How to win lane as Gwen against Malphite · 52.05% win rate over 782 Emerald+ games · Updated 2026-07-27
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Even / skill | No mist yet, only one Q rank, no E — his Seismic Shard slow-poke and W-amped auto out-stat you in this window, though he still can't kill you outright. |
| Level 2 | Even / skill | He out-pokes you with the move-speed-stealing slow while you have one trading tool — farm safely and don't contest his W-amped autos yet. |
| Level 3 | Gwen | Q and E online: Snip Snip! is %-max-HP magic and the center snip is true damage, so his armor stacking and Steelcaps do nothing to your trades. |
| Levels 4-5 | Even / skill | Without 6 you can't punish his R or fully kite the slow — keep to short E-reset trades and don't overcommit before your mist exists. |
| Level 6 | Gwen | Needlework's ranged poke plus Hallowed Mist let you survive his R engage untargetable in the fog and keep snipping while he has zero follow-up. |
| First item | Gwen | Riftmaker or Nashor's Tooth makes extended duels free — your magic Q ignores his resistances and you heal off his massive HP bar. |
| Two+ items | Even / skill | You win every 1v1, but his point-and-click R still flanks your team and starts objectives — deny his roam so his armor-stacking value never matters elsewhere. |
Malphite's Seismic Shard poke and his W armor-and-auto-amp are the entire early threat — at levels 1-2 you have no mist, only one rank of Q, and no E mobility, so he can chip you with a move-speed-stealing slow and a beefed-up auto for free. Don't walk up to trade autos into his W. Once you hit 3 and have Q and E together, the lane flips: Snip Snip! is %-max-HP magic damage that his armor stacking does nothing against, and the center snip's true damage ignores Plated Steelcaps entirely. Last-hit with the Q tip, then E in for the auto and refund the dash when his Q is on cooldown.
The full Gwen 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 Gwen guide →
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