How to win lane as Graves against Malphite · 34.38% win rate over 64 Emerald+ games · Updated 2026-07-27
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Even / skill | Both of you are weak at Level 1 — Malphite just Q-pokes with his Granite Shield up, and your short shell range can't punish back through the gap, so it's a wash. |
| Level 2 | Malphite | He hits Level 2 and his Q slow lets him kite you out of your point-blank shell range while your fully-physical damage barely dents his stacking armor. |
| Level 3 | Malphite | Even with your full E-in shell burst online, his Granite Shield soaks your opening poke and his Q peels you back out before you can dump a second magazine. |
| Levels 4-5 | Malphite | Your True Grit passive and E charges make you tankier, but you're stacking armor to survive a lane you can't win on damage — your physical kit out-scales into nothing here. |
| Level 6 | Malphite | At 6 his R Unstoppable Force is a dashing knockup he can't be peeled off — he Q-slows you and combos you airborne before you can E out, and your W blind does nothing to his ability damage. |
| First item | Malphite | Your Eclipse/Youmuu's spike is pure physical and his first armor item (Bramble Vest into Frozen Heart) hard-counters it cell-for-cell, with Thornmail later reflecting your shells. |
| Two+ items | Malphite | You fall off as an AD carry while he builds Thornmail and Frozen Heart to delete you, and his R is a permanent flank threat on your squishy back line. |
Malphite stacks armor and your entire kit is physical — your 4-shell spread, your Q cone, your R nuke all scale into the wrong stat. At Level 1 his Q powder pokes you with his Granite Shield up and your short shell range can't punish back through the gap. Your one window is Level 2-3: E in for the point-blank shell burst and drop W on him to blind a key auto, but his Q slow peels you out of magazine range the second you commit, and his passive shield soaks your opening poke. Don't burn both E charges chasing — you'll be stranded in his face with an empty magazine and no dash to leave on.
The full Graves vs Malphite 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? Malphite vs Graves guide →
All Graves top lane matchups →