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One of the easiest matchups pre-6. Just spam cleavers and if she shrouds, use W and run inside it. After level 6, you need to be a bit cautious, but nothing Mundo can't handle!
Aatrox
Annoying Passive, that's all there is about this matchup. He is not as tanky as you are and your cleavers will hurt him badly if you consistently land them. You won't kill him a whole lot, but you can easily blow his passive, so if the jungler's around, you might get a kill.
Hecarim
IF he is smart he will use his ultimate to engage, if he's not and uses E instead, throw cleavers at him and he won't get near you. Additionally, your cleavers hurt his passive, which is good news. Build armour and you'll be fine (Randuin's helps).
Malphite
If you're not 3/0/0 before level 6, I'll kill you (just kidding). IMO, the easiest lane opponent a Mundo can have. His shield is useless, his poke won't hurt. Make sure you're always throwing cleavers at him.
Maokai
--accepting suggestions--
Only fought against him 1 time and it was super easy. However, one fight is not enough to gather the required data...
Wukong
More annoying than difficult due to his clone. Kite with cleavers and engage if he does. If he cowers behind the tower at 200 HP, get an Ohmwrecker and that well deserved kill!
Zac
He's AP. What do we do when our opponent is AP? Spirit Visage! It cuts the amount of effort needed to win by half! However, proceed with caution when his passive is up. The secret is to avoid early all-ins and throw cleavers.
Gangplank
You have cleavers, he has a box of tangerines... hmmm... hold fast early game and he shoudln't be much of a threat as long as you avoid his barrels.
Nidalee
This matchup depends on who lands the most skillshots before engaging. But, hold on, good news for Mundo: she isn't tanky! What does Mundo do to squishy champions? That's right! He eats them... alive.
Shen
If you see him about to taunt activate your E and that's it! Throw a cleaver or 2 and you won the trade. You won't be able to kill him a whole lot, but if he makes a mistake, be sure to use it to your advantage!
Fizz
W-Q-E! What?! Mundo is still alive? Yup. If he can't burst you quickly, he's as good as dead. You will miss many cleavers against this fish, but you should be able to win the lane without many trouble.
Kayle
Her E is very, very, very annoying early on, mainly because she can farm AND harass you at the same time. However, you deal good damage and it is very easy to bait her R. Your chances of killing her are very slim, however, because she has a slow, a speed-up and she is INVINCIBLE for a short duration.
Nasus
Nasus counters Mundo? Since when? Mundo counters who he pleases! Not very hard, be sure not to overtrade early on, constantly throw cleavers. Force small trades in order to delay his farm. If he has less than 150 farm by 20 minutes, you did an OK job.
Riven
Play very, very safe (Cloth5) early game. I mean REALLY safe. Her kill potential against you is huge before you hit 6. If you don't feed her (God forbid you do), you should be fine and you will survive her burst. Low kill potential.
Heimerdinger
Let's hope that Heimerdinger is not going top lane anytime soon. You will have trouble early game, you will lose farm and ganks can turn in his favor if your jungler doesn't know how to gank a Heimerdinger.
Renekton
Renekton? More like... Get Rektton! But not in early game, though. Renkton excels early whereas this is your weakest phase. Needless to say, things can get out of hand real quick. Provided you survive the storm, you will out-scale him really quickly and then you can whack him!
Sion
The fight of the century! Shame it'll be boring as all hell to watch, because neither of you have the skills required to kill each other. HOWEVER, he will run out of mana if he tries to poke you, giving you a chance at killing him, since you can just sustain through his harass. Nevertheless, you should expect this to be an authentic farm fest.
Ryze
Very annoying to deal with, infinite kiting potential, dangerous early game. As I mentioned, you should rush a Spirit Visage against this kind of champions (AP). You shouldn't be able to die (even if you really want to) to Ryze after level 6.
Zed
Spam cleavers, they chunk Zed's HP by a good amount and make sure you save your ultimate for when he uses his (unless you coward are running away, in which case, use it at will). Other than this, rush armour and you should be okay. You won't be able to kill him (unless he's dumb) so be prepared for a farm fest.
Yasuo
Kind of a stalemate, really. You should focus on farm and avoid trades too early. His Wind Wall blocks your cleavers, but it doesn't stop Mundo from crossing it and THEN throwing a cleaver. Save your ultimate for after he uses his own (unless, of course, you are going to die if you don't use it). Armour is your best friend.
Cho'Gath
For some unknown reason, I find this matchup very annoying as the game progresses, especially after Cho gets his R. You can kill a Cho'Gath early on, but you'll find it very difficult to do so later on in the game. --accepting suggestions--
Darius
Stay away from him and kite with cleavers. No way you can kill him alone before level 10 unless you already have experience playing Mundo. His early game is very strong, yours is very weak so it's not even funny the amount of damage he can output. (personally, I don't struggle too much vs this guy, but you probably will).
Garen
You outscale him later on, but be cautious early game and DO NOT, I repeat do not make the mistake of saving your ultimate for when you're below 50% HP. I always fail to remember Garen's R deals % HP missing damage. Your passives are very similar (yours is actually noticable early on) and you both have good-ish sustain: in other words, farm as much as you can and try to force small engagements after you get your core items.
Olaf
Olaf, Brolaf... You have a cleaver, he has an Axe. You have steroids, he has true damage. As amazing as it sounds, it is a skill matchup, where Olaf has a slight edge over Mundo (E OP). Make sure you make cleavers count and you can kill him several times before late-game. Do not be fooled by the amount of times this guy dies, though, his comeback potential is huge.
Shyvana
Her E makes her deal % HP damage, which is bad news for Mundo. If she's any good, she will try to deny you as much farm as possible by shoving you under tower. After you get some items, it's a completely different story: you will be able to fight her back! Still, it is always good to proceed with caution.
Rengar
Very annoying lane, I'd say that if you don't die early and engage when his bar is empty, you'll be able to win. Do NOT engage is he has Ignite.
Tryndamere
Skill matchup. Both of you can kill one another before level 6, it all depends on who has the best cards (do NOT forget about his passive). I usually start Cloth5 and get my Holy Trinity (Sunfire Cape, Spirit Visage and Thornmail), which is enough to kill this guy easily, because your ultimate outlasts his and he isn't a tank. Make sure you ask for ganks before he turns into a splitpushing machine of doom.
Trundle
Never won a lane against this guy. My biggest achievement was to be able to stay equal in farm and pray for ganks. This guy completely trashes you and outdamages you. I would not recommend engaging him, ever. Just retreat a safe deistance and farm (with cleavers if you feel threatened).
Volibear
He has a passive that is a chinese copy of your ultimate: it is of lesser quality and it lasts less time. However, both of you are very hard to kill and you shouldn't expect any kills without ganks. Take care if you're under his turret, since he can toss you towards it.
Fiora
Fiora is a deadly girl in the right hands. I'd recommend you to start Cloth 5 and move around a lot to avoid getting hit in your weak spot. After level 6 it gets a bit easier for you, but you should watch out for her ultimate since she will heal A LOT out of it. Thornmail and Randuins Omen are core in this matchup.
Jayce
Skill matchup. Your cleaver deals about the same damage as his Q, but you have 1 crucial advantage: you have no mana, while, Jayce usually burns his quickly. After level 6, you can play a bit more Mundo-ish and start doing what you please. You can engage him if he has <25% mana at level 6.
Teemo
Very annoying, but not very hard. You just need to farm with cleavers early on and you'll be able to kill him after level 5-6.
Kennen
Not too hard, make sure you dodge his shurinken, but hit your cleavers and after level 6 you can easily kill him.
Gnar
Start farming with cleavers from level 1. As soon as he reaches level 2, you need to play safe (don't let him stack his W). As Mundo, it is a lot safer to engage this little besterd when his rage bar is almost full, because believe it or not, you deal a lot more damage to him in this form. Be careful not to get stun-locked when he's big and as soon as he gets a BotRK you need to play even safer.
Irelia
Super passive farm fest. She isn't able to kill you, but you won't be able to kill her either without ganks. Just try to stay ahead in farm and engage when you have an advantage (e.g.: gank).
Rumble
Annoying matchup. I recommend farming with cleavers and don't engage if you don't know what you're doing. Although his fighting ability is below average, he can handle Mundo's damage and, if you're not careful, he can even kill you.
Lee Sin
Lee Sin can't handle Mundo's fighting potential post-6, so you can easily zone him from minions and win the lane. He has, however, great gank setup so you should watch out for those "Insecs".
Talon
A rare sight in top lane, but it doesn't mean he's useless there, especially against Mundo. Play really passive before level 6 and get those Oracle's Lens. You can try to engage him after you get your ultimate, but I'd advise caution nevertheless. Get armour early while he has terrible Armor Pen, because mid-late game it won't help you as much.
Galio
If Galio is smart he will start building MR from the ground up, because he knows your cleavers deal magic damage. This matchup is not very hard, his poke is easy to dodge, but when you are fighting this guy it is very important to activate your Sadism before he uses his Idol of Durand, because it will allow you to regenerate a lot of health while he is channeling the spell.
Master Yi
Super easy, his Alpha Strike is annoying, but that is about it. If he starts regenerating HP, use your W and Q and he won't be regenerating anything. If he uses his ultimate to escape use Sadism + Ghost to outrun and kill him. Beware when he finally gets his BotRK, since he will become an actual threat if you didn't shut him down (pro-tip: Thornmail is your friend)
Yorick
You should be able to farm pretty safely until level 6. This is a huge farm battle, since neither of you will be able to kill one another most of the time. Keep in mind that a 1 vs 1 fight against Yorick is never fair. It is almost always a 1 vs 3: you will be fighting his Ghouls, Yorick and his Omen of Death. Even if you do kill him, he can avenge the death with his R. Plan your moves carefully.
Pantheon
It is a lot easier to make a list of champions Pantheon DOESN'T trash pre-6. If you're wondering, Mundo isn't on that list. You will struggle early game, I'd even go as far as starting to farm with cleavers, but after you reach level 6, he can't kill you. Start Cloth5, survive the early game, and proceed to wipe the floor with his face afterwards. Also, don't activate Masochism if his shield is up, AA once and activate it after.
Swain
Does Swain have access to blue buff? No! Mundo wins by default! You shouldn't struggle too much, just rush some MR and make your cleavers count. Make sure you are using Burning Agony to make sure his healing doesn't get out of control.
Vladimir
He has better waveclear than Mundo, meaning you will struggle a bit early game, but it shouldn't be a problem, because you are rushing a Spirit Visage (you are rushing it, right?)! After that you can easliy dominate your lane and zone him.
Cassiopeia
This matchup can be though, because she has ranged harass. Try to farm with cleavers until level 6 and then you can start being more agressive. She's a magic woman (snake? wosnake? snowan? I don't know what she is) so you want to rush a Sprit Visage right away!
Jax
This can go either way, honestly. However, if it goes Jax's way, you lost your lane, period. You must play very, very safe early game until you are tanky enough to tank his damage. He also has good mixed damage which can be an issue, so i wouldn't advise engaging without jungler's support. Other than that, it's a farm fest.
Nunu & Willump
If Nunu is gong full tank, the lane is yours. If Nunu comes knocking with full AP Masteries and full AP Runes, you will get seriously kited, it's not even funny. If this is the case, just rush some MR and attempt to farm while tryng to hit your cleavers. If you see this guy going into a bush, for Rito's sake, don't follow him, his R is the reason why he's yellow, not green. He has good gank setups with his snowball + ultimate, be careful.
Ekko
Depending on the Ekko, this can go super easy or moderately hard. Assuming he's actually good, he can burst you down pretty hard, both before level 6 and after. Rush that Spirit Visage and dodge his Qs, all while making him chug your cleavers. You should be very careful if his ultimate is up, since it deals a lot of damage on the way back (keep track of the ghost). Trade smart and you should be able to win this.
Singed
This guy's playstyle is based on taunting you and cowardly running in circles gasing you to death. Early game this lane should be yours so long as you let him push and constantly throw cleavers at him, but remember that that is part of Singed's plan. Mid to late game, he can become just as tanky as you, so take care and DON'T chase him unless you're sure you can take him down.
Xin Zhao
This tiny sample of a man tries to go top lane and stop you? Wait, he actually can... you should play this carefully, his damage is very similar to yours early on, but he can outtrade you most of the time because of the knock-up, not to mention his armor shred passive. You should be fine after level 6, but caution is advised.
> Hello everyone! My name is Re4XN (it's pronounced Rex) and I am a Mundo Main (much to everyone's amusement, so it seems)! I love playing Top Lane and I hope I pass you some of my experience. As for Dr. Mundo, he was one of the first champions I bought and I never stopped playing him ever since. I just like him that much :P
> This is my very first guide here on MOBAFire and I have spent a lot of time working on it (not that I'm complaining, lol). If you want to ask something, make sure you post a comment and I'll get to it as soon as I can. If I helped you improve in any way, an UPVOTE would be truly apreciated :)
> In this guide, I am (will attempt) to show you how I play Dr. Mundo in a way that I hope is fun to read, just as it was fun for me to write this guide. If you are new to LoL, take a look at THIS before reading my guide, it might help you out.
***WARNING***
> This is quite an extensive guide and it was not intended to be read "on the fly" while the game is loading, since I will explore pretty much everything you need to know about Dr. Mundo. I have included as much entretaintment as I possibly could so that you wouldn't feel bored while reading this. Enjoy!
> Well, obviously, the first reason is "Mundo goes where he pleases!". Second, he's got a big cleaver. What's not to like about that?
> Seriously now, Dr. Mundo is a tanky champion who's main focus is to absorb damage, Crowd Control and skillshots aimed at his friends, while sticking to enemy carries. Meanwhile, his team has a happy time scoring an ace.
> I chose to write a guide about Mundo because I don't see him played very often due to constant shifts in meta and I wanted to do something people hadn't already done. In my opinion, Dr. Mundo is a very capable Solo Top Laner that is very underestimated and underplayed and I hope that by reading this guide you will understand better what exactly is a Mundo capable of.
+ Refuses to die! (very tanky) + Good sustain! + Scales well into late-game! + Strong poke/Permaslow! + Heavy CC resistance! + Hard to gank! + Goes where he pleases!
Dr. Mundo excels at being alive for as long as possible sticking to enemy carries in team fights. You want to build as much HP as you possibly can, since this is super effective on him (both your Goes Where He Pleases and Maximum Dosage scale with HP). After level 6, it is a complete nightmare to gank you, since it's hard to CC you and stop your Maximum Dosage regeneration. When late game comes, it is near impossible to kill a Dr. Mundo, while he still has good damage output.
