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

Malzaharvs Zed

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

Malzahar vs Zed is a decisive matchup in LoL patch 26.7. Malzahar wins with a 55.1% win rate (+10.2%) over Zed based on 118 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 Zed 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
Zed - 55.1% win rateZed(55.1%)
Malzahar - 55.1% win rate in this matchup
Malzahar
55.1% WR
VS
Zed vs Malzahar matchup - 44.9% win rate
Zed
44.9% WR

Who Wins the Malzahar vs Zed Matchup?

Malzahar wins the Malzahar vs Zed matchup
Winner
Malzahar
Matches: 118
55.1%
Win Rate
44.9%
7.5
CS / min
6.6
778
DMG / min
865
12,341
Gold / game
12,858
70
Heal / min
152
526
DMG Mitigated / min
603
1.8
CC / min
0.2
52.0%
Early Game WR
48.0%
57.4%
Late Game WR
42.6%

Malzahar vs Zed Matchup Summary

The Malzahar vs Zed matchup is a decisive matchup in League of Legends ranked play. Based on 118 recent matches analyzed, Malzahar wins with a 55.1% win rate compared to Zed's 44.9%, giving Malzahar a 10.2 percentage point advantage. Malzahar dominates at every stage — from early laning through late game team fights. This consistent advantage makes it difficult for Zed 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 1.6s CC/min — a difference that heavily influences the outcome of trades and skirmishes. Malzahar players can confidently pick into Zed and play aggressively from level 1. Look to establish lane dominance early through favorable trades and zone Zed 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 Zed Laning Phase Breakdown

Zed wins the laning phase against Malzahar in League of Legends

Zed is favored during the laning phase against Malzahar, winning 3 out of 5 key stat categories. Zed holds advantages in damage, gold income and sustain, making them the stronger laner in this matchup.

Farming
7.5Malzahar
6.6Zed
Malzahar significantly out-farms Zed by 0.9 CS per minute, accumulating an estimated 14 CS lead by mid game. This substantial farming gap gives Malzahar a major gold advantage and earlier item completions. Zed players should prioritize wave management techniques like freezing near tower and using abilities efficiently to minimize the deficit.
Damage
778Malzahar
865Zed
Zed heavily out-damages Malzahar by 87 DMG/min, dominating both short trades and all-in fights. Malzahar should avoid extended combat and instead focus on burst trade patterns — short engages followed by immediate disengagement — to avoid letting Zed's sustained damage advantage take over.
Economy
12,341Malzahar
12,858Zed
Zed earns 517 more gold per game than Malzahar, equivalent to roughly one additional component item. This economic edge comes from a combination of better farming, kill participation, and objective control, giving Zed slightly faster item completions.
Utility
1.8Malzahar
0.2Zed
Malzahar brings significantly more crowd control than Zed, with 1.6 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. Zed should invest in tenacity and position carefully to avoid being chain-CC'd.
Sustain
596Malzahar
755Zed
Zed vastly out-sustains Malzahar, healing and mitigating 159 more damage per minute. This massive durability gap means Zed 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 Zed

Spellslinger's Shoes is the optimal boots choice against Zed, providing the mobility and stats Malzahar needs most in this matchup. The top-performing core items for Malzahar against Zed are Liandry's Torment, Malignance 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 75.0% win rate across 4 games — well above average and making it the top item path against Zed. Adjustments may be needed based on team compositions and game state, but this build provides the strongest foundation for the Malzahar vs Zed matchup.

Early Game vs Late Game

Early Game
Malzahar
52.0%
+4.0% advantage
Malzahar early game win rateMalzahar52.0%
Zed early game win rateZed48.0%
Late Game
Malzahar
57.4%
+14.7% advantage
Malzahar late game win rateMalzahar57.4%
Zed late game win rateZed42.6%

During the early laning phase (first 15 minutes), Malzahar has a meaningful 52.0% win rate, outperforming Zed by 4.0 percentage points. Malzahar players should look to press this advantage through aggressive trades, wave priority, and early jungle coordination.

Malzahar is far superior in the late game (25+ minutes), boasting a 57.4% win rate — 14.7 points above Zed. Extended games heavily favor Malzahar, whose kit and scaling make them a dominant force in team fights and objective control.

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

Best Malzahar Runes Against Zed

Sorcery rune tree - Malzahar primary runes vs ZedSorcery
Arcane Comet - best Malzahar rune vs ZedManaflow Band - best Malzahar rune vs ZedTranscendence - best Malzahar rune vs ZedGathering Storm - best Malzahar rune vs Zed
Inspiration rune tree - Malzahar secondary runes vs ZedInspiration
Cosmic Insight - best Malzahar rune vs ZedMagical Footwear - best Malzahar rune vs Zed
65.6% WR

Running Sorcery primary with Inspiration secondary allows Malzahar to press their advantage against Zed, 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 Zed - Frequently Asked Questions

How does Malzahar do against Zed in League of Legends?

Malzahar wins the Malzahar vs Zed matchup with a 55.1% win rate compared to Zed's 44.9%, a 10.2 percentage point difference. This data is based on 118 recent ranked games in patch 26.7.

How does Malzahar do against Zed in the early game?

In the early game, Malzahar has the advantage against Zed with a 52.0% win rate versus 48.0%. 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 Zed in the late game?

In the late game, Malzahar takes over the Malzahar vs Zed matchup with a 57.4% win rate compared to 42.6%. Malzahar scales better into team fights and objective contests after 25 minutes.

Who wins the Malzahar vs Zed matchup?

Malzahar wins the matchup against Zed with a 55.1% win rate in League of Legends patch 26.7. The 10.2 percentage point advantage means Malzahar is significantly favored in this lane matchup based on 118 games analyzed.

What is the best Malzahar build against Zed?

The best Malzahar build against Zed includes Liandry's Torment, Malignance, Rylai's Crystal Scepter with Spellslinger's Shoes. This build achieves a 75.0% 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 Zed?

The best Malzahar runes against Zed use the Sorcery primary tree with Inspiration secondary. This rune setup achieves a 65.6% win rate in the Malzahar vs Zed matchup. See the full rune breakdown in the matchup comparison above.

Does Malzahar counter Zed?

Yes, Malzahar has a favorable matchup against Zed with a 55.1% win rate. Malzahar strongly counters Zed in lane based on current patch 26.7 data.

How do I play Malzahar against Zed?

When playing Malzahar against Zed, 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.