Matchup Summary (Win Condition and Game Plan)
The dangerous version of the matchup is Dark Pit entering Marth’s tipper lane at the same height over and over, letting fair, bair, dtilt, and up tilt push him to the ledge first. Marth’s kill power spikes hard when the tip lands, and if Dark Pit keeps trying to brute-force the same approach, Dolphin Slash and counter become much stronger reversal tools as well.
Even so, Marth is much less comfortable once the sword tip misses and the fight collapses into closer space or offstage pressure. The frame table shows that Jab 1, Jab 2, Forward Tilt, Up Tilt, Dash Attack, every smash attack, Neutral B, and Side B all lose cleanly to Up Smash (6f), OOS Nair (7f), or Grab (10f). Down Tilt, Neutral Air, Forward Air, Back Air, and Up Air are the thinner shield-punish spots, so Dark Pit is usually better off covering the drift-out or landing instead of forcing an immediate button there.
The stable win condition is to use arrows to interrupt Marth’s walk-based spacing, make him commit to shield or jump first, and then enter with nair, fair, or bair. Once Dark Pit launches him, uair strings, landing traps, and offstage pressure matter more than trying to win repeated center-stage spacing checks, because Marth’s recovery options get much narrower once he is forced below or away from the ledge.
Kills are more reliable through ledge bair, Up Smash, Electroshock Arm, and offstage fair than through extended tipper duels in the middle of the stage. Dark Pit should keep forcing Marth to re-create spacing from worse positions rather than letting him reset to clean sword range for free.
Full Move Frame Quick Reference
| Opponent Move | Startup | On Shield | Dark Pit OOS Candidate Moves | Barely Missed Moves |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jab 1 | 5 | -16/-14 |
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| Jab 2 | 4 | -19/-18 |
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| Forward Tilt | 8 | -16/-14 |
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| Up Tilt | 6 | -21/-18 |
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| Down Tilt | 7 | -9/-6 |
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| Dash Attack | 13 | -22/-20 |
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| Forward Smash | 10 | -32/-29 |
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| Up Smash | 13 | -41/-36 |
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| Down Smash | 6/21 | -43/-41/-26/-23 |
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| Neutral Air | 6/15 | -5/-4/-4/-3 |
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| Forward Air | 6 | -6/-5 |
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| Back Air | 7 | -6/-5 |
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| Up Air | 5 | -4/-3 |
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| Down Air | 9/11 | -9/-9/-9 |
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| Neutral B | 19—79 | -23 to Shieldbreak |
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| Side B | 9 | -26/-16 |
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| Up B | 5 | — | ||
| Down B | 6 (Start of Counter) | — | ||
| Grab | 6 | — | ||
| Dash Grab | 9 | — | ||
| Pivot Grab | 10 | — |
Win Condition Checklist
- Use arrows to stop Marth’s walk spacing and force shield or jump first, then enter with nair, fair, or bair.
- After blocking Jab 1, Jab 2, Forward Tilt, Up Tilt, Dash Attack, any smash attack, Neutral B, or Side B, punish with Up Smash, OOS Nair, or Grab.
- Treat Down Tilt, Neutral Air, Forward Air, Back Air, and Up Air as spacing resets, and cover the drift-out or landing instead of forcing a shield punish.
- Once Marth is airborne, keep the landing trap and edgeguard going so he cannot rebuild clean tipper spacing.
- Finish stocks through ledge bair, Up Smash, Electroshock Arm, and offstage fair rather than taking repeated center-stage range battles.
Actions to Avoid
- Approaching from the same height every time and feeding Marth’s fair, bair, and dtilt tipper lanes.
- Swinging OOS after every blocked dtilt or fair and giving Marth a free whiff-punish sequence.
- Letting the first hit reset all the way back to center stage and handing Marth perfect sword spacing again.
- Passing on edgeguard chances and failing to pressure Marth’s narrower horizontal recovery.
- Fishing too hard for the kill and losing neutral to Dolphin Slash or counter reversals.