Hello, I am summoner caZeryIgnorance and welcome to my build for Mordekaiser, the Master of Metal. Mordekaiser is labeled as a Bruiser, Melee, Pusher, character; but this guide will take you more in the direction of Magic Damage / Harasser / Off Tank I personally feel as if playing Mordekasier in an AP manner is not only fun, but overpowering as well. His three AoE moves ( Mace of Spades, Creeping Death, and Siphon of Destruction will not only help you push in lanes, but have that extra strength in team fights.

This is my first guide so feel free to leave comments and help me with some ways to improve my build or the way I make my builds, and let me know if you like it!

In this chapter I will explain my reasoning for picking the following runes :

Greater Mark of Insight - +0.95 ( per rune ) added to your magic penetration.
Since all four of Mordekaiser's abilities are magic based it is very vital to get the much needed penetration to build your shield and dish out your damage.

Greater Glyph of Focus - -0.65% ( per rune ) taken from the cooldown of all your abilities.
Since health is Mordekaiser's cost when using skills its very vital to harass enemy heroes and have your shield up as much as possible with as much shield as possible to safeguard yourself from enemy champions.

Greater Seal of Evasion - +0.75% ( per rune ) dodge added to your character.
Since most of the game Mordekaiser will be targeted due to his great amount of damage and sustainability in game and especially in team fights. This will also help you when you're chasing the enemy hero to get that last Siphon of Destruction off to get the kill.

Greater Quintessence of Swiftness - +1.5 movement speed ( per rune ) added to your character.
Mordekaiser is a decently fast hero, and with boots as a first item paired with the three Quintessences it helps you go in and out of battle in lane to Siphon of Destruction them when the cool down is up.

There are quite a few ways to build Mordekaiser, my builds to go 9/0/21 is explained within this chapter. I find it more beneficial to go deeply into the utility field in order to have your magical spells pack a bigger punch with a shorter cool down than to go into the typical defensive tree. I will explain my reasoning for my choice in masteries :

Offense Mastery Tree - (9/30)

Archmage's Savvy (3/3) - Increases your ability power by .20 per champion level. (0.60 at rank 3) At rank 3, this translates to an additional 10.8 ability power by level 18.
The extra ability power benefits all of your skills so its clear that this would be helpful throughout the game.

Cripple (1/1) - Improves your Exhaust spell to also reduce the target's armor and magic resistance by 10 for the duration, and increases its duration by 0.5 seconds.
Not a lot of builds or Mordekaisers in general are seen using this, but in my opinion it is very vital crowd control. I use this when im outnumbered, running away, or in a team fight, the improved Cripple's reduction of targets magic resistance is also very helpful for all of your abilities and armor for your Mace of Spades and Auto Attacks.

Sorcery (4/4) - Reduces the cooldown of your champion's abilities by 0.75%. (3.00% at rank 4)
Cool down reduction to further abuse your abilities to harass or slay enemy combatants.

Archaic Knowledge (1/1) - Your magical spells penetrate 15% of the target's magic resistance.
All of your spells are magical spells, the 15% is a huge deal for Mordekaiser and is much needed.

Defense Mastery Tree - (0/31)

Utility Mastery - (21/32)

Good Hands (3/3) - Reduces the time spent dead by by 3.33%. (10% at rank 3)
In the odd event of your demise, it's helpful to come back 10% faster to get back into battle or defend the tower.

Perseverance (3/3) - Increases your total health and mana regeneration by 2%. (4% at rank 3)
Mostly a filler space, the increased HP regeneration is helpful for Mordekaiser, especially teamed up with your Spell Vamp and moderately high HP.

Haste (1/1) - Increases the movement speed of your Ghost spell by 6% and its duration by 1.5 seconds.
Since you're going to need to chase, get into that team fight, defend that tower, or run away from enemies its good to have Haste to improve your ghost for the extra 6 speed and the extra time to ghost around.

