LoL Champion Guide: Mordekaiser, the Master of Metal - Abilities
Mordekaiser - Abilities
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Iron Man (Passive): 20% of the damage dealt from ability is converted in to a temporary shield. Maximum shield strength is 450.00 health. The shield decays by 15.00 per second.
Mordekaiser’s unique mechanic. This is what allows Mordekaiser to tank, makes him useful in teamfights, and makes building him different than other tanks. At first, the shield will seem fairly small, but by mid-game it is a significant barrier.
Mace of Spades: On next hit, Mordekaiser swings his mace with such force that it echoes out, striking up to three nearby targets, dealing his attack damage plus bonus damage. If the target is alone, the bonus damage is doubled. Deals attack damage plus (20/40/60/80/100) bonus damage.
A powerful ability than can charge your shield all the way in one strike if there are enough enemies around. You get more benefit from your attack damage than the bonus damage, so get this at level 2 and leave it unlevelled until late game - it’s powerful enough as it is. Use this to harass heroes and to clear creep waves. The bonus damage makes it excellent for ganks as well.
Creeping Death: Unleashes a protective cloud of metal shards to surround an ally, increasing their armor and magic resistance, and dealing damage per second to enemies caught in the cloud. Increases armor and magic resistance by (10/15/20/25/30) and deals (16/32/48/64/80 +.1 per ability power) to nearby enemies.
A great tanking and harassing tool. Put at least a point in this early so that you can charge your shield from a distance. It is also helpful in mitigating early game harassment and doing some in return. The armor and MR boost is significant, so use it when tanking or in a teamfight.
Siphon of Destruction: Mordekaiser deals damage to enemies in a cone-shaped area in front of him. For each unit hit, Mordekaiser’s shield absorbs energy. Deals (65/110/155/200/245 +.25 per ability power) damage and gives (8/12/16/20/24) additional shield charge per unit hit.
Your best harassment and defense tool. Hitting a full creep wave with this will charge your shield almost to full. The range is large nad the damage is not insignificant, so try and hit enemy champions in the wave as well - you are more than capable of wearing them down with just this. Level this first.
Mordekaiser - Ultimate
Children of the Grave: Mordekaiser curses an enemy, stealing a percent of their life each second. If the target dies while under the effect of the curse, their soul is enslaved and will follow Mordekaiser for 30 seconds. During this time, Mordekaiser gains some of their ability power, attack damage, and health. Steals (3/3.5/4% plus 0.1% per 50 AP). If the target dies, Mordekaiser gains 25% of their AP and attack damage and the spirit gains (65/75/85%) of Mordekaiser’s adjusted stats and 50% of Mordekaiser’s health.
Mordekaiser’s ult is more involved than most champions, and can make a large difference in team fights and tower pushes if used correctly. Treating it as a simple DoT is a mistake, and ignoring the spirit produced by killing a champion is one of the biggest mistakes a Mordekaiser player can make. The ultimate is so useful you may want to tailor your runes and masteries to go with it.
There are two good uses of Children of the Grave - casting it on a fleeing hero if you think it will kill them (best paired with ignite to add damage and prevent healing) or casting it on an enemy carry and coordinating with your team to burn them down. If you manage to kill a carry (or any champion) in a teamfight, you have shifted the balance of the fight in your favor by two champions. Don’t neglect the ghost - use alt+targeting to choose targets and keep in mind that the damage is significant.
Mordekaiser Item Builds - Tank
Though there are several item builds for Mordekaiser that work, it is probably safest to pursue a tank path - the survivability allows you to stay in the fight, stay in lane, and push towers harder. (Note: This build is highly recommended for League of Legends beginners)
You will want to open with a regeneration item - either a Regrowth Pendant or Spirit Beads and 3-5 health potions. Through the game, your biggest threat to your health is usually you, so you need some way to regain health lost from casting your short cooldown abiltiies. Try to stay in lane as long as possible - when you go back you want to try to build a Force of Nature or a Spirit Visage (you will probably want both. Depending on the game, build whichever you didn’t start with after the first). Get boots depending on the situation - Mercury’s Treads if the opposing team has lots of slows and disables, Ninja Tabi if they are physical, Boots of Swiftness if they are balanced or if you are doing well. From here, you will want health - if you prefer survivability, buy a Warmog’s Armor or an Aegis of the Legion, if you want damage and utility, invest in a Rylai’s Scepter or a Frozen Mallet. From here it is up to you: finish up your build with another tank item (A Warden’s Mail or a Thornmail can be extremely effective on Mordekaiser) or another damage item like an Atma’s Impaler.
Optimal Mid-Game Build:
Force of Nature
Mercury’s Treads
Aegis of the Legion
Optimal End-Game Build:
Force of Nature
Mercury’s Treads
Aegis of the Legion
Spirit Visage
Frozen Mallet
Warden’s Mail
Mordekaiser Item Builds - DPS
It is not at all a bad idea to try to build Mordekaiser as one of the heavy melee champions, like Kayle or Malphite, but it might require some unusual choices.
Start the game with either a Vampiric Scepter or Rejuvenation Beads and a couple health potions. These will both build into a Stark’s Fervor, an excellent aura item that had everything Mordekaiser needs on it. Again, stay in lane as long as possible - with lifesteal and/or regen and your excellent aura abilities, you should be able to be extremely aggressive early game.
Hopefully when you go back you will have a good chunk of change - pick up your Emblem of Valor (a prerequisite to Starks) Berserker’s Treads and as much of a Frozen Mallet as you can afford. The Frozen Mallet is the key to this build - Mordekaiser has no disables or snares, but plenty of damage, so this item is essential. After the mallet, finish your Stark’s Fervor.
From here, the build can vary - an Atma’s Impaler or a Trinity Force (even though the mana is wasted) would both be good choices.
Optimal Mid-Game Build
Stark’s Fervor
Berserker Treads
Phage
Optimal End-Game Build
Stark’s Fervor
Berserker Treads
Frozen Mallet
Atma’s Impaler
Infinity Edge
Final Thoughts on Item Builds
Though there are certainly some items that are superior to others, but League of Legends encourages customization and invention, so experiment. Mordekaiser is both unique and new, in that he doesn’t have mana, so builds are still being experimented with. Feel free to adjust, modify or completely change the order or composition of the items you get - feel free to use this guide as a starting point, not a rigid list.
Be sure to check out Part One and Part Three of the Mordekaiser guide for tips on pre-game selections and in-game strategy.
This post is part of the series: League of Legends Champion Guide: Mordekaiser
A champion guide to Mordekaiser The Master of Metal in League of Legends.
