Mordekaiser Build Guide by ShadowNet

Introduction

Pros / Cons

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Pros: +Superb farmer and pusher +Great harasser +Naturally tanky because of his passive ability Iron Man +Can turn tides with his ultimate, from 5v5 to 6v4 +Can carry (kinda)

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Cons: -Not as tanky as Main tanks ( Rammus, Amumu, Alistar etc.) -His abilities cost HP, avoid spamming -No CC (That's why we're getting Randuin's Omen) -No escape mechanism

Runes

Greater Mark of Magic Penetration x9 - Obvious choice, contributes to your damage and early game harassment. Greater Seal of Vitality x9 or Greater Seal of Armor x9 - Both work, with extra hp you can cast more and with extra armor you're tankier early game. Greater Glyph of Cooldown Reduction x9 or Greater Glyph of Scaling Magic Resist x9 or Greater Glyph of Magic Resist x9 or Greater Glyph of Ability Power x9 - Flat CDR combined with masteries, allows you to cast faster (still don't spam like a mad man, your spells cost hp), Magic res/per lvl/flat makes you resistant to AP harassers, flat AP increases your early game damage but makes you very fragile, not recommended versus good harassers that can zone you easily. Greater Quintessence of Health x3 - Those will increase your HP by 78, making sure that you'll have easier time early game plus better level 1 jungle fights.
Greater Quintessence of Magic Penetration x3 - Serve the same purpose as your marks, combined with them you'll have around 14 Magic penetration (14,22).
Greater Quintessence of Movement Speed x3 - You'll be faster than your opponents, have easier time harassing them and if they try to strike back, you can back off quickly, making them give up. You can outrun, chase, gank easier and move from lane to lane faster. A fast Morde is a scary Morde.
Greater Quintessence of Ability Power x3 - Same as flat AP glyphs, you'll pack more punch.

Masteries

9 points in Offense for extra CDR and Magic penetration: Deadliness x1 - Only 1 point, we need it to advance in the masteries tree. Archmage's Savvy x3 - Small amount of AP, but it's better than Deadliness since we're tanky casters. Sorcery x4 - Reduces cooldowns by 3%. It may seem like nothing special but it stacks well with Intelligence and runes, should you choose to take Greater Glyph of Cooldown Reduction. Archaic Knowledge x1 - Increases your Magic penetration by 15%, simply means more damage from your spells. Combined with your runes and Sorcerer's Shoes you'll make even their tankier champs sad. ---

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21 points in Utility for CDR, CDR on summoner spells, Movement speed, Buff duration, Extra XP, Reduced time spent dead: Good Hands x3 - You'll spend 10% less time dead, it's most helpful late game when death timers can reach 40-60 sec. Perseverence x3 - We're taking this only because there's nothing else to take and we need to advance in the tree. Mana regen is useless and HP regen is barely noticeable. Haste x1 - Buffs your Ghost summoner spell with 6% speed and 1.5 sec duration. It's a must if you decide to take Ghost. Awareness x4 - Since Morde is a mad farmer, this will give you a level advantage over your enemies. Your spells will be stronger, your stats higher, you'll destroy everything in your path. Greed x1 - Again useless for Morde, but there's nothing else to take. Reduces wait time if you need 20-30 gold for an item, extra potion or ward. Utility Mastery x2 - Good mastery that will increase red, blue and baron buffs duration by 30%. Morde tends to kill carries and junglers regularly and takes their buffs. Quickness x3 - Makes you even faster. Speed is going to help you harass easier, run away, chase, help mates, gank. When they see the Spiky Wall of Awesomeness, aka Morde, flying at them, they'll just go hug their tower, allowing you to gank. Intelligence x3 - You can cast faster - deliver more damage and replenish your shield Iron Man quicker. Presence of the Master x1 - Being able to cast Ignite and Ghost frequently will benefit you throughout the whole game. Reduced cooldown on Ignite will help you combine it with Children of the Grave for a devastating effect. You'll feel like you always have your speed steroid Ghost ready, when you need it for gank, chase, gtfo.

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Summoner Spells

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Ignite - This summoner spell is a must for Morde, it's Children of the Grave's younger brother. It helps you deny HP pots, regen, heals that could reduce your ultimate effectiveness.

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Ghost - Top pick, helps you get around faster, initiate fights, get away, chase, and gank. Overall best mobility summoner spell for Morde.

