When talking about the current League of Legends Champion roster, the words AP Top Lane Bruiser is not something you hear very often. Mordekaiser is not the only Champion with the title of AP Bruiser, but I don’t think I would be very remiss to say that he fits the title the best. And like most Bruisers, Morde excels at versatility, with very few hard losing matchups, and the ability to either solo carry or play weak side. But just because Mordekaiser doesn’t have too many challenging matchups, that doesn’t mean that the laning phase is a breeze to navigate.By that I mean despite being an anti-melee Champion, Mordekaiser tends to struggle in the early laning phase and requires a good knowledge of his power-spikes, item choices, and matchups.
Because of the snow-bally nature of Top Lane, one slip-up can dictate your experience for the rest of the game, so it’s essential to obtain the tools to dictate a very positive game experience for yourself. And this Mordekaiser guide should help you develop those tools!
Personally, one of the things that drew me to Mordekaiser was all of the different interactions you can learn and master around his ultimate. Realm of Death can be used to negate engages, isolate carries, dodge key spells, or take pets like Yorick Ghouls or Zyra Plants out of the equation. For example, if both teams are grouped and the enemy team has an Ornn, when Ornn casts his ultimate to engage, the Morde player can put Ornn in the Death Realm before the Ornn can recast it for the knock-up. There are many, many interactions just like that one that I’ll go more in-depth about in the Matchups section, but basically, any ability that’s physically placed on the map can be negated by Realm of Death.
As far as Morde’s basic abilities go, there’s nowhere near the same level of tomfoolery at your disposal, but there are few things you can do. When getting chased down, you can cast your E on top of yourself, pulling in the opposite direction of where you’re running, pushing your enemy away from you if they get hit. You can also Q + Flash as Morde, which is a good way to catch your opponent by surprise. Since Morde has pretty defined range of damage, low health enemies will usually feel quite safe as long as they’re away from that vicinity; but if they’re just one Q away from death, you can start your Q animation and flash before the damage goes through, catching them by surprise and netting you a kill.
Early Lane Phase
A common misconception around Mordekaiser is that his early levels are a strong point for him due to the high damage from his passive. The consistent DoT on Morde’s passive can be compared to Darius’ Hemorrhage, which lets Darius win almost any early 1v1 because of the consistent damage it provides. Following this logic, it makes sense to think Mordekaiser would also have very strong 1v1 potential early on because of his passive being similar to Darius’. But unlike Darius, Morde’s passive along with the rest of his abilities, have fairly low base damage but high AP scalings; where Darius is the reverse of this. So no matter how tempting it may be to try and duke it out to the death in the first few minutes, it is almost always a losing battle for the Mordekaiser player.
Post-Level 6 and Midgame
You know that cliche in movies and TV where the wimpy nerd grows up to be rich and successful, comes back to their hometown and finds their middle school bully flipping burgers? Consider Mordekaiser hitting level 6 as him being that successful nerd coming back to his hometown and dunking on that Irelia stuck at her dead-end job. Whether you’re using your newfound strength to get solo kills, create pressure, or roam/invade: your mission as a level 6-plus Mordekaiser is to use this power-spike to your advantage.
Going into the midgame as Mordekaiser you have two options: stick to the sidelane, creating map pressure and powering up for the late game, or you can group with your team, playing for objectives and skirmishes. The optimal choice out of these two will depend on how well the one-on-one versus your lane opponent is going, as well as how well-suited your team is for skirmishes.
If you are ahead and feel confident that you can beat any of the enemy champions in a 1v1, I’d recommend focusing on sidelaning and Teleporting to fights as needed. Mordekaiser excels at creating pressure in the sidelanes, as most of the time in a 2v1, Morde can ult one person, killing them, and then kill the next with his stat buff. This demands that the enemy team send a healthy amount of members to deal with the Morde if he is strong. However, make sure to only go for co*cky sidelane plays if you can decisively 1v1 any member of the enemy team.
