50.8%
Win Rate
Top Lane · Vanguard
Malphite Counters
Malphite's granite shield and armor make him tough to burst down with physical damage, but he's slow, low-mobility, and has almost no answer to sustained ranged poke pre-6.
5.8%
Pick Rate
2.4%
Ban Rate
Low
Difficulty
Malphite Overview
Malphite is played across 1 roles, most commonly top lane. Use the role links above to jump to role-specific counters — the data on this page reflects top lane, his primary role.
How to Counter Malphite
Poke him down from range before level 6, and hold a disengage specifically for his long-range Unstoppable Force ultimate.
Best Picks Against Malphite
Ranked by win-rate difference in top lane, Patch 14.14.
| Champion | Win Rate Diff | Games | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vayne | +4.6% | 620 | True damage and range punish him before he can close the distance. |
| Quinn | +2.6% | 540 | Ranged harass denies his engage before it ever starts. |
| Teemo | +2.4% | 480 | Blind and poke shut down his stand-and-fight trading pattern. |
| Kayle | +1.8% | 400 | Outranges and outscales him past the early game. |
| Renekton | +1.5% | 460 | Wins the all-in before Granite Shield fully regenerates. |
Computed by our stats engine from synthetic seed data, not live Riot match results — same aggregation pipeline that will process real match data once available.
See the full Top Lane counters breakdown, including worst matchups and lane-phase gold data →
Malphite Strengths & Weaknesses
Strengths
- Granite Shield provides strong early-game physical damage mitigation
- Unstoppable Force is one of the best teamfight-starting ultimates in the game
- Naturally counters auto-attack-reliant crit carries
Weaknesses
- Very low mobility outside of his ultimate
- Almost no answer to sustained ranged poke
- Vulnerable to true damage and grievous wounds bypassing his tankiness
Abilities Overview
P
Granite Shield
Absorbs incoming damage in an amount based on his max health, regenerating when out of combat — his core early-game durability.
Q
Seismic Shard
A long-range slow and damage tool — his primary poke and gap-closing setup.
W
Thunderclap
Empowers his next three attacks with bonus magic damage and attack speed.
E
Ground Slam
An AoE burst that shreds armor and slows nearby enemies.
R
Unstoppable Force
A long-range dash that knocks up all enemies hit — one of the most impactful teamfight-starting ultimates in the game.
Build, Runes & Setup
Best Items
Sunfire Aegis
Passive damage rewards his frontline positioning
Thornmail
Punishes auto-attack-reliant carries diving onto him
Zeke's Convergence
Amplifies his post-engage team damage
Counter Items (for the enemy)
Executioner's Calling
Cuts through his high effective health with grievous wounds
Lord Dominik's Regards
Punishes his armor stacking directly
Runes & Skill Order
Primary: Resolve (Aftershock) → Font of Life → Bone Plating → Unflinching. Secondary: Sudden Impact, Ravenous Hunter. Max order: Q → E → W, taking R whenever available.
Playbook
Poke him down from range before he can close the distance — he has almost nothing to answer sustained ranged pressure.
Time his ultimate's long cast range and hold a disengage for it in teamfights.
Punish him hard before level 6, when Granite Shield is his only real defensive tool.
Common Mistakes
Grouping in a line where a single Unstoppable Force can knock up the whole team.
Trading auto-attacks into a fresh Granite Shield instead of using burst or true damage.
Underestimating his engage range on Unstoppable Force — it travels much farther than it looks.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who counters Malphite?
Vayne, Quinn, and Teemo all punish his slow, low-mobility early game with sustained ranged pressure.
Why does Malphite counter crit-based marksmen?
His high armor and Granite Shield specifically blunt auto-attack-based physical damage, which is why he's a classic pick against champions like Yasuo or Twitch.