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Choose Champion Build:
- General Midlane
- Toplane Malzahar
- AD Malzahar
Recommended Items
Spells:
Flash
Ignite
Items
Ability Order
Void Shift (PASSIVE)
Malzahar Passive Ability
Threats & Synergies
Galio
Galio is just a flat counter. His bulwark will completely negate your damage. Beg your toplane to switch lanes.
Introduction
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Here in this guide I'll show you guys the setup for Malzahar that I believe is the most optimal. Please keep in mind this is only a guide and realistic game situations can vary by quite a lot. Now without furthur ado let me introduce you to:
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Malzahar, Consumed by the Void
*Be sure to also check out my Brand guide, Ignition! Overwhelmingly Oppressive DPS
Pros / Cons
Pros- Able to fight tanks and carries alike - Mad dueling skills - Minion game so strong even farmer Nasus can't compete - One of the few champions left with a silence - %health damage - Innate mana sustain |
Cons- Squishy without items - Susceptible to interrupts while channeling Nether Grasp - Quicksilver Sash - empty space, move along empty space, move along empty space, move along empty space, move along |
Some nice damage from Sorcery,
Bounty Hunter
,
Piercing Thoughts
and
Deathfire Touch
and a small bit of sustain from
Feast
and
Vampirism
|
Cunning
Some extra sustain from Secret Stash , damage from Merciless , easier last hitting with Savagery and finally the potential lifesaver Dangerous Game . |
Recommended Runes
These runes are pretty standard for an AP midlaner. They allow for greater survivability through resistances/health, and they allow for a greater damage output in the form of Penetration and flat damage.
Greater Quintessence of ability power We get Greater Quintessence of Ability Power so that we can do more damage early in the game. These stay useful through to mid game, until we grab some more damage items. |
greater mark of hybrid penetration
|
Greater Mark of Hybrid Penetration We get greater mark of hybrid penetration so that we can deal more damage with spells. Also the voidlings scale off your armor penetration as well, resulting in them dealing more damage. This additional armor pen is especially deadly towards melee midlaners, as you can both autoattack them and have voidling attack them. |
Greater Seal of Armor Armor seals have been the standard for a long time, and while that recently changed, I still find myself using flat armor seals for the early durability, which Malzahar needs. The seals will provide a surprising amount of early game protection that Malzahar will need to get through the laning phase. |
Greater Seal of Scaling Health In addition to the armor seals, I also like to pick up on some scaling health seals. These give a cool 120 hitpoints at level 18, which can easily be the difference between life and death. If the enemy midlaner is AD you might want to leave these out for either Greater Seal of Armor or Greater Seal of Scaling Armor. |
Greater Glyph of ability power These glyphs will provide a small punch to your abilities. These runes mostly help with dealing slightly more damage in the early game, and then they will begin to fall off after level 9. Alternatively you can also run Greater Glyph of Scaling Ability Power if you want the power of your runes to carry over into lategame. |
Greater Glyph of Scaling Magic Resist Finally we grab Greater Glyph of Scaling Magic Resist. These will provide a lot of magic resist late game and while they aren't as good early, Spoiler: Click to view
|
Situational Runes
These are runes that can either be picked up by preference, playstyle, or lane matchup. You can interchangeably use these runes or the ones mentioned before.