If your team has strong midgame champs who do well in skirmishes (ex. Leblanc, Xayah, Lillia), Mordekaiser can put in work in said fights. However, make sure not to go full frontline expecting to be super tanky; as in the mid-game you’ll still be mostly HP without a ton of resistances, a lot of the time you’ll come out of your ult and immediately get burst down. Your main contribution to the fight as Mordekaiser is the ability to take a high-profile enemy out of the fight with your ult. But don’t go in too deep, or you’ll get kited and quickly killed.
Late Game
Moving into the late game, as Morde you should be pivoting your focus away from splitpushing and instead spend more time grouped with your team. This doesn’t mean that Morde can’t hold it down in the sidelane, but oftentimes he gets outscaled in the 1v1 against other Top and Mid lane carries. On top of this, Mordekaiser’s late game teamfighting prowess is not to be scoffed at. Something that Mordekaiser struggles with in front-to-back fights in the midgame is his lack of tank stats at that point of the game. But once you get to the late game and have a tank item or two under your belt, getting burst down is a thing of the past. Because of the AOE DoT of his passive, Morde does best in fights that take place in enclosed spaces like the Jungle or the Baron or Dragon pits. The ideal teamfight situation for a Morde player is a clumped up fight where you kill an essential member in the Death Realm, and then get a Zhonya’s Hourglass stasis off when you get out, letting your passive burn the whole enemy team down. Once again, sidelaning is still a viable option, but if your sidelane opponent is a late game carry (ex. Fiora, Jax, Irelia, Nasus), then you’re going to have a hard time 1v1’ing the
Matchups
Free:
Illaoi- Illaoi is a Champion that relies on a lot of set-up and controlling a certain area to be at her full potential; however, Mordekaiser excels at countering those types of Champions. As Morde you can relatively easily win fights against Illaoi pre-6 as long as you dodge her E. But where the matchup gets juicy is level 6-onward. Anytime you have your ult up, you can all in Illaoi and as soon as she uses her E or ultimate on you, just put her in the Death Realm and it’s an instant kill as she has no source of damage or healing.
Malphite- There aren’t many matchups where Morde can straight up walk over his in the early levels. However, Mordekaiser can clomp freely over a good chunk of the Tank Champs played in the Top Lane. Malphite, along with the other three Tanks I’ll be listing here, don’t have the damage or the durability to punish Morde pre-6, and it only gets worse for them after that. The only tool Malphite has against Morde is the harass from his Q, but it is punishable. Whenever Malph walks up to you to Q you, pull him with your E, and just chase him down with your passive. EZ clap.
Maokai- Maokai, like the other Tanks listed here, isfree food for Mordekaiser. One specific to watch out for with Maokai is if he gets enough Magic Resist quickly, he can win fights against a weakened Morde. So make sure to put Maokai in the dirt early and you should have no trouble.
Sion- You can cancel Sion’s Q as Mordekaiser by ulting him when Sion starts channeling. Realm of Death can also stop Sion from running away with his own ultimate. Very easy matchup!
Poppy- There’s not much to say about Poppy, Mordekaiser can walk over her all game. The only tip I have is to avoid standing close to walls as getting her stun off is Poppy’s best chance to win a fight.
Easy:
*In the Easy and Even matchup sections, a lot of the matchups boil down to the Morde player surviving until level 6 and then all-inning their opponent and winning from there. These types of matchups will be marked with a * and won’t go too in-depth since it’s a pretty simple gameplan. However, if there’s any specific tricks or items to use against a certain Champion I’ll explain it!
*Cho'Gath- You can dodge Cho’Gath’s knockup as Morde by ulting him when the zone for his Q is placed down. Avoid fighting Cho pre-6, because if he lands his Q he can deal some really solid damage. But if the Cho’Gath misses their Q don’t be afraid to take advantage and get a good trade off.
