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Analysis by MackerelPye
Masked Marth - Enigmatic Blade

Hero Stats

Max Avg Total Stats at Lvl 40
157
HP 43
ATK 34
SPD 36
DEF 25
RES 19

Stat Variations

Level 1 Stat Variation
5★
4★
HP ATK SPD DEF RES
Low 18 7 9 5 3
Middle 19 8 10 6 4
High 20 9 11 7 5

Level 40 Stat Variations
5★
4★
HP ATK SPD DEF RES
Low 40 31 33 22 16
Middle 43 34 36 25 19
High 46 37 39 29 22

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

This unit requires use of Trait Fruits to get access to IVs

Skill Sets

We Have Lucina At Home, Literally. (Low Investment Offensive)

Build by MackerelPye
Recommended
Sealed Falchion (+Eff) A Fury (3 or 4)
Positional Assist B Desperation 3
Moonbow
Alternate: Luna
C Rouse Spd/Def 3
IVs

+SPD or +ATK / -HP

SBrazen Atk/Spd 3
Alternate: Swift Sparrow 2

Show Explanation/Analysis

Weapon: Sealed Falchion (+Eff)

Assist: Positional Assist

Special: Moonbow / Luna / Bonfire

Passive A: Fury

Passive B: Desperation

Passive C: Rouse Spd/Def / Flexible

Sacred Seal: Brazen Atk/Spd / Swift Sparrow

  • If you're not willing to put in heavy investment for Masked Marth just yet, the good ol' FuryDesp combination, fortunately, works extremely well with both his statline and the effects of refined Sealed Falchion. As a result of being cheaply built and honoring both of Sealed Falchion's conditions, Marth remains a very respectable offensive threat for general content.
  • Fury is cheaply available in the 3-4 star pool and provides a nice amount of stat padding across all of Masked Marth's stats. Additionally, the recoil effect suffered after combat synergizes well with:
    • Desperation, allowing Marth to make two attacks in a row provided he can make a follow-up.
    • The base effect of Sealed Falchion, which provides a hefty boost of +5 to all stats if Marth is damaged at all (or has a visible bonus, which is also good but not always guaranteed in all scenarios).
    • The Brazen Atk/Spd Sacred Seal, which also offers a respectable boost of +7 to Marth's Atk/Spd if he lands conveniently in Desperation's HP threshold. For initial reliability, you may opt for Swift Sparrow instead.
  • Moonbow or Luna are pretty standard Specials which allow Marth to bypass high Defense enemies in a pinch. Bonfire is technically pretty reliable as Sealed Falchion can bring Marth's Defense up to an effective 35+ (38 with Fury) under perfect conditions, giving a solid burst damage of 17-19 or more.
  • The rest of the build is mostly fringe and personal preference. The most affordable C slot that works with Masked Marth's weapon is Rouse Spd/Def, which grants self-provided bonuses to himself provided he isn't adjacent to any allies.

If Found Return to Mia (Speed Tank)

Build by MackerelPye
Recommended
Sealed Falchion (+Eff) A Distant Counter
Alternate: Atk/Spd Solo (3 or 4)
Positional Assist B Spurn 3
Alternate: Spd-Based DR B Slot
Noontime
Alternate: Sol
C Atk Smoke 3
Alternate: Pulse Smoke 3
IVs

+SPD / -HP

SSpd/Res Solo 3

Show Explanation/Analysis

Weapon: Sealed Falchion (+Eff)

