THIS BUILD IS A WORK IN PROGRESS


Bobo113 here with a Mordekaiser guide for mid lane!

I've played Morde as my main since late season 2/pre-season 3, and I won't let CertainlyT's dumb rework keep me out of solo lane. Specifically, mid lane. It's the lane I've used him in since the glory days, and for good reason.

Morde is a champ whose mid lane strengths are widely misunderstood and highly underrated. His sustain comes from his constant farming and poking - fueling his passive shield, and rewarding aggressive play. He is especially good when counterpicking mid lane assassins and certain low mobility mages, but he is not perfect by any means.

If you take Morde mid, people will often tell you to go bot or top instead, but mid is a very suitable place for him. As you build damage and spell vamp, your output becomes your defense. He can fulfill the niche of both a tank and a burst mage (he's like a more awesome Vladimir). Taking Morde mid might take some getting used to, but that's what I'm here for.

Pros:

+ One of the most satisfying champ experiences in League
+ Has some of the best spell vamp potential in the game
+ Has a kit that naturally counters assassins
+ His teamfight potential is absurd
+ He can turn win 2v1's pretty easily
+ He can turn around most team fights
+ Siphon of Destruction is an awesome poke/sustain ability
+ 6v4 is hilariously OP
+ Commanding a dragon is kinda fun
+ He makes pizza feet look cool - which is awesome
+ This whole bot lane thing is highly overrated.


Cons:

- His lack of CC is deplorable
- His Base movement speed is horrendous
- Highly gankable early on
- Requires Rylai's Crystal Scepter for decent CC
- Frequently spamming abilities in early game can lead to untimely death
- Harvesters of Sorrow is practically useless when you're alone
- Mace of Spades is no longer a poke ability
- You still need some AD if you want to make the most of Mace of Spades
- Some items that WOULD be awesome on Morde waste your gold on mana regeneration
- His abilities lack the visceral impact they once had
- He was once a cooler champ, and then the 5.16 juggernaut reworks happened.

Morde was in pa pretty ugly spot in the meta last season, but NOW (as of 7.2), he can dominate IF he is played correctly - especially because of all of the assassins seen lately. He has some pretty incredible potential, but it isn't like it was before. When I say "before," I mean, before his recent rework. I'll get to that in a moment.

Morde is one of the older champs in League of Legends, and has a strong history as being a pick that can go top or mid. He had the ability to safely build full mage, and act like a tank. His awesome spell vamp covered his DPS into sustainability. A few years ago, when Sunfire Aegis stacked, Morde was a force to be reckoned with (even a little OP for my taste), but he still had much healthier counterplay than he does currently. For the years to come, and after several nerfs, he sill managed to fulfill a very fun and interesting niche in the game - both thematically and in gameplay.

However, back in August of 2015, the morde community suffered a gratuitous low blow. Morde had a very sudden, and strange "juggernaut" rework that forced him to buddy up with a lane partner. Up for a few months, Morde was stupendously OP because of this, and hated by many - even by those who once played him solo lane. There was no warning, and no compromise - he was forced bot with a kit that made him absolutely dependent on a teammate to cast his Harvesters of Sorrow, and his play style was pretty dumbed down. One could simply pick Morde bot, ask for a support Leona, and practically win lane by default. It ruined the experience for a lot of Morde players - both old and new, and managed to ruin many people's favorite champ as well.

However, ever since season 6's large scale ADC itemization changes and various kit reworks, bot has not been friendly to Morde - even though he was recently pigeonholed there for seemingly arbitrary reasons. He went from a 100% ban rate at 2015 Worlds to being consistently stuck in the bottom of both the least popular champ pool, and the pool of champs with the lowest win rates. He's remained here, for the most part, in "Giant Minion Limbo" along with Galio, Taric and Yorick.

The only difference between now and then is that Morde can now cast his W, Harvesters of Sorrow on lane minions, and his Q, Mace of Spades, has newfound AP scaling. This gives him a little closer to the old Morde, and it's enough to bring him back to mid for the time being, but it's not enough to mend the damage that has already been done. Old Morde will be missed, and this little synopsis might explain why may players are still sour.

- One of the best summoner spells around, and for good reason. Morde has no good escapes, and almost requires this to be useful. Pick this if you're not creative and/or want to win.


