Malzahar - League of Legends Champion
Win Rate
51.4%
Pick Rate
4.7%

Malzaharvs Riven

SMage
Patch26.7
Matches949,984
LaneAll Lanes
TierAll Tiers
Last UpdatedApr 21, 2026
MethodologyData Methodology

Malzahar vs Riven is a decisive matchup in LoL patch 26.7. Malzahar wins with a 64.3% win rate (+28.6%) over Riven based on 14 games. Malzahar holds the advantage in both the early and late game. Below you'll find the best Malzahar build, runes, laning stats, and strategies for the Malzahar vs Riven matchup.

Malzahar Matchup Breakdown

Use the dropdown to select an opponent and see a detailed breakdown of how Malzahar performs against them. You'll get head-to-head win rates, laning stats, the best build and runes for the matchup, and early vs late game analysis — all based on real ranked data.

Compare against an opponent
Riven - 64.3% win rateRiven(64.3%)
Malzahar - 64.3% win rate in this matchup
Malzahar
64.3% WR
VS
Riven vs Malzahar matchup - 35.7% win rate
Riven
35.7% WR

Who Wins the Malzahar vs Riven Matchup?

Malzahar wins the Malzahar vs Riven matchup
Winner
Malzahar
Matches: 14
64.3%
Win Rate
35.7%
7.6
CS / min
6.3
933
DMG / min
585
13,403
Gold / game
12,379
69
Heal / min
200
475
DMG Mitigated / min
1,136
2.1
CC / min
0.7
83.3%
Early Game WR
16.7%
50.0%
Late Game WR
50.0%

Malzahar vs Riven Matchup Summary

The Malzahar vs Riven matchup is a decisive matchup in League of Legends ranked play. Based on 14 recent matches analyzed, Malzahar wins with a 64.3% win rate compared to Riven's 35.7%, giving Malzahar a 28.6 percentage point advantage. Malzahar dominates at every stage — from early laning through late game team fights. This consistent advantage makes it difficult for Riven players to find favorable windows, so team-dependent strategies and avoiding solo confrontations are essential. The most significant statistical gap is in crowd control, where Malzahar leads by 1.3s CC/min — a difference that heavily influences the outcome of trades and skirmishes. Malzahar players can confidently pick into Riven and play aggressively from level 1. Look to establish lane dominance early through favorable trades and zone Riven away from CS whenever possible. Understanding these matchup dynamics is essential for champion select decisions and in-game strategy when facing this lane opponent.

Malzahar vs Riven Laning Phase Breakdown

Malzahar wins the laning phase against Riven in League of Legends

Malzahar is favored during the laning phase against Riven, winning 4 out of 5 key stat categories. Malzahar holds advantages in farming, damage, gold income and crowd control, making them the stronger laner in this matchup.

Farming
7.6Malzahar
6.3Riven
Malzahar significantly out-farms Riven by 1.3 CS per minute, accumulating an estimated 20 CS lead by mid game. This substantial farming gap gives Malzahar a major gold advantage and earlier item completions. Riven players should prioritize wave management techniques like freezing near tower and using abilities efficiently to minimize the deficit.
Damage
933Malzahar
585Riven
Malzahar heavily out-damages Riven by 348 DMG/min, dominating both short trades and all-in fights. Riven should avoid extended combat and instead focus on burst trade patterns — short engages followed by immediate disengagement — to avoid letting Malzahar's sustained damage advantage take over.
Economy
13,403Malzahar
12,379Riven
Malzahar generates a commanding 1,025 more gold per game than Riven. This substantial economic advantage means Malzahar consistently reaches key item breakpoints earlier, creating a compounding lead that grows throughout the game. Riven should focus on cost-effective item choices and avoid unnecessary deaths to prevent falling further behind.
Utility
2.1Malzahar
0.7Riven
Malzahar brings significantly more crowd control than Riven, with 1.3 more seconds of CC per minute. This large utility gap makes Malzahar far more valuable in setting up jungle ganks, controlling objectives, and locking down targets in team fights. Riven should invest in tenacity and position carefully to avoid being chain-CC'd.
Sustain
543Malzahar
1,336Riven
Riven vastly out-sustains Malzahar, healing and mitigating 793 more damage per minute. This massive durability gap means Riven can absorb significant punishment and remain in lane while Malzahar is forced to recall. Building grievous wounds early is essential for Malzahar, and focusing on burst trade patterns rather than sustained fights is critical.

