Malzahar Tips Needed

EkkoFroffles·Apr 22, 2015·4 votes·1,708 views

Malzahar has the second highest win rate of all champions, at least according to this (http://loldb.gameguyz.com/statistics/winRate), and I've been trying to learn more mid laners, so naturally I had to give him a try.

After 3 co-op matches I made the jump to team builder and, well, it was glorious. 20/2/10 (http://matchhistory.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/#match-details/NA1/1801685789/219119546). Now I want to build off of that, and so I'm on the lookout for any little tricks of the trade that might help me on my way.

Stuff like clearing waves by using your E on minions. I didn't pick that up until my third co-op match, and I do believe it was my E hopping from one champion to another that got me that triple kill. In that first match, all I really did during laning was E minions, Q/W Kennen when he got too close, and W+R to finish him off. Is there anything else I should be doing to maximize him?

22 Comments

StrawberrycocoaApr 22, 20154 votes

Definitely keep as many E's hopping around the battlefield as you can. With some CDR Malz can have several Visions jumping around to infect enemies.

Q when people try to harass or trade with you is an excellent idea. If ahead enough consider using Q aggressively to zone. E's passive effect helps keep your mana up (and in lane phase this stacks with Doran's Ring's effect), so every couple E hops drop a Q when they try to farm if you are trying to deny them CS.

Don't use W to trade. Malzahar has nothing to force players to stand in it except his ult, so players can very easily avoid it or walk out of it, which makes for an innefficient trade. You can zone with it if you wish but mind the mana and use it sparingly. W's best use is in combo with his ult. QWE as fast as you can then R while they are still on the pool. Save this combo for 30% or less health.

Voidlings will chase down your E-infected enemies, both minion and champion, but you can also use your auto-attacks to guide them if you don't have an E up and ticking. If possible, wait for a voidling to grow to Stage 2 before ulting, as it will have more damage to help eat down your target.

Q gives vision, so it can be used to scout bushes safely.

Learn to love Liandries. :D

warpenguin555Apr 22, 20151 votes

{quoted}

Definitely keep as many E's hopping around the battlefield as you can. With some CDR Malz can have several Visions jumping around to infect enemies.

Q when people try to harass or trade with you is an excellent idea. If ahead enough consider using Q aggressively to zone. E's passive effect helps keep your mana up (and in lane phase this stacks with Doran's Ring's effect), so every couple E hops drop a Q when they try to farm if you are trying to deny them CS.

Don't use W to trade. Malzahar has nothing to force players to stand in it except his ult, so players can very easily avoid it or walk out of it, which makes for an innefficient trade. You can zone with it if you wish but mind the mana and use it sparingly. W's best use is in combo with his ult. QWE as fast as you can then R while they are still on the pool. Save this combo for 30% or less health.

Voidlings will chase down your E-infected enemies, both minion and champion, but you can also use your auto-attacks to guide them if you don't have an E up and ticking. If possible, wait for a voidling to grow to Stage 2 before ulting, as it will have more damage to help eat down your target.

Q gives vision, so it can be used to scout bushes safely.

Learn to love Liandries. :D

i love doing that with my E, i think i had 3 going at once while defending base XD

EkkoFrofflesApr 22, 20151 votes

Yeah, clearing waves away from turrets is the simplest thing with Malzahar. Just get a couple Es going, drop a W, maybe use some Qs. The enemies probably aren't coming near the turret then and the wave is gone before they know it.

Sir ArmaMalumApr 22, 20153 votes

I'll just jump off of this because that's 90% of what I was going to say.

To add to it:

You can start Q at lvl and cast a few times in spawn to get your passive up. That free voidling can help in that initial level 1 fight for lane dominance, not to mention the Q silence plays hell with casters.

If someone QSS's your ult the damage will still be happening, they'll just be able to move during it. So don't cancel the ult early if you can still kill them.

Since your Q comes from two different sides you can laugh at a Braum or Yasuo's attempt to block it.

Try to time your Q's that finish off minion waves for when your laning opponent is near them. Force a vision jump on them reliably enough and they'll never want to risk farming.

Remember that Malz has no escapes, so if they let you push far they may be baiting you. WARDS ARE YOUR FRIENDS!

StrawberrycocoaApr 22, 20151 votes

Oh god, yes. E-ing the back line of minions, letting them get close, assuming safety... then Q them all dead so the E hops right to the enemy player. It's glorious.

EkkoFrofflesApr 22, 20151 votes

I have been doing that Q at fountain thing. And I think I accidentally cancelled my ult a time or two. Done that a decent amount lately with teleport too, but have stopped now that I realize what I was doing. Didn't know you could cancel teleport, and wasn't sure if you could cancel his ult early. Oh, and I almost always win the ward race, no matter which position I'm playing, so you don't need to tell me twice to ward. Heh.

junglerboy16Apr 23, 20151 votes

The only other thing to remember when talking about canceling your ult is that if you are running ignite, it has a slightly shorter range than your ult, and there are situations where you may accidentally cancel the channel by trying to ignite them, which then causes you to walk closer. To avoid this, simply hover ignite to see if they are actually within range before you try to cast it on them, it will save you a lot of accidental cancelations.

EkkoFrofflesApr 22, 20151 votes

The mana refund he can get with his E is why I used it almost exclusively in the early stages. Easy wave clear, easy harass if they're dumb enough to get close, and great sustain.

