Mid

Malzahar Build 26.21

A lockdown that cannot be dodged is a rare thing, and it is Malzahar's entire pitch. His ult is point-and-click, suppressing a single target in place with no skillshot to whiff. Playable but nothing scary at 50.2% and trending up this patch, he pairs that with a passive spell shield that eats the key ability aimed at him and a spreading damage-over-time that clears waves on its own. He is not flashy, he just removes one target and refuses to die.

#55 of 130 mid this patch · 6.1k games

Win rate50.2%+0.3Games6.1kPick rate4.2%Ban rate7.2%Last 8 patches+0.7 since 26.14Damage profilei

AP 96%AD 2%True 2%DifficultyiModerateRewards fundamentals

The 10-second answer standard · 50.2% WR

Spells

Flash + Teleport Start

Spellslinger's Shoes SkillsE›Q›W Runes

Shards

ClassicModernARAM Counter

173 champions

AatroxTopB49.4%AhriMidA50.9%AkaliMidC49.0%AkshanMidA51.2%AlistarSupportS52.7%AmbessaTopD46.8%AmumuJungleA51.2%AniviaMidB50.2%AnnieMidA51.9%ApheliosAD CarryB50.0%AsheAD CarryB49.8%Aurelion SolMidB50.6%AuroraMidB50.3%AzirMidD46.8%BardSupportC48.9%Bel'VethJungleA51.7%BlitzcrankSupportA51.7%BrandSupportB50.0%BraumSupportB50.0%BriarJungleA51.9%CaitlynAD CarryC48.2%CamilleTopB50.7%CassiopeiaMidC49.1%Cho'GathJungleS52.5%CorkiAD CarryB49.4%DariusTopB50.7%DianaJungleC49.2%Dr. MundoTopA51.1%DravenAD CarryB50.5%EkkoMidA51.7%EliseJungleA51.5%EvelynnJungleB50.5%EzrealAD CarryD47.3%FiddlesticksJungleA51.3%FioraTopA51.9%FizzMidS52.5%GalioMidC49.3%GangplankTopB50.7%GarenTopA52.3%GnarTopC49.2%GragasTopB49.8%GravesJungleC49.0%GwenTopB50.2%HecarimJungleB50.1%HeimerdingerTopB50.2%HweiMidA51.1%IllaoiTopA51.0%IreliaTopB50.4%IvernJungleA52.5%JannaSupportA51.4%Jarvan IVJungleC49.3%JaxTopB50.0%JayceTopC48.5%JhinAD CarryB49.3%JinxAD CarryB50.4%K'SanteTopD46.7%Kai'SaAD CarryB50.7%KalistaAD CarryB49.7%KarmaSupportC48.3%KarthusJungleB50.7%KassadinMidC48.7%KatarinaMidA52.1%KayleTopA51.9%KaynJungleA51.0%KennenTopB50.5%Kha'ZixJungleB50.1%KindredJungleA52.0%KledTopB50.5%Kog'MawAD CarryA50.9%LeBlancMidB50.4%Lee SinJungleC48.0%LeonaSupportA51.7%LilliaJungleA51.5%LissandraMidA51.2%LockeMidB49.2%LucianAD CarryC48.5%LuluSupportB49.4%LuxSupportB49.4%MalphiteTopA51.2%MalzaharMidB50.2%MaokaiSupportB49.6%Master YiJungleB50.2%MelMidD46.2%MilioSupportB49.6%Miss FortuneAD CarryA51.1%MordekaiserTopA50.9%MorganaSupportB50.5%NaafiriJungleC48.4%NamiSupportB50.2%NasusTopB50.5%NautilusSupportB50.0%NeekoSupportC48.1%NidaleeJungleA51.3%NilahAD CarryB50.2%NocturneJungleC48.0%Nunu & WillumpJungleB50.3%OlafTopA51.1%OriannaMidD47.7%OrnnTopA51.1%PantheonTopB49.6%PoppySupportA51.7%PykeSupportB50.0%QiyanaJungleD47.1%QuinnJungleB49.5%RakanSupportB50.8%RammusJungleC48.8%Rek'SaiJungleB50.7%RellSupportS53.1%Renata GlascSupportC48.3%RenektonTopB50.0%RengarJungleB49.3%RivenTopB49.5%RumbleTopD46.0%RyzeMidD46.4%SamiraAD CarryB50.2%SejuaniJungleA51.4%SennaSupportB50.8%SeraphineSupportB49.9%SettTopA51.5%ShacoJungleA52.3%ShenTopA51.4%ShyvanaJungleB50.1%SingedTopA51.1%SionTopB50.3%SivirAD CarryA51.2%SkarnerJungleS53.2%SmolderAD CarryB49.8%SonaSupportA51.8%SorakaSupportB50.1%SwainSupportC48.9%SylasMidB49.3%SyndraMidB50.4%Tahm KenchSupportB50.2%TaliyahJungleS+54.4%TalonJungleB49.6%TaricSupportA51.9%TeemoTopA50.8%ThreshSupportA51.8%TristanaAD CarryB50.6%TrundleTopB50.2%TryndamereTopA51.3%Twisted FateMidA51.8%TwitchAD CarryA52.0%UdyrJungleA51.7%UrgotTopB50.6%VarusAD CarryB49.7%VayneAD CarryC48.1%VeigarMidB50.5%Vel'KozSupportB50.2%VexMidS52.7%ViJungleC49.3%ViegoJungleB49.3%ViktorMidD47.5%VladimirMidB50.1%VolibearTopD47.7%WarwickJungleA52.2%WukongJungleB50.2%XayahAD CarryB50.8%XerathMidA51.2%Xin ZhaoJungleA52.3%YasuoMidA50.9%YoneMidB49.4%YorickTopC49.3%YunaraAD CarryB49.5%YuumiSupportC49.0%ZaahenTopA51.1%ZacJungleB49.7%ZedMidC48.5%ZeriAD CarryA51.8%ZiggsAD CarryB50.8%ZileanSupportA51.7%ZoeMidA51.6%ZyraSupportA52.0%

