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Mordekaiser Build Guide by FreestyleKneepad

(Season 2) Mordekaiser, the Master of Smooth Jazz

(Season 2) Mordekaiser, the Master of Smooth Jazz

Updated on April 9, 2014
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League of Legends Build Guide Author FreestyleKneepad Build Guide By FreestyleKneepad 50,001 Views 12 Comments
50,001 Views 12 Comments League of Legends Build Guide Author FreestyleKneepad Mordekaiser Build Guide By FreestyleKneepad Updated on April 9, 2014
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Choose Champion Build:

  • LoL Champion: Mordekaiser
  • LoL Champion: Mordekaiser

Introduction

Hoooooooooooowdy-ho, people!

Your friendly neighborhood Kneepad is back with another guide, written (as usual) when I really, really should be focused on something else entirely more vital to my college education. But instead of that boring sh*t, I'm here to talk about Mordekaiser.

Morde was my second "main" after Miss Fortune, but not the first champ I was actually good with. I was good enough, though, that one of my friends picked up Morde too and still plays him heavily to this day. Not kidding. He pretty much only plays Tank-kaiser, too, which I find pretty funny.
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spac Morde's the kind of champ I love to play- he does gigantic damage and is a beast if ignored, but he's still tanky enough that he can tango with more than one dance partner and still be the manly man that gets to have the rose in his lips before murdering the girls he's dancing with. ...At least, I think that's how the tango works. It would certainly make it more interesting.

This is not a guide for Tank Morde, because I think Tank Morde is sillier than Tank Mundo and should be abolished from people's minds. Mordekaiser can tank if the second-tankiest person on your team besides him is freakin' Karthus, but it's really not his role. At all.

I'm not a pro at Mordekaiser, but I am a bit better than the average bear, so I aim my guides (including this one) and those trying to learn a new champ rather than people trying to get from 1700 ELO to 1800 ELO. I'm very, very open to constructive criticism, so don't hesitate to point something out if you have a fix I need to make, a differing opinion or anything else. I tend to reply to dissenting opinions as much as I apply to positive feedback, so don't expect me to ignore you unless you precede every paragraph with "jajajajaja". "Huehuehuehuehue" is okay, though.

I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. I tried to have more fun with this one while still being really informative, it's a balance I try to perfect with every guide.

I'm gonna say it a lot, but props to JhoiJhoi for all the sexy images and codes and stuff. Sh*t's really nice, and great for killing hours of my time with fiddling. Seriously, f*cking HOURS.
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Disclaimer

THIS IS NOT A BUILD.


I don't believe in builds. They're a way to get you thinking linearly, when LoL isn't a linear game. A good player needs to be able to adapt on the fly and choose items that best answer the problems of the situations they are faced with. I will help you, the reader, understand what items best solve what problems and fit what situations, but I refuse to tell you exactly what you should build for a "general" game because "general" games don't exist. Each game presents unique challenges which require unique answers.

What this is is a very in-depth guide explaining how to play Mordekaiser and going over strategies and tactics rather than builds and numbers. I'm going to discuss playing Morde rather than building Morde because that's what I believe is the most important thing missing in a vast majority of the guides on MobaFire.

I'm not saying I'll cuss you out if you talk builds in the comments because I won't, but I do expect that you've read this disclaimer and know my purpose going into this guide.
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What You Need To Know

So you just picked up League of Legends and installed it, and you saw that Mordekaiser is free. Now, given that his title is the "Master of Metal" and he looks awesome as all hell, you kiss your Dio wristband in silent prayer and select him in your first game. It's okay to do that, I did it myself (in a bot game, 'cause I'm not dumb), but there's some things you need to know about Morde before diving into a game. Read up and learn well.
  • YOU CAN CONTROL YOUR GHOST BY HOLDING DOWN THE ALT KEY AND RIGHT-CLICKING. USE IT.
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  • Tank Morde blows. Don't do it.
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  • Be aggressive, but not suicidal. Push your lane and harass hard, but be careful of ganks (ward if you can).
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  • Will of the Ancients makes your abilities practically free.
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  • Rylai's Crystal Scepter and to a lesser extent Hextech Gunblade give Morde much-needed CC.
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  • Pay close attention to your health in lane, Morde's health costs can really build up with spamming.
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  • Listen to heavy metal while playing Morde, OR ELSE.
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  • Force of Nature, Randuin's Omen and Warmog's Armor are great if you need a little bit of resistance, health and regeneration.
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  • In teamfights, cast your ultimate on the enemy AD carry and murder them.
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  • Turn the AD carry ghost on their AP carry and murder them even faster.
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  • Get Ignite and cast it on your target before you ult them.
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  • Pentakill is the best skin series EVER. NO EXCEPTIONS.
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Mordekaiser's Role

Put simply, Mordekaiser is a god d*mn bully.

He strolls into the lane and spams Siphon, making himself unharassable and generally giving the wimpy enemy carry/solo top Indian sunburns and pink bellies until they go "Heeeeyyyyy, stop iiiiiiiit, you're such a meaniiiiiiiiiie" and call in their jungler, who plays the role of the teacher in this over-extended metaphor. He then pops Heal right before he's about to be killed by the teacher/jungler and swirlies the sh*t out of both of them because Mordekaiser ain't no chump, he's been to juvie, man. Juvie's hard time.

You can't play a passive Morde. You'll be weak and ridiculously easy to harass if you don't keep your shield up. How do you keep your shield up? You hurt things, that's how. Accept that to be the best you can be you're going to push your lane, and be prepared for it. Mordekaiser is to "harassing son of a b*tch" what Lars Ulrich is to "douchebag millionaire who is a regrettably great drummer". The two are f*ckin' synonymous.

Late game, Mordekaiser becomes synonymous with "damage". He does not tank, although his shield makes him quite tanky. He does not DPS, although Lich Bane is amazing on him. Mordekaiser hurts people. He walks into a fight, picks a target and unloads F*CKING EVERYTHING on the poor sap until they've taken so many maces to the nuts that they've either become a woman or had their lady parts and their poop chute turned into one big gaping hole of blood and agony. The best thing Morde can do is single out, ultimate and murderize the enemy's AD carry, because then the fight goes from a 5v5 to a 6v4 with two crazy-strong carries murderizing the sh*t out of the enemy team.

It's pretty f*cking funny to watch.



In Dominion, Morde can play almost any role. He's a very strong bottom-lane pusher and defender with Heal and his ultimate, even with the heal nerfs on Dominion, and his AOE makes him a viable contender against most roaming 1v1ers, despite his pretty awful movement speed. Sadly, his lack of CC makes him a pretty easy target for some of the more-ridiculous Dominion champs bordering on OP for the mode. He's still a strong pick, especially as a bottom defender/pusher, and he holds his own well in the 4v4s on top, but he's not a strong 1v1 champ and the lack of creeps everywhere is a bit of an indirect nerf to his shield gain at first.

Viable? Yes, but you've gotta know what you're doing.
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Pros / Cons

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Pros

+ // Is a god d*mn bully
+ // Absurdly easy to farm with
+ // One big heavy metal reference
+ // Crazy strong harassment
+ // Turns a 5v5 into a 6v4
+ // Deceptively tanky in fights
+ // Pentakill guitarist
+ // Crazy strong defender in Dominion
+ // Very hard to harass safely
+ // No mana costs ever
+ // Gives approx. no f*cks
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Cons

- // His lane is always pushed
- // Has zero natural CC
- // Slow even with tier 2 boots
- // Played by "jajaja" Brazilians
- // Health costs hurt early on
- // Full-tanks as poorly as Mundo
- // Squishier against single targets
- // Not actually 8 feet tall in game
- // CC hurts him hard
- // Has no Manowar references
- // Pentakill's hair is a cape



Let's go into detail on exactly why Morde is such a bada*s.

So he's a big beefy deepsy b*stard that farms hard. What's the big deal? Why all the "hue hue hue" and "always kill never die"?

First of all, this.

Second, because there are things Morde can do that almost no other champ can do.

For starters, Morde farms hard. Really really really hard. Harder than almost any other champion. A really good Morde that farms really hard can hit 300 CS and level 18 in 25 minutes. THAT'S F*CKING INSANE. If presented with an opportunity to farm, Mordekaiser can outfarm virtually any other champion in the game. Singed? Morde can farm like late-game Singed in the early game. Nasus? That ugly dog needs to hit single targets. Morde has no such weakness. It's why Morde is such a strong mid, he's got the sheer spammable damage to farm harder than almost anyone and still harass like crazy because the man/beast/machine/walking suit of armor is a BIG GOD D*MN BULLY. I can't teach you to do that (I'm learning myself) but I do recommend Temzilla's guide, which is where I found out about it in the first place.

Morde's health costs bring something else up that virtually no other champ can really do as well as Morde does: the 13-pot opening. It's like having a Regrowth Pendant and a health pot, but BETTER. It gives him absurd sustain and freedom to spam as hard as he wants, and spamming equals farming so it doesn't even matter that he's left with no items once he's used pot #13. No, seriously, he farms so hard so easily that he makes up for not buying an actual item in the early game. That's f*cking legit as f*ck right there.

