How to win lane as Malzahar against Talon · 49.46% win rate over 3,146 Emerald+ games · Updated 2026-07-27
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Even / skill | Level 1 is even—your Q interrupt answers his early poke attempts. |
| Level 2 | Even / skill | Level 2 stays skill-based around his W-Q trade and your E punish. |
| Level 3 | Even / skill | Level 3 remains even as your silence can cut his combo short. |
| Levels 4-5 | Even / skill | Levels 4-5 stay a skill fight around his all-in and roam timings. |
| Level 6 | Talon | Level 6 is Talon's spike—his R and burst can kill you before your grasp lands. |
| First item | Talon | First-item Youmuu's makes him a roaming assassin who pressures the map—his phase. |
| Two+ items | Malzahar | Late fights favour your suppression, and an over-committing Talon dies to your R. |
Levels 1-4 are a skill fight: Talon's W-Q poke and passive stacking are dangerous, but your Q silence can interrupt his combo and your E makes him pay for extended trades. Play around his all-in windows—if his Q is down he can't burst you—and use voidlings to blunt his passive procs while you farm.
The full Malzahar vs Talon report continues with the mid-game plan, the late-game and teamfight plan, every power spike to play around, and the win conditions for both sides — plus cooldown tracking and the live enemy-jungle tracker inside the app.
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Playing the other side? Talon vs Malzahar guide →
All Malzahar mid lane matchups →