Introduction (get it?)

Welcome to my Mordekaiser guide! I'm MTG Gideon and this guide will show you how I play and build for Mordekaiser and ideally make you a better Morde. I would like to take this to ask that you read this guide before voting (especially down voting) and leave any comments that will help me make this guide better.

Mordekaiser is a tanky AP carry. His early game can be slow (emphasis on can) but level 6+ he's nuts. This champion requires some practice, patience, and a killer instinct but trust if you play you'll get there =). Try and read through most or all of the guide. I tried to make the Items section pretty informative and there can be a lot of variance when it comes to building Morde. Now on to the good bits.

Change Log

9/07/11: Updated the Runes section and the Abilities-in-Depth section.
8/30/11: Swapped Rabadon's Deathcap and Rylai's Crystal Scepter again.
8/29/11: Added more details to Runes section and the Items section. Slightly adjusted Item order by swapping Rabadon's Deathcap with Rylai's Crystal Scepter. Added Pros/Cons section.
8/28/11: Re-published. Runes section updated. Added Sunfire Aegis to the Situational Item sub-section.
8/27/11: Published.

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Pros +High Survivability. +Great Pusher/Farmer. +Awesome Children of the Grave+ Ignite combo. +Easy to learn. +A Rockstar.

SPACE

Cons -Susceptible to CC. -Weaker away from enemy minions. -Difficult to master. -You get focused. -Other players will judge your performance critically.

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Runes

Greater Mark of Insight x9

Cost: 3690 IP (410 IP)

Magic Penetration: +8.55

Tip: Magic pen is great for Morde since 90% damage is magic damage. Honestly I couldn't anyone using anything but magic pen Marks.

Greater Seal of Resilience x9

Cost: 1845 IP (205 IP)

Armor: +12.69

Tip: Flat armor runes will help your early game out a lot and isn't to bad mid/late game. Actually armor is always good unless say the enemy team is all AP or something.

Or

Greater Seal of Evasion x9

Cost: 7380 IP (820 IP)

% Dodge Chance: +6.75%

Tip: Dodge runes are pretty good in general but especially in 3's. They go really good with Greater Quintessence of Armor.

Greater Glyph of Focus x9

Cost: 7380 IP (820 IP)

Cooldown Reduction: +5.85%

Tip: These reduce Cooldowns a lot and allow you to use your abilities more frequently which is great pretty much all the time.

Or

Greater Glyph of Potency x9

Cost: 3690 IP (410 IP)

Ability Power: +8.91 (0.99)

Tip: Flat AP is really really good early game.

Greater Quintessence of Swiftness x3

Cost: 6150 IP (2050 IP)

Movement Speed Increase: +4.5% (1.5%)

Tip: I start with boots and have for a reason. Being fast is pretty relevant in League of Legends in general and Morde can harass a lot easier when he can move swifter in and out (and no I am not suggesting you use ghost to harass -_-).

Or

Greater Quintessence of Resilience x3

Cost: 3075 IP (1025 IP)

Armor: +12.78 (4.26)

Tip: This with Dodge seals will give you the most survivability early game so if you are having trouble surviving early game these should be a big help (not to mention they are pretty cheap).

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Items

Boots of Speed

Cost: 350g

UNIQUE Passive: Enhanced Movement 1

Tip: Start off with boots and Health Potion x3 here. This should give the ability to harass and potions to keep your health up.

Force of Nature

Cost: 2610g (1000g)

Effect:

• +40 Health Per 5 Sec
• +76 Magic Resist
• +8 Movement Speed

UNIQUE Passive: Restores 0.35% of your champion's maximum health every second.

Tip: The first time you go make sure you buy 1 if not 2 of Regrowth Pendant. The health regeneration makes your abilities health cost borderline irrelevant plus it has magic resist AND movement speed! This typical tank item improves Morde's offense as well. What else do you want from an item?

