Pros

+ Great in mid or solo in a sidelane
+ Great pusher in general (use your Voidling to your advantage)
+ Awesome harasser
+ Able to silence multiple enemies during team fights (AoE silence)
+ His ultimate will stunlock a champion great for team ganks
+ Amazing asset for the team, especially when double laning
+ Offensive abilities (All of them)
+ AP scales insanely great with his skills
+ is the ultimate tank killer if used right
+ by far is the greatest harassing skill in the game (in my opinion) Works just like a spammable ignite (but 10 times better)
+ will help you farming throughout the game, plus IT WILL RECOVER MANA if you kill an enemy
+ would get you first blood if used the right way, awesome for tower pushing and 1v1 early game
+ You should kill any champion 1v1 with little to no problem; otherwise you are doing something wrong
+ Spammable spells in teamfights.
+ Mana Regen should not be a problem with Malzahar considering that you are using Malefic Visions the right way.


Cons

- Very Squishy
- Your skills will eat your mana, Protip: Use malefic visions to your advantage
- No escape mechanism
- is a skill shot not a luckshot, get the rotating angles right
- can be cleansed (Gankplank Scurvy,Olaf Ultimate, , ) or stopped if you are stunned/silenced/interrupted
- Getting used to do the combos
- You cannot control the Voidling, that is why is really important
- or as a summoner spell is a must have
- 3 out of his 4 spells can be cleansed, including his ultimate. In other words it is easy to counter Malzahar.
- works great on enemy champions as long as they stay within its range (works awesome combined with a slow/stun/snare when double laning); otherwise it can be avoided very easy.
- is a channeling spell, Use it wisely or you are a free kill
- can be interrupted fears / stuns /taunts/ silences / pushbacks /etc...
- Your greatest weakness are champions with Mercury Threads/ and
- You are super slow
- Do not let your guard down, you are not a tank, specially early game.
- If you get stunned or snared you are likely to go back to base the quick way.
- Count on being the main target in team fights.
- Hard to spam your skills early game

Summon Voidling I have read so many guides and builds and people underestimates this passive. What makes this passive so great? Recently the new patch will allow you to have 2 Voidlings at a time, an enemy with malefic visions will be the Voidlings main target as long as you stay in range.

After casting 4 spells, Malzahar summons an uncontrollable Voidling to engage enemy units for 21 seconds. Voidlings have 200 + 50 x lvl Health and 20 + 5 x lvl Damage.
Voidlings Grow after 7 seconds (+50% Damage/Armor), and Frenzy after 14 seconds (+100% Attack Speed).
Voidlings attack the target affected by Malzahar's most recently cast Malefic Visions.

Call of the Void Your Q is a delayed skillshot more likely a wall that deals damage and silences as well, it will take you some practice in order to start using it the right way, once you get used to its timing and rotating angles it will save your *** in many situations, as well as your teammates.

Another great advantage of this spell is its range, great for harassing in mid and for killing those tower huggers. Have in mind that it is a 3 second silence (by skill level 5), your goal with this skill will be to stop other casters ultimates, i.e pay extreme attention to a Karthus channeling his ult, and then CotV if you are in range, your team will greatly appreciate it, same with Lux or for the same matter an enemy Malzahar while he is still channeling .

Note: This spell will grant you vision so use it to check bushes and therefore avoid ganks.

Malzahar opens up two portals to the Void. After a short delay, power erupts from the portals, dealing damage and silencing all enemies caught between the portals.

Cooldown: 9 seconds
Range: 900
Cost: 80 / 90 / 100 / 110 / 120 Mana
Magic Damage: 80 / 135 / 190 / 245 / 300 (+0.8 per ability power)
Silence: 1.4 / 1.8 / 2.2 / 2.6 / 3

Null Zone Your W skill is your main zoning skill, what does this mean? It is a zone of effect damage, extremely useful against health stackers such as tanks, this spell works great with as an escape mechanism. This spell, believe me or not will make the difference whether you kill a champion or not when using your combos. I would recommend paying extreme attention when laning with someone else, in other words double laning. You want to get the most out of Malzahar at every time, so choose your lane wisely. Here is the basic tip, you want a stunlock lane. I.e: Ryze or Lux , as well as any other stunners such as Taric, and so on. If you have a stunner with you, you are highly likely to get the highest score by the end of the game, and definitely I would recommend stacking a Soulstealer.

