League of Legends - Malzahar Champion Strategy and Item Build Guide

Malzahar

Basic Information

Champion Stats

Lore

Skills

Icon	Description
	Void Shift When he hasn’t recently taken damage or been crowd controlled, Malzahar gains massive damage reduction and crowd control immunity, lingering for a short period after taking damage. INNATE: Damage from lane minions is unaffected.
	Call of the Void (Target Range: 900/400, Cost: 80 Mana, Cooldown: 6)ACTIVE: Malzahar opens two portals to the Void that fire projectiles inward, dealing 70/110/150/190/230 (+70% Ability Power) magic damage and silencing enemies hit for 1/1.25/1.5/1.75/2 second(s).
	Void Swarm (Target Range: 150, Cost: 40/45/50/55/60 Mana, Cooldown: 8)Summon a Voidling lasting 12 seconds to fight nearby enemies.If a Voidling has more than 0 seconds remaining, its first attack on a champion or monster spawns a new Voidling with the same remaining duration.Voidlings: Deal 0 (+0) physical damage plus 10/15/20/25/30 (+20% Ability Power) magic damage (50% damage against monsters)Have 100% bonus Movement Speed towards enemies afflicted by Nether Grasp or Malefic VisionsDeal 300% damage to lane minions affected by Malefic Visions
	Malefic Visions (Target Range: 650, Effect Radius: 650, Cost: 60/70/80/90/100 Mana, Cooldown: 15/13/11/9/7)ACTIVE: Deal 80/115/150/185/220 (+70% Ability Power) magic damage to an enemy target over 4 seconds. Applying Call of the Void or Nether Grasp to the victim during this time refreshes the visions.If the victim is killed, Malzahar gains 0 Mana (2% of max mana) and the visions spread to the nearest enemy.
	Nether Grasp (Target Range: 700, Cost: 100 Mana, Cooldown: 120/100/80)ACTIVE: Malzahar suppresses a target champion for 2.5 seconds and creates a zone of negative energy around it that deals 5/7/9% (+[2% Ability Power]%) of nearby enemies max Health as magic damage per second for 5 seconds.

Strategy

• Always check when Malzahar’s Void Shift (passive) is on – it gives him a shield that blocks the first enemy skill’s damage and crowd control effect (i.e. Stuns, Fears, Slows, Taunts, Roots etc.) which is essential to avoid being disabled by the opposing team’s jungler.
• Do your best to silence multiple enemies by hitting them with (Q) Call of the Void.
• During the laning phase, cast (W) Void Swarm after you’ve casted (E) Malefic Visions or before casting (R) Nether Grasp on an enemy champion, as the Voidlings will deal bonus damage to an opposing laner who was hit with your skills.
• (E) Malefic Visions is a good skill to use on low-health enemy minions, as it jumps to the next closest enemy if the initial target is killed. This increases Malzahar’s laning pressure and farming capability.
• Using (R) Nether Grasp on high priority champions is an excellent tactic, as it renders the opposing user suppressed, leaving that champion unable to move and cast spells so long as Malzahar is tethered to them.
• During the early game, it is wise to ward the blind spots in your lane. This helps Malzahar determine whether the enemy jungler is setting up to gank his or her lane.

Runes & Masteries

COMING SOON

Summoner Spells

Mid Lane
Flash	Ghost

Item Builds

Mid Lane

Starter Items

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

Core Items

Core Items
Morellonomicon	Liandry’s Torment	Rabadon’s Deathcap

Morellonomicon – Morellonomicon gives Malazhar’s skills an additional Grievous Wounds to enemies who are low on health. This synergizes with (E) Malefic Visions and (R) Nether Grasp, as these skills deal damage-over-time.

Liandry’s Torment – Liandry’s Torment further increases Malzahar’s damage output. It gives bonus magic penetration and ability power, and additional damage-over-time to enemies who are slowed.