Sorcerer's Shoes

Cost: 1100g (750g)

Effect: +20 Magic Penetration

UNIQUE Passive: Enhanced Movement Speed 2

Tip: When you have 750g go back and pick up t2 boots. These will last you for awhile and go ahead and pick up a potion or two if you can, maybe a ward.

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Hextech Revolver

Cost: 1200g (330g)

Effect: +40 Ability Power

UNIQUE Passive: 15 Spell Vamp

Tip: I'm sure some of you are thinking 'Finally an offensive item!' well not exactly. I get this item mostly for the spell vamp. It increases your survivability tremendously and it has the added AP bonus which makes the Revolver another great 2 for 1 item.

Rylai's Crystal Scepter

Cost: 3105g (700g)

Effect:

• +80 Ability Power
• +500 Health

UNIQUE Passive: Your spell damage will slow the target's movement by 35% for 1.5 seconds (15% for multi-target spells and damage-over-time spells).

Tip: The AP is good but even better is the slow it gives. This will let you close the distance when chasing after hitting them with Siphon of Destruction or anytime they take damage from Creeping Death (whether its on you or not). Plus the health is a definite plus. Build this unless you are absolutely facerolling the enemy team.

Or

Rabadon's Deathcap

Cost: 3600g (1140g)

Effect: +140 Ability Power

UNIQUE Passive: Increased ability power by 30%.

Tip: This item is ridiculous. It has a massive 140 AP and a bonus passive of a 30% increase in AP. This bonus actually means you are actually getting 182 AP from Deathcap alone. Typically however you should always build a Rylai's Crystal Scepter first unless you are confidant they will not kill you.

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Hextech Gunblade

Cost: 3625g (600g)

Effect:

• +60 Attack Damage
• +75 Ability Power
• +20% Life Steal
• +25% Spell Vamp

UNIQUE Active: Deals 300 magic damage and slows the target champion by 50% for 3 seconds (700 range). 60 second cooldown.

Tip: This really just improves on the Revolver and has the added lifesteal and attack damage which can be relevant sometimes. The active (which heals you from spell vamp) is also a nice bonus but you will probably always forget about it (I do unfortunately). If you do decide to go Gunblade here, go ahead and buy it last.

Or

Will of the Ancients

Cost: 2100g (465g)

Effect: +50 Ability Power

UNIQUE Aura: Gives nearby allied champions +30 ability power and 25% spell vamp.

Tip: If another teammate (and only one other) has this or if your team is really AP heavy (atleast 3 or 4 of 5) then I'd get this over Gunblade. Its not as good (although a lot cheaper) as Hextech Gunblade however it helps your teammates and if you and another teammate have Will of the Ancients you both will have 110 AP and 50% magic pen while near each other. Note: Only 2 buffs will ever be applied so a team with 3+ Will of the Ancients will receive the same bonuses as a team with only 2 Will of the Ancients.

Abyssal Scepter

Cost: 2550g (1050g)

Effect:

• +70 Ability Power
• +57 Magic Resistance

UNIQUE Aura: Reduces the magic resistance of nearby enemy champions by 20.

Tip: This item improves your offense a lot late game. AP and magic pen are both things that we want on Morde and it has a plus of giving us some magic resist. Another 2 for 1! (you might be noticing a trend here)
Note: Do not, DO NOT, get this item if another member of your team already has one as its bonus does not stack. If they do grab Void Staff here instead.

Or

Void Staff

Cost: 2295g (1000g)

Effect: +70 Ability Power

UNIQUE Passive: +40% Magic Penetration.

Tip: Grab this if someone on your team already has Abyssal Mask. This is what I like to call TEAM WORK. Cool right? Since the aura does not stack it is more effective to build Void Staff. Another couple scenarios to grab Void Staff is when EITHER team has very little AP power. A big reason to build Abyssal Mask is the 57 magic resist (Void Staff consistently does more damage) and the aura but if your team isn't going to benefit from the aura or the enemy team isn't making the the MR worth your while don't buy Abyssal Scepter.

