Introduction

This guide will explain in detail the MU between Peach and Marth and how it currently works at the highest level of play. I focus on the neutral game, defensive play, offensive play, and edgeguarding. Keep in mind throughout this guide that some things I say that are “wrong” can be good if used wisely, and anything that’s “good” can be bad if it’s predictable.

Neutral

The neutral game in this MU is VERY different, depending on one simple factor: if Peach is holding a turnip in her hands. The main goal for Peach in this MU is to have a turnip. For Marth, it all comes down to not letting her get one often.

This MU is so much about the neutral, one of the MUs with the most important neutral game in the entire game I would say, so this is the part you really should focus on.

What are the most common mistakes from Peach players in the neutral game?

Mistake #1 – Pulling turnips at the wrong times
From Peach’s point of view, you have to be extremely careful of when to pull your turnips. Pulling a turnip puts you in a lot of lag, and if you try to pull a turnip when Marth is in the range where he can REACT to you pulling the turnip, then he can punish you. Reaction is not everything though – you simply have to be careful and pull turnips when Marth can’t reach you at all.

(1m46s)

This clip is showing exactly what I’m talking about. Ken may not have gotten a huge punish, but the important part is that he got an entire opening just because MacD pulled a turnip when Marth was too close. Keep this lesson in mind, and be very careful pulling turnips.

Mistake #2 – Relying on Peach’s dash attack
Peach’s dash attack is great, don’t get me wrong, but this move cannot be spammed in the MU, especially if the Marth has a great dash dance game. You should use dash attack at a range close enough that it’s hard for Marth to know if you’re going to dash attack, FC nair, or grab.

This mixup is powerful because Marth beats dash attack with shield and with good dash dance spacing, but FC nair gives you an advantage if Marth shields in many cases because Marth’s shield is easy to shield poke. Grab also straight out beats shield in this situation.

(2m4s)

Here it is very easy to see why dash attack should not be spammed with Peach. Marth has such a long dash, if you place the dash attack anywhere near where Marth’s current location, you can end up in a lot of trouble. Be very careful to not throw it out if you are very far away from Marth while he is grounded.

Mistake #3 – Floating at fulljump height trying to approach Marth
Floating at a high height is dangerous because Marth’s moves are both faster and have better range than Peach’s. Do NOT stay in the air too much. At the very least, throw a turnip in front of you, but in general, don’t float at a high height at all. Good Marths will destroy you for it.

What should Peach be doing instead?

There are lots of things you can do instead of pulling turnips when you don’t have the time for it. Again, keep in mind that some things that are commonly viewed as “wrong” can also be good if you use them at the right moment.

Peach’s neutral game while not holding a turnip is way trickier, but is very important to learn since it will be something you have to deal with a lot.

Space bairs!

(6m3s)

The tactic shown in the video above is extremely good against Marth. Compare this with floating TOWARDS Marth where he is the one defending himself with more range. It actually is very tricky for Marth to land a hit against this tactic, since Peach’s bair has a great hitbox, the move is pretty fast, and Peach also has decent mobility in the air.

What is also shown in this clip is the fact that if you do hit Marth when he’s at around 40%, he flies far enough that you can pull a turnip (though he can prevent this with CC).

Remember, the entire plan is to get the turnip. Bair protects you very well, and you can buy enough time to pull a turnip, even at early %s.

Use dash attacks wisely!

Yes, I did state that relying on dash attack is one of the most common mistakes with Peach. However, I do think you have to mix it up with dash attacks. Here are some things to keep in mind while doing it.

1. You are not the one that has the advantage in the neutral. It is not an option to throw out dash attack without a purpose. The risk reward is not in your favor.
2. Peach is not a very fast character, so if you wanna use dash attack when Marth is grounded, you should do it at a very close range so he can’t possibly react with a shield.
3. If you only space bairs you will be predictable – switching to offense sometimes by mixing in dash attacks and low FC nair can really catch Marth off guard. This is especially effective if you do it right after he dashes AWAY from you, because if he continues the dash dance, he will soon enough be close to you.
4. If you start landing dash attacks, there is a high chance that the Marth will start looking out for them. This can buy you more space, which helps you achieve your goal of pulling a turnip.

What should I be doing while holding a turnip?

This is actually super important. I recently discovered a lot about this MU and how important it is to not over-extend once you’re holding a turnip.

Throw GROUNDED turnips from a defensive point of view!

(12m11s)

As we can see here, when Peach is throwing a turnip from the ground, she has a lot of options. Marth is trying to get around the turnip and safely punish Peach. So I will explain a few pretty common outcomes from a scenaio like this.

1: Marth tries to shield the turnip and afterwards WD towards Peach and F-smash

If Marth is doing this and the distance from Peach and Marth is close to max range (in other words, the turnip hits Marth’s shield right before it hits the ground) Peach will ALWAYS have enough time to turn around and bair (at least in my experience vs severall of good Marths).

2: Marth stays in shield, WD in place, or WD slightly forward
The turnip is gonna bounce on the shield and might be a potential threat afterwards, shown here:

(9m5s)

If Marth doesn’t move away from his shield (by WD or roll, for example), the turnip bounce is always gonna be a threat.

3: Marth rolls away or WD backwards
Peach is allowed to pull another turnip, which at least is okay for her, since that’s the tool she wants to use in neutral.

Should I always throw grounded turnips from a defensive point of view?

As with most things in Smash, nothing is “always the best” or “always bad”. I do think the grounded turnips are very good to keep Marth away from Peach, and as explained above she has tools afterwards, and she is a living wall defending herself.

However, every now and then, you should jump towards Marth with a short hop turnip throw into FC nair, or fulljump turnip throw into FC fair. I would mostly recommend this kind of thing when Marth is close to the edge. This is because his dash dance game becomes weaker as he has less room to work with.