A champion guide for playing Malphite effectively in League of Legends, focusing primarily on the top lane position.

Champion Overview Malphite excels as a simple yet effective tank, particularly strong in lower Elos. His kit scales well with armor, making him especially potent against AD champions and ADCs, though vulnerable to AP damage dealers.

Skill Order Priority Choose your skill maximization based on matchup:

• vs Ranged Champions (Teemo, Quinn, Gnar): Max Q first
• vs Melee Auto-attackers (Irelia, Jax): Max E first
• vs Melee Casters (Riven, Renekton): Max W first

Core Build Path Focus on maximizing armor to enhance Malphite's natural scaling:

Starting Items:

• Doran's Shield
• Health Potion

Main Build:

• Sunfire Aegis
• Plated Steelcaps
• Thornmail
• Randuin's Omen
• Frozen Heart

Alternative Items:

• Force of Nature (vs AP)
• Warmog's Armor
• Gargoyle Stoneplate

Optimal Runes

Primary (Sorcery):

• Arcane Comet
• Manaflow Band
• Transcendence
• Scorch

Secondary (Inspiration):

• Biscuit Delivery
• Time Warp Tonic

Key Strengths

• Excellent tank scaling
• Strong against AD compositions
• Simple yet effective kit
• Powerful team fight initiation

Primary Weaknesses

• Vulnerable to AP damage
• Limited early game pressure
• Mana intensive early
• Can be kited by mobile champions

Best used as a counter pick against AD-heavy team compositions rather than as a blind pick. Focus on farming safely early game and scaling into a powerful team fight initiator.

Related Articles

Previous Articles