Malphite Counters: Who Beats Malphite

Updated for patch 26.21. Ability details come from Riot’s official game data for this patch.

Malphite counters are picks that deal true or magic damage, don’t lean on attack speed, and ideally have some way to handle Unstoppable Force. He stacks armor, cripples your attack speed with Ground Slam, and his ult arrives at high speed. The goal is to pick damage his armor can’t reduce.

These picks are our editorial choices based on how each kit interacts with Malphite’s. We don’t pull from win-rate data, so this is about why each counter works, not how often it wins.

Why is Malphite hard to counter?

• Granite Shield (passive): Malphite gets a shield that absorbs damage up to 10% of his max health. Leave him alone for a few seconds and it recharges.
• Seismic Shard (Q): sends a shard through the ground at the target, dealing damage and stealing Move Speed for 3 seconds.
• Thunderclap (W): empowers his attacks so they create aftershocks in front of him.
• Ground Slam (E): magic damage that scales with his Armor, and it reduces the Attack Speed of enemies hit.
• Unstoppable Force (R): Malphite launches himself to a location at high speed, damaging and knocking enemies into the air.

Honestly, Ground Slam is the quiet problem. It scales with armor, so building tanky also builds his damage, and the attack speed slow punishes anyone who trades through autos. What about the ult? It gets the attention, but E is the ability you deal with in every single trade.

Which champions are the best Malphite counters?

Fiora

Every bit of incoming damage, along with any disables, gets parried by Riposte (W). If Fiora blocks an immobilizing effect, the stab stuns instead of slowing. A well-timed W parries Unstoppable Force’s damage, and if the knock-up counts as immobilizing, the stab stuns Malphite himself. Her passive, Duelist’s Dance, restores Health and grants Move Speed when she hits exposed weak points. At 150 range against his 125, Lunge (Q) lets her stab an exposed weak point to proc her passive, restoring Health and gaining Move Speed to back off.

Gwen

The bonus magic damage from A Thousand Cuts (passive) is tied to the target’s health. Armor doesn’t help (not even a little). Snip Snip (Q) goes further, dealing true damage to units in the center. Hallowed Mist (W) makes Gwen untargetable by enemies outside the mist. Malphite has to walk into it to reach her, and that’s where Gwen wants him.

Mordekaiser

Obliterate (Q) chunks in short trades, Darkness Rise (passive) burns anyone standing next to him, and if Malphite tries to walk out, Death’s Grasp (E) pulls him right back. His ultimate (R) makes it worse: Mordekaiser drags him into a separate dimension and steals a portion of his stats. In practice, it also stops Malphite from ulting your backline, because he’s trapped in that separate dimension.

Dr. Mundo

Goes Where He Pleases (passive) resists the first immobilizing effect that hits Mundo. If Unstoppable Force’s knock-up counts as an immobilizing effect, the passive absorbs it and Mundo is not launched. Mundo just keeps fighting. He loses some health and drops a canister, which he can pick up to heal. Infected Bonesaw (Q) deals damage based on the target’s current health, the more HP Malphite stacks, the harder it hits. Maximum Dosage (R) regenerates a portion of max health over time, so Mundo outsustains him in longer trades.

Trundle

Subjugate (R) steals a percent of the target’s Health, Armor and Magic Resistance and doubles the stolen amount over 4 seconds, stripping away the armor powering Ground Slam and the tankiness Malphite needs to front-line. To be fair, Trundle is auto-attack reliant, so Ground Slam’s attack speed slow does affect him (more than he’d like). But once Subjugate eats the armor, Ground Slam barely stings.

How do you counter Malphite in lane?

• Keep poking. Granite Shield recharges when he hasn’t been hit for a few seconds. Consistent damage keeps it down, denying him a free 10% max health buffer.
• Watch his mana. Malphite uses mana. An out-of-mana Malphite can’t use his abilities to trade.
• Trade with abilities, not long auto chains. Ground Slam reduces Attack Speed. Short ability rotations avoid the penalty entirely.
• Respect level 6. Before Unstoppable Force he has no gap-closer, only Seismic Shard poke and short trades. After 6, Unstoppable Force gives him all-in threat.

Which items counter Malphite?

Ground Slam (E) deals magic damage based on his Armor, so magic resist helps reduce that damage. Force of Nature gives 400 health, 55 magic resist and 4% Move Speed, and its Steadfast passive adds 70 magic resist and 6% Move Speed after you take magic damage from champions 8 times. Against a Malphite who keeps using Ground Slam (E), its magic damage builds those stacks. Kaenic Rookern works differently: its Magebane passive grants a magic shield after 15 seconds without taking magic damage, absorbing a chunk of his combo if you engage on your terms.

Spell shields are the sleeper pick. Banshee’s Veil and Edge of Night both have an Annul passive that blocks the next enemy ability. If that ability is Unstoppable Force (cooldown starts at 130 seconds), he just wasted his longest-cooldown spell for nothing. Compare MR options in our item database.

When should you fight Malphite?

Before level 6, he has no gap-closer or knock-up to punish you with, just Seismic Shard poke and short trades. After 6, respect the ult. Track his cooldown and play aggressively while it’s down.

You can also use these Malphite counters to pressure a side lane. If you’re on Fiora or Trundle forcing a side lane, Malphite has to match you instead of grouping for a teamfight engage. The catch is he might ignore the split and ult your team anyway, so ping it out before you commit to the side lane. For how he plays in the single-lane mode, see our Malphite ARAM guide. New to top lane? Our guide to roles in League covers the basics, and all his cosmetics are on the Malphite skins page.

FAQ

Who counters Malphite the most?

Based on kit interactions, our top pick is Fiora. Riposte parries all incoming damage and stuns if the blocked effect is immobilizing, and her passive procs restore Health and grant Move Speed.

Why does Malphite stack armor?

Ground Slam (E) deals magic damage that scales with his Armor stat, so stacking armor increases both his physical durability and his E damage at the same time.

Does Malphite counter auto-attackers?

Yes. Ground Slam reduces Attack Speed, and the armor he builds reduces physical damage from attacks. If your damage comes from auto-attacks, he shuts you down.

What type of damage does Malphite deal?

Ground Slam (E) deals magic damage based on his Armor. Thunderclap (W) empowers his attacks with aftershocks.

Is this list based on win rates?

No. Ability interactions in patch 26.21 drove our choices here, and win-rate data played no part.