Greater Quintessence of magic penetration These scale lategame better than Greater Quintessence of Ability Power. I would recommend getting these if you aren't going to be aggressive or hard-pressed early game. |
Greater Glyph of scaling ability power As mentioned before, Greater Glyph of Scaling Ability Power can be used if you want your runes to scale into lategame. With a full set of these, you get an additional 28~ ability power which can be enough to finish off opponents that would escape with a sliver of health. |
Summon voidling (Passive) Every 4 spells that Malzahar casts will summon an uncontrollable voidling. |
Additional Info
Do NOT underestimate voidling damage, especially early game. It is also worth noting that they benefit from 100% of your attack damage, and armorpen. Unfortunately they don't benefit from your lifesteal or attackspeed, so I'm not a huge fan of AD malzahar |
Call of the Void (Q) Malzahar opens up two portals to the Void 400 range from each other. After a short delay, power erupts from them, damaging and silencing all enemies caught between the portals. |
Range: 900 COOLDOWN: 9 COST: 80 / 85 / 90 / 95 / 100 MANA MAGIC DAMAGE: 80 / 135 / 190 / 245 / 300 (+ 80% AP) SILENCE DURATION: 1.4 / 1.8 / 2.2 / 2.6 / 3 |
Additional Info
Generally speaking Call of the Void won't be used much in lane as it is incredibly easy to dodge. However, it is one of the few silences remaining in the game, and has decent damage to go with it. |
Null Zone (W) Malzahar creates a 250-radius zone of negative energy for 5 seconds. Enemies that stand in the zone take magic damage every second equal to a percentage of their maximum health (capped at 120 to monsters and minions). |
Range: 800 COOLDOWN: 14 COST: 90 / 95 / 100 / 105 / 110 MANA MAGIC DAMAGE PER SECOND: 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8% (+1% per 100 AP) of enemies' maximum health MAX DAMAGE: 20 / 25 / 30 / 35 / 40% (+5% per 100 AP) of enemies' maximum health |
Additional Info
Used almost exclusively in combination with Nether Grasp. Can also be used to push minion waves. Keep in mind that Null Zone does percent health magic damage which means it will completely destroy tanks and carries alike. (But especially tanks) |
Malefic Visions (E) Infects target enemy's mind, dealing magic damage every 0.5 seconds for a total of 4 seconds. If the target dies during this time, the target passes Malefic Visions to the closest enemy, refreshing the duration and restoring mana to Malzahar. |
Range: 650 COOLDOWN: 15 / 13 / 11 / 9 / 7 COST: 60 / 75 / 90 / 105 / 120 MANA MAGIC DAMAGE PER HALF-SECOND: 10 / 17.5 / 25 / 32.5 / 40 (+ 10% AP) TOTAL MAGIC DAMAGE: 80 / 140 / 200 / 260 / 320 (+ 80% AP) MANA RESTORED: 10 / 14 / 18 / 22 / 26 |
Additional Info
Your core ability, you will use Malefic Visions in lane mostly as a farming/pushing/zoning tool. Although this can be used to harass it's not recommended since it has a really long cooldown and if the enemy champion doesn't die you don't get the mana regain. |
Nether Grasp (R) Malzahar channels an engulfing void of energy for up to 2.5 seconds, suppressing and dealing magic damage to a target enemy champion every 0.5 seconds while the channel holds. |
Range: 700 C COOLDOWN: 120 / 100 / 80 Cost: 100 Mana MAGIC DAMAGE PER HALF-SECOND: 50 / 80 / 110 (+ 26% AP) TOTAL MAGIC DAMAGE: 250 / 400 / 550 (+ 130% AP) |
Additional Info
Completely lockdown the poor soul of your choice. This spell should always be used with Null Zone because Null Zone has no cast time. In clutch situations you might not be able to cast Call of the Void or Malefic Visions in time. That's fine. Just use them after the channel ends. And always, always be aware of the items the enemy team is building. If you see anyone with Quicksilver Sash switch your focus to someone else. That item is broken. |
Recommended Spells
Flash is great. It provides great utility for chasing, escaping and dealing with ganks, and it lets you blink into the enemy fountain at the last second when you win the game so you can solo the nexus turret! Because of this, Flash is pretty much mandatory solely because of the great amount of utility it provides. |
The biggest selling point of this spell is that you can cast it while channeling your Nether Grasp and not interrupt it! It also has great synergy with Malefic Visions, ticking down your opponent's health with massive damage over time. empty space, move along empty space, move along |
Alternative Spells
Exhaust has become an extremely powerful spell that is excellent for dueling, utility, escapes, etc. Another thing that's great about this spell is that you can use it to setup for Call of the Void, as it'll be harder to dodge with the slow. Additionally, if you're forced to fight someone who is autoattack reliant( Tryndamere, Fiora), you can easily turn the tables on them with Exhaust. However, normally you won't need to get this spell as Exhaust is commonly taken by supports. |
A lot of low mobility mid lane mages have taken to using ghost ( Twisted Fate, Xerath,etc) because it helps compensate for their lack of escapes. As such, it's not exactly unviable to use Ghost, but I personally prefer other spells. empty space, move along empty space, move along empty space, move along empty space, move along empty space, move along empty space, move along empty space, move along |
Teleport provides even more utility, and like flash, is great during the entirety of the game. It's useful early on, when you need to get back into lane quickly after ganking another lane or recalling. From mid to late game, it still keeps its usefulness because it allows you to farm a lane and then join team fights at a moment’s notice. empty space, move along empty space, move along empty space, move along empty space, move along empty space, move along |
Item Sequence
Recommended Items
These are the items that you will be typically picking up, with explanations on why, when, and which you should buy.