Cons
- Ignite and G.Wounds trash his passive and R... - Poor early-game... - Lack of hard CC/Gap closer... - Team dependant in figths... - Vulnerable to % Damage (e.g.: Vayne)... - Useless if he falls behind... - Left-handed...
Unfortunately, Ignite and related counter Dr. Mundo's Goes Where He Pleases and Maximum Dosage, which can be a problem if you don't deal with it quickly. Builing a lot of HP obviously means that items like Blade of the Ruined King will deal a huge blow to you and there's not much you can do about it. Additionally, Mundo doesn't have any hard CC nor does he have an engage ability (apart from, literaly, walking into the enemy team throwing Infected Bonesaws), which can be an issue in team fights.
Masteries
> When we pick Masteries, they should be aimed at a general direction based on the Champion (in Dr. Mundo's case you want to aim for tanky masteries). Below are the Masteries I run on Mundo, it is merely a suggestion: I choose to go 12/0/18 but other viable options include, for instance 6/6/18. Each person has their preference, but this guide is about mine.
spc
> Well, doesn't this tree look poor? So many masteries to choose from and yet half of them they sit there, sad and nagging for attention. > Now, let's see why I chose to put only 12 points into this tree. In my opinion, Dr. Mundo's main focus should be on building so tanky, that he's going to be "near impossible" to kill late game, so progressing further down the FEROCITY tree would be a waste of Mundo's capabilities since he doesn't benefit from any of the keystone masteries. > At Tier 1, we take Sorcery simply because of the fact that your Infected Bonesaws are your main source of damage and a 2% damage increase on them (and Heart Zapper as well!) is better than 5% more attack speed. At Tier 2, you have two options, Double Edged Sword or Feast . Either one is good on Dr. Mundo, choose a mastery according to your playstyle: first one is the agressive option (which is what I prefer), second one the sustain. > At Tier 3, you must choose between Vampirism and Natural Talent . In my opinion, neither one is "outstanding" on Mundo, but the first one provides you with a bit more sustain so that's what I went for, since 10 AD and 15 AP (moreover at level 18) is absolute garbage on Dr. Mundo.
> Finally, at Tier 4 the obvious choice is obvious, you take Oppressor because of the increased damage you deal when your target is slowed by Infected Bonesaws. Don't even THINK about taking Bounty Hunter (unless you're planning on playing Full Crit Mundo, lol), you will never be able to fully benefit from it, since your top priority is to tank damage. Besides, you already deal 2,5% extra damage to slowed targets, you don't need more.
> As I said earlier, you can choose a different setup for Dr. Mundo, but this is the one I use and it's working really good.
> This is where you should invest the majority of your points as a Dr. Mundo player. As I mentioned above, Mundo is a tank, and so he greatly benefits from, err... things that make him even more tankier, yes! Due to his passive, Goes Where He Pleases and Ultimate, Maximum Dosage, Mundo benefits greatly from anything that provides HP (they both scale well with it) and/or HP regeneration: this includes Recovery , Veteran Scars and Perseverance / Runic Armor .
> Dr. Mundo has a very poor early game. In this stage, he is very vulnerable for 2 main reasons: he uses HP as a resource and, ironically, he's not very tanky at the beginning of the game, especially if your opponent decides to screw with you and bring Ignite to the Top Lane. As such, taking points into the RESOLVE tree works very well to increase Dr. Mundo's survivability early on (and throughout the rest of the game). > At Tier 2, you take Tough Skin : 2 damage reduction might not seem like much, but it really stacks up and you will end up blocking a good chunk of damage at the end of the day. > At Tier 3, I prefer to take Veteran Scars , because it increases your maximum health and both your passive, ultimate and Blunt Force Trauma scale with it. Runic Armor is a perfectly viable choice, it provides you with a bit less health but slightly more health regen, so it is good if you want some extra sustain. > As you probably know (if you don't, you know now), Dr. Mundo's W, Heart Zapper reduces the duration of Crowd Control (ALL CC, many people think it only reduces the duration of stuns and slows), so maxing out Swiftness will make Mundo -almost- go anywhere he pleases! You don't want Legendary Guardian , because it's such a tiny bonus you will hardly ever notice it (+15 Armor and Magic Resist in a teamfight).
spc
> Finally, you are left with 1 single point to assign and 3 keystone masteries. If I could take all of them I would ("Rex, ye greedy besterd"), but unfortunately, that is not an option! Personally, I prefer Bond of Stone , because it reduces ALL damage taken by 4% (up to 8% when near a teammate) thus allowing you to tank a lot more damage during fights. If you're not the good samaritan kind of guy and are a lil' selfish prick, take Grasp of the Undying, as it will increase your damage output by a decent amount.
> You might be asking why haven't I considered Strength of the Ages , right? Simply because I think it takes way too long for you to stack the 300 health it provides, and compared to the other two masteries, this one feels subpar.
> Some people have asked me if CUNNING wouldn't be a better option on a champion like Dr. Mundo. The short answer is: no. It is not. And let me tell you why (strong The Godfather reference, Rex). In order to know where to assign the remaining 12 points, we need to analyze the pros and cons of each tree.
> At tier 1, Cunning provides Dr. Mundo with easier farming thanks to Savagery (or if you plan to roam a lot, you can always take Wanderer , while Ferocity increases his abilities' damage by 2%.
> At tier 2, Ferocity provides you with either more sustain from Feast or more damage output if you take Double Edged Sword (which stacks with Sorcery for a grand total of 5% increase), whereas Cunning gives you the choice of Runic Affinity (which is a VERY CLEAR no no), Secret Stash and Assassin . The first one is completely useless from level 6 up until you finish your build, so it’s really only useful early game and super late to extend elixir duration. The second one is great for trading and skirmishes, but it only works when you are alone, meaning it is useless in teamfights and ganks (you’re a tank, after laning phase is over, the mastery becomes pretty much obsolete, since you should be near your team most of the time).
> At tier 3, we have Vampirism on the Ferocity tree and Merciless on the Cunning tree. 5% increased damage when an enemy is below 40% health is definitely better than 2% lifesteal, but keep in mind that Sorcery coupled with Double Edged Sword already provides you with 5% damage increase NO MATTER the enemy’s health.
> At last, at tier 4, we have Oppressor versus Dangerous Game . If you take the second one, you only be using half a mastery, since Dr. Mundo has no mana (don’t even get me started on the “Mundo is always OOM” jokes, lol), meaning that the 5% mana refund on kill/assist is completely wasted. You might think the 5% health refund is great for teamfighting, but remember that Mundo has Maximum Dosage, which should take care of his survivability. On the other hand, dealing 2,5% increased damage to CC’d targets fits Mundo’s kit perfectly, since you can abuse the Infected Bonesaw > Blunt Force Trauma combo, not to mention this mastery also helps when your jungler is ganking.
> All in all, although being a viable choice, I find the Cunning tree lackluster, compared to Ferocity, which provides Dr. Mundo with a better damage output. In my eyes, there are a lot of small things that add up and create a waste of points.
Runes
How can Dr. Mundo go where he pleases if he is slow? The answer is he can't! These Quints are my personal preference, because it reduces the chances of you getting kited and increases the chances of Mundo avoiding (or intercepting) skillshots. Synergizes well with Maximum Dosage and Ghost and also makes up for Mundo's lack of a reliable escape.
As I mentioned earlier, we won't get a whole lot of CDR from items. Most of the time, the only CDR item you will have every single game is Spirit Visage, which equals 10%. With these 6 Glyphs you can push that up to 15%, making your Infected Bonesaws fly every 3,4s!
I take Scaling MR Glyphs to make up for 6 less slots (which are occupied by CDR Glyphs). At level 18, 3 of these Glyphs give you 9 MR, whereas if you were to bring 9 Flat MR ones, those would give you 12,06. You're sacrificing 3 MR for 5% CDR, which is not really that much (however, if you are swimming in IP, you might want to take 9 Flat MR when facing heavy AP champions).
The best Seals you can take on Dr. Mundo. These outscale the Greater Seal of Health at level 6+ and provide you with 216 HP at level 18! These are also better than % HP seals (with 4000 HP, you will get 180 bonus, while with Scaling HP you get 216) and will help you if your opponent brings Ignite to the lane (besides, it also helps your Goes Where He Pleases).
Greater Mark of Hybrid Penetration
Arguably the most useful marks on Dr. Mundo: double the penetration, double the fun! Your Infected Bonesaw deals magic damage and these reds will make them hurt -A LOT- early game. The armour pen. is also useful and it makes your Blunt Force Trauma steroid deal (even more) stupid amounts of damage early.
Also Viable:
Most of your opposition is going to be AD based, so these Quintessences aren't a bad option for Dr. Mundo, especially if you're up against the likes of Riven or Darius. They help you survive their strong damage and synergize well with your already good tankiness. If you're a rich summoner, I'd advise you to take these against hard AD lanes.
Very good option for Dr. Mundo if you don't feel safe early game while playing him. These quintessences synergize very well with Goes Where He Pleases and Maximum Dosage and help you survive strong poke. They are good throughout the entire game too, so if you want to replace the Greater Quintessence of Movement Speed with these ones it is 100% viable.
If you're having trouble facing heavy AP champions or if you're not comfortable with the CDR Glyphs, you can opt to take these instead, to reduce damage taken early on in the game.
Same deal as with the Greater Quintessence of Armor: you might want to take these if you're facing strong AD champions to minimize damage dealt to you. However, I wouldn't recommend you to take these against every single AD champion, since most of the time, health is worth more.
Honestly, the Greater Mark of Hybrid Penetration are better, but also very expensive. If you're like most of the summoners in League of Legends and use a Standard AD and Standard AP page, go with the AD one. These marks are cheap and can fill the slots untill you can afford real marks.
> When it comes down to summoner spells, there are only a few combinations possible. One spell is mandatory ( Teleport) and the second one is up to you!
TELEPORT
Teleports you to target minion, ward or tower after 3,5 seconds
> One of the best spells, in my opinion, for Top Lane. You can get back to lane quickly, barely loosing any EXP, you can TP gank a lane, you can go splitpush and if someone comes to stop you, you can use TP to get back to your team and fight the remaining enemies (map control) or you can force your opponent into a different lane, causing them to retreat from key positions;
Some Notes On This Spell
> Some things to note are that you can cancel this spell by activating it again. Why da hell would I cancel it? If you see you are teleporting to your death, it might be a good idea to cancel it, so that you don't die AND waste Teleport;
> Another thing you can try to pull off is an escape manouver! Imagine your entire team died (Rito knows how the hell that could happen) and you are being chased by the remaining 4 members of their team. You can use Teleport to get out of there in 3 seconds! You should be so tanky in the mid/late-game that the only thing stopping this from working is hard crowd control (sliences, stuns, fears...)!
> You can also use Teleport to save a minion that is being targeted by a turret, meaning that the tower won't switch targets, giving you some extra pushing power.
> If you have a Zac on your team, remember that you can use Teleport on his blobs (his passive)! This will make them INVULNERABLE for the duration of the channel, meaning you can save Zac's life.
Makes you move faster, ignoring unit collision for a short period of time (10 seconds)
> This is my favourite spell on Dr. Mundo: not only does it help you run away, but it also allows you to be more agressive, enhancing your already good chasing potential. But Rex! Flash will let you jump over walls, you need to be able to escape! My dear readers, you will soon realise that he is able to escape out of any situation, because it's a royal pain to kill him before he, literally, walks away...
Some Notes On This Spell
> Dr. Mundo is the kind of champion who can easily survive without Flash, but is prone to being kited. He has good sustained damage and little burst damage, which is one of the reasons Ghost is, most of the time, a better choice. Besides, your Maximum Dosage has great synergy with this spell increasing your movespeed by a great amount, so you will have absolutely no trouble chasing (and "sticking" to your target) or escaping!
> Regarding chasing & escaping, a person with Ghost will always catch a person with Flash, unless walls are involved, and a person with Flash won't be able to chase a person with Ghost, provided you can survive their burst (which is not a problem for Dr. Mundo).
FLASH
Instantly teleports you a short distance in the direction your mouse is facing
> Rex, are you trippin'? Didn't you just say Ghost is better? Indeed I did, it has a lower cooldown and synergyzes well with Mundo's Maximum Dosage MS BUT, there are situations where flash is a better choice. One example, if Darius comes knocking at your door, take this instead of Ghost. If you're used to play with Flash, you can take it anyway, it's just a matter of personal preference.
Some Notes On This Spell
> Regarding the Darius example, it is taken because of his huge early game burst damage. If Darius is level 6 and he successefully uses Apprehend, you are most likely dead, so Flash would be a better spell in this situation, to quickly create distance between both of you. It is usually safer to take Flash against ALL-IN champions, like Riven, Darius or Talon if you feel threatened. I still take Ghost 95% of the time though.
SMITE
Err... dude, what the hell is this doing here?
> Although Dr. Mundo Jungle is a thing, this guide focuses on the Top Lane role so, yes if you're Jungling only. Pssst... you! Hey, you! Yes, come here... There is this thing called Enchantment: Cinderhulk, ever heard about it? it gives you 15% moar HP. So, if you feel like YOLOing in NORMALS (for God's sake, don't take this in ranked), you can try this with Skirmisher's Sabre.
Some Notes On This Spell
> You can actually take this in ranked games, it is very viable on Dr. Mundo ( Skirmisher's Sabre - Cinderhulk ONLY!!), however make sure you have practiced this in NORMALS first. You are going to run Smite + Teleport, meaning you're sacrificing an escape spell to bring this one.
> Why is Smite good on Dr. Mundo? Simply because it provides you with +15% Bonus Health (meaning you'll grow into a health giant), flat health and AoE damage when in combat, not to mention better objective control (gives you an upper hand when challenging Dragon or Baron Nashor)!
> This item also allows you to get more gold from jungle camps, not to mention their great buffs (especially the Gromp's poison damage, wich has great synergy with Enchantment: Cinderhulk)!
> Finally, you are able to deal true damage to your opponent with Skirmisher's Sabre AND reduce damage dealt to you (by them) by 20%! Dr. Mundo, being a fighter, greatly benefits from these bonuses, increasing his dueling ability and negating most of the damage dealt by ADC's!
