Hello! My name is Aidanmash and this is a Malzahar guide, as already stated.
So... Why Malzahar? I would argue that his kit is one of the most powerful if you know how to use him. He has a silence, a suppression, a little evil dot even!


Pros & Cons
Pros

Strong silence
Large damage output
Strong suppression ult
Has his own winions

Cons

Lack of mobility
Squishy
Slow early game
Mana issues

As many of you who are reading this may have realized, Malzahar is quite overpowered. Any of you who have faced a decent Malzahar know the pain he can deal. My goal, in you reading this guide, is to dish out the trauma he can inflict. Send kids raging to their parents that you killed them in half a second! That is why Malzahar. He's a mage assassin that hits like a truck, but you don't even see it coming!

Malzahar's E (Malefic Visions) is the primary tool for farming at any point in the game. Spreads from creep to creep if killed within enough time. Also can do a decent amount of damage early on. It also gives Malzahar 2% of his maximum mana!


Malzahar's Q (Call of the Void) is a silencing ability that can also output a large amount of damage.


Malzar's W (Void Swarm) is similar to his old passive, but is unique in the way that it can spawn more than one voidling. If a voidling(s) attack a large monster, epic monster, or champion, another spawns. This is repeated unless the voidling(s) have less than 4 seconds remaining. It's like a more potent Zz'Rot Portal


Malzahar's R (Nether Grasp) Is his ult and most effective tool. Only usable on one person, this is best when 1v1ing, say under a turret if they're hard to handle, or taking out a priority target in teamfights.


Malzahar's Passive (Void Shift) is like a fast acting banshee's veil. At level one it is available 24 seconds after not taking damage. And scales down a second with each level. It makes you immune to CC for one second, after being hit by said crowd control, and blocks 90% of the damage taken! This passive is just overpowered.


Most of the items used are pretty standard, but you may be wondering why I suggest Mejai's over void staff. It an easier build path and if you play Malzahar properly, you don't die that often. He stands behind minions half the time

Voidstaff is still viable, but best if they have a tank that keeps bothering you.

Gives you +11 AD or +18 AP depending on your build and lets us build into the Domination tree


We take electrocute because of our short combo that we have, Q + E + W + R. When you use it properly. It's essentially Thunderlord's.


Cheap shot is mainly useful because of our ult and when we grab rylai's, as it is a constant movement impairment.


We generally want to roam whenever possible. So when you head bot and drop into that bush, a poro drops to give you vision. It also will tell you if the enemy jungler, or your enemy laner, has come to counter gank.


As we want to roam whenever possible to get picks off on their team, this is a great pick. It gives you more MS for every new champion you kill. Thus, allowing for easier roam potential.


Allows us to build into the sorcery tree as our secondary


Essentially Deathfire Touch on a cooldown


Pretty basic. More CDR you have, the more you can damage the enemy. And if you reach the cap, it turns into more AP.

Malzahar, oddly enough, has a secondary role as assassin. In teamfights, I like to try to keep up to that role.

EXAMPLE:
Your bot lane has let a Jinx go 10/2. You can either gank or lock her down in teamfights. In this case you'd want to start the combo with Q so she can't use Quicksilver Sash and then eat your face with your face! His kit is practically designed to eliminate single targets on top of groups of enemies! He excels at the former more than the latter though.

So Malzahar is a rather straight forward champion. Lets get into some more information about his abilities.
Lets start with:

This ability is placed based on your location to it. So if you're facing one way, and you cast Call of the Void at an angle, it will be placed at the angle you are at from it. Complicated sounding I know. But at a basic level, it's pretty simple. Point and click silence!


After that is his part of his bread and butter:

This is his DoT, or damage over time. Early game this is what gives Malzahar some sustain, but does a ton of damage. Use this sparingly, though. While it does give mana back, it still costs a lot to use.

Finally his suppression and the other part of his bread and butter:

Nether grasp. So while Malzahar is casting Nether Grasp, he cannot perform any other tasks or the spell will cancel prematurely. That's why you use it at the end of a combo.

