"Fear is confusion, pain is clarity."

- Mordekaiser

Mordekaiser is a being of pure, living agony on a mysterious dread quest. It is said that he was the first of the undead, existing before the Shadow Isles were a whispered threat. His true name and past lost to history, Mordekaiser is feared for his grim manipulation of pain –both his own, and that of others. Anguish fuels and sustains him, serving as his last connection to life, as well as his most effective weapon. In his enigmatic hunt, he's proven no one is safe, for even the most courageous souls have surrendered their secrets in his grasp.

One girl witnessed and survived an encounter with pain's paladin. Late one night, the young mage-in-training was awoken by the sound of her master's tortured screams. Overcoming her fear, she charged into the library to find it a shattered ruin. There, she saw a hulking figure clad in a suit of armor that seemed fused to his body. It was clear the grim intruder was looking for something, and was displeased with the results. At the center of the once-majestic chamber, the armored fiend clutched her teacher's broken form. She overheard her master's final words – that he would die before he would give up his secrets. Mordekaiser laughed and said that even death was no escape, then snapped the master's neck with a sharp crack. Moments later, the horrified girl witnessed her master's spirit torn from his body. As if under some dark compulsion, the shade began to reveal all to his torturer and executioner. The girl fled, living to tell her story – should Mordekaiser come for you, even death itself will not keep you from his iron reach..

Hello and welcome to my Mordekaiser guide! I first taken an interest to him from watching a Mordekaiser game by Dyrus;you can watch it here -> THIS IS WHY YOU GO 13 HEALTH POTS ON MORDEKAISER
I've never really taken the 'pet' concept in the game well until I decided to give Mordekaiser a try ; I'd never have thought I'd have gotten hooked to this very unique champion.
Do you want to dominate the game with Mordekaiser,turning 5v5 teamfights into 6v4s?
Do you wish to break the record for creep kills despite being a really bad farmer?
Then read on!

Mordekaiser is not OP,despite what other players whine about when they get trashed in a 2v1 and you walk away with a double kill.
Mordekaiser actually is pretty balanced out,his shield is pretty much his only survival tool not counting his W, Creeping Death,which often isn't very reliable. I'm not saying that it isn't useful,the 10 armor and magic resist you get in a level 1 W is pretty nice but you cannot always trust it to be up in a fight.(For example you use it to save a dying AD carry).
Mordekaiser is perhaps one of the most item dependent champions in the game,there are a few items he MUST get to even compensate his health drain when using his skills,so it is fortunate,no not fortunate,balanced,that he is one of the better farmers in game as well.



Pros
-Great farmer!
-Great pusher!
-One of the more interesting ultimates in the game


Cons
-Melee AP champion..
-Regularly get screamed at for being OP
-Incredibly weak early game
-VERY dependent on core build
-Little survivability.

Iron Man Morde's passive.He gains a shield equal to 35% of the damage he deals with his ability.The more targets he hits with his skills,the faster this ability will charge up.It decays at 3% per second,which means a full shield,no matter what your level,will fully decay in 33 seconds.
Mordekaiser's Q, Mace of Spades allows his next autoattack to hit harder.It will also affect up to 3 additional targets near his target,dealing additional damage.
His W, Creeping Death is an active ability that gives you additional armor and magic resist,making you more tanky. This can be cast on an ally.. Alt+W will allow you to cast it on yourself quickly.
His E, Siphon of Destruction,hits all enemies in a cone.The more enemies you hit,the more damage you do and the quicker your shield is charged.

His ultimate, Children of the Grave,is one of the more unique abilities in the game.It is an effect ability that drains a percentage of your targets maximum health per second.If your target dies while your ultimate is active,his ghost is enslaved and you gain a percentage of his stats!There are a number of uses for this ghost.You can use it to tank turret shots,or to tank jungle creeps,or just as an additional source of damage against your enemies.

Runes are actually pretty important in the game.I used to think that with skill,runes are unnecessary because they only do so much,and can be overcome by skill (except champions like Akali,who really require unique runes to 'work).I know there are others out there who think like me and rather rely on skill and experience to win the game but in a game like League of Legends that can change within heartbeats you need every bit of an edge you can get.