Dr. Mundo- Most of the time, this matchup will be a farm lane as Morde doesn’t have the damage to kill Mundo in the Death Realm. However, if the Mundo player steps too close to Morde pre-6, you can try to punish and get an early kill. I’d recommend taking Ignite in this matchup as it can give you that little extra oomph to finish the Mundo off.
*Garen- Just farm until level 6 and destroy Garen then. Garen wrecks Mordekaiser pre-6, but after you get armor, send him to the Death Realm and you’ll have no problems.
Nasus- Make sure to get an early lead against Nasus, because if his gold income goes unabated, Nasus can beat Morde in the Death Realm. But it’s not very difficult to keep Nasus from reaching that strong point. Any time Nasus steps forward to last-hit, use your full combo, bullying him out of lane.
*Riven- Don’t give Riven a lead pre-6, buy armor, and this matchup will be winnable!
Irelia- This is a fairly breezy matchup for Mordekaiser, but ONLY IF you’re paying attention. Pre-6 you can win trades against Irelia as Morde if she doesn’t have full passive stacks or doesn’t have the Minions available to quickly do so. Post-level 6 this matchup is as free as can be, if you ult Irelia before she can Q Minions for stacks, she’s left high and dry with no source of damage, resulting in an easy kill. One fun trick you can try is when Irelia places her first E to set up for a stun, you can ult her before she recasts to finish the stun, leaving the first part of it outside the Death Realm, meaning she has no way to get her stun off.
*Jax- Same story as Riven, Morde hard-loses early trades against Jax but whoops him post-6.
Teemo- Anytime Teemo steps forward to bully you, just pull him and chase him down. Super easy matchup if you buy Magic Resist.
*Quinn- Fighting Quinn as Morde is similar to Teemo, except you have to be warier of her pre-level 6. Once you get a Seeker’s Armguard and level 6, you should have no problems against Quinn.
*Urgot- Morde beats Urgot levels 1-2, and hard loses trades levels 3-5, but you win again from level 6 onward.
*Wukong- Wukong’s damage is very potent if he gets a lead, so make sure to buy lots of armor early on, and you’ll beat him in the cage match.
Yasuo- The only way Yasuo can win this matchup is if he gets a very early kill on you. If Morde and Yasuo both have even items from level 3 onward, Morde will always win.
Even:
*Aatrox- Try and dodge Aatrox’s sweet spot Qs and take Ignite. Morde has a very fun time against Aatrox post-6 if you have the fancy feet. You can also negate Aatrox W by ulting him in the middle of its channel.
*Akali- If you don’t give Akali an early lead, you’ll have a very easy time against Akali later on. She can chunk Morde down very easily with passive and Q, just farm up and beat her later on.
*Camille- Morde wins all-ins against Camille past level 6, but she can do some serious damage before then. Try and cancel her Hookshot by pulling her in the little window when she’s stuck to the wall, leaving her without her main source of combat power.
*Darius- Play extremely safe pre-6, don’t let Darius pull you and you should have an easy time just farming. Mordekaiser beats Darius at level 6-plus as long as you don’t let Darius heal from his Q.
*Gnar- Play safe in the early levels, and don’t let Mini Gnar harass you for free. Once you get to level 6, this matchup gets a lot easier. Remember to make sure to only ult Mini Gnar, as Mega Gnar has a lot of ways to delay the Death Realm duration.
*Jayce- Play extremely safe, buy lots and lots of armor, then all-in at level 6.
Kayle- Morde has a very easy time against Kayle the entire lane phase. You just have to make sure to get a lead, or else Kayle will outscale Morde very hard.
Kennen- Playing against Kennen as Mordekaiser can be very annoying as anytime you are about to get ahold of him, he just Es away. However annoying that may be, Kennen also doesn’t have the damage to pose a serious threat to Morde, so you shouldn’t have too much trouble. Rylai’s or Hextech Protobelt is a good buy here.
*Ornn- Base your fights against Orrn around his W, if he gets a full channel of it and a Brittle auto off on Morde, it’s an instant lost trade. So either farm up and beat Ornn level 6, or wait until he uses it to clear a wave and engage then.