Note: This skill has no delay on damage, this means as soon as you cast it on someone it will deal insta-damage when it pops on the floor. The only Con with this skill is the range, but still the damage pays off.

Malzahar creates a zone of negative energy for 5 seconds. The zone deals magic damage per second equal to a percent of the enemies' HP inside it.

Cooldown: 16 seconds
Range: 800
Cost: 90 / 100 / 110 / 120 / 130 Mana
Minimum Damage: 25 / 35 / 45 / 55 / 65
Percentage Damage: 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 % (+1% per 80 Ability Power)

Malefic Visions Your E spell, your most important tool throughout the entire game, this is the main reason why we will level it up first. 7 second cooldown (lower if you have CDR runes or other items such as elixirs, Golem Buff, etc..) 320 damage + .8 of your total AP, by level 18 with this build your malefic visions is going to be dealing approximately 800 damage total. And it restores mana what else do you need?
Early game your goal is to chase with your auto-attacks, in other words attack the minion infected by malefic visions and the go to the next one as soon as it jumps. Make sure you pick quickly Malzahars auto-attack animation so that you get every single minion kill, BECAUSE YOU WILL. Why are we doing this? You want to keep the lane clean, especially in mid. Fun fact, cocky summoners on the enemy team will not realize the range of jump by the time the last minion is dead; therefore it will jump on them.

Malzahar infects his target's mind with cruel visions of their own demise, dealing damage each second. If the target dies while afflicted by the visions, they pass the curse on to a nearby enemy unit and restore mana to Malzahar.

Cooldown: 15 / 13 / 11 / 9 / 7 seconds
Range: 650
Cost: 60 / 75 / 90 / 105 / 120 Mana
Magic Damage: 80 / 140 / 200 / 260 / 320 (+0.8 per Ability Power)
Mana Restore: 10 / 14 / 18 / 22 / 26

Nether Grasp By far, the best ultimate for a 1v1 fight. Don't underestimate it. The only con is that you will be stationary while channeling but dealing massive damage to an enemy and definitely will get you a kill or save your ***, or your teammates. DO NOT WASTE YOUR ULTIMATE. You need to understand how to properly position yourself before initiating a fight and take full advantage of your combos as well as your ultimate.

NOTE: active and Gangplank's or Olaf ability as well as summoner spell will all remove the suppression effect from Nether Grasp. Although you will continue to damage the enemy champion until they are out of your range.

Malzahar grips his target in an engulfing void of energy, dealing damage every half second while stunning and suppressing them for 2.5 seconds.

Cost: 150 Mana
Range: 700
Cooldown: 120 / 100 / 80 seconds
Magic Damage: 250 / 400 / 550 (+1.5 per Ability Power)

Summon Voidling

This is what you should be doing as soon as you spawn at Summoner's Rift... Click Here for Video


Call of the Void will deal full skill damage as long as the enemy champion stays within the yellow and green zones, otherwise the enemy champion will receive partial damage from the skill or none.

See picture below



Malefic Visions The following table shows the efficiency of this skill per rank and the amount of mana back per minion kill.

Do not expect Malzahar to be able to resist more than 5 or 6 auto-attacks or 4 abilities. You will end up dead most likely. ALWAYS do the math; you want to make sure you get right the amount of mana you will need in order to land a full combo. That is by level 18 ~~> 520 Mana. Make sure you check your enemy current HP before initiating when doing a 1v1, and you are certain your abilities will deal enough damage to bring them down, stay put and get ready to bail at any time. Better safe than sorry. And remember play...

Silence your enemies
Malefic Vision them when possible
Advise your teammates from MIA
Raise your Voidling often
Try to stay alive

Early Game (lvl 1-6)

I highly encourage you all to start off with as your first ability. Why? Protip before you even consider heading to your lane make sure you spam at the healing pad so that your next spell will cast your . You want to get the maximum out of your skills, great for first blood since it will focus on the enemy champions considering that there will be no minions around so you would not need to guide your first Voidling. Another great use for is the ability to check brushes dealing a great amount of damage this early in the game instead of diving in the grass.
Early game I would play it safe, by level 3 you should have your enemy at least with a quarter of their total health, try to keep your enemies this low throughout the entire game with . If you see an opportunity for an easy kill, go for it but don't forget to cast first once more, followed by to suppress your enemy from using , or for that matter. If you chose I would encourage you to use it after so that once is on cooldown you will be able to cast one last time before the enemy champion is out of range and luckily get that kill.

