Malzahar is a terrifying champion to be up against when playing in ARAM, so whenever you get the chance to play him, I definitely recommend taking it.
Malzahar is a Mage who can cause high amounts of passive damage. When properly built and played well, Malzahar players will be able to sit back and reap the benefits of all of Mazahar’s abilities without having to fear being destroyed.
Malzahar can also silence enemy champions every 6-seconds, making him very useful in team situations.
Malzahar also has a really powerful ult that can overtake one enemy champion, allowing the whole team to jump onto the said enemy. Malzahar’s ult should always be used against ADCs or squishy champions that do a great deal of damage.
Malzhar’s passive grants him a magic shield that causes him to become immune to crowd control and 90% damage every 12-30 seconds if he is not hit by an enemy or been affected by a crowd control (based on his level.)
QUICK RUNDOWN:
SUMMONER SPELLS: Flash and Clarity
RUNES: Dark Harvest, Taste of Blood, Eyeball Collection, Ravenous Hunter // Manaflow Band & Transcendence
ABILITY POWER UP: E, Q, W
FIRST BUY: Lost Chapter
BUILD ORDER: Luden’s Echo, Sorcerer’s Shoes, Liandry’s Torment, Rylai’s Crystal Scepter, Morellonomicon, Void Staff
COMBOS: Malzahar’s E, Malefic Visions, deals damage over time for a minimum of 4 seconds, but can be refreshed with his Q, Call of the Void, or with is R, Nether Grasp.
Malzahar players should always try to attack enemy minions with his E, follow up with a W to summon his Voidlings that will deal 300% damage to affected minions, securing their kill. Players can use Malzahar’s Q for extra damage and to refresh Malefic Visions in hopes of the minion dying before the attack ends.
If enemies, including champions, die when under the effects of Malefic Visions, they will pass on the effects to a nearby ally minion or champion. Players should use the spreading of Malefic Visions to their advantage as it does a great deal of passive damage.
SUMMONER SPELLS FOR MALZAHAR IN ARAM
FLASH
As is with most champions in ARAM, Malzahar really benefits from having Flash on his kit. Flash should always be used for escaping as Mazahar cannot do quick damage, making him fairly useless when it comes to last-hitting on command.
Malzahar’s focus should be on dealing steady damage while getting “thick” in hopes of bringing down enemy champions without them catching on to his damage.
CLARITY
Malzahar is a champion who uses a lot of mana, especially if you build a good amount of cooldown reduction on him. While Malzahar’s E can give back some of his mana, I wouldn’t say that it is the most reliable method of getting back your mana.
Depending on what build you choose to use for Malzahar, you’re going to regret not taking Clarity and there really aren’t any other Summoner Spells you’re going to find as useful, just because of how far back Malzahar needs to play in ARAM.
RUNE TREES FOR MALZAHAR IN ARAM
Malzahar plays like many other mages such as Veigar, Morgana, Twisted Fate, Heimerdinger, Brand, Karthus, Anivia, Teemo, Zyra, Soraka, AP Miss Fortune and, Ziggs where he can either use domination runes or sorcery runes.
There are two runes trees players can choose to use when playing Malzahar. The two most popular rune tree builds include:
Domination/Sorcery – Burst Damage Heavy
Sorcery/Domination – AP/Mana Sustain
DAMAGE HEAVY/BURST RUNES FOR MALZAHAR (DOMINATION/SORCERY)
DARK HARVEST
Damaging champions below 50% deals 20-60 (+ 15% AP) damage based on your level. Each soul that you harvest adds +2 Damage (ARAM only).
Players will only be able to collect souls every 45 seconds or can reset Dark Harvest’s cooldown to 1.5 seconds by being part of an enemy takedown.
Dark Harvest is one of the most beneficial runes players Malzahar players can choose to use, especially if enemy champions end up clumping up and dying from Malefic Visions. I also find Dark Harvest especially effective on Malzahar when players have built Luden’s Echo, since the AoE Luden’s Echo summons upon charging up 100 stacks.
With Malzahar’s long-range players can expect to collect between 1-3 souls per minute, depending on whether your team collects takedowns, as Dark Harvest has a long cooldown otherwise.
