Counter (Fire Emblem)

Marth's Counter in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

Counter is the down special move used by all but one of the Fire Emblem characters in the Super Smash Bros. series, used by Marth since Super Smash Bros. Melee, Roy in Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U, Ike since Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and Lucina in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U. The move is based on the combat of the Fire Emblem series; when one unit attacks another unit, the opposing unit counterattacks afterward. When used, each character enters a readied stance and automatically counterattacks whenever attacked, reflecting all damage and knockback back onto the opponent.

In Super Smash Bros. Melee, Roy's Counter deals more damage (1.5 times the damage the attack would have dealt), while Marth's is faster and lasts longer but only deals a set 7% damage no matter the attack. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, both Marth's and Ike's Counters deal a multiplier of the damage of the opponent's attack (1.1 times and 1.2 times, respectively). Ike's Counter deals greater damage and has a greater range, but like Roy's is slower than Marth's Counter. In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U, Marth and Ike retain the properties of their Counters from the previous game, while Lucina's Counter operates identically to Marth's. Roy's Counter also retains its properties from Super Smash Bros. Melee, though the multiplier has been decreased to 1.35 times the damage. Corrin his own variant of this move, known as Counter Surge.

In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U, Counter is given two custom variants for each character with the exception of Roy, who has no custom special moves; Marth and Lucina share the same variants, while Ike is given his own variants. The first variant for Marth and Lucina is Easy Counter, which has a longer window for counterattacking but deals less damage. Their second is Iai Counter (known as Rush Counter in the PAL release), which deals a faster attack that sends the opponent flying behind the player, but does not deal as much damage. Ike's first variant is Paralyzing Counter, in which the attack stuns enemies rather than damaging them. His second variant is Smash Counter, which is slower but deals increased damage and knockback.