Why do I recommend leveling up 2 ?, because your goal is to follow this skill with your auto-attacks so that you get the advantage on your lane, especially in mid lane. If you do this, you would harass your enemy as well as constantly infect your enemies mind with . Remember to place your behind enemies and keep in mind its range (IT IS RIDICULOUS) so harass them even in tower range, keep in mind that you are squishy so always pay extreme attention for early ganks, you do not want to go back to the healing pool this early, just to get items ;). I would encourage at least 1 point in (by level 4), it's great zoning ability (specially late game if you do decide to buy a ) and must when using your combos. will come next by level 6, and from here on get ready because the fun is about to start.

Mid Game (lvl 7-13)

As I mentioned before is going to be your key ability, so that is why I get it at level 7, 8 and 9. You want to finish your build before everyone else. is just like having a second that eventually by late game will be dealing around 700 damage depending on your enemie's magic resistance.

Pretty much Malzahar�´s play style is the same right after you hit level 6, and at least you have 1 point in every skill. If you find yourself in a tough situation keep in mind that you have a silence ( ) and a stun ( ) , if the enemy is squishy enough i.e a fed Master Yi, you may be able to turn it around on them.

This is how you should do it, try to get to a "safe point" staying away from brushes or open areas, then you want to cast on the enemy while being chased, right after this on your enemy and silence them, followed by (try to get your enemy right in the center of your Null Zone) without wasting a second, cast while your enemy is infected by , Silenced, and trapped in your , this is the most powerful combo you would be able to use (This is usually my way of initiating a fight (dont forget to synchronize the combo with your Voidling to do additional damage) , I always try to keep them low health to pick the enemies as quick as I can, so I would recommend using at least twice before starting your blasting combo).

NOTE: By using at the very beginning of your combos. You would have the chance to kill your enemy they are able to get away with low health since it is the ability with the lowest cooldown and you will be able to cast it again and get the kill.

Your combo should look something like this..



By level 10 you should be able to get golem buff mad easy. Right after this, do not waste any time, and continue to do what Malzahar is best at, HARASSS... Look for easy targets, mainly squishies such as Teemo, Fiddle, Annie, Ashe, etc. Another protip, as you should know by now, CotV has insane range, it is extremely helpful to your team, Wonder why? Because you will cancel pretty much every ultimate, especially casters such as Karthus channeling his ultimate, or Lux as soon as you see her animation right before she casts it.

Whenever you see a teammate in danger. If you are considerably within range try to help them out, try to keep your team in the lead, but never put yourself in a dangerous situation, your safety comes first. Remember to use your Nether Grasp on targets with CC effects first, such as disablers or stunners so that you do not get stopped while releasing your combo load.

Don't forget to use Malefic Visions as soon as it comes back up, enemies would not expect it to finally jump on them. By this levels you are not likely to run out of mana with this build (considering that you already have your and a decent amount of stacked mana from your past ). Try to stay behind your team mates in team fights and cast Malefic Visions on them once possible, be ready to Flash in or out at any time, try to keep yourself alive. And always stay out of danger if you feel threatened or pushed back.

Late Game (lvl 14-18)

By this levels you should be about to finish your build, Malzahar full potential will shine as soon as you hover your mouse over his ultimate and the total damage is over 1000, your combos will now be devastating in team fights, will play an awesome role here when countering tanks, specially with these three awesome items that you should have by then or be almost done building, , Sorcere's Shoes and .

If you dont have your full build by level 17ish~18 you either did or are still doing something wrong. Your AP should at or above 600 by now so your abilities will be dealing massive amounts of damage. Null Zone is most effective late game, you will using your last few skill points to level it up through your last levels until 18.

Depending on your play style here are some tips on how to play Malzahar the very last minutes of the game, and what to expect;

1.) If you decided to get a it should have at least (13-20) stacks by now, if you have less than 10 consider selling it and getting another item, I would either recommend or if the enemy team is making their way back way too quick, a for that matter. I would leave this last item slot open, I personally would stick to a due to the extra damage output on Auto-attacks rather than but hey, the Hourglass is also a great item, and it is all about preferences.