I recommend using Malzahar’s Q off cooldown, prioritizing champions who have a Dark Harvest Soul to take, although if players have a way to get Malefic Vision on the enemy that’s always a better choice, though it can be risky if Malzahar gets caught.
TASTE OF BLOOD
Damaging enemy champions heal players between 18-35 (10% bonus AP) health based on level. Taste of Blood can proc every 15 seconds in ARAM.
Taste of Blood is a good way to make sure that Malzahar gets a bit of sustain from damaging enemy champions, though, choosing Taste of Blood mostly has to do with the fact that there is no other rune in this tier worth taking.
EYEBALL COLLECTION
Collect 1 Eyeball per champion takedown, up to 10. Each takedown will provide players with 2 AP. Once players have received 10 Eyeballs they will also receive an extra 10 AP.
Eyeball Collection is the only Rune you will be able to use in ARAM from this tier of Runes.
RAVENOUS HUNTER
Abilities Heal for 1.5% of damage + 2.5% per every champion takedown for a maximum of 5 stacks. Healing is reduced to 1/3 on AoE damage.
Ravenous Hunter is one of the most powerful runes you can take while playing in ARAM as Malhazar can unlimitedly heal himself when attacking all enemies and minions. Ravenous Hunter is one of the ultimate ways players can receive consistently health without having to build items like Rod of Ages, wait for health to appear on the field or receive from another player.
Would I pair Ravenous Hunter with Rod of Ages? Absolutely! Paired up with Rod of Ages, Ravenous Hunter Malhazars will have a night out dealing damage to enemy champions while still protecting themselves in the long-run. So, if you get a chance to escape from enemy champions, make sure to stay back for a little while to get your health back up for another battle.
MANAFLOW BAND
Hitting enemy champions with an ability will permanently increase your maximum mana by 25 (cooldown 15 seconds), up to a maximum of 250 mana. Although players will receive an increase in the maximum mana they can have, proccing Manaflow Band will not provide an increase in your current mana.
Once players have capped out their maximum mana at 250 bonus mana, they will receive 1% of their missing mana every 5 seconds.
Since Malzahar players are going to want to make sure that all their abilities are cast in rotation for their maximum potential, Manaflow Band will ensure that Malhazar players always have mana and can even allow players to bridge the time they don’t have Clarity with the 1% of mana every 5 seconds.
Players will not want to rely on having just Clarity or just having Manaflow Band as a Malzahar without mana is a death trap.
TRANSCENDENCE
At level 10 players will receive 10% CDR and 2 AP for every 1% CDR that goes over the 40% cap (or 45% if using Cosmic Insight).
Transcendence is one of my favourite Runes to use on Malzahar, especially if you’re someone who wants a maximum of 30% CDR or need a way to help you get 40% CDR without having to build too many defensive items.
I like to focus on gear that has burns or extra ability power rather than gear that has CDR on it as Malzahar does not need many casts to deal lots of damage, especially if players understand how to reapply effects. If Malzahar does, however, want to get 40% cooldown, Transcendence is the only way you’re going to be doing it.
SUSTAIN DAMAGE FOR MALZAHAR (SORCERY/DOMINATION)
The difference between Sorcery/Domination and Domination/Sorcery is much less prevalent as it is for some other champions, though there are definitely some benefits from having either.
While Domination/Sorcery requires players to be more aggressive to reap all of its benefits, players will not have to be as aggressive with Sorcery/Domination simply due to the way each rune tree works. I find Sorcery-Domination allows players to play Malzahar a bit more passively, depending on your comfort levels, you may also want to build Malzahar a bit defensively to ensure you stay alive.
ARCANE COMET
Damaging enemy champions with an ability causes an Arcane Comet to be thrown at the enemy’s current location. The Arcane Comet can deal between 30-100 plus 20% AP. Damaging enemy champions with abilities will help reduce the cooldown of Arcane Comet, though the cooldown sits between 8-20 seconds based on player levels.
Although Arcane Comet can deal a decent amount of damage every 8 seconds, it is pretty easy for enemy champions to avoid it. Although Arcane Comet can be avoided fairly easily, if players have difficulty taking their enemies’ souls while trying to proc Dark Harvest, chances are they are going to do much more damage with Arcane Comet.
Malzahar has some decent range, but at the end of the day, a lot of his range has to do with being able to spread his E to multiple enemies.
