Irelia vs Malzahar TOP Matchup Guide | LaneStomp

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Malzahar

Irelia vs Malzahar

Updated Jun 3, 2026

Overview

Irelia should use her high mobility and all-in potential to pressure Malzahar and deny him a calm scaling lane.
Prioritize maintaining wave control to enable (Q) resets and extended trades, preventing Malzahar from safely pushing and gaining map presence.

Trading pattern

Stack passive and use low-health minions to chain (Q) resets before committing to trades with (E) or (R) marks.
Punish Malzahar after he uses (Q) silence or (R) suppression by engaging immediately while those cooldowns are down.
Avoid using (Q) forward without a reset minion behind you to prevent being caught without escape.

Danger windows

Respect (R) suppression at level 6; avoid engaging unless you have reliable crowd control or can interrupt it.
Be cautious when lacking passive stacks or (Q) reset paths, as Malzahar's silence and suppression can punish overextensions.
Avoid fighting near large enemy minion waves that deny your mobility and reset options.

Early game

Use level 2 power spike by combining (Q) and (E) to stun and engage when minion waves allow safe resets.
Focus on punishing Malzahar's predictable push by killing his Voidlings early to reduce his lane pressure.
Avoid committing without passive stacks or a clear (Q) reset path to prevent being silenced or suppressed.

Power spikes

At level 2, use (Q) and (E) to create strong all-in windows when minion setup is favorable.
At level 6, leverage (R) to mark and slow Malzahar, enabling extended trades and harder engages.
After first fighter item, pressure waves confidently and force fights while tracking Malzahar's key defensive tools.

Win conditions

Snowball early by denying Malzahar safe wave control and punishing his cooldowns with (Q) resets and (E) stuns.
Use (R) to force all-ins when passive stacks and reset paths are ready, converting kills into side-lane pressure.
Maintain active wave control to create unpredictable engage angles and extend fights around your crowd control marks.