Katarina vs Malzahar MID Matchup Guide | LaneStomp

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Katarina

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Mid

Malzahar

Katarina vs Malzahar

Updated May 31, 2026

Overview

Katarina has low early agency and lane pressure against Malzahar's medium push and control mage style.
Focus on surviving early push, avoiding Malzahar's spell shield and suppression, and look for dagger setups to punish cooldowns.

Trading pattern

Trade around dagger placement and only commit with E when Malzahar's Malzahar R and Malzahar Q are on cooldown.
Use Q and W to set daggers and wait for Malzahar to use Malzahar R or Malzahar Q before engaging.
Avoid trading when Malzahar's spell shield (Void Shift) is active to maximize damage output.

Danger windows

Malzahar's Malzahar R suppression is the biggest threat; avoid engaging or channeling R when it is available.
Be cautious when daggers are near Malzahar or escape paths, as Malzahar can punish forward E jumps.
Malzahar's spell shield (Void Shift) can block your initial damage, so wait for it to expire before committing.

Early game

Use early levels to position daggers safely and avoid Malzahar's Malzahar Q silence and Malzahar W Voidlings push.
Punish Malzahar when he overextends or his Voidlings are low by using Q and E for short burst trades.
Avoid extended fights early to prevent being locked down by Malzahar R suppression.

Power spikes

Katarina's major spikes are level 3 dagger setup with Q-W-E and level 6 R ultimate.
Respect Malzahar's level 6 Malzahar R suppression and his first completed AP item spike.
Katarina's first completed burst item also significantly increases kill pressure.

Win conditions

Survive early push and punish Malzahar's cooldowns with dagger resets and E mobility.
Exploit windows when Malzahar's Malzahar R and Malzahar Q are down to burst him quickly.
Use skirmishes and roams after pushing wave to snowball through resets and deny Malzahar midlane presence.