Updated the builds and items section. I still have a lot to do for next season but hopefully this update will tide you over. :)

I actually didn't realize I had completely removed it from the guide. O.O

It's still a decent item but I don't think it's ever been a core pick. All of the other MR options are better for survivability but Abyssal Mask can be nice in the right team composition or if you're really ahead and want to buy some damage to carry.

Keep in mind it doesn't work very well against tanks (they have too much MR for it to be worth the price) and you'll end up squishier than if you had bought banshee's or locket.

I'll update the guide after preseason 5 starts most likely. It's going to change quite a few things.

Also I'm really not a fan of Liandry's Torment. You pay a ton of gold for the item and it doesn't really give you much damage. I'd much rather put that gold towards a defensive item, or even Iceborn Gauntlet / Trinity Force for more damage.

last seasons, abysal scepter was very normal pick on malphite, why isn`t it mentioned anymore?
I still pick it up instead of banshees. also i like to pick up lyandry`s when i am snowballing as my last item. it gives me more dmg that the enemy doesnt see to fast.

Just made my first build, and made it one for Malphite going AP offtank. I really like your build and it is an awesome reference. Yours was very helpful in making my own and in playing Malphite top. Keep it up.

You did say codex cdr for mid game team fights. Chalice on its own is decent but it doesn't really do anything that catalyst doesn't. Between teleport, catalyst and flask I really haven't had mana problems, and if I did I'd rather buy a couple mana pots than spend 880g on an item I don't want to upgrade.

CDR is more important on Malph than Gragas for sure, but I'm not sure that I buy that it's more important than it is on Alistar. Unless you're playing TriForce Ali they both are restricted by cooldowns quite a bit. Also if you buy Chalice of Harmony and Spectre's Cowl you've spent close to the same amount of gold as a RoA without any CDR yet. Unless you upgrade to Athene's you basically tie the RoA build in a race for CDR.

The main reason I think RoA will work is because it gives Malphite the same tools as other meta top laners while his kit fills a bit of a different niche (hard initiation over versatility). Chalice + Cowl might yield similar results in lane but it doesn't offer anything special to team fights. Neither of those items upgrade into good openings for Malphite so you'd have to build both and then get CDR from something else anyway. I always hated having to spend so much gold on intermediate items that offered nothing but MR and sustain while against ADs I could get early CDR and damage that would make me a lot more threatening.

I think RoA might be the solution to the AP matchup problem of being forced into 0 damage build paths. If after a while it becomes clear that it just doesn't work or isn't realistic, I'll change it back to cowl + chalice, but right now I think it's the better alternative especially considering the nerfs that Banshee's, Chalice, Visage and Athene's have all received this season.

EDIT: I'm actually wondering how Rod of Ages -> Ionian Boots of Lucidity -> Negatron Cloak would work. I'll probably have to try that out. I'm pretty sure you can live without mercs tenacity (especially with 21 defense) and it's hard to fit CDR into magic resist builds.

I've been thinking more about Nid/Lulu/Kayle but ok you've made your point.

The difference between Catalyst and Chalice is that Catalyst doesn't regen mana when you want it to. If you're at 50 mana a Chalice will bring you to 200 in a few seconds. You don't have to wait to level up for mana, and you can pretty much Q every time it's off cooldown.

Also, you don't immediately upgrade Chalice into Athenes. You don't even need to upgrade it at all, I meant if you had to to save gold or whatever then it's a viable choice.

It's not that I think Rod is terrible for Malphite, it's that I think items with CDR should be prioritized before getting only raw stats. Malphite isn't very powerful without his ultimate. Gragas has poke, decent burst and mobility. Mao has a snare and a low cd knockback/slow (this one is debatable). Alistar has W + Q. Malphite has a slow? And an attack speed reduction that to be honest won't reach the enemy adc without his ult.

I'm not sure what top meta you've been playing in, but most magic laners don't lack sustain. To name a few, Vladimir, Swain, Gragas, Maokai, Alistar, Cho'Gath, Dr. Mundo Nidalee (still some magic). Even Rumble and Kassadin have spammable shields and Ryze has his ult. Also a lot of these champions get catalyst early.

I have yet to run oom with catalyst. Chalice gives 20 MR and Athene's gives 25. I don't see any reason to pay 2600 gold for 25 MR when I could be getting 650 HP. Also Chalice has to generate 500 extra mana before it beats just one charge from Catalyst of Aeons the protector.

Kindlegem is pretty much the same price as Fiendish Codex for CDR so I don't really see that as a big bonus. Even putting the full 20% CDR vs RoA, I'm still pretty sure 650 HP is a lot more useful in team fights than 20% CDR.

Spectre's Cowl is really good when you're behind but it doesn't give you much to win your lane. I probably should highlight it individually in the guide though.

Lastly, Rod of Ages is a staple item on all of these top laners . Why should it suddenly be terrible for Malphite? He's not that different.

I'm not saying you're 100% for sure wrong since RoA is still a newish build for me and I haven't played it a ton yet, but the reasons you offered to build athene's fall pretty flat. I can definitely understand cowl if you can't afford to lane without the early negatron but I wouldn't do that unless I had to.


I'd rather not include this item in the guide. I've seen it have some success before (I think it showed up a couple times in EU LCS?) but I wouldn't advise someone to spend 3700 gold on a bunch of offensive stats if they didn't know what they were doing. I personally have never really seen the need for this item so I won't be recommending it to others, especially new Malphite players.

You should mention Trinity Force. I've seen a Challenger Malphite player use it to a great degree, and he also went the Chalice of Harmony + Spectre's Cowl start against an AP top, like Asian juts said.

Why TF? Well, Malphite has an in-built proc ability by balancing the use of Seismic Shard and Ground Slam. The active part of Brutal Strikes makes the item all the more brutal and vice versa. TF allows Malphite to rock people and duels and, together with Grail, burst down squishies. Of course, it's somewhat of a situational item due to the cost.

Athene's Unholy Grail, or rather Chalice of Harmony, has been core on every rock solid player I've seen.

Nice guide :3

Why Rod e___e

Why not Chalice + Cowl?

Chalice is a lot better vs AP since most of them lack inherent sustain and the regen allows for a more aggressive lane phase since you can practically Q them forever, compared to Catalyst which only regens a flat amount of mana upon level up.

Athenes isn't bad on Malph either, ap + mr + 20% cdr is really really good. Plus Codex is cheap CDR for mid game ults.

Guide is finally updated and rereleased, thanks for waiting everyone.

I ****ing rocked this ***** in my first game!! 17/7/30

ps. I've been playing for 2-3 weeks now and im new to moba games :)

Could you update your guide for pre/season 4? Otherwise, great guide!