Aatrox vs Malzahar

Aatrox
vs
54.9%

over 82 games

Malzahar

Skill matchup

Heavy CCHeavy AP damageCountered by stasisHigh burst

Build vs Malzahar

The champion's reference build, for lack of enough games in this matchup

Recommended items for Aatrox: Eclipse, Sundered Sky, Death's Dance, Mercury's Treads, Spear of Shojin, Maw of Malmortius, Voltaic Cyclosword, Hubris.

Starting items

Doran's Shield
Health Potion

Core build

Eclipse
1
Sundered Sky
2
Death's Dance
3

Standard

Boots of Swiftness
4vs Slow
Spear of Shojin
5

Summoner spells

FlashDot72%
FlashTeleport19%

Other options

Spear of Shojin
Maw of Malmortius
Voltaic Cyclosword
Hubris
Quicksilver Sash
Sterak's Gage
Black Cleaver
Serylda's Grudge
Endless Hunger
Stridebreaker
Spirit Visage
Bastionbreaker
Guardian Angel
PrecisionPrecision
ConquerorConqueror
TriumphTriumph
Legend: HasteLegend: Haste
Last StandLast Stand
ResolveResolve
RevitalizeRevitalize
Bone PlatingBone Plating
Adaptive ForceAdaptive ForceHealth Scaling

Power Spikes

Strength by game phase

Malzahar's abilities

Passive, spells and ultimate

Void Shift (P)

When he hasn't recently taken damage or been crowd controlled, Malzahar gains massive damage reduction and crowd control immunity, lingering for a short period after taking damage.

Cooldowns

Cooldowns by spell rank

LevelQWER
36s8s11s–
66s8s11s2m20
96s8s11s2m20
116s8s11s1m50
166s8s9s1m20
186s8s7s1m20

Playing as Aatrox

Tips to maximize your impact

  1. Hit with the edge of your blade

    Land the edge of The Darkin Blade (Q): enemies hit by the edge take a short knock-up and more damage, so Umbral Dash (E) heals you for more.

  2. Reposition your blade with your dash

    Cast Umbral Dash (E) during The Darkin Blade (Q) to put the edge on your target: the dash doesn't interrupt your other spells.

  3. Trap your target with your chains

    Cast Infernal Chains (W) when the target can't leave the zone, against a wall or in a chokepoint: if they stay inside, they get pulled back to the impact point.

  4. Transform before the teamfight

    Cast World Ender (R) before you engage, not in the middle of the teamfight: you instantly gain AD, increased healing and move speed.

Playing against Malzahar

How to counter and exploit weaknesses

  1. Get out of his portals

    Get out of the Call of the Void (Q) zone quickly: its two portals fire after a short delay, and their projectiles silence you.

  2. Break his Void Shift first

    If you have CC, hit him first with a cheap attack, then wait a moment: Void Shift (passive) still ignores CC right after the first damage.

  3. Avoid minions hit by his Visions

    Stay away from minions hit by Malefic Visions (E): if they die, the visions jump to the nearest enemy, and his Voidlings follow them.

  4. Trade before he hits 6

    Take your trades before he hits level 6: after that, Nether Grasp (R) can lock you down from range while his team hits you.

  5. Focus him during his Grasp

    When he casts Nether Grasp (R) on an ally, focus him: he channels in place, and any CC interrupts him and frees your ally.

Patch 16.21.1