Malzahar Build Guide by Piksel4o

Introduction

Hello guys, this is my first guide here on Moba, and it is about my favorite caster - Malzahar. Here I'll explain how I play Malzahar, and will give you some tips about him.

DISCLAMER:
Do not think that this guide will guarantee you penta kills, easy victories, and IP farming. It's not a "auto win" guide, and you must spend some time playing the champion in order to understand how he works

Now when we've gotten this out of the question, let me continue.

Pros / Cons

Pros:
- Awesome nuker
- Good AOE dmg
- Anti-tank ( Null Zone)
- Fairly good CC (Silence, Suppress)
- Excelent farmer
- Great Harrasser
- Comes from da void

Cons:
- Squishy
- Usually focusued first
- Vulnerable to CC
- Although your ultimate cannot be dispelled with Cleanse, there is an item that can do just that... for now, I'll just reffer to it as "It"
- Also, Gankplank is able to remove your ulti with Remove Scurvy. QQ
- Pushes lane really quick... which is bad, cuz your jungler won't be able to gank, and you'll be a easy target for anyone
- No escape
- Voidling can sometimes give up your location (ex. you hide in bush, but Voidling just refuses to go inside and stands out... kinda frustrating)
- He floats.

Masteries

As you probably saw, I go 9/0/21. Notes here:

The 9 points in Offence are just like any other caster - Mpen, Cooldown, and AP
The 21 points in Utiliy. Few things to mention here:

1.Do not take Perseverence . It's just not worth it. You have enough Mana Regen, and even if you didn't, the stats you get from this mastery are misserable compared to the 10% reduced Death time from Good Hands

2. Same goes for Expanded Mind. Just no. I'm not big on statistics, but if I remember correctly, it gives something like 40-100 mana at lvl 18(correct me if I'm wrong). Exp is much better.

3. Quickness is important, as your speed isn't great at all, and you haven't got any good escaping mechanisms.

Take the improved versions of your summoner spells (if you're not taking Ghost, you can put 1 point in Perseverence .)

Summoner Spells

My choices are and .


Great for Malz.Let's you get in a good position for ulti, escape ganks (good ol' Flash-over-wall). Must take.

Another tool for escaping and chasing.

Alternative choices:

Well... it's OK. But I wouldn't take it. Why? It is mainly good at early game, and it kind of fades out later. And during early-game, if you played good, by level 6 your target should be at decently low hp from your harrasses, so you won't need ignite to finish the kill of. But feal free to take it.

If you're first time and you're having mana problems, take this spell until you get used to malz.

I would only reccomend this spell if you're new to the game, and you don't have the level for the other spells.

Runes

Greater Seal of Replenishment

I'll explain my choice:
Best reds you can get, Mpen is always good
Greater Seal of Replenishment Yes I know Malz can refresh his mana with Malefic Visions. But the extra Mana regen will let you harras SO much. I preffer these runes to AP or AP/level, mainly because the AP you get from yellows is just.. well.. not worth it.
Cooldown reduction, you need it. With the extra CDR with this runes, you'll be able to easily reach the 40% cap.
15 Ap early game is really nice. I take these over Mpen mainly becouse this setup will give you enough Mpen, so you don't need much more.


Alternative choices:
Greater Seal of Vitality If you want some more survivability.
or Again focus on survivability
Guess what... it is for survivability.

Skill Sequence

Passive that summons an UNCONTROLABLE minion to fight for you. It evolves over time, gaining Health and Attack speed. This little guy is pretty amazing. If you cast [[Malefic visions] on someone, the little fella will go after him. This combination allows you to easily farm.

It also can really annoy enemies early game if it gets them. A good combo is casting Malefic Visions on the enemy when your next spell will summon it. This can do quite a lot of dmg, and is great for pushing enemies back a bit.

Later in-game, with enough CD you'll be able to get two or even three of these guys on the battlefield. They are also very nice at taking down turrets. Finally, it can sometimes save you from skillshots if it happens to walk upon they're trajectory.


