in terms of throw damage (and not follow-up damage). It also has 
the most knockback, and can get a KO usually around 130-140% depending 
on the stage�s horizontal size. This should be your second used throw, 
specifically for situations where your enemy gets back onto the stage 
and you want to throw them out far enough than a Fthrow. Depending on 
the enemy�s DI, the throw may put them diagonally up giving them a 
slightly easier chance to recover, but try to keep them off with FLUDD, 
Cape and/or Fireballs.


b. Regular Attacks
==================

AAA / 3%, 2%, 4% / Mario does his classic Jab Jab Kick combo
Mario�s jab combo. Fast with some nice knockback, albeit short range. 
Jab cancel into a dsmash to be safe, or Fsmash for damage and 
edgeguarding. Also use it for spacing and clashing with another enemy�s 
Jab combo. If an enemy is knocked down, just jabbing them with the first 
two hits will keep them down until they get up via a Roll or simple 
getup.

Ftilt / 8% / Mario pivots on one foot and delivers a roundhouse
A great move, this has the most range out of Mario�s other attacks 
(minus Fireball and FLUDD) and starts getting some knockback power above 
50%. Use this a lot for spacing. If you attack or shield just as Mario 
retracts his foot, he�ll step back during it, giving him some space.

Utilt / 7% / Mario does an uppercut
It has short range, but this is Mario�s other fast tilt minus his Jab 
combo, and it works great for juggling an enemy. After a dthrow vs a 
fastfaller or heavyweight, you can keep them incapacitated with Utilts 
until 30% before finishing with a smash. This does great damage and you 
can resume your fireball approaches and offensive tactics after. 
Although it�s not a combo, your enemy can�t beat it out unless they can 
somehow match it with a fast Nair. It�s okay anti-air, but the Usmash is 
better.

Dtilt / 5% / Mario sweeps the floor in front of him
A tilt that doesn�t have much purpose. It pops your enemy up a bit, but 
you don�t get any real combos out of it, nor does it have any good 
follow-ups. You can use it to poke at people hanging on the edge, 
though.

Dash A / 7-9% / Mario comes in with a Slide Kick
The Slide Kick has two different hit areas. If you hit them deep, it�ll 
cause them to launch into the air. If you hit them with just the foot, 
it�ll poke them and won�t cause them to move much. Try to avoid using 
this too much, since it�s rather predictable and a blocked Slide Kick 
can result in an easy shield grab thanks to its terrible recovery. If 
you do get a poke hit and the enemy hasn�t reacted yet, go for a Jab 
combo -> Jab Cancel or Usmash, or grab.


c. Smash Attacks
================

Fsmash / 14-19% nonsweetspot, 17-23% sweetspot / Mario punches and a 
fireball appears in front of it
This is Mario�s only true killer on the ground, and even so it�s hard to 
use effectively. You get the most knockback with the sweetspot (that is, 
you hit them with the fireball part of the punch, not the fist), which 
can kill around 100% depending on the stage. Although you can use 
fireball approaches to release a Fsmash, an enemy can still interrupt 
with a Jab combo or anything fast to beat it out. The one use for Fsmash 
is to punish any major whiffs or laggy moves. You can also Jab cancel 
into a Fsmash, but again an enemy can still hit you out of it with a Jab 
combo. Still, learn this move because you won�t get any other KOs 
outside of edgeguading or bthrowing. There�s a rather odd hitbox on this 
move; it seems that it also goes somewhere around Mario�s face (you�ll 
know if you somehow manage to hit an enemy next to Mario behind him) and 
hits for a sweetspot knockback rather than a regular hit.

Dsmash / 15-21% front, 12-16% back / Mario sweeps the floor around him
An alternative to the Fsmash, though it doesn�t come out any faster and 
is about as laggy as the Fsmash. It also has less range. However, Dsmash 
tends to launch the opponent into a diagonal down distance so if it 
doesn�t KO them then edgeguarding is still viable afterwards. The Dsmash 
is handy for an enemy who rolls towards you and catching them with the 
back hit, but you�ll have to time it well. 

Usmash / 14-19% / Mario brings his head up and thrusts it down
Mario�s more versatile smash. It comes out a little faster than his 
other two smashes, and knocks an enemy into the air. While it won�t get 
any combos, you can use the time to charge FLUDD, or go Uair and 
hopefully start some edgeguarding. Since you can use it out of shield I 
suggest you practice this move since it�ll likely be one of your few 
ways of dealing with melee happy characters such as Metaknight or Marth. 
Just beware of some moves that cause shield pushback, making it 
difficult or impossible to counter with the Usmash. The Usmash doesn�t 
KO till 120% or above, and even so you would need to have not used it 
excessively early in the battle to make sure it has optimum knockback.


d. Aerial Attacks
=================
 
Nair / 5-10% / Mario sticks his leg out
Mario�s fastest aerial, it has short range but one of his most useful 
attacks. It knocks back the moment Mario pulls his leg out, and doesn�t 
when Mario already has his leg out. Uses include edgeguarding, 
interrupting juggling and attacking fast. Another plus is the 
nonexistent lag so you can pretty much do anything once on the ground. 
If you get the weak hit, watch out for Shield grabs and smashes as Mario 
is very vulnerable afterwards.

Fair / 12-13% / Mario grasps his fist then punches downward in an arc
Mario�s meteor smash. It�s slow and has no real application when your 
enemy is on stage. However, if they�re off stage, you can use it to 
spike them down provided they don�t have a 2nd jump ready to meteor 
cancel. The type of hit you get depends mostly on where the punch hits 
the enemy. If they�re aligned with Mario in midair, he usually spikes 
them down. However, if they�re not aligned with Mario, they may get hit 
when Mario brandishes his fist BEFORE bringing it down, causing them to 
get knocked back diagonally up. If you hit them just as Mario finishes 
arc-ing the punch, it�s possible that you�ll only �poke� them causing no 
knockback at all. If you get the spiking effect on an onstage enemy, 
they�ll bounce off the ground. Nothing is guaranteed, but you can go for 
a smash to follow up and deal more damage.

