I decided to write this guide because I have literally never come up against a Mordekaiser who plays as well or plays like I do. I'm pretty sure if this playstyle becomes prevalent that he will, without a doubt, get nerfed. I'm not even the best player and I'm currently 33-8 W/L and 365-133-336 overall, mostly solo queueing. The losses I've had were "generally" due to having a bad team or the other team just being better than ours. One of the things I would like to focus on most is this:
MORE HP DOES NOT MAKE MORD MORE OF A TANK!
One thing I'd really like to stress here is the lack of a Warmog's in this guide. **** Warmog's, Mordekaiser doesn't need more HP, you have an f'ing unlimited pool of hp in your shield strength, it is UNECESSARY! I try to max MR, Armor, and HP regen to make an unstoppable beast, and it works VERY well.
Masteries
9/21/0 or 0/21/9. I prefer 9/21/0 for the shorter cooldowns and extra magic pen. Overall you should be aiming for survivability over more damage.
Skills
Q - Mace of Spades - On next attack, Mordekaiser does extra damage. The extra damage can hit up to 3 additional targets. If there aren't additional targets, the extra damage is doubled.
W - Creeping Death - Mordekaiser throws a buff onto his target that increases their magic resistance and armor. It also deals periodic damage to every enemy around it.
E - Siphon of Destruction - Mordekaiser deals damage in a cone in front of him. Also increases Mordekaiser's shield per enemy hit.
R - Children of the Grave - Mordekaiser places damage over time on his target, causing a percentage of maximum health in damage each second. If the target dies while under this affect, Mordekaiser creates a clone of the target, which has a percentage of Mordekaiser's max health (who is a tank). Mordekaiser gains a percentage of the slain character's stats while the clone is still alive. The clone gains any on-hit affects that Mordekaiser has (like Frozen Mallet, Black Cleaver, or Malady).
Passive - Iron Man - 20% of any damage dealt by Mordekaiser's abilities (note that regular melee attacks are not included) is converted into his shield. This is basically extra health. The attacks caused by the clone from Children of the Grave contribute to this shield. Consider this: This shield is extra health but extra health that you can spam regenerate, this is a VERY important point to this guide.
Summoner Spells
Ignite: You have to get ignite on Mordekaiser. Okay you don't really, but I would highly recommend it as it is potent combined with his ult, at any point in the game.
Exhaust: An option, but not one I pick usually. If i'm solo queueing I will almost never get this but I would consider it in a premade, for the utility.
Ghost: Like exhaust, ghost will help you chase. It will also help you run if you get stuck in a sticky situation.
Cleanse: Cleanse is another good one to have, since Mordekaiser is VERY susceptible to stuns and snares. I always run Cleanse/Ignite because to be honest I hate losing to the other Mordekaiser just because I don't have cleanse.
Flash: Skip it. Ghost is better overall and if you're in position to need to use flash you're doing it wrong.
Runes
Generally up to you. I would recommend Red as Magic Pen, and Health Regen/Health in the other slots. I'm currently running HP quints with HP regen/Magic pen in other slots.
Skill Build
Max out Siphon and Mace of Spades as soon as possible. It's up to you when to get one rank of Creeping Death, but I generally get 1 rank around level 8-10, depending on the situation. Get new levels of your ult as they come up.
Item Build
Item 1:Regrowth Pendant, always. Allows you to spam your abilities on cooldown without losing health.
Item 2: Boots of preference. When I don't have to worry about cc that much I usually go Speed3 Boots for running people down.
Item 3: Force of Nature
Item 4: Preference based upon other team. I usually go Guardian Angel or Warden's mail here, based on whether they are more caster focused or right-click focused.
Item 5:Frozen Mallet OR Trinity Force. Preference again, I usually go with the frozen mallet if the game is a lot closer in score, because it is a reliable snare for my team.
Item6-Infinity:More armor, more MR, more utility. Pick up an Aegis of the Legion if no one else on your team has the sack to.
One item of note with high armor to avoid is Thornmail. Thornmail is for high hp heroes, not high armor/MR ones. It really doesn't work very well with Mordekaiser and I have had no success with it.
Early game
Solo mid, always. Play it cool in the lane. Harass with siphon and mace but don't get too cocky, you're really not that potent just yet. You can easily outfarm your solo mid opponent due to your shield power and effective aoe farming abilities. Your goal here is not necessarily just to farm but to DENY the other team's middle gold and experience if possible. You'll run into some tougher middle solos, but generally it won't be a problem unless you play too aggressively and lose too much shield power. Remember, the goal is always to hit as many creeps as possible with siphon, not just trying to harass your opponent. You have almost a guaranteed kill at level 6 with Ignite/Children of the Grave, so play it cool and try to keep him in the lane at low hp, make him feel safe. Cleansers are obviously a problem here, as are healers, but you can kill anyone with superior play.
Mid Game
You should have easily pushed your middle tower by this time, and I recommend going to grab the red buff, as it is extremely potent with the image you gain from Children of the Grave, also because Mord lacks a snare and the red buff will serve as that. Keep your farm on and push lanes that appear open. Keep an eye on where the enemy is and be prepared to participate in team fights. If everything is going well for you you are in fact a beast, and more than able to anchor in a team fight.
Late Game
Most games I play don't really last that long, but when they do, you are the anchor of your team. Try to stay in the middle of things and keep that shield maxed. It's very very easy to do this, because at R3 Children of the Grave placed on any type dps'er on their team will keep you full healed during a team battle should they choose to participate in those battles.
