Maybe they’ll teleport you into their dimension for a stern talking to, or fire a giant rocket from across the map. Or, you know, just slam into you and use their status as a rock to break your knee caps. But even though Malphite’s ult is timeless, his visuals definitively aren’t. To dress up that pet rock we all know and love, let’s have a look at all of Malphite’s skins to determine which ones offer the best bang for your buck.
11. Dark Star Malphite
Released: March 26th, 2020 Price: 1350 RP I have to be honest here: this skin was just a major disappointment. The whole beauty of Malphite is that you’re this big immovable rock thing that wants to yeet itself into the unsuspecting backline. But then this skin comes around and basically makes you hollow with a star as your core. As an idea, it’s cool. But it just feels wrong for the champion. I’m Dwayne Jonson and not Syndra’s elaborate vase. And I made all of these complaints while my passive was still up, which is the cooler of the two forms. Don’t get me wrong, all of the animations are really well-done and crisp. And the skin comes with all the bells and whistles that you would want from a high-end skin. However I’m not paying this much so I can look like a different champion. And don’t even get me started on the Prestige edition.
10. Marble Malphite
Released: March 21st, 2011 Price: 520 RP This is one of those skins that’s barely even a skin. I mean, it’s to be expected that it wouldn’t change too much given how cheap it is. But this is just kind of ridiculous. The whole skin boils down to “you are now white and some of your body parts are not connected, lol”. They also did that weird thing where they color-corrected his Q into an appropriate white color, but didn’t do anything of the sort for the E, which now looks slightly odd. The splash art definitely looks a bit derpy, and the skin is far from memorable, so I couldn’t really see myself ever buying it. I’d maybe use it if I got it in a chest, but that’s about it.
9. Odyssey Malphite
Released: September 12th, 2018 Price: 1350 RP It really pains me to put this skin so low, it really does. But I have to face the facts. With the shield up, this skin is honestly A-tier. At a single glance you can already tell that you’re playing some type of space traveling giant. And the backing animation really makes the skin feel alive. The animations are also top notch, with the stand out being the W animation, which now makes some brass knuckles for good old Malphite. However, once your shield is broken, it all goes downhill. An unshielded Malphite just looks like a giant slug man from outer space. It completely tears away any semblance of badassery and nerfs the entire skin by quite a lot. If you can get over the slug thing, or if you play so safe that you always have your shield up, I would suggest looking into this skin. If not, let’s just keep looking.
8. Coral Reef Malphite
Released: November 8th, 2010 Price: 750 RP Coral Reef Malphite is just okay all around. The splash art might seem a bit outdated, but the in-game model holds up well enough. At least as well as a Malphite skin can hold up in the first place. The character model is fairly consistent and straight to the point, with all kinds of corals growing on your body, and the color purple being dominant throughout. The abilities have been slightly changed, with the Q and W animation getting a purplish recolor, and the E now having a splash effect. The new W is a bit hard on the eyes – but I think it’s balanced out by the E splash, making it average all around. Yes, this is among the cheaper skins, but doesn’t bring too much to the table.
7. Mecha Malphite
Released: July 23rd, 2014 Price: 1350 RP This skin has some fantastic features – but I feel like it could have done a lot more. The animations are just superb. Your W gets you some really hard-hitting hologram knuckles, your E is nice and high-tech, and your ult finally makes sense, as literal jets fire out from your back and push you forward. All of that being said, the skin just doesn’t look all that robotic in my opinion. In fact, the design reminds me of a toy more than a proper giant robot. And again, it pains me to say that – especially since the skin features a Gurren Lagann backing animation. But there is a less popular skin that does the robotic theme better and charges less.
6. Ironside Malphite
Released: October 7th, 2015 Price: 975 RP Even though this skin is obviously not as flashy or as detailed as Mecha Malphite, it just does the “robot” thing better. Mind you, not a very sophisticated robot… but rather like a heap of junk that was somehow engineered together perfectly. The base model just looks huge, even though it’s the same size as all of the rest. And the more rugged approach makes Malphite seem like a bigger threat. The animations aren’t anything to write home about here. But they do the skin justice, which is all that really matters. All of that plus a pretty cool splash art for only 975 RP seems like a pretty good deal to me.
5. Shamrock Malphite
Released: March 16th, 2010 Price: 520 RP I was honestly considering putting this guy at number one for the meme – but even meme potential has its limits. If you’ve played League of Legends for any amount of time, you’ll know that this skin is kind of legendary, in that it’s so bad that it’s actually amazing. From cosplaying grass by standing still, to looking at the falling broccoli as your shield gets destroyed, Shamrock Malphite is just sort of fun in a really stupid way. Choosing this skin signals energy like “I’m here to have fun and/or troll”. And since that’s a big majority of the League of Legends community, I have to give the skin respect. The fact that it also showcases old Malphite is just the cherry on top.
4. Glacial Malphite
Released: July 11th, 2012 Price: 1350 RP The following skins leading up to #1 are all kind of great in their own regard, and are pretty interchangeable when it comes to their placing on this ranking. So if you want to rearrange any of these in your head, feel free. But first is Glacial Malphite, which features a very simple concept but a rather cool design. You’re just a giant block of ice that’s strolling the Rift in search of that one Squirrel from Ice Age. Your iconic Q cheese wheel has been completely revamped and turned into a seeking ice spike projectile, and your E and R now have a freeze visual effect whenever you use them. Little details like the armor, or the fact that one of your arms is an ice spike, add further flavor to this already pretty amazing skin.
3. FPX Malphite
Released: April 30th, 2020 Price: 1350 RP I usually don’t like Championship skins all that much. But this one just blew me away. I never thought I would say that a Malphite skin has Endeavor energy, but it sure does. The red and yellow color theme is very strong with this one. And all of the abilities have been recolored to match, making for a pretty fiery showcase. Ironically however, my favorite part of the entire skin is the backing animation. He just starts dancing so hard with cheering in the background and a dramatic pose at the end that I feel like every back is a victory. So the skin not only has badass elements, but even a moral boost, which is very much needed in an average League game.
2. Obsidian Malphite
Released: August 15th, 2011 Price: 975 RP I honestly though no skin would ever be able to top this one. It’s just so simple and yet brilliantly executed that it almost makes you forget how desperately Malphite needs a VGU. It turns Malphite into a molten rock with a hard black outer layer and some red hot innards. This is one of the few times where the breaking of his passive makes complete sense, as it just exposes the hot stone until it also cools and turns black again. Your E also brings out some of that molten energy to cause some severe burns to the enemy. Obsidian Malphite just fits so perfectly, not adding too much, but rather just enough for the theme to be obvious. And then on the opposite side of the spectrum, we have my number one pick:
1. Old God Malphite
Released: August 12th, 2021 Price: 1350 RP Considering how much Dark Star flopped in my eyes, I did not have high hopes for this one. But oh my lord is it badass. This skin turns our good pal Malphite, the neighborhood rock man, into a demon that would haunt my sleep paralysis demons. The base model just looks brilliant, with bones and raven feathers as far as the eye can see. The Riot design team also took some leaps when it comes to the animations, with the W literally giving you Wolverine claws, and the E having this very spooky bat visual effect. But the crowning jewel has to be the ult. It’s what makes Malphite who he is, after all. The ult animation now also features a series of bones springing up from wherever you landed your ult, almost like a quick Cho’gath Q. This just makes the R feel even more impactful than it did before, which is quite the feat considering what champion we’re talking about. Note: this content was created under Riot Games’ “Legal Jibber Jabber” policy using assets owned by Riot Games. Riot Games does not endorse or sponsor this project.
