One might be initially vexed by a question upon first seeing this guide, that being: who the hell plays Mordekaiser in the Jungle? Well, me. I love this champ, his clear is phenomenal, he duels incredibly well, he has solid ganks post lvl 6 and has really great objective control post-6 since you can just Ult anyone who jumps you. He farms like a Karhus, scales like a Karthus, but brawls like the juggernaut he is. Pitcure, if you will, a Karthus whom you cannot burst down. One who gets stronger the longer a fight goes on. One who deals percentage max health damage per second and moves into ganks at over 500 movespeed with 2 forms of hard CC. Mordekaiser can be a phenomenal jungler if you understand how to make it work.

PROS

- Amazing Clea - Strong Teamfighting - Hardest CC in the game (Death Realm) - Strong Chase Potential - Massive Burst and Sustained Damage - Excellent Dueling Potential

- Weak to early roams and invades - Farm Heavy - Weak Early Ganks - Vulnerable to Laner Roams - Can be Kited - Damage Falls off Hard When Behind

CONS

Mordekaiser's pathing is pretty standard. Either go Red -> Kruggs -> Raptors or go Blue -> Gromp -> Wolves. You're not really trying to clear as fast as possible, though the clear *is* pretty quick, you just want to kill everything in your way. Once I hit 3 I usually bypass my top-side in order to scout the enemy jungle. Depending on the state of the lanes this might allow for a good opportunity to jump the enemy JG during their clear and try to kill them. If they get away, clear the camp they were working on and get back to the river for scuttle, by the time you do so it should be coming up. Again, only do this with lane prio, I can't tell you how many times I've found myself in a 1v2 because I didn't heed the enemy's lane priority.





Once you finish your initial clear it's highly likely that the camps you started with will be coming up soon, so if you still need some cash feel free to rotate back down and start farming your way back up. With Blue side as the example, starting at Red you going Kruggs -> Raptors -> Wolves -> Blue -> Gromp -> Kruggs -> Raptors -> Wolves, etc. Just follow that pattern until you manage to get your first component and boots at which point you can start thinking about ganks.

There are two things you want to keep in mind as stipulations for ganking:

1. Don't gank without boots. This should be self-explanatory: no one is going to be caught out by a 10 foot tall behemoth trundling in from the river. You need speed to catch people unawares.

2. Don't gank without your first component. Whether that component is Hextech Alternator or Leeching Leer, you're gonna want the extra damage if you want to secure the kill.

You might be able to handily duel the enemy JG without a component but it's a much different story with the laners. They'll most likely be at higher HP and will gladly trade some health to get out. What I try to do is run in as much as possible to try and get them to burn a movement ability or flash, then I use my E to drag them back in.

Post-6 your ganks become a lot more straightforward: just run in and ult them 4head.

By far the most underrated part of Mordekaiser's kit is his W, Indestructible. Yeah it doesn't deal damage, grant Magic pen, or do something crazy like start a interdimensional 1v1, but it's still a great part of Morde's kit. There's a reason I put a point into this at level 2, and that's because it can really help out with your early clear. Take raptors, for instance. With how much this ability has been buffed in the past it's insanely easy to max out the shield and clear such camps while taking next to no damage.

Not only that, but it really helps in fights. You need to use it like Sett's Haymaker, waiting till your secondary resource bar is filled to pop the ability so you get as big a shield as possible (reminder that Indestructible's shield lasts a full second longer than Haymaker's). This ability alone allows you to build crazy amounts of damage on Mordekaiser without fear of being bursted down. Are you as tanky as you would be if you built tank items? No, but you're certainly on par with some bruisers, especially if you go Riftmaker into Demonic Embrace.