Uair / 11% / Mario backflips in midair
His third most important aerial. In Brawl it no longer juggles anymore; 
instead it knocks back depending on what part of the flip you hit the 
enemy with. If you hit them when Mario�s legs are on the way up, you get 
a forward knockback. If you hit them when Mario�s legs are arc-ing and 
he almost completes his flip, you get a backward knockback. The backward 
knockback is stronger than the forward (something of a sweetspot 
knockback), since it pushes the enemy diagonally down instead of 
diagonally up. It can also get a KO if your enemy�s % is 140 or higher. 
If you do get a frontal knockback and the enemy isn�t pushed away far 
enough, you can try moving closer to them in the air and go for another 
Uair to juggle them before touching the ground. Of course, you might 
risk getting Bairs in retaliation, but they�re usually high enough that 
they can�t hit you at all.

Dair / 12% / Mario spins in midair then throws his arms up
The original Mario Tornado, only now you can�t raise with it since it�s 
not a special attack. Although it has a fast startup, it doesn�t have 
much priority unless an enemy is aligned with you in midair and tries to 
hit you. If Mario hits the ground when he spins, he skips to the arm 
throwing part instead. This gives the attack some lag, whereas it 
normally wouldn�t have if you complete it in the air. If you SH a Dair, 
you can use it to pressure, but beware of shield grabs when blocked 
upclose. An UpB combos after for a bit of damage, if you�re slightly 
desperate.

Bair / 12% / Mario moves in a sideways position and pushes his legs back
This is it. If you ever need an offensive aerial, the Bair would suit 
you. It has no lag, and has decent knockback. If you use it excessively, 
you can use it to the point where you can juggle your enemy repeatedly 
with Bairs in an air combo. The Bair can also be used as a spacing tool, 
by thrusting it into an enemy�s face and then getting away to break up 
their approach. Due to the aerial mobility Mario has during Bair, it is 
practically safe and unpunishable. In terms of edgeguarding, you can 
drag your enemy out and hopefully keep them from reaching the stage.


e. Special Attacks
==================

B / 5% / Mario throws his signature fireball
Mario�s only projectile, a weak one at that, but very useful. It can 
stop attacks and annoy your opponents. SH Fireballs are key to Mario�s 
approach, as a means of canceling or stopping enemy attacks and meet 
them with your own. When you get close enough to an enemy after 
unloading fireballs, go for grabs, Usmash, or slide to keep up with your 
offensive. You can also camp with fireballs or edgeguard with them.

UpB / 12% / Mario does a Jumping Uppercut, SHOOOOOORYUKEN!-style
Mario�s third jump (fourth if you count his Cape). It gives him both 
vertical and some horizontal recovery. Although the recovery is terrible 
after, the startup is fast and you�re fairly invincible so this move 
also has great priority. You can use it out of your shield as an 
alternative to Usmash countering, but it clearly won�t be powerful. If 
you do use this, try not to overshoot the enemy because the actual 
knockback comes from the last hit, whereas the other hits are mostly 
there to juggle them. At 170-200% this will KO.

SideB / 5% / Mario takes out his Cape and swishes it in front of him
The Cape is still very useful and serves many functions. The most 
obvious is to counter projectiles, by turning them against the user, so 
you can either stop or interrupt campers. Another use is to turn melee 
attackers around and hopefully leave them vulnerable to a smash. This is 
very hard to do, especially if they�re using attacks with great range 
and/or less lag (Marth or MK�s Fair, for example). The third is for 
edgeguarding. If you can anticipate when an enemy will use their third 
jump, you can time a Cape to hit them just as they start it up and 
they�ll fly off in the opposite direction. The fourth is to stall. By 
jumping in midair and using the Cape, it�ll slow down your descent thus 
letting you avoid falling into nasty attacks. The last is for recovery. 
Whenever you get knocked back, stop your recovery with a Cape, double 
jump towards the stage then UpB. This is the best recovery method since 
it gives Mario both horizontal AND vertical recovery. The first time the 
Cape is used in the air, it gives Mario a little extra jump so in total 
you can have 4 jumps (jump, double jump, cape and UpB) instead of 3. The 
Cape does not cause any hit stun on an enemy, meaning that they can�t 
use anymore UpBs if they used it up already. Needless to say, this will 
be your other most used special attack. 

DownB / 0% / Mario takes out FLUDD and sprays the enemy with water
Some people hate FLUDD and think its useless. Well, that sucks for them. 
FLUDD is a GREAT spacing tool vs melee happy characters. You even 
edgeguard with it, by pushing the enemy out to prevent their third jumps 
from letting them reach the stage. You can direct the pump up or down; 
an aerial enemy caught in FLUDD will stay wherever they are while being 
pushed back. On stage and on an aerial enemy, you can slow their descent 
down to prepare them for a smash depending on where they are. A fully 
charged pump will push Mario back, which is another crucial component to 
keeping your enemies at bay. You�ll learn to love the FLUDD because 
it�ll keep you alive longer than without it. Always charge it up 
whenever you get a KO, or you�re KO�ed and you respawn. Take a few times 
to charge it up when you launched your enemy into the air. Remember you 
can cancel the charging animation with a roll or shield.


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5. Basic Strategy


a. The Fireball Approach
========================
Mario�s fireballs are the only way to approach an enemy and maintaining 
an offensive without putting yourself at risk. Because of that, you�ll 
be using it as your #1 way of getting into an enemy�s zone.

