Hey everyone, I am Arkhel, and this is my first Moba guide. I play with Malzahar about a year long now, and still use him as my main midlaner. I like him, because he is so strong in 1v1 and can be very useful in teamfights if used well.

I don't see many Malzahars ingame, but if I see, there are so many who can't use him well.
That's why I make this guide, to show his strengths, and show how cool this champion is!

Malzahar is a ranged AP carry with a very huge burst. He is quite underplayed in ranked solo Q-s, but I think he IS a kind of champion who can carry the game with focusing down their carry and spam Q and W under the enemy team.

With good positioning and casting his spells, he is almost able to kill ANYONE in the enemy team with full combo!

Pros

+ Burst damage
+ Can 1v1 almost everyone lategame
+ Quite underplayed
+ Voidlings are strong and fun!
+ Have safe kills with supress
+ AOE silence and % damage spell
+ Nice farming abilities
+ So fun to play


Cons

- Don't have escape
- Mana dependent
- Sometimes needs full combo
- Ultimate makes him an easy target
- Quite squishy
- Week before lvl 6

His spells can make a very good combo, which can't be as quick casted in normal cast then smart cast. It is IMPORTANT to be fastest then your enemy!

Passive:
This spell can give you first blood in lower ranks! People there don't really know Malzahar and how strong can this little minion be. It is uncontrollable, but prefers targets with: Because of it's nice damage output, it can help you push your lane, but care(!) it can confuses you with last hitting! So use it well!

Q:
This is a very useful spell with so much damage. It can help you escape if somebody's chasing you, if you can cast it properly behind yourself because of the silence. Moreover, it is a very good teamfighter spell - it can hit Every enemy in one time! It gives you vision as well, so Call of the Void can be used to facecheck bushes, or to cast behind walls.
W:
This spell has % damage!! It is really useful in teamfights, and 1v1 as well. If you cast your ultimate, Nether Grasp while your enemy stands in Null Zone your damage will be so unbearable!:)
If somebody flashes through a wall with so low HP, you can throw a [null zone] randomly - it CAN give you the kill!!:)
E:
This is what makes Malzahar to Malzahar for me:D!
It is so fun when they thought they escape and you have a triple on them!
This spell is your main damage output (exc Nether Grasp) for one target, and it can goes to another!
It gives you mana when it kills a target, so it can be used in the laning phrase, but care, it pushes so hard!
Ultimate:
I think this is the best 1v1 ultimate in the game! They can't even touch you while you kill them with suppress. Lategame if you are fed, an ADC is an easy kill just with casting your ultimate on them.

- use your passive with your Malefic Visions in early game, it is good poking.
- The enemy will try to avoid minions affected with Malefic Visions. If they are too far from you, try to put your E onto a very low hp-d minion next to him. If you cast the time it dies, it will jump into your enemy almost instantly.
- Use your Call of the Voidand Null Zone to catch low hpd enemies who flashed behind a wall. Both have enough damage to finish the job.
- Use your ultimate ALWAYS with your Null Zone under him! It gives more damage than you think! Without it, it can survive.



Explanation:

- you can kill anyone with this combo (in lategame with nice ap, even tanks!)
- If you do not start your route with silencing the enemy it can easily escape from you.
- Null Zone is important to have while Nether Grasp the enemy.
- Malefic vision gives you high burst - it should be casted before your ultimate. If they survive Nether Grasp, it can be an unfortunate situation.
- You can use Igniteon him while you are suppressing.

First items

I start with 2x Total Biscuit of Rejuvenation and Doran's Ring - It is enough for me, to harass the enemy and farm well. It gives me mana If I don't have until I have blue buff.

Core items

Rod of Ages is good for Malzahar! It has damage, HP and mana. It solves his early squishyness and mana reliance.

Liandry's Anguish damages from enemy % HP - which is so cool with your Null Zone! and ultimate Nether Grasp This item makes your combo a lot stronger!

Rabadon's Deathcap I like this item to get early in the game. Malzahar needs ability power to make sure he can 1v1 anyone, so this item can maximalise his early damage.

Other viable choices

To maximalize your burst, I would recomment the 2 items made from Needlessly Large Rod - Deathfire Grasp and Zhonya's Hourglass. These items gives so much ability power, which can make you overkill and ADC only with your ultimate!

If they build magic res, then Void Staff is important to have

One of my friends recommended me Archangel's Staff once. If you can't save mana, it can help you. It is not the best item for Malzahar but can fill if you have problems with Mana.

I am not a pro player, I just play for fun :D
Malzahar is the champion I can always have a great game with, and I wanted to share what I know about him.

Thank you, for reading this guide, I hope it was useful! :)