- This is an excellent spell for mid - especially when you need to add some DoT to your Children of the Grave. It's also an excellent way to shut down your enemy's heal. It can be a bit redundant to his kit, but it's a great way to sneak in some damage during trades.


- This has actually come to my attention as an excellent alternative to Ignite. It offers a great way to keep constant lane pressure, but also have a venue by which to gank other lanes in need. This additional mobility compensates for Morde being. . . Morde. Need I say more?


- Actually, this isn't such a bad idea! It is an excellent dueling spell, and can give Morde the CC edge he needs to make awesome plays, and apply Mace of Spades to enemies who would normally slip away. Bring this if you want to melt faces, or if you're a hipster.


- Building this would be a hilarious way to keep up with enemies, but its practical uses in games are few and far between. Bring this if you just plan on having fun - not for any kind of high ELO environment.


- Meh.


- Nope. No cleanse please. If you want a real cleanse, pack Activia.


- There have been rare instances where people have tried to take Morde into the jungle (a very hit-or-miss strategy), or even in top lane to smite cannon minions, but this is just a waste. Morde is good enough at in-lane farming to pack his summoner spells more wisely.



- Season 4 is over. This doesn't work anymore. Unless you're a ballsy Azir.


- This is still a thing?!

Runes:

Sure, this rune page is somewhat down-to-Earth, but it gets the job done. No need for scaling runes if your early game paves the way for an insane late game.

These runes are pretty standard for a mid mage build, and that's exactly what you need. Most of your sustain is accounted for with your Iron Man passive along with ability damage output, and damage will manage to go a long way - killing two birds with one stone, so-to-speak.

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Masteries:

Morde's abilities seem somewhat simple at face value, but in order to make the most of them, and compensate for health costs, it requires a happy medium between being aggressive, yet reserved when it matters. Keeping such a simple champ up to parr is not as simple as you think , but its payoffs are well worth the tribulation.

Here are some specs on Morde's abilities in detail.


source: http://leagueoflegends.wikia.com/wiki/Mordekaiser

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Iron Man(Passive):

Mordekaiser shields himself for 25% of the damage dealt by his abilities, halved to 12.5% against enemy minion and capped at 25% maximum health. After a 1.5 second delay, Iron Man's shield decays at a rate of 1.5% base health per second down to a minimum of 6.25% maximum health.


This is your primary excuse to build for AP damage. No matter where you take Morde, this passive makes him tanky based on how much damage he puts out to monsters, minions, and enemy champs. The more you attack, the tankier you can be for a few seconds.

It is important to keep in mind that you should stack up some passive health before an engage, but it is equally as important to know when it is a good idea to stock up. Prematurely stocking up can waste your cooldowns, and spend health on temporary health that wasn't worth it. If you play Tahm Kench, you sort of understand the struggle. This passive is all about limiting yourself, and saving your output for when it matters.

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Mace of Spades(Q):

ACTIVE: Mordekaiser's next three basic attacks deal bonus magic damage. The final strike does 2 times the bonus damage of the previous strikes.

*Mace of Spades resets Mordekaiser's autoattack timer.

COST: 20 / 23 / 26 / 29 / 32
HEALTH COOLDOWN: 10 / 8.5 / 7 / 5.5 / 4
FIRST / SECOND BONUS MAGIC DAMAGE: 10 / 20 / 30 / 40 / 50 (+ 50 / 60 / 70 / 80 / 90% AD) (+ 60% AP)
THIRD BONUS MAGIC DAMAGE: 20 / 40 / 60 / 80 / 100 (+ 100 / 120 / 140 / 160 / 180% AD) (+ 120% AP)

This ability can turn around fights in an instant. It isn't necessarily a priority early on (especially against ranged opponents), but when you're dueling someone face-to-face, the mere activation of this ability can cause panic. Among other things, this is the ultimate spell for burning you enemy's Flash.
Even if you're just farming in lane phase, many people will try to count your Q'd attacks so that they can be well out of your range by the time the third one rolls around. It works as a great aggressive ability as well as a psyche-out.

*This ability is basically the only reason you will build for Sterak's Gage

*Contrary to popular belief, this ability does NOT deal additional damage to structures - even though it can be used on them. This is a total waste of the ability.

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Harvesters of Sorrow(W):

PASSIVE: Mordekaiser gains bonus experience when killing a minion near allies equal to 50% of the experience he lost due to them being there, which totals at 82.6 / 71.73 / 66.3 / 63.04 / 60.87% of the minion's experience bounty.