Awareness (4/4) - Increases the amount of experience a champion gains by 1.25% per rank. (5% at rank 4)
Just about any hero should put points into this, when laning against someone its very helpful to be a generating more experience than them to help you harass them, defend yourself, and sweep the creeps.

Greed (1/1) - Generates 1 Gold every 10 seconds.
A filler spell, but the extra gold is nice.

Utility Mastery (2/2) - Increases the duration of neutral monster buffs by 15%. (30% at rank 2)
Since Mordekaiser will be played with a magical tank persona its very helpful to get blue buff for the cool down reduction and the red buff to slow your enemies with your melee attack paired up with Ace of Spades and the extra help from the buffs true damage.

Quickness (3/3) - Increases your base movement speed by 1% per point. (3% at rank 3)
Mordekaiser is an excellent harasser, so the extra movement speed allied with the 3 Quintessences help you chase them down for the kill, or run away from a gank.

Intelligence (3/3) - Reduces your champion's cooldowns by 2%. (6% at rank 3)
Again, Mordekaiser should be used as a powerful magic damage harasser, having the abilities come back that extra 6% faster is a huge help and will give you an advantage in lane, and to faster build up your shield.

Presence of the Master (1/1) - Reduces the recharge time of your summoner spells by 15%.
Mordekaiser needs his Ghost and Exhaust spells, 15% shorter recharge is a huge help for you and teammates.

As to every character, items can make or break your character. So it's obvious that having the right ones to combine the methods of staying in lane, damage output, living, and assisting your team. The following items I have chosen I find to be the most beneficial to Mordekaiser and this playing style.

Right off the bat I get a pair of regular boots and 3 health potions.
Why? The extra movement speed of your boots will help you get to your lane quicker to help set up and take the first blood, get back to your lane faster if you get targeted and nuked, and help you harass back in forth with your Siphon of Destruction spell.
The three health potions will help you stay in lane longer to gain gold and experience, early game is crucial so the regeneration is very much needed.

As soon as you get the gold you should be running back to base to invest in Sorcerers Treads.
The +20 Magic Penetration and extra +1 movement speed is vital for Mordekaiser's harassing and play style.

You should be able to stay in lane long enough to farm at least 435 gold, 540 gold ideally. As soon as you get that gold you should take the next opportunity to return to base and pick up a Amplifying Tome and 3 more health potions.
The extra ability power from the Amplifying Tome will help you dish out the damage and build up your shield, while the extra potions will help you stay in lane longer to farm, level, and hopefully kill your enemies.

After easily farming back up to 800 gold 1050 ideally take your next chance and push that B button back to home and pick up a Mejai's Soulstealer and an Elixir of Brilliance.
As Mordekaiser you should be destroying enemy heroes with or without teammates, so take advantage of this with Mejai's Soulstealer to build up your ability power with kills and assists. The Elixir of Brilliance's 20-40 ability power, and reduction of cooldowns by 10% will help your abilities a lot, Elixirs are not used that often as they should be they are a huge benefit and if you ever find yourself with the extra gold i highly recommend getting.

Now here comes the fun part, each time you have to go back to base to heal or achieve enough money I highly recommend speeding back to base to pick up a Hextech Revolver.
+40 Ability Power and +20% Spell Vamp is HUGE for Mordekaiser, magical based abilities that you can spam will help you make up that HP lost from a spell cast, regenerate your health before, after, or during a battle, or allow you to sneak past towers to tank the minion wave with ease.

Whenever you feel the need and have the money make sure you make your way back to base to snag a Giants Belt to begin the process of building your Rylai's Crystal Scepter.
The additional +430 HP is a nice help too, allowing you to have more HP to maintain in your untouched bank of life.

Next time you happen to be around your base pick up a Blasting Wand and Amplifying Tome and if you even have the extra 700 gold pick up the recipe for Rylai's Crystal Scepter.
I like Rylai's because the slow is very very very, beneficial for Mordekaiser in chasing a target or team fights to maneuver between targets and keep them away from eachother, combined with the other effects this is a very powerful item for Mordekaiser.