Generally you'll want to use your E to farm if you can. Gives you mana and spreads. If it's early game (Level 2-5) then farming with your Call of the Void to help bring out the voidling can also help and silence the enemy champion too if possible. Not much more to farming other than that with him. Simple, eh? Don't be afraid to use your other spells to farm if you must. A trick I've learned is keep one Malefic Visions moving to keep gaining mana.

Normally I don't drop my Malefic Visions on a minion until one is about half health so you don't waste mana needlessly. If you want to speed up your clear speed, attach your Malefic Visions onto a somewhat low health minion, then use Void Swarm to clear it up. As soon as they kill the minion with Malefic Visions, another voidling will spawn and the DoT will spread to another. Like a snowball effect!

The following are all matchups I've encountered and how I feel they rank out of a 10 point system about Early lane difficulty, Post 6 difficulty, Snowball potential, Teamfight Presence, and Type of damage as well as how the matchup favors you! Please know that these are matchups I find necessary to list off. These are more detailed to explain how to deal with it.




Early laning difficulty: 4/10
Post 6 difficulty: 5/10
Snowball potential: 8/10
Teamfight presence: 4/10
Type of damage: LOW CD MAGIC BURST
Matchup: FAVORS YOU HARD

I won't say that this is an easy lane necessarily, but as long as you can avoid her charm you should do pretty well. Stay behind minions to do this and poke with your Call of the Void + Malefic Visions. Once you both hit 6, this matchup becomes much easier because of your Nether Grasp which keeps her in place.

One thing I've found useful when facing Ahri is to focus her in teamfights. She can snowball fairly well, but you can still focus her quickly in teamfights with your Call of the Void + Void Swarm + Nether Grasp combo. This will lock her down quickly, and if you use Malefic Visions on her too in teamfights, it'll focus the minions towards another target quickly! If you get caught by a charm from time to time, Void Shift Will allow you to take the occasional hit!




Early laning difficulty: 7/10
Post 6 difficulty: 8/10
Snowball potential: 5/10
Teamfight presence: 10/10
Type of damage: HIGH CD MAGIC BURST
Matchup: FAVORS HER

I'll say this now. I hate the bird. Early game, try to avoid her Flash Frost poke. You'll want to farm as much as you can with Malefic Visions and wait for a gank.

Her passive, Rebirth can seriously get annoying in lane. Her teamfight ability is pretty insane because of Glacial Storm, Flash Frost, and Frostbite. The most you can do is use Call of the Void when she ults in a teamfight and work to kill her as fast as possible. On the bright side, with Malzahar's new passive Void Shift you can dodge the occasional snowball that will cause a one-shot from her Frost Bite




Early laning difficulty: 3/10
Post 6 difficulty: 7/10
Snowball potential: 5/10
Teamfight presence: 9/10
Type of damage: LOW CD STUN BURST
Matchup: FAVORS YOU

As long as you can avoid getting hit by the Flash + Summon: Tibbers + Pyromania
you should be alright. If she starts to snowball, make sure to lock her down as fast as you can in teamfights. Her Pyromania + Summon: Tibbers AoE damage is insane. She could chunk your whole team!

Just play safe if you have to. Other than that easy lane. Try to get Malefic Visions onto her to use Void Swarm for insane poke.




Early laning difficulty: 8/10
Post 6 difficulty: 8/10
Snowball potential: 10/10
Teamfight presence: 9/10
Type of damage: DECENT CD MAGIC BURST & DoT
Matchup: FAVORS HIM HARD

Oh man, if you're stuck in this matchup, I'm sorry. So Brand is a huge lane bully with insane poke. This matchup becomes slightly easier because of your suppression ult Nether Grasp which helps you lock him down. He pushes harder with you because of Pillar of Flame. What I can say is just afk farm under turret with your Malefic Visions And ask for help from your jungler, as Brand lacks any aoe cc.

With Malzahar's rework, also came Brand's. It's all about the same except his passive Blaze. The problem you might run into is if the Brand is smart, he will use your Void Swarm against you. Be careful where you place it. Off to the side or where you won't walk or run into them is advised.




