Malzahar Tips & Tricks (Avanced guide)

Creamy Seaman·Dec 19, 2014·3 votes·843 views

the first thing u want 2 do is put ur w under dem den u wanna press e on dem den press r on dem. i hop u lern a lut 2day.

10 Comments

TabsDec 19, 20143 votes

w8 can u repeet pls

Creamy SeamanDec 20, 20141 votes

k den. teh furst wun is 2 poot ur w under dem. teh sekun wun is 2 put teh e on dem. fynalee u wanna poot ur r on 2 dem

TabsDec 20, 20141 votes

idunno if i hav the mekanikal abilitee to do dat, ill praktise tho. thx guy

SookoDec 20, 20141 votes

Wut abaut teh Q? wer do ai put it?

Creamy SeamanDec 20, 20141 votes

no need 4 dat 2 dai

SookoDec 20, 20141 votes

but mai faycerolling maite acidentely throw a Q. wot shud i do in dat case den? hit teh miniuns?

Creamy SeamanDec 20, 20141 votes

tri 2 put teh w under the minions and put e on 1 of dem

StephenizgodDec 20, 20141 votes

Well actually since the R animation takes too long, most people with competent reaction time will just go out of the W. Im guessing you are making fun of Malzahar players here? If not then sorry my bad, but its not as easy as that. I will post a small little guide here so people coming here will not be disappointed.

Laning and Teamfights

Im not a pro (im silver III actually...) but i have played alot of malz games. The W+R+Voidling is actually what makes Malz scary in a one v one. Most of the time if you take the time to press E they will run out of your W and you will blow your ult doing minimal damage. The key is to use your E on minions and wait to W+R when you know it will bounce to them (i believe it prioritizes champions but idk its bounce patterns are weird so its hard to tell) if you did it correctly you should get it to bounce to them while they are being ulted on your pool.

Malz can go into any lane and do any role, he is much better at some roles then others but it is not impossible (AD Malz is not to be underestimated haha). I tend to use him Top lane more then Mid, but that doesnt mean that is where he is best, just for me.

During laning phase, you need to be very careful not to push the lane too much. Its very tempting with the mana you get back for your E, but you need to make sure you are not over extending. Malz's only form of CC early game is his silence, miss it and you will need to flash away from a gank. There are a two ways to play Malzahar, passive and aggressive (no duh lol). When you are aggressive you need to watch your mana, it can get low real quick, but if you are careful with your spells you will chunk your enemy down very quickly. If you are not careful you will waste your mana or push the lane and get ganked a lot. If you play passive you just farm, stay back out of range and mostly let your E and Voidlings farm for you. If you are careful of when to use your E then you can farm peacefully without pushing the lane. The benefits of this is late game you will be a monster, the down side is you probably didnt get very many kills and if your lane opponent is smart they most likely roamed.

Now the best way to do this is to hit them with Q first, this makes it so they cant spam Flash and make you waste your ult. Q first or put your E on minions then Q (this gives 2 stacks on his passive either way), then W and quickly hit R. The animation is actually long enough for them to cast any form of hard CC to cancel your ult before or while its hitting you (its really annoying). If not then you have your W+R going, hopefully the E bounces to them and you will have a voidling up as well. Make sure to throw ignite on them unless they are for sure going to die without it, better safe then sorry. If they are still alive and in range put your E back on them, if they are out of range of your E then Q first so they cant immediately flash and then put E on them once in range (im assuming most people build Rylais on him? i dont but most do). Of course if they are not familiar fighting against Malz then just E+W+R+Ignite them, most people will die from that combo specially after a few Q's. Most know not to stand in his pool when he has his ult though, they also know to run backwards when the E hits them.

