Sion vs Malzahar

Sion
vs
57.5%

over 87 games

Malzahar

Favorable matchup

Heavy CCHeavy AP damageCountered by stasisHigh burst

Build vs Malzahar

Build adapted to this matchup

Recommended items for Sion: Hollow Radiance, Unending Despair, Titanic Hydra, Mercury's Treads, Heartsteel, Jak'Sho, The Protean, Kaenic Rookern, Overlord's Bloodmail.

Starting items

Doran's Shield
Health Potion

Core build

Hollow Radiance
1
Unending Despair
2
Titanic Hydra
3

Standard

Boots of Swiftness
4vs Slow
Heartsteel
5

Summoner spells

FlashTeleport92%
HasteTeleport3%

Other options

Heartsteel
Jak'Sho, The Protean
Kaenic Rookern
Overlord's Bloodmail
Thornmail
Bramble Vest
Randuin's Omen
Frozen Heart
Force of Nature
Youmuu's Ghostblade
The Collector
Spirit Visage
Warmog's Armor
Tear of the Goddess
Bastionbreaker
Fimbulwinter
Lord Dominik's Regards
B. F. Sword
Voltaic Cyclosword
Hullbreaker
90.9% WR11 games
ResolveResolve
Grasp of the UndyingGrasp of the Undying
DemolishDemolish
ConditioningConditioning
OvergrowthOvergrowth
InspirationInspiration
Cash BackCash Back
Approach VelocityApproach Velocity
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 Sion

Tips to maximize your impact

  1. Last-hit everything for max health

    Last-hit minions and monsters for Soul Furnace (W): each kill permanently gives you max health, more on champions, large minions and large monsters.

  2. Slow before your Smash

    Slow your target with Roar of the Slayer (E) before charging Decimating Smash (Q): they're less likely to get out of the area.

  3. Charge your Smash for at least 1 second

    Charge Decimating Smash (Q) for at least 1 second: below that, the hit only slows, and beyond it, the knock-up and stun last longer the more you charge.

  4. Keep hitting after you die

    After you die, hit the nearest champion: during Glory in Death (passive), your autos are much faster, heal you and deal damage based on their max health.

  5. Engage or roam from far away

    Cast Unstoppable Onslaught (R) from far away to engage or roam: unstoppable for 8 seconds, you stun longer and hit harder after a long charge.

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