Don't believe me? Believe Dyrus. Yeah, Dyrus.

That's called "overwhelming legitness" right there. Usually it's peppered with the word "f*cking" a few dozen times, too. He was even listening to prissy **** while he played, too, which means Morde nerfed himself out of spite! That's f*cking godd*mn f*cking incredif*ckingble!

Props to JhoiJhoi for the codes.
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Skill Breakdown

I'm just gonna make this a theme.



Image grabbed from http://annieandtibbers.tumblr.com/
Props.


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SKILL ORDER



> > >

OR

> > >

Simple. In Summoner's Rift, grab Siphon of Destruction first and max it early for the strongest harassment and farming you can get. Grab one in Mace of Spades at level 2 and max it second for farming and fights (with a few levels you can kill wraiths with just an E and a Q). Grab one in Creeping Death at level 4 and max it last for late-game AOE damage and the fact that it's really not that great compared to E and Q. And, of course, grab your ult whenever it's up because Mommy didn't raise a dummy, did she? That's right, she didn't.

In Dominion, follow my Summoner's Rift instructions to the letter, but replace every instance of Mace of Spades with Creeping Death and vice versa. You're probably going bot against their tank/AP caster, so you need a bit more early tankiness and you won't be in melee range as often as you would be in another situation. If you're going top, however, grab your skills in the normal SR order, since you're going to get in a lot more fights than you would on bottom.

In truth, I've tried both orders in both games and it's really up to you which way you want to prioritize, just make sure to grab Siphon first because the more time you spend macing people in the nuts, the happier you're gonna be. Just trust me on this.

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SKILL DESCRIPTIONS/EXPLANATIONS



Passive: Iron Man
(Innate): 35% of the damage dealt from abilities is converted into a temporary absorption shield. Shield generation is only half as effective against minions and monsters. Maximum shield strength is 90 + (30 × level; 690 at level 18). The shield decays by 3% per second.


This is what makes Mordekaiser such a god d*mn bully. He can harass you and you can't harass him back, and if he keeps it up he basically makes you waste a ton of mana just to do a tiny bit of damage that will actually stick around until he pops a health pot and laughs the pain away. It's not as effective in the early game against an enemy that harasses hard, but late game the damage makes him deceptively tanky, seeing as his shield replenishes when he does damage, meaning if he does damage in the middle of a lot of incoming damage he'll absorb a ton of it with his shield.

I'm not sure if getting armor/magic resistance would make your shield harder to take down, but it makes sense to me personally. I'm checking around about that, if I find something out, you'll know.

Every one of Morde's abilities is a play on a famous/awesome metal song that every self-respecting metal fan should know and love. At the end of each explanation I will enlighten you about the song behind the name, and you will gasp in awe and immediately go download the song and play it on your stereo until the end of time. Let's see what Morde's passive came from: The song is "Iron Man" by Black Sabbath. RESPECT IT.

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Q: Mace of Spades
(Active): 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 (+ 100% of bonus attack damage)(+ 40% of ability power) magic damage. If the target is alone, the ability deals 65% more damage. (132 / 181.5 / 231 / 280.5 / 330 (+ 165% of bonus attack damage) (+ 66% of ability power))

Cost: 25 / 32 / 39 / 46 / 53 health.
Cooldown: 8 / 7 / 6 / 5 / 4 seconds.


Oh lawdy. Dat AOE. I got a double kill with this once, it was HILARIOUS.

This synergizes amazingly well with both Rylai's Crystal Scepter and Lich Bane. The single-target damage is the only thing in Morde's kit that applies the full 35% slow, and pressing Q also triggers the Lich Bane proc, making it do WTFTRUCKLOADS of damage. If anything, this is what makes you scary in a 1v1, even (and especially) with nothing around to make shield from.

This scales amazingly well with AD, and when you do build AD it absolutely MELTS people, but you're gimping everything else so badly that it's really just not worth it.

The song is "Ace of Spades" by Motorhead. RESPECT IT. In the German/French versions of the game, the ability is called "Morgenstern", which means "morning star". "Morgenstern" is also a song by Rammstein. RESPECT IT.

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W: Creeping Death
(Active): 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) magic damage per second to enemies in the cloud for 6 seconds.

Cost: 26 / 32 / 38 / 44 / 50 health.
Cooldown: 20 / 18 / 16 / 14 / 12 seconds.


Morde clearly doesn't have enough AOE. The tankiness on this matters so little that you really don't need it unless you're in a position where you're required to tank a bit even as a damage-dealer (like when you go bottom on Dominion). Sure, like everything that buffs an ally you can pull off a hero save with it, I've done it myself, but its distance is best used as a way to replenish your shield without actually getting in the mix yourself.

Chuck it on the front melee minion of an advancing wave to give yourself a bit of shield before you get close enough for them to attack. Chuck it on your initiator to prepare your shield, give them some survivability and slow everything around them if you've grabbed a Rylai's Crystal Scepter (which you should do), and also possibly KS like the dirty little sh*thead you probably are. Chuck it on yourself and run into a nest of minions to basically keep your shield exactly where it's at during its duration, good for keeping a high shield from decaying if you're expecting action. Overall good utility, but not the best ability in his kit.

The song is "Creeping Death" by Metallica. RESPECT IT... ACTUALLY, YOU CAN CHOOSE TO RESPECT IT OR NOT, PERSONALLY I THINK METALLICA HAVE MADE TONS OF BETTER SONGS. TONS. DARK ANGEL ACTUALLY DID A COVER OF THIS THAT I LIKE MORE, CHECK IT OUT HERE. Also, in the German version of the game, the ability is called "Metallische Luft", which means "Metallic Air". Not a song, but it is another reference to Metallica, so props to Riot. You know your metal. RESPECT THEM.

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E: Siphon of Destruction
(Active): Mordekaiser damages all enemies in a cone in front of him, dealing 70 / 115 / 160 / 205 / 250 (+60% of ability power) magic damage.

Cost: 24 / 36 / 48 / 60 / 72 health.
Cooldown: 6 seconds.


This is your bread, your butter and your ability that maces people in the nuts for your amusement. That's right, it's so awesome that I said the expression and went right around it and described it anyways.

This is the first thing you get every single time you start a game, because it's the strongest AOE at your disposal, it's absurdly spammable and it's deceptively simple. "A cone that does damage. And nothing else. Whee. When do we get to the Siphon part?" Right now, Junior. Also, EAT WEDGIE, YOU LITTLE TURD.

Now that people are saluting Junior as he hangs from the school flagpole by his Power Ranger Underoos, allow me to explain. The Siphon does damage. Lots of it. The most AP bang for your buck, meaning it gives you the most shield possible. Get some CDR and you'll be spamming it FOREVER, which is awesome.

One thing to be wary of is its health cost. Early game, your Siphon is the best way to get your shield up, since you can easily hit an entire creep wave and the champ within/behind it with one Siphon, but maxing it first means the health cost can be pretty painful if you use it every single time it's off cooldown. There's ways to deal with this, but it's still definitely something you need to keep in mind in lane. If Morde doesn't have enough health for an ability he won't use it, which means you can't kill yourself, but it also means you're probably gonna die anyways.

The song is "Symphony of Destruction" by Megadeth. RESPECT IT.

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Ultimate: Children of the Grave
(Active): Mordekaiser deals magic damage to the target and curses it for 10 seconds with a damage-over-time effect. The damage is equal to 12% / 14.5% / 17% (+2% of ability power) of the target's maximum health initially plus 1.2% / 1.45% / 1.7% (+0.2% of ability power) of the target's maximum health over 10 seconds, totaling at 24% / 29% / 34% (+4% of ability power) of the target's maximum health over the entire duration. Mordekaiser heals himself for the damage done.

In addition, 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 in turn gains 75% of Mordekaiser's adjusted damage, ability power, and health totals.

No cost.
Cooldown: 120 / 105 / 90 seconds.


Read that again. "The damage is equal to 12% / 14.5% / 17% (+2% of ability power) of the target's maximum health initially plus 1.2% / 1.45% / 1.7% (+0.2% of ability power) of the target's maximum health over 10 seconds, totaling at 24% / 29% / 34% (+4% of ability power) of the target's maximum health over the entire duration." THIRTY-FOUR PERCENT OF THEIR MAXIMUM HEALTH OVER TEN SECONDS. ALSO YOU GET A GOD D*MN GHOST B*TCH WITH BOOSTED STATS. HOLY MOTHER OF LEMMY KILMISTER'S EIGHTEENTH F*CKING BRAZILIAN HOOKER BEFORE GETTING UP IN THE F*CKING MORNING THAT'S A LOT OF F*CKING AWESOMENESS PACKED INTO ONE GOD D*MN MOTHERF*CKING C*CKTITS ULTIMATE.

Let's go over this in some serious detail, 'cause while this isn't an "ultimate that makes the champ" situation, it's still pretty god d*mn important.

Oh yeah.