Assist: Positional Assist

Special: Noontime / Sol

Passive A: Distant Counter / Atk/Spd Solo

Passive B: Spurn / Close Call / Repel

Passive C: Atk Smoke / Pulse Smoke

Sacred Seal: Spd/Res Solo / Kestrel Stance

  • This build is pretty much traditional on high-Spd, high-Atk infantry units like Masked Marth at this point. That is, to compensate for Marth's otherwise forgettable base bulk even after Sealed Falchion's effective +10 to relevant stats (Res only misses out at +5), running Repel or Close Call or Spurn in the B slot allows him to take advantage of his fantastic resulting Speed instead to bear the force of incoming attacks.
    • Running any of the three aforementioned skills is important for this build due to their Speed-based damage reduction effect—4% less damage for every Speed point compared to the enemy unit for up to 40%. After the fact, Marth becomes a formidable superunit, especially considering Sealed Falchion can prevent the foe's follow-ups, which further compounds his tankability especially against units with guaranteed follow-up attacks such as Bramimond.
  • There's little else better than Distant Counter for Marth's A-slot as it allows him to counterattack ranged units. This is especially in Aether Raids Offense as it prevents Marth from being whittled down too easily by the multitudes of ranged enemies in that mode. Lacking that or simply wanting to make Marth a melee-only, non-AR unit, Atk/Spd Solo is a great alternative as it further improves Marth's hitting power and damage reduction in both player and enemy phase.
  • Spd/Res Solo or Kestrel Stance are Marth's best Sacred Seal choices for this build, as both provide more Speed to make better use of Spurn/Close Call/Repel while improving his bulk or damage output, respectively.  
  • Atk Smoke tends to work consistently on Masked Marth given it further debilitates incoming damage from surrounding foes while being easy to access. Pulse Smoke is also a good option, however, as it badly cripples enemy setups reliant on precharged units.
  • Finally, to strengthen the purpose of this build and significantly increase Marth's longevity, a sustain Special will be preferred above anything else. Noontime is reliable due to its low CD of 2 (and the fact that it activates on every counterattack with Geirskögul support), whereas Sol has higher healing returns at a more exploitable CD of 3.

Setting Right What Once Went Wrong (Time's Pulse / High Investment Offensive)

Build by MackerelPye
Recommended
Sealed Falchion (+Eff) A Swift Sparrow 3
Alternate: Atk/Spd Push 4
Positional Assist B Desperation 3
Alternate: Lull Spd/Def 3
Galeforce
Alternate: Bonfire
C Time's Pulse 3
IVs

+ATK or +SPD / -HP or -RES

SHeavy Blade 3 / Flashing Blade 3
Alternate: Swift Sparrow 2

Show Explanation/Analysis

Weapon: Sealed Falchion (+Eff)

Assist: Positional Assist

Special: Galeforce / Bonfire / Luna / Ruptured Sky / Moonbow

Passive A: Swift Sparrow 3 / Atk/Spd Push 4 / Atk/Spd Solo 4 / Fury / Flashing Blade

Passive B: Desperation / Wings of Mercy / Lull Spd/Def Lull Atk/Spd

Passive C: Time's Pulse

Sacred Seal: Flashing Blade / Heavy Blade / Swift Sparrow / Brazen Atk/Spd

  • This is a high-investment version of the previous offensive build, with elevated priority on Special activation thanks to Time's Pulse precharging Marth's chosen Special by -1 at full CD count. Throughout all versions of this build, Sealed Falchion still makes Masked Marth as powerful as ever due to largely increased stats (+10 to all) and ability to stop the enemy's follow-up in a pinch. Several possible builds from this are as follows:
    • Galeforce:
      • To activate Galeforce in a single round, Flashing or Heavy Blade in some form is also necessary to circumvent the still-long cooldown count of 4 after Time's Pulse. This can be done through Marth's A slot, Sacred Seal, or providing Infantry Flash or Infantry Rush support nearby.
      • After getting into the proper HP threshold, Desperation makes it relatively easy to trigger in two successful hits without the need for a counterattack, though a relevant Lull skill may make it easier to get Flashing / Heavy Blade going successfully.
      • On an Aether Raids Offense team focused on chaining Galeforce, running Wings of Mercy would allow her to get into the thick of the action more conveniently, provided you have a unit to act as the beacon. Furthermore, if you're not confident in Marth's ability to get two shots off and activating his Special (since one shot kills are possible), you can opt to run ally-provided precharge support, especially Velouria's Wolfpup Fang to circumvent this.
    • General Offensive:
      • Running Luna or Bonfire generally requires Flashing / Heavy Blade in some form as well, if you'd like to activate either of these in a single round of combat.
      • If you'd like to focus on overwhelming the enemy with extremely high stats, however, you can simply run stat-boosting skills in both Marth's A-slot and Sacred Seal in conjunction with either Ruptured Sky or Moonbow. After Time's Pulse, these two Specials only require one action to charge, meaning no Blade skill is required at all and you can focus on running stat seals like Brazen Atk/Spd or Swift Sparrow.
      • Most Atk/Spd-boosting A slot choice will do well here, though Fury or Atk/Spd Push 4 are especially notable for inflicting recoil damage and fulfilling an essential effect of Sealed Falchion.
  • There's little better than the good and ol' reliable Desperation, which synergizes amazingly with the prior damage effect of Sealed Falchion while making Marth simply harder to stop in more general gameplay modes. Sealed Falchion even provides an partial form of Null Follow-Up, making that largely unnecessary for consideration on this build.  

