Malzaharvs Riven
Malzahar vs Riven is a decisive matchup in LoL patch 26.14. Riven wins with a 54.5% win rate (+9.1%) over Malzahar based on 22 games. Riven wins the early laning phase while Malzahar scales better into the 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.
Who Wins the Malzahar vs Riven Matchup?
Malzahar vs Riven Matchup Summary
The Malzahar vs Riven matchup is a decisive matchup in League of Legends ranked play. Based on 22 recent matches analyzed, Riven wins with a 54.5% win rate compared to Malzahar's 45.5%, giving Riven a 9.1 percentage point advantage. Game phase dynamics play a critical role here: Riven controls the early laning stage, but Malzahar outscales as the game goes longer. The matchup shifts dramatically depending on game length — Riven needs to press advantages before Malzahar reaches their power spikes, while Malzahar should focus on safe farming and hitting key item breakpoints. The most significant statistical gap is in sustain, where Riven leads by 986 HP/min — a difference that heavily influences the outcome of trades and skirmishes. Riven has a strong advantage in this matchup. Malzahar players should play defensively, prioritize safe farming under tower, and look for opportunities created by jungle pressure or Riven overextending. Avoid prolonged trades and wait for team fights where positioning and coordination matter more. 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 is favored during the laning phase against Riven, winning 3 out of 5 key stat categories. Malzahar holds advantages in farming, damage and crowd control, making them the stronger laner in this matchup.
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, Zhonya's Hourglass and Rylai's Crystal Scepter. This combination gives Malzahar an effective balance of damage, survivability, and utility for the matchup. This build performs exceptionally well, achieving a 66.7% win rate across 3 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
Malzahar36.4%
Riven63.6%Malzahar54.5%Riven45.5%Riven dominates the early game (first 15 minutes) with a commanding 63.6% win rate — a 27.3 percentage point lead over Malzahar. This lopsided early game means Riven can dictate the pace of the lane from level 1, controlling trades, wave state, and river priority.
Malzahar is far superior in the late game (25+ minutes), boasting a 54.5% win rate — 9.1 points above Riven. Extended games heavily favor Malzahar, whose kit and scaling make them a dominant force in team fights and objective control.
This matchup features a dramatic power shift: Riven must aggressively press their early advantage and close out the game before Malzahar reaches their scaling breakpoints. If Malzahar survives the laning phase without falling too far behind, the matchup flips in their favor. Dragon and Rift Herald control are pivotal — the team that secures early objectives can snowball or buy time to scale.
Best Malzahar Runes Against Riven
Sorcery
Inspiration
The Sorcery and Inspiration rune setup gives Malzahar the best tools to compete against Riven in this difficult matchup, compensating for the statistical disadvantages with optimal rune synergies.
Malzahar matchup data for League of Legends patch 26.14. 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.
