League of Legends - Malphite Champion Strategy and Item Build Guide

Malphite

Basic Information

Champion Stats

Lore

Skills

Icon	Description
	Granite Shield INNATE: Malphite is shielded by a layer of rock which absorbs damage up to 10% of his maximum Health. If Malphite has not been hit for 10 seconds, this effect recharges.
	Seismic Shard (Target Range: 625, Cost: 70/75/80/85/90 Mana, Cooldown: 8)ACTIVE: Deals 70/120/170/220/270 (+60% Ability Power) magic damage and steals 14/17/20/23/26% Movement Speed from the target for 4 seconds.
	Brutal Strikes (Effect Radius: 225, Cost: 25 Mana, Cooldown: 12)PASSIVE: Malphite’s armor is increased by 10/15/20/25/30 percent armor.ACTIVE: Basic attacks deal an additional 15/30/45/60/75 (+0) (+10% Ability Power) physical damage to the target and nearby enemies. Lasts 6 seconds.Brutal Strikes’s passive armor is now tripled while Granite Shield is active
	Ground Slam (Effect Radius: 200, Cost: 50/55/60/65/70 Mana, Cooldown: 7)ACTIVE: Malphite slams the ground dealing 60/95/130/165/200 (+30% Armor) (+20% Ability Power) magic damage to surrounding enemies, reducing their Attack Speed by 30/35/40/45/50% for 3 seconds.This ability gains damage equal to 30% of Malphite’s Armor.
	Unstoppable Force (Target Range: 1000, Effect Radius: 300, Speed: 1835 (+Bonus Movement Speed), Cost: 100 Mana, Cooldown: 130/115/100)ACTIVE: Malphite charges to target area. Upon his arrival he deals 200/300/400 (+100% Ability Power) magic damage to nearby enemies and knocks them into the air for 1.5 seconds.

Strategy

• Malphite is a tank that excels in initiating team fights and soaking damage when he is in the fray while his team deals damage. But in order to maximize his tanky role, you have to purchase items that boost Malphite’s health such as Sunfire Cape, Abyssal Mask, and Randuin’s Omen to increase the shield Malphite gains with his Granite Shield (passive).
• Most of Malphite’s skills scale with his armor, so it is essential to buy items such as Gargoyle Stoneplate and Frozen Heart to increase his effectiveness during clashes.
• Malphite’s (R) Unstoppable Force is an excellent skill to use for initiating ganks and team fights. When using his ultimate, do your best to hit the opposing team’s carries and squishy champions to increase your team’s chances of winning clashes.
• Malphite’s skills are designed to hamper enemy carries – (Q) Seismic Shard decreases the movement speed of a single target, while his (E) Ground Slam decreases the attack speed of enemies that are hit around Malphite. Try to prioritize the enemy carries with these skills alongside with your (R) Unstoppable Force to potentially kill them and win clashes and ganks.
• During the laning phase, you can tank a bit more damage against your enemy laner due to your Granite Shield (passive). However, when your shield runs out, you can get behind a safe distance and wait for Granite Shield (passive) to reactivate.

Runes & Masteries

COMING SOON

Summoner Spells

Top Lane
Teleport	Flash

Item Builds

Top Lane

Starter Items 1

Starter Items 1
Doran’s Shield	Total Biscuit of Rejuvenation	Warding Totem

Doran’s Shield – This item is a standard for most top laners who go the tank route. It gives decent early game health bonus, health regen and also assists in Creep Score. This is a good starting item for Malphite, as it helps his Granite Shield (passive) during the laning phase.

Starter Items 2

Starter Items 2
Doran’s Ring	Total Biscuit of Rejuvenation x2	Warding Totem

Doran’s Ring – For those who want to have an aggressive laning phase, you can opt to buy Doran’s Ring. This item provides mana regeneration, Ability Power and health, things that Malphite needs to hang with his opposing laner during the early game.

Early Items
		Ninja Tabi
Sunfire Cape	Gargoyle Stoneplate	Boots of Speed

Early Items

Sunfire Cape – Sunfire Cape greatly increases Malphite’s damage output during clashes and farming capabilities. This item provides bonus health and armor, as well as give him a damage aura whenever he is near enemy champions, minions or monsters. Malphite needs to farm up his items quickly, and investing in Sunfire Cape helps him get his core items faster.

Gargoyle Stoneplate – Gargoyle Stoneplate bolsters Malphite’s ability to tank damage. This item provides bonus armor and magic resistance, while its passive further increases its wearer’s armor and magic resistance for every enemy champion near him. Also, its active spell increases its wearer’s current and maximum health by 40%. These bonuses are great for Malphite, as he thrives when he is in the middle of team fights and soaking damage for his team.

Ninja Tabi – This item provides armor and movement speed for Malphite, making him more tanky and mobile. Ninja Tabi is also a good item to get early game when your enemy top laner relies on dealing Attack Damage.