Mordekaiser's ultimate is one of the trickiest to use effectively in the game. Yeah anyone can run in, ult the support, and get a kill, but how is that gonna help you afterward. Supports don't build a lot of stats and lategame a lot of the power of your ultimate comes from the stats you steal from the target. Just think "who's doing really well right now / Who's the biggest threat on their team?" and then ult them. Enemy Lux dealing a lot of damage? To the Death Realm with you! Enemy Cho tanking a bunch? Weaken him first then send him to the Shadow Realm to finish him off. Enemy ADC popping off? Not for long once I get my hands on them...

This section is here to help better explain your choices in regards to the items and for me to elaborate on my personal preferences when playing Jungle Mord.

For starters, let's look at the Mythics. Rocketbelt, Riftmaker, and Night Harvester each provide the same stats so it's largely up to the Mythic Passives and the item effects to determine which you'll want to go with. Personally, I prefer Night Harvester most games. Sure Rocketbelt helps you stick onto foes better but you have to remember that you'll be rocking Predator Boots, blue smite, flash, your E, your R, and the movespeed from your passive. I simply feel like the extra dash you get from Rocketbelt is just a little redundant. As for Riftmaker, this is a much better choice and honestly just comes down to taste. Personally, I don't mind being a little squishier if it means I can chunk people during my ultimate better, but I understand that most people like to play a beefier version of Mord. In that case, Riftmaker is an excellent choice, especially since the Mythic passive is like Rocketbelt's in that it grants 5 Magic pen per legendary item. Just remember that when building so you don't go over the cap and waste gold on redundant items. Now for Night Harvester: even after being nerfed this item is still insane. You can easily take an ADC down to 20% HP with just one Q thanks to this item, it even makes your E take a decent chunk out of enemies. Not to mention the movespeed you get from its effect also lets you stick onto fools even better without the need for an active like Rocketbelt's. It's just an overall wonderful item.

For Legendaries you have your pick of the litter when it comes to damage. So, going from left to right, allow me to explain the benefits of each choice.



Nashor's Tooth is great when it comes to close quarters. Sure the extra DPS you get from the Attack Speed is nice, but what you're really here for is its passive. With this item your autos deal 15(+25% of your AP) as magic damage ON TOP OF THE FACT THAT YOUR AUTOS ALREADY DEAL 40% OF YOUR AP. Now given the fact that I like to build damage on Mord, this means that, late game, your Autos could be dealing over 200 magic damage to enemies. Pretty nutty.




Demonic Embrace is a must-buy in games where you're going to have more sustained fights. Yeah the damage from its burn is nice but what you're really building it for is the armor and magic resist that the burn gives you. It just makes it so that you are deceptively tanky in teamfights, especially if you ult something like a tank.




Rylai's kind of speaks for itself. High AP, solid HP, and a passive that makes your passive nigh inescapable without some sort of mobility spell. A much better buy than previously thanks to the higher AP, and that's about it.




Cosmic Drive is the legendary item that grants the most Ability Haste in the game. In addition it also gives you 70 AP and 200 HP. All of this synergizes amazingly well with Mord.




Lich Bane reminds me very strongly of Nashor's Tooth. Ability power? Pretty good. Bonus Movespeed? Check. Spellblade passive that synergizes well with high AP builds? Oh my God yes. Makes a great 3rd item when paired with Nashor's Tooth.




Rabadan's Deathcap is still the amazing item it's always been. It offers AP on top of AP and can be a huge powerspike lategame. Not something you'll be buying often, but a solid late item if you want it.




Zhonya's has kind of been phased out of Mord's build ever since the introduction of Demonic Embrace, but if you're still hurting for armor and someone on the enemy team is still chunking you through your shield then this can still be a solid buy.




And lastly we have Void Staff. It's not something I find myself building often because it's very easy to make redundant with the wrong Mythic, but with Night Harvester it can be a decent early-game option vs tanks.

Oh, also, Horizon Focus is surprisingly good on Mordekaiser. You'd think "but he can't proc it" but the thing is he CAN. The passive procs off of long ranged abilities AND hard CC so as long as you land your E you're getting that extra 10% damage. Very handy and the tons of ability power is nice, too.