YOU CAN CONTROL YOUR GHOST BY HOLDING DOWN THE ALT KEY AND RIGHT-CLICKING ON SOMETHING LIKE YOU'D CONTROL YOUR CHAMP. DON'T LET IT JUST FOLLOW YOU AROUND LIKE AN ANNOYING, TRANSPARENT GROUPIE. F*CKING USE IT.

Okay, with that out of the way, back to the subject.

This ultimate does roughly 35% of the health of the poor nerdy kid you choose to cast it on in damage, and that's assuming you haven't build a whole lot of AP. Assuming you get a Will of the Ancients and a Rylai's Crystal Scepter 'cause you know what's good for you, you'll still have 160 AP, which gives you a bonus 6.4% of their health overall. That's 40% of their health without being absurdly fed. That's a f*cking lot of damage. This is both your greatest savior and your greatest weapon. Put it on their squishy AD carry and kill them to get your team a free second AD carry, an advantage that simply can't be matched by anyone except MAYBE Yorick's Omen of Death, since it does something similar.

The utility of this ultimate (via the healing) is as insane as its damage. Children heals for every point of damage it does, and it scales hard with health. What this means is that if you want a kill, hit someone down to about half (preferably a bit lower just in case) and then hit them with Ignite and your ultimate. Make sure to use Ignite first if they're running, 'cause the range on Children of the Grave is higher than the range on Ignite. However, if you're being ganked and need to survive, ult the person with the most health since 40% of 4000 health is 1600 health over 10 seconds, and a free 800 on activation. Think about what that will do when you combine it with Heal. Does that make you all wet in the naughty bits? Oh, it should. That's a natural reaction to numbers that high. Just ask your math teacher. Just make sure you have a knife in case the kinky f*ck decides to molest you for x^15 minutes. That's a long f*cking time. Just trust me on this.

People tend to run when they see Morde's ugly ghost face over their heads, because it tends to mean they're about to find out why Yorick skips everywhere he goes. That means you need to pop your ult after unloading some pre-emptive a*swhooping, just in case they turn and burn and get out of range once they've been ulted. Morde's ult is the single longest damage-over-time duration in the game, and it seems even longer than it is, so don't be afraid to pop it late rather than early. It still hurts while they run, so you still have a chance of snagging kills when they've turned and burned.

Now for a bit of exposition on ghost usage. This separates the good Mordes from the "always kill never die huehuehuehuehue" Mordes. Again:

YOU CAN CONTROL YOUR GHOST BY HOLDING DOWN THE ALT KEY AND RIGHT-CLICKING ON SOMETHING LIKE YOU'D CONTROL YOUR CHAMP. IT IS NOT THERE TO REMEMBER AND TELL THE TALES OF YOUR GLORY, IT'S THERE TO BE YOUR GHOST B*TCH AND DO YOUR BIDDING AND MAKE YOUR ENEMIES WISH THEY'D NEVER GOTTEN FED.

When you ult and kill the enemy AD carry, that's (usually) a 5v5 or 4v5 that's been turned into a 6v4 or 5v4 in your favor. Best part is, a lot of people don't really pay attention to/focus the ghost, knowing that it's gonna die eventually. Yeah, 30 seconds is somehow short enough that people think "eh, it's no big deal, it'll die before it becomes a threat". For those 30 seconds, you are a GOD. Not even Yorick has that kind of power. You control two champs, use them both to the fullest. Have your ghost focus their other carry while you attack the tankier enemies to make them wonder who to hurt. If your ghost has Frozen Mallet, it's your new chaser. If your ghost has a million health, use it to tank a turret or Baron. If you ghost has a million attack speed, go f*cking kill something with it. In Dominion, you can cap a point and control your ghost simultaneously, meaning you can cap a point while your ghost fends off anyone trying to stop you. It's what makes Morde so hard to deal with, and you need to abuse the sh*t out of it to be the terror you truly deserve to be. Never ever ever ever ignore your ghost.

The song is "Children of the Grave" by Black Sabbath (again). RESPECT IT. Also, the buff put on the ghost used to be called "The Prisoner". That's a song by Iron Maiden. RESPECT THE NWOBHM.
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Runes / Masteries

so guise i run 21-9-0 wiht thees runes 9 magic pen reds 9 armor ylelows 9 mr per lvl blues 3 ap quintsesenses gibe upvotes please

Psych.

If you've read my previous guides you know I really don't think too much about my runes and masteries. This time I'm gonna try to go into more depth about it by explaining my choices and what other options work well, but for the record I tend to run my Carrykaiser runes/masteries on Dominion as well as Summoner's Rift mostly cause I'm too lazy to adjust them before I queue up.

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CARRYKAISER


Runes

Precision
Fleet Footwork
Phase Rush
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DOMINIONKAISER


Runes

Precision
Fleet Footwork
Phase Rush
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Props again to JhoiJhoi for all the codes and images. I like the cut of your jib.
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Summoner Spells



THESE ARE YOUR BEST FRIENDS.
THEY WILL ALWAYS BE THERE FOR YOU AND YOU SHOULD ALWAYS COME TO THEM FIRST.

  • Heal: Holy brown pants of victory, I can't tell you how many times I've barely lived through a gank or 1v1 because of Heal. Combined with Iron Man and Children of the Grave it gives you a shocking amount of bonus (theoretical) health, which most people really don't see coming. You won't have an escape if you run this, but your Heal helps you survive a lot of things that you normally wouldn't and can turn a gank into a double kill if you really know what you're doing.
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  • Ignite: Here's how this works. You cast Ignite on the object of your destruction, and then you cast your ultimate. Even if they run, the true damage and heal reduction from Ignite makes it absurdly hard to deal with Children of the Grave and makes it so much easier to secure kills with your ultimate, even if they build magic resistance to reduce the % health damage it does. This is such a strong combination that I recommend it for solo top, solo mid, duo bot, even in any role on Dominion. It's just really, really strong. Get the mastery and you even get a bit of AP after casting Ignite so that your ultimate hurts more. Yeah, it's that perfect for Children.

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THESE ARE YOUR ONE-NIGHT STANDS.
THEY COULD BE NICE, BUT YOU SHOULDN'T USE THEM OFTEN ENOUGH TO FIND OUT.

  • Flash: Morde lacks both any form of natural CC and any form of natural escape. I prefer Ghost for the chasing power, but Flash is a very strong option, too. I'd get it as a replacement for Heal, since Ignite is so valuable.
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  • Garrison: Makes Morde an amazing pusher and defender on Dominion. Combining Heal, Children of the Grave and Garrison makes him a dirty heal-baiting son of a b*tch, which is good. Really, really good.
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  • Ghost: Ghost is just plain good on tanky champs. It makes up for Morde's general slowness and lack of slows so he can chase well, and it serves as a strong escape tool if he needs it (which he usually does).
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  • Exhaust: Provides Morde with some serious CC, something he sorely needs. Also really helps out his somewhat weak 1v1 potential when coupled with Heal, making him really, really hard to kill alone.
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  • Teleport: Teleport is just a damn good spell. It's my favorite spell in the game. Every team should have someone with Teleport, and Morde is a great candidate. I'd get this as a replacement for Ignite, seeing as you'll have extra farm from being able to teleport to a pushed lane or to help secure a kill in a fight in another lane, which brings with it serious cash.

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THESE ARE THE BOOTY CALLS AT THE BOTTOM OF YOUR LIST.
THEY ARE USEFUL FOR EXTREMELY DESPERATE SITUATIONS ONLY.

  • Surge: It could be nice for making your ult do juuuuuuust a bit more damage or getting juuuuuuuust a bit more shield, but summoner spells need to give you more than juuuuuuuust a bit more of something.
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  • Promote: MORDEKAISER LAUGHS AT THE IDEA OF NEEDING HELP PUSHING A LANE.
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  • Cleanse: Like studying for tests, I don't use Cleanse. Morde could use it to get out of ganks, yeah, but personally I prefer Heal and some tenacity over Cleanse any day. I'm not saying it's a bad choice, I'm saying I don't like it personally.

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THESE ARE THAT 300-POUND GIRL HIDING IN THE DARK CORNER OF THE BAR.
YOU'D HAVE TO BE SO DRUNK TO PICK THESE THAT YOU SHOULDN'T BE PLAYING
IN THE FIRST PLACE.

  • Smite: Morde can jungle. Don't. He doesn't get anywhere near the farm he should be getting and his ganks are ABYSMAL. Like Master Yi and Shyvana, he has no CC to gank with, so he needs red buff. I think a jungler should be able to gank without red, but that's just me. Seriously though, no.
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  • Clarity: MORDEKAISER LAUGHS HEARTILY AT THE IDEA OF NEEDING SOMETHING AS PUNY AS MANA.
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  • Revive: MORDEKAISER LAUGHS EVEN MORE HEARTILY AT THE IDEA OF DYING. HE THEN NEARLY HAS A HEART ATTACK FROM LAUGHING SO HARD AND FALLS SUSPICIOUSLY SILENT.
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Items

Playing Carrykaiser is pretty simple, but still requires some thought. Since he has no mana, some items that would normally be really smart are completely useless to him, while others are much more significant because what they offer benefits him much more than it would a normal AP carry. He's tanky but deepsy and needs items that help both so he can reach his full purple-nurpling bully potential.

