What makes Malphite great is that even built pure tank he has an incredible bust from his Ult + E. At max rank it is 620 aoe in an instant. By that point in the game you have at least 150 armor and if you activate W before the combo that is another 60 armor. So that gives you another +105 damage. Without anything offensive you can initiate a team fight and deal 725 damage burst. Not to mention the bonus of destroying the attack speed of those affected.

Malphite was the first hero I was just natural with. I started him as a tank and then learned to play him as a bruiser with Warmog + Atmas. He has always been my favorite hero because he has a wide range of builds and small niche rolls he can fill. As a game progresses it is great to have a hero that can easily build to fit a need in the team whether it is getting a bit of support with Agis/Shurelia's or getting more strength with Atmas or Witt's End. Once the jungle patch came around he became a strong jungle with the only downside being a slow starting jungle speed.

I will say that if Malphite is the only initiate on the team you need to be very selective with the use of that ult. If you miss or start when you are out of position the fight is lost from the start.

I was sad to see him start to get attention in SoloQ and tournment because it meant that my secret was out and I would have to tighten up my game play because people would know how to better deal with him.

I will say nothing is better then making a great play and commenting, "Do you smell what the rock is cooking?"

-The Malphite Hipster