Pick up two Elixirs if you get the chance, the Elixir of Brilliance and Fortitude will buff you up 10 Attack Damage, 140-235 Health, 20-40 Ability Power and reduces cooldowns by 10% for 4 minutes. And if you have the money buy a Kindle Gem, and if the price is right just go straight to a Spirit Visage.
The Spirit Visage's +30 Magic Resistance, +250 Health, 10% cooldown reduction, and the huge benefit of healing and regeneration by 15% on yourself is big. Chances are after this you'll probably never need to go back to base after this item, ( as you shouldn't need to in the first place ) so this is the icing on the cake. You'll be able to heal yourself back to full health in matter of seconds, and you'll be able to tank team fights while you're dishing out all that damage and stealing it all back with ease.

If the game isn't over yet with a wide spread VICTORY across your screen you should return to base when you have at least 1600 gold to get a Needlessly Large Rod to begin the crafting of your Rabadon's Deathcap, and if you have the money just buy the whole thing itself.
This item is just to further prove to Mordekasier is a monster, the Deathcap will send your AP to around 550 and make your abilities more destructive and your spell vamp more potent.

The final item is just the final upgrading of the Hextech Gunblade into the Hextech Revolver.
The 5% more spell vamp with the addition of melee life steal and the Revolver's active blast will allow you to add another targeted slow / damage to chase and murder any stragglers that might of escaped for whatever reason.

Pick up Elixirs anytime you have the additional funds to do so. ( Sell your boots but make sure you have 1100 gold reserved to buy your Sorcerer's Treads back. )

Picking the right skills is pretty simple for Mordekaiser as opposed to others, in this chapter i'll be stating the obvious and telling you why you need to pick the skills and in which order while knowing how to use it.

Iron Man (Passive) - 25% / 27.5% / 30% of the damage dealt from abilities is converted into a temporary shield, absorbing incoming damage. Maximum shield strength is 90 + (30 x level). The shield decays by 3% per second.
This is what makes Morde his overpowered self, while you're damaging a target, you're building up a shield to protect yourself from minion attacks and hero harassers. The best thing about this is that you can consistently keep casting in order to keep this high and you hard to kill.

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 magic damage. If the target is alone, the ability deals 75% more damage.
Additional Information :
Radius is 600.
Cost: 25 / 32 / 39 / 46 / 53 health
Cooldown: 8 / 7 / 6 / 5 / 4 seconds
Magic Damage: 80 / 110 / 140 / 170 / 200 (+1 per bonus attack damage) + (+0.4 per ability power)
Single Target Magic Damage: 140 / 192.5 / 245 / 297.5 / 350 (+1.75 per bonus attack damage) + (+0.7 per ability power)
You should use this skill after you build up a shield with your Siphon of Destruction just to make sure you don't lose any of your precious health points. Its a very powerful single target spell as well, allowing you to maintain your shield regeneration that you'd have in bigger fights or fights by creeps while taking someone on secluded one vs one. When using in lane try to aim towards the middle creep of every bunch so you do more damage and build up your shield.

Creeping Death (Active) - Unleashes a protective cloud of metal shards to surround an ally, increasing their armor and magic resistance and dealing magic damage per second to enemies in the cloud for 6 seconds.
Additional Information :
Range: 750
Cloud radius: 250
Cost: 26 / 32 / 38 / 44 / 50 health
Cooldown: 20 / 18 / 16 / 14 / 12 seconds
Armor & Magic Resist: 10 / 15 / 20 / 25 / 30
Magic Damage: 24 / 38 / 52 / 66 / 80 (+0.2 per ability power) per second
Not as important but still a beneficial spell to Mordekaiser, should be used to keep up regeneration of your shield / health while dealing out some additional DPS. Very helpful to cast on tanks if your team has one, if not default back to yourself or the soul you have stolen from the enemy champion.

