Malzahar Build Guide by Embracing

Changelog

3/23: Updated items runes and masteries according to current meta

Introduction

This is my first build created :)
Malzahar is my current favorite caster. His abilities require skills to use properly, so if you lose in your first match with this build, try practicing more.

Malzahar is widely played in high-elo and competitive tournament play. He has a group silence, group HP% AoE, a channel ultimate that has GREAT synergy with other champs such as Blitzcrank, Alistar, etc.

Why don't you try him out?
:)

Summary

"Generations ago, the man now known as Malzahar dwelled in one of the great cities of the Shurima Desert. He was a seer, a man born with the gift of prophecy. However, something in his dreams began to call to him - a hidden place to the east, known in ancient texts as Icathia. Few believed such a place even still existed, but the dreams compelled Malzahar to go. Though his journey was perilous, he found that for which he sought, a ruined city of ancient alien geometry and giant decaying idols of dark and horrific gods. As he explored, he became filled with the power and glory of the Voidborn, shedding his mortality and becoming one with the timeless nature of the place. Malzahar's visions of the future are now images of a day when the Voidborn will once again be free upon Valoran, and all will tremble with fear before them. He has joined the League of Legends to harness its power for his masters.

The power of the Void is nigh and Malzahar's words bring madness."

Pros / Cons

So... Why play Malzahar?

Pros
- Great Farmer
- Great Solo
- Great Nuking
- Group Silence
- DoT
- Single Target and Multi-Target Raping.
- He floats.
- Can't touch him.

Cons
- Squishy
- Can run out of mana quickly if used wrongly.
- No escaping mechanism
- Slow

Runes

Masteries

For masteries, I would go a standard 9/0/21 caster setup, including improved flash, spell penetration, and CDR. There would be no point in allocating points into Attack, as you aren't an AD DPS. You could try a 0/21/9 build that provides more survivability, but I don't recommend it. A caster should have what a caster haves imo.

There's been a lot of debate on whether allocating points on Good Hands was better or allocating them to Perseverence was better. I chose Good Hands because they gave more bonuses with three points than Perseverence did.

Summoner Spells

Skill Sequence

Q > E > E > W > E > R > Q > E > E > Q > W > Q > Q > W > W > R > W > W

Adding a point in Call of the Void at level one can be great for level one teamfights and for charging your passive voidling counters. You really don't need to use any abilities at level one, but if you feel pressured in lane, feel free to use Call of the Void to get some dominance over the lane. Make sure to charge up 3 of your passive counters in the summoning pool before you go off to a lane. The reason why I don't add Malefic Visions first is because of the control of the lane. Waiting until level two can help a lot, as you can get some harass on the enemy.
Place Malefic Visions on enemy, and with your voidling, it HURTS.


After one point in Call of the Void, start adding points into Malefic Visions. This will be your primary harassing / farming tool all game. This ability is overall great to max first because it costs little mana, lets you regain lost mana, and is great for farming and pushing, which gives you lane dominance.

At level 4, add a point into Null Zone to be able to pull of your combo with your ulti.

When you reach level 6, you start to shine. You can use a spell combo that will be explained in the Tips and Tricks section.

Near mid game / late game, your Q becomes your major damage dealing / harass tool. With the correct items, your Call of the Void will start doing crazy damage and will help out a LOT with its silence during teamfights.

I would prefer Call of the Void more than Null Zone because of the shorter CD and nice harass/poke it gives. The longer duration of silence also helps a lot against casters.

It all depends on you. If you want more damage into your Null Zone + Nether Grasp combination, focus on Null Zone more.

I would recommend advanced players who have good team synergy max Null Zone before Call of the Void because the combo helps a lot.

Items

I start out with a Sapphire Crystal and two health potions in this build.
This build is mainly focused on rushing a Catalyst the Protector. I strongly recommend you follow build two if you cannot rush one first trip back.
I chose these items for Malzahar because of the great effect on him.
The main focus of this build is to be able to do consistent damage late game.
You might lack some damage at the point where you get your Banshee's Veil before Void Staff, but it's better for survivability. Just play safe. :)

First grab a Sapphire Crystal and two health potions
Rushing a Catalyst the Protector provides great laning capabilities for Malzahar. The passive of it lets Malzahar to lane longer. The extra HP and Mana improves Malzahar's survivability.

Getting a pair of Sorceror's Shoes then provides better harassing and farming.

Having a Catalyst the Protector already, I wouldn't get a Banshee's Veil just yet. I would get some more AP, as Malzahar needs to do more nuking. I would grab a Rabadon's Deathcap.

After the Rabadon's Deathcap, I would then complete the Banshee's Veil.


Around mid~late game, the enemies would start to get bulkier. Grabbing a Void Staff for some tank shredding would help a lot.

This build is what I recently found out about. I got inspiration from Reginald's guide on Solomid.net, please check it out as it is way more detailed. As expected from a high elo player. :)
I start out at the pool with a Boots of Speed and three health potions.
Basically the main focus of this build is to get three Doran's Rings for the mana regen, survivability, and AP you need. This guide allows you to not be forced to rush a Catalyst the Protector and get the survivability you need, because if you go with build one, and cannot get a Catalyst the Protector when going back to base, your laning will be affected a lot.