LoL ClassicSee how Malzahar was built in the classic eraMalzahar Classic Build

When Is Malzahar Strongest?

The curve keeps climbing into the mid-to-late game, and games at this rank average around 29 minutes. Malzahar wins by shoving waves and roaming, using that window to lock down a priority target in every skirmish, since his suppression can single-handedly remove the enemy carry from a fight.

Game timeline · Malzahar drag or hover to scrub · space plays · ←/→ step

your power minute by minute · gold = item spikes · small = components · dashed = objectives

Camps1:30Drake / Grubs5:00Herald14:00Baron20:00Avg end29:11

Ambush zone8:00–9:30 Power spike 20:20

18:38

11:03

20:20

21:10

0:00 10:00 20:00 30:00 40:00

At 12:00

Power 54/100 · Even

Core 1/3 items

Gold ~5.1k

Phase Lvl-6 window

Next spike Spellslinger's Shoes · 18:38

Malzahar Item Build

Malzahar is a waveclear mage who melts creeps with spreading damage over time and then locks a single target down with a point-and-click suppression. The build stacks ability power and magic penetration so his damage over time and ultimate burn a target from full.

Standard loadout · Malzahar The consensus path — reliable spikes, no dead time.

Starting items 500g

Doran's Ring×1

Health Potion×2

Stealth Ward×1 Core path · click an item for its recipe ›› Boots

Spellslinger's Shoes82% · 51.3%

Crimson Lucidity18% · 48.6%

Situational items pick an opponent in the bar above — the right swaps light up

vs AD threatsPhysical threats spike with lethality — armor answers buy the mid game back.Z

Zhonya's Hourglass1.1k54.1%

vs stacked resistsWhen resists stack, penetration beats raw stats — swap a damage slot.S

Shadowflame1.1k53.7%B

Bloodletter's Curse21453.7%V

Void Staff26552.5%

vision controlFights are decided a minute earlier by the team that sees first.O

Oracle Lens61353.7%F

Farsight Alteration2.3k50.7%S

Stealth Ward3.1k49.2%

Best Malzahar Runes

Deathfire Touch is a natural fit for a champion whose damage ticks over time rather than in one burst. His spreading DoT and the ult channel keep dealing damage second after second, feeding the keystone for its full duration. Build the rest for mana and ability haste so his waveclear and lockdown stay available.

