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So you might be wondering, "Why is this guide different than other Mord guides?" Well, I've looked at other guides and, franly, if there already was a decent Mordekaiser guide -- I wouldn't be writing this one. Mordekaiser is one of my best champions in League of Legends, and I'm astonished at how out of date or misinformed some of the builds and recommendations are on this site.

If a guide is recommending any mythic item other than Riftmaker or Hextech Rocketbelt they're trolling. If a guide is written by a silver player... don't listen to them. If a guide doesn't have Fiora listed as a hard matchup, run away! If a guide just copy and pastes the definitions of runes and abilities, then it's not even a guide.

If you want to carry from top lane but don't want to put in the time to learn a new champion, Mordekaiser could be a perfect champion for you. Mordekaiser is THE MOST USEFUL top lane champion when it comes to teamfighting and securing objectives. His ultimate is unique only to him and this one ability separates him from every other champion in the game.

Pros: Easy to learn Great teamfighter Can secure objective for his team Reliable engage Has a lot of good matchups Easily sets up ganks for your jungler Hard to gank when he has his ultimate Good if someone on the enemy team is fed Great against tanks Abilities sound satisfying :)

Cons: Lacks mobility Can't splitpush very well Relies heavily on flash or ghost Skill shot reliant Not the best blind pick No cute skins

Flash (Always)

Ghost (Usually)

OR

Ignite (Sometimes)

Now I know a lot of you guys might be thinking, "Whoa whoa whoa! Don't I need to take teleport for top lane??" My answer to that would be, "Well, does Darius take teleport?" OF COURSE NOT! Otherwise he just gets kited and becomes useless versus certain champions and not as good of a teamfighter. Mordekaiser is similar in a lot of ways, like Darius, his E is also a hook, and if he gets on top of you you're going to take a TON of damage. The main difference between the two is Mordekaiser's ultimate, which forces one enemy champion to fight him 1v1 for SEVEN seconds. Imagine fighting Darius 1v1 for that long... you're basically dead! He's essentially a better version of Darius because he can't be focused by an entire team!

Flash (Always)

Flash is a necessary summoner spell on Mordekaiser. Lacking mobility, having flash not only helps him survive ganks, but also getting on top of targets he otherwise would not be able to.

Ghost (Usually)

Taking Ghost along with Flash is ideal for most games. Not only is it good for some matchups during the laning phase, but it makes Mordekaiser an insane teamfighter. Mordekaiser's biggest weakness is his lack of mobility and taking ghost along with flash helps remedy this issue. If you have either Ghost or Flash and your ultimate then the person you ult will probably die. Also, if someone is pushed up in your lane, you can use Ghost to stick onto them and kill them while chasing them down the lane.

Ignite (Sometimes)

In some all-in matchups that don't require kiting or chasing them down, the Ignite will definitely help you flip the matchup in your favor and secure kills and reduce their healing. Check the matchups section of the guide to know when to take Ignite over Ghost!

Mordekaiser likes to go all-in after landing an E or using his ultimate and Conqueror is great for all-ins and winning extended fights. You can also fully stack this rune while inside your ultimate and become 'Thanos' when you kill the person you ulted because you not only have fully stacked Conqueror but also a percentage of their stats. Generally speaking, the longer fights are the better it is for Mordekaiser and this rune helps compliment that.

Triumph - Great rune for Mordekaiser because you get a health rebate after killing the person you ulted or from just getting takedown in general. You can't take presence of mind on Mordekaiser and overheal doesn't synergize with Mordekaiser's kit because he wants to use his E when he's low HP to get the most out of the last stand rune. Legend: Tenacity - Take this rune even if the other team has a small amount of crowd control. This helps prevent Mordekaiser from getting kited. Take this rune especially if you're going to ult the person that has crowd control because it will help you run them down in your Realm of Death. Legend: Alacrity - Only take this rune when the other team has nearly no hard forms of crowd control or only knockups (because Tenacity does not work on knockups). The extra attack speed feel really nice on Mordekaiser and helps stack up your passive but you'll be rarely taking this rune. Last Stand - GREAT rune for Mordekaiser. You can use his W shield Indestructible when he's low on HP to extend the increased damage from Last Stand. Synergizes well with Triumph as well.

Shield Bash - Only viable option in this part of the resolve tree. You'll rarely be pushed up to utilize Demolish and it would be better to have a good reset timer than to go for a turret plate. Conditioning - Good for being tanky later in the game. Take this if you want to go resolve tree and feel confident you can survive the early game without Bone Plating or Second Wind. Second Wind - Take this against lanes with a lot of poke and in ones where you would otherwise have trouble surviving without the sustain. Bone Plating - Take this against lane bullies such as Sett or Renekton. Bone Plating helps mitigate a lot of there damage from their combos and they can't easily remove your bone plating. Overgrowth - Scales well especially because Mordekaiser builds bonus health items. You can take this rune or Revitalize if the enemy team doesn't have too much crowd control and if you need second wind or bone plating for lane. DON'T take this rune if the enemy team deals percent max health damage. Otherwise it's personal preference. Revitalize - This synergizes well with Riftmaker and your W. If they don't have too much crowd control and if you need second wind or bone plating for lane, take either this or Overgrowth (personal prefernce). Overgrowth is better for surviving burst damage and scales better. Revitalize is better for lane and for long sustained fights. Unflinching - Take this rune along with Legend: Tenacity if the enemy team has a lot of crowd control. It makes it hard for people to use CC on you and run away while inside your Death Realm. Inspiration Secondary -- (for when you feel greedy :3 ) Hextech Flashtraption - I've never taken this rune on Mordekaiser but it can have some play making potential. You can Hextech Flashtraption over a wall and ult someone to find a pick during the mid game. You can also hexflash out of a bush to ult someone in lane when they know your Flash is down but forget you have hexflash. Magical Footwear - This is pretty greedy to take but it will save you 300 gold and give you extra movement speed when it unlocks for you. Take this if you feel like you don't need early boots and want to take Cosmic Insight. Perfect Timing - Take this if you know you want a Zhonya's Hourglass AND if you feel like the enemy team might try to dive you mid game. Cosmic Insight - You're going into the Inspiration Tree specifically for this rune. Having Ghost or Flash up turns Mordekaiser into a huge threat. Cosmic Insight essentially makes Mordekaiser a threat more often. You might think, "What about Approach Velocity? Wouldn't that be good because Morde's R slows them and you can run up to them in Death Realm?" On paper is sound good -- but you only get the movement speed for 0.5 seconds and during that time Mordekaiser is standing still channeling his R so you essentially don't get any movement speed from Approach Velocity when you ult them. Approach Velocity does synergize well with Rylais Crystal Scepter, but Cosmic Drive is just a way better item than Rylais and you don't need both.

