Malphite is, in my opinion, the best tank/initiator in game. He has great survivability and is able to disable and dirupt unorganised enemy teams with ease. He does very well in AD based due to his naturally high armour and Attack Speed reduction abilities. With the best initiation spell in game, and an unparalleled ability to cause chaos on teams, he is, without a doubt, designed to be a tank.

PROS
1. BEST initiator in game
2. E skill destroys AD carry's DPS
3. Extremely good harrasser early game
4. Excellent ganker
5. AOE knock up with his ultimate
6. Q skill makes him an excellent chaser
7. VERY FUN

CONS
1. Mana starved early game
2. Very AD orientated tank
3. Ultimate CAN be hard to aim
4. Very slow without Q skill

Flash - In my opinion, the only spell you MUST have when playing Malphite. With this spell you will be able to set up some AMAZING ganks combined with your Ulti and will allow you to get in position when you are just out reach of those pesky champions that get away with 10hp. Flash can also be used as an excellent escape ability when used to jump through a wall.

Fortify - I strongly recommend this when playing Mal, with the passive bonus from my masteries, it allows me to have an easier time last hitting minions during the laning phase. When low on life, those annoying Garens might try to tower dive you. All you need to do is hit them with your Ulti when they come near, hit your Q, pop the Fort and run, with the increase attack speed from your turret, the enemy chapion will rage when they die and you escape with 10hp. Only downside is you have to have very good map awarness to see when to hit it and its use falls of during late game.

Viable

Clarity - A good utility spell since this guide does not pick up and mana regen masteries or items. If you like spamming, go ahead and take this.

Ghost - A good escaping and chasing ability. Ghost has many functions and should not be overlooked.

Cleanse - Can be very useful to escape ganks and bad situations. Usfulness declines abit in team since you just hit your Ulti with your E right at the start of fights.

Teleport - Helpful to get back straight into fights or to defend towers. If you get Fort then your tower can defend itself.

Exhaust - Useful to catch people and to run from a gank, but your E and Q are already an inbulit exhaust.

Clairvoyance - Can be useful to watch for ganks and check bushes, leave it more to the supprt chapions. Buy a ward.

Ignite - Useful for last hits on champions, but you mainly want your carries to be fed not you.

The rest of the Summoner spells are not very good for Malphite and I would not recomend them.

Granite Shield - 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 8 seconds, this effect recharges.

An absolutley amazing passive, this allows you to harrass early game with losing little to no life; just dip in, use SS, then run out and wait 8 seconds. The damage taken from the passive is mitagated through armour and magic resist, so its basically having 10% more hp.

Seismic Shard - Using his primal elemental magic, Malphite sends a shard of the earth through the ground at his foe, dealing damage upon impact and stealing movement speed for 4 seconds.

Deals 70/120/170/220/270 (+0.6) magic damage and steals 14/17/20/23/26% Movement Speed from the target for 4 seconds.

Cost 70/75/80/85/90 Mana
Range 625

Good harrassing tool early game, don't spam it to often, it will eat away your mana. The key element to it is the slow effect. SS is different from other slows since it doesn't just slow the enemy, it STEALS their movement speed. So if someone trys to run, just throw the shard and run up to them.


Brutal Strikes - Malphite hits with such excessive force he deals damage to units around his target. He can also call upon his strength to increase the damage he does for a short time.

Passive: Malphite's basic attacks hit units near his target for 30/38/46/54/62% of his Attack Damage.

Active: Malphite's Armor and Attack Damage increase by 20/25/30/35/40% for //// seconds.

Cost55/60/65/70/75 Mana
Range400

Good farming tool and helpful activate. Try activate this at the start of a fight since most people will try take you down with their Ulti at the start, hit GS straight after for max damage. The passive bonus + Sunfire cape allows you to farm minions with ease. The reason I max this last is because I feel that SS and GS are more helpful then the activate due to their utility in teamfights.


Ground Slam - Malphite slams the ground sending out a shockwave that deals base damage plus half his armor as damage and reduces the attack speed of enemies for 4 seconds.

Malphite slams the ground dealing 60/100/140/180/220 (+) magic damage to surrounding enemies, reducing their Attack Speed by 30/35/40/45/50% for 4/4/4/4/4 seconds.
This ability gains damage equal to ////% of Armor.

Cost60/65/70/75/80 Mana
Range350

Your main ability. This can does some INSANE damage early/late game and will allow you to contribute more to the damage perspective in team fights. But the real use of this ability is its after effect; 50% slower attack speed. With 50% less attack speed, you are halfing the damage of most AD champions and this will do ALOT to their team. Spam as much as you can during team fights to destroy their DPS's capability. Combined with Sunfire and Brutal Strikes, this skill allows your to deal massive AoE damage.


Unstoppable Force - Malphite ferociously charges to a location, damaging enemies and knocking them into the air.
Malphite charges towards the target area, dealing 200/300/400 (+1) magic damage and knocking enemies into the air for // seconds.

Cost100/100/100 Mana
Range1000

Your iniation skill and disabling ability, Probably the most fun Ulti to use. This is what makes Malphite, Malphite. Use it to run headlong into team fights or to initiate and engage your enemies with your team. Try to hit at least 2 enemies with this, and DO NOT miss since of its LONG COOLDOWN. At lower levels this ability plus E and Q can get you some very easy kills. If you see someone like Fiddlesticks about to Ulti, use this to stop him deadcast. A very flexible and situational spell with a very cool animation and sound. Probably my favourite spell in game.

Dual Laning - Malphite excels when dual laning. When dual laning try to harrass as much as possible, aim for the squishee one, if you can, try hitting with your E skill also. If you are laning againt 2 tanky characters who have a lifesteal sort of effect (Eg. Xin Zhao- Tireless Warrior), harrassing might not be a good idea, so try to save your mana bit. Try to last hit minions as much as possible and if you see the oppotunity to kill 3-5 minions with E, go for it. Malphite is very item dependant so the early phase is important to set him up.

Solo Laning - If you are solo laning, the same rules apply just try to harrass less and play more defensively. The last thing you want is you having to blue pill, allowing them an easy tower push. Once again try to last hit minions alot.
I throughly recommend buying a ward if they have a stealth character or a ganker.
Mid Game/ Ganking Phase - This usually starts when between level 6-8, basically run around trying to gank as much as possible but still returning to your lane if they try to push it. When ganking, open with your ulti and Q skill and hit the E, if your teammates know what they are doing, there is a 90% the champion will die. This is a probably the most important phase for Malphite as he will be raking in the money from assists and kills. PLAYING/PUSHING SOLO WILL GET YOU KILLED IN THIS PHASE.

Late Game/ Team Fights - This is when people start bunching up together and attempt to push a lane, normally mid. By now you should be a fairly good tank and will be able to take quite abit of punishement. The most important thing about this phase is protecting your carries and letting them last hit champions, you are after all the tank. YOU are the initiator, so if you see an opportunity to start a team fight in your favor, go for it. WARDING BARON IS VITAL THIS LATE IN GAME.

Buffing -
Blue Buff - very good when playing Malphite, it allows you to spam your abilites and gives more cooldown reducion.

Red Buff - This syncronizes quite well with Brutal Strikes passive, allowing you to pull of mass slows, try give this to a ranged carry instead.

IF YOU HAVE A JUNGLER, ASK HIM IF YOU CAN TAKE RED/BLUE BUFF BEFORE TAKING IT. It can ruin his/her cycle if you don't.

This is a new build so I am still developing it...be kind and please tell me what I can do to improve it.