Malzahar vs Pantheon Counter Pick

Pantheon carries 40 base armor and 124.2 by level 18, genuinely heavy numbers for an assassin, and none of it applies. Malzahar deals magic damage exclusively, meeting a base 28 magic resist that is the softest stat on Pantheon’s sheet. Over 187 games on patch 16.13.1 that mismatch reads as 57.2% for the mage.

Aegis Assault makes Pantheon invulnerable to damage from the front while he strikes, which sounds like a clean answer to poke. It is not, because Malefic Visions is already applied and ticking, and damage over time does not care which way a shield faces. Voidlings from Void Swarm attack from wherever they happen to stand as well.

His route in is Shield Vault, a targeted dash that stuns, into Comet Spear and a Mortal Will follow-up. Against 580 base health and 18 base armor that sequence is lethal on contact, and Grand Starfall lets him arrive from off screen. A difficulty rating of 4 against 6 makes his the easier side to execute, too.

The defence is Void Shift turning that stun into a wasted cooldown, then Nether Grasp for the answer. Pantheon carries 650 base health rising to 2,503 at level 18 against 580 and 2,297, and moves at 345 against 335, so he never struggles to reach 175 range. Both spend mana, which limits how often he can throw a spear from safety. Keeping the passive charged matters more than any item order here.