Opponent | Win Rate | Matches | CS/min | DMG/min | Gold/game | Early WR | Late WR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 53.74% | 227 | 7.4 | 914 | 12,347 | 48.8% | 56.6% | |
| 48.40% | 219 | 7.1 | 899 | 12,186 | 48.8% | 48.2% | |
| 52.40% | 208 | 7.5 | 857 | 12,135 | 43.4% | 58.4% | |
| 51.69% | 207 | 7.6 | 906 | 12,625 | 51.3% | 51.9% | |
| 55.33% | 150 | 7.3 | 979 | 12,515 | 58.9% | 53.2% | |
| 49.30% | 142 | 7.1 | 804 | 11,608 | 47.2% | 50.6% | |
| 53.24% | 139 | 7.2 | 805 | 11,795 | 49.0% | 55.7% | |
| 60.32% | 126 | 7.4 | 845 | 12,649 | 59.0% | 60.9% | |
| 47.54% | 122 | 7.4 | 898 | 11,962 | 60.9% | 39.5% | |
| 48.31% | 118 | 7.5 | 818 | 12,097 | 40.9% | 52.7% | |
| 57.76% | 116 | 7.2 | 933 | 12,396 | 58.5% | 57.3% | |
| 56.88% | 109 | 7.3 | 855 | 11,374 | 55.6% | 57.8% | |
| 43.56% | 101 | 7.2 | 789 | 12,037 | 34.4% | 47.8% | |
| 52.53% | 99 | 7.4 | 862 | 11,668 | 47.4% | 55.7% | |
| 57.45% | 94 | 7.3 | 886 | 12,835 | 63.3% | 54.7% | |
| 61.96% | 92 | 7.4 | 875 | 11,328 | 56.8% | 65.5% | |
| 56.18% | 89 | 7.3 | 828 | 11,780 | 48.6% | 61.5% | |
| 52.81% | 89 | 7.5 | 1,035 | 12,692 | 51.7% | 53.3% | |
| 61.63% | 86 | 7.6 | 804 | 10,961 | 60.9% | 62.5% | |
| 53.25% | 77 | 8.0 | 860 | 10,610 | 63.9% | 43.9% | |
| 61.64% | 73 | 7.2 | 872 | 12,393 | 53.6% | 66.7% | |
| 52.78% | 72 | 7.4 | 809 | 11,577 | 48.0% | 55.3% | |
| 43.66% | 71 | 7.6 | 950 | 12,463 | 30.0% | 53.7% | |
| 57.14% | 70 | 7.0 | 925 | 11,573 | 53.3% | 60.0% | |
| 44.93% | 69 | 7.5 | 856 | 12,881 | 46.4% | 43.9% | |
| 44.78% | 67 | 7.1 | 883 | 11,845 | 60.9% | 36.4% | |
| 50.00% | 66 | 7.6 | 803 | 12,708 | 52.2% | 48.8% | |
| 45.00% | 60 | 7.5 | 903 | 13,028 | 63.6% | 34.2% | |
| 48.28% | 58 | 7.4 | 862 | 12,575 | 50.0% | 47.5% | |
| 55.77% | 52 | 7.3 | 841 | 13,163 | 60.0% | 54.0% | |
| 50.00% | 50 | 7.2 | 820 | 10,976 | 45.0% | 53.3% | |
| 62.50% | 48 | 7.9 | 871 | 12,927 | 57.9% | 65.5% | |
| 52.08% | 48 | 6.7 | 815 | 10,600 | 45.0% | 57.1% | |
| 54.55% | 44 | 7.6 | 863 | 10,888 | 61.9% | 47.8% | |
| 56.82% | 44 | 7.2 | 886 | 12,009 | 73.3% | 48.3% | |
| 58.14% | 43 | 7.3 | 919 | 12,839 | 46.1% | 63.3% | |
| 55.26% | 38 | 7.4 | 901 | 10,507 | 55.6% | 55.0% | |
| 54.29% | 35 | 7.8 | 943 | 12,590 | 75.0% | 43.5% | |
| 33.33% | 33 | 6.6 | 796 | 12,599 | 9.1% | 45.5% | |
| 66.67% | 33 | 7.4 | 901 | 12,370 | 66.7% | 66.7% | |
| 69.70% | 33 | 7.5 | 998 | 13,446 | 50.0% | 78.3% | |
| 46.88% | 32 | 7.1 | 884 | 11,632 | 53.9% | 42.1% | |
| 50.00% | 32 | 7.3 | 826 | 11,805 | 58.3% | 45.0% | |
| 51.61% | 31 | 7.6 | 796 | 11,665 | 41.7% | 57.9% | |
| 54.84% | 31 | 7.4 | 883 | 13,438 | 57.1% | 54.2% | |
| 65.52% | 29 | 7.2 | 960 | 11,541 | 70.0% | 63.2% | |