There's a few things Mordekaiser always needs as a carry, and those are the things you should focus the most on when choosing items for him.

You want AP. This is extremely simple. You want to do a lot of damage. AP makes you do more damage. Get lots of AP.
You want Health. Also fairly simple. Morde's abilities cost health. Damage reduces your health. Get more health. Prioritize this over AP if you haven't built much health and you're really taking a beating.
You want Health Regen. Spell vamp also applies here. Anything that gives you health back is great for Mordekaiser. Spell vamp returns health when you do damage with abilities, basically refunding a portion of your ability costs and making you life easier. Regen helps overcome this, too.
You want Damage Reduction. Your shield does the job pretty nicely, but you'll still die pretty quickly if they focus you and you're not awesome enough to ALWAYS HAVE YOUR SHIELD UP FOREVER LIKE A BOSS. A single item towards this category is usually enough to make things work.
You want Magic Penetration. You deal damage, so jerks like to build magic resist to cushion your damage. Magic penetration acts like a carpet knife cutting through the cushion so you can shank them properly, without all this silly resistance mumbo jumbo getting in the way.

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MUST-BUY ITEMS
Get these in pretty much every game you play. They're too good to pass up.


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  • Will of the Ancients - This basically refunds your spell costs. Which is f*cking awesome. Get this early to really maximize its usefulness.
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  • Rylai's Crystal Scepter - You have no CC. This fixes that. The only downside is that Morde is so AOE focused that the only thing that procs the entire 35% slow is the single-target application of Mace of Spades.
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  • Rabadon's Deathcap - It gives you AP. It also really, really boosts the AP you have. You should have to think of a reason NOT to get this.
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  • THESE ITEMS ARE REALLY AWESOME, I'M SUPER CEREAL YOU GUYS. YOU SHOULD GET THEM A LOT. I'M THO THEREAL.

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STARTING ITEMS
Items to consider when starting a game in Summoner's Rift.

  • 13 Health Pots - Seriously, this right here is LEGIT. Legit to the point of me almost including it in a section about why Morde is so legit (instead it's in the pros/cons section). It gives him crazy sustain and recovery from harassment, and the only downside is that you're eventually left with nothing and have to start whatever you're building from scratch.
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  • Regrowth Pendant + 1 Health Pot - Strong on a top lane, especially when coupled with regen runes/masteries. You need to play a little bit more passively every time you take hard harass, but otherwise it's pretty good.
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  • Boots + 3 Health Pots - Good against mid lanes with skillshots. The boots help you dodge skillshots and the pots help you sustain against harassment and harass back. 3 pots don't last as long as 13, though, so be careful and use your mobility to your advantage.
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  • Cloth Armor + 5 Health Pots - Best against a solo top or duo bottom where you know you're gonna be taking some hard harassment. This is the most passive opening setup, but with it you can build Aegis of the Legion which gives you some remarkable early tankiness.
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  • Amplifying Tome + 1 Health Pot - Great if you're mid against a Veigar or top against a Nasus or someone equally easy to really punish hard for trying to farm, but otherwise too aggressive for more sustained champs.
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  • Ruby Crystal - Good for rushing a health item, and that's about it.

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FIRST-BACK ITEMS
Items to consider the first time you recall.

  • Hextech Revolver - Great for rushing a Will of the Ancients, which really helps your early game.
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  • catalyst the protector - Call me crazy, but you farm so hard that the passive from Catalyst actually matters enough to overcome the fact that you don't need half of it.
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  • Heart of Gold - Health and gold, plus it builds into an item that's great for tankiness on Morde. Great choice if you wanna start tanky or plan on making a Randuin's Omen later in the game.
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  • philosopher's stone - Again, the regen and gold make up for the mana regen you don't need in this, and besides, you're gonna sell it when you need the last slot anyways. Get this for the health regen and gold and throw it away when you don't need it anymore.
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  • Giant's Belt - Good for rushing a health-heavy item like Warmog's Armor or Rylai's Crystal Scepter, but you do sacrifice some damage you could have had by grabbing this.
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  • kage's lucky pick - AP and gold per 10, plus it builds into a pretty nice burst item. Overall a great option.
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  • Sheen - Builds into Lich Bane and provides you with some really powerful early game burst, so it's definitely worth it if you find yourself using Mace of Spades as much or more than Siphon of Destruction.
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  • Blasting Wand - Good for pure AP and beginning to build an AP-heavy item like Rabadon's Deathcap or Rylai's Crystal Scepter, but you do sacrifice some early tankiness by getting this.

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BOOTS
Boots that have advantages and disadvantages in any game or game mode.

  • Sorcerer's Shoes - The boots you'll pick most often. Makes you run faster and makes your spells hit harder, and that's all you need.
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  • Mercury's Treads - Good for when CC is a big issue or ganks are really kicking your a*s in mid or a bit of both. Don't hesitate to get these if you think you need them.
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  • Boots of Swiftness - Good if you don't need more tenacity/magic pen and need to move around a whole lot more than normally.
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  • Ionian Boots of Lucidity - Spam harder. That's about it. Don't get these too often, but recognize the advantage they offer.

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AWESOME ITEMS THAT ARE AWESOME
This is called repetition, folks.

  • Will of the Ancients - Gives you spellvamp, which means part of your ability costs are refunded. AWESOME.
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  • Rylai's Crystal Scepter - Gives you lots of AP, lots of health and a passive that gives you some CC. AWESOME.
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  • Rabadon's Deathcap - Gives you a sh*t ton of AP and then takes the AP you already have and makes it AP-ier. AWESOME.
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  • IN CASE YOU WERE NOT AWARE, THESE ITEMS ARE AWESOME. YOU SHOULD GET THEM A LOT.

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ALL-AROUND GOOD ITEMS
These items are great in a wide variety of situations and should always be up for consideration.

  • Abyssal Mask - Gives you a bit of tankiness, a good amount of AP and takes their tankiness away. Overall something you should consider very often.
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  • Guardian Angel - Awesome as a final purchase, just to make you really hard to kill so they need to think twice before focusing you. In the time it takes them to think twice, you'll have already butchered their AD carry.
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  • Deathfire Grasp - Not something I take often, but the active plus Ignite and Children of the Grave adds up to some pretty insane burst that takes a huge chunk of their health.
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  • Void Staff - Need to hit harder but can't afford more AP? Get this. Problem solved. Best if they're stacking MR against you.
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  • Force of Nature - The most magic resistance you can get plus tons of regen and a move speed buff? This was practically made for Morde.
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  • Lich Bane - This makes your Mace of Spades INSANE, and works really well with your other abilities, too.
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  • Aegis of the Legion - Good for early game tankiness, as it's easily one of the most gold-efficient items in the entire game.
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  • Randuin's Omen - Health, regen, armor, an on-damage slow and an AOE slow. If anything, this is what might make Tank Morde worth trying. It's that good.

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SUMMONER'S RIFT
Best in Summoner's Rift, where you play more like a carry.

  • Warmog's Armor - Not a good early-game pick, but when you're farming your hardest and need more durability but not more resistance, there's nothing better. Works amazingly well with Force of Nature.
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  • Banshee's Veil - Good for taking the brunt of an initiation or blocking a spell meant to peel you off their carry. One of the reasons catalyst the protector is actually a decent option for Morde.
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  • Rod of Ages - Get it early and it'll reward you over time. The mana does nothing to help you, but it gives enough health and AP that you can still make good use of it if you know what you're doing.
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  • Ninja Tabi - Good for deflecting minion aggro and laning against tough AD champs like Renekton or Tryndamere.

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DOMINION
Best for Dominion, where tankiness and mobility are more important.

  • Odyn's Veil - Good for giving you a lot of tankiness plus bonus damage, making it a little easier to fight smaller skirmishes.
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  • Zhonya's Hourglass - There's nothing quite as damaging as a Zhonya's active under a point, giving you enough time to let your abilities come off cooldown and regen a tiny bit of health. Great for stalling for time while attacking/defending.
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  • Sunfire Aegis - Good way to build health without Warmog's Armor and comes with a bit of tankiness too, and the passive makes your Creeping Death hurt a little more.
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  • Mobility Boots - Especially if you go top, you'll need mobility. This gives you mobility.

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POTENTIALLY GOOD OPTIONS
These have situational promise, but shouldn't be relied on in every game.


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BAD OPTIONS
Just... no. Don't get these. Ever.

