How to win lane as Lucian against Malphite · 34.38% win rate over 32 Emerald+ games · Updated 2026-07-27
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Even / skill | You both have weak level 1s, but his Q can already poke and slow — last-hit at range and set up your level 2. |
| Level 2 | Lucian | Q + Lightslinger lets you land a real double-shot burst before his W armor and Q slow scale — your one owned window. |
| Level 3 | Even / skill | His Q slow neuters your kiting and his W armor blunts your shots — the lane levels out and starts tipping his way. |
| Levels 4-5 | Malphite | His armor steroid plus base tankiness shrug off your poke while his Q chip wears you down through your mana. |
| Level 6 | Malphite | His R is a point-and-click unstoppable dash that ignores your E and ults you dead — you can't out-burst a tank before it's up. |
| First item | Malphite | Stacked armor makes your physical Lightslinger and Culling barely register; his Q keeps you slowed and walled off. |
| Two+ items | Malphite | Two armor items plus his teamfight R make you irrelevant against him — concede the duel and play the map. |
Malphite stacks armor, so your physical Lightslinger shots and Q poke do less every level — your only real window is Level 2, where Q plus the double-tap can chunk him before his W armor steroid and Q slow are scaling. Respect his Q: if it lands it slows you hard, and a slowed Lucian can't kite a walking tank who then W-autos you. Don't dump E to chase or you'll have no dash when he steps up. Last-hit at Q range, take the level-2 trade if it's free, and accept that this lane only goes downhill from here.
The full Lucian 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 Lucian guide →
All Lucian top lane matchups →