Jayce vs Malzahar
Hard matchup
Build vs Malzahar
Build adapted to this matchup
Recommended items for Jayce: Tear of the Goddess, Youmuu's Ghostblade, Muramana, Mercury's Treads, Voltaic Cyclosword, Eclipse, Maw of Malmortius, Serylda's Grudge.
Starting items
Core build
Standard
Summoner spells
Other options
Power Spikes
Strength by game phase
Malzahar's abilities
Passive, spells and ultimate
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
| Level | Q | W | E | R |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 6s | 8s | 11s | – |
| 6 | 6s | 8s | 11s | 2m20 |
| 9 | 6s | 8s | 11s | 2m20 |
| 11 | 6s | 8s | 11s | 1m50 |
| 16 | 6s | 8s | 9s | 1m20 |
| 18 | 6s | 8s | 7s | 1m20 |
Playing as Jayce
Tips to maximize your impact
- Poke through your gate
In cannon form, fire Shock Blast (Q) through Acceleration Gate (E) from the start of lane: the orb gains speed, range and damage, and it's your best poke.
- All-in with the hammer
To all-in, switch to hammer: leap in with To the Skies! (Q), activate Lightning Field (W), then knock your target back with Thundering Blow (E).
- Auto after every swap
Land an auto after each weapon swap: switching to Mercury Cannon (R) reduces your target's armor and magic resist, and your first hammer hit deals bonus magic damage.
- Swap weapons to escape
To escape, swap weapons then walk through Acceleration Gate (E): Hextech Capacitor (passive) and the gate each give you move speed.
Playing against Malzahar
How to counter and exploit weaknesses
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Other Jayce matchups
Patch 16.21.1