ACTIVE - FIRST CAST: Mordekaiser targets an allied champion or minion and for the next 4 seconds they gain 75 bonus movement speed while moving towards each other, which lingers for 1.5 seconds. When near enough to each other, each deal magic damage in an area of effect around themselves every second for the duration (melee and caster minions have a smaller AoE). Harvester of Sorrow ends if Mordekaiser or his ally dies.

RANGE: 1000 / 250 / 125
COST: 25 / 35 / 45 / 55 / 65
HEALTH COOLDOWN: 12 / 11 / 10 / 9 / 8
TOTAL MAGIC DAMAGE: 140 / 180 / 220 / 260 / 300 (+ 90% AP)

For the next 4 seconds, Mordekaiser can reactivate Harvester of Sorrow to end its primary effects and trigger a secondary effect, which triggers automatically at the end of the duration. If activated while no allies are nearby, Mordekaiser will highlight an area around him and can reactivate the ability as normal. The first ally to come in range will automatically gain the effect, too.


ACTIVE - SECOND CAST: Mordekaiser constricts the area, dealing magic damage to all enemies near himself and his ally as well as healing himself and his ally for the same amount, from up to 2 enemies hit in their respective areas. Healing is reduced to 25% when harvesting minions.

HARVEST DAMAGE: 50 / 85 / 120 / 155 / 190 (+ 30% AP)
MAXIMUM HEAL: 100 / 170 / 240 / 310 / 380 (+ 60% AP)
MAXIMUM HEAL VS. MINIONS: 25 / 42.5 / 60 / 77.5 / 95 (+ 15% AP)




This ability is DEFINITELY not as good as it used to be, and for quite some time, it required an allied champ to be near you in order to cast it (we have CertainlyT to thank for that Hindenburg-level disaster). That isn't a problem anymore, but it has never really recovered all the way.

Anyway, it can be self cast for no real benefit, or onto allied minions/champions. It is likely that you won't use this ability too often - unless an enemy champ is in your face, or you're standing in an enemy minion wave. It is a pretty good way to build your passive shield, and do some hidden damage to anyone caught in your touching AoE circles.

If you want to deal the most damage, you should probably cast it on a nearby minion, and stand near it while you attack. It will ensure you deal the maximum damage output while absorbing the most possible health for your passive.

*This ability can also be activated in mid-duration to deal a spike of damage, but only do this if you can finish off a creep wave, or if there is nothing else that can be damaged near you - for its burst isn't worth it if you use it prematurely, and cancel the benefits of the shield. Use the active sparingly.

* Rylai's Crystal Scepter's passive applies to this ability, and will slow any targets struck by 40% (for some reason)

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Siphon of Destruction(E):



ACTIVE: Mordekaiser deals magic damage to all enemies in a cone in the target direction.

RANGE: 675 COST: 24 / 36 / 48 / 60 / 72
HEALTH COOLDOWN: 6 / 5.75 / 5.5 / 5.25 / 5
MAGIC DAMAGE: 35 / 65 / 95 / 125 / 155 (+ 60% AD) (+ 60% AP)

For each enemy champion hit, Mordekaiser generates a bonus percentage of his Iron Man.png Iron Man shield.

BONUS SHIELD GAINED: 15 / 17.5 / 20 / 22.5 / 25%



This poke will serve as your primary source of damage in lane, as well as your main recovery tool once you have spell vamp. It might sound odd, but this ability has better health benefits than Harvesters of Sorrow. This ability is the main reason why Morde can go mid, and it's because of its farming potential and poke range/AoE. If you are good enough with this ability, Mace of Spades should be a secondary thought.

*It is smart to only cast this ability when the maximum amount of targets are in its cone-shaped AoE - otherwise casting it is a waste of health and cooldown. Mane the most of each E in order to stay ahead.

* Rylai's Crystal Scepter's passive applies to this ability, and will slow any targets struck by 40%

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Children of the Grave(R):


PASSIVE - DRAGON FORCE: Mordekaiser's basic attacks and abilities curse the Dragon Dragon for 10 seconds.

Enslaving the Dragon Dragon activates Dragon Force.png Dragon Force, granting the Dragon Dragon increased range and modified movement speed, and disables Children of the Grave while it remains active, killing Mordekaiser's current ghost.