Early laning difficulty: 5/10
Post 6 difficulty: 7/10
Snowball potential: 4/10
Teamfight presence: 6/10
Type of damage: LOW CD AP BURST AND CONSTANT AP DAMAGE
Matchup: SKILL MATCHUP

So this matchup is an odd one, because Heimerdinger has turrets that do damage for him. If he isn't careful, you can clear them in one go with your Malefic Visions and/or Void Swarm. You don't want to stand in his turret range, or else you'll get slaughtered like pigs inside.

The biggest thing to worry about is his UPGRADE!!!, especially with his upgraded H-28G Evolution Turret which can annihilate your whole team. If he places this down, all I can say is run! Don't let it focus you for more than two hits.




Early laning difficulty: 3/10
Post 6 difficulty: 4/10
Snowball potential: 10/10
Teamfight presence: 10/10
Type of damage: LOW CD MAGIC BURST
Matchup: FAVORS YOU HARD

Similar to Ahri, not always an easy lane. As long as you know what you're doing, it's pretty hard to f*ck up though. You counter her main source of damage with two of your abilities. Death Lotus Can be canceled using Call of the Void and Nether Grasp.

As long as you don't get killed early on and shut her down in teamfights with your Call of the Void and Nether Grasp you should do just fine!




Early laning difficulty: 8/10
Post 6 difficulty: 8/10
Snowball potential: 9/10
Teamfight presence: 7/10
Type of damage: MEDIUM CD MAGIC BURST
Matchup: FAVORS HER HARD

LeBlanc is a huge assassin. With her mobility against your lack of mobility, it's already a tough matchup. She can get in your face, root you, and burst you within seconds. Her main poke will be to use Distortion on you, and most likely a bit of the creep wave, followed by a hard Shatter Orb to proc her new passive Sigil of Malice. With this combo, she not only disrupts your Void Shift, but she also pushes the lane if she aims for the creeps and destroys your health bar.

All I can really suggest is try to freeze her under tower after damaging you with Nether Grasp and do your best to farm and survive. If you die in this lane, there's a good chance you can't come back easily. Another thing to be wary of is her Mimic Ult. She might use it to bait your summoner spells and/or Nether Grasp




Early laning difficulty: 8/10
Post 6 difficulty: 5/10
Snowball potential: 4/10
Teamfight presence: 9/10
Type of damage: LOW CD MAGIC BURST
Matchup: SKILL MATCHUP

Vel'Koz is a mage with huge burst potential and AoE burst. This is mainly a skill matchup because of how squishy he is. Pre level 6, he can poke you just about all day with his Plasma Fission, Void Rift, and his passive: Organic Deconstruction. First, you should know Organic Deconstruction deals true damage based on level. Once you hit level 6, however, this matchup becomes easier because you have a strong all in and a way to stop his ult lifeform disintegration ray with your Nether Grasp or your Call of the Void.

Basically, play safe pre 6. He's all skill-shot based, so if necessary get Boots. Ask your jungler for help and farm up. You can scale much harder than him!




Early laning difficulty: 6/10
Post 6 difficulty: 5/10
Snowball potential: 6/10
Teamfight presence: 9/10
Type of damage: SUSTAINED MAGIC DAMAGE
Matchup: SKILL MATCHUP

While he isn't commonly seen in the mid lane, it still occurs. The first suggestion I'll make is look at something like Morellonomicon because it applies Grievous Wounds. This is important against Vlad because it reduces all self-healing and regeneration rates by 40%, which makes his sustain really weak. Even after his rework and the removal of spell-vamp, he still has plenty of healing potential. You'll have to burst him down quickly, which will be a pain with his passive Crimson Pact or slow his sustain.

Early game, be wary of his Sanguine Pool if you're low. It makes him untargetable, however it is noteworthy to know that Ignite still hurts him when he's in it. Keep consistent poke by having Malefic Visions + Void Swarm jump on him while you're csing. Play safely and don't let him get ahead early!




