Malzahar is a really good champion. He is very powerful that is quite squishy (most mages are). It is awesome to see yourself getting these double kills because of his Malefic Visions, killing hundreds of minions, or destroying teams with an awesome ult. As you can see by his stats, he is very AP heavy that can deal tons of damage to his enemies. I have seen Malzahar used in ranked play and he is very deadly if played correctly. Make sure you read the entire build before voting because there is some pretty good information in here.

For runes I get magic pen marks , AP per level seals , CD per level , and AP per level quints .

The rune setup that I have gives Malzahar a bit of everything that he needs in terms of killing his enemies. Since Malzahar has long cooldowns, he needs to have some CDR runes. The other runes are there to help with penetrating his enemies magic resist.

Pretty much the whole mastery tree allows Malzahar to gain some CDR and the extra random stuff to get extra mana, base movement speed, more xp, buff strengths, and help out your summoner spell Flash.

- Meki Pendant -
I start with Meki Pendant to start building Tear of the Goddess as soon as possible.

- Boots of Speed - Tear of the Goddess -
Next I set out to get Boots of Speed. The best way to know when to go back to get these items is if you are doing well in your lane. If you can hold your lane quite well then you should wait until you have enough for Boots of Speed and Tear of the Goddess (Boots of Speed + Tear of the Goddess = 955) because you will then not have to waste extra time visiting the shop twice for fear of losing a tower and other things etc... In most cases you will be able to wait for the gold for both items.

- Sorcerer's Shoes -
Next I grab Sorcerer's Shoes. I prefer these boots for most of my casters due to the fact that it gives Magic pen. Magic pen is essential for doing massive amounts of damage to the enemy.

- Archangel's Staff -
This item is great due to the mana that it provides. The initial AP boost that it gives isn't very much, but the extra AP boost that the passive provides (3% of your max mana) is what counts. Getting this item early is important because it stacks on itself due to the extra passive ability that gives 4 extra max mana every time Malzahar uses and ability (caps at 1000).

- Rabadon's Deathcap -
This item is essential for all AP casters because of the awesome amount of AP and bonus AP that it provides. Rabadon's Deathcap did recently get nerfed but still gives a great AP bonus.

- Banshee's Veil -
By the time that you will be able to pick up Banshee's Veil, the game should be close to over. This item is great for those champions that hit hard with their skills. This protective "bubble" gives every champion that extra shield to the next incoming skill. Whether it be Karthus' Requiem, or it is Jax's Leap Strike, the bubble is essential for protecting those hard hitting attacks.

- Void Staff -
Void Staff is pretty self explanatory. It provides magic pen and AP, both of which are important for AP casters.

- Zhonya's Hourglass -
This item does give armor, but that is not why this item is so special. Yes this item does have a quite large AP boost, but this is not why this item is special. The active ability that this item provides is what makes this item special. This item's active ability places your champion into Stasis for 2 seconds, rendering your champion invulnerable and untargetable but unable to take any actions. This ability can save you. It could buy you enough time to have your team come and save you, or it can provide invulnerability from anything.

- Elixir of Brilliance -
This item is also self explanatory. It just gives bonus AP and a 10% CDR rate.

- Summon Voidling - Passive
Many think that Malzahar's passive ability is not very useful. I think it is just another tool for killing. The Voidling kills a random enemy and grows stronger as time goes by. (The Voidling does attack a random enemy but will target enemies with Malefic Visions on them first)

- Call of the Void - Q
This skill is awesome for Malzahar. It provides a great AoE that works in a line that also gives a silence. You should never underestimate the power of silence. It is awesome for giving you time to take out that pesky enemy. This skill will be leveled up 2nd to Malefic Visions.

- Null Zone -
Null Zone is a good skill that does a percentage of the enemies health over time. It is good once you have some AP under your belt, and when it is at the fifth level. These are the reason why I choose this skill to be leveled up last. Works well when outputting skills in order.

- Malefic Visions - E
Malefic Visions is what this build is all about. This skill gives you awesome CS (Creep Score). It does continuous damage to the afflicted enemy and then moves to the closest target in range and restarts the time it does damage. Put this on one minion and watch it kill all of them. Use this skill on a weakened minion that the enemy champion is close to and watch it move to the enemy when they are unsuspecting. This skill makes your Voidling attack whatever has been afflicted by it.

- Nether Grasp - R - Ultimate
Nether Grasp is also a very awesome ultimate. It suppress' for up to 2 seconds. Mixing this with all of your abilities will provide maximum damage output and usually end up with a kill.

Your skill sequence obviously depends on the situation.
I often lay out E,Q,W,R and afterwards use whatever else has come off of cooldown if the enemy hasn't already died.
Make sure you leave the enemy in your W ability when you use your ultimate to provide the most damage possible.

Primary Chosen

- Ignite -
Ignite is a damage over time spell that targets a single champion dealing 50 true damage plus 20 true damage per level over 5 seconds. This damage is not lowered by armor or magic resistance. Also reduces the targets healing and regeneration by 50%. 600 Range. Since Malzahar can do so much damage already, this spell is perfect for finishing off the kill. Since Malzahar has slow cooldowns, this is nice for when those champions that are trying to escape Malz's wrath that only have a small amount of health left until death.

- Flash -
This spell is a must for Malz. Since he has no escape method from enemy champions, he is targeted a lot. Having flash allows Malz the ability to escape that enemy fire to ensure massive amounts of stacks and kills.

Extra Options to Consider:

- Clarity -
Since Malz is so mana hungy, he often needs some sort of mana restore. While you can just get mana potions, they only give so much. Having this spell is nice because it upgrades itself with each level.

- Ghost -
Pretty much just an alternative to flash for you lower levels because of no escape method.

- Exhaust -
Reduces a target's Attack Damage by 70%, Ability/Item damage by 35% and slows its Movement Speed by 40% for 3 seconds. 550 Range (estimate).
This is also nice for those extra kills because the enemy champions will try to escape and this will just slow them down so that you can stack up the damage on them.

Malzahar is an awesome champion that can do tons of damage. He does require some getting used to. Once you have gotten used to the delay for his Q ability and how to lay out your skills effectively then you will find out Malzahar's true potential. A good Malzahar can change games. Please try this guide out before voting because many find that this works while some feel that this is wrong.

July 19,2011:
Published build