TBA

Pros
Awesome nuker
AoE Silence with Call of the Void
Malefic Visions is a Great Harasser & Excellent farmer
Null Zone is Anti-tank
One of the best ultimates
Excels at 1-on-1
Has pets


Cons
S-q-u-i-s-h-y
Hungry for mana
Usually gets focused first
No escape
Pushes lane easy and then gets ganked
Ultimate can be interrupted
Stuck in place while casting ultimate
Quicksilver Sash / Mercurial Scimitar

Greater Mark of Magic Penetration
No shock here. Magic Penetration is a mage's best friend.

Greater Seal of Scaling Armor
Strange choice, but as Malzahar is really squishy, these help a bit mid & late game.
It used to be Greater Seal of Scaling Mana Regeneration, but with Eleisa's Miracle Malzahar can do without them.

Greater Glyph of Scaling Ability Power
Pretty solid for Malzahar - more AP as the game goes on.

Greater Quintessence of Ability Power
15 AP right from the start.


Alternative choices:

Greater Mark of Ability Power
Those will make you hit harder early game, but become useless mid & late game.

Greater Seal of Scaling Mana Regeneration
If you feel you need more mana.

Greater Glyph of Scaling Cooldown Reduction
Cooldown lets you cast all your spells more ofter.

Greater Quintessence of Magic Penetration
Actually quite viable.

Go 21 Offensive, taking Summoner's Wrath for the Ignite bonus, and just about anything that improves your AP damage.

Spend the other 9 on Utility
Summoner's Insight for Flash cooldown, Meditation as Malzahar is mana hungry, and Runic Affinity is good with the Golem buff.
Improved Recall is also not bad.
Instead of Mastermind you can go for either Expanded Mind or Wanderer , whichever you prefer.

Alternatively you can invest in Defense, making yourself more durable.

I guess this is the part that interests you the most, so lets get on with this:

Right from the start we really only have 4 slots to work with, as 2 of the 6 slots are reserved for Boots & Rabadon's Deathcap

Early Game
I feel Doran's Ring is the best starting item for Malzahar.
Either go for it, or the classic Boots with 3 Health Potion

During your recalls buy the following in the following order of importance:
2 Sight Ward - Getting ganked is never fun, especially as Malzahar can push the lane real fast. Always get those when you recall - sight wards can save your life!
Boots
Faerie Charm
Rejuvenation Bead
You might also consider Crystalline Flask. I really like this item.

You can also get another Doran's Ring or 2 if you feel like it, but personally I try and get the small stuff that makes the big stuff later on. Try Amplifying Tome instead.

Upgrade the charm & Bead to Philosopher's Stone asap.
You can also get a Kage's Lucky Pick if you're doing good.
Those 2 items will grant you gold so it's better to get them early and have them as long as possible before you upgrade them.

Last thing for early, try and get Sorcerer's Shoes for the speed boost and more magic penetration.
Now start saving for your first serious item - Rabadon's Deathcap.


Mid Game
Get whatever Enchantment you want for the boots. Personally I go for Enchantment: Alacrity.
Got your Rabadon's Deathcap yet?
Now it's time to invest in mana regen & cooldown - get a Fiendish Codex, and you can upgrade to a Morellonomicon.
Next, spend 400 gold and upgrade Philosopher's Stone to Eleisa's Miracle
Eleisa's Miracle is awesome in 3rd season - not only does it give you 10 Health Regeneration, 15 Mana Regeneration (and might give you cooldown for summoner spells), but the best thing about it is that if you gain 3 levels with it, the item will disappear and you'll still get all those stats plus the free slot.
1100 gold for 15 Mana Regeneration & other perks? Sign me up! Just make sure you're level 15 or below.


