Champion Guide

Mordekaiser Guide

By LoLSuggest

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Mordekaiser is an AP juggernaut top laner and one of the strongest duelists in the game. Darkness Rise surrounds him with a damaging aura and bonus movement speed after he lands three hits on champions, Obliterate smashes the ground and deals bonus damage when it hits a single enemy, Indestructible turns damage he deals and takes into a shield he can recast to heal, Death's Grasp pulls enemies toward him, and Realm of Death drags one enemy into a separate realm for a 1v1 in which he steals 10% of their stats. He shreds tanks and turns outnumbered fights into duels.

Recommended Setup

Our recommended Mordekaiser build

Our recommended runes, summoner spells and items. Compare build win rates on the stats page.

Items

Starting Items

Core Items

Situational Items

Start Doran's Ring and a Health Potion, or Doran's Shield or Doran's Helm in harder lanes. The standard build is Rylai's Crystal Scepter, Plated Steelcaps, Riftmaker, Liandry's Torment, Spirit Visage and Zhonya's Hourglass; Rylai's is key, and with Approach Velocity it gives you extra movement speed whenever your passive hits a champion. Against ranged teams, Hextech Rocketbelt slightly extends your ultimate range and Experimental Hexplate adds speed, with Kaenic Rookern for magic resist; a high ability haste build of Cosmic Drive, Ionian Boots of Lucidity, Hextech Rocketbelt, Riftmaker, Spirit Visage and Zhonya's Hourglass lets you spam Obliterate. Against heavy physical damage add Thornmail, Jak'Sho, The Protean or Randuin's Omen, and against heavy magic damage Mercury's Treads and Jak'Sho. Run Conqueror with Triumph, Legend: Alacrity and Last Stand, plus Magical Footwear and Approach Velocity; Legend: Haste with Transcendence and Gathering Storm is a high-haste page, Absorb Life with Second Wind and Revitalize helps against ranged poke, Lethal Tempo works against Yone, Kayle or Irelia, and Unsealed Spellbook against Vayne or Varus. Take Flash with Ignite; Ghost or Teleport are options, and Exhaust works against Tryndamere or Riven. Max Q, then W, then E.

Runes

Primary Tree

Secondary Tree

Summoner Spells

Skill Max Order

Strengths

Realm of Death turns 2v1 and 3v1 fights into a duel, and an enemy cannot escape it once inside.
Shreds almost every tank in the game and has solid sustain from Indestructible.
Can remove a priority target from a teamfight for seven seconds.

Weaknesses

Immobile and slow, so he is easily kited.
Obliterate and Death's Grasp are telegraphed and very hard to land on champions with several dashes.
Relies on Indestructible in lane and Realm of Death in teamfights; shield reduction or a missing ultimate leaves him very weak.

Laning Phase

Mordekaiser's early game is not great: he relies on landing Obliterate, mobile champions dodge it easily, and duelists like Olaf, Warwick or Trundle beat him in melee range. Keep hitting Obliterate from maximum range, angled so it hits only the enemy champion for its bonus damage. Never trade without Indestructible: use it for short trades where the shield absorbs most of the damage, back off until it is ready again, and recast it to heal and outsustain your opponent. Use Death's Grasp to pull enemies when they go for a last hit, or flip it to push sticky champions like Jax or Darius away from you. Level 6 is a big spike, since Realm of Death can turn a 2v1 gank into a 1v1. Farm until your first completed item, then start taking longer fights.

Mid & Late Game

The mid game is Mordekaiser's strongest point. With two or three items, especially Liandry's Torment, he melts bruisers and tanks, and he is very threatening in a side lane because Realm of Death turns any outnumbered fight into a duel. Never take teamfights without your ultimate; with it, isolate and kill a high-priority target or use it to peel a diver off your carry. Against champions with many dashes, like Riven, walk up and attack them instead of throwing abilities they will dodge. Try to end before 24 to 28 minutes, because late-game carries like Kayle or Vayne can win even inside your realm, and shield reduction makes you much weaker.

Key Tips

Realm of Death steals 10% of the target's current stats, so use it on Rammus while his Defensive Ball Curl is active.
Realm of Death can also dodge abilities like Nunu & Willump's ultimate by taking someone out of the danger zone.
Combine Death's Grasp with Realm of Death: the ultimate briefly slows its target, making the pull easier to land.
Your passive aura also damages enemies under their tower, so be careful not to draw tower aggro.

Matchups

Matchups and synergies

Our picks for difficult opponents, favorable lanes and strong allies. Compare matchup win rates on the stats page.