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Malphite Build Guide by DrKarorkian

Malphite,: A Tank with a side of Face-Smash

Malphite,: A Tank with a side of Face-Smash

Updated on June 15, 2011
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League of Legends Build Guide Author DrKarorkian Build Guide By DrKarorkian 4,188 Views 6 Comments
4,188 Views 6 Comments League of Legends Build Guide Author DrKarorkian Malphite Build Guide By DrKarorkian Updated on June 15, 2011
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Introduction

Hello Everybody! This is my first guide, so don't get too angry if it isn't perfect for you. I have to give credit for the start-out items (double philosopher stones) to d0nk3i. He shut me down in solo lane and showed me how to dominate. This is how I feel Malphite should be built to maximize spamming of abilities/harassing early game. This build is all about having a great early/mid game to make the late game a breeze.

As I don't have a whole lot of time at the moment, I won't make it look super nice right now. I just felt like this guide needed to be posted because there are none like it that I know of. If there are, I'm sorry for stepping on your toes.
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Pros/Cons (Malphite)

Pros
Great Lanestaying power
Can harass like a beast
Best Initiation in the game. (imo)
Better tanking early game
Cons
Has mana issues
Can be kited by good players
Weaker against ap champs (Groundslam relies on armor)
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Pros/Cons (My build compared to otheres)

Pros
Better early game
Acts more like an anticarry early game
Can almost carry a team from amazing farming
Cons
Can't tank as well early/mid game
Can take kills from carries easily (hurts late game)
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Summoner Spells

I get

Flash

and

Exhaust

for my spells. Flash helps a lot with positioning yourself and escaping. Exhaust is nice because in teamfights you can shut down carries even more.

Many people get

Clarity

, but you won't need it if you get double philosopher stones.
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Runes

Runes are things that I hate talking about. Everyone has their preferences. D0nk3i, the one I got the items from goes all armor runes. This seemed a little too much for me, but it does help Groundslam and fighting physical damage (AD) champs. It also allows you to go more for Magic Resist (MR).

I pick

Greater Mark of Magic Penetration

for the early game damage bonus.
I pick

Greater Seal of Armor

for the synergy with Groundslam
I pick

Greater Glyph of Magic Resist

for the higher MR value than the armor glyphs. This means overall I'm getting more for my buck.
I pick

Greater Quintessence of Ability Power

for the great early game harassment they bring.

Many people would disagree with my Quints and get HP or Armor. Both are fine, but I feel the early burst is worth more than the nerfed HP quints.

Overall This gives early game power with nice tanky seals and glypsh
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Masteries

Masteries are also controversial but much less so.
I go 9/21/0 for the magic damage and tankiness. This follows my runes giving me more early harrassing and giving me the same tankiness as other builds.
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Items

This is where my build will makes its greatest deviance with other Malphite builds.
Many go with Dorans Shield or Regrowth Pendant first. Some go with boots. I disagree. I believe 2 Faerie Charms are better because they allow for more harassment early game. Also, they build into the greatest lanestaying item imo. Two Philosopher Stones will allow you to go through anything.

In the game I played against D0nk3i, he was Malph and I was Sion. Both of our lanemates had left, so it was just us two. I had a Dorans ring and boots, and he had 2 philosopher stones. We both harassed each other down to half hp. The difference? His HP was going up at a ridiculous rate. It was so ridiculous I could see it going up. It didn't help that his passive made it even harder. It was agonizing to watch my harassment go up in smoke as his pounded me closer and closer to death.

Back on subject:
After the Philosopher's stones, you need Mercury Treads and some health. I normally get a Giant's Belt and leave it alone. After that I look at my enemies. Do they have a lot of AP/CC? If so build into Banshee's Veil. If they have more AD/Carries, get a Randuin's Omen next. I normally end up getting both because you are probably facing a mixture of the two. If I can't decide between the 2 I get pieces of each. Heart of Gold will give more money before you upgrade it. The Catalyst of Aeons will also give more hp and give a nice boost with its lvling bonus. After these I make the

Giant's Belt

from the beginning into a Warmog's Armor. Many people want to make the first Giants belt into a Sunfire Aegis. I don't like this because it doesn't give much besides the passive aoe. It's nice but for tanking, it doesn't do enough. After all of this Guardian Angel will make you almost impossible to take down.

By this point the game is normally over. If not, get a FoN if they have more MR, or a Thornmail if they have more AD. Just remember, Randuins will slow down their attacking, so thornmail won't do a ton. Also, if they are good, they won't be focusing you either.FoN is more helpful normally because in teamfights, its the AP that does most of the AOE's.
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Farming/Gameplay

This build is all about having a great mid game to build into an even better late game. This means you are either going solo lane or normal laning. You do not go mid. You can do great mid, but you don't need the farm as much as a carry. In your lane, you want to harass as much as possible while maxing out minion kills. Try to push you enemies back to deny experience. Once you get the philosopher stones it won't be hard. Try to level up as much as possible.You have a kind of weak period right before getting the Giants belt when if you try to tank fights, you will be kind of squishy. You still got a good amount of tankiness, but it isn't like what the other malphite builds have. You must remember to keep farming until the Giants belt. Once you get it, you can start tanking things much better.
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Teamfights

This is critical. You will have to learn how to initiate and fight. First off you need to know your spell rotation. It will normally go W,R,E,Randuins, and then Q. This means you toughen yourself up,Initiate,AOE,AOE slow, hit their squishy. Some may wonder why I do brutal strikes first. I have found that when I am mashing the keyboard for this sequence, I sometimes hit it after groundslam. This means less damage.

Initiating
This is even more important than getting the combo right. You have to make sure you have all of your teammates with you. If you don't back up until you do. I had a game where we didn't have Annie with us, so we just backed up. They followed us because it looked like a 5v4 they would win. Once Annie reached us, she ulted with stun on all 5 of them. (When people chase they seem to all be together) This meant my ult went off perfectly on all 5 of them. It was the most perfect Ace I had ever seen. Anyways, the moral is have everyone together. Sometimes not too close though ;). When you ult in for initiation you have to aim for the back of their group. If you do, you will hit their squishies. Sometimes you won't hit the tank because of this, but that is ok. Your team will storm past their tank who will not know what to do and eat their squishies. Many times they will just flash back leaving the tougher guys to die. Sometimes you won't be able to hit them all, and sometimes a teamfight is already started. You won't always have perfect teammates who listen, but try to get them to wait for you. If they don't and you end up walking in, make sure your ult will in a majority of the enemy. When I started off playing Malph I ulted too soon meaning I hit 1 or 2 instead of 3 or 4. This meant loss of the fight. If they are all spread out and you realize you don't have a target just stroll in. Try to get them to converge a bit, and then ult.
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Summary

This guide should show you how to be super effective with Malphite. I know it isn't the prettiest guide as I don't have the time right now, but I will look up the codes and what-not to make this better. I don't promise success the first time, but I will promise some fun games are ahead.
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League of Legends Build Guide Author DrKarorkian
DrKarorkian Malphite Guide
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Malphite,: A Tank with a side of Face-Smash

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