Malthouse, a student of war history, said nothing he looked at in elite level sport resembled the defensive plan he wanted to implement, so he looked to war.
The coach, who has one more year to serve before Nathan Buckley succeeds him as senior coach, said it would take rival clubs time to crack the Pies' game plan, but eventually they would.
"Nothing is safe, nothing stands still, that's why I've looked outside sport," Malthouse said after leading Collingwood to its first premiership in 20 years, winning by 56 points one week after drawing level with St Kilda.
"I suppose with a year left I can talk about these sorts of things. It is called the 'box formation'.
"The first phase I looked at [was] the Roman legion, which is in a box formation - it's very hard to penetrate and there's always someone to step up.
"The second one was a bloke who I've read a lot about, because of his daring - Erwin Rommel.
"Neither succeeded in any length in history, so this game will succumb at some stage as well."
The Collingwood game plan, which forces opposition turnovers in the Magpies' half of the ground, requires relentless forward pressure, and the Pies won the tackle count 87-67 on Saturday.
Malthouse said the style would be tweaked next year, his final year as senior coach, before former captain Buckley takes charge of the powerhouse club, with Malthouse in a director of football role.
"This [plan] has probably helped us win a premiership [and] it's probably going to hold us in very good stead next year," he said.
"I can probably get away with saying it now, because it's probably going to take two or three seasons of development [to replicate].
"You don't mysteriously just wake up one morning and say we're going to play like Collingwood did.
"We will make minor adjustments next year, and then it's up to Nathan (Buckley) from there on in to either dismantle it or put some things in there that he knows about."
Malthouse, who has now coached three premierships, two of those at West Coast, said his overriding emotion after the final siren was relief.
"It's very hard to feel two emotions at once and I've just got this sense of relief for all the Collingwood people that have been supporting this club," he said.
"There's nothing better than giving back to your supporters.
"I haven't enjoyed the finals series. I was 'toey' as hell before the Footscray game, mainly because … there is an end point. Every coach has got an end point, but I know when this is.
"I'm ready to go again next year - I'll give it everything I can next year."
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