This skillshot wall silences and deals dmg (Note : To deal the full dmg, your target must be cought in the very middle of the wall. Otherwise they take half dmg). An overall great spell. In teamfights, you can pull of a 3 sec silence on pretty much everyone, if you're lucky. It also allows you to finish off fleeing enemies, and due to its long rage , harrasing has never been easier. I max this skill second.


This is the skill that tanks hate. It deals a % of enemy's HP per second for 4 seconds. Good placement of this skill can turn the tides of battles. Your usuall combo for nuking someone is Malefic Visions -> Call of the Void -> Null Zone -> Nether Grasp + chase if needed.

However, if the target you want to nuke is not near the centre of the battle, it is sometimes better to spread dmg. Ex: Null Zone a place where the most people are standing, or where u are sure u can get most of the dmg from it done. Call of the Void on the casters, and then focus your target(which should usually be the enemy carry). Due to the fact that Malz doesn't need milions of AP to be effective, a decent amount of AP combined with Mpen will sometimes allow you to finish squishier targets without using your full combo.

However, it is not that usefull early game, so I put one point in it at level 4, and max it last.

Note: The first "tick" of dmg is applied the moment you cast the zone. You can use this to your advantage, for example when chasing a really low HP enemy, and you either have no mana for your other skills, or are somehow out of range for them - Null Zone can get you the kill

A damage over time spell, which renews it's duration,returns you some mana and passess to a nearby target if the previous one died while Malefic visions] was on. Also, Voidlings will always focus the target with [[Malefic visions on, provided that the enemy doesn't move too far away. This is your main farming skill, it allows you to easily clear entire minion waves.

BUT BE CAUTIOUS WITH THIS.

If you overuse in early game, you will end up pushing your lane too far, and thus leading to you being ganked easiliy,and your team unable to gank.

Sometimes, you'll be able to get two or more Malefic Visions on a wave/teamfight. Keep in mind that if two of them land on one enemy, one will simply dissapear.


Your ultimate pins down a single target for 2,5 secs, dealing damage over time. It is a channeled spell, meaning that if you get CC'd, it will end. You should know that Tenacity and Cleanse do not help against your ulti. But, IT will most certainly do.That's why you hate IT.

You should use this spell when you have gotten your enemy into your Null Zone in order to max the damage you deal.

You CAN use all of your summoner spells, except Flash. Flash will end the channeling. Also, you can use the active on Deathfire Grasp, Hextech Gunblade, but if you use Zhonya's Hourglass, you will interrupt the spell.

Also, you cannot use your other spells, this ends the surrpression too.

And now it's time to introduce you to your standard combo:

Malefic Visions-> Call of the Void-> Null Zone-> Nether Grasp

You start of with Malefic Visions due to the fact that it is your most reliable dmg source, and it is also on the lowest CD (and if you just summoned a voidling it will now focus your enemy for just some more dmg). Continuing with Call of the Void for silence and some heavy dmg. Null Zone should always be cast before your ultimate, as it is really easy to avoid. After you have placed your Null Zone, Nether Grasp your enemy. If they are still alive, your Malefic Visions should be ready to cast, and soon so shal Call of the Void. Chase target until he dies.

Note:
If you have taken Ignite, use it while you are channeling your Nether Grasp. The active on Deathfire Grasp should always be used at the beggining of fights, but it's not a great shame to use it later if impossible to do so earlier. But, I usually save Deathfire to take down Tanks or Off-tanks.

Early Gameplay

Game starts. Put one point in Call of the Void, but a Doran's Ring (I will go over items later), and cast three times Call of the Void so that your next spell will summon a voidling. ALWAYS try to take mid. Malzahar is in my oppinion one of the best mid laners. Reasons?

- Good farm
- At level 6 very very few champions can resist your nuking power
- Combines good with gankers (silence, ulti)
- Thanks to voidling can do some serious dmg to towers if he decides to push.