MANAFLOW BAND
Hitting enemy champions with an ability will permanently increase your maximum mana by 25 (cooldown 15 seconds), up to a maximum of 250 mana. Although players will receive an increase in the maximum mana they can have, proccing Manaflow Band will not provide an increase in your current mana.
Once players have capped out their maximum mana at 250 bonus mana, they will receive 1% of their missing mana every 5 seconds.
Since Malzahar players are going to want to make sure that all their abilities are cast in rotation for their maximum potential, Manaflow Band will ensure that Malhazar players always have mana and can even allow players to bridge the time they don’t have Clarity with the 1% of mana every 5 seconds.
Players will not want to rely on having just Clarity or just having Manaflow Band as a Malzahar without mana is a death trap.
TRANSCENDENCE
At level 10 players will receive 10% CDR and 2 AP for every 1% CDR that goes over the 40% cap (or 45% if using Cosmic Insight).
Transcendence is one of my favourite Runes to use on Malzahar, especially if you’re someone who wants a maximum of 30% CDR or need a way to help you get 40% CDR without having to build too many defensive items.
I like to focus on gear that has burns or extra ability power rather than gear that has CDR on it as Malzahar does not need many casts to deal lots of damage, especially if players understand how to reapply effects. If Malzahar does, however, want to get 40% cooldown, Transcendence is the only way you’re going to be doing it.
GATHERING STORM – Gain adaptive damage for every 6 minutes of gameplay. The stats are as follows: 0, 8, 24, 48, and 80 AP
Gathering Storm is especially powerful if you have Rabadon’s Deathcap, though it depends on whether you prefer Scorch or not. Scorch can seal some last hits, though Gathering Storm can provide more long-term sustain.
EYEBALL COLLECTION
Collect 1 Eyeball per champion takedown, up to 10. Each takedown will provide players with 2 AP. Once players have received 10 Eyeballs they will also receive an extra 10 AP.
Eyeball Collection is the only Rune you will be able to use in ARAM from this tier of Runes.
RAVENOUS HUNTER
Abilities Heal for 1.5% of damage + 2.5% per every champion takedown for a maximum of 5 stacks. Healing is reduced to 1/3 on AoE damage.
Ravenous Hunter is one of the most powerful runes you can take while playing in ARAM as Malhazar can unlimitedly heal himself when attacking all enemies and minions. Ravenous Hunter is one of the ultimate ways players can receive consistently health without having to build items like Rod of Ages, wait for health to appear on the field or receive from another player.
Would I pair Ravenous Hunter with Rod of Ages? Absolutely! Paired up with Rod of Ages, Ravenous Hunter Malhazars will have a night out dealing damage to enemy champions while still protecting themselves in the long-run. So, if you get a chance to escape from enemy champions, make sure to stay back for a little while to get your health back up for another battle.
SKILL LEVEL UP RECOMMENDATIONS & TIPS ON HOW TO PLAY MALZAHAR IN ARAM
Maxing out your abilities is partially going to have to depend on what your team needs and will also depend on what abilities you have more luck landing. In general, it’s a better idea to max out your abilities by E, Q, W as E receives the best upgrades and does more damage than Q, however, since E heavily depends on reapplying Malefic Visions with Q or R, players may want to max out their Q first to spend time silencing enemies.
Using Malzahar as a CC champion can come in especially handy with teamed up with allies who can do high amounts of damage, though, if Malzahar is the damage dealer on his team, good luck getting by when you max Q first.
The following is all you need to know about Malzahar’s Abilities:
MALEFIC VISIONS (E)
Malzahar can infect an enemy minion or champion dealing magic damage every half-second for a maximum of 4 seconds. If players retarget enemies that already have Malefic Visions on them, with Q or W, the effect will refresh dealing more damage. Players will easily be able to refresh Malefic Visions at least once before the effect expires and may even be able to reapply multiple times once their cooldowns are low enough.
Players should not stress out about keeping Malefic Visions up, though, players should try to make it a priority to kill mobs infected with it in hopes of it spreading further.
If players choose to level up Malefic Visions it will go up in mana cost by the following values 60 / 70 / 80 / 90 / 100, it will receive cooldown reduction by the following values 15 / 13 / 11 / 9 / 7 seconds and will deal the following amount of magic damage 80 / 115 / 150 / 185 / 220 (+ 80% AP).
