Hi there, Kush here. This post is going to be dedicated to our friendly metallic friend, Mordekaiser. Personally my favorite champion of them all, he offers a different dynamic and an overall "I'm gonna pound these insects" feel. I have played a very many number of games and have frankly won a significant amount. That being said this list isn't exhaustive, but rather a work in progress. Anyway I tend to see a lot of Morde's out there try to either A) make a new build which just leaves him lacking (which this post is NOT about) or B) use a build that DOES work, but still fails. Now when I say fail I mean it in the most lightheartedly way possible. So from my observations I bring here today a list of what I call, the Mordekaiser Do's and Don'ts:
Don'ts:
- Don't think you are a full-fledged DPS. You are hybrid. You thrive on outlasting your opponents and then turning the tides. You are not there to WTFPWN face people in one shot. I know his weapon and looks come straight outta WoW, but you are not a Death Knight pre-nerfs.
- Don't cast your ultimate on a 100% HP champion. Seriously the uses of this ultimate, while the Leech is good for living, is so much better used to turn a fight into a +2 gain in one kill.
- Don't cast all your abilities at once. Now, I know spamming is fun but your shield has so much more value if you space out your skills a little bit. One good Siphon on a creep wave while engaging, will max you. Get to know how much you will gain from your intended Siphon. Then, when they burst down your shield, get your mace to go off to fill it up for the next attack. Staying in sync with your opponents attacks is critical. This opens up amazing opportunities for baiting.
Do's:
- Put Creeping Death on you before you enter brush. Make this a habit. More often than not, you will be stunned by anyone lying in a bush. Having this on prior will keep your shield powered even during a stun, allowing you to save your Clense.
- # of Target's Hit is better. A lot of times I see Morde's who go in for the harassment early on with Siphon. This is fine. However, they tend to only focus on the champions in exclusion to minions. You see the greater harassment is not damage itself, but rather the fact that you DON'T take damage. Imagine if you will that you had an ability that stole the enemy's main harassment tool's cost that you could cast every 6 seconds. Would you not use that as your main tool for harassment? Afterall, what much of a threat is a Ryze/Zilean with 0 mana? Intimidation people, he looks it so why not just play the part? That in mind, if you can get both minions AND champions then by all means go for it!
- USE THE GHOST!!!!!!#%@#!^!^!: I do not know how many times I see a Morde cast an ultimate on one of two fleeing Champions only to kill one and have the other, a mere one shot from death, happily walk past his newly-made Ghost friend who is returning to his/her hapless master. Seriously, the ghost's attacks power your shield. If you get an enemy with high AD he is filling almost 1/4 of your shield every attack. This is amazing for tower diving as well as just lasting as two enemy's beat you on. Don't just click and forget, keep updating who your minion attacks. Switching targets is fantastic and if you get a Frozen Mallet OR have the Lizard buff, the ghost will apply each according effect onto any enemy it hits. So, have a Frozen Mallet and just enslaved a Tristana? Now you have the opportunity to have essentially a mobile long-ranged slowing minion who, more likely than not, will have a really hard hitting attack. Why not use it?
- Mace is better on multiple targets. Using your Mace of Spades on a group of minions and THEN pursuing the enemy is often better than keeping it charged and chasing. Your Siphon is what you will finish an enemy off with 80% of the time. Getting that full shield to be able to take a tower hit in order to get in range for that fatal Siphon is a lot better than looking all cool and electrified and dying to a tower. As said before, more targets = better.
- Get Ignite. If you AREN'T getting it, I would seriously consider re-evaluating your perspective of Mordekaiser.
- Pay attention to the Loading screen! Take note of people who have Clense. If they do, toss Ignite on them, wait for the Clense THEN ult them. There is nothing worse than blowing a quick Clense/Ignite on the narrowly escaping enemy only to see him remove it in a little show of lights.
As for my build, I do the following.
Rejuv Bead + Pots, lots of pots.
*pretty much sit in a lane for a LONG time. I barely do anything until level 5, where I can really place the lane pressure, even in a 2v1. I do this so I can work on not blowing all my pots early on. Harassers suck, but nothing a well timed Siphon can't fix.
First item is the Warden's Mail 100% of the time. I build this ASAP. Why? 81 armor, second highest on any item, 25 hp/5 which is a HUGE upgrade from your Rejuv Bead's 8. Remember that his energy source is also his Health. Siphon at ranks 3/4/5 does a decent number on your health. In the end if you are laning correctly, the most damage you are taking is by YOU. Regen is wonderful. Since you have a shield mechanic, it becomes noticeable. However, I get it for the slow on Melee. I joust with people as it perfectly fits the design. Dance with them, get a good siphon, then go in with a shield up. If they hit you, it will cause 0 damage and have a 20% chance to slow them for 35%. Also, lowering attack speed means you have way more time to build your shield in battle. It's the best defense item in the game against phyiscal carries.