Best Malzahar Build Against Riven

Spellslinger's Shoes is the optimal boots choice against Riven, providing the mobility and stats Malzahar needs most in this matchup. The top-performing core items for Malzahar against Riven are Liandry's Torment, Rylai's Crystal Scepter and Blackfire Torch. This combination gives Malzahar an effective balance of damage, survivability, and utility for the matchup. This build performs exceptionally well, achieving a 60.0% win rate across 5 games — well above average and making it the top item path against Riven. Adjustments may be needed based on team compositions and game state, but this build provides the strongest foundation for the Malzahar vs Riven matchup.

Early Game vs Late Game

Early Game
Malzahar
83.3%
+66.7% advantage
Malzahar early game win rateMalzahar83.3%
Riven early game win rateRiven16.7%
Late Game
Malzahar
50.0%
+0.0% advantage
Malzahar late game win rateMalzahar50.0%
Riven late game win rateRiven50.0%

Malzahar dominates the early game (first 15 minutes) with a commanding 83.3% win rate — a 66.7 percentage point lead over Riven. This lopsided early game means Malzahar can dictate the pace of the lane from level 1, controlling trades, wave state, and river priority.

Late game (25+ minutes) is equally balanced, with Malzahar at 50.0% win rate — only 0.0 points ahead of Riven. Team fight execution and macro play determine the winner at this stage, not champion matchup advantage.

Malzahar holds the advantage at every stage of the game, making this a consistently favorable matchup from lane through late game team fights. Riven players should look for outplays, team-dependent strategies, and picks rather than relying on scaling to win this matchup.

Best Malzahar Runes Against Riven

Sorcery rune tree - Malzahar primary runes vs RivenSorcery
Summon Aery - best Malzahar rune vs RivenManaflow Band - best Malzahar rune vs RivenTranscendence - best Malzahar rune vs RivenScorch - best Malzahar rune vs Riven
Precision rune tree - Malzahar secondary runes vs RivenPrecision
Coup de Grace - best Malzahar rune vs RivenPresence of Mind - best Malzahar rune vs Riven
100.0% WR

Running Sorcery primary with Precision secondary allows Malzahar to press their advantage against Riven, amplifying the strengths that make this a favorable matchup.


Malzahar matchup data for League of Legends patch 26.7. The table below shows Malzahar's win rate, gold difference, and performance stats against every champion in the current meta. Click any champion name to see a detailed head-to-head breakdown including the best Malzahar build, runes, laning stats, and early vs late game analysis for that specific matchup.

