This is a guild to what I call "Support Tank" Malphite. If you haven't already guessed, Malphite is that rock-hard sexy beast at the top up there. (He looks even sexier clad in Obsidian.)

I started playing with Malphite shortly after I started playing LoL, and what started off as a great amount of frustration and dissatisfaction at his being "underpowered" eventually grew into a true appreciation for just how unstoppable this Unstoppable Force truly is.

The first time I tried building Malphite completely tanky, I was amazed. My first tank build had 3 Warmog's Armor instead of the Randuin's and Hammer, 7000-7500 health by game's end, and with approximately 210 Armor and Magic Resist, I was telling entire teams to go f**k themselves as they tried for long periods of time, unsuccessfully, to bring me to the ground. Insane amounts of health regen combined with superb defenses and 3 debuffing abilities made me an amazing tank, and I could feed the carries without a problem.

Then I realized that just being tanky wasn't enough; I needed to be more. So, after conversing with my buddies from ranked games, I created this build.

This build is designed for 4 things:
- maximum durability: High Armor, Magic Resist, and Health.
- ability to initiate, assist, chase, and escape: Relatively high mid-endgame movement speed and use of Teleport and Ghost allow you to be wherever the team needs you ...and to run for your life.
- CC support for team: Frozen Heart's cooldown reduction means more Unstoppable Force, and Randuin's Omen with 300+ Armor and 200+ Magic Resist means AoE 35% reduced movement and attack speed for 4.5 seconds. In addition, combined use of Seismic Shard and Frozen Hammer's slow means targets cannot escape.
- epic facerape: This should go without saying, but being nearly unkillable as well as a source of unbelievably powerful CC make you one hell of a sight to see barreling through a wall.

General playstyle is fairly simple: early game, frequent use of Seismic Shard will usually deter enemies from getting too close, and once you begin leveling Ground Slam, you can use the first to slow them down, then use the second to drop attack speed, so that pesky Ashe or Teemo suddenly can't rely on distance and spray n' pray to carry them to victory.

Try to stay in lane long enough to buy items in the increments I've listed; that way, you can maintain your effective presence in lane, and will only go back to fountain for MAJOR upgrades or replenishing health/mana. A few deaths early game won't be the end of you, especially since Philosopher's Stone and Heart of Gold will keep giving you gold even when you're dead, and late game you'll be laughing in the face of death.

As for actual fighting, the general rules are these:
- Aim Seismic Shard for the squishies, or for the one who tries to escape.
- Save your Ground Slam for when you can hit more than one enemy, unless you're going for a kill/high burst damage. It becomes terrifyingly effective when used in conjunction with a well-placed, multi-enemy hitting Unstoppable Force, especially once your damage begins to build. Entire enemy team Knocked Airborne and 50% reduced attack speed is a *****!
- Brutal Strikes should only be used offensively when attacking turrets, finishing an opponent off, or for increasing Ground Slam's damage. Defensively, use it to soak extra damage from turrets, and to take less overall physical damage so your Granite Shield remains active as often as possible, especially since late game you'll be earning an additional 550 health.
- Unstoppable Force should be your game-changer. Use it to temporarily surprise-f**k half of the enemy team, catch an opponent about to get away, run away over a wall, get yourself in the middle of the enemy team to activate Randuin's, etc. Try to save Unstoppable Force for when you have at least 225-325 mana early game, so that you can unleash all 4 of your abilities for maximum effectivensss.

Practice getting a feel for how much damage you can take and still get away; if you're escaping your enemies with more than 300-400 health, you might not be playing as aggressive as you could be, but the main rule is that you are the tank, and if anyone on your team should have the most deaths, it's you. You'll be surprised how much that game-winning Tryndamere/LeBlanc appreciates your help when you sacrifice yourself to let them keep their stacks from The Bloodthirster/Mejai's Soulstealer (and, of course, feed them kill after kill).

Logic behind runes is simple.

Magic Penetration Marks for maximum burst effectiveness/harassment.
Flat Armor Seals for early game beefy anti-right-click/tower/minion action.
Flat Magic Resist Glyphs for early/mid AP denial.
Flat Health Quints for maximum early game survivability.

I'm considering replacing the Quints with Movement Speed/Magic Pen (or maybe even respawn time reduction). Any thoughts?

Regrowth Pendant and Mana Potion to start you off with a bit of longevity, into a Philosopher's Stone for more regen and 5 Gold per 10.

Heart of Gold for early game health and another 5 Gold per 10. (And of course for Randuin's Omen later).

Boots of Speed to buff up your movement.

Blue Crystal before Glacial Shroud for more longevity with abilities in lane, and to start your ability to tank turrets/minions/monsters.

Negatron Cloak to balance out your early-mid game defenses for maximum survivability.

Mercury's Treads for more Magic Resist, better movement, and your much-needed Tenacity.

Finish Frozen Heart from Glacial Shroud to start your ability to tank like mad, more Cooldown Reduction, and area attack speed reduction.

Finish Force of Nature from Negatron Cloak to complete your Magic Resist and gain massive health regen.

Tank up with a Giant's Belt before completing Warmog's Armor; now your blazened path to juggernaut-like durability begins to show.

Second the previous notion with another Giant's Belt before completing your Frozen Mallet for even more health and your extremely important additional slowing capability after dashing in with Unstoppable Force.

And now, the game-changer... finish it all off with your Randuin's Omen, see yourself sitting at over 300 armor by end game, and prepare to slow the entire nearby enemy team's movement and attack speed by 35% for 4.5 seconds. Add in Frozen Heart's attack speed nerf, along with Ground Slam's attack speed nerf, ALONG with Seismic Shard's 4-second slow, AND FINALLY Frozen Mallet's slow on basic attacks, and... well, you get the picture. THIS is why I finally chose this build over 3 Warmog's, despite some truly frightening health regen and maximum health.

Have any ideas on how to better equip? Let me know!