Darius vs Malzahar

Darius
vs
42.1%

over 152 games

Malzahar

Hard matchup

Heavy CCHeavy AP damageCountered by stasisHigh burst

Build vs Malzahar

Build adapted to this matchup

Recommended items for Darius: Youmuu's Ghostblade, Force of Nature, Dead Man's Plate, Mercury's Treads, Stridebreaker, Death's Dance, Sterak's Gage, Quicksilver Sash.

Starting items

Doran's Shield
Health Potion

Core build

Youmuu's Ghostblade
1
Force of Nature
2
Dead Man's Plate
3

Standard

Boots of Swiftness
4vs Slow
Stridebreaker
5

Summoner spells

FlashHaste74%
FlashDot17%

Other options

Stridebreaker
Death's Dance
Sterak's Gage
Quicksilver Sash
Mercurial Scimitar
Trinity Force
Spear of Shojin
Maw of Malmortius
Randuin's Omen
Jak'Sho, The Protean
Kaenic Rookern
Spirit Visage
Thornmail
Guardian Angel
50.0% WR16 games
SorcerySorcery
Stormraider's SurgeStormraider's Surge
Nimbus CloakNimbus Cloak
CelerityCelerity
Gathering StormGathering Storm
PrecisionPrecision
Legend: AlacrityLegend: Alacrity
TriumphTriumph
Attack SpeedAdaptive 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 Darius

Tips to maximize your impact

  1. Hit with the edge of your axe

    Aim the outer edge of Decimate (Q): only the blade heals you and applies Hemorrhage (passive). The handle, in the center, deals less damage.

  2. All-in at five stacks

    Go all-in when your target has five Hemorrhage (passive) stacks: you gain a massive AD bonus, and Noxian Guillotine (R) hits harder with each stack.

  3. Save Apprehend for runners

    Save Apprehend (E) to pull back an enemy who retreats, not to start a trade: it's your only pull, on a 26 to 16 second cooldown.

  4. Execute to recast your R

    Cast Noxian Guillotine (R) on the lowest-health target: its true damage ignores armor, and if it kills, you can recast it right away.

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