For marks,I take the standard Greater Mark of Magic Penetration almost every AP caster takes.More magic penetration = more damage done,and a champion like Mordekaiser needs every extra bit of damage he can do to charge his shield.

For seals,I take Greater Seal of Armor for more survivability.These seals are actually the standard for almost every champion to take because currently they ARE the best. You will be bringing (9*1.41=12.69) extra armor to the battlefield. Thats 2/3rds of a Cloth Armor!

For glyphs its a toss up between greater glyphs of magic resist and greater glyphs of scaling magic resist. You can even mix these up if you like!What I prefer are the greater glyphs of magic resist though because the early mr helps trades in the current game meta (normally against another AP carry in mid)

For Quints I take Greater Quintessence of Ability Power, the extra 15 ability power goes a long way to helping you tide over your difficult (very) early game.All AP casters take this!

I don't want to talk about this in depth because new masteries are coming up in season 3,you can actually mess around with the masteries in the game a little yourself to see which works for you,but I recommend that you go 21 points into the Offence tree,using the Ability Power route(of course).You could go 9 points into the Defence tree,taking the armor and magic resist for more..survivability.

Mordekaiser sucks at dueling(1v1) without decent items,so don't try it! You should start off the laning phase in a very passive manner.Take a point into your E, Siphon of Destruction at the start of the game.This is pretty much non-negotiable,unless you're laning with another melee AP carry,(for example, Evelynn which is actually pretty uncommon nowadays,which you may choose to add your Q first, Mace of Spades and smash it into her face.Otherwise,be good and put a point into your E.

I start with Boots and 3 Health Potion.Why,you ask? You have a chance of kiting your opponent if they do not bring boots,and the health potions can help keep your health up until you get your Hextech Revolver.

You can gradually get more offensive as you gain levels,you can try to hit your laning rival with your E while also hitting as many creeps as you can,because you know.You need to charge up your passive shield, Iron Man. 35% of whatever damage you deal with your abilities is 'converted' into your shield,which means the more creeps you hit,the faster you can charge your shield.This is also why I recommend you take a point in your Siphon of Destruction at your spawn.

Mordekaiser's actions are insanely limited if he does not has his shield up. Keep this in mind when you play as or against him.

Once you hit level 2,you should decide if you want to put a point into your W, Creeping Death or your E, Siphon of Destruction. I normally decide this depending on how smoothly my laning is going.If you have been harassed to such an extent you decide it is unsafe to trade anymore with your laning rival,you can put a point into your W. You can actually activate it on a minion from afar and hope it gets you some cs. Stay back,pop a health potion,level up then go back to pushing the lane with your Q and E.

You should go back to base only after you push the lane,for Morde this usually takes only a Q and E combo.Get your Hextech Revolver,this will afford you some extra ease spamming your skills to keep the lane pushed.As Mordekaiser,you'd have to keep your shield up most of the time,and this involves hitting creeps with your skills.

Any damage done to creep waves that are not strictly last hits will push the lane.

You should take some wraiths occasionally for more farm because you are Mordekaiser,and mordekaiser is very,very,very farm dependent.Of course,do this only with your junglers consent,or when he's ganking another lane.Wraiths respawn once in 40 seconds,which means by the time he gets back they've probably respawned and he won't miss them.

Your champion NEEDS a Hextech Revolver,and fast.As you put more points into your skills they will require more and more health to cast,with some spell vamp you can keep both your health and shield up.I do not believe in game meta personally,and love to experiment with different builds on champions,but with Mordekaiser,you simply NEED spell vamp.What's more,your passive requires you to constantly hit many creeps with your skills,this synergizes PERFECTLY with spell vamp.The more damage you do,the more health you have,the longer you can keep your shield charged.Hurray!

Next trip back home you should ideally have built a Sorcerer's Shoes,the additional magic penetration gives you more damage,and I've explained the much good that brings you.

Build your Hextech Revolver into a Will of the Ancients,this will be your first major item.You NEED spell vamp as Mordekaiser,I simply cannot stress this enough.With the spellvamp you will be granted incredible survivability in a fight,especially when you cast your ultimate Children of the Grave on an enemy champion.