Last hit. This is so important for you. As I said earlier, don't relly on Malefic Visions and Voidling getting all your minnions kills, becouse that way you will find yourself at the enemy tower, getting quickly ganked. Instead, you should let your enemy push a bit, then farm the next 2-3 waves with Malefic Visions, let him push a bit, farm again etc etc. During all this time, you can safely harrass your enemy with Call of the Void. Tagging them with Malefic Visions and sending a Voidling after them at about lvl 4-5 is also a good idea. At level 6, your enemy should have at least half of his hp missing. If possible, ask your jungler for assist. However, if you are confident in yourself, you can Flash in, and do your combo. Garen-teed success.

However, not every game is perfect. Sometimes, you might see that your enemy is beating you in 1v1 ,and you can't really do anything to him. WHAT TO DO?

Relax, the mid lane is not about getting the most kills. Remember, you are alone out there, so you can't blame anyone if you die. So if you see that your enemy is clearly stronger than you, don't focus on killing him. Instead, farm more minions, play more deffensively, ask someone from the other lanes to swap if needed, or simply wait for your perfect time to gank. IF you played more deffensively, the minions should have pushed you to your tower, and you're enemy will either be away of XP zone becouse he's scared, or be in tower range ,which means easy easy gank.

What about "MIA's" and "ss"? Always say when you have the chance to. But don't flame your teammates if someone from top or bot ganks you. You should always be aware of the map, who is missing and who not. And let's think a bit, if they ganked you, you have probably overextended at least a bit. Try to avoid that.

Mid Gameplay

After you hit lvl 7-8 it is time to start either pushing or ganking. If possible, ask your jungler for Blue buff(skill spam ftw). you should already have at least Haunting Guisse or Sorcerer's Shoes ready. The extra Mpen from both will greatly help you get kills. If you see that all is going well, and you are optimistic, you can invest your gold in a Mejai's Soulstealer. If you have spare gold, ward the map.

Small fights should beggin to occur, and your role in them is to FOCUS AND KILL THE EASIEST TARGET. That means you have to judge your enemies. Don't go rambo, stay at the back and throw your spells from there.

You have a great pushing potential. After a successfull gank where hopefully both of the enemy champions died, it is time for the remaining members of your team on that lane to push to their tower. Hopefully, even if you don't take it, you'll be able to do some serious dmg to it.

Whenever you're not pushing or ganking, farm. It's what you do best. You can also organise your team to do a quick dragon, but before that be sure to put some wards down so you don't get caught.

Late Gameplay

By that stage of the game, you have a decent amount of AP, great Mpen, and you have found out that you are so so squishy. And you don't like it when you're focused, but you always are. Here is where you should play most cautiosly. Stand at the back, and focus the carry, or the person you think deals the biggest amount of dmg or is the main threat for you/your team. But sometimes it seems like there is no real person to focus, as they all play a key role in they're team setup. As I said earlier, it is good to sometimes spread dmg - Silence the casters, Null Zone and Deathfire Grasp the tank, pin down the carry, things like that.

Farm large minion waves. Try to always have Blue buff. Ward the map. Help your team with baron and dragon. Do not roam the map alone, you are very fragile.

Items

First off, DO NOT FOLLOW THE ITEM BUILD ITEM-BY-ITEM. I've put just the usuall items I get on him, but I do not get Haunting Guisse first, I will first but for example Boots of Speed first and an Amplifying Tome and finish Haunting Guisse later. Thank you.

I start with icon=Doran's ring size=64 to get the bonus AP,health and mana regen, and I personally think this is the best item for malz. If you decide to play more risky, you can grab an Amplifying Tome and a Health Potion. Now, I will go over different items and why i do/do not reccomend them. Let's start.

icon=Haunting Guise size=64
Such an under-rated item. Bonus Health, AP, and Mpen? Well, this is exactly what I would like to have with an early game Malz. Later, it can be swaped out for other items, but I just love this item for starting.