The pre-game page Deathfire Touch · Sorcery + Inspiration · keystone + 5 runes + 3 shards

Sorcery Primary

Deathfire TouchDamaging a champion with an ability burns them over time.

Manaflow Band94% · 50.3%

Transcendence93% · 50.1%

Scorch72% · 49.8%

Keystone plus three minors from Sorcery, two from Inspiration, then three shards — no runebook, no masteries.

Inspiration Secondary

Magical Footwear57% · 50.9%

Cosmic Insight63% · 51.0%

Stat shards Offense

Adaptive Force+9 Adaptive Force

Flex

Adaptive Force+9 Adaptive Force

Defense

Health Scaling+10–180 Health (by level)

Shards give +18Adaptive Force+10–180 Health (by level)

Build toward Blackfire Torch into Liandry's Torment so the ult and his damage-over-time actually finish what he locks down. Falling behind early is recoverable on this scaling curve. Liandry's Torment comes online by roughly 20 minutes, and from there a suppressed target rarely walks away. Rush it so the lockdown converts into a kill every time.

Malzahar Skill Order

Void Swarm holds its level 2 rank until 14, leaving Call of the Void as the ability climbing beside Malefic Visions. Q lands at 3, 8, 10, 12 and 13 for the silence, and E has 1, 4, 5, 7 and 9.

Skill order · Malzahar R at 6 / 11 / 16 — always

PriorityR

R›E

E›Q

Q›W

WMax E first; Q at level 3.

Lv 123456789101112131415161718

Q38101213max 13

W214151718max 18

E14579max 9

R61116max 16

Malzahar Abilities

Call of the Void does more than chip, its twin portals silence anyone caught, cutting off an escape before the lockdown lands. Void Swarm feeds the same loop, its Voidlings drawn to whoever carries Malefic Visions so the damage over time and the swarm pile onto one target.

Abilities · Malzaharpatch 26.21 base numbers · click an ability · all ranks shown

Void ShiftPassiveP

Call of the VoidMax 2ndQ

Void SwarmMax lastW

Malefic VisionsMax 1stE

Nether GraspUltRRank-up levels here match the skill order below.

Malefic VisionsMagic damageMax 1stStatLV 1rank 1LV 4rank 2LV 5rank 3LV 7rank 4LV 9MAXDamage+35 per rank+80% APlv 180lv 4115lv 5150lv 7185lv 9220Cost+10 per ranklv 160lv 470lv 580lv 790lv 9100Cooldown-1 per ranklv 111slv 410slv 59slv 78slv 97s

Malzahar Base Stats

Base stats · MalzaharPatch 26.21

Base statslevel 1 · +per levelAD55+3AS0.625+1.5%MS335Range500HP580+101HP56+0.6Armor18+4.7MR30+1.3MP375+28MP58+0.8

Malzahar Matchups

Malzahar is immobile and relies on his passive shield to stay alive, so relentless assassins who bait it out and dive him are his worst nightmare. Immobile targets he can suppress and drown in voidlings are the ones he shuts down completely.

Lane matchups · Malzahar click any opponent to retune the console

Hardest lanes · click to tune

Best hunting

How to lane vs AP mages 01Build magic resist early, trade with Malefic Visions rather than extended spell exchanges02Silence their combo with Call of the Void before they cast key spells03Let Void Shift absorb burst, then ultimate to suppress the enemy mage Win rate by game lengthMalzahar overall · all matchupsUnder 20 min45.8%20–28 min50.6%28–35 min51.5%Over 35 min49.2%

Be careful into Twisted Fate, Akshan, and Smolder, who can poke him from range where his spell shield and short-range lockdown do not help much. Save the shield for their main threat instead of letting it pop on chip damage. He is a nightmare for Brand, Vladimir, and Taliyah, since his point-and-click suppress erases their mobility entirely, so hold the ult for whoever on their team most needs shutting off.

ExploreWhere to go next after Malzahar

Keep climbing · Mid laneMid Lane Tier ListEvery mid laner ranked by tierSee Mid Lane Tier List