ACTIVE: Mordekaiser curses the target enemy champion, dealing them magic damage and healing for 100% the damage done. He then applies a three times stronger effects to the target again over the next 10 seconds.

RANGE: 650 / 1125 / Global
COOLDOWN: 120 / 105 / 90
BONUS ATTACK RANGE: 0 / 75 / 150
BONUS MOVEMENT SPEED: -50 / 0 / +50
INITIAL MAGIC DAMAGE: 6.25 / 7.5 / 8.75% (+ 1% per 100 AP) of target's maximum health
TOTAL MAGIC DAMAGE: 25 / 30 / 35% (+ 4% per 100 AP) of target's maximum health
GHOST DURATION: 45 / 60 / 75

*If Mordekaiser's team scores a takedown on a cursed enemy, he temporarily enslaves their soul as a controllable ghost that gains 100% of Mordekaiser's bonus AD as bonus AD and 15% of Mordekaiser's maximum health as bonus maximum health. While the ghost is active, Mordekaiser gains 25% of target's bonus health, which does not enhance the ghost's bonuses, and 30% of target's AP.



This ability is hilariously overpowered. It is an excellent tool, but ONLY if you know when it is appropriate to activate. It is usually best against AD champs (for their pushing ability, and teamfight pressure), but if you are alone in lane, and an enemy is close to death it can work as a second ignite. The ability's DoT can sometimes earn you unexpected kills - even after you think your fleeing enemy is long gone. Expect some all chat complaints about how "that shouldn't even be possible," or how OP Morde is, or even that you're a hacker. Classic league. . .

Also, even when this ability is on cooldown, you can still take a dragon ghost. What a ridiculous ult passive. It is also good to keep in mind that many of your ulted ghosts have a specific command range limit at which they can be guided before they return to your location, but the dragon has a global controller. It can be commanded to do basically anything - no matter where Morde is. If you can manage the dragon from the minimap alone, you can single handedly split push with Morde. It certainly(T) is overpowered, right?



Some of its weaknesses:

*This ability's debuff can be completely thwarted with a Quicksilver Sash active.

*If Sion, Kog'Maw, Zyra, or Karthus are killed with this debuff on them, their passives are used before Morde can take their ghost.

*If this ability kills a champion under the effect of Yorick's Omen of Death, Morde doesn't take their ghost until the ability is over.

*If Morde uses this ability to kills a champ protected by any of the following:
- Zilean with Chronoshift
- Aatrox with Blood Well
- Zac with Cell Division
- any champion with an available Guardian Angel
Morde's ult is cancelled upon that unit's death. Ulting these people is never a great idea unless you know these abilities are on cooldown.

*If morde's ult is used on an Anivia with an available Rebirth passive, Morde will get the ghost, and the ghost will have the Rebirth passive. It's pretty weird.

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Ability Sequence

There are a couple of ways to go about doing this, but the following is my preference:

I am a firm believer in that Q and W are of equal importance to Morde's mid game dominance, but Q falls wayside early on - especially when there's very little close range contact. Leaving one ability out of the loop until lv. 14 is a shame, but it is still doable. I just prefer to have a compromise.

Also, Siphon of Destruction is ALWAYS the ability to max first. If you are taking Morde anywhere, this attack is essential. Adding early damage and CDR, specifically for this attack, is extremely beneficial.

**The Hextech Group**

Each game, you should try and get a Hextech Revolver on your first or second recall, and then choose one of the following - depending on your preference, or the needs of your current game:

Hextech Revolver:

This should be the FIRST thing you should strive towards. Getting this early will add much-needed spell vamp to your arsenal - minimizing your health costs for successful pokes. You can build this into Hextech Gunblade or Hextech Rocketbelt - depending on your play-style.

Hextech Gunblade:

This is a rounded option for your spell vamp/lifesteal. This is especially for those of you who like the "up close and personal' Morde, and will make the most of this item's active. I personally pick this if I am confident in my damage/sustain balance.

Hextech Protobelt-01:

Astro Boy Morde definitely has its uses, and this might be one of the best duel actives for Morde - since it solves a portion of his mobility troubles amidst battle. Yes, this is great just for the active, but Morde also benefits greatly from the additional stat boosts and health. I would recommend this if you need a bit more "assist," and might not need the omnivamp or extra damage of Hextech Gunblade.