  • Thornmail - You don't need to tank this hard. Ever. You're not Rammus.
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  • Archangel's Staff - MORDEKAISER LAUGHS AT THE IDEA OF AN ITEM THAT SCALES OFF OF PUNY MANA.
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  • Frozen Mallet - Rylai's Crystal Scepter is a much, much better choice.
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  • Frozen Heart - The mana is totally wasted, and you shouldn't need armor that badly.
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  • Wriggle's Lantern - I saw a Morde get this once. It was funny, but also kind of pathetic.
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  • zeke's herald - The attack speed and lifesteal are wasted on you.
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  • Any AD/Attack Speed Item - Seriously, AD Morde is just not worth it.
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Game Phase Guide

SUMMONER'S RIFT



Here's how Morde's early game works. Step one, click this. Step two, go to your lane. Doesn't matter which lane you go to, the same principles apply. Step three, OWN YOUR F*CKING LANE. There is very, very little than can stand against Morde's pure, unfiltered harassment and fewer still than can win a lane against him without jungle ganks. You are a big, mean son of a b*tch and these cocky sh*tstains that dare walk into your lane had better have balls the size of Olaf the f*cking Crushinator to go toe to toe with you and withstand your scrotum-smashing fury. Siphon them when you need shield. Siphon them when they last hit. Siphon them when they harass you. Siphon them when their computer is running above -12 frames per second. Siphon them when Lars Ulrich acts like a douche. Siphon them when Bono announces that his farts cure cancer. What I'm trying to say is SIPHON THE SH*T OUT OF THEM FOR CHRIST'S F*CKING SAKES.

This is where the Olaf principle comes into effect. You need to be the scariest motherf*cker that exists, but you also need to be careful. A Morde that goes 2-5 in lane is about as scary as a wet napkin. Or Vayne. NICE NERFS, TWIHARD, HAVE FUN NOT KILLING ANYTHING NOW. Keep in mind you will be pushing the ever-loving sh*t out of your lane. Your jungler won't be able to gank for you and their jungler will have their sights set on your lane. Get wards if you get ganked once, never let it happen again. Play it safe if it's a close lane, just Siphon them in the balls and walk away, rinse and repeat. Morde's power is in his farming, but farming won't make up for getting your *** beat in lane, since those deaths will affect your whole team, unlike your 400+ CS.

Oh yeah, take your jungler's wraiths, too. And your enemy's wraiths. All the f*cking time. Just ask your jungler first so you don't look like a prick.

In mid game, Morde is a crazy powerful pusher and farmer. His Siphon damages annihilates creep waves, jungle camps and buffs alike, so farm hard and then FARM HARDER GOD D*MNIT. You'll be best served either roaming to help other lanes or pushing one all the way to hell, but don't ignore teamfights, because your farm should give you a heavy gold/level advantage, even if you died a couple times in lane. Your ult turns the tides of teamfights, so try to be at every one and always try to focus their carries as much as possible. Even a losing game can be made into a win if you can use their own fed carry against them. It's not as important as it is in the late game, but it's still really god d*mn important.

Late game is the part where everyone and their uncle can farm well because minions scale horribly (except for OP purple caster minions) so farming isn't as important as kills now. Besides, you should already heavily outfarm everyone else in the game by the time it hits late game, so you shouldn't NEED the farm. But take it anyway. Why? Because you're f*cking Mordekaiser, that's why.

What's more important is your presence in teamfights. With little to no CC, you're the damage dealer. Your strong suit is AOE, but you still want to focus down single targets (like, I dunno, their carries) who crumble like saltines in the mighty fist of the world's greatest stress-ball crusher. Regardless of who they are or what overextended metaphor best describes your squishiness, your primary target should always be whoever does the most damage from autoattacks, followed by whoever does the most damage from abilities, followed by the next biggest damage dealer, followed by whoever is the ugliest, followed by Rammus. Seriously. Never focus Rammus. Your ulting priority should always be on the autoattacker first because of the power of the ghost it gives you. This sh*t is game changing right here.

I'm not kidding.

Your ult is srs bsns.

I played a game awhile back where I went bot as Morde with a friend who was playing Yorick because we're a*sholes. We were stupid morons and fed the **** out of their Kog'Maw, and they ended up taking Baron uncontested. Twice. We were getting seriously f*cked, but every time we went into a teamfight I ran into the fray, ult-ignited that godd*mn Kog and murdered him as quickly as possible. Not only did I save my own life once when the ghost came out of nowhere and killed the 2 people about to kill me, we actually barely won the teamfight after they got the second Baron because once I killed Kog I immediately turned his ghost on their quasi-fed Karthus and melted him down, too. With them gone (after their annoying death passives ended cause those guys were a*sholes too) we ran right down mid and crushed their towers for the win just as their team was respawning. With no Baron. That's the power of focusing, people.

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DOMINION



Morde is sort of a "jack of all trades, master of none" in Dominion. The lack of sh*t-tons of minions to get shield from and any sort of advantage gained by farming makes him a bit weaker than he is in Summoner's Rift, but he can still hold his own pretty well if you can handle him well in fights and know how to best use his abilities in the unique situations Dominion presents. Using him well here takes a bit more practice, but it's very rewarding because of all the squishy melee AD carries ready to be turned into stabby, shooty ghosts of pain and agony.

"Top lane" generally refers to the top three points; the Windmill, the Drill and the Refinery. Pretty much every game starts with a big 4v4 at the Windmill for control, and Morde's low movement speed means he's probably going to be last to the fight or near it. That's good because you're likely not the first to be focused, but it's bad because you're coming into a situation where your allies are likely already hurting and you may already be at a disadvantage.

That said, Morde excels at sustaining against a single opponent and can even do well against 2 underneath an allied point, making him strong for defending a point when built tanky. As an AP caster he can be outshadowed by a lot of melee AD carries who are borderline OP in Dominion, but his pushing power makes him like Singed in the "damned if you do, damned if you don't" sense of ignorability- focus Morde and his allies will rip you apart, but focus someone else and Morde will punch holes in your esophagus and push waves of creeps up to your towers. His lack of mobility, CC and gap closers hurts him, which is why he's best served as part-tank, part-mage, leaning more towards one or the other depending on the role he needs to fill.

Overall, your focus should be on pushing down enemy points, defending your own points while your teammates recall ( Force of Nature is great for this) and focusing the biggest threat in fights with your Ignite- Children of the Grave combo. Let someone else do the massive damage and be the one to run all around the map, since you're best suited to beating the sh*t out of whatever's directly in front of you.

"Bot lane", as you might guess, refers to the bottom two points of the Crystal Scar; the Boneyard and the Quarry. In this role, Morde is a defender and a pusher only. Your job is simple but important. First, you must take and hold the enemy's bottom point. Second, you must not lose your own bottom point. No need for speed shrines or storm shields, just take their sh*t without losing your own. It's either going to be a 1v1 or a 2v1 (if they're ****s) so a bit of tankiness goes a long way, especially since a lot of the bottom laners tend to be either tanks or slow but bursty AP carries like yourself.

Treat this lane similarly to mid on Summoner's Rift, with the exception of the importance of farm. Heal-baiting is important in fights that tend to break even, and you need to prioritize damage or health, depending on which best counters your enemy. For example, get damage and spellvamp against Brand because a bit of mobility and common sense can take care of his combos, and get tankiness against Heimerdinger because of his ******ed turrets and general ****holeishness. That's totally a word.
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Matchups (WORK IN PROGRESS)

THIS SECTION IS INCOMPLETE. I WILL ADD MORE MATCHUPS WHEN I HAVE THE CHANCE.



So here's the deal. Morde goes basically anywhere like Dr. Mundo with an all-access pass, which means he faces a lot of different enemies in a lot of different situations. He's pretty good all-around, but it pays to know how he does in certain matchups so you can plan accordingly.

I haven't played every matchup listed, and if I haven't played a matchup I'll say so, but I know enough about the champ to offer my opinion on how it might go. Don't take my word as law, everyone plays differently, but it should help you go in the right direction.

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THE KEY:

    After each explanation, I'll sum things up for you in case I start rambling about the plight of the common man or something and you're not sure if I meant you should play carefully or if you should shout harder so you don't die every time you can and do tower dive.
  • KICK HIS A*S.: Rock him like a hurricane. Play well and you'll crush him.
  • FARM YOUR A*S OFF/COVER YOUR A*S.: Probably a tough lane. Play safe and farm hard rather than going for kills, and only hit them with your Siphon if it hits 4 or 5 creeps at the same time, 'cause you'll probably get hit back.
  • PROTECT YOUR A*S.: Doable, yes, but very tricky. Play carefully, but know you have a chance to dominate if things go well.
  • PREPARE YOUR A*S.: You're gonna get buttf*cked. Play as carefully as you can, and know that this is where pushing and exposing yourself to damage is a really bad idea.
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    Oh yeah, there's these too.
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  • WATCH YOUR A*S.: I have absolutely no idea, seeing as I haven't faced the guy yet and barely know how he works. Play carefully, and know your limits well to compensate for what you may not know about the champ you're facing.
  • MORDEKAISERCEPTION.: MORDEKAISER HAS A GHOST OF MORDEKAISER! BUT WAIT! IT'S NOT ENOUGH! WE MUST GO DEEPER! YORICK HAS MADE A REVENANT OF MORDEKAISER'S MORDEKAISER GHOST! YORICK CAN NOW CONTROL MORDEKAISER'S MORDEKAISER'S MORDEKAISER! HOLY SHIIIIIIIIIIII- *EXPLOSION*
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    No, seriously, it pretty much doesn't matter what you build and what he builds, unless one of you is terribad or gets tons of ganks your lane is gonna be DEAD F*CKING EVEN. More even than Soraka/ Caitlyn versus Soraka/ Caitlyn, aka the most boring, passive, BORING lane IN ALL OF EXISTENCE.