Malzahar matchup win rates and stats in League of Legends patch 26.7
Opponent
Win Rate
Matches
CS/min
DMG/min
Gold/game
Early WR
Late WR
52.87%2447.688412,88446.3%57.0%
61.31%1997.492812,26256.2%65.5%
54.07%1727.787612,74754.3%53.9%
55.56%1627.576212,80061.7%52.0%
42.41%1587.680012,27643.1%41.9%
52.90%1387.587712,42446.7%57.7%
42.65%1367.581812,84644.0%41.9%
52.99%1347.691412,34247.3%57.0%
57.98%1197.394513,24659.0%57.5%
55.08%1187.577812,34152.0%57.4%
42.73%1107.483212,11041.7%43.5%
54.13%1097.791813,22755.6%53.4%
50.46%1097.579811,13046.5%54.9%
53.70%1087.685912,05754.4%53.2%
51.16%867.990112,59054.5%47.6%
50.59%857.588811,38045.5%56.1%
48.78%827.479812,26753.9%44.2%
58.54%827.878911,42363.0%52.8%
48.15%817.577211,88748.7%47.6%
49.38%817.782312,33060.0%43.1%
48.10%797.581412,63545.5%50.0%
48.10%797.583212,88336.7%55.1%
58.33%727.583311,50466.7%48.5%
47.89%717.287712,76564.3%37.2%
49.30%717.882211,96347.4%51.5%
62.69%677.687712,77462.1%63.2%
55.22%677.584912,31051.7%57.9%
52.31%657.483812,02359.4%45.5%
54.69%647.692112,89465.6%43.8%
50.79%637.586511,68751.7%50.0%
58.06%627.896512,86458.1%58.1%
57.63%598.196312,38665.4%51.5%
42.86%497.51,15912,85642.1%43.3%
50.00%487.285711,37953.6%45.0%
55.32%477.81,05612,94660.0%53.1%
50.00%467.381812,04752.4%48.0%
46.67%457.889911,65673.7%26.9%
38.10%427.675912,66143.8%34.6%
60.00%407.974211,38866.7%50.0%
54.05%377.790413,24658.3%52.0%
55.56%367.787913,00358.8%52.6%
68.57%357.696313,77471.4%66.7%
48.57%357.181711,36952.6%43.8%
60.71%288.080712,63383.3%43.8%
39.29%287.782511,47041.7%37.5%
40.00%257.490412,44037.5%41.2%
58.33%247.797813,21075.0%41.7%
39.13%237.395812,54128.6%43.8%
60.87%237.593813,75566.7%57.1%
59.09%227.491713,34385.7%46.7%
45.45%227.294614,42950.0%43.8%
54.55%227.71,05614,40080.0%47.1%
57.14%218.41,02010,76570.0%45.5%
55.00%207.981012,90066.7%37.5%
50.00%187.792813,33762.5%40.0%
61.11%187.575111,78740.0%87.5%
35.29%177.592511,50845.5%16.7%
58.82%177.390612,76360.0%58.3%
43.75%166.778612,71950.0%41.7%
56.25%168.21,05513,02642.9%66.7%
40.00%157.087612,93425.0%45.5%
33.33%158.075912,25157.1%12.5%
86.67%157.683213,786100.0%81.8%
64.29%147.693313,40383.3%50.0%
57.14%147.492313,59250.0%62.5%
61.54%138.091114,04350.0%71.4%
46.15%137.476710,46755.6%25.0%
27.27%117.596012,5490.0%42.9%
63.64%117.963812,68050.0%71.4%
50.00%107.978911,32360.0%40.0%
60.00%106.784911,95066.7%50.0%
20.00%108.075011,78420.0%20.0%
40.00%105.91,00610,62733.3%50.0%
70.00%107.677914,51550.0%83.3%
40.00%107.884714,00240.0%40.0%
60.00%107.891112,64766.7%57.1%
77.78%97.01,11013,17050.0%85.7%
33.33%97.684312,22350.0%20.0%
66.67%98.078712,21580.0%50.0%
55.56%97.976915,314100.0%42.9%
50.00%87.895814,335100.0%33.3%
50.00%84.259110,14940.0%66.7%
37.50%87.781610,78325.0%50.0%
25.00%87.485914,90325.0%25.0%
42.86%75.874510,33875.0%0.0%
100.00%78.497613,684100.0%100.0%
57.14%77.991116,14733.3%75.0%
14.29%77.478211,67533.3%0.0%
42.86%76.880012,7320.0%75.0%
83.33%63.16229,628100.0%75.0%
83.33%69.282611,22666.7%100.0%
16.67%67.272214,2200.0%20.0%
50.00%68.07509,58133.3%66.7%
100.00%68.71,19116,508100.0%100.0%
66.67%67.798812,6090.0%100.0%
0.00%67.36119,8530.0%0.0%
83.33%67.163312,20166.7%100.0%
33.33%67.896011,89233.3%33.3%
40.00%57.287412,86466.7%0.0%
80.00%57.26408,401100.0%50.0%
40.00%58.178513,05333.3%50.0%

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Malzahar vs Riven - Frequently Asked Questions

How does Malzahar do against Riven in League of Legends?

Malzahar wins the Malzahar vs Riven matchup with a 64.3% win rate compared to Riven's 35.7%, a 28.6 percentage point difference. This data is based on 14 recent ranked games in patch 26.7.

How does Malzahar do against Riven in the early game?

In the early game, Malzahar has the advantage against Riven with a 83.3% win rate versus 16.7%. Malzahar players should look to press their lane advantage through aggressive trades and wave control during the first 15 minutes.

How does Malzahar do against Riven in the late game?

In the late game, Malzahar takes over the Malzahar vs Riven matchup with a 50.0% win rate compared to 50.0%. Malzahar scales better into team fights and objective contests after 25 minutes.

Who wins the Malzahar vs Riven matchup?

Malzahar wins the matchup against Riven with a 64.3% win rate in League of Legends patch 26.7. The 28.6 percentage point advantage means Malzahar is significantly favored in this lane matchup based on 14 games analyzed.

What is the best Malzahar build against Riven?

The best Malzahar build against Riven includes Liandry's Torment, Rylai's Crystal Scepter, Blackfire Torch with Spellslinger's Shoes. This build achieves a 60.0% win rate in the matchup. Check the matchup breakdown above for the full item path and build order.

What are the best Malzahar runes against Riven?

The best Malzahar runes against Riven use the Sorcery primary tree with Precision secondary. This rune setup achieves a 100.0% win rate in the Malzahar vs Riven matchup. See the full rune breakdown in the matchup comparison above.

Does Malzahar counter Riven?

Yes, Malzahar has a favorable matchup against Riven with a 64.3% win rate. Malzahar strongly counters Riven in lane based on current patch 26.7 data.

How do I play Malzahar against Riven?

When playing Malzahar against Riven, leverage your statistical advantages by trading aggressively during favorable windows. You have early game priority — look for kills and zone control before first recall. Build the recommended items and runes for this specific matchup for the best results.