GamePress
Analysis by Chibi_Chu
Marth - Altean Prince

3-4

Obtainable as a 3 - 4 only

Hero Stats

Max Avg Total Stats at Lvl 40
158
HP 41
ATK 31
SPD 34
DEF 29
RES 23

Stat Variations

Level 1 Stat Variation
5★
4★
3★
HP ATK SPD DEF RES
Low 18 6 7 6 5
Middle 19 7 8 7 6
High 20 8 9 8 7

Level 40 Stat Variations
5★
4★
3★
HP ATK SPD DEF RES
Low 37 28 31 25 20
Middle 41 31 34 29 23
High 44 34 37 32 26

IV Sets

Key stats worth increasing through nature if possible.
Complementary stats that matter, but not to the point of picking them over key stats for nature increase.
Relatively worthless stat that can safely be decreased through nature.
HPATKSPDDEFRES

Skill Sets

A blessing for us all! (Support)

Build by Chibi_Chu
Recommended
Falchion (Mystery) (+Eff) A R Duel Infantry 3
Alternate: Fury (3 or 4)
Rally Atk/Spd+
Alternate: Positional Assist
B Atk/Spd Ruse 3
Alternate: Even Pulse Tie 3
Ruptured Sky
Alternate: Moonbow
C Joint Drive Spd
IVs

Flexible

SDef Feint 3
Alternate: Chill Def 3

Show Explanation/Analysis

Weapon: Falchion (Refined) 

Assist: Rally Atk/Spd+ / Positional Assist

Special: Ruptured Sky / Moonbow 

Passive A: R Duel Infantry / Fury (3 or 4) / Life and Death (3 or 4)

Passive B: Atk/Spd Ruse / Even Pulse Tie

Passive C: Joint Drive Spd / Flexible 

Sacred Seal: Def Feint / Chill Def / Atk/Spd 2 / Def/Res 2 / Flexible

  • The combination of Drive Atk/Spd/Def/Res 1 and Renewal make Marth a solid choice for support. There are 2 main routes that can be taken with a supportive Marth, but regardless of which one is chosen, he’ll rarely take part in combat.
    • Arena Support- Because of how Arena scoring works, a Dual Rally+, 500 SP Special, R Duel Infantry, and skills with at least 240 SP are crucial to maximize scoring. Since he’s locked to a Dual Rally+, Atk/Spd Ruse and Def Feint are excellent choices that inflict debuffs on foes within cardinal directions when Marth Rallies. The combination of Joint Drive Spd and Marth’s refined Falchion grants +2 Atk/Def/Res and +6 Speed to allies within 2 spaces, which is easily capable of turning the tide in favor of his allies.
    • Aether Raids Support- Soaking debuffs from Chill skills and Bright/Dark Shrines is crucial when supporting a superunit, so Fury and Life and Death are excellent choices to maximize the chances that Marth will soak those debuffs instead of his allies. The Dual Rally+ and Atk/Spd Ruse can be replaced by a positional Assist and Even Pulse Tie respectively, since the omnipresence of Panic makes visible buffs unreliable and Even Pulse Tie shuts down Infantry Pulse teams. Chill Def is chosen to allow Mila to inflict Isolation on Masquerade Eldigan, but Atk/Spd 2 or Def/Res 2 can also be used to ensure Marth soaks the Bright or Dark Shrine respectively.

Flickering Flames (Galeforce / General Offense)

Build by Chibi_Chu
Recommended
Ninja Katana+ A Atk/Spd Push 4
Alternate: Swift Sparrow (2 or 3)
Positional Assist B Wings of Mercy 3
Alternate: Desperation 3
Galeforce
Alternate: Ruptured Sky
C Time's Pulse 3
Alternate: Odd Tempest 3
IVs

+ATK or +SPD / -HP or -RES

SFlashing Blade 3

Show Explanation/Analysis

Weapon: Ninja Katana+

Assist: Positional Assist 

Special: Galeforce / Ruptured Sky / Moonbow

Passive A: Atk/Spd Push 4 / Swift Sparrow (2 or 3) / Fury (3 or 4)

