How Mordekaiser's ultimate ability could be changed in order to make him a healthier champion
Ah yes, Children of the Grave. One of Mordekaiser's most iconic abilities and probably one of the most powerful spells in the entire game.
Having the power to completely turn the tides of battle by just clicking once (fool!) and just turn the game into a 6v4. It is both thematically fitting for Mordekaiser to enslave his enemies to do his bidding and it goes well with the "Carry" nature of his design where Morde just wants to annihilate the opposition.
Yet this spell is a design disaster. It is extremely powerful and takes up a lot of Mordekaiser's power budget, making him feel not really like a champion without having a clone around to do the dirty work for him. It's both one hell of an awesome ability and still a shackle that keeps Mordekaiser's design from ever be deemed healthy for the game.
The ability to outright STEAL an enemy champion and even beef it up with Morde's stats is huge and does not exist in any other shape or form in this game. And yet it's an ability that inevitably has to change in his VGU so that he can be a healthy addition to the game.
It being so heavily linked to the core of his character and thematically fitting him to a tee makes it hard to come up with something fit to replace this iconic ability.
But that doesn't mean there aren't ways to do so.
Reworked: Children of the Grave (There are other Metal references that could be used as its name, I.E. Maiden's "Children of the Damned" or the band "Graveborn")
Active: Mordekaiser targets an enemy champion unit (Alive or Dead) and designates a circular AoE around the target as his ritual circle. After a brief delay of 0.5-1 seconds 2/3/4 of Mordekaiser's soul-bound Liches rise from the ground, dealing % Max Hp in an AoE and healing Mordekaiser for the damage dealt before fully phasing into existence.
These wraiths scale DIRECTLY off Mordekaiser's own stats, their offensive capabilities scaling off Mord's total AD and AP whereas their defensive properties depend on Mord's maximum HP and resistances.
Reactivating R commands these ghastly Specters to attack enemy units as they remain controllable for 50/75/100 seconds
Using R on an allied unit (Morde or any other allied champion) makes these Liches "guard" its host, slowly regaining health out of combat and following their "ally" around.
Enemy champions that die during the time these Liches are active makes them join their ranks, adding another specter to Mordekaiser's army that retains the cursed enemy champion's innate. Casting Children of the Grave on a deceased enemy champion instantly raises that slain enemy from the dead.
Additionally using R on the Dragon calls forth a deathly Draconic wraith for half the duration.
But why this? Well, first of all this would completely eliminate Morde's reliance on actually killing an enemy champion to access his ultimate while also making it a lot less hit or miss in terms of the actual clone. Currently you almost always want to get an ADC clone but with this change the risen specter scales off Mord's stats, making it less about winning a fight off a fed enemy and more about Morde's own strength.
Additionally it introduces another threat range to Morde as dying near him will inevitably fill his ranks with more specters to fight for him.
It only being casted around enemy champions and potentially the dragon makes him unable to just drop R and push down lanes as a split pusher but rather gives him the tools to actually be a team fighting threat as he'll still very much be a Juggernaut. Wanting to be enabled by his team to just destroy the enemy and relying on the enemy to engage on his terms to make the most use of his still very telegraphed approach to a fight.
Unlike Yorick and Azir's niche, these units are not actual cannon fodder but are extremely powerful units that fight alongside Morde. He does not sit back and command but rather rides into battle with an army of the dead at his back.
It would still retain Mordekaiser's theme of Enslavement but also includes some of his lore as his resurrection and conquest over valerian is heavily interlinked with his soul-bound Liches and turning enemies into enslaved thralls.
Thoughts? Concerns? What do you think would have to be changed in order to make Mordekaiser a healthier champion?
, or am I going into Annie/tibbers territory?
, making him an unstoppable (in theory) pushing machine who only gets stronger as he kills more and more while he controls a litteral army. Even if this sounds cool, I feel like he would need some more identity (maybe some more interaction with his metal shield? I always felt like this mechanic isn't what it should be since his rework).