You should consider having some cool down reduction by now; there are a few ways on hitting the cap.

NOTE (This is why using cooldown reduction runes is usually a waste when it comes to the end of the game, why? Lets do the math) grants 10% reduced cooldowns, Golem buff will give you 25% reduced cooldowns, added to this Sorcery will provide you with an extra 3% cooldown reduction (at level 4) as well as Intelligence (at level 3) will give you 6% cooldown reduction. If Im not wrong the cap is 40%, and theres the final result 10+25+3+6= 39%. In other words dont waste your time with CDR runes [Protip]. Therefore your extra 15% CDR from Mejais would have little to no use in here. With this in mind your skills will have nearly no cooldown, especially Malefic Visions, your ultimate by level 18 should have around a 40 second cooldown.


One last thought about Mejais, if you feel like you are about to die, and are already thinking $#@7!! My Stacks!! Do not hesitate if your enemy is low enough and Malefic Visions is not on cooldown cast it on your enemy, you will still lose a third of your stacks, but you will get these 2 stacks by getting the kill after your death.

2.) If you dont like relying on stacking items, personally I dont, but from time to time I do like to get that little boost. I would recommend either aiming more towards useful items such as the ones mentioned before, more likely Zhonyas Hourglass which has 20 less AP and gives you that extra 50 armor that will boost Malzahar armor up to 120ish~.

3.) If you feel like you are getting decimated by the enemy team, this usually happens when you are the one dealing the most damage, you will notice because you will end up being their main target, I would either, play more defensive stay behind beefy teammates, and stick to your insane amount of AP. Or get some survivability items such as Banshee´s Veil or . Or any other that you could think of that might save you from tough situations.

4.) Lately I have found extremely useful , that is the main reason why I chose it as my last item on the build, the very last games I've had, the extra damage output you get with your auto-attacks, lets say you have 700ish AP, your autoattack will deal 700damage plus your AD, this will add up to your combo which is great when you squeeze these autoattacks in between your skills. I would highly take this item over Mejais Soulstealer as well. But I always buy it last, I try to get my AP as high as I can first as well as magic penetration and then I build Lich Bane.

~~Back to late game levels 14-18

These very last levels (14-18) your duty will be to basically stop the enemy team carry champion. Your combo will do the job, just make sure to position yourself, do not be afraid of initiating on a tank as long as you are sure you have a chance to beat him, this excludes trying to go for a 1v2 considering that the other enemy is a disabler.

I would also recommend to stay near the rest of your team mates, is mad easy to kill if you are not paying attention. DO NOT!! Face-check any brushes, that is just dumb, and we do not want any peek-a-boo surprises.

When facing an enemy tank, your best bet to grind him down is trying to keep him in your Null Zone. Before I forget, If you are dual laning, try to pick someone with a snare such as Lux or Ryze, or someone with a crazy stun, the longer the enemy stays in your Null Zone the faster their HP will drop, and of course if they are stacking HP even faster.

Try to maximize the efficiency of all your skills, like I mentioned with CotV tanks that channel ultimate abilities such as Galio or Nunu would get destroyed by your Null Zone if you are not caught in their range, one well placed Null Zone to deal some crazy damage followed by your lovely silence from CotV will end their ultimate immediately.

Do not forget that your help is greatly appreciated in most of the games since Malzahar puts out so much damage in big team fights such as Baron or Dragon. However you will have to stay at a decent range, again always make sure you get your priorities in every game, if maybe there is a fed Master Yi or Evelynn you might want to pick them right off before they destroy your team.

Do not be the one initiating, have someone such as a Malphite(Rushing in and tanking) or Lux (Considerably damaging the enemy team) using their ults first and getting some sort of crowd sticking together, otherwise you will get focused and will probably die. Don't forget to put a Null Zone right underneath the Neutral Monster to either steal gold or their buff, you never know you might get lucky and snatch it from the enemy.

As a must buy item list note that there are only 4 items and thus the last 2 items I recommend situational depending on the enemy team.

