Hello Reader! This is a basic guide to Malzahar. If this is not the character that you are interested in, please aft+F4 and go watch TV.

Below you will find some tips and tricks I have found that make playing Malz a wonderful experience.

First things first! How to set yourself up for success.
-Runes- An essential part of a balanced victory.
Ability Power: To make your DoT (Malefic Visions) hit REALLY hard.
Magic Penetration: To assist your DoT in hitting even harder.
Mp5: When combined with the passive from your DoT (10/14/18/22/26 mana when a unit affected by Mal. Vis. dies) will allow you to cast more while still sustaining a dominating pose in your lane.

-Masteries- Those things you didn't know about until level 14.
9/0/21 is a fairly standard AP toon build with a few exceptions. You will notice that I do not grab that +1g/10sec. "Why not?" you ask. Truth is, Malz is an excellent farmer and that +1g/10sec is not very helpful, especially if the game only lasts 30min.

Do the math: 1g / 10sec x 30min x 60sec / 1min = 180g Clearly not worth it.

Now at level 5 with a Rank-3 Mal. Vis.(costs:90mana dmg:200+80%AP CD:11sec) can cast more DoTs with more mana => more gold and more mana back from killing minions.

%increase on your mana pool will allow you Archangel's Scepter to add even more AP/mana late game. Ftw.

Items are a game to game type of thing. I often find myself using the Sapphire Crystal to build an Rod of the Ages vice the Tear. This gives me more survivability via health, especially when combined with Rylai's.
I favor the CD reduction boots over straight magic pen for this reason: If the opposite team is building and kind of MR, straight magic pen is not going to cut it. Stacking anything beyond runes is a waste. The % reduction is going to give you overall better damage. While some games it is not necessary and you may find yourself being irritated by the small amount of base magic res of some toon, by all means buy them and try it out. This guide is not all-powerful.
Another item I am a huge fan of is Will of the Ancients. The spellvamp combined with the extremely inexpensive 80AP is very enticing.Morello's Evil Tome is what you should get in the event you do not chose the CD reduction boots.
All in all, most big AP items work well with Malz. Just be sure to get Rabadon's at some point (preferably sooner than later) and be sure to achieve a decent amount of survivability.

In regards to the 5g/10sec item Kage's Lucky Pick. Whereas the 1g/10sec isnt very much, 5x that isn't something at which you should turn your nose up. I use this once I am settled in my farming to expedite my Rabadon's. I'll usually sell this to push that last 350g towards Rabadon's.

Lastly on items: ONLY GET MEJAI'S SOULSTEALER if you are 110% confident that you will not die...EVER. Snowball items can make or break a midgame, but just as they snowball up, they tend to snowball right back down too. Makes for a sad panda. No image included.

As for skill order, here is my 2cents:
Summon Voidling: Pretty much the best pet ever. Spam some abilities and he will make sure that your DoT'd target will die and pass it on to a fellow doomed opponent.
Call of the Void: Silence + tons of damage. This is your opening spell when going for a kill. It will disallow them from using any ability to escape or impair you from fully carrying out your will. Be sure to land this before you cast your ult. There is nothing worse than missing a silence and seeing one of Fiddlesticks' silencing birds fly at you as you try to ult.
Null Zone: Eh, good for the late game takedown, but early game it is mostly just for harass or to spam in base to get a voidling soner. Don't get me wrong, %HP that scales with your AP can be a lot of damage especially when cast under your target with an ult pounding their face.
Malefic Visions (DoT): As you may have determined (if you are still reading), this is my favorite skill. A single cast that can part a minion wave while returning all your mana and (if you are so lucky/your opponent is really bad) latch onto a foe champion for heap ton of damage. At level 5 this can case them to B in just a few casts. It is always worth it to try and tag this onto an enemy. When combined with Ignite, they will perish or run leaving you to lay waste to their tower. IMPORTANT NOTE: use this move to weaken and finish. If you get one off on someone, wait for it to come back up, ult them, and cast this as your ult finishes to ensure your kill.
ULTIMATE Nether Grasp: Stun and damage. Should be used to subdue unruly opponents or to finalize a kill. It is just as satisfying to kill someone with this as it is to interrupt an ult (Kat, Fiddle, or any other channeled ult).

Kill sequence: Call of the Void -> Null Zone -> Nether Grasp -> Malefic Visions/Ignite
If you feel like you are good enough to get off Mal. Vis. before the ult, feel free to do so. If the die during the stun, there is no way they can heal or blink away. But save Ignite for after...just in case.

Just a quick note on farming. I previously stated that Malz is an excellent farmer. How though? Just dot up the first minion that comes down the lane and attack that one. As the DoT moves, so should your attacks. Use Call of the Void as necessary to keep it moving. Don't worry, the mana you get back will more than make up for what you lose, especially on larger packs.
Jungling is a situational event. If you are walking through the jungle to get to a lane, fell free to grab a few mobs, specifically blue. With the Blue buff, you can cast forever which can really help late game if you stack you mana pool up for Archangel's staff.

That's about it...Have fun!

Comment's/Questions/Concerns will be responded to as they come.
Whines/Moans/Gripes/Complaints/and other irritating remarks will be handled by the Bear Cavalry.