Maw of Malmortius is extremely strong right now?

Lafouboy·May 29, 2015·3 votes·907 views

Too many good champs can use it so extremely well for its massive AD (higher AD item than any other non-stack item when below 60% health) while it also gives Magic Resist and a magic shield to absorb damage (for the massive amount of magic damage many tanks put out; along with "fuck Leblanc").

I dunno, it just seems like it may be one of the items you should build on almost all AD champs (in this current meta). It's stats, base build, etc. are too good not to grab; excluding facing a full AD team. It also allows a lot of champs that normally don't go mid anymore to dominate/go even with mid mages (such as , , , , , etc.).

What are your thoughts on this item currently?

Poll: http://strawpoll.me/4485650

6 Comments

ErockandrollMay 29, 20153 votes

Not sure about maw, but it's component item Hexdrinker, is really good at dueling AP lane opponents or allowing AD Junglers to survive burst. Also most tanks (grags, sej) do magic damage so having some level of MR is useful in the tank meta.

DesideriumMay 29, 20153 votes

It's not that good. Merc Scimitar is typically the better chose for the QSS + speed boost if you want to itemize against magic damage. Maw is for the bruisers that don't care about CC.

FC TropixMay 29, 20152 votes

I had it on Jayce, and I was about 40% health and was able to burst down either the enemy's jungler or top from ~90-100% health.

I only head an Essence Reaver and the Maw, and I assumed my crazy dmg was from that Maw passive....

KazaLyn ShaoMay 29, 20152 votes

I rarely use it. Merc Scimitar is almost always better because I fear CC more than I fear raw magic damage. Stun usually leads to more stun, to knock up, to death. At least cleansing one gives you a chance to escape. A little bit of MR and a tiny shield won't save you from the CC heavy meta we play in.

FalconPawwwwnchMay 29, 20152 votes

Scemitar is better

Maw needs more MR to be competitive since Scemitar's active >>>>>> Maw's

Hard4HamstersMay 29, 20151 votes

It is not that good, but it is pretty good. Particularly it can help you in lane matchups against magic damage lane opponents if you are playing something like Darius JarvanIV Pantheon and you pick up hexdrinker to help you in lane. The item seems to be designed to help bruisers all in an opponent without having to worry so much about getting bursted, even gaining power for losing hp.

There are some champions who synergize really well with the item: Tryndamere Olaf Aatrox all do well at lower health, so maw is more appealing. But as it sits, most champions will just sit on hexdrinker because it helps them in lane and they only finish maw as one of their last items. On ADC's and Assassins (champions who go full AD), Mercury Scimitar is usually preferred as it allows them to escape from getting CC'd out of a fight, which is more important. In addition, ADCs should almost never buy Maw ( Urgot is allowed to because he is truly a bruiser) as it implies that they are going to be low health to make the most out of the item, which ADC's (ideally) should stay untouched for the majority of the fight.

I think Maw is a good enough item right now, but it is rather expensive, so it is unappealing to a lot of champions. It's a good item situationally, but I wouldn't build it EVERY game, because it is not always the best option, even against a high damaging AP stacking opponent. For instance; when you are facing Annie, you will build Banshee's or QSS as your MR option because her stun will be negated, unless your item is on CD. In lane you might pick up Merc Treads, because they reduce the CC. You CAN go hexdrinker when laning against an Annie, but if you focus on building too many MR items, you will either be lacking damage, or not have enough physical defenses for other members of the enemy team.

Those are my thoughts on it. Hexdrinker into Maw I find is very situational, but it's not a bad item. It really helps a lot of Toplaners against Rumble for instance, but again, I don't think it is good for every game as it is expensive and implies you are going to die or be near death a lot to make use of the passive.