> Don't listen to the garbage of "Mundo has no escapes, so he can't run Smite top". This is GARBAGE! If you know what you're doing and are able to survive to level 6, you won't need an escape spell anyway, since your Maximum Dosage gives you a good a mount of movement speed and crazy health regeneration, meaning that ganking you is a waste of time. However, this is the main reason why you should practice before trying this in ranked games, you are very, VERY vulnerable to ganks early game and if you're shutdown you'll become useless. Moreover, late game Enchantment: Cinderhulk got slightly nerfed in patch 5.16, the bonus health provided went from 25% to 15%, but it's early game got a slight buff with the increase of flat health.
> This is the chapter where I explain to you what each of Dr. Mundo's abilities do, or at least, try to... > Dr. Mundo is one of the few champions who uses Health Points as a resource, both a blessing and a curse, because it makes you vulnerable early game (however, the cost becomes negligible as you level up).
Adrenaline Rush
Mundo passively regenerates moar HP.
> While it may not look like much, this is a decent enough passive. It scales well with HP and it compensates for having to use it as a resourse. It is also one of Dr. Mundo's sources of good sustain early on: while others have to use health pots, Mundo can chill a bit under tower and come back swinging! Don't worry, there are worse passives out there...
Infected Cleaver
Mundo throws a huge cleaver in a straight line.
Infected Cleaver ~ Ability Preview
> As Dr. Mundo, this is your bread and butter, ham and cheese (the whole damn sandwich) skill. Mastering this one skillshot means a difference between a kill, a death, an escape or getting caught. Landing Infected Cleavers is a MUST when you play Mundo, or they will cost you chunks of HP early game.
> One thing you MUST try to do is to harass your opponent with Infected Bonesaws whenever possible: it deals good amounts of damage early on and half the cost is refunded if you hit something, so there are no downsides to spamming this skill.
> Infected Bonesaws have a range of 1000, meaning you can safely check brush by throwing one inside it instead of facechecking it (example in the picture above), since if you hit something you'll hear the characteristic "splat" sound. It is very good at level 1 jungle invasions as well, since it has good damage and it slows the target by a decent amount.
> This is a very effective skill for farming too, since it's minimum damage is greater than that of your auto-attacks and it refunds the full cost if you land the killing blow with it.
Burning Agony
Mundo lights himself and everyone around him on fire.
Burning Agony ~ Ability Preview
> While this skill WILL cost you a lot of HP early game, it provides you with constant damage and CC resistance, which is why we level it up second. This is the skill that helps Dr. Mundo escape ganks, out trade opponents and farm every single minion in conjunction with Sunfire Aegis.
> You can start using this as soon as you get one of your core items (after level 5-6), since it allows you to trade very effectively (although you lose HP to use it, at this point your enemy will lose more than you).
> If you ever get ganked, activate Heart Zapperimmediately (it is also safer if you activate Maximum Dosage as well, since it provides you with strong HP regeneration and insane movespeed)! It reduces Crowd Control duration by 10%/15%/20%/25%/30%, depending on it's rank. This can and will save your life, since Dr. Mundo has no reliable escape other than trying to walk away.
Masochism
Mundo takes an AD steroid for 5 seconds.
Masochism ~ Ability Preview
>This is a great skill that makes Dr. Mundo a great fighter while still remaining tanky. With 100 bonus AD at max rank (plus 1 damage for each 1% missing HP, plus 5% of your maximum health), you can focus on building HP/Armour/MR and still deal good (-ish) amounts of damage with this skill. ALWAYS use this when trading, because it can turn the fight in your favour.
> Blunt Force Trauma works on towers (not the % health damage, though), so if you're pushing one, activate it to deal more damage.
> A very safe (and simple) combo you can perform to gradually whittle down your opponent is to throw an Infected Bonesaw when they are going in for farm and immediately use Blunt Force Trauma on them after auto-attacking once ( Dr. Mundo's E resets his AAs!). If they start running, you might even be able to perform this combo more than once.
Sadism
Mundo refuses to die for 12 seconds.
Sadism ~ Ability Preview
> This is the skill so many of you heard about. If used correctly (one does not simply press "R" when playing Mundo), it can make Mundo immortal for the whole duration of the spell. Keep in mind that Ignite and Grievous Wounds will reduce the regeneration effect (you won't regenerate anything), so watch out for that.
> Maximum Dosage costs 20% of your CURRENT health, but it will regenerate 40%/50%/60% of your MAXIMUM health! Because it costs 20% of your current HP and it is a regenerative effect, it is more effective to use it right before you take major damage, or else it might not be enough to save you (use it too late and you're dead).
> Dr. Mundo has very strong baiting potential due to this skill: you can hug your tower when low on HP and if someone greedy tries to dive you (think Fiora), you activate this and you will most likely survive (same goes for trying to bait the enemy team into your own). You can also keep track of your EXP bar and engage the enemy laner at level 5 (almost six) in his creep wave: you will get their aggro, but your minions will keep attacking them so, when 2-3 minions die you will be level 6 and you can use Maximum Dosage to take your opponent by surprise!
Skill Order
>>>
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
Q
E
Q
W
Q
R
Q
W
Q
W
R
W
W
E
E
R
E
E
> There isn't much to say about the skill order, you max Maximum Dosage whenever possible, because each point adds a chunk of regeneration and the cost remains the same (don't forget the bonus movespeed!).
> You want to max Infected Bonesaw first, because it deals % Current HP damage, which is good, not only because champions gain HP every level, but Top Lane usually builds HP items early (e.g.: Sunfire Aegis), making this ability a strong poke in lane (armour won't do any good as well, since the cleaver deals magic damage). This is a very useful skill to farm if you're laning against, for instance, a Fiora where getting too close would imply getting kited.
> You want to take a point in Blunt Force Trauma at level 2 (it is pretty much a free B. F. Sword, which will help you trade and last hit) and then for reasons stated below, max this skill last.
> Max W next. While perfectly viable to max Blunt Force Trauma second (for extra damage), you really don't need that much more to win skirmishes. Heart Zapper provides you with some constant AoE magic damage PLUS Crowd Control resistance (up to 30% at max rank), so you will deal slightly less damage with this skill than if you maxed E, but your gank escape chances just went through the roof with this. Very useful to clean minion waves in conjunction with Sunfire Aegis.
> The part of the guide where I explain my item choices. That's all there is about this chapter. If you follow this build you should have around ~4100 HP by late-game, a ridiculous amount, even for someone as strong (in the aesthetic way) as Mundo! > Dr. Mundo's tankiness comes, -MAINLY- from items, so I strongly recommend you to build stuff that will give him tank stats (HP, MR, Armour), or else you'll become a one-shot-wonder for both ADCs and APCs (unless, of course you are playing Full Crit Mundo, if this is the case then forget what I just said!).
Starting Out!
Start 1
>The Good: Doran's Shield has great synergy with your passive, it provides 80 HP and 6 HP Regeneration, not to mention it blocks 8 damage from basic attacks AND single target spells. With this start, you can regenerate lost HP in a few seconds, while your opponent has to pop a Health Potion. The Potion you bring is for emergencies, when you fall bellow 40% HP and you need it back fast, or if you or your opponent go all-in.
>The Bad: Buying a Doran's Shield means that, eventually you will have to sell it, because it builds into absolutely nothing.
Start 2
> The Good: This start will provide you with some armour early on, very useful if you're against the likes of Fiora or Riven, since it'll allow you to rush your Sunfire Aegis faster. Besides, if you buy a Cloth Armor, you can take 5 Health Potions with you. As far as I know, the moar the better.
> The Bad: Well, you usually start this against heavy AD champions that can easily kill you in the early minutes of the game (which is bad). Your Goes Where He Pleases won't regenerate as much HP, because you didn't get a Doran's Shield, but those 5 Health Potions make up for it (a bit). Problem is, you have to go back if you run out of pots, or you risk getting yourself killed.
Core Items
Every. Single. Game.
> Their team will NOT be full AD, evahr! Their team will NOT be full AP, evhar! So choosing NOT to build one of these is a serious mistake, as it will hinder Dr. Mundo's fighting ability.
> Why are these 2 items core on Dr. Mundo? Well, they both provide HP (both your Goes Where He Pleases and Maximum Dosage scale with HP), the Cape gives you some armour and a great passive that helps you both fighting and farming, especially if you combine it with Heart Zapper and Visage gives you some MR and a passive that was made for Mundo: 20% increased regeneration (it's useful for both your Passive and R). With a Spirit Visage you will be able to regenerate close to 80% of your max Health! The 10% CDR is a bonus, meaning moar Infected Bonesaws flying towards your opponent's face!
Boots & Enchantments
Mundo Goes Where He Pleases!
> These are the two options you must choose from. After you completed your first Core item, Sunfire Aegis or Spirit Visage, get some Boots and start thinking which of these two you want/need.
> If the enemy team has strong Crowd Control, you might want to take Mercury's Treads, regardless of your lane opponent (they stack with Mundo's Heart Zapper, making him almost immune to CC). You also want to take these boots if your enemy laner is AP (e.g.: Cho'Gath...), as it will reduce damage taken from them.
> If you are laning against a strong AD champion (e.g.: Riven...), you WILLwant to rush Ninja Tabi, sometimes even before your core items, because of it's passive. Keep in mind that this item also reduces the damage from auto-attack modifiers (like Nasus' Siphoning Strike), so it is a good idea to get this early in certain circumstances.
> The first one is great for Dr. Mundo if you want to play agressively, since it'll provide you with bonus MS every time your enemy takes damage from you. Moreover, your Infected Bonesawslows them down, while you gain speed, making it almost impossible to run away if you land your cleavers!
> Enchantment: Homeguard is a good overall purchase, it enables you to run out of your base at the speed of light (saving you precious time), to quickly finish off the remaining "insurgents" from the enemy team, or if your team is not quite the strong leading party you thought they were, you can use this to defend your homeland for enough time to be able to make a comeback that History will remeber (or not, sometimes you will lose, ces't la vie)!
> If you are doing well in-game you can consider buying Enchantment: Distortion for more aggressive playstyle: not only does it lower the cooldown of your summoner spells ( Teleport + Ghost/ Flash) but it also enhances them. Ghost will allow you to stick to important targets with ease; Flash provides you with some movement speed, useful for escaping/chasing down enemies; Teleport also gives you a movement speed boost, meaning that if you teleport in a teamfight you can now reach the carries faster.
Defense/Offense
Defensive Options (vs. AD)
> If their team is AD heavy or has a fed ADC, you can consider building a Thornmail. It will deflect 15% (+0.25% of your bonus armour) of the damage done by basic attacks AND it provides you with 100 armour, which is, at the very minimum, good. Personally, I don't build this that often, the only occasion where I do is if they have 2 or more AA (Auto-Attack) reliant champions, like Tryndamere and their ADC, or Fiora and their ADC (or if the ADC is fed/stalling to late game). In this case, it will help you in lane and in team fights.
> Randuin's Omen is a very strong item on Dr. Mundo, not only does it give him more HP, it gives you an absurd amount of armour too, not to mention the passive and the active. The passive will reduce your opponent's AS (Attack Speed) every time they hit you: needless to say, it is a good idea to rush an early Warden's Mail in some situations (think Jax, I am tired of starring Fiora and Tryndamere) to hinder their ability to fight and if you are focused by the ADC in team fights, it will take more time to bring you down (specially considering the -10% damage from critical strikes). The active is great to chase down low-HP cowards or, if the cowards are on your team, you can secure a tactical retreat to save their ars*s!
> At last, Dead Man's Plate is the kind of item you can consider building instead of Randuin's Omen (i.e.: if the enemy team doesn't have fed ADCs or too much critical damage), it provides you with more health, almost the same armour and A LOT of mobility, up to 60 bonus movespeed! As Dr. Mundo this is great, since you'll be able to stick to targets without any problem whatsoever, you can roam more effectively and your initiations will be easier to pull off, not to mention what happens when you unload all your momentum: their squishies get slowed by 75% and go *puff*. Overall, great item that has strong synegies with Dr. Mundo's kit.
Defensive Options (vs. AP)
> One thing you should always keep in mind when playing Dr. Mundo is that Spirit Visage and Mercury's Treads (the boots you'll be building most of the time) provide you with 95 MR already. You need to think: do I want/need more MR? If so, then proceed to get one of these items.
> Usually, your support will buy a Locket of the Iron Solari. If this is the case, DON'T buy it (auras don't stack), get the Veil instead. If your support doesn't build a LotIS, it is a good item to build on Dr. Mundo. It provides you with 10% CDR, 400 HP and 20 MR, in addition to the aura and active. Only build this if you want to provide your team with more utility (for instance, if the enemy team has Cassiopeia and Lux, a LotIS would be a great purchase and your whole team would benefit from it).
> Banshee's Veil is a strong item if the enemy team is strong in terms of poke or if they have CC abilities that can screw your team up (e.g.: Vi's Cease and Desist, Blitzcrank's Rocket Grab...). It also provides Dr. Mundo with 450 HP, 55 MR and 100% HP regeneration, all stats Mundo benefits from. I just want to say that most of the time you won't need this, unless you find yourself heavily focused by CC (even Dr. Mundo has a limit on how much CC one can handle) or if they have fed APCs.
>**Note** Smart players will see you have the shield up, so they will not focus you, but someone else instead. You might want to take that into consideration and prepare to intercept a skillshot if you bought Banshee's Veil.
> The last but not the least, Wit's End is the kind of item you might consider buying if you or your team are ahead. It gives you 30 MR and 50% more AS, which by itself is great, but the passive is even better: you steal 5 MR from your opponent each time you auto-attack him! It stacks 5 times, meaning 25 less magic resistance, good news for your Infected Bonesaws, since the damage they deal will increase. I don't recommend buying this if you're not ahead, since it doesn't give Dr. Mundo HP: you WILL get kited when you try to get up close and personal to stack that passive, so if you're not able to handle that damage, it's not worth building this.
Useful Items
Mundo Approves
> Ohmwrecker. What the hell is this? I never used this item, bro! Well, this is an item that can have a great impact, especially in the mid-game, where Dr. Mundo can't tank turrets yet (without dying, you can tank them, but then you're most likely dead). It provides you with armour, health (moar HP is always good on Dr. Mundo), 10% CDR and a great active: it completely disables turrets for 3 seconds! Dude, seriously? Three seconds? GTFO of here! Hey, hold your horses! It may not seem like much but it is enough to kill someone (2-3 people) cowering beneath a turret and push it afterwards. Downsides? It falls off a bit late-game, because Dr. Mundo will be able to tank turrets all by himself, like a big boy so, most likely, you'll have to sell the Ohmwrecker making it slightly gold inneficient.