*Pantheon- Like Jayce, the poke is annoying early on but you win all-ins post-6
*Renekton- Renekton dominates Morde levels 3-5, but levels 1-2 and level 6 onward Top is Mordekaiser’s kingdom. Build armor and you’ll do great against Renekton.
*Rumble- Morde can beat Rumble pre-6, but only if you don’t let Rumble land a full Flamespitter on you; so wait for him to use it to waveclear then go in. Once you get your ultimate, wait for Rumble to use his ult, then ult him, canceling out his Equalizer.
*Sett- This is another pretty simple matchup where you just have to wait for level 6 and you beat Sett.
*Shen- Avoid fighting Shen at level 1 as his Q damage is pretty ridiculous. Just play around his dodge zone and don’t let him get an empowered Q and you shouldn’t have too much difficulty.
*Singed- This is a very basic matchup. If you just sit back and farm without playing the lane on Singed’s terms, Morde will outscale the Singed. Remember the golden rule, don’t chase Singed. Singed has a lot of ways to waste time in your ultimate, so it’s better to just farm and poke him down, waiting for him to be low on HP to go in for the kill.
*Vladimir- This is a matchup where neither Champion has the power to kill the other pre-6. Rush an early Negatron Cloak and take Ignite, and you’ll dumpster Vlad in the Death Realm (build the Cloak into a Wit’s End later on).
*Yorick- Yorick is very difficult to lane against as Morde if he has all four ghouls. Play around Yorick’s ultimate, and once he uses it, put him in the Death Realm. Make sure not to just ult Yorick when he has a regular group of ghouls but hasn’t summoned the Maiden yet, as Yorick’s ult summons a whole new goon squad. Play extremely safe when you don’t have your ultimate, and wait for your small window to strike.
Hard:
Fiora- Unlike a few of the other matchups listed in this section, you have a clear path to win this matchup as Morde, but if the Fiora player plays their cards right, that path will stay closed. In an outright 1v1 battle between Fiora and Morde, Fiora will always win, but you can tip the scales in your favor as Morde. Rush Bramble Vest and potentially more armor items like Seeker’s Armguard or Ninja Tabi, and take Ignite. If you manage to get a hefty amount of armor under your belt without giving Fiora a kill, and get her into the Death Realm, it should result in a kill. Try and bait our Fiora’s Riposte with your E before you ult her, as Realm of Death is fairly telegraphed and can be parried. Meet these conditions, and you’ll be able to come out on top against Fiora as Mordekaiser.
Gangplank- This is an extremely annoying matchup for the Morde player. Gangplank can continuously poke you down with his Q while pushing you in with his barrels. On top of this, Morde doesn't have the ability to clap back at level 6, as GP's Orange can get him out of the Death Realm. Just try your best to stay safe in lane and hope to be more useful later on.
Kled- Mordekaiser gets dumpstered by Kled in trades before Morde gets some armor and his ult. Play extremely safe for the first part of the laning phase, buy a Seeker’s Armguard and Ninja Tabi, and you can beat Kled in an all-in.
Tryndamere- This is one of those matchups where Mordekaiser gets outmatched in every aspect of the one-on-one. Pre-6 Tryndamere can handily beat Morde just like most other Bruisers, but unlike a lot of others, Trynd can just beat you in your own Death Realm. And if Trynd gets any kind of lead, he can just continuously tower dive and kill you. Late game doesn’t fare much better. Tryndamere has better scaling than Morde, so if you try to sidelane against him it will turn out just the same as laning phase. The only thing that you have on Tryndamere as Mordekaiser is that your damage is longer range than his; so if you buy a Rylai’s Crystal Scepter first item, take Ignite, and engage when he’s low on Fury, you can run circles around him. The kiting tactic isn’t the most reliable, so generally, your game plan against Tryndamere is to just safely farm up and hope to be more useful in teamfights than him.