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Exhaust - Ignite out weights Exhaust, because it synergises with Children of the Grave. It adds another DoT and without Ignite your ultimate can be countered easily (support champs, potions). Still, it's a viable spell if the enemy team have strong AD champions and for early game kills. Can an be used for defense and offense, slow down a chaser to ensure your escape and catch a victim to secure a kill for you or your team.

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Flash - Good skill for escaping and positioning, pick it if you don't like Ghost or you're facing Jarvan IV. Don't forget to change the masteries, move one point from Haste to Blink of an Eye .

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• Clairvoyance - Leave this to support champs like Soraka, Taric, Janna or some that can use it effectively like Blitzcrank.
  
• Clarity - Useless, Mordekaiser isn't even using Mana....or is he?
  
• Cleanse - You're not squishy to rely on this spell, if the enemy team have a lot of CC you can get Mercury's Treads or other items that help against it.
  
• Fortify - Good against backdoor. Those confident enough with stuns, taunts and other useful skills that can force an enemy near your tower should take it.
  
• Heal - Take it if you're low Summoner level and have nothing viable to take.
  
• Revive - Refer to Heal
  
• Rally - Pathetic boost and long cooldown. Would have been nice if it worked like a ward.
  
• Smite - A must for junglers, too bad you're designed around owning solo lane.
  
• Teleport - Good mobility spell but not good enough for Morde.

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Skill Sequence and Explanation

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||Iron Man|| 30% of the damage dealt from abilities is converted into a temporary shield, absorbing incoming damage. Shield generation is only half as effective against minions. Maximum shield strength is 90 + (30 x level). The shield decays by 3% per second.

Passive ability

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||Siphon of Destruction|| Mordekaiser damages enemies in a cone in front of him, dealing 65 / 105 / 145 / 185 / 225 (+60% of ability power) magic damage.

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||Mace of Spades|| On next hit, Mordekaiser swings his mace with such force that it echoes out, striking up to 3 additional nearby targets, dealing 80 / 110 / 140 / 170 / 200 (+1 per bonus attack damage) (+40% of ability power) magic damage. If the target is alone, the ability deals 65% more damage.

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||Creeping Death|| Unleashes a protective cloud of metal shards to surround an ally or himself, increasing their armor and magic resistance by 10 / 15 / 20 / 25 / 30 and dealing 24 / 38 / 52 / 66 / 80 (+20% of ability power) damage per second to enemies in the cloud for 6 seconds.

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||Children of the Grave || Mordekaiser deals an initial 12 / 14.5 / 17 (+2% of ability power) % magic damage equal to that percentage of the target's maximum health and curses it for 10 seconds. During these 10 seconds, 1.2 / 1.45 / 1.7 (+2% of ability power) % magic damage equal to that percentage of the target's maximum health per second is dealt. If the target dies while under the effect of the curse, their soul is enslaved and will follow Mordekaiser for 30 seconds. During this time, Mordekaiser gains 20% of their ability power, and attack damage. The spirit gains 75% of Mordekaiser's adjusted damage, ability power, and health totals

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• You should always cast Siphon of Destruction to check bushes. It will sound like hitting a target if someone is hiding and waiting for you to face check.
  
  
• Always try to cast your Ignite first and then Children of the Grave because of the spell's smaller range.
  
  
• Children of the Grave can be used defensively and for survivability when needed.
  
  
• You can use Children of the Grave to instantly kill fleeing enemies on low HP and take their ghost.
  
  
• Always be aware for Guardian Angel , Banshee's Veil. Black Shield and Chrono Shift, they're hard counters to your ultimate Children of the Grave.
  
  
• Remember that your ghost can fill up your shield with his attacks (ghost deals magic damage).
  
  
• You should use your ghost to scout ahead for you and check bushes.

General Tips and Tricks

Items and Explanation

Good choice too if you want to start more tanky, Small HP regen, armor and health.

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or

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and x3 Also viable start, boots increase your mobility even further and pots help you sustain your HP.

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Increases your movement speed and magic penetration, increasing your damage output. Boosts your HP regen, healing, spell vamp, gives magic resistance, HP and 10% CDR. Overall a good item for Morde after his Nerfs.

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Good item that will help you with armor, hp regen, health, a good passive - movement and attack speed reduction on hit and usable ability with the same effect. Buy it after boots, it will help you sustain yourself (15% spell vamp) and increases your damage (40 AP). Later could be used to make Hextech Gunblade or Will of the Ancients Note: Item might turn you into a sparkling spell vampire, use with caution!

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Cheap and effective, adds 50 AP to yourself and aura that gives your teammates 30 AP and 25% Spell Vamp. Don't pick it if your team is AD heavy.

