Ant Trooper

Ant Troopers are enemies debuting in Super Mario 3D World. They are indigo-colored and have a pair of antennae, a striped body, yellow eyes, red feet, and an overbite.

Super Mario 3D World / Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury
Ant Troopers make their first appearance in Super Mario 3D World, and they reappear in its Nintendo Switch port Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury. They appear uncommonly throughout the game, and are introduced in World 4-1, Ant Trooper Hill. They attack by marching, sometimes emerging from holes or pipes, and keep walking on walls. They cannot be defeated by jumping, but are vulnerable to Ground Pounds, Cat Mario's, Tanooki Mario's and Rosalina's attacks, and projectiles as well. Ant Troopers sometimes carry items on their backs, mainly coins and power-ups.

Big Ant Troopers are an Ant Trooper subspecies. As their name implies, they are larger than common Ant Troopers, and are also rarer. These cannot be defeated by any attack.

Horned Ant Troopers are basically Ant Troopers wearing an orange helmet with a spike over their body. The helmets prevent their heads from being stomped, making them very similar to Spike Tops, but only if the helmet is facing upward; if they are walking along a vertical surface, they become safe to jump on.

Super Mario Maker 2
Ant Troopers appear as course elements in Super Mario Maker 2 in the Super Mario 3D World level style. Big Ant Troopers and Horned Ant Troopers return as well. When given wings, an Ant Trooper flies in a horizontal line, switching directions when it hits a wall. When given a parachute, an Ant Trooper glides to the ground while flailing its feet. Ant Troopers can be defeated with a Super Star or Builder Mario’s hammer. They may also walk on Builder Mario’s crates.

Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker
Ant Troopers return in Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker and its Nintendo Switch and Nintendo 3DS ports, behaving like they do in Super Mario 3D World. While interacting with them using the pointer or touch screen, they do not stop like regular enemies. If pointed at for enough time, they reward the player with one coin.

Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam
In Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam, Ant Troopers appear alongside Horned Ant Troopers in battle in the Twinsy Tropics Dungeon. If Horned Ant Troopers take enough damage, they lose their spike helmets, turning them into normal Ant Troopers and lowering their defense. While in this state, they attack the Mario Bros. by dashing into them instead. The normal Ant troopers are mistakenly called Horned Ant Troopers without helmets.

Mario Tennis Aces
In Mario Tennis Aces, Ant Troopers appear as spectators in Bask Ruins.

Dr. Mario World
Ant Troopers appear in Dr. Mario World as obtainable assistants. When equipped in stage mode, the skill gauge will increase by an extra percentage if four or more viruses are simultaneously eliminated. For example, with a level 3 Ant Trooper (fills skill by 50% more), if a row of four viruses are eliminated with one half-capsule, there will be 5 objects eliminated but the skill gauge will fill by 7.5 points: 5 points from the match and 2.5 extra points (50% of 5 points) through the assistant. In versus mode, they grant doctors a chance to cancel an opponent's doctor's skill that targets the user. They are a clear reward bonus for completing the first area of World 12 and appear in the same world's background once an area has been cleared.

Dr. Mario World

 * Stage mode: "Fills skill meter 30%/40%/50%/60%/70% more when four or more viruses are eliminated at the same time."
 * Versus mode: "If targeted by opponent's skill, grants 30%/35%/40%/45%/50% chance of canceling skill effects."