Early laning difficulty: 3/10
Post 6 difficulty: 6/10
Snowball potential: 7/10
Teamfight presence: 9/10
Type of damage: MEDIUM COOLDOWN MAGIC BURST
Matchup: FAVORS HIM

This is a tough matchup because of Xerath's poke and his farming capabilities. He can burst you down before you can retaliate with your own revenge. The main thing I can say is do your best to avoid his Q Arcanopulse it's his main form of poke. Do your best to farm with Malefic Visions. The best thing to do is let him push and call for your jungler. He's extremely immobile

The big thing is to focus him in teamfights! His range and damage potential is too crazy to not deal with as early as you can. Not as bad as Brand, though. Remember Boots of Swiftness and 4x Health Potion should be your start unless you're extremely confident you can dodge without.




Early laning difficulty: 4/10
Post 6 difficulty: 3/10
Snowball potential: 8/10
Teamfight presence: 6/10
Type of damage: LOW COOLDOWN PHYSICAL BURST
Matchup: FAVORS YOU SLIGHTLY

This used to be a more favorable matchup because of your scaling. While dealing with him is still similar post 6, he is slightly more tedious early game from reduced scaling in recent patches. When he uses his Death Mark on you, get ready to use Call of the Void right on you, put your Malefic Visions on him, and attempt to put down Void Swarm before suppressing him with Nether Grasp. On the bright-side, he doesn't benefit much from when he uses Death Mark on you, since you are more AP than AD, and normally build full AP or a little hybrid.

This combo is effective because your ult is a suppression. Without him able to act on it for further damage, he won't be able to erase you. Instead, it'll be the other way around. If you have troubles within this lane, purchase Zhonya's Hourglass early on to avoid his Death Mark from going off.

Early on, he'll use Razor Shuriken to farm and poke. His level one is more reliable because he uses energy instead of mana. As well as has poke that goes through all minions and can still hit you. His level two and three are similar. He'll most likely get Living Shadow once he hits level two, and Shadow Slash at level three. He dominates early game because he is able to zone you more effectively. If you have a history of trouble against Zed, get Boots and four Health Potion if you are uncertain about your ability to dodge skillshots, this is also a decent start. Even though it isn't preferred.

+
This works because when you use Nether Grasp or Call of the Void on a target that's infected with Malefic Visions It resets the duration of Malefic Visions on the target!

+ + +
This is the main combo for Malzahar! It dishes out a lot of damage in very short time span.

+ +
May not seem like much of a combo, but for squishy champions (glass cannons normally) this can take them out quickly without wasting your ult.

Thank you for taking a look at my guide! Hope it proved useful! If there's something I should add, feel free to leave feedback as necessary!

As this guide is improved, suggestions are more necessary. While I play Malzahar often, I don't know everything! Thank you very much once more!

Updates:
May 20th, 2015: Guide created and brief outline made.

August 3rd, 2015: More details added to brief outline.

November 11th, 2015: Updated masteries and build path for preseason 6

November 17th, 2015: Updated descriptions and Team Work chapter. Adjusted item build. Cleaned up parts of guide. Lowered leblanc's difficulty ranking and adjusted farming with Malzahar.

December 3rd, 2015: Cleaned up some more parts. Added a few detailed matchups (MORE TO COME! :D very soon!!)

January 27th, 2016: Finally got back and added a few champs to matchups. Sorry for the delays!

April 2nd, 2016: Added Heimerdinger into the matchups section and recently hit 22k views! Thank you so much!

May 4th, 2016: Made some adjustments for Malzahar's rework in path 6.9! Updated the code as well to make things more visually pleasing on my end. Also we're at 33k views! That's insane!

June 9th, 2016: Touched up on masteries, runes, and some of the farming. Also this guide is almost a year and a month old!


June 18th, 2016: Added Zed to detailed matchups and adjusted some items a scosche. This guide skyrocketed to almost 150k views! Holy **** thanks a ton everyone who has used this guide.

October 31st, 2016: Added Banner of Command and reasoning to item build.

November 12th, 2016: Updated Mastery Page. Expect some champion matchup changes!

November 21st, 2016: Added Leblanc matchup after her rework. Expect more of the assassins in the future. I just need to play them myself to get a feel for weaknesses to exploit easily!

November 8th, 2017: Been a long time since my last update. Added S8 runes and masteries, as well as runes page

Awesome help for making a guide

And to Mobafire for having all the resources that I need readily available to me while creating and adjusting this guide.