> If the enemy team has a strong burst (e.g.: LeBlanc and Graves, Darius...), you can consider buying Sterak's Gage to soak up their damage output. You're the tank, you WILL be focused (if not, you're not doing your job right and should be fired, lol), so it makes sense to build this against all-in/burst comps, as they won't be able to one-shot you, instead triggering Sterak's Fury which can turn a fight around. Do not however, build this as a last item, it wasn't meant for late-game. Best time to buy it would be mid-game when teamfights start occurring, since this item might just give you an upper hand.
> A great item you can build right after you finish one of your core items (or both) is Warmog's Armor. It's a super cost effective item giving you a stupid amount of health and regeneration, turning your own passive into a cheap copy of Garen's Perseverance! If you need to become tankier fast, this is the go-to item. Just to give you an example, after a teamfight, you are left with 500 health, but after 8 seconds you will start regenerating: along with Goes Where He Pleases you'll be back on full health in a few seconds alowing you to take objectives instead of having to go back to base to heal!
> At last, Zz'Rot Portal, the item that no-one even knew about. It has the same price as a Guardian Angel (which is useless on Dr. Mundo, because it makes you live twice... but you won't die even once, so you might as well replace it), 10 more Armour and Magic Resist, 125% bonus health regen and an active that can impact the game quite hard. The Voidgate can be used for wave control, splitpushing (combined with Dr. Mundo's Blunt Force Trauma it can be devastating to structures), baiting and even to provide vision. I recommend this item for more experienced players that can take advantage off of this, since placing the Voidgate isn't as easy as it sound. As of patch 5.16, Voidlings scale off of your MAXIMUM health, meaning that this item can definitely be an interesting choice on Dr. Mundo.
I'm Fed AF Item
> As far as my experience playing Mundo goes, you MUST be able to keep up with the enemy damage output, or else you'll be too easy to kill and you'll be useless to your team. In order to do this, you need to build tank: Sunfire Aegis, Spirit Visage and Thornmail come to mind (especially the latter, since the ADC rework).
> Titanic Hydra has a very weird build path (starting with Tiamat is useless, Jaurim's Fist gives you a way safer option, because even if you get shutdown, you can build it it into Sterak's Gage) and because of the reasons stated above you usually don't have the time (nor the money) required to build it. The only viable option is to build it whenever you are ahead of the enemy: you are able to snowball off of them, giving you enough time to rush Sunfire Aegis and/or Spirit Visage and go straight for Titanic Hydra. Killing your laner provides you with the much needed money to rush these items fast and the sooner you have it, the better for you, since you'll be able to roam out and snowball other lanes.
> Teamfights with Titanic Hydra on Dr. Mundo are simply ridiculous if you manage to properly use the active and the passive, since you'll be dealing a good amount of AoE damage. Its damage output is simply amazing (for a tank) and his 1 vs 1 becomes so strong only a select few can take him down.
> In this chapter I am going to explain how to play Dr. Mundo and survive the nightmare that his early game is so that you do not fall behind and become useless for your team, because the last thing you want to do (especially with Dr. Mundo) is to not be able to tank any damage and die in one burst.
> You might want to learn how to control waves, as this will greatly benifit you: you get safe farm and it makes the enemy jungler lose interest in ganking Top (basically, your survivability odds go through the roof) or, if you're ahead, you can deny them all day long. Here is a small video that explains this mechanic:
So, shall we begin? :D
Early Game
> Early game for Dr. Mundo, as I probably mentioned a thousand times throughout this guide, is a royal pain to handle against skilled opponents. You can get denied, pushed under your tower or, the worst alternative of them all, you can go 0/3/0 (or similar, like 0/8/0, if you're the drama type) and that's it for you: you got shutdown early and unless a miracle happens, you're no longer useful for your team, because you fell behind and won't be able to tank most of the damage dealt by the enemy. Lucky for you, it doesn't have to be this way if you play your cards right! So, what exactly do you have to do in order to succeed early game with Dr. Mundo? Simple! Farm, avoid trades, and keep poking your opponent with Infected Bonesaws, because they really hurt (make sure you hit something with them, because half the cost is refunded if you do). The reason why you need farm is because you're squishy without items (yes, Mundo is squishy early on), meaning that if you don't get those core items ( Sunfire Aegis and Spirit Visage) you won't be able to trade effectively. Just think of yourself as a Nasus with good poke and focus on farming until you get one of those. This stage is like workout, you're preparing for something greater!
> After you hit level 6, you can stay in lane indefinitely, thanks to your Goes Where He Pleases and Maximum Dosage, which is really good because most oppenents have mana and will run out of it eventually, meaning that you can farm 1-2 waves and go back to base while they lose EXP! Success! Do not be afraid to use your ultimate if you are low on HP, it has an extremelly low cooldown so you can use and abuse it, but keep in mind that you will need it if you go in for a kill. At this point you can out trade most of your opposition and if you're lucky, you can even get a kill or two. Do not push it, however, since Dr. Mundo can die easiliy if you're not careful or unaware of what enemy abilities do (for instance, it is best to avoid trading with Nasus inside his Spirit Fire, or things will get out of hand).
> How to kill someone? Well, I shall explain: what you want to do as soon as you hit level 6 is to start to be more agreessive and initiate small trades (keep an eye on your enemy's items/ Health Potions). Your Infected Bonesaws deal an absurd amount of damage and if you manage to land 3 or 4 in a row, you can try and go in for a kill (make SURE you have your Maximum Dosage ready!). Avoid at all costs fighting your opponent in a cluster of minions: not only will you take minion aggro, but your cleavers will hit them instead of the enemy champion, thus negating your main source of damage. It is always safer to use Maximum Dosage if you fall below ~40% HP, because you never know what cards those guys have up their sleeves.
What if things aren't going so well?
Spoiler: Click to view
> Sometimes, you will be completely trashed early on (e.g.: Darius) and there is little you can do about it. You can die once, it's ok, not much of a big deal, you can get back on your feet. You can die twice, it is understandable, he is your counter (or something along these lines), but you'll handle it. You can die three times, well, this is not looking so good, but with some help I can still recover. If you die more than 3 times, you're doing something wrong. So, what to do if you're against a hard lane/very skilled opponent? Well, first of all, you might want to go under-tower (it is better if the tower takes steady damage rather than you dying). It will allow you to stay equal (or close to it) in farm, because with Blunt Force Trauma it is very easy to last-hit, and reduce the chances of getting yourself killed. Farm with Infected Bonesaws if you can't/don't want to get get too close to the enemy, since they have good damage, especially against creeps. Ask your jungler for a gank. Most of the times, if Dr. Mundo dies early, he can recover by himself or with the help of his jungler, so no big deal here.
> Against hard lanes, like Darius, ganks will certainly help, otherwise you wouldn't be able to handle it alone (the max you can do is try to stay equal in farm). You win these kind of lanes by staying alive and not letting them snowball, this is crucial: one of those "the less I have the more I gain" situations, where it doesn't matter if you don't have any kills, as long as they don't have either. Make sure you follow your opponent if they roam, since it is easier to kill him if mid-lane helps you (not to mention the jungler, if he's around). They sure can be bullies in lane, but as soon as laning phase ends and the cavalry arrives, you will notice they are "nearly useless", because you did your job right and didn't let them snowball!
With this simple tactic, you won't miss any creeps (or you'll miss very few).
Things to keep in mind:
Max Infected Bonesaw first, it is a strong poke on low cooldown and take 1 point in Blunt Force Trauma at level 2 to help you last hit and trade;
If you are pushed under your tower don't panic, it is a good thing (super easy to last-hit with Blunt Force Trauma and your jungler is more likely to gank);
If your opponent roams, go after him, you might pick up a kill/assist and/or save a teammate;
If you find yourself being poked to death, fall back a safe distance and farm with Infected Bonesaws;
Do NOT use Heart Zapper before level 5-6, it costs chunks of HP and you will ultimately kill yourself. Only use it to escape if you get ganked.
Warding!
nwb
(as of patch 5.22, Stealth Wards got removed from the game, so please assume I am talking about Stealth Wards, because I'm too lazy to change these awesome maps that took me 30 minutes to make)
> Warding is very important, because knowing what your enemies are up to is invaluable info. Not only will you know you're getting ganked, but it'll let your team know that the enemy jungler is nowhere near them (or other team member).
> As a top laner, you'll want to invest some of that money into a Vision Ward and a Stealth Ward, because it can utterly save your life: if you're pushing the lane, the odds of getting ganked increase exponentially so, vision is important. If you communicate with your jungler (kill the crab) and mid-laner (ward that small bush in the middle of the river), you can have vision of the entire top-river and you'll see those ganks coming miles away.
> If you started on the Red Team's side, you'll want to ward the tribush with a Vision Ward and the upper-river bush with a Trinket or Stealth Ward. If you have one ward to spare, you can place it between the upper bush and the entrance to the Baron Nashor's pit. You can also place an aggressive Stealth Ward/ Vision Ward to gain vision of the enemya Blue Buff, not only gaing valuable info yourself, but granting your jungler and mid laner valuable info as well. You can also place a defensive pink ward in the bush near youra Chickens, so you and your team will know when the enemy jungler is invading.
> If you started on the Blue Team's side, your Vision Ward can be placed inside the small bush in the middle of the river. You can place Trinket/ Stealth Wards in the upper bush and the tribush mentioned above (not worth placing pinkies here, since these bushes are commonly warded by the enemy and he can easily destroy them, especially if you place one in the tribush, because he has easier access to it than you). You can also place an aggressive Vision Ward near the enemya Chickens to gain vision of the enemy jungler, benefiting your entire team by giving away is position. You can also use a pink ward defensively to ward youra Blue Buff Blue Buff if your jungler hasn't.
Mid-Game
> This is Dr. Mundo's time to shine: you are tanky (you should have Sunfire Aegis and Spirit Visage built), you have good damage, you can start pushing your lane (if you didn't do it so far) and you can start to look for gank opportunities (with or without Teleport). Make the enemy feel unsafe in their own lane. Is bot lane under tower? Well, just use TP and punish the enemy duo for being greedy! Is mid lane having trouble? Come down and lend a hand! Is Dragon being challenged by the enemy? You can Teleport down there and entretain them while you wait for the rest of your team to arrive!
> Don't forget that if you forget (strong grammar here Rex, 11/10) about top lane, it will eventually be pushed by your opponent and you might end up losing not one, but two turrets, which can be bad to say the least. You should still be focusing on your own lane and figuring out how to kill that scrub that is in front of you AND, if an opportunity arises, you might want to help your team. You do NOT want to be an underfarmed Dr. Mundo. The further ahead you are with Mundo, the better: it will become a real pain to kill you if you farmed better than the enemy (aim for ~150 by 20 minutes), because you will be stronger in terms of items and you will be 1-2 levels above everyone else, making you a huge asset for your team.
> Dr. Mundo is not the forgiving kind of champion if you somehow perform bad in the early game. If you are under-level, you should focus on farming back up as quickly as possible! Dr. Mundo's success depends on him getting focused by enemies and, I think I don't need to mention what happens if you're behind (spoiler: you get focused but you can't handle it and you get rekt, m8).
Things to keep in mind:
If you're planning on getting kills, this is the best time to do it (always consider if enemy has Ignite, Blade of the Ruined King or related regeneration counter);
> Okay, at this stage of the game, Dr. Mundo should be super tanky and incredibly hard to take down provided you did your job right. You are almost full build (1 or 2 items left) and should focus on sticking together with your teammates to bring down towers, seize control of the enemy jungle or engage in an all-out teamfight. Don't forget about splitpushing! While the enemy team is slugging together in the mid-lane, you can go splitpush top or bot and if someone comes to stop you, use Teleport to get to your team and start a 5 vs 4 (4 or less if more people came after you).
> You are theTANK, you are the FRONT LINE, you take the damage aimed at your teammates and stick to their carries at all costs, throwing Infected Bonesaws at their faces! IF the enemy has an Assassin or someone with a good burst (e.g.: Shaco...), you might want to consider protecting your own carries from them by putting yourself between both and not letting them get close. Do NOT be afraid of taking damage, if you are at least the same level as they are, you will be able to take it and if you ever fall below 50% HP you can consider using Maximum Dosage.
> It is not easy to position yourself in a teamfight as Dr. Mundo. You have absolutely no gap closer, which means you have to literally, walk into the enemy. Your onslaught, however, will most likely be kited and the enemy will disengage, resulting in you taking unnecessary damage. Well, what to do then? If you have someone like Leona or Thresh on your team, you might want to let them engage first, and then rush the enemy. If you have no-one else on your team with a decent enough engage ability, I'm afraid you'll have to be creative: one option is to hide somewhere and then engage the enemy team from the sides or rear (flank), tanking the damage you receive (you will, most likely be focused by everyone, so it is IMPORTANT to let your team know you're coming in hot, or else you might be forced to disengage, even with Maximum Dosage active) while your team focuses down priority targets (basicaly, you rush from the sides, they get surprised, try to focus you and while they are focusing you, your team is being completely ignored, giving them a chance to kill something). Another option is, like I mentioned above, to "walk into the enemy team": although not very effective, since they can kite your glorious charge, it can work if they don't disegage and you are able to reach their carries, but I don't advise you to do this unless you really have to or if you are ahead enough that the damage you will take during the assault is negligible.
> Always keep track of who is carrying Ignite and similiar things (if you ever get ignited, restrain from using Maximum Dosage before the debuff ends, or you'll waste a lot of regeneration). It might not be such a good idea to engage on a Vayne that has a Blade of the Ruined King, moreover dealing true damage (just an example). Keep small things like that in mind when you choose to lock down a target, because you'll have to keep them focused on you until your teammates rip the front line and come help you.
Things to keep in mind:
You are ridiculously hard to kill at this point, don't be afraid to take damage;
If there seems absolutely no escape from death, try to use Teleport to get out: you are so tanky that the only thing stopping this from working is hard Crowd Control;
ALWAYS turn Heart Zapper on during a teamfight, it deals AoE damage;
Remember to use your trinket! Having vision during late-game is invaluable;
It is best if Dr. Mundo waits for someone else to engage and then rush ahead, but if this is not possible, you must be the one to engage;
Your Infected Bonesaw deals good damage + slows the target, throw them constantly while both teams are preparing to fight (you might catch someone out of position);
Stick to the carries! However, if they are far back, it might be best not to go 1 vs 5, especially if your team hasn't caught up to back you;
“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.” ~ Sun Tzu, The Art of War
> This section is a constant work-in-progress! I have faced almost all possible Top-Laners with Dr. Mundo, however, one or two might have gone unnoticed. If you don't see the matchup you were looking for, it means one out of two things:
I am still working on it;
I don't have enough info regarding this matchup;
> Either way, you have a brief matchup explanation at the beginning of the guide that includes champions I have faced. If you'd like to contribute with some information regarding a matchup, be sure to post it in the comments and we can discuss it.