Strengths

Refined Falchion

W̶e̶ ̶d̶o̶n̶'̶t̶ ̶d̶a̶r̶e̶ ̶s̶p̶e̶a̶k̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶B̶o̶n̶d̶ ̶r̶e̶f̶i̶n̶e̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶h̶o̶u̶s̶e̶.̶ ̶E̶v̶e̶r̶.̶

While Masked Marth was already a solid if a lukewarm option with the previous iteration of his refined Falchion, he has the option of forgoing that with refined Sealed Falchion instead. It works far more compatibly and flexibly with his offensive statline, as it grants more movement flexibility (whereas base Falchion required ally adjacency) as well as a larger stat boost of +10 (assuming you honor its two easy conditions). The icing on the cake is the anti-follow-up effect if the foe's HP is above 75%, which allows for more comfortable combat against enemies with artificial follow-up manipulation tactics such as Bramimond and Brave Edelgard. Overall, this refined version of Sealed Falchion does pretty well enough to upgrade Masked Marth to new generational standards.

Great Offensive Statline

34/36 aged rather nicely despite recent units making remarkable landmarks in Attack and Speed. With the help of Sealed Falchion's stat boosts as well as other skills taken, this translates well to a good number of follow-up opportunities as well as consistently solid damage output.

Access to Great Infantry Skills

Spurn, Close Call, Repel, and Time's Pulse are a few of many fantastic skills that Marth can access thanks to him being infantry. Furthermore, he gets to benefit from ally support skills such as Infantry Rush and Infantry Pulse.

Extremely Cheap to Build for Early Risers

For people who have played early on and collected all copies of Marth in 2017-2018: you're in luck! Having nine free copies of Masked Marth means it only takes a mere 250 Heroic Grails to fully merge him, as opposed to other free unit projects which could take months. Furthermore, the nature of Sealed Falchion allows many players to take a low-budget approach to building Marth and still get great results out of him.

Weaknesses

Mediocre Base Defenses

In exchange for great values in his Attack and Speed and HP, Marth's Defense and Resistance drop at lower base values. Though, this isn't particularly significant in actual play thanks to Sealed Falchion's stat boosts, follow-up prevention effect, as well as relevant skills.

Sword Infantry Competition

There are a LOT of red sword infantry units in Fire Emblem Heroes, and Masked Marth is unfortunately only a drop of blood in this crimson ocean. On the hyper offense side, units like Catherine and Brave Celica offer some harsh competition, whereas Mareeta, Fallen Ike, and Kris are native masters at the art of Speed tanking.  

tfw no pixie dust

This point doesn't really matter for Marth's combat viability (plenty of low BST units are actually great in practice) or players who don't plan on using FEH Pass at all or at least consistently.

However, the fact that Resplendent Lucina exists puts a slight damper on Masked Marth's usage at this time of writing. Specifically, Lucina gets a straight stat boost of +2 to all stats in her otherwise identical stat spread compared to Masked Marth. Additionally, since Lucina can be summoned frequently—especially through Weekly Revival Summoning Events where she gets a rate-up—it may be faster for some players to +10 Lucina with Orbs rather than gathering Heroic Grails for Marth.

Heroic Grail Cost for Late Bloomers

As stated previously, one of the reasons for Masked Marth's positive reputation among veteran players is due to how frequently free copies of him popped up in the first couple of years of the game. Unfortunately, as is the case with other older GHB or TT units, newer players are forced to cough up the full amount of Heroic Grails necessary (3700 total) to fully invest in Masked Marth. This comes to a point where it's practically not worth it to fully invest in him rather than more recent sword infantry units (Catherine in particular takes practically zero merges or investment to get going) unless they're particularly attached to the character.

Weapon Skills

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

Effective against dragons. At the start of every third turn, unit recovers 10 HP.

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

Other Info

Origin
Fire Emblem: Awakening

Banners Featured In

None

Official Hero Artwork