Volibear- Volibear destroys Morde in extended trades for the first large chunk of levels because of the healing from the second activation of his Q. Try and farm safely until level 6, from level 6 onwards you can start trading with Voli but don’t hard commit to anything until he uses his ultimate. Because of the huge HP buff Voli’s ult gives him, it’s the perfect food for Morde ult which steals some stats. The goal of this lane phase is to mind game the enemy Volibear, making sure the more patient player; if you can succeed in this you should come out on top.
Must-Ban:
Olaf- This is a matchup where the Mordekaiser player has no possible way to stay even, let alone get ahead without early Jungle ganks. Olaf can chunk you as Morde super easily by just landing one axe and chasing you down, taking you down super low very easily.
Vayne- There’s not much you can do as Morde against Vayne except cry and pray that your Jungler camps your lane. If you play against Vayne prepare to buy lots and lots of armor, give up a lot of CS, and hope that your bot or mid lane wins their lane. Don’t try to fight Vayne, even post 6, she beats you at every point in the game.
Items
Like most Bruisers, Morde’s item options aren’t too expansive, but there is some room for game-to-game innovation.
Doran’s Shield -Doran’s Shield is the perfect starting item for Mordekaiser, mostly because all of the AP starting items have a focus on Mana, which Morde obviously doesn’t have. And D-shield’s early Tank stats help Morde out in the early levels, which is his weakest point in the game.
Ninja Tabi/Mercury’s Treads -These two Boots are the classics for every Bruiser, and Mordekaiser is no different. You’ll want to finish your Boots after your first completed item but before your second completed item, choosing which of the two you want depending on if the whether enemy team is more CC or auto-attack focused.
Liandry’s Torment- This item is perfect for Mordekaiser, you should be buying it every single game. Liandry’s provides the stats Morde loves and its two passives synergize perfectly with his passive and his strength in drawn-out fights. It is the ultimate item for Mordekaiser and you’ll want to always have this as your first completed item.
Nashor’s Tooth -This item is an excellent pickup on Morde, specifically if you’re looking to do a lot of split-pushing. Nashor’s is best against melee-heavy enemy teams as it gives you some really great stats, but isn’t as useful when you’re being kited. You’ll usually want to finish this item second if you’re going to be building it.
Hextech Protobelt-01- Like other Juggernauts, one of Morde’s main weaknesses is how immobile he is, making it hard for him to get on top of ranged Champs. Lucky for you, Protobelt is a great option for adding a bit of mobility to your kit, while also giving you the stats Mordekaiser loves.
<img class="lzyPlcHld lzyTrns lzyLoaded" src="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/leagueoflegends/images/b/b5/Zhonya's_Hourglass_item.png/revision/latest?cb=20171222002747" alt="Zhonya&#039;s Hourglass" width="30" height="30" data-image-key="Zhonya's_Hourglass_item.png" data-image-name="Zhonya's Hourglass item.png" data-src="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/leagueoflegends/images/b/b5/Zhonya's_Hourglass_item.png/revision/latest?cb=20171222002747" />Zhonya’s Hourglass -Zhonya’s is another item you can’t really go wrong with on Morde. Hourglass provides some much-needed armor to supplement Mordekaiser’s HP-heavy build, and its active is great with his passive. Seeker’s Armguard is also a great first buy before you get Liandry’s in any AD matchup, as the amount of Armor it gives you early on is super strong.
<img class="lzyPlcHld lzyTrns lzyLoaded" src="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/leagueoflegends/images/f/f2/Rylai's_Crystal_Scepter_item.png/revision/latest?cb=20171221231531" alt="Rylai&#039;s Crystal Scepter" width="30" height="30" data-image-key="Rylai's_Crystal_Scepter_item.png" data-image-name="Rylai's Crystal Scepter item.png" data-src="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/leagueoflegends/images/f/f2/Rylai's_Crystal_Scepter_item.png/revision/latest?cb=20171221231531" />Rylai’s Crystal Scepter -As I mentioned earlier, getting kited is something Mordekaiser struggles with, and Rylai’s is another great option for remedying that weakness. Usually, you’ll want to build only one of the two, choosing between Protobelt and Rylai’s, because buying two items that serve the same purpose is a bit redundant and takes away a slot from other potential items, but if you’re feeling especially sluggish, you can go for it. I personally tend to prefer Rylai’s over Protobelt, as it synergizes with the Liandry’s burn passive being increased from CC, and is a lot better in teamfights and 2v1 situations.