The Idea�
Throw in fireballs while SHing. You can usually get 2 SH Fireballs. The 
fireballs will either interrupt or cancel out whatever your enemy is 
doing. When you move in and succeed in getting close enough, go for 
Grabs, Jab -> Jab Cancel, or Smash.

-If your enemy is annoyed, he may try to attack and break through your 
fireballs. Against a dangerous opponent (such as Snake) mix in SH Nairs 
or Bairs to outmatch their attack speed-wise.

-If your enemy is in the middle of an attack, such as charging a smash, 
a fireball may cause him to freeze up if he/she gets interrupted. Having 
a barrage of fireballs may make him forget to move and that�s when you 
can get in an attack of your choice.

-If your enemy has a reflector of sorts or can counter or absorb it, 
either keep throwing throwing fireballs to make sure they stay immobile 
and hit them with a Fsmash (for absorb/counter types), or swarm them 
with SH Bairs via Reverse Aerial Rush (reflector types). For Falco, 
throw another fireball when he reflects the first one, jump over him and 
try getting him with a Dair or Nair.

-You cannot projectile clash with anyone except another Mario or Luigi 
with fireballs. However, you can destroy Samus� missiles, destroy Toon 
Link/Adult Link�s arrows or bombs, slow down Snake�s Nikita Missile or 
cancel out throw items such as Peach�s turnips or bombs. 

-If your enemy jumps over the fireballs, FLUDD them back (quickly DownB 
twice if it�s not charged up fully), or try and intercept with a smash. 
If they jump away or run away, continue fireballing.

-If your enemy is knocked down, try and throw fireballs to catch them 
when they roll, and land close enough in case they might freeze.


b. Ground to Aerial
===================
Mario doesn�t have a great lead-in to his aerial game, which is his 
other main source of damage on stage since none of his ground attacks 
work alone without fireballs. The following are a few setup moves that 
lead into Mario�s aerial game:

Utilt � If they�re still close enough to the ground, juggle with more 
Utilts until they�re out of Utilt range, then go for a Uair or Nair.

Usmash � Use it as a shield-counter. Go for a Uair.

Dthrow � Juggle with Utilts at low%, then go for any of the Utilt 
tactics mentioned above.

Uthrow � Charge up FLUDD. Don�t go for a Uair since your enemy is likely 
to interrupt it.

If you�re going for an aerial game without fireball approaches, you�ll 
have to rely on Bair since it�s the safest move and has the most range. 
In a SH, you can do 2 Bairs depend on how high you are. When you hit the 
ground, go for a Btilt (in reality, Ftilt in reverse) to make sure no 
one�s coming up to your back, or do another SH but with Dair to counter 
or clash with enemies rushing in. None of Mario�s aerial attacks have 
good range or safety besides Bair.

In the reverse situation (aerial to ground), lead in with a Nair to 
fireball if you get the strong hit or Jab combo -> Jab cancel if you get 
the weak hit. You might be able to clash or interrupt your opponent�s 
jab combo (more risky vs enemies like Snake). Or with Bair, as stated 
before, Btilt. You might be tempted to use Dsmash to cover your back, 
but the enemy can either jump over and counter or interrupt before it 
comes out. Either pre-empt your attack with a dodge or roll behind your 
enemy and fireball approach. Dair is another good move for this (in a SH 
it should complete itself with no lag) and it�s fast enough that it�ll 
interrupt any attacks from the ground (watch out for Utilts though).

If you juggled an enemy with Uair, chase them down with more Uairs or 
run under them and Usmash (preferably shield-counter Usmash if they 
attack). If you juggled them with Bairs, either continue with more if 
you have a 2nd jump left or drop to the ground and go for an Uair, 
especially if they�re nearly offstage.


c. Edgeguarding
===============

The basic tools for edgeguarding:
Fireball � Will stop jumps if an enemy is closer below stage. It might 
help set up a Cape or Fair spike since they�ll most likely mash their 
UpB and you can anticipate it more easily.

Cape � It reverses recoveries so that they shoot into the wrong 
direction and fall to their death. You can also Cape stall edgehog.

FLUDD � It will push them back so that reaching the stage is harder and 
you are likely to edgehog them.

Nair/Bair � It will push them back, hopefully a bit downward to make 
their vertical recoveries (if any) harder to grab the edge. The Nair is 
best done when you�re running off the stage so that it starts up the 
instant your feet reach air. However, beware of getting UpB�ed into the 
stage for a ledgespike.

Fair � If you ever get the opportunity, a Fair will spike them down for 
an instant KO. Of course, they can still swat you away back onto the 
stage if they�re higher up. When you meteor smash them though, it�s very 
rewarding.

Footstool � A Footstool doesn�t spike but it pushes them down and stuns 
them for a bit, which will hinder their vertical recovery and allow an 
easy kill. It�s even more fun if you Footstool someone trying to spike 
you and leap all the way back onto the stage (I did that by accident, 
boy was it a sight to see).

Edgeguarding situations in detail:
Above stage � You can go for a Fair spike. A fully charged FLUDD, if all 
of it hits, will push them back and their UpBs might not be able to get 
them back on. Nair might work if you�re going for a KO depending on %. 
Cape can be used to some extent, but overall your options are mostly 
Fair and Nair.

Level with stage � All your options work here. The FLUDD though, is 
excellent since it�ll have a greater chance of pushing them far enough. 
A well timed Cape can also be great to stop recoveries.

Below stage � Nair to push them out further, or Bair them into the stage 
for a wallspike (if possible). For super armor recoveries such as Ike�s 
and Snake�s, FLUDD them or try to Cape them into the opposite direction. 
The footstool can work here too, but watch out for vertical UpB 
recoveries.

On edge � Throw fireballs to put them back onto the edge if they use a 
ledge attack. Go for a Nair or Bair if they try to jump up from the 
stage, or charge a smash if they roll back on. It�s not likely that 
you�ll catch a roller, since your distance means that it�s easier for 
them to anticipate a smash. You can fireball to raise a bit of damage, 
especially if they edgestall or try to come up with aerial attacks to 
back you off.