Siphon of Destruction (Active) - Mordekaiser damages enemies in a cone in front of him, dealing magic damage. For each unit hit, Mordekaiser's shield absorbs additional health.
Additional Information :
Cooldown: 6 seconds
Range: 700
Cost: 24 / 36 / 48 / 60 / 72 health
Magic Damage: 65 / 105 / 145 / 185 / 225 (+0.6 per ability power)
Additional Shield Health: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 per unit hit
In my opinion his best move, whenever this move is up it should be spammed onto enemy creep waves, try to position the cone to hit as much creeps as you can. Following suit of the shield being built with this move in combination of his other abilities it should be used as your main harassing move, its range, damage, and benefit to your shield makes this move ideal for Morde and should be capped as soon as possible. Also useful to scout out a bush before entering or doing that final hit as the enemy runs around the fog / wall / corner by you.

Children of the Grave (Active) - Mordekaiser deals damage to the target and curses at it for 10 seconds, stealing life. Damage is equal to a percentage of the target's maximum health. If the target dies while under the effect of the curse, their soul is enslaved and will follow Mordekaiser for 30 seconds. During this time, Mordekaiser gains 20% of their ability power and attack damage. The spirit gains 75% of Mordekaiser's adjusted damage, ability power, and health totals.
Additional Information :
No cost
Range: 850
Cooldown: 120 / 105 / 90 seconds
Initial Life Stolen (Magic Damage): 12 / 14.5 / 17 % (+0.02% per ability power)
Curse Life Stolen (Magic Damage): 1.2 / 1.45 / 1.7 % (+0.002% per ability power) life per second
Children of the Grave is a fantastic move, whether you are using this move to keep a constant DPS on the target you're attacking, provide another source of shield / HP regeneration when attacking multiple targets or in a team fight, also great for finishing off a target thats escaping since its range is huge and damage is consistently being dealt out. When and if the target dies while under this ability make sure you quickly direct the enemy's soul when it is released, i used to as a crowd control to deal damage to ranged DPS or casters. Casting Creeping Death on your soul is also a great benefit when combined with a melee target's soul, should be used to tank towers, intercept heroes or creeps, or as a ward to scout out.

My choices for my summoner spells are Ignite and Flash, I will explain how it is useful for my playing style and how I used it to my advantage while explaining other possibilities.

I update this guide to choose Ignite and Flash instead. There seems to be a lot of controversy revolving around the preference of escape and disable rather than DPS and escape. The ignite with your ultimate with deal a great deal of damage to your target and disable them from using a heal or their life steal to regain their lost health from your brutalizing attacks.

Exhaust - Reduces a target's Attack Damage by 70%, Ability/Item damage by 35% and slows its Movement Speed by 40% for 3 seconds. 500 Range (estimate). Cooldown : 210 seconds
Benefits via Masteries :
Cripple (Offense) Also reduces target's armor and magic resistance by 10 and lengthens the duration to 3.5 seconds.
Presence of the Master (Utility) Reduces cooldown to 178.5 seconds.
This is first on my list how what to use when I play Morde, the Reduction of their damage whatever form it may be reduced by 35% with the 40% movement speed decrease for 3 seconds is amazing. In a team fight use this on their main DPS, ideally range. Or use it to sever one off from the rest to gank them without the support of the team. Also great to use when you're chasing someone or used on someone chasing you. Cripple's benefit just makes this all the more better for Morde with his huge deal of magic damage and white attacks coupled with your Mace of Spades while making it last longer by .5s

Ghost - Your Champion ignores unit collision and moves 27% faster for 10 seconds. Cooldown : 210 seconds.
Benefits via Masteries :
Haste (Utility) Increases movement speed by 6% to 33% faster and lengthens the duration to 11.5 seconds.
Presence of the Master (Utility) Reduces cooldown to 178.5 seconds.
Ghost in this build is consider very vital. Catching up to a team fight, running away from a battle, chasing a target down, running to defend a tower. Whatever it may be, Ghost will help you get your job done. Casting Creeping Death on yourself when using this to catch up to a target is great, especially when you use Mace of Spaces in combination.