Hopefully this guide helps some of those awful Mordekaiser's I've played with or against. I have no doubt that once people wise up to how ridiculous this hero can be, he will be tweaked. I'm okay with that, balance is a good thing. I don't know if this is considered just a pubstomping thing or if Mord is really this viable, but I can tell you that I have had insane success with this build and this champion, so I'm sure others will as well
MORE HP DOES NOT MAKE MORD MORE OF A TANK!
One thing I'd really like to stress here is the lack of a Warmog's in this guide. **** Warmog's, Mordekaiser doesn't need more HP, you have an f'ing unlimited pool of hp in your shield strength, it is UNECESSARY! I try to max MR, Armor, and HP regen to make an unstoppable beast, and it works VERY well.
Masteries
9/21/0 or 0/21/9. I prefer 9/21/0 for the shorter cooldowns and extra magic pen. Overall you should be aiming for survivability over more damage.
Skills
Q - Mace of Spades - On next attack, Mordekaiser does extra damage. The extra damage can hit up to 3 additional targets. If there aren't additional targets, the extra damage is doubled.
W - Creeping Death - Mordekaiser throws a buff onto his target that increases their magic resistance and armor. It also deals periodic damage to every enemy around it.
E - Siphon of Destruction - Mordekaiser deals damage in a cone in front of him. Also increases Mordekaiser's shield per enemy hit.
R - Children of the Grave - Mordekaiser places damage over time on his target, causing a percentage of maximum health in damage each second. If the target dies while under this affect, Mordekaiser creates a clone of the target, which has a percentage of Mordekaiser's max health (who is a tank). Mordekaiser gains a percentage of the slain character's stats while the clone is still alive. The clone gains any on-hit affects that Mordekaiser has (like Frozen Mallet, Black Cleaver, or Malady).
Passive - Iron Man - 20% of any damage dealt by Mordekaiser's abilities (note that regular melee attacks are not included) is converted into his shield. This is basically extra health. The attacks caused by the clone from Children of the Grave contribute to this shield. Consider this: This shield is extra health but extra health that you can spam regenerate, this is a VERY important point to this guide.
Summoner Spells
Ignite: You have to get ignite on Mordekaiser. Okay you don't really, but I would highly recommend it as it is potent combined with his ult, at any point in the game.
Exhaust: An option, but not one I pick usually. If i'm solo queueing I will almost never get this but I would consider it in a premade, for the utility.
Ghost: Like exhaust, ghost will help you chase. It will also help you run if you get stuck in a sticky situation.
Cleanse: Cleanse is another good one to have, since Mordekaiser is VERY susceptible to stuns and snares. I always run Cleanse/Ignite because to be honest I hate losing to the other Mordekaiser just because I don't have cleanse.
Flash: Skip it. Ghost is better overall and if you're in position to need to use flash you're doing it wrong.
Runes
Generally up to you. I would recommend Red as Magic Pen, and Health Regen/Health in the other slots. I'm currently running HP quints with HP regen/Magic pen in other slots.
Skill Build
Max out Siphon and Mace of Spades as soon as possible. It's up to you when to get one rank of Creeping Death, but I generally get 1 rank around level 8-10, depending on the situation. Get new levels of your ult as they come up.
Item Build
Item 1:Regrowth Pendant, always. Allows you to spam your abilities on cooldown without losing health.
Item 2: Boots of preference. When I don't have to worry about cc that much I usually go Speed3 Boots for running people down.
Item 3: Force of Nature
Item 4: Preference based upon other team. I usually go Guardian Angel or Warden's mail here, based on whether they are more caster focused or right-click focused.
Item 5:Frozen Mallet OR Trinity Force. Preference again, I usually go with the frozen mallet if the game is a lot closer in score, because it is a reliable snare for my team.
Item6-Infinity:More armor, more MR, more utility. Pick up an Aegis of the Legion if no one else on your team has the sack to.
One item of note with high armor to avoid is Thornmail. Thornmail is for high hp heroes, not high armor/MR ones. It really doesn't work very well with Mordekaiser and I have had no success with it.
Early game
Solo mid, always. Play it cool in the lane. Harass with siphon and mace but don't get too cocky, you're really not that potent just yet. You can easily outfarm your solo mid opponent due to your shield power and effective aoe farming abilities. Your goal here is not necessarily just to farm but to DENY the other team's middle gold and experience if possible. You'll run into some tougher middle solos, but generally it won't be a problem unless you play too aggressively and lose too much shield power. Remember, the goal is always to hit as many creeps as possible with siphon, not just trying to harass your opponent. You have almost a guaranteed kill at level 6 with Ignite/Children of the Grave, so play it cool and try to keep him in the lane at low hp, make him feel safe. Cleansers are obviously a problem here, as are healers, but you can kill anyone with superior play.
Mid Game
You should have easily pushed your middle tower by this time, and I recommend going to grab the red buff, as it is extremely potent with the image you gain from Children of the Grave, also because Mord lacks a snare and the red buff will serve as that. Keep your farm on and push lanes that appear open. Keep an eye on where the enemy is and be prepared to participate in team fights. If everything is going well for you you are in fact a beast, and more than able to anchor in a team fight.
Late Game
Most games I play don't really last that long, but when they do, you are the anchor of your team. Try to stay in the middle of things and keep that shield maxed. It's very very easy to do this, because at R3 Children of the Grave placed on any type dps'er on their team will keep you full healed during a team battle should they choose to participate in those battles.
Hopefully this guide helps some of those awful Mordekaiser's I've played with or against. I have no doubt that once people wise up to how ridiculous this hero can be, he will be tweaked. I'm okay with that, balance is a good thing. I don't know if this is considered just a pubstomping thing or if Mord is really this viable, but I can tell you that I have had insane success with this build and this champion, so I'm sure others will as well