From there, it's a Merc's --> Giant's belt. There Ill finish a Frozen Mallet to give me CC. Since everyone ignore's me, it's nice to cause lots of pain with a 6 second AoE nuke for 240 + Mace and CD. If you can slow and keep em close, you are doing your job. Also, Mallet affects your Ghost. Immediately after I evaluate the Magic Damage on their team and go a FoN OR build a Blood Thirster if I have a good feeling about my surviability.
Don'ts:
- Don't think you are a full-fledged DPS. You are hybrid. You thrive on outlasting your opponents and then turning the tides. You are not there to WTFPWN face people in one shot. I know his weapon and looks come straight outta WoW, but you are not a Death Knight pre-nerfs.
- Don't cast your ultimate on a 100% HP champion. Seriously the uses of this ultimate, while the Leech is good for living, is so much better used to turn a fight into a +2 gain in one kill.
- Don't cast all your abilities at once. Now, I know spamming is fun but your shield has so much more value if you space out your skills a little bit. One good Siphon on a creep wave while engaging, will max you. Get to know how much you will gain from your intended Siphon. Then, when they burst down your shield, get your mace to go off to fill it up for the next attack. Staying in sync with your opponents attacks is critical. This opens up amazing opportunities for baiting.
Do's:
- Put Creeping Death on you before you enter brush. Make this a habit. More often than not, you will be stunned by anyone lying in a bush. Having this on prior will keep your shield powered even during a stun, allowing you to save your Clense.
- # of Target's Hit is better. A lot of times I see Morde's who go in for the harassment early on with Siphon. This is fine. However, they tend to only focus on the champions in exclusion to minions. You see the greater harassment is not damage itself, but rather the fact that you DON'T take damage. Imagine if you will that you had an ability that stole the enemy's main harassment tool's cost that you could cast every 6 seconds. Would you not use that as your main tool for harassment? Afterall, what much of a threat is a Ryze/Zilean with 0 mana? Intimidation people, he looks it so why not just play the part? That in mind, if you can get both minions AND champions then by all means go for it!
- USE THE GHOST!!!!!!#%@#!^!^!: I do not know how many times I see a Morde cast an ultimate on one of two fleeing Champions only to kill one and have the other, a mere one shot from death, happily walk past his newly-made Ghost friend who is returning to his/her hapless master. Seriously, the ghost's attacks power your shield. If you get an enemy with high AD he is filling almost 1/4 of your shield every attack. This is amazing for tower diving as well as just lasting as two enemy's beat you on. Don't just click and forget, keep updating who your minion attacks. Switching targets is fantastic and if you get a Frozen Mallet OR have the Lizard buff, the ghost will apply each according effect onto any enemy it hits. So, have a Frozen Mallet and just enslaved a Tristana? Now you have the opportunity to have essentially a mobile long-ranged slowing minion who, more likely than not, will have a really hard hitting attack. Why not use it?
- Mace is better on multiple targets. Using your Mace of Spades on a group of minions and THEN pursuing the enemy is often better than keeping it charged and chasing. Your Siphon is what you will finish an enemy off with 80% of the time. Getting that full shield to be able to take a tower hit in order to get in range for that fatal Siphon is a lot better than looking all cool and electrified and dying to a tower. As said before, more targets = better.
- Get Ignite. If you AREN'T getting it, I would seriously consider re-evaluating your perspective of Mordekaiser.
- Pay attention to the Loading screen! Take note of people who have Clense. If they do, toss Ignite on them, wait for the Clense THEN ult them. There is nothing worse than blowing a quick Clense/Ignite on the narrowly escaping enemy only to see him remove it in a little show of lights.
As for my build, I do the following.
Rejuv Bead + Pots, lots of pots.
*pretty much sit in a lane for a LONG time. I barely do anything until level 5, where I can really place the lane pressure, even in a 2v1. I do this so I can work on not blowing all my pots early on. Harassers suck, but nothing a well timed Siphon can't fix.
First item is the Warden's Mail 100% of the time. I build this ASAP. Why? 81 armor, second highest on any item, 25 hp/5 which is a HUGE upgrade from your Rejuv Bead's 8. Remember that his energy source is also his Health. Siphon at ranks 3/4/5 does a decent number on your health. In the end if you are laning correctly, the most damage you are taking is by YOU. Regen is wonderful. Since you have a shield mechanic, it becomes noticeable. However, I get it for the slow on Melee. I joust with people as it perfectly fits the design. Dance with them, get a good siphon, then go in with a shield up. If they hit you, it will cause 0 damage and have a 20% chance to slow them for 35%. Also, lowering attack speed means you have way more time to build your shield in battle. It's the best defense item in the game against phyiscal carries.
From there, it's a Merc's --> Giant's belt. There Ill finish a Frozen Mallet to give me CC. Since everyone ignore's me, it's nice to cause lots of pain with a 6 second AoE nuke for 240 + Mace and CD. If you can slow and keep em close, you are doing your job. Also, Mallet affects your Ghost. Immediately after I evaluate the Magic Damage on their team and go a FoN OR build a Blood Thirster if I have a good feeling about my surviability.