CALL OF THE VOID (Q)
Malzahar will summon a portal that silences enemy champions and minions for a minimum of 1 second. When upgraded Call of the Void will have a silence duration of the following amounts 1 / 1.25 / 1.5 / 1.75 / 2 seconds with the following magic damage 70 / 105 / 140 / 175 / 210 (+ 65% AP).
Call of the Void does not increase in mana cost or decrease in cooldown, meaning that players may even choose to avoid upgrading this ability in favour of upgrading Malzahar’s W for extra damage. If your team is reliant on Malzahar’s silences I would recommend focussing on upgrading his Q as 2 seconds of silence is not something to take for granted.
VOID SWARM (W)
For every ability Malzahar casts, Malzahar will gain a stack of Zz’Rot Swarm which will summon multiple Voidlings upon activation. Voidlings last 8 / 8 / 9 / 9 / 10 seconds and do 5-64.5 (based on level) (+ 12 / 14 / 16 / 18 / 20) (+ 40% bonus AD) (+ 20% AP) plus 300% damage against lane minions affected by Malefic Visions.
Void Swarm and Voidlings are a great way of dealing extra damage to minions and champions, although upgrading the Swarm second may not be the best if your team does not have a whole lot of crowd control. Think about upgrading Void Swarm second only if you’re the one dealing the most damage and the enemy team is not destroying your Voidlings every time you summon them.
Void Swarm’s mana cost will increase by 40 / 45 / 50 / 55 / 60 upon upgrade.
GEAR BUILDS FOR MALZAHAR IN ARAM
LUDEN’S ECHO
High Ability Power, Extra Mana, 20% Cooldown Reduction and can cause extra AoE damage to help proc Dark Harvest? Yes, please.
Luden’s Echo is most useful on Malzahar’s Q, though, getting a proc on it while using Malzahar’s E can also be helpful for farming out minions and making sure that his E spreads.
SORCERER’S SHOES
The only shoes you’re going to want to sue for Malzahar is the Sorcerer’s Shoes as he can benefit from magic penetration.
LIANDRY’S TORMENT
If players do not need any defensive items or do not need cooldown reduction I would recommend using Liandry’s Torment so they can do sustained burn damage.
Liandry’s Torment gives 75 Ability Power and 300 Health. As a passive Liandry’s Torment will also deal 2% more damage per second in combat with enemy champions, up to a maximum of 10%. Spells will also burn enemies for 3 seconds dealing 1.5% of the player’s maximum health per second. If enemies are experiencing movement impairments they will receive an extra 2.5% damage from the burn.
Liandry’s Torment can be paired up with Rod of Ages to deal more damage from maximum health. Rod of Ages will also provide players with extra healing based on the damage players deal to enemies. If players choose to team Liandry’s Torment up with Rod of Ages, Rod of Ages should be built as the first item. (Recommended for Sorcery/Domination builds rather than Domination/Sorcery.)
RYLAI’S CRYSTAL SCEPTER
Ideally, players would build Rylai’s Crystal Scepter as their third item, however, chances are players will need Morellonomicon earlier if their enemies have high healing or sustain.
Rylai’s Crystal Scepter provides players with 90 Ability Power, 300 Health and will also reduce the enemy’s movement speed by 20% by one second. Rylai’s will work extremely well with Liandry’s Torment, but will also help allow Malzahar players to keep their enemies close by slowing them.
Rylai’s Crystal Scepter will really help make sure players get the most damage out of Malzahar’s E.
MORELLONOMICON
If you don’t need Morellonomicon before Rylai’s Crystal Scepter, put off Morellonomicon. Morellonomicon will provide players will less Ability Power, dealing 70 AP and giving players an extra 300 Health, which will again help with his E and Liandry’s Torment.
Having Liandry’s Torment, Rylai’s Crystal Scepter and Morellonomicon will make it so players do not need Rod of Ages and are some of the best items players can build when they use the Domination/Sorcery runes.
Morellonomicon provides players with 15 Magic Penetration as well as Grievous Wounds for 3 seconds.
VOID STAFF
It’s always great to have magic pen, especially if you’re up against a tanky team!
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