Edgehogging � Either do UpB stalls or Cape stall. The Cape stall is 
slightly better since you delay yourself from getting an auto-sweetspot 
and your invincibility will render their UpBs useless if you time it 
accordingly. If they�re level with stage or higher, you can Bair, but it 
won�t work if they have any jumps left before their UpB. Cape stall by 
pressing back repeatedly (so that you�re momentarily off the edge) and 
hit B to cape so that Mario�s facing the opposite direction, and he�ll 
grab the edge immediately afterwards. For UpB, hit down to drop from the 
edge, then UpB (but becareful if it�s a stage like Final Destination).

d. Recovering
=============

Mario has four jumps. Aside from double jump, he has the Cape and UpB 
Super Jump Punch. Use the Cape to get some horizontal recovery, and the 
UpB for vertical recovery. Simple eh? Not when your enemy tries to edge 
guard you. Fortunately, getting back on isn�t too hard since Mario�s 
recovery moves are good enough in dealing with them if they follow you 
off stage.

Anyway here are the situations which your enemies might edgeguard you:

Projectile spammer - Unless they�re Link or Toon Link or Samus or Peach 
or Mario or Snake or Ness or Lucas, no other character with projectiles 
can hit you if you�re below stage. If they do try to hit you with 
horizontal projectiles (i.e. the space animals� blasters), your Cape 
should keep them back. For vertical projectiles (i.e. dropping items on 
you such as bombs) your UpB can destroy them if they drop it directly on 
you out of stage. However, they might drop an explosive onto the edge of 
the stage so that the explosion will hit you even if you meet up with 
the edge. Actually, your UpB works wonders for negating vertical 
projectiles. Heck, even if you get hit you can do another UpB, as long 
as the projectile�s hitbox is bigger than Mario�s fist.

Spiker � It is less likely that an enemy with a spike will use it when 
you�re higher up offstage, unless they knocked you off and time their 
spikes to hit you just as you double jump (only another Mario and maybe 
Snake might try that). Still, they�ll probably go for a spike if you�re 
on level with the stage or below it. If you�re on level with stage, fall 
a bit, then use your double jump and jump towards the stage (cape if 
necessary) then UpB to the stage edge. If you�re below stage, Cape (so 
that you don�t jump right into their spike), double jump and then UpB. A 
Toon Link might not Dair unless you�re closer to the stage so that they 
can hop back on.

Wall of Pain/Dragger � If the enemy is a character with multiple jumps 
(Kirby, MK, Pit, Charizard, Jigglypuff for example), they might hit you 
and continue pushing you closer to the stage before using their jumps 
and then UpB to the stage edge. Personally, only MK and maybe Jigglypuff 
can do this more effectively (MK with his Fair and Jigglypuff with her 
Bair). Anyone can do this, but it�s more effective for chars with 
multiple jumps. The situation varies, but if you�re higher offstage, 
Cape repeatedly, and then double jump to the stage followed by UpB. That 
way, you might force your enemy to jump closer in order to get a KO and 
then it�s easier to get back to the stage. If you�re below, try going 
for a footstool, or jump towards a stage wall, wall jump and reverse UpB 
to the stage edge.

On stage � No one is going to succeed edgeguarding on stage, and even so 
this option is only viable if you�re higher up and closer to the stage. 
They may try Fairs, or smashes or other wide AoE (area of effect) 
attacks to hit you out. But seriously, anyone edgeguarding on stage will 
never get you at all.

Edgehogging � This is a hard one, especially if you�re making a return 
trip from the boundary with your double jump and are about to use your 
UpB. If you�re higher up, it might not be a problem since your UpB will 
hit them off the edge and will set them up for a Bair (unless they have 
their own move stalls i.e. MK�s Dimensional Cape stall). They can still 
try to swat you away in the air, though � time your cape so that they�ll 
grab the edge again and then you can UpB to hopefully knock them off. 
However if your enemy has a tether, it�ll be bad news for you since a 
really smart enemy will try and time their tether to latch onto the edge 
before you can grab it and their invincibility will ensure that you fall 
to your doom. In this case, try a wall jump (if the stage has one of 
course) and Cape so that you�re facing the stage, and then UpB. If 
you�re a little more below stage, this won�t work at all.  


e. Combos and setups
====================

These are in no way guaranteed, but they are good follow-ups for when a 
particularly situation with these arise.

Fireball -> Grab -> Ax2 -> Dthrow -> UTilt/Usmash/Uair
The fireball here sets up the grab combo. On higher %, go for Uair, or a 
Shield-counter Usmash (if they break out with an attack).

Bair -> Bair -> double jump, Bair -> Bair
You�ll need to have used Bair enough that it won�t cause any knockback. 
This only works at mid %. At higher %, the Bair will start pushing them 
diagonally up so you can only get a single Bair after a double jump.

Slide Kick -> Usmash
Again, only at low %. If you get the nonsweetspot, the Usmash might 
interrupt anything outside of a Jab combo, but they can still shield or 
dodge or roll.

Utilt -> Utilt -> Utilt -> Utilt� -> Usmash/Uair
The Utilt juggles until 30% or a little higher on fast fallers. On any 
other character, end with a Usmash or Uair when they�re going out of 
UTilt range.

Utilt -> Usmash
Around 30% or slightly above. Basic.

Uair -> Uair
Hit them with the foot when Mario goes up for this to work. Even so, 
you�ll have to move in closer before doing the 2nd Uair. Works at low to 
mid percent.

Nair -> Ftilt/Dtilt
An actual guaranteed combo, only at low percent. You need the sweetspot 
(i.e. the strong hit) for this to work, and you need to be close to the 
ground.


