Malphite Scaling: Grade C
No, not reliably. Malphite falls off in coordinated late-game fights. Grade C, Bad late, in The Scaling Codex.
Reviewed for League of Legends Season 16 (2026).
Verdict. Banshee's Veil can hard-counter him. Very team-reliant, but solid as a tank option or a counterpick.
Why Malphite falls off
Unstoppable Force is the cleanest engage in the game, which is exactly why the answer to it is an item. One spell shield on the right carry turns the fight-starting moment into a shrug, and there is no second engage behind the first.
Even a landed ultimate is only an opening bid. At full tank his follow-up damage does not finish what the knockup starts, so four teammates have to arrive with the landing or the enemy stands back up and resets.
Casting on faith is the failure mode
He cannot see spell shields from the fog he engages out of, and an ultimate absorbed by a veil while his team half-commits hands the engage to the enemy.
The ultimate is a delivery service, not the package. Pop the shield first, land where your team can follow.
Common questions about Malphite scaling
Does Malphite scale well into the late game?
No, not reliably. Malphite falls off in coordinated late-game fights. Grade C, Bad late, in The Scaling Codex.
Why does Malphite fall off late?
He cannot see spell shields from the fog he engages out of, and an ultimate absorbed by a veil while his team half-commits hands the engage to the enemy.
What is the late-game rule for Malphite?
The ultimate is a delivery service, not the package. Pop the shield first, land where your team can follow.
How this grade was judged
The grade weighs range, target access, sustained and burst damage, crowd control, mobility, durability, healing and shielding, resets, cooldown structure, objective and formation control, split pressure, and how well the champion survives a long fight. Builds and forms that scale differently are graded separately. This is Vambient's gameplay evaluation of coordinated late-game fights, not a win-rate calculation. Full methodology.
Related champions
- Why Annie is also Grade C
- Why Braum is also Grade C
- Why Briar is also Grade C
- Why Cho'Gath is also Grade C
- See the full Grade C tier
The grade measures one thing: how much a champion can influence a coordinated late-game objective fight once both teams reach full builds. It does not measure early strength, snowballing, or win rate. A weak late-game champion still wins by ending the game first, which is what the rest of the library teaches. How the grades are decided.