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SOLO TOP:




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  • Nasus: A passive Nasus focuses on farm, which means you can abuse the balls off of him. An aggressive Nasus will farm, but won't hesitate to slam your face full of Siphoning Strike, and your lack of CC means you can't stop him from walking right up. A combination of any jungler and Wither makes his lane really dangerous, so you can crush his lane, but get wards and be careful all the same. KICK HIS A*S.
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  • Cho'Gath: Cho is hard as balls to push out of lane thanks to Carnivore and just generally being a gigantic MFing bada*s, but it's possible. His Feral Scream will wreck your **** and leave you unshielded if he wants to take a bite out of crime (or your face), so if you're low on health be really careful and stay the hell away from him, especially if he has Flash. FARM YOUR A*S OFF.
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  • Dr. Mundo: Stay behind your minions to avoid cleaver injections to your face hole and this doctor will be prescribing himself painkillers for all the hurt you'll be piling on him. Haven't tried 13 pot Morde versus 13 pot Mundo yet, but my gut (and Iron Man) tells me Morde should come out on top. KICK HIS A*S.
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  • Mordekaiser: Ganks from your jungler will basically decide the outcome of this lane. Have fun with the MORDEKAISERCEPTION.
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  • Wukong: Super annoying monkey, but General Wukong's Chinese art is about the single awesomest thing I've ever seen, so I don't hate him as much as I should. His Warrior Trickster is the worst thing about laning against him, but you spam so much that unless he pops it with perfect timing every time it's up, he's gonna be hurting. KICK HIS A*S.
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  • Warwick: Haven't gone against it, after the new jungle Warwick has been pretty absent from the game. His sustain with Hungering Strike is pretty insane, so I'd recommend caution since he has free sustain so he's got a really good chance at winning a battle of attrition. FARM YOUR A*S OFF.
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  • Garen: Thankfully I haven't had to go against Garen, 'cause I have a bad feeling I know how it'd go. Spammable move speed/silence, absolutely no ability costs, resistance and easy-mode farming means Garen is either your equal, your better or your slight inferior in every area. You farm harder, easier, but Garen's silence lasts a damn long time, meaning his bush-hugging, spin-to-win-ing antics are gonna bring the hurt down like Odin's wrath on Olaf's enemies. PREPARE YOUR A*S.
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  • Yorick: I haven't seen a Yorick in months. I know he's a crazy hard pusher/harasser with ghouls but I have no idea how hard he is to fight against. My best guess is that it's gonna be a hard d*mn lane, so prepare for the worst and hope for the best. WATCH YOUR A*S.
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  • Gangplank: YARR HARR FIDDLE DEE DEE, Q ALL YOU WANT CAUSE A PIRATE IS FREE. Critplank HURTS. Like, a f*cking TON. He's gonna harass the balls off of you, and since it's a single-target like Zilean's Time Bomb, if he's in range to cast it, assume it's coming. This lane's gonna f*cking hurt. A whole lot. The bright side is oranges don't make your ult k, but it will cleanse away your Ignite. PREPARE YOUR A*S.
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  • Riven: She's dashier than dashy, which means you need to keep your distance if you're low on health because she'll dominate you, especially if she's got her ult (which is basically a cone of Garen's ult). That said, if you keep her away by making it hurt to get close, you should be just fine. FARM YOUR A*S OFF.
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  • Renekton: He needs to dash up to you to hurt you, so if you've got good reflexes and can Siphon him before he reaches you, you'll probably be ok. Know that if you try to 1v1 him he'll be scary, but if it comes down to harassment, you've got him licked. Yeah, lick that gator, you f*ckin' dirty girl... Ahem. FARM YOUR A*S OFF.
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  • Galio: Galio's a hard poking champ, so he's gonna be hard to deal with, especially since he's strongest with an absolutely massive amount of magic resist. What this means is don't expect to harass him to death easily early game, really be careful when he hits 6 and never ever ever ever focus him late-game ever. Besides his Resolute Smite his harass blows, but Bulwark will really make him hard to hurt once he gets the mana regen to sustain himself. FARM YOUR A*S OFF.
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  • Sion: FFFFFF HATE YOU SO MUCH YOU UGLY ZOMBIE D*CK MAGNET. Be really, really careful around Sion, he doesn't have to focus on farming like Nasus or Veigar, and the dude harasses and shields like a MOTHERF*CKER. If he goes AD you need to be afraid of his post-6 because of his ultimate's lifesteal, but if he goes AP you need to be afraid of his stun and shield cause that sh*t's gonna HURT. Seriously, Sion is a f*cking butt pirate. PREPARE YOUR A*S.
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  • Vladimir: Health-based AP versus health-based AP? Your shield lets you take more damage, but Vlad does have Transfusion to keep him nice and sustained, which gives him a leg up. Ignite/Ult use and harassment will be the deciding factor in this lane, since Sanguine Pool makes ganks crazy hard to pull off. PROTECT YOUR A*S.
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  • Fiora: Haven't tried it, but it doesn't look good for Morde. Riposte will make your Mace kinda pointless, which leaves you with Siphon and Creeping Death to harass her with. In this situation, I'd recommend maxing Creeping Death second because of that, and being really careful when she pops Burst of Speed. The lack of CC on both sides makes this a purely burst/sustain war, and without pots/spell vamp you're gonna take it pretty hard from your own health costs as time goes by. FARM YOUR A*S OFF.
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  • Olaf: Just going on my experience in playing both champs, I'd say you have the advantage until Olaf gets his Wriggle's Lantern, at which point you wanna stay the hell away from him because he'll shout so loud his true damage will tear right through your armor. The problem with not having any CC to help with jungle ganks is that he's pretty much guaranteed to never get ganked past 6 unless he only had 1 bar to begin with. I haven't tested it, but it seems like it'd be an even lane, with the advantage skewing towards Olaf as time goes on. PROTECT YOUR A*S.
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  • Malphite: Malphite's early CC is pretty strong and makes any sort of melee harassment impossible, but his only real early defense comes from his passive and any defensive runes/items he's gotten before coming to lane. Post-6 you need to watch for ganks or his ultimate, but you shouldn't have too big a problem dealing with him or pushing him to his turret and keeping him there. KICK HIS A*S.
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  • Nunu & Willump: SO F*CKING ANNOYING. His Ice Blast hurts like hell and will kite you to death, Visionary basically removes the no-mana advantage you have over him and Consume keeps him alive FOREVER. Basically, you will get f*cked by this yeti. Every f*cking time. PREPARE YOUR A*S.
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  • Shen: Haven't played against him. Shen's sustain is hardest when he maxes/spams Feint and if he does that to negate a lot of your harass you may have a hard time against him. Like I said, I haven't played against him so I really have no idea. WATCH YOUR A*S.
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  • Tryndamere: Pre-6, you can abuse the balls off of him, but post-6 his ult makes him a real b*stard to deal with. Try waiting for his ult to run down before popping your ult on him, if you're lucky not even Bloodlust will give him enough health to survive. KICK HIS A*S, BUT THEN FARM YOUR A*S OFF.
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  • Udyr: Haven't tried it, but he runs on mana and is easier to kite than pretty much anyone in the game. Keep him at arm's length with Siphons and Creeping Death and you should be fine, but watch out for Blazing Stampede, it probably means a gank is coming. KICK HIS A*S.
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  • Singed: A Singed that spams poison or Fling early is a Singed that doesn't like having mana, so you should be okay. That said, his CC will crush you if you're over-extended and he wants you to not live anymore (especially if a jungler is involved). FARM YOUR A*S OFF.
  • Shaco: Like Sion, this one depends on how he builds. If he's AD, keep on your toes and don't overextend or he'll punish you. If he's AP stay WAY THE HELL AWAY from the bushes, cause that sh*t'll f*ck you up. PROTECT YOUR A*S.