Passive B: Wings of Mercy / Desperation 

Passive C: Time’s Pulse / Odd Tempest / Joint Drive Atk 

Sacred Seal: Flashing Blade 3 

  • While 31/34 offenses aren’t the greatest, Marth can still be a dangerous offensive presence with investment. Ninja Katana’s +4 Speed in exchange for -4 Def/Res bumps Marth’s Speed to 38 and allows him to attack twice when he initiates (meaning he attacks 4 times if he can perform a follow-up attack). 
  • The combination of Ninja Katana, Galeforce, Time’s Pulse, and Flashing Blade allows Marth to activate Galeforce after 2 attacks and move again assuming no Guard effect is active. Wings of Mercy is chosen because Galeforce chains are a common strategy in Aether Raids Offense; when one Galeforcer drops to ≤ 50% HP, another can teleport to a space adjacent to them, attack another enemy, and activate Galeforce themselves. If Marth is receiving cooldown reduction from an ally such as Velouria or Groom Rafiel, Time’s Pulse can be replaced with Odd Tempest to grant Marth additional reach that may only be achievable under normal circumstances through a refresh or Shove/Smite.
  • Alternatively, Marth can swap out Galeforce for an offensive Special. 2-cooldown Specials such as Ruptured Sky and Moonbow work best with Ninja Katana’s Brave effect, as Marth can activate his Special twice if he performs a follow-up attack and no Guard effect is active. Desperation allows Marth to perform 4 consecutive attacks if his HP is ≤ 75%, which is capable of KOing much of the cast in combination with 2 Special activations.
  • Regardless of which set is chosen, Fury, Swift Sparrow, and Atk/Spd Push 4 are excellent choices that boost Marth’s offenses. Fury is a particularly great choice for Galeforce chains because of its 6/8 recoil damage granting greater ease in dropping to ≤ 50% HP for Wings of Mercy chains; Atk/Spd Push 4 performs a similar role, inflicting 5 recoil damage instead.

Resilience of the Hero-King (Superunit)

Build by Chibi_Chu
Recommended
Slaying Edge+ (+Spd)
Alternate: Carrot Cudgel+ (+Spd)
A Distant Counter
Positional Assist B Spurn 3
Alternate: Null Follow-Up 3
Noontime
Alternate: Sol
C Pulse Smoke 3
Alternate: Joint Drive Res
IVs

+SPD or +RES / -HP

SSpd/Res Solo 3

Show Explanation/Analysis

Weapon: Slaying Edge+ (+SPD) / Carrot Cudgel+ (+SPD) / Bellringer+ (+SPD)  

Assist: Positional Assist 

Special: Noontime / Sol 

Passive A: Distant Counter 

Passive B: Spurn / Null Follow-Up 

Passive C: Pulse Smoke / Joint Drive Res 

Sacred Seal: Spd/Res Solo 

  • Marth can become a solid superunit thanks to his well-balanced statline that focuses on Speed. While his Resistance is concerningly low given the ubiquity of Mages and Staff units in Aether Raids, Resistance-stacking through Blessings, skills, support, and debuffs can help patch this issue.
  • Unfortunately, Marth’s Falchion is not very helpful for the purpose of supertanking because Dragons are uncommon on Aether Raids Defense (save for Sothis, who neutralizes Dragon-effective effects); as such, he has a myriad of solid weapons to choose from. 
    • Slaying Edge allows Marth to activate Noontime on his first counterattack (which maximizes healing and sustainability), but since Brave Lucina is so common for supporting superunits, either swapping Slaying Edge for Carrot Cudgel / Bellringer or swapping Noontime for Sol may be better. 
    • Carrot Cudgel grants +5 Atk/Def and neutralizes Marth’s visible Atk/Def debuffs during combat if he is within 2 spaces of an ally, making it a great option for improving Marth’s damage output, sustainability with his Special, and physical bulkiness.
    • Bellringer heals 5 HP for every attack Marth performs, granting him excellent sustainability in combination with Noontime or Sol.
  • Distant Counter, Spurn, and Pulse Smoke all play different roles, but are key for superunits. Distant Counter ensures Marth’s bulk is worthwhile by allowing him to attack against ranged units (increasing damage output and healing), Spurn allows Marth to take advantage of his Speed via damage reduction equal to the gap between his Speed and the enemy’s Speed x 4% (up to 40%, so a gap of 10 Speed), and Pulse Smoke shuts down the omnipresent Infantry Pulse teams by inflicting +1 Special cooldown to the target and enemies within 2 spaces. Spd/Res Solo secures follow-up attacks and maximum damage reduction while bolstering Marth’s otherwise low magical bulk.
  • Alternatives for Marth’s B and C slots include Null Follow-Up and Joint Drive Res. Null Follow-Up shuts down common threats like Bramimond and Yune by nullifying effects that prevent Marth’s follow-up attack or guarantee theirs, while granting +4 Resistance to himself and allies within 2 spaces with Joint Drive Res can save the day against mage-heavy Defense teams.