<img class="lzyPlcHld lzyTrns lzyLoaded" src="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/leagueoflegends/images/1/16/Wit's_End_item.png/revision/latest?cb=20171222002310" alt="Wit&#039;s End" width="30" height="30" data-image-key="Wit's_End_item.png" data-image-name="Wit's End item.png" data-src="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/leagueoflegends/images/1/16/Wit's_End_item.png/revision/latest?cb=20171222002310" />Wit’s End -Wit’s End isn’t a very popular item option for Morde, but that certainly doesn’t make it any less effective. Despite Wit’s End not providing any AP, the auto-attack power it gives is not to be underestimated, as Morde actually relies a lot on auto-attack damage. The healing Wit’s End provides is also insanely good with the consistent damage of Morde’s passive, and his W shield allows you to stay under the HP threshold for longer. You’ll only want to build Wit’s End against AP-heavy teams, but if you are, it’s a great choice.
<img class="lzyPlcHld lzyTrns lzyLoaded" src="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/leagueoflegends/images/2/22/Dead_Man's_Plate_item.png/revision/latest?cb=20171221062439" alt="Dead Man&#039;s Plate" width="30" height="30" data-image-key="Dead_Man's_Plate_item.png" data-image-name="Dead Man's Plate item.png" data-src="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/leagueoflegends/images/2/22/Dead_Man's_Plate_item.png/revision/latest?cb=20171221062439" /> <img class="lzyPlcHld lzyTrns lzyLoaded" src="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/leagueoflegends/images/0/08/Randuin's_Omen_item.png/revision/latest?cb=20171221230256" alt="Randuin&#039;s Omen" width="30" height="30" data-image-key="Randuin's_Omen_item.png" data-image-name="Randuin's Omen item.png" data-src="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/leagueoflegends/images/0/08/Randuin's_Omen_item.png/revision/latest?cb=20171221230256" />Spirit Visage,Thornmail,Adaptive Helm,Dead Man’s Plate,Randuin’s Omen (Tank Items) -After finishing either three or four of the damage items listed above, depending on how squishy you’re feeling, you’ll want to grab one or two Tank items. Spirit Visage and Thornmail are your two bread and butter Tank items on Morde; you should be building one or both of them almost every game, depending on the enemy team's damage profile. Where Spirit Visage and Thornmail are the two items you build when in doubt, Adaptive Helm, Dead Man’s, and Randuin’s are the more situational Tank items for you to choose from.
These items don’t have any special interaction with Mordekaiser (Besides Dead Man's, as it's empowered auto actually gives you two passive stacks), you’ll just be building them in the same situations every other Tank or Bruiser does: Adaptive Helm against AP DoT. Dead Man’s if you need more mobility, and Randuin’s against a lot of crit builders. The only special suggestion for Morde I have with these items is if you’re planning on building Randuin’s, I wouldn’t recommend building Rylai’s. Because with Rylai’s will already be giving you an AOE slow with Morde's passive, making the Randuin’s active pretty useless. Bramble Vest is an excellent early buy against certain AD Tops like Fiora, Tryndamere, or Quinn.
Void Staff -If only one Tank item gives you all the beef you need, then Void Staff is a very solid last item option if the enemy team has a fair amount of Magic Resist. In a lot of instances, Liandry’s should provide you with enough Tank shred where you can forgo Void Staff, but if the enemy team has multiple Tanks, or is stacking MR, then Void Staff can be a very clutch item choice.
