Mordekaiser's inherent problems, a.k.a. what makes Morde doomed to mediocrity

So, Meddler did clarify that Mordekaiser's not being looked at in the near future, which in my opinion's the right call, seeing that Morde's kit can shift from UP to OP with even the tiniest change. And this is exactly where the problem with Mordekaiser lies, his kit in inherently flawed due to broken aspects, snowballs mechanics and lack of utility. In the following discussion piece I'd like to bring up the aspects of Mordekaiser's kit that make him unbalanceable and which are detrimental to him ever being healthy and a champion riot can fully support. Note, this is MY personal sentiment, everybody's entitled to have their own feelings on the matter.

I'll divide this topic into three parts I deem are the most blatant displays of unhealthy design and should be addressed; Iron Man, Children of the Grave and Mordekaiser's lack of Utility

Numero Uno; Iron Man! I love this ability, it's what makes Mordekaiser who he is: Building up a gigantic shield with the damage you deal makes you feel invincible and enables Mordekaiser to do his job as a damage threat. Yet, there's a problem with this passive; It's extremely snowball reliant! Iron Man being calculated with damage dealt makes Mordekaiser reliant on snowballing or else he'll have troubles keeping up his defenses in fights. Darius has % missing HP heals, which aren't tied to his damage output, making it far more useful when behind.

Yet, Iron Man is one, if not THE defining part of Mordekaiser, which leaves a bitter taste in my mouth if I think about it. It's an awesome, almost OP passive when ahead or even and pitiful when behind. It makes for high moments but also for very low ones. I remember the old Mordekaiser rework that was proposed in patch 4.6, making Morde's abilities grant a portion of his MAX hp as shield. It did enable him to get behind and still function but it made it all the less satisfying. ->I for once think Morde's shield gain could be changed to either grant a percentage of the damage dealt or a portion of his max health, depending which value's greater, making him still scale really well with damage but also giving him a fallback pattern

Numero Dos; Children of the Grave It makes me sad that Mordekaiser's two most iconic aspects are also what makes him so hard to balance and "healthy" enough for Riot to fully support. Children of the Grave also shares the problem Iron Man has but it's actually the other way around; This ultimate scales off how hard YOU're losing, a.k.a. The more fed the enemy is the better this ability gets. Not only does it make for some of Mordekaiser's most satisfying moments but it also makes for the most frustrating experiences when facing off against a Morde. It not only STEALS a team member from you but also BUFFS said clone and even Mordekaiser himself, turning the game into a 6v4, putting your team into a huge disadvantage. Most other ultimates either provide damage or CC but Morde's outright gives you an additional teammate as well as functioning as a really strong damaging ability.

And yet, when the enemy's underfed this ability becomes practically worthless, giving you an additional minion to tank towers. Children of the grave is inherently broken due to it scaling on how hard the enemy's winning and giving your team another member for up to 75 seconds. It pains me to think about it but Mordekaiser's most iconic features do come with a lot of problems regarding game health and are broken in one way or the other.

Mordekaiser's complete and utter lack of Utility This is what makes Mordekaiser so snowball reliant. He does not provide lockdown, he's immobile, he does not have range, he does not have sieging prowess, his poke is practically non-existent, he does not offer any kinds of buffs to his allies. Mordekaiser's DAMAGE and DURABILITY, he's got double D's.

This is what makes Mordekaiser unbalanceable. He does not have any form of Utility to provide to his team when behind. Darius got his pull, Garen's got his Villain mechanic, Skarner has his ultimate and stun/slow. Morde can potentially grab a clone in the midst of battle but he does not provide anything to his team when behind.

He can catch up when late game comes around but when the enemy's able to close out the game he's utterly useless to his team. As a top laner he does not provide the cc or durability to function as a front line, even when behind As a mid laner he lacks strong ranged wave clear and utility As an ADC he lacks range and sieging prowess As a Jungler he lacks CC, engage, map presence and yet again Utility

This is Morde's core problem. Both Iron Man and Children of the Grave's issues are nothing compared to his inherent lack of utility. Mordekaiser's known as the champion without CC and mobility, whose only redeeming quality's damage. As much as this plays into his identity it dooms him to forever be considered a sub-par pick. Every champion needs some form of utility, ONE feature that always makes them be of some use to their team. Yet Mordekaiser lacks any form of Utility, something that's almost required from a "viable" champion nowadays.

Mordekaiser requires a rework to address these three inherent problems. Even if it means only retaining the FEEL of Mordekaiser. He needs to have a kit that can be supported long-term, one that gives him avenues to play from behind, one that gives him fallback patterns and gets rid of the insane snowballyness of his current kit.

Morde should still be Mordekaiser though, he should keep his passive shield that scales with damage dealt, he should summon dead specters to do his bidding, he should be an immobile metal wall, he should be slow and lumbering, durable as can be and a high damage threat, yet he should be able to provide his team with more than just raw damage. Be it a minor slow, an MR/Armor shred (<-My personal favorite), a root or simply being able to function as beefy front line even when behind.

~M.M

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