***********************************************************************
6. Stages

These are the only stages that can be played competitively in without 
interference via stage obstacles, hazards, scrolling camera, rotating 
stages, etc.. For all intents and purposes, these are �neutral� stages.

a. Battlefield
==============
Three horizontal platforms over a large one. The KO area for both 
horizontal and vertical/Star is fairly small so it�s easy to KO and get 
KO�ed. Still, a lot of strategies can be employed here.

Camping:
You can camp on either of the two center platforms with fireballs. The 
top platform can be used for charging FLUDD. Your enemy may try to come 
at you with aerials, or swat you from below with Utilts/Usmashes. The 
latter method shouldn�t really hit you as much as the former, so if you 
keep moving around you�ll be okay. On the top platform, they may use 
double jump aerials if they�re on the bottom platform. If they�re slow 
characters, laugh at them while you roll away and continue to charge 
FLUDD. I do not recommend any fireball approaches since it�s easy for 
your enemy to retreat into a higher platform.

Platform Attacks:
Whenever you drop through a platform (press Down hard on the analog 
stick), come down with Nairs or Dairs. The first attack will knock them 
back, the second will catch them surprise. Just watch out for UTilts. 
You can also run down a platform and fall with an Nair if they�re on the 
bottom. Whenever an enemy is on a platform, do SHFF Uairs so that you 
hit them and retreat to the ground to avoid retaliation. On the top 
platform, not much you can do here � stay on the ground and charge FLUDD 
and roll away when they drop through.

Edgeguarding:
If they�re higher off the stage, they may try to recover by landing on 
either of the center platforms. Time a Uair to hit them back out instead 
of hanging around the edge and waiting for them to come. You can also do 
a run-off Nair and jump to the edge for edgehogging. If they�re level 
with the stage, hopefully your FLUDD is ready because getting back on is 
easy enough.

Strategic Area:
If your opponent is at a high%, try to force them up to the top platform 
so that your Usmash can finish them off. Of course, they might see this 
coming and stay somewhere else where you�re not going to bother them 
(neither can they). But if they�re aggressive, then this is a great area 
� use a Shield-Counter USmash.

Recovering:
If your enemy hangs around the edge waiting to edgeguard you, try to 
reach for the center platform instead of the edge. If they�re projectile 
users or spikers, staying above them is better than getting pushed aside 
or below. You can be assured that you�ll have a safe trip if you get 
knocked away to the other side and your enemy has to catch up to you on 
the other end.


b. Final Destination
====================
The main 1v1 stage for any kind of battle. Of course, with little cover 
you have no where to run. Use fireball approaches and retreat if they�re 
getting comfortable or aggressive.

Camping: 
You can stay at one end of the stage and wait for your enemy to come 
after you while you unleash a barrage of fireballs on them. It�s a good 
stalling tactic as well as annoyance. Vs chars with better or more 
spammable projectiles (i.e. space animal blasters), forget about camping 
when they have a higher damage output with their projectiles. If they 
don�t have projectiles, you�re in luck unless they have something to 
stop it.

Edgeguarding:
All tactics in the edgeguard section apply here.

Strategic Area:
Hang around the edges so that you can force an enemy out of stage more 
quickly. In particular, bthrows or fthrows here set up edgeguarding 
well. You can also hang around here to charge up FLUDD.

Recovering:
Make use of the wall next to the stage since Mario can wall jump. It�s a 
better alternative in case your enemy has a spike but beware of chars 
with multiple jumps since they can come after you from above. Pikachu�s 
Thunder Jolt might also hinder your recovery if you wall jump.


c. Yoshi�s Story
================
There�s only one platform in this stage, and the platform will 
constantly tilt, going from diagonal downleft to upright, normal and 
upleft to diagonal downright. Thanks to the ground relatively being the 
size of a rectangle, you�ll have an easier time recovering since you 
have wall jumps and your UpB will hug the wall up instead of being 
hindered like Final Destination. Occasionally those pop-up platforms 
will appear on each side of the stage; pray that if you�re not getting a 
UpB back to the stage, these wonders will come to the rescue.

Camping:
The pop-up platforms are an okay camping spot, since an aggressive enemy 
will probably chase after you. Otherwise, use the edges as usual.

Edgeguarding:
If it�s easy for you to recover, so is it for your enemy. Fortunately, 
the FLUDD comes in handy since they�ll probably get knocked off above 
stage. Use your FLUDD to go for a spike or Nair to push them out. If 
they�re aiming to get back onto the stage, make sure you meet them with 
a Uair or Bair.

Strategic Area:
The pop-up platforms (again).

Recovering:
If you�re going for the wall jumps, an enemy with a spike or meteor 
smash will probably come after you. Fortunately, thanks to the speed of 
your UpB, you can shoot back to the stage before they can get to you, 
and start edgeguarding them instead. If you�re knocked above stage, 
repeatedly cape and move forward back to the stage, then double jump to 
the platform. Use a Nair or quick release FLUDD in case they try to 
intercept you.


d. Smashville
=============
Take Battlefield�s flat platform, reduce the three platforms to one 
moving platform, and you have Smashville. This stage has even less space 
than Battlefield, so it�s very easy to get KO�ed here. Prepare for some 
fast paced matches.

Camping:
Make good use of the moving platform, especially when it hovers off the 
side of the stage. Use fireballs a lot, and when they come after you 
time a smash to intercept. If danger is imminent, don�t try to jump back 
onto stage. Instead, drop through the platform then jump to the edge and 
roll back on. This will keep you partly safe against melee happy 
characters. Of course, this strategy isn�t as effective against other 
projectile users, but you�ll at least have some cover.

Strategic Area:
The moving platform. However given the small size of the stage, you�ll 
want to use the edges to reduce your damage intake if you�re getting 
pummeled.

