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League Classic · Season 3 · Malphite

Tank Malphite build & runes

Top Lane B · 40

Malphite buildsTank Malphite this buildAP Malphite rank S

Item build path

Starting items level 1 · 475 gold to spend

Cloth Armor + 5

Health Potions475 g

Doran's Shield440 g

Armor and sustain vs AD top laners.

First back first recall

Glacial Shroud +

Boots

Core build order buy in this order · ~14,360 g full build

Mercury's Treads1,200 g

→

Sunfire Cape2,610 g

→

Frozen Heart2,900 g

→

Thornmail2,000 g

→

Abyssal Scepter2,650 g

→

Randuin's Omen3,000 g

Situational adapt to the game

Sunfire Capefor HP and waveclear when needed

Guardian Angelwhen ahead to engage repeatedly

Spirit Visagevs AP and for extra regen

Banshee's Veilvs AP burst and poke

Skill order & spells

Skill orderE > Q > W > R

SpellsFlash + Teleport

Rune page (Season 3)

9× Greater Mark of Magic Penetration+7.8 Magic Pen

9× Greater Seal of Armor+12.7 Armor

9× Greater Glyph of Magic Resist+12.1 Magic Resist

3× Greater Quintessence of Armor+12.8 Armor

Best duos & synergies

Master Yi5-man Unstoppable Force sets up free Alpha resets

Katarinayour ult clump is her pentakill button

Masteries 9 / 21 / 0

Offense 9

0/1

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4/4

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4/4

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1/1

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Defense 21

0/1

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4/4

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3/3

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2/2

0/2

1/1

0/1

1/1

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3/3

1/1

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0/1

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1/1

Utility 0

0/1

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0/1

Standard Season 3 page — full tank. Hover any mastery for its name.

Counters & matchups

Who this pick beats and who beats it — pick your lane with the matchup in mind.

✓ Strong against

Tryndamerearmor and passive shut down his autos

Master Yiultimate and armor lock him down

Wukongpassive and armor blunt his burst

OlafAS slow and armor blunt his DPS

Gangplankarmor makes Parrrley harass tickle

✕ Struggles against

Singedignores you and out-scales the farm war

Kaylehybrid damage bypasses armor stacking

Karthus(mid pick) percent-magic burst melts tanks

Vaynetrue damage ignores your armor stacking

Teemoblind and poison DoT bypass your armor

Quick tip: Hoard Flash for R engage — a 3+ man knock-up decides the fight before it starts.

Key combo

Seismic Shard (Q) slow → Brutal Strikes (W) autos → Ground Slam (E) AS-shred → Unstoppable Force (R) flash engage

Power spike & playstyle

Spikes at 6 with the flash-R engage and with armor items vs AD; a scaling teamfight tank—survive lane, then delete carries with the ult knock-up.

Other builds

Malphite’s other builds

% is versus Tank Malphite · how the letters are measuredEvery build →

AP Malphite →Same role, different buildTop Lane · AP burst · 15,315 g

Damage rankSout-damages 15 of 16 top lane builds

Combo+autos2,345+111%

Burst2,051+124%

Auto DPS98+50%

Eff. HP5,142-55%

Sorcerer's Shoes

Rod of Ages

Rabadon's Deathcap

Zhonya's Hourglass

Abyssal Scepter

Void Staff

Skill E > Q > W > RMasteries 21/0/9Summoners Flash + TeleportStart Boots of Speed + 4 Health PotionsRunes Magic Penetration marks · Flat Armor seals · Flat Ability Power glyphs · Flat Ability Power quints

Unstoppable Force into a maxed Ground Slam is a genuine teamfight nuke, and Zhonya's plus his armour passive keep him harder to kill than the item list suggests.

When you are already winning fights on engage and want the engage itself to do the damage rather than set it up.

Into an AD carry you were supposed to be blunting — Malphite's job is armour, and this build has none of it outside Zhonya's.

Not modelled in this number: Summoner's Insight, Meditation, Mastermind.

Show the damage math

Ability	How it is calculated	Raw	After resists
Q Seismic Shard rank 5	270 base + 0.6 × 633 AP	650	644 −1% after MR
E Ground Slam rank 5	220 base + 0.3 × 132 armour + 0.2 × 633 AP	386	383 −1% after MR
R Unstoppable Force rank 3	400 base + 1 × 633 AP	1,033	1,024 −1% after MR
AA Auto-attack	97.6 per hit × 1.01 attacks/sec	98 / 164	98 dps

Level 18AD 114AP 633Target 1,900 hp · 75 ar · 50 mrAfter pen 75 ar · 3 mr

Combo 2,051 + 3.0 s autos 295 = 2,345, 108% of target HP.

Only the QER rotation is counted.

Guide

How to play Malphite in League Classic

Malphite is armor math plus one perfect button. Into AD tops, rush armor and the lane simply ends — E slows their attack speed by half while Sunfire ticks. Bank your ult jealously: a 3-man Unstoppable Force is the single most reliable fight-opener in League Classic, and everyone knows it, so the threat alone shapes how the enemy groups. Hover your mid lane, watch for the enemy carries to stand within 300 units of each other, and press R. Everything after is cleanup.

FAQ

Malphite in League Classic

What is the best Malphite build in League Classic?

The standard build is Tank Malphite: Mercury's Treads, Sunfire Cape, Frozen Heart, Thornmail, Abyssal Scepter, Randuin's Omen. Skill order E > Q > W > R, summoner spells Flash + Teleport. Malphite also has 1 measured off-meta build: AP Malphite.

What runes and masteries does Malphite use in League Classic?

Marks: Magic Penetration. Seals: Flat Armor. Glyphs: Magic Resist. Quintessences: Flat Armor. Masteries: 9/21/0 — full tank.

Is Malphite good in League Classic?

Malphite is rated B-tier top lane in the launch consensus (score 40/100 across 4 published rankings). Strong into Tryndamere, Master Yi, Wukong, Olaf, Gangplank; struggles against Singed, Kayle, Karthus, Vayne, Teemo.

What does Malphite start with and build first in League Classic?

Open with Cloth Armor + 5 Health Potions or Doran's Shield. Armor and sustain vs AD top laners. First back: Glacial Shroud + Boots. Then build in order: Mercury's Treads → Sunfire Cape → Frozen Heart → Thornmail → Abyssal Scepter → Randuin's Omen.

Editorial build based on documented Season 3 (2013) meta. Counters and duos are historical projections rather than live win-rate matchup data. (Tier ranking above does mix in live data where sources publish it — see the tier list for details.)

Top Lane tier list ← Consensus tier list