Qiyana vs Malzahar
Build vs Malzahar
The champion's reference build, for lack of enough games in this matchup
Recommended items for Qiyana: Voltaic Cyclosword, Bastionbreaker, Edge of Night, Ionian Boots of Lucidity, Serylda's Grudge, Serpent's Fang, Guardian Angel, Youmuu's Ghostblade.
Starting items
Core build
Standard
Anti CC
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 Qiyana
Tips to maximize your impact
- Pick your element for the job
Pick your Terrashape (W) element for the job: river for an Ice root, terrain for Rock's bonus damage on low-health targets, brush for Wild's invisibility.
- Two Elemental Wraths with Terrashape
Cast Terrashape (W) right after Elemental Wrath (Q): the dash resets its cooldown, so you can recast it in the same combo.
- Slam them against a wall
Cast Supreme Display of Talent (R) toward a wall near the enemies: the explosion runs along the whole edge of the obstacle, and any river or brush it crosses explodes too.
- Roam with the brush element
Roam with Wild, the brush element: Elemental Wrath (Q) then leaves a trail that makes you invisible and speeds you up.
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 Qiyana matchups
Patch 16.21.1