Pros
- Amazing midder
- Good harass
- Good pusher
- Very strong farmer
- High damage output
- somewhat of an anti-carry
Cons
- Often focused
- Squishy early game
- Pet is unreliable (cant control it)
- Can burn alot of mana if not played right

Malzahar has been one of my mains for a very long time. He is a very strong mid and AP carry. The reason malzahar isnt considered to be an AMAZING carry is because he lacks AoE compared to Annie, Anivia or Fiddlesticks who an really dominate any teamfight. However, Malzahar makes up for that wih his ability to DOMINATE mid, he can clear waves of minions and get 95% of the last hits with Malefic Visions

Greater Mark of Magic Penetration - Amazing for any AP based champion
Greater Seal of Scaling Mana Regeneration - Malzahar does have some mana issues, these will help a lot
Greater Glyph of Ability Power - Personally i like to have flat AP runes because at early levels is when runes are most influencial. You can substitute for Greater Glyph of Scaling Ability Power if you like
Greater Quintessence of Ability Power - Same as the glyphs. Early game rape. Simple as that

My item choice is farely typical for any AP carry. However you may ask, why would you want hextech revovler ( which later builds into Will of the Ancients) on Malzahar? The answer is quite simple, malzhars ultimate Nether Grasp is amazing isnt it? High scaling with AP, decent cooldown, supression, insane damage. But uh oh, theres only one problem. The fact that casting Nether Grasp also immoilizes Malzahar, making you very easily targetable. The other MAIN supression skill belongs to Warwick and his ultimate Infinite Duress. Yes, Infinite Duress also immobilizes Warwick in one spot, BUT warwick has his CRAZY lifesteal making it difficult to drop warwicks hp. Which is why i like to get spell vamp. With proper positionng and spell vamp, the enemy team shouldnt be able to focus you.

I take Flash and Ignite as my summoner spells. Ignite is a MUST HAVE on malzahar, it benefits him in many ways. For starters, casting ignite also applies to your passive. Ignite is castable even while channeling Nether Grasp. When you're in Nether Grasp and it looks like they wont die, throw your Ignite in so that you can secure the kill. Malzahar is a DoT champion (damage over time) ignite works wonders with melefic visions. Flash is just amazing in general, it as many uses. For a champion like Malzahar, who doesnt have any escape, Flash is very beneficial. When being ganked, you can simply flash out and save yourself. Also, it can give you the element of suprise. When i hit lvl 6 and i get Nether Grasp, i like in flash into my opponent and throw down my combo. Its unexpected because it happens so fast. And now you just got a kill and will have lane dominance

if necesarry ----> ----> ----> ----> ----> if necessary

Like any other champion, farming is VERY IMPORTANT. Luckily Malzahar is naturally an amazing farmer. With Malefic Visions you can clear an entire wave of minons if you use it correctly. Also because it refunds mana when you kill a creep or champion with it, you shouldnt be burning mana. At later levels around 10-12 depending how fed you are, Call of the Void can clear the caster minions with 1 cast.

During laning phase you should find a good balance between farming and harassing. Here are some good ways to harass

Call of the Void - This skill can do some very nice burst if you can land both portals on your enemy. The only problem is its kinda tricky because there is a delay between casting and it actually hitting. This isnt something i can really teach you how to do. You can learn this from personal experience. However, when your lvl 12 and can 1 hit the caster minions, try to hit them with it as well. Youll be killing 2 birds with 1 stone.

Malefic Visions - This DoT can do some very heavy harassment. Simply, you can just walk up to your enemy and just nuke them with it. However, this isnt using it to its full potential. A little trick i like to do is force my malefic visions to jump onto my enemy. Put your malefic visions onto the melee minions, after it kills off all 3 it should jump onto the caster minions. Lower the health of the other 2 minions to a point where you can kill them with 1 Call of the Void. Once your enemy walks near their own caster minions to farm or for whatever reason, quickly use Call of the Void and kill off the caster minions. If done correctly, you can force your Malefic Visions onto them while still using it to farm.

Null Zone - I doubt anyone is really stupid enough to stand in a large black gaping hole. So dont bother wasting mana on it for harassment.

Nether Grasp - This.....for harassment? You stupid bro?

In the early game you should be in a solo lane, just because malz owns almost any 1v1. Start off with a Sapphire Crystal and 2 hp pots. Try your best to get as much farm as you can, and harass when you can. Once you hit lvl 6 try to go for a kill with a flash combo. If you get the kills then awesome, recall and get a Catalyst of Aeons and Boots. Get wards and hp pots if necessary. If not then dont recall just yet, you dont wanna lose exp, farm, and getting your turret pushed. Wait until they recall so its still an even match. Ganking is an important part of soloing. Many players neglect doing so, if you cant get fed in your lane you might as well try in other lanes. Also applying pressure of other lanes is good, it instills fear in them and could help your team zone.

By now you should have your Rod of Ages, Boots and a Mejai's Soulstealer. Continue to farm your lane while trying to get kills/gank lanes. Get blue buff if you can, but make sure if you have a jungler to ask them if its okay for you to get it. Also ask him to help you so that you can get back in lane faster. Make sure that your in every teamfight thats happening. Getting stacks onto your mejais is important. However dont play stupidly, youll just end up dying and losing stacks.

By now if your fed/farmed enough you should be near your endgame build. Meaning you can 1 hit any non-supertank. In fights it should be your job to target the enemy carry and give them a long deathtimer. Continue to farm and keep the blue buff on you. The CDR and regen are great for malzahar. Get baron if your team gets the oppurtunity, make sure you have wards at the major entrances to baron, if not you might end up getting ganked and having them steal baron. Get elixers of brilliance if your build is complete, since theres nothing else to get. Continue to buy wards, having map control late game could make or break your chances of winning.

As Malzahar you should always be taking and owning any solo lane. Hes extremely strong and should be able to dominate. Farming is something that comes natural to malzahar, so abuse it. Farm up as much as you can in the early game so that you can crush in the mid-late.

Enjoy!