Composite wear parts including encapsulated preformed ceramic shapes are disclosed. Preformed ceramic shapes are embedded in a metal alloy to protect the base metal from abrasion. The preformed ceramic shapes may have a uniform, preformed geometry that provides for packing the preformed ceramic shapes together in a uniform way. The preformed ceramic shapes may be positioned at a location in the composite wear part exposed to an abrasion without using a binding agent. The preformed ceramic shapes may also be contained in a porous container. A truss structure may be integrated in the preformed ceramic shapes to compartmentalize the preformed ceramic shapes into multiple isolated sub regions to stiffen the composite wear parts.