@Riot What's worth keeping on Mordekaiser?

So as we all know, Mordekaiser isn't exactly the healthiest champion in the game. With the big Jugg's class update, he received some changes that haven't really hit the mark in terms of balance, uniqueness, and visual interpretation(what is it that makes Mordekaiser?). He's been slated for a VGU at some point, and lets be honest, it's probably gonna be a year to year-and-a-half before we even hear Riot's started on it. Still, is my favorite AP bruiser to take in the top lane, and even if the ball won't get rolling for a long while, I want to get my opinions across as to what I would like to see in the new Mordekaiser, and what could be changed/thrown out for better and healthier abilities.

Passive: Minor Alterations

As this passive is now, it's not a bad ability per say. It does what it's intended to do, but it doesn't really leave room for the enemy to do anything about it. It's basically "Free shield for playing Mordekaiser!". As long as he can use abilities, he's going to have a shield, and with silences low on supply nowadays that's not an easy thing to stop.

After reading a little chat talking about Morde with Lord Gypsy-Groovy, they talk about how his passive is too binary an ability to work around. That being said, I believe I've thought of a way (I know, I know, I broke my rule already, but I wouldn't be mentioning it if I didn't believe it would help) to change his passive to work around this problem. Make his passive his healing factor. He gains shield like normal, but instead of keeping the shield almost constantly with it slowly fading over time, it fills back into Morde's health pool automatically once it's full(lets say %50-75 of shield value, based on lvl). This way, we can give Mordekaiser health costs that are meaningful through the entire game, so the enemy has a clear strategy to deal with him. Morde's goal is to use abilities enough to heal from the health costs, while it's the enemies job to keep the shield low enough so he can't heal and will slowly wittle himself down to a point where he can be all-in'd. Sort of like Nasus, his early game will be a point where you have to bully him (and make it a bit easier to set up that late game fantasy.) As the game progresses, it becomes easier and easier to fill that shield with leveling, and late-game can be used as in-combat sustain during a fight. Healing, with counterplay.

Q: No change/Minor Alterations

All in all, it's likely Morde's most solid ability. The damage is strong, the counterplay is there in both visuals and action, and it feels impactful. I could honestly see this being carried over into whatever new kit Riot decides to give him, but that all depends on which direction they take. Either way, an ability that actually uses the mace is a must. Nightfall is not a prop!

W: Major Alterations/Complete removal for another ability

Honestly, I find it hard to like this ability. A small field around and a nearby/targeted ally that does DoT damage ONLY if the two fields are touching, which is double-tapped to give a strong base heal off of two enemies that may be in said field(not even mentioning the passive). As it stands, it's just there to carry Morde through his bad early game with healing cheese(double so with ) There is some strategic skill in which ally you throw it on, but that gets thrown out the window when its main purpose is the double-tap heal. If Riot is really intent on not giving Mordekaiser any direct CC, then for his kit to work well, he needs one of the strongest utility spells you can give a champion. Maybe not anything defensive like a Yasuo Wind-wall, but something that gives him a reason to be picked besides just damage, and I believe this is the ability to toss out to make room for it.

E: Complete removal for another ability

There's not a whole lot to say about this one. An extremely quick AOE ability that's coded to do damage to all enemies inside it at the time of the cast(and now gives extra shield). While reliable, it has almost no counterplay to it. The only way to dodge it is to either be invulnerable/untargetable. If the damage is good, it makes Mordekaiser extremely matchup dependent, where his good match-ups get bullied/ignored in the most un-interactive way possible >.> ( ). If the damage is bad, it's a waste of an ability slot, as it does nothing else. I'm all for giving Morde some range, even AOE along with it, but it has to be in a better version than this.

R: Minor/Major Alterations

So, first his passive. The dragon ghost. As much as I would like to see it removed, as to me it adds nothing to playing and enforces his need to be bot-lane, I know there's love for the ability, both in Riot and the player-base. All I ask of you Riot is that you_** DON'T BALANCE MORDEKAISER AROUND THE DRAGON.**_ I'd rather play a consistent champion that has a very mediocre power boost once in awhile, versus a champ that is situationally strong, but turns untouchable as soon as you get that dragon ghost.

Now on to his active portion. It functions well enough, and it has a pretty good pay-off if you can kill the target in time, with strategic niches on which champ to use it on. The two biggest problems with it are it's counterplay and the impact in its execution. Because of it's point-and-click nature, and the pay-off that comes with it, it can't be allowed to do meaningful damage. If it does, then it's Season 2 of point, click, GG. However, without the initial damage, it kinda falls flat on use. The enemy health bar barely ticks along, and all you see is a hue-hue-huead on top of them. What's still good about this ability is the threat of what it represents, that they've been chosen to turn on the enemy team. However, with it's current execution all it does is encourage that player to sit the fight out or continue fighting without a care in the world. Option A is good strategically, but doesn't exactly feel good for the Morde player. Option B means they're tanky/fed enough to where it doesn't matter to them, they know nothing bad'll happen because of how strong they are. Also not very feel-good. The ghost and the perks that go with it are well and good, but the act of cursing an enemy champion needs to feel better for both the Morde player and the target.

Well, I've said all I wanted to on the matter. If anyone wants to add their opinion on what about Mordekaiser is worth keeping, feel free to say in the comments! :)