Malzahar vs Nasus

Malzahar
vs
44.3%

over 219 games

Nasus

Hard matchup

Split pushHeavy AD damageVery tankySustained DPS

Build vs Nasus

Build adapted to this matchup

Recommended items for Malzahar: Blackfire Torch, Liandry's Torment, Rylai's Crystal Scepter, Sorcerer's Shoes, Oblivion Orb, Malignance, Morellonomicon, Zhonya's Hourglass.

Starting items

Doran's Ring
Health Potion
x2

Core build

Blackfire Torch
1
Liandry's Torment
2
Rylai's Crystal Scepter
3

Standard

Sorcerer's Shoes
4Magic pen
Oblivion Orb
5

Summoner spells

FlashTeleport63%
FlashDot21%

Anti CC

Mercury's Treads
4vs CC

Other options

Oblivion Orb
Malignance
Morellonomicon
Zhonya's Hourglass
Tear of the Goddess
Void Staff
Shadowflame
Seraph's Embrace
Bloodletter's Curse
Rabadon's Deathcap
Dark Seal
Seeker's Armguard
42.3% WR26 games
SorcerySorcery
Deathfire TouchDeathfire Touch
Manaflow BandManaflow Band
TranscendenceTranscendence
ScorchScorch
InspirationInspiration
Magical FootwearMagical Footwear
Cosmic InsightCosmic Insight
Adaptive ForceAdaptive ForceHealth Scaling

Power Spikes

Strength by game phase

Nasus's abilities

Passive, spells and ultimate

Soul Eater (P)

Nasus drains his foe's spiritual energy, giving him bonus Life Steal.

Cooldowns

Cooldowns by spell rank

LevelQWER
37.5s15s12s–
65.5s15s12s2m
93.5s14s12s2m
113.5s13s12s1m40
163.5s11s12s1m20
183.5s11s12s1m20

Playing as Malzahar

Tips to maximize your impact

  1. Keep your Void Shift up

    Avoid free damage to keep Void Shift (passive) up: when you haven't taken damage or CC for a while, you take much less damage and ignore CC.

  2. Push the wave with your visions

    Push the wave with Malefic Visions (E): they finish off low minions, then jump to the nearest enemy when their target dies, restoring your mana.

  3. Cast spells before Void Swarm

    Cast your other spells, Malefic Visions (E) included, before Void Swarm (W): each one adds a Voidling, and they go after the targets of your visions.

  4. Save your R for their carry

    Save Nether Grasp (R) for the enemy carry: you lock them down while you channel, and the zone around them also damages their allies.

Playing against Nasus

How to counter and exploit weaknesses

  1. Deny his farm early

    Early on, take a trade whenever he steps up to last-hit a minion: each kill with Siphoning Strike (Q) increases its damage for the whole game.

  2. Freeze near your tower

    Freeze the wave near your tower: to farm with Siphoning Strike (Q), he then has to step up and expose himself to ganks.

  3. Wait out his storm

    Once he hits level 6, don't engage during Fury of the Sands (R): for 15 seconds, he gains health and resistances, and his area damage scales with your max health.

  4. Hit him while backing off

    In teamfights, if you're ranged, hit him while backing off: he has no dash, only Wither (W), a slow that grows stronger over time.

Patch 16.21.1