> The diffuculty scale is measured from 1 to 10, 1 meaning you can go AFK and win and 10 meaning for the love of Rito, don't feed.
Malphite, the Butter Stick
Difficulty: Easy (1/10)
How To Beat Him?
Levels 1-5
--> One of the easiest matchups you'll ever find. You can start to deny him farm at level 1 or just freeze the lane so that he doesn't get any EXP. Next step is to go get a cup of coffee (don't forget to turn Auto Attack on) and come back 15 minutes later only to find that you're 99/0/+∞! Oh, you mean you wanted real tips? Not good enough to GG AFK? Ok then...
--> I don't really have strong tips regarding this matchup, I never lost laning phase against this guy. He ususally builds a ton of armour, which is useless against Dr. Mundo, since your cleaver deals magic damage (not to mention it will chunk his HP by half in 2-3 successeful throws). His shield is useless if you always harass him (you must harass him as much as you can) and he can even be killed before you get access to your Maximum Dosage.
--> You have a lot more sustain than Malphite and if he wastes his mana on Seismic Shards make sure you punish him for it. After level 6, he won't be able to kill you on his own, ever (I know how badly you wanted to troll this game, but even if you want to, it's hard to die to this guy), so if he's got any brains left, he will start roaming: needless to say, follow him and proceed to rekt him.
--> Malphite deals damage based on his AP so, you can immediately rush Spirit Visage to get use of its passive. You should still, however, build the Sunfire Aegis afterwards. If you feel very confident, you can go as far as starting with a Ruby Crystal and 2 Health Potions and proceed to feed yourself (I wouldn't recommend starting this unless you are absolutely, 140% sure you can get a kill before level 6, because if you wanted to farm, you should've gone with the sustain start).
Start: Recommender Items:
General Tips:
Try to deny Malphite as much farm as possible to make him useless for his team;
If he roams follow him and it will most likely result in a kill/assist;
Never let his shield regenerate, since it will block 1 Infected Bonesaw (lel, I'm out of good tips);
Try to kill him as much as possible? Hell, I don't know what else to write, this is too easy of a matchup...
Kennen, the Fake Ninja
Difficulty: Easy (3/10)
How To Beat Him?
Levels 1-5
--> Kennen doesn't really have any advantage over Dr. Mundo apart from his stun. You should play safe early game and avoid his basic attacks (though they won't hurt that much) and Thundering Shurikens. Throw back Infected Bonesaws whenever possible, since they will hurt him.
--> You should avoid getting hit when Mark of the Storm is active because he will stun you and proceed to kite you, while you won't be able to do anything about it (you will be receiving damage and dealing none). Try to farm with Infected Bonesaws if you have 2 stacks of it until it is disabled.
--> When you hit level 6, it is super easy to kill Kennen: for optimal results, try to land 2-3 Infected Bonesaws before you engage. When you do engage, activate your Heart Zapper, your Blunt Force Trauma and proceed to chop his face! If he uses Slicing Maelstorm activate your Maximum Dosage and you pretty much won already. Sometimes, he will be able to escape due to his passive, but if you know what you're doing you can tower-dive this guy ( Maximum Dosage + Ghost) and walk away with it.
--> Dr. Mundo is well known for being a strong pick against AP based champions and guess what? Our friend Kennen here is a mage! Great news for Dr. Mundo since you can immediately rush Spirit Visage.
Levels 6+
--> You can try to deny him farm after you get Spirit Visage or after you have killed him at least once. His poke will be pretty much non-existant and he won't be able to kill you on his own. Just zone him from your wave and keep farming!
--> Watch out for Kennen's gank setup, since he can easily bait you into an apparently easy fight and stun you, while the jungler comes to help him out. He should also have access to Zhonya's Hourglass after level 6, meaning you will get a little outtraded from his ultimate, but it shouldn't stop you from killing him.
Start: Recommender Items:
General Tips:
Play safe until you get access to your Maximum Dosage and try to make him feel confident;
Zone him after you hit level 6, he doesn't have the power to stop Dr. Mundo on his own (watch out for those ganks).
Wukong, the Coward Clown
Difficulty: Easy (3/10)
How To Beat Him?
Levels 1-5
--> This matchup is pretty much a free lane for Dr. Mundo, but not before level 6! Play very safe until then, since Wukong has enough early game damage to kill you if you're careless. His Nimbus Strike is dangerous early on and he'll probably be maxing it first, meaning that you will be taking good amounts of harass before you reach level 6.
--> When you hit level 5-6, you can start to become more agressive and try to force small trades with him, since it will usually mean he'll have to disengage using Warrior Trickster, because he won't be able to handle Dr. Mundo's damage output. Even if the trade hasn't gone your way, you have better sustain than Wukong, meaning you'll get your health back faster than him.
--> It is important to learn who is who when fighting Wukong, since he can trick you into fighting his clone making you waste time and health. Because of this, you might want to buy a Vision Ward (place it in the closest brush to his tower) or, if you're feeling confident enough Oracle's Lens. This will allow you to quickly chase down Wukong if he ever attempts to escape using Warrior Trickster.
--> When you get access to Maximum Dosage you can go ham on this guy! As mentioned in previous chapters, avoid fighting in clusters of minions, because it'll make Dr. Mundo miss his cleavers, the main source of damage. When he uses Warrior Trickster one out of two things can happen: he will escape and you won't know where he is or you will be able to see him using a Vision Ward/ Oracle's Lens and proceed to chase him down and kill him. Beware of his R, Cyclone, it can knock you up and allow him to escape either way (because of his high escape potential, you can consider building an Ohmwrecker to chase him undertower, allowing you to get fed).
Levels 6+
--> Dr. Mundo is a tank that benefits from building health. Moreover, Wukong is an AD champion meaning that you will build armour as well, so his Crushing Blow won't be working at 100%, meaning you can handle a good part of his poke.
--> Keep farming, the chances of killing him when he has his decoy is below 50%. If, however, you can bait his Warrior Trickster and make him stay in lane (since it has a lenghty cooldown of 18 seconds) your kill potential is quite high and you should attempt to engage him when possible.
--> Wukong is, just like you, a late-game beast. Fortunately, Dr. Mundo has the tools to shut this guy down relatively early by zoning him from farm, denying Wukong the much needed items he needs to succeed.
Start: or Recommended Items:
General Tips:
You must try to play safe until you reach level 5-6, if needed you can even start Cloth Armor and 5 Health Potions;
Learn who is the clone and who is Wukong, since attacking the clone is a waste of resources;
You can start a trade, force him to use Warrior Trickster and if he comes back you can re-engage and kill him;
If you ask for a gank and have true sight, it is super easy to kill him, even if goes undertower, just let your jungler know you'll be tanking the damage.
Teemo, Satan's Incarnation
Difficulty: Easy (-ish) (4/10)
How To Beat Him?
Levels 1-5
--> The devil himself, disguised as a poor, innocent yourdle. Do not be fooled by his friendly looks, though! This little sh*t will disembowel you before you even have time to call Sam and Dean! Teemo can be a real pain before level 6. You want to stay away from him and farm with Infected Bonesaws. There's no workaround for this. He will poke Dr. Mundo so hard with his basic attacks DoT and you won't even have time to poke back (a.k.a., you will get kited). Just respect his space, the lane is his during early game. He will definitely outpush you, so calling for a gank might be a good idea, since Teemo has no escapes.
--> Although Teemo uses basic attacks, the main source of his damage is Magic based, meaning you have to rush a Spirit Visage to withstand his damage. You shouldn't have any trouble dealing with his poke after you get it.
Levels 5+
--> Level 6 is where this matchup gets serious. Time to apply all that knowledge you gathered from watching Supernatural, The Exorcist and Evil Dead, because you're about to beat the evil out of this poor yordle. Now that you have access to Maximum Dosage, you can consider the lane won. You can engage Teemo as soon as you get it, provided you have enough health (60-70% should be enough) and with some luck you'll be able to burn a Flash or even pick up a kill.
--> Killing Teemo after level 6 is just like taking candy from a baby. Your Infected Bonesaws alone are enough to zone him from farm and you should be able to push him under turret. Just remember you can start playing aggressive now, your damage is too high for Teemo to handle on his own and if he's not careful you can easily kill him. Just be wary that he can blind you for a few seconds, making you potentially miss 1-2 Blunt Force Trauma hits, so avoid using it for the duration of the effect (either way, your Heart Zapper should deal good amounts of damage too). Make sure you hit every single Infected Bonesaw in order to perma-slow him and maximize damage.
--> Noxious Trap can be really annoying. Imagine you were about to kill him and you step on this, allowing him to escape. Although Dr. Mundo's Heart Zapper reduces the duration of the slow, it can still be enough for Teemo's great escape if your Maximum Dosage is on cooldown (don't forget your ultimates grants you movement speed). His mushrooms are also very good to set up ganks, Teemo players like to place them in bushes, so if you get ganked, DON'T enter those bushes! The safest escape route is to run along the "minion line", the path minions take when they enter lane, because if there were any Noxious Traps there, your minions would've activated them and you have a clean escape route. Because of this, you might consider buying a Vision Ward and place it in one of the bushes in order to see and disable them.
--> If you're chasing Teemo, avoid taking his exact path, because he is most likely leading you to one of his minefields. Try to deviate a bit right or left and land those Infected Bonesaws to slow him down.
Start: Recommended Items:
General Tips:
Hold tight early game, Teemo's magic DoT can be devastating so, farming with Infected Bonesaws is the best option;
Although he uses basic attacks often, his main source of damage is AP based, so rushing a Spirit Visage is a good idea;
After you have Maximum Dosage this matchup gets a lot easier and you can start playing aggressive;
--> Pantheon is a real pain in the butt to deal with early game: his poke is so strong, moreover it is point and click (I'm talking to you, Spear Shots) that it can be really hard to do anything against him. Fortunately, you only have to put up with this cr*p until you reach level 6, where you get a decent power spike while Pantheon gets... well... a cool jump to run away from you!
--> Because of his strong poke and point-and-click stun, it is best if you farm with Infected Bonesaws, thus keeping your distance from him. Pantheon has really garbage sustain, so every time he comes close to land a Spear Shot, throw a cleaver in his mouth and back off: this will win you trades and if he is dumb, he'll keep doing this and wasting his mana trying to poke you down.
--> You have two options regarding what to buy against him: if you feel brave, you can get a Doran's Shield and hold tight until you reach level 6, where you proceed to wipe the floor with his face or you can start Cloth Armor to mitigate his damage and outsustain him. Either start is good, but for newer players I'd recommend Cloth/5, because pre-6 Pantheon is no joke.
Levels 6+
--> After putting up with Pantheon's shiet for five levels, it is finally your turn to do something. After you get a Sunfire Aegis (or Bami's Cinder) you should be able to EASILY outtrade him and outpush him. Make sure you start playing agressive, Pantheon won't be able to do jackshiet against you and if he keeps poking you, just press Ctrl + 4 (/laugh) and throw cleavers at him. Those spears won't be doing any damage to you, since you can just heal back in a matter of seconds, but they WILL be doing serious damage to Pantheon's mana pool.
--> If he is dumb enough to engage at this point, don't waste the opportunity! Engage as well and it should be an easy fight. Make sure the whole place is warded and lit up like a Christmas tree, because Pantheon has a point-and-click stun that is great for ganks. Make sure you save your Teleport for when he uses his ultimate, it can end up saving someone's life.
Start:OR Recommended Items:
General Tips:
Pantheon has very strong poke early game, just make sure you stay out of his Spear's range;
Play safe and patiently, don't try to engage, but keep throwing those Infected Bonesaws since he has no sustain whatsoever;
After you have access to Maximum Dosage you can start playing aggressively, Pantheon won't be able to do anything against you;
--> You really can't do anything about Vladimir before level 5-6, he has just way better waveclear than you do ( Tides of Blood + Transfusion) and his Q harass is easier to use than your Infected Bonesaw. Just try to farm as much as you can, if needed (you probably will, in the remote possibility that he's a good player) with your Infected Bonesaws.
--> Vladimir is a mage, so you can rush your Spirit Visage right away! It will help you tremendously in this matchup.
--> Keep doing the same thing until you reach level 5-6, then you can start farming with your auto-attacks again and you can use Heart Zapper + Infected Bonesaws to force Vladimir use his W, Sanguine Pool. If you are able to bait his pool and he stays in lane, you can attempt to go ham on him, since that ability has a horrendous cooldown of 26 seconds, enough time for you to kill him if you have Maximum Dosage.
Levels 6+
--> After level 6, you should be able to control the lane, you have good waveclear and can shove Vladimir under his tower if you want to. He shouldn't be able to out trade you anymore and his Sanguine Pool should be super easy to bait.
--> Again, unless Vladimir's pool is on cooldown, forget about using him for Mundo's experiments, since you won't be able to catch him. Try to fake an all-in, forcing him to retreat, then pretend to farm (while actually farming!!) and if he stays, you can attempt to kill him, even if he is underturret (beware of his ultimate, Hemoplague, if you are thinking about diving this guy, since the tower's damage will be amplified).
Screenshots!
--> Most likely, Vladimir will push the lane hard early on and you will be forced to farm undertower, because he has very good waveclear. His poke is also very annoying, Transfusion and Tides of Blood will deal a good amount of damage to you before you get some MR. Just farm with Infected Bonesaws and stay safe. As you can see, this leaves him very vulnerable to ganks, which is good for you.
--> This matchup is a huge farm festival unless you find clever ways to bait Vladimir's Sanguine Pool. In the picture above, just a few minutes after Lee Sin ganked, I decided to place a ward inside the range of Vladimir's Vision Ward. I never thought he'd actually bite it, but he did. He went down the river and destroyed my ward!
--> When Vladimir was returning to lane, I immediately activated Heart Zapper, Blunt Force Trauma and threw an Infected Bonesaw at his face. He realised he was taking too much damage from me and decided to use his Sanguine Pool to run away. However, he didn't run away undertower, but rather behind his own minions, which was a huge mistake!
--> If an opportunity like this ever appears, DON'T waste it! You can see I got Vladimir cornered, his decision to stay in lane was his undoing. You have a good amount of damage, and the only thing you should watch out for is Vladimir's Hemoplague. You shoud have absolutely no trouble killing him if his pool is on cooldown. Above, Vlad realises he's going to die, so he starts running towards his tower, but I activate Ghost and go after him.