Edgeguarding:
Again, FLUDD comes in handy here. If the moving platform is on their 
side, it�ll make reaching them even easier. Should they land on the 
platform, do a Uair from under the platform so that they can�t trade 
hits with you.

Recovering:
Quick release FLUDDs since you�ll have very little chance of getting 
back on; if your enemy is far away, they�ll miss their opportunity for a 
KO. If it doesn�t keep them off, it�ll at least push them back a bit so 
that you can grab the edge. If they�re already coming after you, Cape 
and double jump over them then go for edgeguarding. If the platform is 
by your side when you�re recovering, try to land on it while charging 
FLUDD and release it so that it�ll push them away and you can get back 
on more easily.


***********************************************************************
7. Character matchups

Until I face other characters, this section will remain incomplete.


a. Snake
========
Snake is hands down, the best camper of the game. He has a plethora of 
explosives at his disposal, and maneuvering around them is tricky since 
Snake can unload a whole minefield. Even when you pass them, Snake has 
no problem shrugging you off. In fact, he can stay in the same area if 
he wants to.

First off, his hand grenades (I forgot what they were called). He can 
throw two at any time, but they won�t explode upon contact. They�ll 
explode after about 3 to 4 seconds. Of course, a good Snake won�t just 
throw them at you � he�ll drop it with Shield, pick them up and use it 
as if they were items. That way, you�ll get caught in the blast more 
easily. Either fireball to hopefully intercept the grenade, or roll back 
to avoid the explosion. If you fireball though, he�ll be able to spam 
his grenades more often, but if you throw a fireball when he�s holding a 
hand grenade, he might hop and throw, so it�ll be easier to get to him 
without dealing with the hand grenades. If he�s a stupid Snake and just 
throws the grenade without waiting, then you can catch it and throw it 
back at him for his stupidity, or cape it, even better.

Secondly, his Nikita Missile can be guided, and if it won�t hit you, 
Snake can still shield to cancel its flight and it�ll drop to the ground 
and explode. You cannot cape it back at Snake unless the missile is high 
enough, and even then if he cancels it and you�re too close, it�ll hit 
you. It has a diagonal upright knockback, so if you�re coming back to 
recover and you get hit, expect to get KO�ed. Fortunately, you can slow 
down the missile by throwing fireballs at it, and it�ll be useless that 
Snake will have to cancel it anyway. Should he try to edgeguard you with 
it, cape and double jump over it. It will not explode unless it actually 
hits you; UpB will make you invincible to it if Snake drops it onto the 
edge to stop you from grabbing it. If the Snake doesn�t know how to 
cancel, of course, then you can give him what he deserves.

Thirdly, his Dsmash (which causes him to plant a mine) will most likely 
be planted near the edge so that you�ll come in contact with it unless 
you jump over it. If he lays it any where else on the field, destroy it 
with your fireball unless you want to use it to your advantage � try 
knocking Snake into it. If it�s by the edge, make sure to hit back on 
the stick so that you�re slightly hovering off of the edge, jump back 
while facing the stage, and then destroy the mine with your fireball.

Fourth and more importantly, his C4 remote controlled bomb. It�s his 
most versatile explosive � he can use it to edgeguard, set off chain 
reactions, shrug you off his back AND recover. If he�s edgeguarding with 
it, make sure to cape stall so that you can UpB into the stage just as 
he begins to detonate it and you�ll bypass the explosion unharmed. If 
he�s laid a minefield, just stay away from the area since the explosions 
will damage you severely. Next, if he�s above stage (i.e. you knocked 
him up into the air via Usmash or something) he may drop a C4 and time 
the explosion to keep you from coming after him in the air. Either way, 
roll back or stay away. Last but not least, his recovery. He�ll only use 
it to recover if he has used his UpB and can�t grab the stage. The 
explosion will generally put him in a diagonal right flight, so 
attacking him offstage is not recommended (he�ll probably get back on 
anyway since you can�t hit him in his UpB Cypher when he�s too high). 
Since it�s the only special attack he can use after his UpB, try to hit 
him towards the stage with Bair before he finishes his UpB (if you�re 
not spiking/meteor smashing him) so that he�ll be stunned before he can 
detonate the C4 on himself.

If you get past his explosives, you still have to deal with some of 
Snake�s annoying attacks. When you get upclose, he�ll mostly like ftilt 
or AAA you. The ftilt is especially annoying � two hits with the second 
one knocking you back, a likely kill if you�re above 110%. Not to 
mention, it has almost no lag. So even if he misses, he can still hit 
you before you can do anything. AAA has longer range, but doesn�t kill 
you as fast or as easily as ftiltx2 does. You do NOT want to trade your 
jab combo with his as Snake�s will easily overpower yours. The range of 
the ftilt is deceptive; it�s easy to run into it. If you shield it, you 
might be able to shield grab Snake before he throws out the 2nd hit, but 
it�s still risky. Ftiltx2 and AAA both do around 20% so it adds up very 
fast. He�ll rely on his ftilt to kill if his explosives don�t get you, 
so watch for it when your percent is above 100.

His next most annoying attack (two actually) is his dive roll (dash 
attack). If it hits, he can cancel it to an Usmash, giving him extra 
distance (called mortarsliding). If it doesn�t hit and is blocked, he 
can still get past you so unless he stops right next to you, you aren�t 
going to punish him for it. Given its speed, he can practically get you 
from a medium distance. Try to jump over it and meet him with a Bair or 
Nair if you�re above him, or you can stop it with a FLUDD so that he 
lands right in front of you and you can punish him. The Usmash is his 
only real usable smash, and while it�s pretty weak (unable to kill 
unless he hits you with a charged mortar) its his fastest smash. It hits 
you up when he pulls out the launcher, and the mortar after that will 
hit you and put you even further into the air. Don�t stay too close to 
Snake � this, along with ftiltx2 and AAA is why he�s pretty dangerous 
upclose. However, if he�s using Usmash as an anti-air attack instead of 
Utilt, give him back his mortar with a Cape (since the mortar counts as 
a projectile). If you�re high in the air, he�ll most likely charge it to 
increase its height and speed, so caping it back at him will be very 
rewarding especially if he gets KO�ed by it.