With regards to the full combo, I need to get faster on the draw with that, since the times I tried it they were starting to get out of range by the time I was about to ult.

His voidlings are what I really need to work on utilizing. I try to keep voidlings up, but controlling them in any way with my actions is still a bit of a challenge for me. That'll probably just take practice, though.

And I'll have to try that scouting tactic too.

Thanks! :)

StrawberrycocoaApr 22, 20151 votes

Think of Malz's voidlings as an on-hit effect. Auto attack your enemy, and they not only take that damage but they get a beetle the size of a terrier biting their face on top of it.

warpenguin555Apr 22, 20151 votes

To get ahead in lane what i like to do is have a voidling out, E+W+R and ignite for the guaranteed kill. Even if they somehow manage to live once the ult is done the voidling is still on them. Most of the time i can scare them so badly with that combo in lane. Gotta love it when your e gets you a double like that. Your build looks fine but i would replace item 3165 with item 3157 because his lack of escapes. I start e on malzahar but Q isnt the worst call

SerevasApr 22, 20151 votes

I'll echo this comment as well, Morello is great for the mana regen and the grievous wounds passive that you can easily inflict all the time, but truth be told, having RoA to expand your mana pool is substantial enough, you don't need the mana regen that much, and you can always grab those blue buffs that your jungler should be sharing anyway.

EkkoFrofflesApr 22, 20151 votes

To be honest, I was just building straight AP since I was just raking in the kills and assists. I had, I believe, 635 AP by the end of the match. Wanted to see just how deadly he could get. I don't intend to build him that way every match, that's for sure.

I kept forgetting you can use ignite while ulting. Except for the one time I just went ham on poor Ashe. Flashed in and gave her a full combo + ignite. Even said in all-chat that that may've been overkill. Heh. Also, what all can stop his ult? I think I saw someone Zhonyas mid-ult, but I could be misremembering. I just know late game my ult got interrupted a couple times and so I'm assuming it has its share of things that can negate it.

XtremeyApr 23, 20151 votes

{quoted}

To get ahead in lane what i like to do is have a voidling out, E+W+R and ignite for the guaranteed kill. Even if they somehow manage to live once the ult is done the voidling is still on them. Most of the time i can scare them so badly with that combo in lane. Gotta love it when your e gets you a double like that. Your build looks fine but i would replace with because his lack of escapes. I start e on malzahar but Q isnt the worst call

i start q to prep a voidling while still in fountain.

warpenguin555Apr 22, 20151 votes

oh yeah, and NEVER CANCEL YOUR ULT EARLY THINKING THEY WILL STILL DIE. i had to put that one in caps because ik from experience that they will not die. also make sure you know if you are in range for ignite while you are ulting. because if you arent you will cancel it to ignite and it feels pretty embarrassing XD

Handin Out NapsApr 22, 20151 votes

I used to play malz a lot, he was fun for the time, so I'll just explain everything I learned over my time. At lvl 1 take q, don't listen to people who take e. Lvl 1 e won't kill minions and therefore won't help u push the wave. Stand at spawn and charge ur passive and once ur in lane just spawn the voidoing and use it to push the wave for you. The lvl 1 voidlings pushes 100 harder than lvl 1 e. I used to not do rod of ages because honestly durring lane double dorans gave you infinite mana sustain, but out of lane it gives you shitty mana, so I say rush rod every game. Sadly that's all I can think of right now, haven't played malz in awhile now. Hope this helps

MLDzXnRRRApr 22, 20151 votes

Liandry is op on him, RoA looks like a waste (I wouldn't build it unless against heavy burst dmg)

WakamuneApr 22, 20151 votes

Tell the other team that cleanse doesn't do anything to your ult.

...after the game ends.

XeroKimoApr 22, 20151 votes

If you can mash buttons fast enough, landing all four of your skills, e -> w -> q -> r would normally get you a garenteed <---- help me I can't spell guaranteed correctly, and if you try to have google help you with your spelling mistakes with the right click, it's suggesting me with parented wtf ) a kill at like 80% of their hp, until you get far ahead, then you an 100-0 one person with a full combo

XtremeyApr 23, 20152 votes

{quoted}

If you can mash buttons fast enough, landing all four of your skills, e -> w -> q -> r would normally get you a garenteed <---- help me I can't spell guaranteed correctly, and if you try to have google help you with your spelling mistakes with the right click, it's suggesting me with parented wtf ) a kill at like 80% of their hp, until you get far ahead, then you an 100-0 one person with a full combo

its league of legends, just say Garen teed

EkkoFrofflesApr 22, 20151 votes

Thanks everyone for the tips! :D

Newb the LegendApr 22, 20151 votes

I really like building item 3152 with item 3001 item 3157 item 3027 item 3020 then with either item 3089 , item 3151 , or item 3116 (at least for a tankier build anyways)

TransgressorApr 23, 20151 votes

No matter how bad you are at Malzahar, remember that he's so bullshit you can always render one of the enemies obsolete. You could be 0/20, but if you throw everything you have at an enemy you can delete them or help your team to pick them off. It's enough to win you games if you keep picking off priority targets. There comes a time in the duration of the game a single death can win it or brake it.

Lets not forget that his kit and burst are so bullshit and unintuitive that you can actually throw your enemies on tilt. Fight your games both physicaly and mentally! Cheers buddy!