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Grants you the power of the Blood God, a melee nuke after each spell cast. Later can be upgraded to Lich Bane.

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Useful against CC and AP heavy teams. Reduces all kinds of CC by 35% and increases magic resistance. Take them instead of Sorcerer's Shoes.

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Good if you're facing full AD team, no other reason to get them. Again replace Sorcerer's Shoes Note: Never combine Ninja Tabi and Thornmail

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The path of the Spell Vampire/dps-y Morde will demand items decreasing cooldowns so you can sustain yourself better - take these instead of Sorcerer's Shoes

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Replaces Randuin's Omen. Still viable item that will give you 45 armor, 450 hp and you'll deal 35 magical damage to enemies around you, stacks well with Creeping Death. Take it if you want to get your last tools of destruction faster.

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Will increase you AP greatly, take this when the game is going well or when they fed you early game.

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This is the answer to those Magic Resistance stacking weaklings, combines with your mastery Archaic Knowledge for a total of 49% magic penetration, also adds 70 AP to enchance your abilities. Get it if you decide to go more dps oriented.

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Provides a good amount of AP, some magic resistance, mana which we don't need and a pretty good passive that gives you a good melee nuke. Getting hit by a truck will seem like getting a shot compared to your new passive.

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After you get Hextech Revolver early on, you can turn it into this beauty, provides both AD, AP, life steal, spell vamp and a good CC usable ability.

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Adds magic resistance, increases AP and reduces your enemies magic resistance. Solid choice.

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Another item that gives you AP, armor and a good passive that can help you avoid nukes or just survive.

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Need some extra heavy duty CC or HP to battle true damage champs like Olaf, Cho'Gath or Vayne? Look no further, this item will give you both - 700 hp, 40% slow per hit and some AD.

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Get this if the enemy team has a lot of CC and you don't want to buy Banshee's Veil, also gives you 50 AP.

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Good counter to AD carries, adds armor and on hit returns 30% of the damage as magical.

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Grants a medium amount of HP, some mana that is of no use to us, 50 magic resistance and also a shield that can block spells every 45 sec. Good counter to CC and nuke combos.

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Last resort if you're facing fed/strong True Damage champions ( Olaf, Cho'Gath, Vayne), versus strong AD heavy teams, combine Warmog's Armor and Thornmail or if you actually decide to main tank with Morde, which is just...*** (Other champs can do it better). There's really no other reason to get this item. It increases your HP by 1370(1820 fully stacked) and HP regen by 45 per 5 (60 HP per 5 fully stacked). It's too pricey and offers only HP without resists.

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Back stab the righteous Law, gives you armor, magic resistance and a second chance to finish those morde haters.

Wards and other consumables

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RED - Important places where placing a ward is a must, after Dragon, Baron spawn.

BLUE - Placing wards there will help you control the buffs, you'll know when the enemy is trying to take it or just passing by. Having ward there can help you for ganks too.

BLACK - A must if the enemy team have jungler/roamer. Having a ward on black will cover your rear from unwanted interventions.

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Costs 125, can be stacked too and reveals everything invisible around it. Buy these if there are cloaking champions like Evelynn, Twitch, Teemo, Akali, Shaco and to counter your enemy wards, especially on important spots like Baron and Dragon.

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Price on this potion is 400, you become a walking Vision Ward but with slightly smaller range. Again use it against cloaking champs and for ward dominance.

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Potion that adds 20-40 AP, based on your level and reduces cooldowns by 10%. You can get it at any time if you feel like you need an extra punch to get that kill.

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Increases your AD by 10 and hp by 140-235 instantly like Heal. Can be used to save yourself from certain death, if you don't forget that you own one.

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Useful on AD carries, useless for us. Get it lategame, when there's nothing else to buy. Combining the three potions will make you shine like a God.

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Useful early/mid game if you're having trouble. Costs only 45 and restores 200 hp over 20 sec.

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Don't buy these, Morde doesn't use mana. Real men use HP.

Gameplay

Mordekaiser is best on a solo lane or mid because he's a great farmer, going for "jungle Morde" is not an option. With Siphon of Destruction you can easily harass and farm/last hit, even under pressure with hit and run tactics. Like I mentioned earlier don't spam blindly thinking that you're immortal with your shield up, your spells cost HP. Until you get your ultimate, don't overextend much and never underestimate your enemies - even if they're bad, their champs could still pack a punch. A viable tactic I found is to push the lane really fast till my enemy starts to tower hug, then go for their jungler ( Greater Quintessence of Movement Speed or early boots is enough to get you around early on) or maybe for a gank depending on your neighbor and the enemy he's facing. The lack of CC early makes you rely on other people stuns/slows. Always adapt to the champions you're facing and their abilities, try to fill up Iron Man so you could negate enemy harassment and buy wards to avoid ganks from junglers and roamers.