**The Other Things:**

Sorcerer's Shoes:

If you are dominating (as usual), your enemy will most likely pick up some MR. This is a great way to counteract this without pouring too much gold into Void Staff. You're gonna want AP items that include health - especially when they're not Rabadon's Deathcap. This is your Wal-Mart Void Staff.

Rylai's Crystal Scepter:

This item is necessary. Period. It will be the only source of CC that you can possibly muster, and it will give Morde an excellent balance of health and AP. This item was practically made for Morde. Take advantage of its strengths.

Liandry's Torment:

This item works wonders with Rylai's Crystal Scepter - dealing extra DoT to slowed enemies. This item combo will make your Siphon of Destruction devastating, and give Morde plenty of health to work with.

Sunfire Cape:

There was once a day and age when this ability could stack - dealing damage for every cape equipped. Those days have past, but that doesn't mean that this isn't an amazing armor pick. When in doubt, and you need some armor/health, you should take this before you think about Randuin's Omen.

Lich Bane:

This ability has crazy synergy with Mordes who like the "in your face" approach. It provides crazy damage whilst giving Morde some great AP. I don't always like this one, but it's slowly growing in popularity.

Rabadon's Deathcap:

A Morde classic. Pick this up if you are absolutely wrecking people.

Sterak's Gage:

This is for Mordes who like to 2v1. This will alow you to faceroll just about anyone. For Mordes who deal a lot of damage, all morde needs to win a teamfight is more time, and that's exactly what this item can give you. Along with a little bit of attack damage, it's the health and passive that give this item its merits. For a lot of Mordes, this will be the ONLY AD item they will need.

**(WIP)**

Early Game:

Aggressive play/farming (one in the same):

Morde's mid gameplay is not played like a lot of other mid lane mages. Even though he happens to be manaless, he does have to keep his spellcasting to a healthy minimum. In the early minutes of the game, you will mostly be using your Siphon of Destruction to line up some AoE shots that hit both minions and your lane opponent at once. You won't have a whole lot of spell vamp early on (even with your masteries), and using abilities on minions has half the vampirism benefits than attaching a champ gives. In order to kite effectively and sustain properly, you need to hit as many targets as possible each time you cast. It will ensure your dominance and lane pressure.

Warding:

I recommend warding beyond the river bushes. With Morde's lack of escape, he needs extra time to prepare for an incoming gank, and putting wards further out will give you the extra time you need to fall back to turret when a jungler approaches.

If ganked:

It is always good to know if your jungler is squishy or not, when their ult or engage ability if off of cooldown, or if their sums are up. Of course, those are ALWAYS good to know, but for Morde, if you are ganked, chances are likely that they will catch up to you if you are caught off guard. Until you get Rylai's Crystal Scepter (or you packed Exhaust), you don't have any effective CC. If they jump you, target the squishier one (if applicable), or whichever one is in range of auto attacks. Prepping Mace of Spades and/or a series of Siphon of Destruction to turn the fight in your favor. In many instances, even pre-lv. 6, you can turn an enemy gank into your double kill, but only if your timing is right, and you know who to target. Morde players gifted with common sense will usually come out ok - even if it doesn't result in a kill.

When your jungler ganks:

A common mistake a lot of Mordes make is to use Harvesters of Sorrow on your incoming jungler to help their approach into lane, but this does two things: It alerts your enemy to your jungler's presence early, and it also wastes potential damage/recovery for the engage itself. The initiation should be your jungler's responsibility, and applying Harvesters of Sorrow should come AFTER your jungler has made contact - to ensure the maximum output of the ability. This also gives you a chance to catch up to them - since the speed buff would help YOU engage - rather than the other way around. Take advantage of your jungler's mobility - they almost always have more of it than you.

Mid/Late Game:

Objective control:

The fact of the matter is; Morde needs to be in possition more than most champs. He is the Baymax of League. He is not fast. If your team needs to mobilize for a gank or for dragon, Morde usually has to be there ahead of time. ESPECIALLY FOR DRAGON. If Morde is not there when his team takes dragon, it is an ENORMOUS waste of potential pushing power. Many teams, if there is enough jungle wards and the enemy is not a current threat, your team will often wait to reap the benefits of Morde's dragon, but not always. Never expect them to wait, because you should have map awareness, and be on top of your communication and positioning anyway.

Pushing

(WIP)