Core Items

Core Items
Sunfire Cape	Gargoyle Stoneplate	Ninja Tabi
Abyssal Mask	Dead Man’s Plate	Frozen Heart

Abyssal Mask – This item synergizes with Malphite’s skills pretty well, since most of his skills deal magic damage. Abyssal Mask decreases enemy champion’s magic resistance when Malphite is close to them, which is useful especially when Malphite’s team decides to incite team fights.

Dead Man’s Plate – This item provides armor and health bonuses for Malphite. Its passive also gives Malphite additional movement speed and a slow debuff for his auto attack which further increases his ability to take out priority targets.

Frozen Heart – Frozen Heart provides armor and mana bonuses for Malphite, which he needs since his skills costs a lot of mana. Its item’s passive also decreases the enemy team’s Attack Speed when they are around Malphite.

Situational Items

Situational Items
Thornmail	Iceborn Gauntlet	Mercury Treads
Rod of Ages

Thornmail – For enemy teams whose damage rely on Physical Attack Damage, Thornmail is a good option to counter them. Thornmail reflects magic damage equal to 25 (+ 10% bonus armor) to enemy champions and minions who deal basic attack damage to its wearer, while also inflicting Grievous Wounds on the attacker for 1 second. Malphite’s skills also benefit from Thornmail, as it gives significant armor bonuses.

Iceborn Gauntlet – This item provides further single-target crowd control and damage for Malphite. Its passive gives Malphite another slow debuff that enables him to stick close to the enemy champion and deal more damage. Its item build also benefits Malphite as it gives bonus mana, armor and cooldown reduction.

Mercury Treads –  For enemy teams that rely on dealing magic damage and crowd control, Mercury Treads is a viable option. It provides magic resistance and a mitigates the effectiveness of spells.

Rod of Ages – Rod of Ages is a viable option for  as it gives Ability Power, as well as bonus health and mana. It also increases Malphite’s damaging skills, but you have to let this item get its stacks to become more potent.

Playing Against

• His core items are typically on the more expensive side, which is why he needs to get good a Creep Score during his laning phase. It is best to coordinate with your team and provide ganks in his lane to thwart his farm.
• Champions who deal magic damage are good counters against Malphite in the lane, as he typically builds armor and health items first.
• Be wary of  Unstoppable Force. It is best to spread out during clashes or when initiating so that his ultimate won’t disable your entire team.
• It is advisable for your team’s Marksmen to get items that inflict % health damage and shred armor such as Blade of the Ruined King, Last Whisper, Lord Dominik’s Regards and Mortal Reminder.
• If an enemy Malphite initiates into your team, do your best to disperse and focus your damage on his team’s carries.

Hard Counter

Rumble – Rumble can bully Malphite out of the lane, as his skills such as Flamespitter, Electro Harpoon and his passive, Junkyard Titan, deals magic damage. This greatly hinders him to farm and get his core items early.

Vladimir – Similar to Rumble, Vladimir’s skills all deal magic damage. He can bully any champions with no mobility out of his lane, depriving him of farm and Creep Score. If Malphite chooses to duel with Vladimir, Vlad’s skills can severely out-sustain Malphite – Vlad’s Transfusion deals magic damage and heals Vlad in return; Sanguine Pool renders him invulnerable to Malphite’s skills for a short duration while also dealing magic damage.

Shen – Shen is a tanky champion that can block and intercept Malphite during the laning phase and team fights. His skills also makes him hard to damage – his Twilight Assault lets him deal magic damage; Spirit’s Refuge allows him to dodge Malphite’s auto attacks for 2 seconds. Shadow Dash will render Malphite taunted and focus his auto attacks on Shen if Malphite gets hit with Shadow Dash in clashes. This mitigates Malphites ability to soak and deal damage to the enemy team.

Renekton – Renekton is a bruiser that specializes in getting in close to his enemy laner and dealing sustained Attack Damage. Good Renekton players are aware that Malphite’s passive has a relatively long cooldown, and can take advantage to deal massive damage when it is down using Renekton’s Slice and Dice + Ruthless Predator + Cull the Meek combo.

Trundle – Trundle excels in weakening his enemy laner’s ability to dish out damage during the laning phase. Trundle’s Chomp grants him bonus attack damage for 8 seconds and reduces his target’s attack damage by half that amount for the same duration. Frozen Domain grants Trundle bonus attack speed, bonus movement speed, and 25% increased health restoration from all sources. His ultimate, Subjugate, drains the life force out of the target enemy champion, dealing magic damage, healing for the premitigation damage dealt and stealing 40% of their armor and magic resistance.

Darius – Darius’ Apprehend provides him passive armor penetration which often spells trouble for the Shard of the Monolith because this leaves him more susceptible to Attack Damage. Darius’ Decimate also heals him for a percentage of his health, so long as he hits them with his blade and not the hilt. Malphite often struggles when his lane opponent has consistent damage, as he cannot replenish his health that quickly and without his items.

Strategy video

COMING SOON

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