Irelia vs Malzahar Mid Matchup

Irelia Mid wins 48.7% of 2,217 Low Elo games against Malzahar Mid, +0.6 points vs expected, 2-patch window 26.19-26.20.

Researched on LoL patch 26.20. Tips are written to hold at any rank; stats come from Low Elo ranked games up to patch 26.20.

How to play as Irelia

Use Bladesurge(Q) to clear Malzahar's voidlings and chain dashes through the wave, but wait for Malzahar's passive to be down before committing; play around your Ionian Fervor(P) stacks and avoid an all-in under his turret.

Bladesurge(Q) resets when Irelia kills a target or hits one marked by her abilities, so Malzahar's Voidlings(W) can provide extra dash targets while she closes on him.

Ionian Fervor(P) gains stacks from hitting with abilities and gives Irelia attack speed and on-hit damage at full stacks, making it dangerous for Malzahar to meet her in an extended fight.

How to play as Malzahar

Avoid pushing a large wave toward Irelia, since she can freeze it and threaten an all-in; keep the wave near your turret, track her passive stacks, and do not spend Void Swarm(W) where it gives her free dash targets.

Sources

These notes come from r/MalzaharMains, checked against the champions' abilities.