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SOLO MID:




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  • Morgana: Know how Morg is crazy OP spellvamp ez mode and gets free farm from pressing W? Morde can press E and completely crush Morgana. Sure, it's not easy because she's such a hard pusher and has serious sustain to help her hard push harder, but Mordekaiser hard pushes HARDERERER...ER. Play well and the only thing you'll have to worry about are jungler ganks. KICK HER A*S.
    I have a video of me playing against a Morgana, watch the video in the next section to see how to deal with her. Hint: it involves murdering her face off.
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  • Kassadin: Haven't tried this as much as I'd like to, but I've gone vs Kass as a lot of other AP mids. Like most AP carries, Mordekaiser isn't fond of Kassassinadin. The guy keeps you from casting long enough to get all up ins and rock you like a hurricane, which is far from fun. Guaranteed to be a hard lane if he gets feisty, and he usually does. PREPARE YOUR A*S.
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  • Veigar: HAHAHAHAHAHA, PUNY WIZARD. YOUR LATE GAME MAY BE TERRIFYING BUT YOUR EARLY GAME IS WEAKER THAN A CAGE FULL OF EFFEMINATE DUNGEONS-AND-DRAGONS-PLAYING AMPUTEES GOING THROUGH CHEMOTHERAPY WHILE STRUGGLING WITH A WEAK IMMUNE SYSTEM. I'M SAYING YOU'RE WEAK. KICK HIS A*S.
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  • Brand: Given that Dyrus got a double kill against a Brand using the legendary 13-pot opening, I'd say it's pretty legit. That said, Brand's got some burst on him, so ye of lesser skill should keep your eyes peeled for junglers. Fortunately, if Brand spams without blue he's gonna have a ton of fun autoattacking everything and then dying. KICK HIS A*S.
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  • Mordekaiser: Take your wraiths, get ganks from your jungler. Don't, and it's MORDEKAISERCEPTION.
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  • Lux: Will be added soon.
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  • Anivia: Articuno is squishier than hell, but she zones really, really hard. Push the lane to keep your shield up and harass when you can do it without getting icicles in the nuts, but never ever ever ever dive her under her turret. Dat passive. FARM YOUR A*S OFF.
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  • Ryze: Will be added soon.
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  • Malzahar: Will be added soon.
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  • Karthus: Get Boots so you can run around like a dirty b*stard and harass the balls off of him. Karth is one of the squishiest champs EVER MADE EVER. KICK HIS A*S.
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  • Cassiopeia: Will be added soon.
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  • Ahri: Will be added soon.
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  • Swain: Will be added soon.
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  • Ziggs: The biggest thing about Ziggs is that he's got insane zoning power, so if he's good at his skillshots, he can really, really put the hurt on you. His ult also means you're probably not gonna escape a fight unless you barely lose any health or you outright kill him. COVER YOUR A*S.
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  • Talon: Talon's dash is like Garen's Decisive Strike, which means you're gonna have the f*cking pain brought down upon you. Pray to whatever god you believe in to make it through this one. PREPARE YOUR A*S.
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  • Pantheon: If you let him, his combo will murderate you. Ganks from your jungler and a good mix of aggression and defense will win you this lane, but don't think it'll be easy. PROTECT YOUR A*S.
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  • Tryndamere: See "Solo Top". The only difference in mid is that you have wraiths waiting to be farmed, so FARM YOUR A*S OFF.
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  • Galio: See "Solo Top". FARM YOUR A*S OFF.

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DUO BOT:




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  • Caitlyn: THOSE TRAPS SO OP NEEDS NERF AMG. Seriously, Cait's a pain in the balls. And not just 'cause of traps. Her range is absurd, her Piltover Peacemaker hurts bad and her passive lets her poke your shield down like it doesn't even exist. While you can push her to her tower because you're god d*mn Mordekaiser, don't expect it to be easy. FARM YOUR A*S OFF.
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  • Sona: Her auras got nerfed with Soraka's everything, so the only thing to REALLY worry about besides her heal is who she's laning with and whether or not she's building AD/crit carry instead of support like a normal human being. Refer to the AD carry she's with for how you should behave, and just assume the carry has free bonus health from Sona. Alone, however, you can easily KICK HER A*S.
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  • Soraka: Get ready for the most boring lane EVER. Soraka is the definition of stale, and the reason a lot of people think support is the worst role in the game when it's probably the most influential (besides whatever role Morde is playing). That said, her silence is the only thing to worry about besides punching through all of that burst heal. KICK HER A*S.
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  • Graves: Buckshot brings some pain, but alone you can probably handle Graves as long as you don't have a minor stroke during the fights. His damage early on comes from his abilities. KICK HIS A*S.
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  • Sivir: Will be added soon.
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  • Alistar: The problem with Ali is he's the anti-initiator. His heal won't completely deny your harass, but give him time and it won't even matter. His CC makes attacking the carry painful and pointless, and also makes jungle ganks laughable. Coupled with another heavy-CC champ like Blitzcrank or Nautilus, you're gonna find yourself in a kill lane. Depending on who he's laning with, FARM YOUR A*S OFF OR PREPARE YOUR A*S.
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  • Teemo: Will be added soon.
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  • Nunu & Willump: See "Solo Top". Cliff's Notes: You're gonna get f*cked. PREPARE YOUR A*S.
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  • Zilean: FFFFFFFFFF THOSE F*CKING BOMBS AMG ZILEAN SO OP NERF THAT ANGRY-A*S OLD MAN. His harass is insane and his ultimate will really screw yours up if you're not paying attention to who's got his free Guardian Angel. He's not your number-one predator, but the old man is ********ED ANNOYING. COVER YOUR A*S.
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  • Taric: Will be added soon.
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  • Ashe: HOLY F*CKING WINTERFEST, BATMAN. Those slows will kite you forever if you get caught with too far to run back to your turret. The CC from Enchanted Crystal Arrow and Frost Shot combined will pretty much ruin your day unless you have a bottom lane partner who can keep the heat off of you. If not, you're pretty much boned. Depending on the help you receive, FARM YOUR A*S OFF OR PREPARE YOUR A*S.
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  • Ezreal: Will be added soon.
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  • Vayne: LOL the Twihard got some major nerfs and now nobody plays her. Her stun's pretty ******ed but otherwise she's only a threat late game. KICK HER A*S.
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  • Kog'Maw: Will be added soon.
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  • Blitzcrank: Will be added soon.
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  • Nautilus: Will be added soon.

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JUNGLERS:




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    If you're really ballsy, you can invade your enemy's jungle, which means it'd be a good idea to know how to measure up to some common junglers. That's what this section is for.
  • Lee Sin: Will be added soon.
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  • Rammus: Rammus ganks are terrifying, yes, but his jungle is incredibly easy to interrupt and you don't do enough AD damage to make him a real threat. The best he could do is taunt you, DBC, do a bit of damage and then run away. KICK HIS A*S.
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  • Malphite: Similarly to Rammus, Malphite is a pretty easy jungler to fight 1v1, but if he has a lot of armor his Ground Slam melts health bars. He's got a lot of debuffs, so don't fight him unless you're sure you can win, seeing as you probably won't escape. KICK HIS A*S.
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  • Fiddlesticks: If he runs into you in his jungle, he'll CC the **** out of you and then Bountiful Harvest your CC-less face off, which is bad already. If it's warded, he can ult on you and really ruin your day. Only counter-jungle while he's clearly far the hell away, and turn and burn if he goes MIA. It's just not worth the effort. COVER YOUR A*S.
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  • Nocturne: Will be added soon.
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  • Udyr: Will be added soon.
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  • Amumu: Will be added soon.
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  • Shaco: Will be added soon.
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  • Nunu & Willump: Remember solo top? In case you forgot or erased it from your mind due to the sheer trauma, Nunu will take his yeti's d*ck and shove it in all kinds of places you don't want it to go, and there's really not a damn thing you can do about it. No chance to win a fight, no chance to escape. Just don't do it. PREPARE YOUR A*S.
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  • Fiora: Will be added soon.
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  • Master Yi: Will be added soon.
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  • Skarner: Will be added soon.
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  • Maokai: Will be added soon.
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  • Jarvan IV: Will be added soon.
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  • Xin Zhao: Will be added soon.

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DOMINION:




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    This list covers both top capturers and bottom defenders because a good Morde can play both of those roles pretty well.
  • Heimerdinger: THAT GOD D*MN CC. Heimer's a crazy strong bottom defender, so if you're stuck with him, learn to keep your distance and don't expect to take his point without help, just focus on keeping him from your point. COVER YOUR A*S.
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  • Swain: His ult makes him a gigantic pain in the a*s to fight, so your odds aren't great, even with ignite. I've gone against him on bot and we ended up trading kills constantly, but I got maimed if anyone else came down with him. An early Negatron Cloak will probably be your new best friend. PROTECT YOUR A*S.
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  • Karthus: Not a huge threat alone unless you're fighting under his point (which you should never ever do), but if he goes top, expect some pain-bringing coming from him. KICK HIS A*S.
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  • Poppy: Dat Poopy is pretty god d*mn ridiculous in Dominion. Her stun only works if she hits you into a wall, so be really careful in the fog of war, because pretty much any angle equates to a stun in there. Get her without something to push you into and you have a chance, but keep in mind she'll still do some pretty insane burst. Your ult and shield will probably be what saves your life against her. PROTECT YOUR A*S.
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  • Pantheon: Mantheon carries games in Dominion, he's the champ I play when I want to murder everything, especially if accompanied by some Mantheon-worthy tunes. His Aegis of Zeonia-> Heartseeker Strike-> Spear Throw combo rapes health bars and his Aegis Protection nullifies your mace, so don't expect to massacre him easily, and don't 1v1 him unless you've got the advantage somehow (health, point turret, ult, etc). COVER YOUR A*S.
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  • Gangplank: Dr. Glock is absolutely vicious in Dominion, and built crit/lifesteal he basically crushinates anyone he sees with a yo-ho-ho and a FIFTY BILLION DAMAGE IN ONE PARRRLEY WHAT THE F*CK CRIT SO BROKEN PLS NERF RIOT and then you're dead before you know it. Only bright side is his oranges don't make your ult K, but he lifesteals so hard as Critplank that it probably won't matter. Long story short, PREPARE YOUR A*S.
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  • Vayne: Like Poopy, Vayne's Condemn in such enclosed spaces is part of what makes her pretty ridiculously strong in Dominion. Killable, yes, especially after all the nerfs (SUCK IT TWIHARD) but not easily. COVER YOUR A*S.
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  • Shaco: AD Shaco hurts like a ***** like most melee AD champs on Dominion, and AP Shaco is a huge pain with his boxes and shivs. Either way, the twiggy little sh*t is gonna make you have a bad day, so COVER YOUR A*S.
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  • Teemo: FFFFFFF SO ANNOYING BAN FROM THE GAME ENTIRELY WHAT A D*UCHEBAG. Seriously, I've played AP Teemo in Dominion, and the only reason I didn't enjoy it as much as I should have is because I felt like the world's most gigantic ****bag the entire time. Literally everything in his arsenal makes Teemo annoying, but that's all he is unless he gets crazy fed- annoying. KICK HIS A*S.
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  • Volibear: OH HEY Y'ALL, IT'S VAWLUHBAYUHR! This guy is crazy hard to push off of a point and all of his health means you won't be putting the hurt on him very easily. The upside is that you can ult him for truckloads of health to survive fights, but that does limit the damage you can bring to everyone else. Either way, he's hard to kill but doesn't do crazy tons of damage on his own, so make sure the odds are in your favor and then KICK HIS A*S.
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  • Xin Zhao: Get careless, and Xin will BE A MAN all over your poor, stabbable face, but without attack speed he's pretty easy to deal with. Once he gets attack speed, though, don't start a fight with him unless you're sure you can win. COVER YOUR A*S.
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Videos

I don't actually have any videos recorded of myself playing Morde yet, and as of writing this I still have to do one for Zilean for my support guide, but know I'm going to try to get them both up as soon as possible.

VIDEO'S UP, BRO.

Our Pantheon got absolutely murdered on top (not gonna lie, he's my friend but the dude cannot play Mantheon for sh*t) and we were gonna surrender until a certain giant metal bada*s started getting some legit ghosts and making some legit plays and just generally c*ckslapping everyone like a good Morde does. This is why you farm. THIS IS WHY YOU FARM.

If you're trying to learn something, pay close attention to how I deal with Morgana's spell vamp and srs bsns Dark Binding damage with good positioning, shield use and just generally staring down the jungler and making him run away like a fuzzy-wuzzy little puppy.


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Respect The Metal

LISTEN UP, SCRUBS.



MORDEKAISER AIN'T NO CHUMP.

He doesn't listen to that prissy "Everytime We Touch" bullsh*t some of you weeaboos and softies laughably think is music. He'd rather choke himself by shoving his mace up his super-hardcore an*s until it came out his mouth than listen to that commercialized, autotuned horse sh*t.

Mordekaiser listens to MUSIC.

And so will you.

Respect the metal. Listen to Lady Gaga while playing Mordekaiser and you will utterly fail as a summoner, as a Mordekaiser player, as a human and as a sentient being. It's true.

For those of you unfamiliar with the inner workings of the great beast known as Metal, I have procured a list (complete with links being added as I go) of songs that are not only acceptable for Mordekaiser play, but are recommended. You are free to find your own as long as it's not sung by someone with a v*gina (Angela Gossow excluded, Justin Bieber included). Insane Clown Posse is also off-limits. Mordekaiser is not a juggalo. Go outside and experience the miracle of open air. F*ckin' sobriety, how does it work?

Also, don't put too much Slipknot in your playlist. It's okay to have some, their music isn't bad, but if they're your favorite band, just... *sigh* you have so much to learn about good music.

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BEHOLD THE LIST.



Artist first, song second.

Every one of these songs comes from my personal A*skicking Music playlist. Don't hate. The links might not all be there by the time I publish this but chillax, they'll be there soon.

Also, for the sake of space I'm leaving it at one song per artist (mostly), but odds are the rest of their **** is really good, too.



Suggest a song to me in a comment (preferably accompanied by a +1) and I'll consider putting it in the list. There's some I don't know well enough (such as Opeth and Kiss) to make a good suggestion.
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Question & Answer

This is the part where I answer any burning questions you may potentially have, so you can possibly figure out where you're going wrong. If you have a question I haven't answered in this guide or this second, don't hesitate to post a comment or send me a PM. If it's really important, I'll even add it to this section of the guide.
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  • Q: I got smashed in lane... I mean, I didn't die a million times but I got completely outfarmed and outleveled. What do I do?
  • A: Farm wherever and whenever you can once you hit midgame, and grab an Abyssal Mask. It'll make your ultimate hit harder, and since it's %-health-based damage, it'll still hurt like hell even if you're behind on your item build.
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  • Q: I don't have enough CC, even with a Rylai's. What's the best option for getting more?
  • A: My suggestion would be either Hextech Gunblade if you're going offensive or Randuin's Omen if you need defense. They both give you stats you can use, but their actives are what are most important about the items.
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  • Q: 13 Pot Morde is stupid. You're stupid. Dyrus is stupid.
  • A: Whatever, I never required you to play him that way. I guess you just don't have the stones to pull it off. In all seriousness, it fits my playstyle, so if you don't like it, I'm all for trying something else.
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  • Q: Does Atreyu count as metal?
  • A: Get out.
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  • Q: But you have Bullet For My Valentine in your list.
  • A: Yeah, but that's because Waking the Demon kicks ***. Same reason there's Party Hard and Slither.
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  • Q: I get melted before I can even use my skills! Help!
  • A: If your problem is CC, grab Merc Treads. If your problem is being squishy, anything that gives AP and health or some kind of resistance is a good idea, like Rylai's Crystal Scepter, Abyssal Mask or Zhonya's Hourglass.
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  • Q: Gibe monie please?
  • A: Out.
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  • Q: Why can't Morde be played like a more harass-heavy champ like Swain without pushing his lane?
  • A: Because harassment gets you hurt, by the enemy champ or by their minions. To avoid getting wrecked by the counter-harassment and your own health costs, you need your shield. To get your shield up, you need to do damage. Therefore the most effective way to get the most out of your lane phase is to attack as much as you can and push really, really hard to force them to last hit under the tower and lose farm because of it.
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  • Q: But I hate getting ganked!
  • A: Early Boots and Flash or Ghost can solve that problem. Option 2 involves warding like crazy and using map awareness to know when a gank is coming before it actually gets to the point where you need to run or die.
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  • Q: But the jungler/support is supposed to ward.
  • A: And if they don't, your enemies will just understand and not gank you? You farm like crazy, buy wards with your money. Just calculate the cost of the item you want plus 75 gold and recall when you have that much so you can afford the item plus a ward. It's not difficult, and WARDS SAVE LIVES.
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  • Q: In your Veigar guide you hate Ryze, and in your Olaf guide you hate Sion. Who should I hate this time?
  • A: Nunu. Seriously... f*ck Nunu.
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  • Q: Do you only listen to metal?
  • A: Nope. I listen to everything from metal to chill rap to alt rock to fusion jazz to electronic to old-school stuff to classic rock to whatever the hell this is. I love my music.
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Conclusion

So there you have it. That's the end of the guide. No, seriously.

Props to JhoiJhoi (again) for being such a bawse, and if I get her to review this I hope she totally thinks this is kissa*s bribery even though it's not since she earns the praise. Look at me go, folks!

I totally forget what I usually put here...

Oh yeah.

My ingame name is FreestyleKneepad (obviously), and I can also be contacted on Steam at FreestyleKneepad. Me and my friends enjoy playing League of Legends to have fun and I enjoy recording it and putting it on YouTube. We also play Left 4 Dead 2, and I stream whatever games I feel like on my stream (which can be found at twitch.tv / bezerika14), so please subscribe to my YouTube channel (bezerika14) if that sort of thing interests you. I upload pretty frequently, so there's never really a shortage of content.

I'd like to extend my thanks to Bguggs and Condon. I'd like to thank Bguggs for teaching me to treat these sites as places to find "guides", not "builds", and for really affecting how I play the game in general, and Condon for generally being an obscene, hilarious motherf*cker and teaching me that you don't need to be completely analytical about a guide to give good information, as well as showing me the value of cracking a joke once in a damn while on one of these guides.




TL;DR: F*ck Nunu & Willump.
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Change Log / Patch Notes

CHANGE LOG




3/4/2012: Published guide.
3/19/2012: Added video, more matchups, more metal, more awesome.


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MOST RECENT MORDEKAISER PATCH




V1.0.0.131:

Iron Man (Passive) shield amount increased to 35% from 30%
Siphon of Destruction damage increased to 70/115/160/205/250 from 65/105/145/185/225.


The big deal here is the Iron Man buff. This is what made Morde popular again. The difference is gigantic, it's the difference between dying and barely surviving in many instances. The addition of the Siphon buff just made things even better.
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