--> Vladimir actually managed to escape, but my Maximum Dosage was still active and so was Ghost so I take the important decision of diving this guy. I land an Infected Bonesaw, and 2 more auto-attacks were enough to kill him. My Maximum Dosage allows me to tank the turret's damage and escape alive.
Start: Recommended Items:
General Tips:
Vladimir has good waveclear, just let him push, farm with Infected Bonesaws and wait for your jungler to notice he's overextending;
--> This is a very tricky matchup for Dr. Mundo. Gnar will start with his Q at level 1, meaning you will be able to farm the first wave with relative ease. However, as soon as he hits level 2, he will level up his Hyper. What does this mean for you? This means it is time to fall back a short distance and start farming with Infected Bonesaws, because if you let him stack his W, you will be taking % HP damage (needless to say, this is bad for you).
--> Keep doing the same thing up until you reach level 6. If you reach level 6 before Gnar does but his rage bar is empty, do NOT engage him, he will kite you and Hop away (unless he's stupid, in that case you'll be able to kill him). Wait until his rage is almost full or when he starts transforming to engage: Dr. Mundo's Infected Bonesaw deals more damage the more health he has, meaning it is easier for you to kill him in this form (he will also have reduced mobility, which helps Mundo land his cleavers and stick to his target). I recommend you to use Maximum Dosage if: you know you're going to get stunned by Gnar (he can easily stun you against the wall and then use his W to stun you again; do not underestimate his damage), if you fall bellow 50% HP or if he is about to go back to Mini-Gnar (it'll allow you to handle some damage and catch him).
--> It is super easy to kill Gnar if you ask for a gank. Keep in mind it is easier if he is about to enter Rage Mode, because his mobility will take a huge hit and your Infected Bonesaws will wear him down.
Levels 6+
--> After level 6, Gnar will have access to the Blade of the Ruined King, meaning that his basic attacks will hurt you a lot (moreso if you allow him to stack his W 3 times). Just wait until he goes berserk and attempt to kill him then. When he is normal, keep farming with cleavers and you should be fine.
Screenshots!
--> See that cr*p? That c*ap is called Hyper and it deals % HP damage, bad news for Dr. Mundo. It is because of this skill that you should farm with cleavers, so that Gnar is unable to stack it, or else you'll be taking massive damage.
--> As you can see, Gnar is feeling very confident, his Rage Bar is full and he thinks he can take me because I don't have access to Maximum Dosage. He uses Hop and Crunch to engage on me, but I was prepared for this! Little did he know the fight would turn in my favour.
--> Right here you can see that Gnar transformed and engaged on me. I obviously don't have access to Dr. Mundo's Maximum Dosage, but this does not worry me, because I know I deal more damage to this guy when he has less mobility and more health, making it easy for me to kill him. I activate Heart Zapper to reduce the duration of Gnar's stuns and slows and deal constant AoE damage; I also activate my Blunt Force Trauma to deal more damage with my auto-attacks; after that, it is just a matter of time until he realises the damage dealt by Dr. Mundo's Infected Bonesaws is too much for him to handle (the more health you have, the more damage they deal, which is why you want to fight Gnar in mega form).
--> Although Gnar decides to retreat, it is already too late for him to do so, he still has a lot of rage left, meaning he won't be coming back to normal anytime soon. I just chase him down with my Heart Zapper active while throwing Infected Bonesaws at him to reduce his already low mobility. Kill secured!
--> I've got absolutely no idea where the enemy Vi is and, as far as I know, she could be right around the corner, so I immediately activate my Maximum Dosage (I leveled up after killing Gnar), clean the wave ang go back to base.
--> Again, I farm passively while Gnar's Rage Bar fills up. I know it is useless to engage on him while he is normal, because he will be able to kite me and Hop away. When his rage is finally full again, I run towards him, throw an Infected Bonesaw and activate my Heart Zapper. He is slowed down and I am able to catch up to him when he finally trasforms.
--> Gnar is actually dealing decent damage and decides to engage me. As soon as he turns around to fight, I activate my Maximum Dosage because he will probably GNAR! me against the wall, which he did. Although he has a good burst, he lacks sustained damage and with the conjunction of Infected Bonesaws, Heart Zapper and Blunt Force Trauma I was able to once again, bring this guy down!
Start: Recommended Items:
General Tips:
After level 2, don't bother farming with AAs, using your Infected Bonesaw is safer;
Do not let him stack his W 3 times, since it will deal % HP damage to Dr. Mundo;
Normal Gnar has a lot of mobility, so it is pretty much useless to engage him in this form: he will kite you and walk away;
You can engage him when you hit level 6 IF his rage bar is full, since he will gain health and lose mobility, meaning it isn't hard to kill him then;
--> As you are probably aware, Renekton has a godlike early-game and you should avoid at all costs to get close to him, or else you risk getting kited. Renekton's downsides include absurd lane pushing, which is good for you, because you get to farm safely (I even recommend you to farm with Infected Bonesaws) while he is overextending, letting him open for ganks.
--> Nothing you can do about Renekton before level 6, just try to keep farming from a safe distance and if he manages to come close to you, try to land an Infected Bonesaw and turn Blunt Force Trauma on while trading; you will probably lose the trade either way, but at least you're not giving him free harass.
Levels 5+
--> When you get access to Maximum Dosage you can relax a bit, the hard part is over. You can now try to poke Renekton with Infected Bonesaws and if you manage to land 2-3 in a row, it is pretty safe to engage him (watch out for the amount of Fury he has, it might not be such a good idea if it is full). If he uses Dominus, even better, because it gives him health, while Dr. Mundo deals % HP damage. If you manage to get a kill on him at this point, you can consider your lane "pretty much" won.
--> Watch out when you go out of lane, since Renekton can push it quite hard and he can destroy your turret in a matter of a dozen of seconds. You shouldn't have any trouble fighting him post-6, but as I said earlier, keep an eye on his Fury, or you might get out-traded.
--> Here you can see Renekton made a slight mistake: he attempts to land his kite combo but he got way too close to our own tower, so there is no point in falling back, Dr. Mundo can just use this to his advantage and trade with Renekton.
--> Right here, you can see Renekton made a HUGE mistake: instead of using Slice and Dice to get out of tower range, he uses Dominus and attemps to take me down, probably because I have no ultimate. Although Dr. Mundo is not very tanky early game, he can handle some of Renekton's damage and since the croc's base health is quite high, Mundo's Infected Bonesaws deal good damage to him, slowing him down, making him unable to walk out of tower range. He finally realises he's not going to win and uses Slice and Dice to get out, but the final tower shots takes him down.
--> So, as you can see, Renekton pushes the wave quite hard and you can use it to your advantage. I use my Maximum Dosage here to get some sustain and clear the wave. It is impossible for me to get ganked, because I am so close to my tower (thanks Renekton), so I'm not even worried about Ekko ganking me.
--> Well, I am not entirely sure why Renekton teleported exactly there, but one thing is certain: my jungler is close and I ask her to gank my lane, since Renekton is overextended. I don't have my Maximum Dosage, but I am not worried about it, since 2 vs 1 should turn in our favour.
--> This is actually a very risky gank, Evelynn is still level 5 and Dr. Mundo only has ~50% of his health left. I start walking towards Renekton, but he somehow knew he was getting ganked and used Slice and Dice to engage on my jungler! While he is attempting to kill her, I have a chance to kill him.
--> As you can see, the gank didn't go our way, Evelynn barely makes it out alive and I am low on health. Moreover, Evelynn makes the mistake of staying in lane (almost getting executed by minions), making Renekton think he can either kill her or both of us. I try to land Infected Bonesaws while falling back to prevent him from using Slice and Dice.
--> Like I said, all I had to do was wait for my Maximum Dosage. Renekton thinks he can take me, so he uses Slice and Dice to engage and, as soon as he does, I activate Dr. Mundo's ultimate and it is certain death for him. The conjunction of Infected Bonesaws, Heart Zapper and Blunt Force Trauma is too much for Renekton to handle at this point and he succumbs once again. At this point I won the lane already, there is absolutely nothing Renekton can do to stop me now.
!BONUS!
--> In the picture above you can see I took out Renekton (just in case you didn't trust I actually killed him T_T) and Ekko is approaching to attempt to kill me! My Maximum Dosage is still active, so I fake a retreat to regain some more health before engaging. This is a risky move, but I am confident because Ekko is only level 5 (which means nothing, since he can still kill me, but you get the point).
--> As you can see, retreating allowed me to regain some health from Dr. Mundo's Maximum Dosage and now I engage Ekko. I activate Heart Zapper, Blunt Force Trauma and throw Infected Bonesaws at him. At this point I am 100% sure I can win, unless he can pull off some of that voodoo sheenanigans he is known for (BUT, Ekko has no ultimate, otherwise I wouldn't be engaging him).
--> Ekko now realises he made a mistake and attempts to run away, but I activate Ghost and one final Infected Bonesaw finds it's target and takes him down. I am now 3/0/0, a huge advantage for Dr. Mundo you should always try to preserve! Renekton has now absolutely, 140% sure, lost his lane and there is nothing he can do about it. He was rendered completely useless.
Avoid doing anything but farming early game, Renekton's kill potential against you at this point is very good;
It is safer to farm with Infected Bonesaws, since Renekton has a very safe combo with which he can kite you if you get too close;
Renekton has a good amount of base health and his Dominus gives him even more health, meaning your Infected Bonesaw is a very strong tool against him;
You can attempt to kill him at level 6, after you get Maximum Dosage, but keep an eye on his Fury and try to poke him before engaging;
Renekton pushes the lane quite hard, so he is vulnerable to ganks;
Riven, GG AFK
Difficulty: Medium (6/10)
How To Beat Her?
Levels 1-5
--> First of all, let me clear this out for everyone: you win this lane by NOT feeding, period. It is a lot better to cling to your miserable life like a lil' girl until you can tank Riven's damage, than feed her.
--> Never fight her in the early game unless you get level 6 before she does, since Riven can use her mobility do deny your main source of damage and out-trade you, the Infected Bonesaw (besides, the damage dealt by them early game is almost negligible, unless you can consistently land them).
--> Her shield is very powerful and will deny a good amount of your damage, not to mention she is very mobile, so timing is of the greater importance when throwing Infected Bonesaws.
--> If you know how to freeze a lane, try to do it as soon as possible and as close as possible to your turret (without it attacking minions). This will ensure you get level 6 before Riven and give you a very small window of opportunity to kill her. The goal is to freeze the lane, denying Riven some EXP and, when you get to level 6, you immediately engage her (she will be at level 5) killing her in the process. You are now 1/0/0 and you should hold on to this advantage tooth and nail! If you succeeded in killing her, I'd strongly discourage you from trying to do it again: just hold on to that one kill and don't die! It is hard to kill you, but it is hard for you to kill Riven as well and she can bait you real good if you get greedy.
--> The strategy mentioned above won't work if: Riven started Wolves at level 1, Riven knows you're trying to freeze the lane (obviously, if she is aware of it, she won't let you do it) or if she is carrying Ignite (you might be able to pull it off but it's a risky move that will cost you the lane if you fail).
--> What if you die? Well, if you die, you won't be able to do anything without the help of your teammates. It is sad, but it is the truth. If you play safe until you get your core items (+ Ninja Tabi, I recommend rushing this ASAP), you should be fine: you're not going to be able to kill her a lot, but neither will she (which is a huge blow for a Riven).
Levels 5+
--> You can continue farming as much as possibe and keep throwing Infected Bonesaws at her. They will hurt her. Unless you have a serious advantage (e.g.: Riven has no ultimate), I wouldn't advise engaging, because it can turn in her favour. Just keep farming and that's how you win this lane: you don't let her snowball. If she engages on you, use your Blunt Force Trauma, throw a cleaver and fall back, because if she has her Blade of the Exile she can safely out trade you. Keep farming and don't let her snowball.
--> If you survive Riven's burst, fall back or she'll finish you off with basic attacks/Qs. The fact that you survived her Blade of the Exile gives you a tiny window to engage and kill her, since her fighting ability took a blow. Do NOT underestimate her, however! She is very dangerous and you should play safe until you get so tanky she can't touch you.
Screenshots!
--> As you can see, we are 13 minutes into the game and I have a slight advantage over Riven (she died once while diving me and Zac, along with Hecarim, allowing me to get my Sunfire Aegis first back!). I am kind of scared she might engage now, because she has Blade of the Exile and can burst me down pretty quickly if I'm not careful, so I keep throwing Infected Bonesaws at her to deny her that opportunity, while farming.
--> Just as I expected, Riven engaged on me. Now, if you pay closer attention, I threw an Infected Bonesaw at her, forcing her to use all of her Broken Wings charges to catch up to me, without landing them (though the AoE on the last one knocked me up, which is why I activated Heart Zapper right before it happened). Your main concern right now should be Blade of the Exile, because if Riven activates it, she might have a chance at killing Dr. Mundo. This is why you must try to play with caution against her! That one skill and her mobilty are the reasons why Riven is a skill matchup and not a free lane.
--> After using all of her skills, there's really nothing Riven can do to Dr. Mundo besides using Blade of the Exile and attempt to kill him, but for reasons unknown, she didn't use her Ultimate and that was my chance! If something like this happens to you, you can safely engage her, with little risk of dying (make sure you look at her sword to see if she uses her R). I activate Blunt Force Trauma and start chasing her, always throwing Infected Bonesaws to slow her down.
--> Unfortunately, we all have bad days, and I missed the Coup de Grâce (missed my Infected Bonesaw T_T) against her, which forced me to use both Ghost AND Maximum Dosage to catch up to her. Her skills are on short cooldown and she uses her dash, Q and Ghost to escape. It looks like I threw it, but as long as Maximum Dosage is active, I still have a chance.
--> Fortunaltely, Riven used her last charge to attempt an escape, meaning she didn't have her knockup (it could've screwed the dive), so I ran towards her, tanking tower damage, threw an Infected Bonesaw at her and my AoE ( Heart Zapper) finished her off. As you can see, I escaped with a lot of health left.
Start: Recommended Items:
General Tips:
You can kill her if you get to level 6 before she does, or if her Blade of the Exile is on CD (proceed with caution);
Although Dr. Mundo has the damage to trade with Riven, as soon as she uses her ultimate you should disengage, or else you risk getting yourself killed;
You should try to hold on to any advantage you possibly have by not letting her kill you and snowball in the process;
The hardest stage of this matchup is early game: provided you survive it and don't let Riven snowball, you can consider the lane won, since she won't be nearly as useful in teamfights as if she was fed;
Garen, the Spin2Win Troll
Difficulty: Medium (5/10)
How To Beat Him?