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Mid game begins around the time when 1 or 2 towers have fallen, after ganking, helping another lane or a team fight, by this time you should have some of your core set. Before starting fights drain your enemies, engaging them at full HP lowers your chances for success. Once you finish trolling around and someone squishy is left with 50% HP or less you should go for the kill. Getting a Ghost from your Children of the Grave, increases your chance to win the team battle greatly, turning it into an unfair fight 6v4. Also don't forget to buy wards to cover important places like Baron, Dragon and Buffs!

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Choose your last items wisely depending on how the game went. Apply the same tactic from Mid game and stay on the front line, soak the damage and skill shots aimed at your carries and try to take/control Baron. I've had games where we dominated the whole time and lost because of stolen Baron buff. Confident that we would win and seeing that the enemy is too busy protecting their base, we went for Baron, Ezreal managed to steal it with random ultimate from his base and eventually they turned the tables thanks to that buff. Always surround Baron to block skill shots and reduce damage from those that pass through (Like Ezreal ultimate). Baron late game can be game changing, don't leave it unwarded.

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Laning and Team battles Videos

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Morde in Dominion

Mordekaiser is viable both at top and bottom lane, good at offense and defense. Your main goal will be to focus and burst down the enemy DPS champions. Once you manage to get a Ghost, the opposing team will be crippled and at a disadvantage. You can use your new pet to scout around, to cover your back while you capture points and of course burst down other champs. Communication with your teammates is important for your success, ping a champ you're planning to take down, where to defend/capture, etc.



Due to Morde's lack of extra speed and CC, I would suggest rolling with Greater Quintessence of Movement Speed because speed is essential in Dominion. Always take the speed buffs and don't forget the health packs around, they can save your life.

TL;DR

DON'T FORGET TO BUY WARDS TO COVER YOUR BACK FROM JUNGLERS AND ROAMERS!


Max - E button. Second - Q button. Third - R button (take it when available).

Last - Q button.

Start SMARTCASTING, don't spam early, try to hit both the creeps and enemy champions with Siphon of Destruction, don't overextend a lot in laning phase, watch out for ganks, protect your carries when needed, you're an offtank/tanky dps!

Closing words

Made it for a T-shirt.
Bigger version: http://tinypic.com/r/mkde1y/7
Text for back or under Morde's picture: http://tinypic.com/r/2vv45ko/7 (You might not see it in the site because it's white.)
It's intended for black shirts.

Changelog

• 2.08.2011 - Guide published.
• 5.08.2011 - Guide reworked.
• 6.08.2011 - Added Lich Bane to preferred items.
• 7.08.2011 - Added Mundo on a stick and Morde on meds.
• 8.08.2011 - Changed interval color to black, added larger rune icons, Frozen Mallet and Will of the Ancients.
• 9.08.2011 - Polished summoner spells, masteries chapters and added "I eat pain" picture. Added Warmog's Armor to preferred items.
• 10.08.2011 - Moved Tips and Tricks, Changes in Runes, Masteries, nerfed "I eat pain" picture, Added Exhaust to summoner spells.
• 11.08.2011 - Added optional core items, few items to last preferred, Wards and other consumables completed, "Insert victim here" picture.
• 12.08.2011 - Small visual changes to Wards and other consumables chapter, fine-tuned videos, received permission to use Drumike107 song.
• 13.08.2011 - Added Mordekaiser before joining the league picture, visual changes to masteries.
• 14.08.2011 - Added optional Quints.
• 28.08.2011 - Back from vacation. Changed Speed quints to flat HP, changes to summoner spells, skill sequence, tips and tricks, added basket Morde.
• 1.09.2011 - Massive update, changes in almost every chapter.
• 2.09.2011 - Added Gameplay chapter and TL;DR, thanks for reading banner, changed back to MS quints. Im sorry LoL masses, thats how I roll.
• 3.09.2011 - Added item plan picture, polished TL;'DR chapter.
• 4.09.2011 - Fixed item plan picture, other small changes.
• 15.10.2011 - Started working on a new build.
• 29.10.2011 - Guide updated.
• 31.10.2011 - Added Morde in Dominion and skill range pictures.
• 2.11.2011 - Added Wall of Win.