Malzahar guide: build, runes, matchups and mistakes to avoid

At a glance

Runes

Spells

Start

×2

Build

››+

Skills

E›Q›W

Malzahar in figures

Games in mid lane

27,76084.8% of its games

Win rate

50.4%

Pick rate

≈ 8.7%

Ban rate

≈ 16.7%

The figures come from 378,251 ranked solo games on EUW (patches 16.18 to 16.21, Riot’s official API, up to 24 October 2026): the same sample as Gankademy’s champion pages. “≈”: a figure the app gives as indicative.

Strengths and weaknesses

When Malzahar is strongest

The build that wins most

A build, here, is the order of the first three finished items. Out of the 5,365 Malzahar games in mid lane where they are known, the three most-played paths:

Build	Items	Played	Win rate
Liandry’s first	››	34%	≈ 54.2%
Rylai’s first	››	17%	≈ 53.9%
Shadowflame	››	10%	≈ 52.2%

Blackfire Torch opens all three of Malzahar’s most-played builds. Liandry’s Torment and Rylai’s Crystal Scepter follow, in either order: the two orders win almost the same (≈ 54.2% and ≈ 53.9%). Shadowflame instead of Rylai’s Crystal Scepter wins a little less.

With build 1, the game most often starts with Doran’s Ring + 2 × Health Potion + Stealth Ward, and the boots are Sorcerer’s Shoes (89% of games).

Depending on the game

What build 1’s players buy next (5% of its games or more):

Item	Bought	Why
Zhonya’s Hourglass	21%	vs burst (×1.08)
Rabadon’s Deathcap	18%	damage
Shadowflame	17%	damage

×: how many times as often it is bought against that need (191,000 games checked by Gankademy).

Skill order

Level by level, the most-played order in mid lane: 59% of the 2,190 games where Malzahar reaches level 18.

Q			3					8		10		12	13
W		2												14	15		17	18
E	1			4	5		7		9
R						6					11					16

Runes and summoner spells

The most-played rune pages of Malzahar in mid lane, by keystone and trees:

Page	Games	Win rate
Deathfire TouchSorcery + Inspiration	13,840	51.7%
Deathfire TouchSorcery + Precision	3,550	49.8%
Arcane CometSorcery + Inspiration	3,244	49.0%
Summon AerySorcery + Precision	3,011	47.7%

Deathfire Touch with Inspiration is both the most-played page — one game out of two — and the best-winning one. With Precision behind it, it drops to 49.8%. Arcane Comet and Summon Aery win less.

Deathfire Touch, Manaflow Band, Transcendence, Scorch, Magical Footwear, Cosmic Insight

Summoner spells: Flash + Teleport in 84% of games.

Matchups: the easiest and the hardest

Malzahar’s win rate against each opponent in the same role, against the usual 50.4%: the gap in points, from 200 games.

Easiest against

Opponent	Games	Win rate	Gap
Mel	493	57.2%	+6.8
Orianna	409	≈ 56.7%	+6.4
Anivia	235	≈ 56.6%	+6.2
Akali	743	56.5%	+6.2

Hardest against

Opponent	Games	Win rate	Gap
Aurelion Sol	411	≈ 46.2%	−4.1
Xerath	723	≈ 46.3%	−4.0
Smolder	640	≈ 47.0%	−3.3
Zed	986	≈ 47.1%	−3.3

Malzahar’s hardest lanes: Aurelion Sol, Xerath, Smolder and Zed. Xerath out-ranges him and breaks his shield with poke; Zed breaks it with his shurikens, then goes in. Against them, farm behind your minions with your voidlings and your curse, and keep Flash and Zhonya’s Hourglass for Zed’s engage. Against Akali or LeBlanc, it’s the other way round: your shield blunts their burst and your ultimate pins them down.

Matchup sheet

The 12 most frequent opponents in mid lane. The difficulty is the app’s: the gap with the usual 50.4%, and whether it holds.

Opponent	Games	Win rate	Difficulty
Yasuo	1,655	≈ 53.4%	Easy
Ahri	1,509	48.4%	Even
Yone	1,326	48.5%	Even
Katarina	1,143	51.6%	Even
Viktor	987	49.5%	Even
Zed	986	≈ 47.1%	Hard
Syndra	985	≈ 47.4%	Hard
Fizz	981	48.9%	Even
Ekko	851	48.4%	Even
Veigar	823	48.7%	Even
Locke	783	48.5%	Even
Akali	743	56.5%	Easy

Bans to consider

The opponents Malzahar beats least often in mid lane, among those met at least 300 times:

Opponent	Win rate	Games
Aurelion Sol	≈ 46.2%	411
Xerath	≈ 46.3%	723
Akshan	46.4%	390

What the specialists do

10 players of the sample play Malzahar in at least 40% of their games, and at least 30 times. Their 365 games in mid lane, against all its players:

	Specialists	All players
Win rate	≈ 53.2%	50.4%
Build	›› 26%	›› 34%
Rune page	Same 39%	50%
Skills maxed	Same 92%	E›Q›W 87%

What changes with them: the build. Their win rate: 2.8 points higher.

The most frequent mistakes

Two habits measured on the 6,968 games with a timeline, then the champion’s own mistakes. These gaps go with losing without proving the cause.

• Dying before 15 minutes. 43% of games have three or more deaths before the 15th minute; they win only 42.4%, against 62.0% when Malzahar dies once or less (33% of games). Instead: your shield is your best defence, and it only comes back when champions stop hitting you. Don’t trade while it is down, and keep Flash and your ultimate for the assassin who comes for you.
• Falling behind on farm. At 10 minutes, games with 75 minions or fewer (25%) win 47.2%; those with 91 or more (25%), 57.5%. Instead: put your curse on a minion that is about to die — it jumps to the next one and, with your voidlings, clears the wave almost by itself. Then last-hit by hand the minions it misses.
• Summon Aery with Precision. Summon Aery · Sorcery + Precision is taken in 3,011 Malzahar games and wins 47.7%, against 51.7% for Deathfire Touch · Sorcery + Inspiration. Instead: Deathfire Touch with Inspiration.
• Spending the silence on the wave. Your portals silence the enemies they hit: thrown at the minions, they won’t be there when the assassin jumps on you. Instead: clear with your curse and your voidlings, and keep the silence for their engage.
• Suppressing the wrong target. Your ultimate holds one enemy, and only one: cast on the tank who walks in first, it leaves their carry free. Instead: keep it for their carry or for the assassin who dives on you.

With Gankademy

These are the figures of Gankademy’s Malzahar page: the draft compares your options against your lane opponent and imports your rune page in one click. The draft · The coaches · What it reads.

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