- Other Spells -

Heal - Restores 140 + (lvl x 20) Health to your Champion and 50% of that to nearby allies. 600 Range. All targets healed will have a 50% reduction in heal amount from other summoner heal spells for 20 secs. Cooldown : 270 seconds.
Benefits via Masteries :
Mender's Faith (Defense) Decreases cooldown by 30 seconds.
Presence of the Master (Utility) Reduces cooldown to 229.5 seconds. With both masteries cooldown is reduced to 199.5 seconds.
Personally I laugh when I see people using Heal, I find it to be a waste of a spell. Not really useful for Mordekaiser; in this build anyways.

Revive - Instantly revives your Champion at your Spawning Pool, increasing your movement speed by 225%, diminishing to normal over 12 seconds. 9 minute cooldown.
Benefits via Masteries :
Preservation (Defense) After cast, maximum hp is increased by 400 for 120 seconds and reduces the cooldown by 30 seconds.
Presence of the Master (Utility) Reduces cooldown to 459 seconds. With both masteries cooldown is reduced to 429 seconds.
Revive is quite useful in a 3v3, but other than that I don't really find a use for it here. You should be not dying quite often anyways considering your HP, Armor, Spell Vamp, and Shield anyways.

Smite - Deals 420 + (lvl x 25) true damage to target enemy minion or pet. 800 Range. Cooldown : 75 seconds.
Benefits via Masteries : Plentiful Bounty (Offense) Smite spell rewards 5 gold when used and reduces its cooldown by 5 seconds.
Presence of the Master (Utility) Reduces cooldown to 63.75. With both masteries cooldown is reduced to 58.75 seconds.
What are you trying to jungle? Mord doesn't need smite at all, hes a great farmer and could jungle even if he wants to. Smite would be not just stupid but unnecessary.

Teleport - After 4 seconds, teleports your champion to target friendly minion or turret. 3 minute cooldown if cancelled. Cooldown : 300 seconds.
Benefit via Masteries :
Spatial Accuracy (Utility) Reduces delay to 3.5 seconds and reduces cooldown by 5 seconds.
Presence of the Master (Utility) Reduces cooldown to 255 seconds. With both masteries cooldown is reduced to 250 seconds.
Not the worst spell to chose from but not as helpful, using it to push or defend a lane is very useful but there are other spells that you could use to your advantage as Mordekaiser.

Cleanse - Removes all control debuffs, silences and blinds from your champion and reduces the duration of subsequent stuns, slows, taunts, fears, snares, sleeps, and immobilizes by 65% for the next 3 seconds. Cooldown : 150 seconds.
Benefits via Masteries :
Willpower (Defense) Reduces cooldown by 20 seconds.
Presence of the Master (Utility) Reduces cooldown to 127.5 seconds. (Cannot have both Willpower and Presence of the Master)
Cleanse is a good ability, but since the release of the new tenacity items if you're worried about being crowd controlled you should get one of those instead. I do not recommend getting cleanse.

Fortify - Grants invulnerability to all Allied Turrets and causes them to attack 100% faster for 6 seconds. While Fortify is ready to cast, you deal 9 bonus damage to minions. Cooldown : 300 seconds.
Benefit via Masteries :
Reinforce (Defense) Turrets deal 50% splash damage when fortify is used.
Presence of the Master (Utility) Reduces cooldown to 255 seconds.
Very useful spell if you're not in a lane when someone is killing your tower, but other than that no significant use. Cool down is very long so use as you wish but theres better spells to chose from.

Clarify - Restores 160 + (lvl x 30) Mana to your champion and 50% of that to nearby allies. 600 Range. Cooldown : 180 seconds
Benefits via Masteries :
Insight (Utility) Clarity grants 100% of spells mana to allies instead of 50%.Presence of the Master (Utility) Reduces cooldown to 153 seconds.
No.