Strengths

Decent physical bulk 

Even for today’s standards, Marth’s 69 physical bulk is solid enough to consistently survive at least one physical attack.

Falchion refine

In update 2.2, Marth’s Falchion received a refine!

  • As always, Falchion has Dragon-effectiveness, allowing Marth to duel Dragons that he would otherwise struggle to compete with.
  • While base Falchion had Renewal 2 built into it, Marth has Renewal 3, granting him sustainability that isn’t reliant on damage or combat (unlike weapons like Bellringer and Specials like Noontime).
  • Most importantly, Marth has Drive Atk/Spd/Def/Res 1--that is, he grants +2 Atk/Spd/Def/Res to allies within 2 spaces of him.

Marth can become an effective mix between a Dragon duelist and a support unit.

Infantry advantages

As always, it’s worth mentioning the boons Marth receives as an Infantry unit.

Flexible and versatile

Already aforementioned was how Marth’s Falchion refine can make him a hybrid between combat and support, but his overall balanced statline also allows him to play a pure offensive or even a superunit role. His ability to be tuned to players’ likings make him a versatile unit capable of fitting a variety of roles.

Great art, Resplendent or not

Marth is cool. :)

Weaknesses

Middling offenses

Right from the get-go, Marth was noted for being comparatively weaker offensively than Lucina, and even her offenses are considered to just be decent for today’s standards. 31/34 offenses are workable, but take investment and support to make use of; even with his Resplendent, 33/36 is still only alright.

Low magical bulk

41 HP and 23 Resistance add to 63 magical bulk, which puts Marth in danger of being OHKO’d by powerful magical attacks. In addition, he may struggle to duel the Dragons he’s supposed to be best against.

Outclassed and outdated

Marth was pretty great back in 2.2, but by this point, he’s unfortunately very outclassed. An almost humorously large number of Sword units have far better weapons and statlines than our Hero-King (even with Resplendent), meaning he struggles to find a niche in the metagame. Supportive superstars such as Kaden, Flayn, and especially Brave Lucina and Male Corrin bring more to the table for their allies than Marth does.

Weapon Skills

Weapons SP Rng. Mt.
Iron Sword
Learns by default at 1 ★
Unlocks at 1 ★
Only Inheritable by Sword Units.
50 1 6
Steel Sword
Learns by default at 3 ★
Unlocks at 2 ★
Only Inheritable by Sword Units.
100 1 8
Silver Sword
Learns by default at 4 ★
Unlocks at 3 ★
Only Inheritable by Sword Units.
200 1 11
Falchion (Mistery)

Effective against dragon foes. At the start of every third turn, restores 10 HP.

Learns by default at 5 ★
Unlocks at 5 ★
Non-Inheritable skill.
400 1 16
Weapon Evolution
Weapon Upgrades
Weapon Upgrades

Support Skills

Support Skills Rng. SP
Pivot

Unit moves to opposite side of adjacent ally.

Learns by default at 4 ★
1 150

Passive Skills

Passive Skills SP Slot
Escape Route 1

If unit's HP ≤ 30%, unit can move to a space adjacent to any ally.

Inheritable by all units.
Unlocks at 3 ★
60
B
Escape Route 2

If unit's HP ≤ 40%, unit can move to a space adjacent to any ally.

Inheritable by all units.
Unlocks at 4 ★
120
B
Escape Route 3

If unit's HP ≤ 50%, unit can move to a space adjacent to any ally.

Inheritable by all units.
Unlocks at 5 ★
240
B
Spur Spd 1

Grants Spd+2 to adjacent allies during combat.

Inheritable by all units.
50
C
Spur Spd 2

Grants Spd+3 to adjacent allies during combat.

Inheritable by all units.
Unlocks at 3 ★
100
C
Spur Spd 3

Grants Spd+4 to adjacent allies during combat.

Inheritable by all units.
Unlocks at 4 ★
200
C

Other Info

Origin
Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem
Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem
Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon
Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light

Banners Featured In

Official Hero Artwork