Runes
Your Rune options on Mordekaiser are far from expansive, but that’s because the best ones to take are so effective on him. As far as Keystones go, you’ll always want to take Conqueror with the same set of Precision Runes, with a choice between Domination and Resolve for your secondary tree.
Precision(Primary)
You should always be going Precision with Conqueror as your Keystone along with the same lesser Runes. Conqueror is the perfect Keystone for Morde, it gives him some much-needed healing as well as a healthy amount of AP; and you can stack it up incredibly fast since each tick of his passive adds two stacks. In close 2v1 situations, Triumph is great with Morde’s ult as once you kill one enemy in your ult, you’ll get a good bit of HP back in order to finish off the other guy. The other reason for taking Triumph is that Mordekaiser gets no use out of the other two runes in that slot. Morde has no resources; so Presence of Mind does nothing, and you won’t be healing enough to use Overheal. You have two options for your second slot; usually Legend: Alacrity is best, but against CC heavy teams Legend: Tenacity is a great option. For your final slot, Last Stand is your best option. Coup De Grace works fine, but Last Stand synergizes really well with Morde’s W shield, giving more damage for longer. And for your stat Shard Runes, always take two adaptive force Runes with the resistance of your choice depending on your matchup.
Domination(Secondary)
This is my personally preferred page on Morde. Domination has great scaling with Taste of Blood and Ravenous Hunter, but it is a bit more exploitable in the laning phase since Ravenous Hunter won’t be online yet.
Resolve(Secondary)
Resolve is best as your secondary page when you’re looking to have a stronger laning phase while sacrificing a bit of scaling power. One benefit of taking Resolve as your secondary tree is that you have plenty of options to choose from depending on your playstyle. You have five different Runes to choose a combination of two from here: Bone Plating is a good all-around Rune for trading and surviving harass. Second Wind is good against Champs who look to push you out of lane. Revitalize is another great pick for lane sustain, and also scales quite well with Conqueror healing. And finally, Overgrowth if you need extra tankiness in the late game and are willing to sacrifice laning power. Any of these lesser Runes are good in any combination, but if you’re in doubt on what combination to take, I’d recommend Bone Plating with Revitalize.
Skill Order
->-><img class="" src="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/leagueoflegends/images/3/3c/Death's_Grasp.png/revision/latest?cb=20190527181258" alt="Death&#039;s Grasp" width="50" height="50" data-image-key="Death's_Grasp.png" data-image-name="Death's Grasp.png" data-src="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/leagueoflegends/images/3/3c/Death's_Grasp.png/revision/latest?cb=20190527181258" />->
Your skill order on Morde will be the same every game. Take your Q level one, E level two, then W level three. Then max out Q, then E for the magic penetration, then W, putting a point in your ult whenever you can. Simple as pie.
Summoner Spells
Like most Top Laners, Mordekaiser’s best option for Summoner Spells is Teleport and Flash. Teleport is good in the early levels as Morde will often be on the back foot pre-6, so it’s good to get a recall off to get items and Teleport back for a level 6 all-in. However, in certain matchups, Ignite is very potent on Morde. Against Champions with a lot of either healing or dueling power, Ignite gives you that little extra bit of damage to tip the scales in your favor. Champions like Fiora, Jax, or Irelia will often be able to barely out-duel Mordekaiser, but with the damage and Grievous Wounds from Ignite, you should be able to make translate those fights into 300 more Gold.
Parting Words
If you’re looking for a Top Laner with great scaling and very few bad matchups, who can either solo-carry or play weakside, look no further than Mordekaiser. Morde is a great solo-queue pick due to the fact that he has very few matchups he gets smashed in, making him very blind-pickable. He’s also been one of the best Tops in the game for a very long time now, but not to the point of being overpowered; meaning that you can play a very strong Champion without worrying about him getting nerfed to the ground anytime soon. I hope this guide helped you enter into the wonderful world of Morderkaiser, good luck on the Rift!
Related articles