Late game
There are a lot of great items for Malzahar, so take your pick.
For this guide I chose to focus on penetration and damage:
Liandry's Torment is a new item, and it's real good for mages with penetration, a good AP boost, and a nice passive.
Next get Rylai's Crystal Scepter. The health is nice, so is the slowing of enemies, but the real deal here is the combo with Liandry's Torment, as the slow increases the passive.
Last thing you can get Void Staff. As of season 3 the percentage penetration is applied before the normal penetration, so it's quite awesome.
If the enemy team isn't high on magic resist or deals a lot of magic damage themselves, an alternative to the staff is an Abyssal Mask which also gives you a nice magic resistance, and an aura that also helps your team. The only problem here is that as Malzahar I really don't wanna get close to the enemy team, and that if the victim somehow runs away, the aura isn't affective anymore.

If you make it this far and the game is still going, don't forget you can also buy Elixirs.


Viable alternatives
Rod of Ages - Overall an awesome item. If you want to get it, make it early as it takes time to reach full potential.
Zhonya's Hourglass - Huge AP, nice armor, and a potentially life saving active.
Will of the Ancients - Nice AP, helps your team, and some people even swear by Spell vamp.
Athene's Unholy Grail - At 60 AP it's still not bad, plus it has some magic resist, mana regen, and further cooldown. A lot of nice stuff in one item.
Lich Bane - Besides the good AP and extra mana, the great thing about it is the extra movement speed that can help you either chase down or escape from enemies.
Deathfire Grasp - Another huge AP, cooldown, and a great active.
Archangel's Staff - This one is problematic: the mana regen got nerfed a lot, and as Malzahar you probably won't make a Seraph's Embrace out of it. The extra mana is real nice, but you probably best skip it.

Your passive is Summon Voidling
Q - Call of the Void
W - Null Zone
E - Malefic Visions
R (Ultimate) - Nether Grasp
Just point over and read them.

There are 2 routes to choose from the start:
1. Take Call of the Void first and spam it 3 times while on the fountain. Then go to your lane and wait for the enemy to come. The next time you'll use it you'll get a Voidling thanks to Summon Voidling.
If you're expected to leash the jungler, spam it only 2 times.
2. As you'll want to max Malefic Visions first, start with it. You can't use it without targets, so you'll need to use it a few times in combat before you'll get a Voidling.

Generally you'll want to max Malefic Visions first, as it's your best normal ability, and it will also let you farm like a boss.
The second ability you'll want to max is Call of the Void - a long range Silence.
your last ability to max is Null Zone. This is a more anti-tank ability, and it's real easy to avoid unless you use your ultimate.


Malzahar is a nuker, meaning he'll hit the enemy with everything he's got, and hopefully kill him.
Your combo is as follow:

Malefic Visions has the shortest cooldown, so it's good to start with it.
Continuing with Call of the Void for the silence part.
Null Zone will place the enemy in a pool of draining void.
Finish with Nether Grasp. Your poor victim will be suppress for 2.5 seconds not being able to do anything but take the damage.

DO NOT mix the order, as if you cast something right after Nether Grasp, it will interrupt the spell. You can however use Ignite, and some of the actives from items (like Deathfire Grasp).
If the enemy is still alive Malefic Visions him again, and either chase to kill or bravely run away.

Flash & Ignite are usually the staples for Malzahar

Flash is overall good and can save your life as a squishy mage without any escaping mechanism.
Ignite offers you more damage, the AP bonus helps at the start, and it also counts as one of your spells for Summon Voidling.

You might also want to consider
Ghost for chasing/escaping.
Teleport for quick ganks or returning to lanes.
Heal is also viable. It helps in team fight, and you'll enjoy a further cooldown from Eleisa's Miracle.

Always remember you are squishy as hell, and will probably get targeted first.
Also, you have some casting range - use it!
In team fights cast Call of the Void & Null Zone from afar.
You can try to nail in Malefic Visions if it's not too risky.

If you're gonna Nether Grasp someone, it better be their carry, and make sure your team is around to knock him while he's being suppressed and finish the job.

TBA

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