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Situational Items

How about... maybe a... that might help if... Yeah Morde doesn't really need to build for other champions. They build for him.

Thornmail

Cost: 2000g (1000g)

Effect: +100 Armor

UNIQUE Passive: On being hit by standard attacks, returns 30% of damage taken as magic damage. A minimum 15 damage must be received.

Tip: This could be pretty relevant against a fed AD carry like Master Yi or Tryndamere, specifically champions with a high attack speed. The only other time to get this item if the enemy team is AD heavy.

Sunfire Cape

Cost: 2610g (800g)

Effect:

• +450 Health
• +45 Armor

UNIQUE Passive: Deals 35 Magic Damage per second to nearby enemies.

Tip: Against fed champions like Garen or Trundle that hit less, but harder the Cape is a bit better. The aura from Sunfire Cape helps you take them down a bit faster. The only other time this is a good item if the team is AD heavy similarly to Thornmail.

Guardian Angel

Cost: 2600g (1200g)

Effect:

• +68 Armor
• +38 Magic Resistance

UNIQUE Passive: Revives your champion upon death, restoring 750 health and 375 mana. This effect can only occur once every 5 minutes.

Tip: If the other team has a lot of DPS or focuses you or you have some other reason you need to stay alive this item can definitely go in the last slot.

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Abilities-in-Depth

Or

Tip: This second ability sequence gets Creeping Death first. Getting 'W' at level 1 is the fastest and best way to build your shield. It however has a large cooldown and it is not nearly as effective for farming.

Iron Man

Passive: 25 / 27.5 / 30% of the damage dealt from abilities is converted into a temporary shield, absorbing incoming damage. Maximum shield strength is 90 + (30 x level). The shield decays by 3% per second.

Tip: This ability is what makes Mordekaiser, Mordekaiser. While laning this ability makes you damn near unkillable if you have minions to build up your shield with. Now the bad thing is that without minions you have a much harder time generating your shield and therefore a lot easier to kill so beware when they aren't minions around to build up a shield. Basically never initiate a fight without some shield built up.

Mace of Spades

Cost: 25 / 32 / 39 / 46 / 53 health

Cooldown: 8 / 7 / 6 / 5 / 4 seconds

Magic Damage: 80 / 110 / 140 / 170 / 200 (+1.0 per bonus attack damage) (+0.4 per ability power)

Magic Damage (One Target): 140 / 192.5 / 245 / 297.5 / 350 (+1.75 per bonus attack damage) (+0.7 per ability power)

Tip: And then we have this. Granted not a bad ability but the worst on Morde by far. Its decent for last hitting because you hit 4 minions with it and it does a nice amount of damage but its not worth putting to much time getting the AD to improve it. This ability is best used against enemy champions when there are no enemy minions nearby because it does double the bonus damage which is pretty nice and just like everything else it feeds your shield.

Creeping Death

Cost: 26 / 32 / 38 / 44 / 50 health

Cooldown: 20 / 18 / 16 / 14 / 12 seconds

Armor & Magic Resist Bonus: 10 / 15 / 20 / 25 / 30

Magic Damage Per Second: 24 / 38 / 52 / 66 / 80 (+0.2 per ability power)

Tip: Very solid ability. This creates a shield which is pretty good and it acts as a quasi Sunfire Aegis (and is even better than it at higher ranks). A nice little trick (and I do this a lot) is cast this on the first minion in a minion wave and it 1. builds your shield 2. damages the wave 3. harasses enemy melee champions. A big benefit of this ability is that it allows you to build a shield through silence, stuns, snares, and suppress which can be very relevant sometimes. This ability will also trigger the slow on Rylai's Crystal Scepter so casting on a champion who can chase really well (like Warwick or Master Yi) will make it easier for them to lock down an escaping champ. It also adds Armor and Magic Resist which really adds to your survivability. Always initiate/enter a fight with this ability on. ('Alt+W' automatically casts this on Mordekaiser).