Levels 1-5
--> Garen is not that hard of a matchup, but it can be tough early game, simply because of his Judgment and Decisive Strike damage. What you want to do is farm until you're capable of trading with him, which should happen at around level 3-4, when you get Heart Zapper. Just farm and avoid trades with him. If he comes charging at you with his Q, just throw an Infected Bonesaw at him and he will be slowed down enough for you to fall back.
--> Dr. Mundo is actually a great pick against Garen, provided you know what you're doing, because after you get a Chain Vest he doesn't deal any damage to you and his Judgment pushes the lane very hard in your favour. The only thing that is not so good about Garen is his sustain from Perseverance (which is almost equal to your Goes Where He Pleases), so it is kind of hard to force him out of lane early on. However, by consistently landing Infected Bonesaws, you will force him to back off to sustain himself, making him loose some creeps. Keep those cleavers flying and you should be good.
--> Garen players have this very weird habit of going into a bush and sitting there, waiting for you to farm up, push and then they come out, Decisive Strike you and spin2win on your face with Judgment. This is Garen's basic combo, whether he comes out of a bush or not. If you see him going into one, make sure you throw an Infected Bonesaw inside and if he insists on staying, make sure you punish him by constantly throwing those cleavers at him. If he starts charging with Decisive Strike, just throw a cleaver at him, this will slow him down and then when the enhancement ends, activate Heart Zapper and Blunt Force Trauma and go after Garen who will prolly use Judgment, but you will easily outtrade him, even if he uses Courage.
--> This matchup becomes a real pain for Garen once you buy yourself some armour as it will deny him a good amount of his damage, while you are still able to deal some to him with your Infected Bonesaw and Heart Zapper. He won't be able to kill you on his own, unless his jungler comes to his aid. Watch out for his silence as it won't let you use Maximum Dosage to run away from a gank.
Levels 5+
--> After Garen gets access to Demacian Justice it gets a little tricky for you. If you are the Villain, I'd advise you to farm with Infected Bonesaws and generally stay away from him, as he will deal true damage to you with basic attacks, JudgmentAND his ultimate, which can be devastating to you. If you are not the villain, then there is little you have to worry about, just make sure you don't use Maximum Dosage too late, because Demacian Justice deals damage based on your missing health. I'd say to activate it when you have around 60-75% health left, just to avoid being executed by surprise.
--> Make sure you bait Garen's Courage if you're attemting to kill him, as damage done to him while it's activated will be reduced by 30%! Just try to fake an all in, fall back and re-engage after it is over. It has a horrid cooldown of ~22 seconds, which gives you a huge window of opportunity to kill him. The ideal situation is to try and kite Garen with Infected Bonesaws, bait his Courage then activating Heart Zapper and Blunt Force Trauma so that you don't get outtraded while you're silenced. You will deal more damage than him if you do this and he's got nothing on you.
--> You are very unlikely to become the Villain after killing Garen, so you usually don't have to worry about his true damage. This doesn't mean his Demacian Justice is useless, it can still execute you if you're not careful, like I said (wrote, Rex, wrote!), use your Maximum Dosage early to avoid this.
--> Keep in mind that you outscale Garen as a tank as the game goes on, so it will become gradually easier to whittle him down.
Start: or Recommended Items:
General Tips:
Garen's Judgment pushes the lane quite hard and he lacks any reliable escapes, so ganking him early is effective;
The only thing you have to do to avoid Garen's combo is throw an Infected Bonesaw at him after he uses Decisive Strike as it will hinder his bonus movespeed;
If he goes into a bush, just throw cleavers inside and it will force him out;
After level 6, if you're the Villain avoid trading with Garen as he will deal true damage;
If you're not the Villain, the only thing you have to keep in mind is that you have to use Maximum Dosage when you have ~60% health left, or Garen might execute you.
Irelia, the Big Booty Grill
Difficulty: Medium (5/10)
How To Beat Her?
Levels 1-5
--> Tricky lane for Dr. Mundo due to Irelia's Hiten Style: it makes her basic attacks deal true damage for 6 seconds, which can annihilate you if you're not careful. She will probably max this skill first against you, because it provides her with much needed sustain to face you.
--> Irelia depends on auto attacks (and attack speed), so it might be a good idea to rush a Warden's Mail early on to hinder her damage, along with health to counter her true damage from Hiten Style.
--> In the early levels you'll want to farm passively with your auto attacks and poke Irelia with your Infected Bonesaws whenever you are able to, they deal good chunks of damage. Try to stay equal/ahead in farm until you get access to Maximum Dosage, there isn't much you can do for now but farm. There isn't much Irelia can do either, if she tries to all-in you, throw an Infected Bonesaw in her mouth and fall back. Take care if she activates Hiten Style as she will be able to outtrade you with it. You also don't want to stand near low-health minions (your own) or she will be able to use blade surge repeatedly, poking you quite hard. Just farm and kite with cleavers and you should be good to go until level 6!
Levels 5+
--> At level 6, you get access to Maximum Dosage and pushing you out of lane is a complete nightmare for Irelia if you know what you're doing. You can continue farming and wait for her to engage on you with Hiten Style: when this happens, kite her with Infected Bonesaws and when the effect is almost over, engage her and you should outtrade her easily. Keep in mind that you will deal more damage than her and she will be able to stun you with Equilibrium Strike, possibly getting away. Your kill potential against her isn't that high, but if she makes the mistake of engaging while you have Maximum Dosage, you can kill her (don't forget to dodge Hiten Style, I cannot stress this enough, because it deals true damage).
--> Irelia's ultimate, Transcendent Blades will hear her for 20% of the damage dealt by each blade, so I strongly recommend you to play around with your Maximum Dosage's mobility when she activates it (if needed, you can also use Ghost). Just pretend you're a facehugger (Alien franchise, whoo!) and stick to her, because believe it or not, it is easier to dodge it the closer you are to her. Make sure you move around her with Heart Zapper turned on and throw Infected Bonesaws at her. Once her ultimate is over, activate Blunt Force Trauma and proceed to kill her.
Start: Recommended Items:
General Tips:
Avoid trades early on, just farm as much as you can, there isn't much you or her can do to kill each other;
--> This is a very popular matchup for Dr. Mundo: whenever I pick him in draft/ranked there is always this guy who thinks, "Hey, Nasus kicks Mundo's a*s". Well, good thing I am here to tell you the truth, which is Nasus DOESN'T counter him. In fact, it all depends on who gets a slight edge.
--> As the game starts, you take Infected Bonesaw as your first skill and proceed to max it, while Nasus will start leveling his own Q, Siphoning Strike. You should focus on farming, since there isn't anything you can do early on to stop Nasus (always throw Infected Bonesaws at him, they will hurt him a lot).
--> At level 2, he's probably going to level up his Wither: nothing to worry about. At this point, you take a point into your Blunt Force Trauma and, every time Nasus comes to last-hit a minion activate it, attack Nasus and throw an Infected Bonesaw at his face (this will push the lane a little bit, watch out for that).
--> At levels 3 and 4, you should keep doing the same thing: poke Nasus whenever he comes to last-hit, there's really nothing else you can do. IF he engages on you, DON'T fall back! As soon as he throws his Spirit Fire, step outside of it (or you will lose the trade) and proceed to whack him: don't overtrade, however! It is better to fall back and let him use all of his potions (while you heal from your Goes Where He Pleases).
Levels 5+
--> At levels 5 and 6 you can start to be agressive: keep an eye on how many potions he has left and proceed to harass him with Infected Bonesaw and Blunt Force Trauma. If he Withers you, activate your Heart Zapper and it'll be gone soon. IF you reach level 6 before he does, engage immediately, because you'll have a strong advantage over him and it is a guaranteed kill. If you both are level 6, you must play your cards carefully: try to land 2-3 cleavers in a row and then engage. He will most likely use Spirit Fire and attempt to fight you inside it: step out of it and continue fighting. He will have to use Fury of the Sands if he wants to live, which lasts for 14 seconds, almost the same duration of your Maximum Dosage. As soon as he uses it, activate your ultimate and you should be able to kill him (do not forget to activate Heart Zapper while fighting). If he is outdamaging you somehow, try to bait him by falling back a short distance and kiting him with Infected Bonesaws, and as soon as you regain a little bit more HP, kill him.
--> If you managed to kill Nasus, you already won the lane. You might want to freeze it now and deny him farm or constanly try to engage so that he doesn't stack his Siphoning Strike. Don't forget you need to farm as well to get as further ahead of him and his team as you possibly can.
What if he gets ahead?
--> If you didn't kill Nasus, but he killed you instead, don't worry. Get your Sunfire Aegis and you should be able to fight him again.
--> If he somehow gets a steep edge over you (e.g.: jungler babysit...), the lane is going to turn into a farm fest and Nasus will certainly win, because the only thing you could do to stop him (i.e.: engaging) is no longer possible. In this situation, communicate with your jungler to help you back on your feet and delay Nasus as much as possible. With some luck, you'll be able to catch up to him and after that you'll be able to kill him (provided he didn't get too many stacks while you were waiting for that gank).
Start: Recommended Items:
General Tips:
Your best bet to win this matchup is early game: you must try to kill Nasus as many times as you possibly can to delay his farm (if you kill him once, you can harass fo' days);
This matchup is very balanced and depends on who gets the edge first: make sure you don't waste an opportunity to do something if it arises;
If your jungler comes to help, landing 1 or 2 Infected Bonesaws can make the difference between Nasus escaping or dying;
Rumble, the Terminator
Difficulty: Hard (8/10)
How To Survive?
Levels 1-5
--> This is a tough matchup for new Dr. Mundo players as Rumble's damage can be overwhelming early on if you're not careful. Rumble has to watch over his heat bar AND so do you! His abilities are empowered by 50% when he is in the Danger Zone of his Junkyard Titan, so you must pay attention to this when going in for trades.
--> For newer players, farming with Infected Bonesaws is safe and keeps you out of Rumble's harass range. For more daring people, you might want to farm with basic attacks and use Infected Bonesaws (along with Blunt Force Trauma) to trade with Rumble as his health won't regenerate as quickly as yours, but watch out for his Scrap Shield, since it might block your abilities and give him free poke against Dr. Mundo.
--> Rumble's damage is ENTIRELY AP based (even his auto-attacks, when Overheating), so you might want to rush some Magic Resist, namely Spirit Visage and Mercury's Treads.
--> Starting a Doran's Shield is actually not THE BEST option, it will give you much needed sustain, but the passive is somewhat wasted since Rumble's only single target spell isn't used that often. Because of this, you might want to consider starting a Ruby Crystal.
--> Don't fall in the noob trap of trading with Rumble when he is overheating (at least before level 6), his empowered basic attacks will completely annihilate you. The best way to trade with him is right after his silence ends.
--> Just keep farming the best you can (since there is little you can do for now), not forgetting to poke him with Infected Bonesaw and try to avoid his Flamespitter. This skill will eventually push the lane towards you and leave Rumble open for ganks. Though he does have his Scrap Shield, it's not a very reliable escape mechanism, so ganking him pre-6 might put you in the lead.
Levels 5+
--> After you get access to Maximum Dosage, things will get a little intense, because Rumble will have access to The Equalizer, which is a very, VERY dangerous ultimate as it deals massive damage per second. Keep track of his heat bar and avoid trading when it's above 50%, just keep poking him and move a lot, in order to avoid Flamespitter and Electro-Harpoons (if you get hit by one, use Heart Zapper to reduce the CC duration).
--> After level 6, the best time to engage Rumble is when he is overheating (don't do this pre-6), since he will be silenced for 6 seconds giving you enough time to deal serious damage to his machinery. Beware, because after the silence ends he WILL use The Equalizer and using Maximum Dosage is a MUST when this happens, because you'll want to get out of that AoE as soon as you can to avoid being, quite literally, melted. If you engage when he is just about to overheat, and get out of his ultimate after he casts it, you have a pretty good chance to kill him, though this requires strong timing on your behalf.
--> Because of his The Equalizer, I'd recommend you to bring Flash when facing Rumble. This is one of those situations where having a quick blink is more useful than a burst of speed. I cannot stress this enough: if you don't get out of his ultimate, you're dead! As soon as he casts it, run in the opposite direction (for the love of Rito, don't run along the equalizer), I SAID RUN, OMFG WHAT ARE YOU STILL DOING INSIDE IT??!!1111 Err... yeah, just get out of it by using Maximum Dosage or Flash. One thing is certain, you will have to use your own ultimate if you want to kill him, you won't be able to if it's not ready. Good luck!
Don't trade with Rumble while he is overheating (pre-6) because he will deal tons of damage with his empowered basic attacks;
Build Magic Resist, because his damage is entirely based on AP;
Avoid standing in The Equalizer's AoE zone, as it will deal massive damage per second;
Rumble has good gank setup, so make sure the entire lane is lit up before engaging;
The best time to engage him is when he is about to overheat, since he will become silenced for 6 seconds, preventing the use of his abilites (post-6);
Olaf, the Brolaf
Difficulty: Hard (8/10)
How To Survive?
Levels 1-5
--> Dr. Mundo and Olaf are like brothers: both are crazy and throw axes/cleavers at people. In fact, they have similar kits, but Olaf's has a slight edge because he has true damage, which is pretty bad since it counters you early game (and Mundo isn't famous for his early game). The only counter to true damage is building health, but you need money for that (orly?) and farming can be a little hard against a skilled Olaf.
--> Your main concern is going to be Olaf's E, Reckless Swing. He is probably going to max it first in order to increase his damage output against you. What you have to do is stay away from him and farm with Infected Bonesaws to avoid getting hit by it (that and his axes). One thing I can guarantee you is that axes WILL fly! Both of you have the potential to kill one another, but this usually won't happen, because you'll cower and disengage, either you or him. Regarding disengaging, make sure you do it at the right time, because if you start walking away too late, Olaf will use his Reckless Swing and you're done for. However, if he disengages first, proceed to kite him with cleavers and don't even think about going into melee range, because once again, he will bait you into his Reckless Swing and win.
--> Note that Olaf has better waveclear than Dr. Mundo, so the lane will be pushed pretty hard, meaning your jungler can come and gank for you, since Olaf has no escapes whatsoever at this point.