Rabadon's Deathcap This item is a flat out damage item that is core on pretty much every single AP carry. After a couple of large AP items like Zhonya's Hourglass the bonuses from Rabadon's Deathcap will cause your AP to spike dramatically. For example, if you have Morellonomicon, Zhonya's Hourglass and Rabadon's Deathcap you'd get a base of 300 AP and an insane extra 90 AP bonus from the Rabadon's Deathcap passive. |
Void Staff Great damage item, especially good if enemy is stacking a lot of magic resist. In addition, defensive ADC items usually pack a good deal of MR ( Mercurial Scimitar, Banshee's Veil) so Void Staff helps quite a lot with bursting down enemy champions. |
Situational Items
These are the items that you will have to choose depending on the situation. I'll be talking more about which items you should choose under certain situations.
Morellonomicon With the new season 5 mana mechanics this item is actually even more viable as mana sustain. It also provides a decent chunk of AP and a whooping 20% CDR. |
Rylai's Crystal Scepter Apart from Nether Grasp, you don't really have any other forms of cc, which makes getting away from sticky targets like Udyr or Riven difficult. In addition, your chase potential is also really low because you're completely limited to your Nether Grasp range and cooldown. With Rylai's Crystal Scepter you can add a bit more utility to your kit, as well as a good chunk of additional AP and health. |
Rod of Ages Considering your true power shines mid-lategame, it's no wonder that Rod of Ages is a great pick for Malzahar. It gives incredible stats for it's price and provides just about everything we need in lavish quantities. |
Has been reborn. Still viable. |
Zhonya's Hourglass You get a decent amount of armor and a ton of AP from Zhonya's Hourglass, but the best thing is the active, which pretty much protects you from every assassin ever. ( Zed, Fizz, Karthus?) It also keeps you alive in teamfights in case you get focused and as an additional bonus it even provides 2.5 seconds flat cooldown reduction ;) |
Liandry's Torment All your abilities except for Call of the Void are damage over time abilities, which means the continuously refresh the duration of the %health burn. In addition this item has great synergy with Null Zone and the addition magic pen is an even greater bonus! |
Athene's Unholy Grail This is a great option for mana sustain, as the passive will basically mean you have more mana regen the less mana you have. In addition the magic resist is useful especially if you're laning against an AP midlaner. The only drawback to this item is that it doesn't give a particularly large amount of AP, which is why some people opt for Rod of Ages or Seraph's Embrace. |
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Difficulty: 8/10
This matchup is a pain, but not unplayable. If you keep your distance from him, he won't be able to damage you unless he uses both Playful / Trickster and Urchin Strike, which will cost him a lot of mana. In the event that he does get in range, quickly use Call of the Void to zone him away by placing it between you if he uses Playful / Trickster or on top of yourself if he uses Urchin Strike. Post-6 don't use Nether Grasp, if he hits you with Chum the Waters, as it'll cancel your Nether Grasp once the shark jumps out.