]
Hey, it's sorc's boots. More Mpen. Combined with Haunting Guise it will garen-tee that even the tougher enemies will have their MR down to almost 0. Also, gives you the MS you need in order not to fload helplessly behind your escaping target.


I LOVE THIS ITEM!!!!! Bonus CDR, AP, and an AWESOME active. Deffinetely a must-get for me. Also, one of the recipe components, Kage's lucky pick gives you gold per 10, which can somehow boost your gold gain a little bit. Late game this item is a beast against all tanks. And, due to the fact that you'll have such a decent amount of MR, you will be able to do almost full dmg with this item.


Well... I don't get it, unless I am mega fed early game, and just have no way of dying. Otherwise, i don't think it's a good investion.


AP AP AP. You should get this after your Deathfire Grasp. Since you have a fair amount of AP,decent survivability, and great MPen, you should focus on your AP more. And, what's better than this item?


After your Rabadon's Deathcap, you should focus on survivability. This item covers it great. It also gives you a spell buble, which can save your ultimate from being interrupted. Love it.


More AP, and armor, plus good active. Get this item if you're main worries are Physical DPS's, or you just need a 2 sec time to chill while you're CD's are down.


Late game, Ap isn't that great as MORE Mpen (if you're enemies are actually building MR, if they're not, just get more AP).Build this item if you are facing a LOT of MR. This item will finish off your build greatly, allowing you to deal the most dmg possible.


Same as Void Staff, but build it if you're enemies are squishier and don't have that much MR. It also boosts your own MR a bit, and in synergises well with other magic dmg dealers.


I personally don't like this item. If you're finding yourself OOM, or just want more AP, feel free to take it.


Decent item if you want AP,mana, and HP in one item. This should be your choice.


Malzahar doesn't really need Spell vamp - his goal is to nuke the enemy as fast as possible, and doesn't need the spell vamp. I wouldn't get this item.


It is a good item for malz, but all of your skills are either multi targeted, or over-time, which means you'll get a slower amount of ... slow. The Hp is nice, but as i said earlier, slow isn't that much of a need. You must be able to take down your enemies fast.


If your dmg output is fine, but you want to be more durable, you can take this item. It gives you a bit of everything, + revival.

IT

It happens by surrprise, really. Here's what happens:

You are quietly waiting in the bush, thinking what you'll buy with the gold from this extra kill you are about to get. Heh, you killed that guy like 3 times in a row, time to go on a rampage! Ok, here he comes... this will be a piece o' cake, simply flash in and EQWR and type "lololo" in all chat. He has no way of dealing with you at all. Here goes.

You flash in, and EQWR like mad. Heh, gg. Wait... what's that white circle around him? WHY THE F*** IS HE NOT SURRPRESSED?!? WTF IS HAPPENING?!? You panic. You throw off skillshots in the air, while the strangely-not-stunned-target simply kills you, as you just can't understand what happened. During Death recap, you take a look at his items. And you see....
...

icon=Quicksilver Sash size=64

Well, it probably isn't like that, but that was when it first happened to me, I remember every part of it... :D

So, yes, Quicksilver Sash is THE item that counters you. It removes your ulti. It removes your silence. It shakes off Malefic Visions of the target, including Ignite if you have it.

That means... if you see someone taking this item, by all means, DO NOT FOCUS HIM. You'll feel so stupid, trust me.

So what can you do against this? Well... simply hope. For our luck, a lot of people seem to either don't know , forget, or under rate this item (which I don't see why).

IT is your nightmare.

Closing words

Thank you for reading through my Malzahar guide. I appologise for any grammar mistakes that I could've made while writing this. Please let me know what you think about my Guide, and don't forget to write a comment - critisism is encouraged.If you have any suggestions or tips, please feel welcome to share them. Goodbye, and remember....

BOW TO THE VOID, OR BE CONSUMED BY IT!

Change Log

Here I will post any changes or "achievments" that this guide comes over...

16 June 2011 - Guide released.