I always use this build in ranked play, because I can't be 100% to be able to stay in lane and farm up for a Catalyst the Protector. If I'm forced to back, I'll buy Doran's Rings, Pots, and Wards.

This build is recommended for more aggressive play, as you will deal way more damage, but keep watch on your mana, because it will run out quickly.

The last item is situational.
If you have a good team composition and want more sustain in a teamfight, go for a Will of the Ancients or Rylai's Crystal Scepter.
If your team needs more damage, go for a Deathfire Grasp.
If you want more utility, go for a Morello's Evil Tome.
I've seen many Malzahar's get a Tear of the Goddess instead of a Catalyst the Protector.
Malzahar doesn't need more mana if used correctly. With a Tear of the Goddess, he remains squishy and you get more mana. With a Catalyst the Protector, you could get more health, and even get more mana. Also, people forget about Catalyst the Protector's passive. When you level up, you can regain health and mana. This allows you to lane longer.
Some people say "Oh, you don't need hp if you're doing good in lane." That's total ********. One gank and you're screwed, some harass and you're screwed. Don't underestimate the enemy laner, as that is what cause people to fail.
Other people say "Oh I build Malzahar a glass cannon and I want the AP." NONONONONO, glass cannons are fail guides, just simply because you can't win a 1v1 even if fed. And seriously, I really really really REALLY hate Archangel's Staff. It's a horrible item on any champion who doesn't NEED it.

To sum it up, Catalyst the Protector provides more lane sustain than Tear of the Goddess. If you insist on getting it, get it after / before a Catalyst the Protector. You will deal less damage mid game, but you'll have higher damage output late game.
I strongly disagree with this method, and to prove my point, no one from high elo ever does this. But if you insist on doing it, go for it.

Laning

I usually take a solo mid lane. If someone who needs it more is on your team (for example, Karthus), I would take a solo top lane, which is of course both teams have junglers.
You should have passive stacks charged up in base. The most important thing of laning is to get farms. Basically just last hit minions at level one. If you feel pressured, for example, if you were laning against a Caitlyn that harassed you hard, use Call of the Void and get your voidling out to control some of the lane.
Besides that, if you had a decent lane and didn't use Call of the Void, last hit until level two, and you can use your Malefic Visions on the enemy champion, assuming you followed the skill sequence. Your voidling will follow the Malefic Visions on the enemy champion, and that will deny him while also doing some nice damage early game.
Focus on farming! It's the main goal of the laning phase. What I do with Malzahar is to get the most farmed each game, because he just simply is so boss at doing that.
Remember! Don't overpush with Malefic Visions, which also means don't spam it. You don't want to overextend and let a jungler gank you, or to deny yourself from experience and gold.
Just farm and harass. Simple. :)

Teamfights

In a teamfight late game, always appear after an ally initiates, or use your ulti to initiate onto an outpositoned carry. Never get targeted or focused, as you are a squishy caster. You should constantly try to harass with your Q, W, and E. Always focus the squishy on their side. By using your abilties a couple of times, the enemy squishy would be close to dying. By using Malefic Visions and Ignite, you can get a kill.
ALWAYS position yourself in a good position before you initiate with your ultimate, because if you don't position yourself well, you WILL die if the enemies are smart.

DON'T MISS YOUR Call of the Void. It has a semi-long CD time. Use it on as many champions as possible, preferably casters. If they have dangerous channel champions like Katarina or Nunu, save your Call of the Void for when they ultimate.

Remember, in a teamfight, YOU are the squishy. Don't get focused in teamfights, lose, and blame the loss on my build. The purpose of a squishy AP Caster is to kill out the carry.
I have seen many people fail with casters, the reason being overextending. You aren't a tank or a tanky dps so don't charge in. Simple as that.

Tips and Tricks

You can use a spell combo that does massive damage, and usually will grab you a kill if well used.
Call of the Void, Malefic Visions, Null Zone, Nether Grasp, Ignite / Flash + Ignite

AKA

Q, E, W, R, D / F + D
This spell combo will deal crazy nukes and will shred your enemy into pieces.


OR

Call of the Void, Malefic Visions, Ghost, Null Zone, Nether Grasp.

AKA

Q, E, D, W, R


Remember not to waste the ultimate unless you are sure you can land a kill!
Don't ever facecheck brushes if the enemies are MIA. Use Call of the Void to check brushes.
Note that one of the tips of Call of the Void has to be in an area to give vision. By tips I mean edges; the place the void pulse comes from.

Land your Null Zone on as many enemies as possible. You want them to stay in there as long as possible. You can also use it to deny enemies from reaching their minions.

Spam your skills to get your voidling out when attacking a turret. Voidlings focus the only target they can find in an area, and that would be a turret if the minions all got farmed first. Voidlings help push the turret A LOT.

Landing Malefic Visions on two almost dead enemies next to each other can result in a doublekill for you, as it bounces from champion to champion too.

Closing Statements

Thanks to Searz for the awesome guide format! You can find it here.

Please give me some tips and reminders for this guide. I really hope to get some feedback to change some things and add some stuff in my guide. Hope this helped you all be a better player. See you all on the Fields of Justice.
:D
Thanks.