Malz is really good at fighting tanks and assassins actually, his ult allows him to lock down a pesky CC machine or an instakill assassin. He can essentially turn a teamfight into a 5v4 (since he is still doing damage even though he cant move). You team has 2 options, all jump on the person you are ulting or use that opportunity to attack their squishies. It all depends on who you ult and of course everyones placement. I usually ask my team to let me handle the person im ulting (since its basically a waste to fight someone who is already going to die) but if its very obvious my wombo combo can not take them down then ill ping the enemy so my team knows. Most people dont listen and just go for the kill but its whatever, just be happy your team got a kill

Level Sequences

If you are fighting a tankier opponent then i would recommend maxing W before Q (i almost always max W over Q, unless im forced into a harass lane where i will use Q more often) i guess its personal preference, if you hit the Q's more then probably maxing Q will do more damage for you. I use the W for my ult of course, but also to gain lane control. If they are low on life and know i still have my ult they will be less likely to walk into my pool, its a good scare tactic and it also forces them to move how you want.

Items

A typical Malz build is item 3151 item 3116 item 3027 item 3020 as your core build and then add item 3089 and probably item 3135

I usually build item 3020 item 3151 item 3128 or item 3157 depending on situation then item 3135 item 3089 item 3026 . This is my usual build, of course it changes depending on who i am fighting. Like i build roa if im getting poked and harassed alot and rylais if im being out ran or chased alot.

How to Beat Malz

Malzahar is stuck in place while ulting, making him a very good target for Assassins. He is also very vulnerable to CC, most of which will cancel his Ult (only slows and roots wont cancel it). So say you are Pantheon, when you see him ulting quickly spam your Stun on him, it will work regardless of whether you are being suppressed during your stun.
Malz is also weak to drawn out teamfights, specially after using his ult. His high mana costs and long cooldowns make it hard for him to fight extended fights.
In lane dodge all of his Q's, they have a delay and are very telegraphed.
If Malz isnt careful with his E, he will push the lane constantly just call your jung or another lane for help. He excels at one v ones not so much two v ones.
If you see a minion with his E about to die, back off and dont let it hit you. Taking it once or twice may not seem like a lot but if you continue to play reckless you will end up with his E+W+R+Voidling combo, not many can take this much damage even tanks.
After he uses his Q, go in on him pre-level 6. He has no form of CC other then a silence before lvl 6 and his base movement speed is low. Do your damage, maybe even kill him but if not then back off before his Q comes back.

Im not going to go too much into Counter picking and who he counters, since its all based on personal skill anyways. But for the sake of people who are new to Malz i will say a few champions he does well against or struggles against. All of these are just from my observations and experience. It is entirely based on your skill with your champion compared to their skill with their champion. Like i said these are just from what ive found when i play Malzahar.

Malzahar does decently well against Katarina, if she ults you ult and yours cancels hers. Not to mention they have similar ability ranges, so hitting her with your Q means she cant dash.

Malzahar does decently well against Zed, you do stronger poke damage and he has no way to cancel your ult. if he Ults you, Zed always appears behind you so just time your Q for his ult (they have very close to the same delay) and then W+R while he cant do anything. Unless you are very low on Hp already you should be able to win this trade.

Malzahar does not do so well againt Orianna and Lux for roughly the same reason. They out range him and they both have shields to counter your E. Oriannas ult can also stop your ult if timed well.

He also doesn't do so well against Annie has her ult has longer range then his and she can just dish out a ton of instant damage where his is all DoT.

Malzahar has a tough time with champions who have high mobility and/or a lot of CC.

Malzahar destroys Teemos...

Creamy SeamanDec 20, 20141 votes

but malz take 2 much skill and strategy 2 play. I mean press e w and r must take a lot of skill while u sit there and get a free kill and they cant do anything to get out.

StephenizgodDec 20, 20141 votes

He takes more skill then most other mages. Unlike them he does DoT meaning you do need to plan when and how to use your damage most efficiently otherwise you just wasted all your abilities. Just because you dont know how to fight against him doesnt mean he is easy requires no skill. Try playing with him and you will see that anyone who is half competent knows how to deal with him. His ult is strong, but it has a very long cooldown so once its down he is vulnerable. If you are AD just buy QSS, problem solved, but i guess complaining and crying is easier then actually learning how to fight against him...