--> Olaf's axes fly through minions, and your cleaver doesn't. I know, I know, it isn't fair and you will have to dodge them, while that coward can use his own minions as meat shields. However, your Infected Bonesaw is on a much shorter cooldown, allowing you to spam it in his face, which you SHOULD try to do, since they will hurt Olaf pretty badly.
Levels 5+
--> After you get access to Maximum Dosage it gets a little bit easier, but Olaf should not be underestimated. The most important thing is to use it at the very beginning of the fight , since he deals a lot of damage and your ultimate is a regenerative effect. Other than that, it is pretty much a farm festival, not much you can do, killing a smart Olaf is impossible and the chances of him killing you are also pretty slim.
-- The less health Olaf has, the more attack speed he gains, you should always keep track of this, because he can easily outtrade you if you don't take this into account.
--> Watch out for when he uses Ragnarok, it makes him completely invulnerable to Crowd Control, so your Infected Bonesaws won't slow him down and you might die to his Reckless Swing. Also important to note this when chasing after him, you won't be able to slow him down, so you better make sure you have some sort of gap closer up (like Ghost, Maximum Dosage or something similar).
Start: Recommended Items:
General Tips:
Dr. Mundo has damage to trade with Olaf, but it is ill-advised to do so early game because of his Reckless Swing, which deals true damage;
Ganking Olaf before he hits level 6 is super easy and can put you in the lead, since he has no escapes whatsoever and he usually pushes the lane harder than you;
It is pretty much a farm lane, you both have enough damage to kill one another, but this will only happen if one of you makes a mistake;
Olaf becomes stronger with lower health (so do you, but his bonuses are stronger), so watch out for that and don't overtrade;
Make sure you land each and every Infected Bonesaw on this guy when trading, because the trade will go his way even if you only miss one;
A good way to trade is to throw Infected Bonesaws at him when he tries to pick up his axe (and follow with Blunt Force Trauma), since it will force him to get out of position and often into your minion wave.
Darius, the DUNKMASTER 5k
Difficulty: Hard (11/10)
How To Survive?
Levels 1-5
--> As you can see, Darius is labeled 11/10 (******* noobchamp), meaning this is one of your counters. You will probably lose to a good Darius player if you're new to Dr. Mundo, but in due time you'll find this matchup easy as pie (not even joking, after some time this actually becomes a skill matchup). The most important thing is to stay away from him and be patient, not giving him opportunities to brawl.
--> The reason why Darius is so hard to deal with is because of his outstanding early damage and your outstandingly weak early game. His passive, Hemorrhage counters your Goes Where He Pleases pretty hard, especially in prolonged duels where he is able to stack it. Keep away from him at all costs, or else he'll be able to poke you pretty hard with Decimate. I really hope you're a patient person, because this is how this matchup works: you won't get even close to Darius before level 10 (unless you want to feed or unless a miracle happens and you are able to kill him), so this is a farm fest.
--> Darius will level up his Apprehend at level 2 or 3, depending on how agressive he wants to play this matchup. Either way, don't you ever get too close to him, because he can simply pull you to him with Apprehend, use Decimate and AA you twice before you are able to walk away with 4-5 stacks of Hemorrhage. IF Darius misses his Q, you can trade a bit (because his main source of damage is gone), but make sure you know what you're doing, don't let him stack his passive more than 3 times or you'll lose the trade.
--> Because of the above, you might want to take Flash to escape his Apprehend + rest of the execution combo. I still take Ghost, but you'll have an easier time with Flash if things get messy.
--> Farm with Infected Bonesaws. What? That's it? Yes, that is pretty much it. This is how it goes, you farm with your cleavers because of reasons stated above (nurf Apprehend plz Rito). Whenever you get the chance, throw Infected Bonesaws at Darius because they will seriously hurt him, since he has garbage sustain and can't regain health that easily, meaning that a lot of successeful Infected Bonesaw throws can bring him below 50% health.
--> It is super easy to gank Darius before level 6, since he has absolutely no escapes. He will usually push the lane pretty hard with Decimate, so tell your jungler to try and gank you before 6, because if you get ahead, this matchup becomes relatively easy.
Levels 5+
--> So you thought you could relax now that you have access to Maximum Dosage? Bullsh*t! You CAN'T let your guard down at level 6! Darius now has his Noxian Guillotine and guess what? It deals True Damage (awww man), terrible news for Dr. Mundo. If Darius manages to pull you to him, activate Maximum Dosage when you have 3 stacks of Hemorrhage if he's still sticking to you, because as soon as it reaches 5, he's going to ult you. If you do this, you'll be able to survive his ultimate and walk away without even having to leave the lane.
--> You can actually kill Darius at level 6, in two occasions: if you get level 6 before he does (if this is the case and you have 90% of your health left, engage on him) or if you know what you're doing and are able to outplay him. Yo Rex, I wanna go ham, what do? Okay, let's suppose you know what you're doing. First thing, you want to make sure he misses his Apprehend, this is crucial. Second, you must also make sure he misses his Decimate. Baiting these two skills is the hardest part if you want to kill this noobchamp, because it makes YOU dictate the terms of the battle. You must be prepared to use Maximum Dosage as soon as you have 70% health left, DO NOT wait longer than this or you risk getting yourself killed. Darius WILL stack his passive 5 times, nothing you can do about that and he WILL use his ultimate on you, but if you did what I said you should be able to survive and finish him off. One thing to note is that you can't afford to miss Infected Bonesaws when dueling him, it deals chunks of damage and one can make the difference between a kill and a death.
--> If you ever get ahead of Darius make sure you start bullying him. You can trade with relative safety (especially if he doesn't have his Ravenous Hydra yet) and your Infected Bonesaws will hurt him badly. You kill him once, you can kill him twice, but this is not a reason to let your guard down, Darius still has enough damage to kill Dr. Mundo and you should always try to bait his Decimate before engaging. I repeat, only do this if you got ahead of him.
--> If Darius gets ahead of you, forget about your lane. I am dead serious. Do not attempt to engage him, do not try to trade, keep farming close or under your tower. If you lose your turret, don't bother going back if he's there, or he'll dunk your face in. Just start roaming and try to get back on your feet.
--> If neither of you engaged (both you and Darius are 0/0/0) and you spent the last 15 minutes farming you can try to go ham on him (level 10, provided you have similar farm), because at this point his damage starts to fall off and, since he didn't snowball off of anyone and you are becoming too tanky for him to handle. You should still proceed with caution if you plan on killing him, but you shoulnd't have trouble escaping if things aren't going your way.
Start: Recommended Items:
General Tips:
Darius has a strong early game, whereas you have a weak one so, stay away from him;
Darius will shove you under tower very early, meaning you can ask for a gank and easily kill him;
After level 10 he shouldn't be able to trade with you nor should he be able to kill you, provided you and him have similar scores (similar farm and KDA);
Play safe and you'll be okay. Don't try to pull off heroic moves unless you are sure they will work, because Darius will punish you for this;
Make sure you kite him early on, since he has garbage sustain and your Infected Bonesaw outranges all of his abilities;
> Well, that was my Dr. Mundo guide. If you made it this far, I'd like to thank you for reading all of it, it was a hell of a project and I had lots of fun (not to mention the work... oh, the hours...) writing this.
> If I helped you improve in any way with this guide, an UPVOTE would be nice or, if you think this guide needs some work/improvements, be sure to leave a comment and I will get to it as soon as possible.
> Thanks once again, I hope you had fun reading this and I wish you the best of luck in the Fields of Justice!
> P.S.: The skin used in this banner is called Runaway Bride Mundo and the splash art was made by MaTTcomGO; unfortunately, the skin never made it despite the 5000 upvotes.
MILESTONES:
#1 Haters Gonna Hate
8/7/2015 - #1 New Guide On MOBAFire AND 50k Views! Thanks to everyone who clicked/upvoted this guide, it wouldn't have been possible without you :D
20/8/2015 - 95,000 Views! Simply amazing! I can see now that all the work has paid off and I am glad that this guide has been helping you guys out ;)
8/9/2015 - #1 Dr. Mundo Guide On MOBAFire and 120k Views! Once again, thanks to everyone for their useful feedback and support that makes me want to continue working on this project :)
I hope you people will have fun playing this amazing champ!
Changelog:
Guide's Evolution and Upcoming Features
11/6/2015 22:46:
Guide Published! Grab your 1st Edition NOW!
* Working on remaining matchups.
~+~+~+~+~
26/6/2015 20:33:
Guide Updated!
* Updated Masteries and Masteries Chapter to version 5.12
* Updated Pros text
* Updated Mundo's Abilities Chapter
* Updated Runes Chapter
* Added Enchantment: Distortion in the items section
* Reworked the Warmog's Armor explanation in the items section
* Spell-Checked the guide
* Secondary information now in spoilers
Matchups Updated:
* Darius threat level lowered; still in red zone
* Gnar threat level lowered; went from red to yellow
* Cho'Gath threat level lowered; went from red to yellow
* Kennen threat level lowered; went from yellow to green
* Riven threat level increased; still in yellow zone
* Added Rumble matchup
* Added Irelia matchup
* Added Talon matchup
* Added Master Yi matchup
* Added Galio matchup
* Added Lee Sin matchup
* Added In-Depth Gnar matchup
* Added In-Depth Kennen matchup
* Added In-Depth Wukong matchup
Plans for next update (no promises):
* Screenshots/Videos for Gameplay chapter
* Screenshots/Videos for In-Depth Matchups chapter
* Smite + Teleport gameplay section
* League Glossary for newer players
~+~+~+~+~
29/6/2015 19:28:
Small Update!
Matchups Updated:
* Added Yorick matchup
* Added Pantheon matchup
* Added Swain matchup
* Added Vladimir matchup
* Added In-Depth Vladimir matchup
* Added Screenshots to Gnar's in-depth matchup
* Added Screenshots to Vladimir's in-depth matchup
~+~+~+~+~
2/7/2015 15:49:
Small Update!
Matchups Updated:
* Added Cassiopeia matchup
* Added Nunu & Willump matchup
* Added Jax matchup
* Irelia's threat level increased; still in yellow zone
* Added In-Depth Renekton matchup
* Added Screenshots to Renekton's in-depth matchup
* Added Screenshots to Riven's in-depth matchup
~+~+~+~+~
6/7/2015 21:33
Guide Updated!
* Updated Masteries Preset from 4/26/0 to 2/21/7
* Updated Masteries explanation
* Reworked the Summoner Spells chapter (included small explanation of Smite + Teleport)
* Cleaned up the introduction
* Cleaned up the Pros & Cons
* Changed the banners! You get a new banner! And you! And you! EVERYONE GETS A NEW BANNER!!1!
* Removed Ravenous Hydra from cheatsheet
* Added Greater Stealth Totem to the "Balanced Build]] in the cheatsheet
Plans for next update:
* Fun Build (Full Crit Mundo)
* MOAR Matchups
* Screenshots for the Gameplay chapter
~+~+~+~+~
20/8/2015 19:07
Guide Updated!
* Updated Cheat Sheet: Dead Man's Plate, Titanic Hydra and Sterak's Gage added;
* Updated Cheat Sheet Notes
* Changed Enchantment: Cinderhulk's % health bonus to the correct values as of 5.16;
* Updated Items Section taking into account 5.16 Changes;
* Minor text cleanup throughout the guide;
* Changed Summoner's Rift Map in the Gameplay Section (might change it again later);
* Removed Frozen Mallet from the build due to slows not stacking anymore;
* Removed Guardian Angel from the build, replacing it with Zz'Rot Portal;
Matchups Updated:
* Added In-Depth Pantheon matchup;
* Added In-Depth Olaf matchup;
Plans for next update:
* EVEN MOAR Matchups ( Irelia and Rumble might make an appearence);
* Those godddamn screenshots I've been promising for the last 3 updates...
25/8/2015 14:15
Guide Updated!
* Updated Cheat Sheet: Thornmail replaced Dead Man's Plate in the example build;
* Updated Introduction: now includes an anchor to a small glossary for newer players;
* Updated Teleport's tips: now lists the things you can TP to;
* Reworked Warding Section in Early Game Gameplay;
* ALL DEM MATCHUPS!! MOAR AND MOAR, UNTIL THEY ARE NO MORE!!!111
* Err.. you're here about those screenshots? They're coming... they're... uh... coming.
19/11/2015 14:56
Guide Updated!
* Sterak's Gage and Titanic Hydra now listed as situational items;
* Removed Elixir of Ruin from the build;
* Removed Quicksilver Sash from the build;
* Removed Liandry's Anguish from the build;
* Merged some items: now listed as "Other Items";
* Updated Masteries! As of patch 5.22, the most viable setup is 12/0/18;
* Updated Introduction's "Successeful Games" to match patch 5.22;
* Updated Pros & Cons icons (now Reinforced Armor and Safeguard );
* Reworked the entire mastery chapter to match patch 5.22;
* Updated some percentages (%) that were wrong, because of patch 5.22's changes;
* Updated Blunt Force Trauma's description in Mundo's Abilities Chapter;
* Updated Items Chapter to include Sterak's Gage and Titanic Hydra.
* Updated Warmog's Armor description in Items Chapter;
Plans for next update:
* Possible gameplay video. I've given up on the screenshots, because fk u that's why (jk);
11/12/2015
Guide Updated!
* Added more notes in the cheat sheet;
* Spellchecked the guide;
* Changed wrong values throughout the guide;
* I am still figuring out how to make that video...
Glossary:
league glossary
I hope I didn't bore you with all the LoL slang, but just in case you are a new player reading this guide, here's a couple of things you might want to know:
AA -> Auto-Attack
AD -> Attack Damage
ADC -> Attack Damage Carry
AP -> Ability Power
APC -> Ability Power Carry (usually the mid laner)
AoE -> Area of Effect
Aggro -> Someone's Focus (usually refering to minions)
CC -> Crowd Control
CDR -> Cooldown Reduction
Comp -> Team Composition
CS -> Creep Score (your farm)
DoT -> Damage over Time
Gank -> Same thing as ambush
HP -> Health Points
MR -> Magic Resistance
MS -> Movement Speed
OP -> Overpowered
Proc -> Activate
TP -> Teleport
Ult/R -> Ultimate (R key by default).
SpEcIaL ThAnKs tO:
* Everyone who clicked this guide, I hope my experience playing Dr. Mundo helped you and I think you'll have good, fun times with this champ!
* jhoijhoi for her amazing Guide On How To Make A Guide!
* emoriam, meiyjhe, owentheawesomer and Sir Wellington for their reviews and much appreciated feedback!!
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