How to win lane as Kassadin against Malphite · 55.81% win rate over 86 Emerald+ games · Updated 2026-07-27
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Even / skill | Even window — Malphite's Q slow and W-empowered auto can chunk your fragile level 1, but you trade back with on-hit magic and neither side can commit, so play it safe and farm. |
| Level 2 | Even / skill | Even window — he pokes with Q while you're weak, but his armor stacking is already wasted against your all-magic kit; respect the slow, soak the harass, and wait for your spikes. |
| Level 3 | Kassadin | With Null Sphere ranked and Nether Blade refunding mana on every champion auto, you out-poke a Malphite who has stacked armor and zero magic resist. |
| Levels 4-5 | Kassadin | Your magic poke ignores his armor entirely and Void Stone blanks his negligible magic — you control the farm and the harass with no answer from his side. |
| Level 6 | Kassadin | Riftwalk lets you blink out of his Q slow and dodge the windup on his R dash, taking away the only engage tool he has on you. |
| First item | Kassadin | Your first AP items online plus Riftwalk's ramping burst beat his armor curve — he has no defense against damage that bypasses his entire build. |
| Two+ items | Kassadin | With Riftwalk ramping and Rabadon's/Nashor's, you blink-burst through his armor and escape his R cooldown window — at full build you simply out-class him. |
Malphite has almost nothing to fight you with in lane — he stacks armor, but every point of damage in your kit is magic, so his entire defensive build is wasted, and your Void Stone passive even shaves 15% off the rare magic damage he might carry. The only real danger early is his Q (Seismic Shard) slow into a W-empowered auto, which can chunk your paper-thin levels 1-2, so don't sit in Q range while you CS. Last-hit with Null Sphere, soak the poke, and know he can't actually commit to a kill on you this early without his ult.
The full Kassadin 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.
Become a Founding Member — $1.99/month →🔒 Secure checkout · 💰 7-day money-back guarantee · ✋ Cancel anytime
Early Access price — $3.99/month for new members after launch.
Playing the other side? Malphite vs Kassadin guide →
All Kassadin top lane matchups →