Rabadon’s Deathcap – A staple mage item, Rabadon’s Deathcap bolsters Malzahar’s skills as this item gives bonus Ability Power.

Full Item Build

Full Item Build
Morellonomicon	Sorcerer’s Shoes	Liandry’s Torment
Zhonya’s Hourglass	Void Staff	Rabadon’s Deathcap

Zhonya’s Hourglass – One of the standard defensive items for mages, Zhonya’s Hourglass active spell puts Malzahar in stasis, protecting him from crowd control skills.

Void Staff – This item increases Malzahar’s damage output, as it makes his skills ignore enemy champions’ magic resistance. With Void Staff, he can effectively eliminate a single target with his (E) Malefic Visions + (W) Void Swarm + (R) Nether Grasp combo.

Situational Items

Situational Items
Banshee’s Veil	Rylai’s Crystal Scepter	Mejai’s Soulstealer

Banshee’s Veil – Another staple defensive item, Banshee’s Veil gives good magic resistance and ability power, as well as another spell shield that can block another enemy skill. When Banshee’s Veil and Void Shift are up, Malzahar needs to be hit with skills twice before he can be disabled.

Rylai’s Crystal Scepter – Purchasing this item adds a slow effect to Malzahar’s skills, which increases (W) Void Swarm’s damage to enemies, as they can stick to and damage them better. Rylai’s Crystal Scepter synergizes with Liandry’s Torment as well, as slowing enemy champions will proc Liandry’s passive, adding more magic damage to opponents hit by Malzahar’s skills.

Mejai’s Soulstealer – If you feel that you’ve mastered Malzahar enough, you can opt to try getting Mejai’s Soulstealer. It gives bonus Ability Power for every kill and assist you acquire, which in turn, further increases your skills’ potency. Be careful, though – you will lose your stacks if you get killed.

Playing Against

• Do your best to hit Malzahar with a damaging skill early to deactivate his Void Shift (passive) and attempting to go all-in on him. This increases your chances of locking him down with your skills.
• Avoid being hit with (Q) Call of the Void, especially when you’re trying to rush him down, as it will leave you silenced and vulnerable to Malzahar’s (R) Nether Grasp, (W) Void Swarm and (E) Malefic Visions.
• During the laning phase, do not stand near allied minions who have (E) Malefic Visions, as it can get passed onto you, damaging you an amplifying the damage of Malzahar’s Voidlings when he casts (W) Void Swarm.
• Malzahar is especially vulnerable when his skills and passive are in cooldown.
• (R) Nether Grasp is a channeling skill which can be canceled with a well-timed disabling skill by your teammate. Buying Quicksliver Sash can also help mitigate (R) Nether Grasp as it cleanses its wearer of enemy crowd control effects.

Hard Counters

• Syndra – Syndra has strong single-target skills such as Dark Sphere and Force of Will that can proc Malzahar’s Void Shift (passive). Once his shield is broken, Syndra can burst him down with her Dark Sphere + Scatter the Weak combo to disable him, then finish him off with Unleashed Power.
• Morgana – Morgana can block Malzahar’s skills with Black Shield. She can also break his Void Shift (passive) and even root him in place with a well-timed Dark Binding, and follow up with Soul Shackles and Tormented Soil if he gets too close. 
• Galio – Galio is strong against mages, thanks to Shield of Durand, which gives him a protective shield against magic damage. He can also break Malzahar’s Void Shift (passive) quickly with his empowered auto attack, Winds of War or Justice Punch.
• Talon – Talon specializes in assassinating single targets. During the laning phase, he can break Malzahar’s Void Shift (passive) with Rake. Once Malzahar’s shield is gone, Talon can burst him down with Noxian Diplomacy and auto attacks.
• Annie – Annie can quickly break Malzahar’s Void Shift (passive) with either Disintegrate or Incinerate. Afterwards, she can burst him down with her Flash + Summon: Tibbers + Incinerate combo.

Strategy Video

COMING SOON

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