Next item you MUST take is Rylai's Crystal Scepter.This,and Will of the Ancients are the 2 most essential items you need as Mordekaiser.You should keep farming until these 2 are up,and from then you can decide what your next course of action will be. Why Rylai's? As I said, Mordekaiser is not at all overpowered.When his passive shield is down,and there WILL be moments you get caught by more than one enemy champion without it (it decays an extravagant 3% per second,bloody hell!), you most probably will die. Rylais give us the additional 500 health for more tankiness,and 80 AP which helps you do more damage,damage damage.But the most noteworthy reason we take Rylai's is that it offers us crowd control! Yay! Mordekaiser has NO crowd control and that is one of his weaknesses to make him balanced.With this baby,you will be slowing entire enemy teams by a hefty 15% in movement speed.This has a lot of use,including chasing fleeing enemies,helping your dying teammates to escape while you continue to damage and slow the enemy team..The possibilities are endless.

These 2 items are Mordekaiser's core build,the rest of the items you can build accordingly to the enemy team. Pesky enemy Katarina fed? Get an Abyssal Mask. Need more help bursting down that tanky Malphite? Get Deathfire Grasp. Need more armor? Think Zhonya's Hourglass Already stomping the enemy team,and just waiting for that sweet,sweet pentakill? Rush a Rabadon's Deathcap.

For summoner spells,I normally take Heal and Flash.
I take Heal to help Mordekaiser tide over his difficult early game,the heal can often help you win duels and teamfights because of the extra health it grants your teammates as well. Heal has helped me win fights taking down the enemy carry with their entire team focusing me.The little bit of extra health is sometimes crucial to your success.I take Flash because of the utility it provides.You can use Flash to escape,jump walls,get better positioning,dodge skillshots..Everybody takes flash.

You could choose to take Ignite replacing Heal as a spell,it adds a few ticks of damage to your burst and you could even take down people from maybe 30% health using just your ultimate Children of the Grave and Ignite but this requires practice and experience in the game.I personally prefer Heal but play your Mordekaiser your style,man!

Go E, Siphon of Destruction first.This helps you charge your shield up quickly.
If you are coming out on top from trades,get Q, Mace of Spades.If not,get W Creeping Death This is mostly up to personal preference.
Try to max your Siphon of Destruction quickly if you plan on farming for a whole chunk of the game. If you have a tendency to roam and help other lanes,try to distribute your Q and E evenly.
Normally I do not put points into Creeping Death that much,I put a point in it early and max it last.As Mordekaiser,you are all about keeping your damage up.You don't need the extra survivability if you kill an enemy champion with a combo or two.

Try to stand just slightly in front of the enemy melee creeps if possible,so your E hits the melee creeps and the caster creeps together.This charges your shield quickly.If you're lucky you could even hit an enemy champion with it.Hey,more shield,more harass!

More information and pictures will be included at a later date.

In teamfights as Mordekaiser,you will still be using the same concept as laning - to hit as many targets as possible.Except this time,you do not plainly walk up to them and Mace of Spades them in the face.You WILL die,and quickly if you're focused. Mordekaiser is not a tank and never will be.Wait for your tank to initiate,and when he does react quickly.

Cast your ultimate, Children of the Grave preferably on the enemy AD carry,everyone should be focusing him if your team knows what they're doing.If he dies,great!You've turned a 5v5 fight into a 6v4,with their main source of damage on your side.Of course,since this is entirely game-changing,it will not be easy to do.Their team could burst you down knowing how much of a threat you are to them alive,with their AD carry's ghost as your pet.If this is accomplished there is a high chance of a pentakill. In certain situations the enemy team will decide to focus you instead of your AD carry if you are enough of a threat to them.Despite this,don't be afraid to Flash in and ult their AD carry!Burst him down quickly,this is when Zhonya's Hourglass will come in handy.Activate it if you're being focused.Good teams will do this to bring down you and your ghost.

You could die in a matter of seconds if you're not quick about it.

As Mordekaiser,you'd want a solo lane to yourself in order to rack up the creep kills.To be successful as ,you NEED the farm.I will be compiling a list of champions you could lane against,and how to counter them.I will also rate the ease of laning against them.

