after the nerf, i gave up on morde, after quite a few patchs, i decided to try him as a mage. and i found him to very successful. he is a close range mage that punishes people who get close or try to solo him. with full build children of the grave will be doing 70%+ making it easy to finish off 35% people. with lich blades and a singletarget mace of spades, you will be doing over 1600 damage in 1 hit on a somewhat spammable spell.

for you wonder why this works. the nerf affected the ability to gain shield, not so much damage.

the runes are set up so you get more ap and some mid game without having to recall too much to buy

start with regrowth pendant and grab a hp pot for early game. if you double top or have a jungler tell them then u get enought for the stone to back off a bit so u get that early 5gp/10sec and better hp regen. after that get your early/mid game substain, hextech revolver. and if you can get boots or start working on your will of the ancients giving a 25 ap and 25% spellvamp aura which will help win teamfights. if you have another heavy ap mage. ask them to get it for a double aura bewteen you two. after that the standard mage item, deathcap. at this point bewteen masterys and deathcap for every 20 ap u have. you will get another 7 ap. then start working on "tankiness" with rod of ages and hourglass. the finale item will be your lich blades since you get close for q might as well make it hurt plus it gives you move speed and magic resist.

you can trade the rod of ages for rylai if you want cc but dont expect much since all your abilities are considered aoe with the solo q being single.

SoD is Should be your Main weapon, its SHOULD be your main source of Shield and poking. Creeping death should be your 2nd skill to max, and lastly Mace of Spades, should be last, its really nice if you are doing 1 on 1, or need to kill off a few creeps.

the Exhaust/ignite combo works great, it slows and reduces health regen over 5 secs, making it easier to kill/get pet/or just to piss them off

cleanse can help u shake of that stupid ignite so u can get your full heal of your ultimate.

PROS
"tons of damage"
you get lots of shield
get a freaking OP ghost
[/b]
MAKE ENEMIES DESTROY THEIR OWN TOWER AND NEXUS
Very easy to get shields
an op heal on ult.

Cons
squishy game til late
you have to get in close range
ignite will kill your healing

try to get gold, stay close your ally(s), and harass when u can with SoD, use the health potions when about 200 from max health, for first blood, if ur ally is close, use the Exhaust/ignite combo to get an easy first blood

laning

poke when u can with sod, try to get as many creeps in there too. for more shield so if they try to counter poke, it doesnt do as much. when you get creeping death. use it on the lead minion so u get shield while being safely behind the minions and out of range of being poked. after a few secs come up and if u can poke and farm with SOD. finish off the creeps with a mace of spades and another SOD if u can. try not to get poked with no shield. early for morde is all about poking and not getting poked.

this is were morde starts to steamroll over people if he didnt die or get sent back too much. with your ult healing you and killing your enemy, and if u get a kill with it and still have 1/2 your life you can easily get kill the other if 1vs2. push towers and poke with SOD. ignite/ult combo and save exhust for heavy dps'er or nukers. if you get low on health and dont want to leave the lane blow your ult on the highest HP with the lowest Magic resist. that should keep you in lane a little longer, but you sould recall soon if you dont see all 5 on the map since everyone hates morde :(

Late game. this is where he starts to kill everything he sees. by now if not in mid, people will start to fear morde. with a 70%+ hp damaging ult, a 700+ aoe nuke. plus a 300+ dps shield that grants its "wearer" bonus magic resist and armor. and a q that hits for 1.6k on a single target. if you see anyone that is behind in lvls and is trying to farm. kill them.

beware of spell canceling stuff, if they dont die with CotG, you dont get a pet (t.t).
Bloodrazors, that extra magic damage can mess you up if u dont have FoN, then it becomes like 2% instead of 4%, but still with high attack speed people and if u cant keep your shields up, it will mess you up.
here is a list of stuff to watch out for
quicksliver slash
Guardian Angel
Banshee's Veil
Zilean ult
stupid bird passive egg.
stupid undying noob (do i have to say more)
soraka and any healer
Ignite-will kill your the healing part of your ultimate

beware of these champions
Garen silent
soraka silent
and petty much anyone with cc that wont let you use spells.
long range champions that harass a lot

If u can Have someone get these items,

Soul Shroud
Will of the Ancients

Soul Shroud's helps with CDs

Will of the Ancients helps with spellvamp and Ability Power, + u get a double aura + getting 50% spellvamp