| 65.52% | 29 | 7.1 | 774 | 12,168 | 61.5% | 68.8% | |
| 53.57% | 28 | 7.3 | 923 | 12,183 | 50.0% | 55.6% | |
| 51.85% | 27 | 6.9 | 883 | 13,157 | 33.3% | 57.1% | |
| 41.67% | 24 | 7.3 | 823 | 9,597 | 40.0% | 44.4% | |
| 52.17% | 23 | 6.3 | 859 | 12,787 | 50.0% | 52.6% | |
| 39.13% | 23 | 7.0 | 743 | 11,864 | 50.0% | 33.3% | |
| 50.00% | 22 | 7.5 | 1,008 | 10,458 | 62.5% | 42.9% | |
| 54.55% | 22 | 7.5 | 840 | 13,596 | 16.7% | 68.8% | |
| 45.45% | 22 | 7.2 | 766 | 10,298 | 36.4% | 54.5% | |
| 59.09% | 22 | 7.4 | 864 | 12,319 | 60.0% | 58.8% | |
| 45.45% | 22 | 7.6 | 1,017 | 12,737 | 66.7% | 30.8% | |
| 40.91% | 22 | 7.9 | 759 | 11,484 | 25.0% | 60.0% | |
| 52.38% | 21 | 7.7 | 926 | 12,907 | 54.5% | 50.0% | |
| 33.33% | 21 | 7.3 | 810 | 10,901 | 33.3% | 33.3% | |
| 60.00% | 20 | 7.6 | 859 | 13,946 | 57.1% | 61.5% | |
| 68.75% | 16 | 7.3 | 934 | 13,097 | 60.0% | 72.7% | |
| 43.75% | 16 | 7.7 | 958 | 12,805 | 33.3% | 46.1% | |
| 46.67% | 15 | 7.9 | 896 | 11,977 | 44.4% | 50.0% | |
| 40.00% | 15 | 7.1 | 763 | 9,834 | 36.4% | 50.0% | |
| 53.33% | 15 | 7.4 | 1,043 | 13,295 | 66.7% | 50.0% | |
| 53.33% | 15 | 7.0 | 921 | 12,713 | 57.1% | 50.0% | |
| 42.86% | 14 | 7.6 | 1,006 | 12,415 | 50.0% | 37.5% | |
| 69.23% | 13 | 7.3 | 1,057 | 12,554 | 66.7% | 70.0% | |
| 38.46% | 13 | 7.5 | 703 | 11,860 | 75.0% | 22.2% | |
| 66.67% | 12 | 7.1 | 928 | 15,243 | 100.0% | 63.6% | |
| 54.55% | 11 | 7.3 | 1,003 | 15,075 | 100.0% | 44.4% | |
| 54.55% | 11 | 7.1 | 830 | 10,363 | 20.0% | 83.3% | |
| 36.36% | 11 | 7.4 | 846 | 12,337 | 60.0% | 16.7% | |
| 60.00% | 10 | 6.6 | 883 | 13,612 | 100.0% | 50.0% | |
| 40.00% | 10 | 5.4 | 834 | 12,892 | 0.0% | 57.1% | |
| 40.00% | 10 | 7.8 | 584 | 10,869 | 60.0% | 20.0% | |
| 40.00% | 10 | 7.9 | 938 | 14,466 | 66.7% | 28.6% | |
| 50.00% | 10 | 7.0 | 1,211 | 11,856 | 0.0% | 62.5% | |
| 60.00% | 10 | 7.8 | 841 | 11,960 | 50.0% | 66.7% | |
| 44.44% | 9 | 6.0 | 703 | 13,514 | 0.0% | 57.1% | |
| 55.56% | 9 | 7.0 | 775 | 13,719 | 0.0% | 71.4% | |
| 66.67% | 9 | 5.7 | 906 | 10,456 | 60.0% | 75.0% | |
| 22.22% | 9 | 7.0 | 710 | 7,371 | 16.7% | 33.3% | |
| 44.44% | 9 | 7.6 | 933 | 9,926 | 50.0% | 40.0% | |
| 50.00% | 8 | 7.9 | 771 | 14,055 | 50.0% | 50.0% | |
| 100.00% | 8 | 9.1 | 970 | 13,873 | 100.0% | 100.0% | |
| 62.50% | 8 | 8.4 | 841 | 13,733 | 50.0% | 66.7% | |
| 100.00% | 8 | 8.0 | 979 | 14,412 | 100.0% | 100.0% | |
| 37.50% | 8 | 4.7 | 908 | 11,585 | 66.7% | 20.0% | |
| 50.00% | 8 | 7.7 | 895 | 11,873 | 60.0% | 33.3% | |
| 50.00% | 8 | 7.2 | 921 | 14,397 | 33.3% | 60.0% | |
| 57.14% | 7 | 7.7 | 797 | 13,453 | 100.0% | 50.0% | |
| 57.14% | 7 | 7.0 | 869 | 8,323 | 100.0% | 0.0% | |
