Talk:Malzahar/@comment-3463132-20140614180811

Malzahar is probably my favorite mid champion, with Lux as a close 2nd.

Once you complete the holy combination of rylai+liandry you can kill a tank with your W,E,R combo. I think his greatest strength is how 3 of his abilities deal damage every second, making liandrys such a potent item for him, especially with his W dealing Maximum Health Percentage per second.

I'll start with Dorans Ring and a potion to start, and first back normally gets me another ring- from there it all depends on whether I murder my lane. If I get ahead, I go straight for DFG, if I'm not doing nearly as hot- I'll settle for a banner of command. Somewhere in there I buy boots as well. The main strategy is to not feed the enemy lane and get CS, with a kill thrown in if the jungler is nearby or the enemy gets to close/stupid. After those the next items are liandrys and rylais, always. If I'm winning heavily, I'll go Rylai's first since the items are more expensive. After that it's typically a question of whether or not the game is still going. If it is, I'll try to build an item that boost my ap and a defense stat, like Zhonya or Abyssal. Course, the final item varies (I rarely get to go full build) but having Spell Vamp is actually pretty good on Malzahar, otherwise there is always GA. Then there's the rediculous cases where you just start roaming and killing every enemy champion in sight, in which case it's time to build every item that has a Needlessly Large Rod!

In teamfights your job is to throw your Q down for vision and damage, chuck your W where the enemeis will stand on it, many players underestimate the damage being on or near that circle, then ult whatever is convenient for you- ideally using your E on this target beforehand so your voidling will attack them as well. This is *not* always a high priority target like the enemy marksman or mage, but bursting their tank to nothing is still a win for your team. Diving into the enemy team to ult a squishy is a bad idea and will not end well for you. If possible, coordinate with the tank so they can initiate and you follow up with heavy damage and burst.

In lane you need to not feed before 6, try to harass with visions and your Q if you can position it well. Get your CS and don't get too upset when the visions screw you (And they will) After 6 be SURE to throw down your W and ult the target on it. If you have the holy trinity combo of W,E,R you'll almost definitely kill your target, especially if this brings out your voidling. If you have a DFG on hand, this is almost a 100% sure kill combo against nearly any mid laner, and since it's a supression, there isn't a damn thing they can do about it :D