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Difficulty: 9/10
15% reduced magic damage, shield that protects against magic damage, ball of Nether Grasp cancellation, and ridiculous mobility with Riftwalk. Only reason this isn't a 10/10 is because his early game isn't very strong, and his waveclear is meh, so push your lane and press your early advantage. If possible you might want to switch lanes.
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Difficulty: 8/10
This is an extremely annoying lane. Your voidlings can't block any of her skillshots and she can just throw your voidlings right back at you. Watch our for her Dark Spheres. Her poke really hurts, especially if she follows up with Scatter the Weak, Force of Will, and another Dark Sphere. Press your advantage right after she uses Scatter the Weak. Post-6 her burst is stonger than yours and she has very strong gank followup. You can't even try to outpush her as her waveclear is just as strong as yours. Your only hope of fighting this lane is actually landing Call of the Void, as the silence will completely stop her in her tracks.
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Difficulty: 8/10
Just like Syndra, this lane is just as annoying, except her range is longer but her damage isn't as strong. However, she is much more resilient to poke and ganks because of Prismatic Barrier and 2 forms of cc. In addition, she's also excellent at sniping with Final Spark from across the map. Be wary of where you recall, especially if you're low.
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Difficulty: 11/10
Beg your toplaner to switch lanes.
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Difficulty: 8/10
This lane will most likely end up being a farm lane. You both have similar ranges, but Orianna has much lower cooldowns so I'd recommend not getting into a skirmish, and especially don't try trading autoattacks. Clockwork Windup makes her autoattacks very strong.
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Difficulty: 9/10
A giant paaaaain to deal with. Absurdly long poke and short cooldowns. It'll be difficult to harass him, so your best solution is to push wave and force him to use abilities on the minion wave. Be sure to ping your allies whenever he goes missing post-6, as his ult will devastate other lanes.
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Difficulty: 9/10
Annoyingly long range like ziggs but with much more damage and innate mana sustain. Fortunately his cooldowns are much longer so try to pressure the lane and don't get hit by his abilities. Grab an early Boots if you have to. Also don't forget to ping your allies whenever he leaves lane, as his ult can turn skirmishes around.
Danger: 7/10
Pre-6, you'll only have to dodge his Bandage Toss. After that however, is where things get tricky, as he can just use Curse of the Sad Mummy and disregard any voidling/minions in the way.
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Danger: 7/10
This one is actually quite dangerous post-6, especially since he can Crowstorm over the wall from wraiths. Pre-6 he is a just a joke, but watch out for Reap, as it can cancel your ult and also prevent you from Flashing
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Danger: 10/10
Sneaky little bastard. I got over 2000 nerves in my body and this guy somehow manages to get on all of them. If your lane is pushed back off immediately and go farm wraiths or something. Be sure to ward and watch out for the tell-tale puff of orange smoke in the fog of war. If you're going to ward be sure to ward further down by the river bend so you can see him before he uses Deceive.
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Danger: 8/10
He runs fast and strikes hard so watch out and don't push. Hecarim's not very good at tower diving, but it's possible once he gets Onslaught of Shadows
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Danger: 9/10
A royal pain (hue). Be sure to ward the river, as his ganks are ridiculously painful. Martial Cadence will bonk you on the head after you get Dragon Strike'd which reduces your armor and Demacian Standard gives himself and his allies attackspeed. Post-6 you're pretty much dead if you get caught unless you have flash up.
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Danger: 9/10
arcane smash
This tree will keep you cc'd for days while dishing out tons of damage . Be sure you keep your river warded and keep an eye out of a lumbering tree. Try not to push and only steal his wraiths when you're sure he's not close. Also be careful if your jungler comes for a counter gank post-6 as his ult will reduce damage for himself and his teammates.
You may have noticed that the layout is really similar to his :P
Well I'm not exactly a graphic designer so let's just say mine would have gone badly XD
Anyways thanks to you all for reading! Don't forget to vote or leave a comment! Any constructive criticism is appreciated.
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