Snake doesn�t have too much in the way of aerial attacks. All four hits 
of his Nair and Dair won�t land if he�s not high enough in the air, but 
they do a lot of damage and have strong knockback so watch out for them. 
His Fair is a spike (not a meteor smash) and it knocks you down 
diagonally, so watch out if you�re trying to Fair him for a meteor 
smash. His Bair hurts and has a lot of knockback, though � this will 
probably be his only move that he�ll use in the air. Uair is a good 
anti-air tool, but given Utilt he probably won�t use it except for a 
star KO.

His UpB Cypher gives him super armor against WEAK attacks, namely those 
that only give hit stun. If he�s hit with STRONG attacks (i.e. knockback 
attacks, spikes, meteor smashes, smashes, etc) then he�ll be knocked off 
of his Cypher. If you�re really demanding, you can try to grab his 
Cypher if he�s close to the stage; not only will he lose his Cypher, 
he�ll lose his ability to use any aerial attacks or aerial specials, 
including his C4 mine. However if you�re intercepting him, Bair and Fair 
are your tools for this job. With Bair, try to hit him into the stage so 
that he�ll have less chance of getting back on. Use Fair if he�s only 
moving up and not changing directions. When the Cypher is released from 
Snake�s hand, it�ll damage you, but it�s only a minor hit stun so it 
won�t do much. You can also hit the Cypher to slow it down and reduce 
Snake�s vertical distance, but it�s better to go after Snake instead.

Use your fireballs a lot, whether it be to deal with his explosives, or 
to cancel out his attacks and then fight him from the air. Mario has the 
upperhand in terms of aerials. Snake does have Utilt, which has a 
strangely large hitbox and can beat out your aerials, but your fireballs 
can stop it. Use FLUDD to control your space, as well. Snake can�t 
approach you as well as you can, since his explosives need to be timed 
and his dash attack can be punished easily.


b. Metaknight
=============

By far Mario�s hardest matchup. You cannot approach Metaknight with 
fireballs at all. His Mach Tornado will eat through your fireballs and 
he can spam it since you can�t approach him while he�s spinning. It�s 
just too dangerous.

Aside from Mach Tornado, Metaknight can hit you hard and fast. He has 
nonexistent lag on almost all of his moves, so he�s practically 
unpunishable. His aerial game is supreme, with fair able to take you 
across the stage in no time, Uair juggling you to kingdom come, dair for 
knockback, Nair to KO, and bair applied in the same way as fair. Anyone 
saying MK can�t kill must have been drunk. Nair, UpB, Dsmash are all 
fast, safe AND unpunishable; he has no problem killing you with any one 
of those moves.

Rest assured his ground game isn�t too shabby. Ftiltx3 is a blazing fast 
combo and nothing in your arsenal can match it in terms of speed. Dtilt 
is a fast, safe poke, Utilt can start some juggling. Then there�s 
Usmash, which beats out Mario�s aerial game, and dsmash, his best smash 
for killing (fsmash being too slow to get a kill). Nearly everything in 
his ground game can set up his aerial game so he�s always attacking no 
matter what.

His specials are ridiculous too. Dimensional cape (downB) might not be a 
great move to attack with, but he can stay invisible and move around the 
stage safely with it (even better if he can do infinite dimensional 
cape). His sideB drill attack is like Snake�s dive roll � he�s safe even 
if he misses. However, he can change his flight path during it. Given 
its long duration, he can also edgeguard by edgehogging with it. Only 
the last hit has any knockback, but it can kill above 140s.

That�s not all! His recovery is the best in the game, and the most 
versatile. In addition to five (four aerial) regular jumps, he has 
glide, and four specials, with one going back to glide. You just can�t 
edgeguard this guy and hope for a kill, you actually have to get KOs on 
stage. It�s a depressing thought, since you have no way of approaching 
Metaknight safely. On the other hand, MK can edgeguard you AND meet you 
off stage to intercept, so you�re very likely to meet your doom should 
you even get knocked off.  

MK�s main offensive attack is SH fairs. Not only can he take you across 
the stage with (as mentioned before) it, he can also use it to counter 
your aerial game as well. If you hit him up, he�ll snuff out your 
followups with fair as well. To deal with fair, use Shield-Counters, 
namely Upsmash and shield grabs. You�ll have to wait a bit; given the 
speed of fair, it�ll break through your Usmash or shield grab attempts. 

Fortunately, MK�s regular attacks cannot cancel out your fireballs. Even 
Fair can be stopped with a fireball. So if you can�t approach MK, you 
can spam fireballs. Try to annoy MK as much as possible. You can provoke 
him into his Mach Tornado � FLUDD him back and go after him with a 
smash. 

Off stage, he�ll try to follow you and hit you with Fair or Nair, or 
he�ll edgehog if you�re closer to the stage. If it�s the former, make 
sure to fast fall (press down while in the air), Cape, then double jump 
and Up B. MK�s jumps are slow, so he won�t reach you in time unless he 
does a reverse UpB or reverse sideB, but both put him at risk. If it�s 
the latter, be careful because his UpB will push you out should he 
connect with the arc; he�ll also go for Bair or edgestall with 
UpB/DownB.