Build #1 (My preference)

or

This Build will provide you extra survivability especially after your health from

Build #2 (For stackers)

The same build but instead of getting Lich Bane you should get as soon as possible. I would consider as well, works pretty good with Malzahar considering how squishy he is.

Build #3 (Survivability#2)

And your choice of


You would be a bit more damage but would have less Armor/ More Magic resist. This situational build would work best with the Alternative Mastery Tree #1 (Covered later in the Mastery Chapter).

Considering that you are a bit slow, if you have someone in your team with an ability such as Shaco or Tryndamere between others(Corki,Renekton,Caitlyn..) that can go over terrain, or someone really fast with some sort of haste buff I would encourage you to try to convince them to get wards, or at least have every member of your team get 1 or 2 wards, it is a life saver believe me or not. If you are laning in mid or soloing a dual lane you want to know where the MIA´s are.

Here is a list of some viable champions to set up wards really fast.

Shaco (can go over bushes)
Tryndamere (can go over bushes)
Zilean
Udyr
Janna
Evelynn
Rammus



Ward Locations

TO GET

Ignite: This spell works great on Malzahar if paired up with Malefic Visions it will help you get those last kills early game easier.

Ghost: This spell is a must if are not high level enough to use Flash.Because he has no escape mechanisms at all. This will also help you counter Malzahar´s lack of speed even with boots when chasing somebody.

Flash: I would highly recommend this spell; flashing over terrain is by far the best escape mechanism. You can easily get some crazy kills when used offensively.

Cleanse: Great spell due to the lack of escape mechanisms offered by Malzahar. Although, you will need either Ghost or Flash for it to be somehow useful and effective.

Exhaust: Great spell, I am currently using this spell on my build right now, I used to love Ignite but it didn't provide the outcome that I was looking for late game. Plus do not forget that this skill has been reworked and is top notch in my honest opinion. I would recommend it.

NOT TO GET

Clarity: Malzahar's abilities will devour your mana. If you find the need for extra mana while laning go ahead and pick clarity. In my opinion, if you run out of mana with Malzahar you are doing something wrong period (that is why you have malefic visions).

Clairvoyance: You already have call of the void to spot champions hiding on the brushes, it is a great summoner skill but I would rather pick something else.

Teleport: Malzahar is particularly not fast, it's a great spell to move around the map quickly. But I will only recommend it if there is a Jungler on your team and you are taking the solo lane, to get back quicker right after buying your items.

Heal: Fun skill to use although a bit cheap

Fortify: Fortify is not a great choice on Malzahar, but if you like getting this spell then be my guest. I would only recommend this skill on someone like Allistar, Heimer or Janna for example.

Revive: Pwease NO! Unless you are premade and know what you are doing..

Rally: Dont even consider it :X!

Smite: Have not thought about a jungler Malzahar build yet :O...I would not get this skill either.

Alternative 1

For more Survivability...(If you feel like there is no need of mana regen)

Alternative 2

I have tried this a couple of times and it seems to work great, then again you would have less mana regen. (Upon preferences)

I would suggest this Rune page if you chose Mastery Tree #1 and are building more survivability.

Greater Seal of Replenishment Greater Quintessence of Defense

Note: Again, depending on preference you might like Flat armor runes instead of Runes Per level...

THIS BUILD WILL GUIDE YOU ON HOW TO PLAY MALZAHAR EFFECTIVELY IT WON'T PROVIDE YOU WITH ANY KIND OF EXTRAORDINARY POWERS OR GRANT YOU AN INSTA 18-0-0 WIN EVERY GAME THAT YOU PLAY

It will indeed help you through better understanding Malzahar's role in team fights and guide you how to "succeed" when playing as him.

I'm just saying this because there are many different ways on how to play Malzahar and I often play it wisely and carefully due to the fact that I don't enjoy seeing my champions getting free rides to the healing pool.

Note: The reason why I decided to upload thumbnails instead of true size pictures was so that it saved a bit of space and was not a pain to scroll down.

Also this is my first Guide on MobaFire so I would highly appreciate some feedback, I put some extra work on this to make it "understandable" sorry if there are any misspelling errors, English is not my native language.

sKLr

(*)Item List updated Sep 24th 2011
(*)Situational Item Builds updated Sep 24th 2011

This section is to keep you updated with the current build and changes made

Hope it is useful and if you have any questions or concerns let me know!

Thanks