Part 34

Learn Marth's Dancing Blade variations and Ike's powerful aerials and smashes in this Brawl Stars character guide.

Marth

Marth's Dancing Blade is a powerful move that racks up damage and can be used for kills. The first hit is always a red slash. The second hit can be an upward blue slash or a red slash. The third hit can be a red slash, an upward blue slash, or a low-hitting green third move. The final hit is the most impactful, offering a potent upward blue slash finisher, a quick red slash to terminate the combo, or a damaging rain of green downward thrusts. Marth should generally use red attacks for the first two moves, mixing between the faster red third move and the low-hitting green third move based on the situation. The fourth move offers choices: the blue hit is a finisher, the red hit is for quick termination, and the green hit racks up great damage. This move also stalls Marth in the air, making him unpredictable.

Marth cannot wall jump, wall cling, or crawl, and he has only one midair jump. His roll and spot dodge are ordinary.

Marth performs well against opponents with range issues like Mario, Wario, or Captain Falcon. However, he must fear Toon Link due to his projectiles, which give Marth significant trouble.

Ike

Ike is a slow character with huge power and range. As an extreme character, Ike experiences extreme advantages and disadvantages frequently, making his matches a roller coaster. Ike is slightly above average but has uneven matches due to his skewed nature.

On the ground, Ike's jab combo (tapping A three times) is a quick punch, kick, and slash combination that racks up damage well but does not kill. All of Ike's tilts and smashes have killing potential. His up tilt and forward tilt are the fastest options. His down tilt pops opponents into the air but is too slow to be a primary move. Ike's up smash is generally his best option for openings, killing at low percentages with a huge area of effect and less vulnerability than other smashes. His forward smash is too slow and risky, only to be used when the opponent makes a big mistake. Ike's down smash can counter rolls but is risky against knowledgeable opponents, so use it sparingly to keep enemies guessing.

In the air, Ike's neutral and back aerials are key. His neutral aerial hits in a large arc, making it a safe option to push opponents away while dealing good damage. His back aerial is his main aggressive option, being his fastest move with solid killing power. The other three aerials are strong but should be used sparingly due to their slowness and awkward swing patterns.

Ike's best throw is his down throw. At low percentages, it pops the enemy into the air for follow-up attacks, and at higher percentages, it becomes his best killing throw. Ike's large arms make grabs easy. If you shield a slow attack, Ike can profit from using his up smash out of shield.

Ike's specials include Eruption and Counter. Eruption is effective on the ground for stopping opponents coming off the ledge. In the air, it shines due to super armor during the downward swing, allowing Ike to attack opponents with impunity. It hits extremely hard, forcing opponents to gamble on narrow timing windows. Ike's Counter has a lengthy animation, and he can only counter-attack during the middle of it, making him vulnerable to quick attacks or if he misses.

Aether has super armor for nearly the entire attack, making Ike nearly uninterruptible during recovery. It allows Ike to safely leap up and get free damage on opponents.