Being a straight forward and simple champion, Mordekaiser doesn't really have combos. The only combo he has with his abilities is E-Q-aa, or E-Q-R. However there are a few tips and tricks on Mordekaiser that can prove useful.

You can E backwards to push away chasing enemies

You can Q > Flash to make your Q come out faster after you flash versus doing Flash > Q

You can right click on the enemy champion as your E animation is channeling so your auto attack will come out faster when they are pulled to you.

It's best to use Indestructible when you are low HP. Not only can it bait enemies into thinking you are low HP, but also you heal more damage when you are lower HP because of your Last Stand rune.

DENY OBJECTIVES

You can R enemy junglers who are trying to steal dragon or baron

You can R enemy junglers so your jungler can steal dragon or baron



If you don't need you use Indestructible or Death's Grasp in your Realm of Death you can save it for after your ultimate times out. If you are going to be surrounded by the enemy team, for example, and need your shield when you get out.

It's better to walk up to enemies inside your Realm of Death and auto attack them rather than to initially try to land your abilities on them. When they are hugging the wall, it's then easier to land your Q and E.

The most important thing about Mordekaiser is knowing who ult, when to ult, and where to ult.

LANING PHASE

In most matchups, the safest thing to do is to play safe until level six. Mordekaiser scales well against many champions, and does VERY well in teamfights. There are somematchups, however, that are extremely difficult for him. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND that you ONLY use Morde as a counter pick. Some matchups, like Fiora, Vayne, and Gwen, are nearly impossible to beat in lane AND outscale Mordekaiser.

GANK SETUP

Note that when you have your R, it is very easy to set up ganks for your jungler, as you can basically put someone in jail using your Realm of Death and wait for your teammate's arrival.

IN NON-TANK MATCHUPS

On your first recall, you ideally purchase Mercury's Treads or [Plated SteelCaps]]. This helps you take less damage, and also allows you to chase them down using your passive Darkness Rise or in your ultimate Realm of Death.

IN TANK MATCHUPS

Ideally, you want to rush Leeching Leer. You can stick with tier 1 boots and instead look to complete your Riftmaker, as movement speed is not nearly as important in tank matchups. The omnivamp from Leeching Leer/Riftmaker synergizes well with the passive Darkness Rise, as you heal for a percent of the enemies max HP.

TEAMFIGHTING

As stated previously, the most important thing when playing Mordekaiser is knowing WHO to ult, WHERE to ult, and WHEN to ult.

WHO TO ULT

Mordekaiser counters champions like Diana, Kennen, and Fiddlestick that want to dive onto your team. As a Mordekaiser player, you have to be thinking about what these enemies want to do you your team and be ready to react with your ultimate. There are so many occasions where you can save your entire team with ONE good ultimate. In addition, you can even kill these champions inside the Realm of Death.

Morde has the power to turn a 50/50 fight for barons/dragons into a much more favored outcome for his team, as he can ult the enemy jungler and prevent them from smiting/stealing the objective.

If you don't need to peel for your team, you can look to ult emeny carries and kill them in your Realm of Death. Even if you don't kill them, you can often get them low or burn their summoner spells. Make sure you are constantly checking items and are aware of who has Quicksilver Sash in their inventory. If your passive is not active when you ult a target, DO NOT OPEN UP WITH YOUR E-Q COMBO. It is much better to walk up to the target and auto-attack them, as they have to back up to the rim of the death realm. Them being in this position, it is much easier for you to hit your abilites.

WHEN TO ULT

In some cases, it's better NOT to use your ultimate, as you could potentially be saving an enemy from death. If your team has follow-up on a target, consider not using your ultimate.

A good time to use your ultimate, is right before an objective spawns. If you kill the person that you have ulted, your team will have a number advantage for the objective fight.


If you get caught out, you should ult the best target close to you. Even if you can't kill the target you ulted, doing so buys time for your team to rotate over when you get out of Realm of Death. Also, if you're in the middle of a teamfight and are about to die, you should ult the closest person to survive.

WHERE TO ULT

Knowing where to ult is also very crucial when playing Mordekaiser. When using your Realm of Death near walls that can be flashed or dashed over, make sure the target you are ulting has used their dash and has their flash on cooldown or that you can follow up with your flash. Otherwise they can just dash to the other side of the wall and wait for your Realm of Death to time out.