This battle is all about patience, spacing, and control. Let MK get in 
and he�ll tear you apart. Make sure you get your FLUDDs charged up every 
chance you get, because MK can take you out in seconds. In any case, do 
NOT try to meet up with MK head on. He�ll outprioritize you every time - 
it�s not worth it. 


c. Marth
========
Another tough match for Mario. The difference here is that Marth doesn�t 
have a projectile, so you can camp and annoy him with fireballs. Given 
his melee nature though, he�s dangerous upclose, but he has to be at a 
medium distance so that he can land sweetspots. Namely, his fsmash. This 
move will kill you around 80-100% if he lands a sweetspot, and even if 
you�re not dead from it, Marth already has a great edgeguarding game to 
fall back on so you�re at a disadvantage, for the most part.

Marth�s main offensive attack is SH Fairs. Although he can�t juggle you 
to doom with it like he could in Melee, it pushes you back and stuns you 
for another one, so he can still keep you locked down with Fair. Heck, 
it sets up for his sweetspot fsmash easily, so it�s deadly enough. At 
40-50%, it starts lifting you up, so expect to be carried across the 
stage by it. Fortunately, its range was toned down, so he has to time it 
more precisely. Aside from Fair, he�ll also use Nair. The tip of the 
sword hits at an angle though, so it�ll probably go over your head. But 
if it hits, it knocks you back and does decent damage. It also hits to 
Marth�s back, so if you�re creeping up on him he can still smack you 
aside. Uair he�ll only use as an anti-air or a juggle tool, but it will 
never really kill you. Bair isn�t as great as Fair, it�s the only aerial 
attack that he�ll use the least. Dair is a spike, so he�ll save it for 
the occasion you�re offstage. Fortunately, Dair has a more curved arc 
instead of a hemisphere arc, so Marth needs to practically sweetspot you 
with it if he wants to spike.

Marth�s ground game only consists of three moves. One is his Dancing 
Blade, i.e. sideB�. It�s a four hit combo (nine I think, if he goes for 
the multi-stab) that comes out rather quick and has decent range. Given 
Marth�s pathetic neutral A, he might use Dancing Blade as his sort of 
AAA replacement. It does about 20% if all of it hits. Typically though, 
a Marth will go for the multi-stab finisher but it hits very low on the 
ground, so you can jump over it and punish Marth. Although Marth has 
better attacks, he can rack damage up and annoy you with Dancing Blade, 
so try not to get too close lest you get caught in it. Second, of 
course, is his Fsmash. This is the move he�ll go for kills with, so 
expect to see this often. Last is his counter move (downB). If you�re 
getting too predictable, Marth just needs a well timed counter to turn 
the tables. The counter won�t kill, but it has enough knockback power. 
Why these three? Because that�s all he honestly needs on the ground to 
force you into his edgeguarding game.

In terms of edgeguarding, lets face it � if you already used your double 
jump and get knocked away by Marth, you aren�t making it back on. Nair 
and Fair both have enough knockback power when you�re in the air, and 
they both cover Marth�s front well. Worse off, if he has extremely good 
timing his Dair spike will finish you off, especially if you�re below 
stage. It will KILL your UpB if you happen to be below him and he�s in 
the middle of, say, edgehogging. You�ll have to rely on Cape stalls 
offstage to throw off his timing so that he can�t edgeguard you. If 
you�re hanging on the edge, he�ll poke you off with dtilt, or worse if 
he anticipates a roll, he�ll grab you and throw you back off but close 
enough that he�ll get you with a fsmash. Ultimately, you should use UpB 
to hit him up and get back on, instead of rolling or jumping from the 
edge. He might catch on and use Counter, and resume edgeguarding � but 
if you mix it up, you should be able to get back on without him 
breathing down your neck.

To reliably attack Marth, you have to take advantage of all his whiffs. 
Should he miss a fsmash, Counter, Dancing Blade combo or Fair, stuff his 
face with aerials and pressure him. Since Marth must be precise with all 
of his major attacks (except for maybe Dancing Blade) he has to hit you 
with a specific area or timing. Most of his attacks have enough lag 
after them that you can go in and attack. If you stay close to him, he 
won�t be able to land any sweetspots. BUT, if you stay away from him, he 
has to deal with your fireball spam. Your fireball should bypass most of 
his attacks and freeze him up; he might be provoked to use Counter if 
you�re approaching him with fireballs � go for a grab.

When you�re edgeguarding Marth, you can play some devious mixups on him. 
Jump after Marth, act as if you�re going to spike him or Nair � he may 
use Counter. Throw out FLUDD (or quick release it if you haven�t charged 
it up) to push him away and then grab the edge; there�s no chance of him 
getting back. Or, Cape to bait him into Counter, and then kick him back 
with Nair. If he�s in the middle of Dancing Blade back to the stage (the 
first hit of sideB), then Cape Stall the edge. He�ll be forced to use 
UpB, at which point you can jump back up and Cape him so that he�ll fall 
to his doom. If not, a fun thing to do is to hang on the edge and wait 
for Marth to fall close enough to the stage for his UpB. Release 
yourself with back, and then UpB just as Marth does it. You�ll grab the 
edge with invincibility while he falls to his doom � again! It�s a great 
mock and humiliation move, and potentially risky since Marth�s UpB is as 
fast, or probably faster, than Mario�s.

Remember that Marth needs you to be at a distance so that he can 
capitalize on sweetspots, but he�ll also have to approach you and go 
through your fireballs before he can go all offensive. If you�re 
approaching with fireballs, make sure you make him whiff so that you can 
start your own offensive. You can�t go in unless he gives you the 
opportunity.


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8. Ending

Well I hope you got a kick out of this guide. I tried to make it as a 
long and detailed as possible for good ol� Mario. I will greatly 
appreciate any user submitted info because the plumber needs some love 
too. Thanks again for reading this guide.

Credits:
-Nintendo for the Wii
-Sakurai for creating the Smash Bros series
-Smashboards for most of the terms we�re using in Smash today
-My sister for buying me this as a b-day present
-My versus buddies

That�s all, folks!