Siphon of Destruction

Cost: 24 / 36 / 48 / 60 / 72 health

Magic Damage: 65 / 105 / 145 / 185 / 225 (+0.6 per ability power)

Additional Shield Health: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 per unit hit

Tip: This is your everything. Harasser, shield builder, farmer, and damage (hint: this is why you max this first). First thing to really learn if you are a new Morde is the range on this ability. I've found that the range on this ability is slightly larger than what it shows on screen when you hover over the icon so you really have to go with your gut after awhile and when you have it down it is an amazing harass. Early game it is especially important that you get all the value you can out of it. By that I mean don't just hit an enemy champion with it or just a minion wave. Try to time it so you hit both a champion AND a minion wave. This way you build your shield, harass, and farm. Now granted this isn't always possible but try.

Children of the Grave

Cooldown: 120 / 105 / 90 seconds

Initial Magic Damage: 12 / 14.5 / 17% (+0.02% per ability power)

Magic Damage Per Second: 1.2 / 1.45 / 1.7% (+0.002% per ability power)

Tip: Sweet. This ability is the best. Ever. This + Ignite is borderline unfair. It steals a % of maximum health from its target and additional amounts over time (for shield purposes the life stolen is considered damage and does generate shield). This ability is defensive, offensive, and has synergy with just about everything it can, I mean it scales with AP, heals Morde, generates shield, spell vamps, and will trigger the slow with Rylai's Crystal Scepter.

When a champion dies to this ability you get a ghost of that champion whose stats scale with Mordekaiser's. Also your ghost has the passive ability of the champion it kills (sweet). You can control your ghost wtih the 'Alt' key. Now unfortunately your ghost used to have a lot more independence but now it doesn't like to venture to far away but that still doesn't mean you shouldn't try to make good use out of it. Whenever you have a ghost always try to get some mileage out of it for example; they make great targets for turrets, they can harass with no downside, they can put out a lot of damage late game. Important little point here, if your ghost is attacking an enemy champion under a turret, the turret will target you if you are in range so don't rely on it keeping turret aggro.

There are a few ways to stop this ability. Quicksilver Sash will remove the debuff (not Cleanse however). Guardian Angel will not give you the ghost if it kills a champion and the debuff does not last through the revive. Health Potion/ Elixir of Fortitude will mitigate the damage dealt from your ult so be aware of champions that have them (the Elixir heals the amount of health it increases instantly instead of over time so be aware of that as well). Also Banshee's Veil and any ability like Spell Shield will stop ability dead in its tracks so again be aware of how your target can interact with your abilities.

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Summoner Spells

Ignite

Cooldown: 180 seconds

Tip: This + Children of the Grave is ridiculous. This is a near must on Mordekaiser. You will have a lot harder of a time finishing champions early to mid game because you have poor bursting capabilities.

Ghost

Cooldown: 210 seconds

Tip: I'd also this ability is pretty necessary on Mordekaiser. Its by far better than Flash for chasing and it also doubles as an escape which is something that Morde doesn't have built in.

Exhaust

Cooldown: 210 seconds

Tip: This ability is always pretty good. It can lock down an enemy champion from escaping and works pretty well with Creeping Death. However it doesn't stop someone from flashing under their turret but not much does. Its not what I use but its not terrible.

Flash

Cooldown: 255 seconds

Tip: Flash is a great alternative to Ghost. They function very similar but I feel that Ghost tends to be a bit more consistent in 5's. Note: In 3v3 game types Flash is always, ALWAYS better than Ghost for Mordekaiser.


Anything not mentioned above is pretty much unusable and considering two above are available from level 1 you shouldn't have to use anything but them.

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Afterword

Thanks for reading and I hoped it helped! If you found any spelling errors or grammatical mistakes please let me know in a comment. Please let me know what you think and give me ideas so that I can improve it (up vote too if you liked it).

MTG Gideon