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Ziggs....or Malzahar?

xBrokenArrow·4/11/2015, 3:25:54 AM·1 votes·525 views

So I've been looking into getting another mage to play, because frankly, mid lane is the only role I really get bored with. I just haven't found a champion that really clicks, if that makes sense. Anytime I choose the mid lane, I immediately regret it. I get the , "Oh god what have I done" sort of feeling. I sit there staring at my champion pool wondering who I'll have to suffer with for the next 40 minutes. Which usually ends up being Leblanc. Don't get me wrong, I think she's a strong champion, but I feel like her gameplay gets pretty old.

So now I'm browsing through the 4800 champions (I say 4800 because I own every champion under this price) for a new mage to try and get into (I really would like to actually enjoy mid lane. I'm a firm believer that you should be comfortable playing any role in ranked, and I don't like telling people I can't mid.) and I happened to stumble across Ziggs and Malzahar. The last time I played either of them was on a free week sometime during Season 4, maybe sooner. Thinking back on that, and watching other people play them in my matches, they both seem like really good champions to learn. I just have no idea which one to get.

And....that's where you guys come in. I'd appreciate it if you guys could give me any insight you have on these two, or any other mage (you know what, just mid lane in general) you enjoy playing. Preferably those priced at 4800 or above, as these are the ones I don't own, but if your mid of choice is below that, feel free to bring them up. I'm all ears. Or...eyes, in this case.

Thanks in advance for anything you guys have for me!

3 Comments

EndlessSorcerer4/11/2015, 3:35:51 AM2 votes

Those two are my favourite mages, so I applaud your choices.

Ziggs is great for poking around objectives, sieging, and waveclearing while still providing a lot of damage in teamfights. His lane phase is typically pretty passive though, prioritizing farm and poking the enemy if they stand near their minions. His damage is entirely composed of skillshots and semi-delayed abilities, so it can be somewhat unreliable against mobile champions or when dueling, but he has a lot of range and good zone control to help with that. He's fairly safe in laning phase due to his range and his Satchel Charge.

Malzahar works very well against tanks, bruisers, and assassins who have to dive into his team or try to 1v1 him, since he can easily kill them with his combo. He has strong, safe waveclear, good objective control through his percent health damage, strong 1v1 potential, and decent utility (AoE silence, single-target suppression). While his ultimate leaves him vulnerable, it is great in 1v1 situations or when attempting to peel for your allies (or just solo a fed character). However, he lacks mobility and pushes the lane a lot, so you have to be careful for ganks and AoE CC which many interrupt your ultimate.

If it helps, I find that my builds tend to go along the following line: Ziggs : item 3020 item 3174 item 3285 item 3089 item 3135 item 3157 [Could use Lichbane instead of Luden's Echo, but it should probably be built ~4th item if you get it.] Malzahar : item 3027 item 3151 [Swap Liandry's Torment and Rabadon's Death Cap if you want.]

Deep Terror Nami4/11/2015, 3:49:52 AM1 votes

I like Malzahar's style more (especially since he can even run full AD for his minions), but Ziggs is not bad and has a kick ass skin coming; and we all know skins win games.

Swollwonder4/11/2015, 3:53:59 AM1 votes

I don't own either champ but imo malzahar has more potential with a higher skill ceiling and ziggs has a lower skill ceiling but is easier to play. Ziggs is just a bunch of skill shots which is kinda boring to me to a degree. malzahar is point and click primarily so he is also boring in a sense. Mechanically neither of them are fun to me. Now character wise (and i do occasionally buy a champion for what they represent as a character or what i call coolness factor) both are REALLY COOL. I mean ziggs blews crap up with a giant bomb for his ult. and Malzahar is a floating prophet of another dimension. whats not to like?