Ignite - Targets a single champion dealing 50 + (lvl x 20) true damage over 5 seconds. Also reduces the targets healing and regeneration by 50%. 550 range (estimate). Cooldown : 180 seconds.
Benefits via Masteries :
Burning Embers (Offense) While your ignite spell is on cooldown, you gain an additional 10 Ability Power.
Presence of the Master (Utility) Reduces cooldown to 153 seconds.
This is an alternative spell I would pick, the extra DPS and reduction of healing. Highly recommended to chose from if you don't like exhaust or ghost.

Rally - Summons a beacon with 200 + (lvl x 25) Health for 15 seconds which increases allied Attack Damage by 10-35. 120 Range Cast, 850 Range Aura (estimate). Cooldown : 270 seconds.
Benefit via Masteries :
Improved Rally (Offense) Rally also increases base ability power by 20-70 and increases duration by 5 seconds.
Presence of the Master (Utility) Reduces cooldown to 229.5 seconds.
Good in team fights if its improved, other than that not really useful. I do not recommend.

Clairvoyance - Reveals an area of the map for 6 seconds. Cooldown : 55 seconds.
Benefits via Masteries :
Mystical Vision (Utility) Vision lasts additional 4 seconds and has cooldown reduced by 5 seconds.
Presence of the Master (Utility) Reduces cooldown to 46.75 seconds. With both masteries cooldown is reduced to 41.75 seconds.
Very good spell, useful to not fall into ganks and to help plan attacks or even help aim skill shot.

Flash - Teleports your Champion to target nearby location under your mouse cursor. 475 Range. Cooldown : 255 seconds.
Benefits via Masteries :
Blink of an Eye (Utility) Reduces cooldown by 15 seconds.
Presence of the Master (Utility) 216.75 seconds. With both masteries cooldown is reduced to 201.75 seconds.
Other skill i'd use besides Ghost and Exhaust, very good spell. Can save your life or assist in taking anothers. I recommend getting this if you do not like Ghost or Exhaust.

Finally, how you should be playing your Master of Metal and Magic.

Harassing, the biggest part of how this hero should be played, when ever your Siphon of Death is up you should be casting it on creeps to first build your shield reserve and then follow suit by harassing heroes along with your Mace of Spades.

Around level 6 you should be harassing them a great deal, start to get more aggressive as you use your Siphon and Mace to get them around 45% - 65% HP than start to pursue your target. Try to get behind them after casting your Creeping death and then follow with your Siphon ( since the cool down is short ) and hit them with a Mace of Spades. Once their around 20% - 30% HP toss your ultimate and Ignite on your foe and continue to follow suit with your damaging ways. This should eliminate them easily, and if they are laned with someone else you should use their soul as a strong DPS to snag that easy double kill.

As an off tank in team fights its your job to make sure that you're the first one they focus so your DPS and Casters can start picking them off. With your armor and spell vamp it should provide you a lot of sustainability to last in team fights, the more targets around you the more your shield will stay capped. Be aggressive as possible without straying from your team unless you know for a fact you can take the target on 1v1. ( Which is most cases you can easily as Mordekaiser. )

Risking a death for one kill is rarely ever worth it in my opinion, you should only risk your life for an enemies demise if they are carrying well and are the main source of your troubles. Between team fights and ganks you can easily find yourself regenerating your shield and HP by killing creeps in lane or even the forest. ( Wraith / Wolves preferably. )

Mid game you should be setting up ganks with at least one other team member, as AP Morde you are a power house of damage that is also very hard to slay so keep that in mind. Use bushes as an advantage for your cool downs to refresh, line of siting for time is a crucial part of any hero and is something you should learn how to use on an everyday life.

Late game you should be picking up blue and red buff and even soling dragon just to add the icing to the cake of victory.

\m/