| 57.14% | 7 | 7.8 | 908 | 11,454 | 50.0% | 66.7% | |
| 28.57% | 7 | 7.6 | 1,045 | 12,514 | 0.0% | 50.0% | |
| 57.14% | 7 | 7.2 | 729 | 9,619 | 50.0% | 66.7% | |
| 83.33% | 6 | 8.4 | 982 | 14,871 | 0.0% | 83.3% | |
| 50.00% | 6 | 6.5 | 945 | 16,116 | 0.0% | 50.0% | |
| 66.67% | 6 | 6.7 | 955 | 12,476 | 0.0% | 80.0% | |
| 50.00% | 6 | 3.1 | 677 | 10,079 | 33.3% | 66.7% | |
| 50.00% | 6 | 7.5 | 852 | 12,003 | 50.0% | 50.0% | |
| 33.33% | 6 | 5.3 | 932 | 6,507 | 25.0% | 50.0% | |
| 66.67% | 6 | 7.3 | 736 | 12,941 | 0.0% | 80.0% | |
| 50.00% | 6 | 7.5 | 908 | 14,966 | 0.0% | 50.0% | |
| 80.00% | 5 | 6.2 | 1,233 | 14,894 | 50.0% | 100.0% | |
| 80.00% | 5 | 8.1 | 794 | 13,483 | 100.0% | 75.0% | |
| 60.00% | 5 | 6.9 | 729 | 11,932 | 100.0% | 33.3% | |
| 80.00% | 5 | 6.5 | 766 | 10,663 | 100.0% | 66.7% | |
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Malzahar vs Riven - Frequently Asked Questions
How does Malzahar do against Riven in League of Legends?
Riven wins the Malzahar vs Riven matchup with a 54.5% win rate compared to Malzahar's 45.5%, a 9.1 percentage point difference. This data is based on 22 recent ranked games in patch 26.14.
How does Malzahar do against Riven in the early game?
In the early game, Riven has the advantage against Malzahar with a 63.6% win rate versus 36.4%. Riven 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 54.5% win rate compared to 45.5%. Malzahar scales better into team fights and objective contests after 25 minutes.
Who wins the Malzahar vs Riven matchup?
Riven wins the matchup against Malzahar with a 54.5% win rate in League of Legends patch 26.14. The 9.1 percentage point advantage means Riven is significantly favored in this lane matchup based on 22 games analyzed.
What is the best Malzahar build against Riven?
The best Malzahar build against Riven includes Liandry's Torment, Zhonya's Hourglass, Rylai's Crystal Scepter with Spellslinger's Shoes. This build achieves a 66.7% 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 Inspiration secondary. This rune setup achieves a 44.4% win rate in the Malzahar vs Riven matchup. See the full rune breakdown in the matchup comparison above.
Does Malzahar counter Riven?
No, Malzahar struggles against Riven with only a 45.5% win rate. Riven has the advantage in this matchup. Malzahar players should focus on safe farming and avoiding extended trades to minimize Riven's lead.
How do I play Malzahar against Riven?
When playing Malzahar against Riven, play cautiously and avoid Riven's power spikes. Focus on safe farming — you outscale Riven in the late game. Use the matchup-specific build and runes above to optimize your chances.