Vladimir vs Malzahar — Mid Lane Matchup Guide

How to win lane as Vladimir against Malzahar · 48.2% win rate over 4,147 Emerald+ games · Updated 2026-07-27

Verdict: Malzahar is favoured — Malzahar owns 5 of the 7 game windows to Vladimir's 2. Play it patient and win your windows. Vladimir wins 48.2% of games vs Malzahar in mid lane (4,147 Emerald+ games analysed).

Favour timeline — who owns each window

StageFavouredWhy
Level 1MalzaharLevel 1 favours Malzahar — Visions and silence let him control the wave immediately.
Level 2MalzaharLevel 2 stays his as he layers Q silence into push.
Level 3MalzaharLevel 3 remains Malzahar's with full perma-shove online.
Levels 4-5MalzaharLevels 4-5 are still his; you're pinned under tower and gank-vulnerable to his R.
Level 6MalzaharAt 6 his suppression ult that pool can't break keeps the all-in edge.
First itemVladimirFirst item flips it — your sustain and scaling finally outpace him.
Two+ itemsVladimirAt 2+ items Vladimir's AoE and durability bury his one-pick kit.

Early game (levels 1–5)

Levels 1-5 are Malzahar's — his silence and Visions shove the wave onto you and pin you under tower, so accept lost CS, ward for the R+gank, and never forget pool can't break his suppression.

Read the rest of this matchup

The full Vladimir vs Malzahar 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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Related guides

Playing the other side? Malzahar vs Vladimir guide →
All Vladimir mid lane matchups →