Ahri
Easy
Ahri is one of the more versatile champions in the game.With her Q, Orb of Deception she can harass you easily from afar,with her returning orb dealing true damage.Luckily,as Mordekaiser you should almost always start with Boots which helps you have an easier time dodge skillshots.One thing you must watch out for is her Charm,which can get you killed by a gank from their jungler/roamer.If you're very experienced at dodging skillshots this will be an extremely easy lane for you.

Akali
Easy
Akali,like Mordekaiser,has one of the weakest early games in the League.She'd be very passive if she's any good and know what she's doing.She is also a melee champion so take advantage of this.Each time she goes in for a last hit punish her with your Siphon of Destruction.You'd be whittling away at her health and eventually she will recall,losing creep kills and experience.

Anivia
Medium
Just focus on farming.. Keep in mind her passive Rebirth when you try to burst her down for the kill.This is an incredibly passive lane and will come down to who has more creep kills,which you should have.

Annie
Medium
Again,this comes down to who has more creep kills in the end.Keep your lane pushed against her and she will lose some cs. You can also decide to let her push your lane and coordinate a gank with your jungler.Watch her passive stun, Pyromania.

Brand
Medium
With your Boots,try to dodge his skillshot Sear and aoe Pillar of Flame.Keep your shield charged against him and you should have no problem.Watch his Conflagration into Sear into Pillar of Flame combo.

Cassiopeia
Extremely Difficult
Ouch.If she's mid,take solo top.You're better off not laning against her.She is as hard as counters go ; she has amazing poke with Noxious Blast into twin fangs.The combo is extremely spammable with her passive Deadly Cadence and crest of the ancient golem .This will whittle away your health and shield as soon as you go forward to charge it up.Call for an early gank asap to shut her down.

Evelynn
Extremely easy
She's melee.Hit her with your Siphon of Destruction along with your creeps.She does not have a painful enough poke to break your shield.This lane will be a breeze.

Fiddlesticks
Extremely difficult
Annoying annoying annoying.You have no hard crowd control to interrupt his Bountiful Harvest,and his Reap and Terrify combo renders you helpless for a few seconds when he starts his drain.Pray your jungler comes in with some hard cc up,for example,cho'gaths Rupture.Get a gank on him ASAP,he falls off more and more as the game progresses.

Fizz
Medium
This is an evenly matched lane.His repositioning skills Urchin Strike and playful/trickster prevents you from hitting him much,and his poke does not do much damage to you as you probably will not have much missing health.

Gragas
Medium
Another passive lane.Focus on farming and dodging his Barrel Roll.Watch his Explosive Cask which can set you up for a gank.

Heimerdinger
Medium
The ease of this lane varies greatly on the skill of the player.If the opponent is bad he will just be free kills for you to take.If he is skilled you will be the one dying often.Try to play as passive as possible,his turrets also keep the lane pushed easily.Hit his turrets along with his creeps to charge your shield.

Karthus
Easy
Play more aggressive against him.With your Boots dodging his Lay Waste will be a breeze.Walk up to him and hit him with your Siphon of Destruction.Keep moving in between auto attacks on him to dodge his Lay Wastes.When he eventually gets tired of being hit he'd retreat to his tower.Follow him for a bit until the range between him and his caster minions is far enough,then hit him with your Mace of Spades.Continually force him to recall using this tactic and he will drop off late game.Watch out for ganks!If he is behaving in a suspicious way,(for example letting you hit him and baiting you,don't overextend!)

Kassadin
Extremely difficult
Anti-mage caster.His silence will beat the **** out of you.Since you will need to keep spamming your skills,this will let him charge his ***** cone Force Pulse.The slow will zone you in lane and he will just wreck you.Call for a gank.Switch lanes if possible.

More information about other champions will be updated at a later date

Sorry!I was so determined to get a penta to post to this guide!


Send your Mordekaiser's best scores using this build and I just might post them :]

I hope that the experience was not as excruciating to you as it was to me..
Credits to jhoijhoi's template,
A Guide To making a Guide
Tell me what you don't like about this guide if you decide to downvote it,as I mentioned,I do not believe in pre-set notions of game meta and am very open to suggestions for improvement.