Maw of Malmortius

Maw of Malmortius is a 3,100 gold anti-magic item for Attack Damage champions in League of Legends: 60 Attack Damage, 15 Ability Haste and 40 Magic Resist in patch 26.21. Its Lifeline passive triggers when magic damage would drop you below 30% Health, giving a magic damage Shield for 3 seconds and 10% Omnivamp until the fight ends.

How does the Lifeline passive work?

It’s a safety net against burst mages. When a magic damage hit would take you under 30% Health, Lifeline fires a Shield that absorbs magic damage for 3 seconds. Then, for the rest of that fight, you also heal through 10% Omnivamp.

Picture a top lane bruiser diving the backline: the enemy mage lands a stun and a full rotation, your Health drops past the threshold, and instead of dying you keep swinging with a Shield up and healing on every hit.

The Shield buys you the moment you’d otherwise die to a mage’s full combo. The Omnivamp turns that moment into a comeback, since every ability and auto you land after the trigger heals you. Riot’s data text doesn’t say how big the Shield is or how long the cooldown runs; the in-game tooltip has both. The catch is that only magic damage triggers it. A physical damage assassin bringing you low won’t wake it up (which catches some players off guard the first time).

Is Maw of Malmortius gold efficient?

Very, at 118%. Its stats are worth 3,650 gold, more than the 3,100 gold price, so Lifeline costs you nothing extra.

Priced against basic items from the same patch: 60 Attack Damage at 35 gold per point gives 2,100 gold, 15 Ability Haste at 50 gold per point gives 750 gold, and 40 Magic Resist at 20 gold per point gives 800 gold. Honestly, that’s one of the best stat lines for its price among Attack Damage items. Defense, damage and haste in one slot.

What are its components?

Hexdrinker (1,300 gold) and Caulfield’s Warhammer (1,050 gold), plus a 750 gold combine. To be fair, Hexdrinker is the piece to rush when an enemy mid laner is bursting you in lane, because it already brings Magic Resist and a smaller shield of its own. Caulfield’s Warhammer adds the Attack Damage and Ability Haste (and it’s the cheaper half). Nothing upgrades from the finished item.

Splitting the purchase works well. Hexdrinker alone is enough to survive a mid laner’s level six all-in, and you can sit on it for a back or two while your main damage item comes first. Once the enemy mage starts roaming to your lane with a second Ability Power threat, finishing the Maw is usually worth more than another damage component, since one saved death in a skirmish can swing the whole game.

How has it changed over the patches?

Riot has touched it often, in its data since 2013 or earlier. The recent changes:

• Patch 13.3: Ability Haste removed, Attack Damage 55 → 65.
• 13.10 cut the cost from 2,900 to 2,800 gold.
• Patch 14.9: cost 2,800 → 3,100 gold, Ability Haste 15 added back, Attack Damage 65 → 70, Magic Resist 50 → 40.
• Patch 14.19: Attack Damage 70 → 60.

So Ability Haste left in 13.3 and returned in 14.9, along with a 300 gold price jump that made the item a real investment again. Funny, really. Patch 6.22 removed its flat Armor Penetration (the stat Lethality later replaced). The table above shows every entry, and our LoL items database covers the full history of the shop.

Who should build Maw of Malmortius?

Attack Damage fighters and assassins facing a mage or another magic damage threat that can burst them. Bruisers in top lane against an Ability Power opponent buy it a lot, and Lethality junglers pick it up when the enemy has two or more mages. Why? Because it keeps their damage high while closing the gap on magic burst.

Marksmen have an alternative: Mercurial Scimitar also gives Magic Resist and removes crowd control, which matters more when the threat is a suppression or a long stun. Against a team that deals mostly physical damage, skip the Maw entirely. Not sure where your champion fits? Our guide to LoL roles helps. In practice, Maw of Malmortius comes second or third, right after your core damage item, once you know where the magic burst is coming from.

FAQ

How much does the Maw cost?

Total price 3,100 gold, combine 750 gold, sell value 2,170 gold.

When does Lifeline trigger?

Only a magic damage hit that would leave you under 30% Health sets it off; physical and true damage never do.

What does Lifeline give?

A magic damage Shield for 3 seconds and 10% Omnivamp until the end of combat.

Which stats does Maw of Malmortius give?

60 Attack Damage, 15 Ability Haste and 40 Magic Resist.

What does it build from?

Hexdrinker and Caulfield’s Warhammer.