The Master of Metal, In-depth character analysis and suggestions

Now then, we all have our issues with the Mordekaiser rework, be it veteran mains, newcomers, enemies or allies of the Master of Metal. There are some pretty major flaws in his recent rework but whining and calling names won't do us any good so let's tackle the problem by taking a look at the roots of all the issues regarding Mordekaiser; Just what the bloody hell is he supposed to be?

So, in order to clear things up I'll be talking a bit about the general aspects of Mordekaiser, his abilities with suggested actions to improve those and lastly the champion identity. Let's rock!

The Murder emperor

Mordekaiser's core theme just screams Heavy Metal. He's the first undead clad in an ancient armor, which serves as a prison to his very own tormented soul. That's right, the armor protects others from what lurks underneath. It's his cage, an Iron Maiden, tormenting him. But what does he do? He simply uses the subject of his anguish to inflict suffering upon his enemies, harming himself in the process but completely obliterating you in the process. How Nathan Explosion would put it; That's f*cking Brutal

The Issue with his theme is that he's not only a heavy metal juggernaut but also the first undead, a general of the shadow isles and enslaver of souls. While they all are pretty Metal in their own rights they've been given way too much attention in his rework, shifting him from being THE MASTER OF METAL into the generic Wraith. Mordekaiser IS Iron Man, the Paladin of Pain and most prominently the bloody master of metal. He's metalhead first and evil wraith second and therefore should differ from his shadow Isles homies by relying more on his dominion over Metal rather than ghastly magic.

The Rework shifted Morde away from his core Identity and Title and made him too generic, effectively homogenizing him to fit in line with the other Shadow Isle champions. This is evident by the lack of Metal effects in his abilities and even his icons. Iron Man went from being his very Armor to a generic force field while his W was turned into a ghastly fart with a tiny portion of floating metal/glass shards<<

Mordekaiser VS the World Mordekaiser is a lone wolf, he's got his own agenda, differing from the Shadow Isles' common goals as hinted in his lore. He works alone, apparently seeking ways to unleash what terror hides trapped inside of his armor. His ego took a BIG hit ever since they effectively force him into a duo lane. Heck, he's fresh meat once his buddy decides to roam a bit since he isn't able to hold a lane all by himself due to the lack of range and wave clear;

[(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5A9l-7ns1ng)]

Mordekaiser used to be THE pusher, being able to completely obliterate enemy minions simply with a stern look and a flick of his wrist. Siphon of DESTRUCTION!

The rework shifted Morde's damage from AoE galore to Single target destruction, which was a big hit not only to his wave clear but overall durability since he relied on heavy AoE Damage to sustain his shield, which was also nerfed in terms of shield gain. A bit of an overkill if you ask me. He relied on his wave clear to apply pressure and build up his shield since underneath all that armor he's squishy in terms of base stats and morbidly low mobility made him rely on his shield to sustain him in his "tactical retreat"<<

[(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBRsr7AAVbo)]

Olde Morde was notorious for being one hell of a hard nut to crack. This was due to his AoE shield gain and general synergy of his kit's abilities with his passive, which his rework LACKS. Not only did he manage to survive otherwise lethal encounters by simply showing his literal balls of steel and fight on. Not only this but him building SpellVamp made him sustain through a lot of damage. But the best part about his old self's survivability stemmed from his Ultimate; With a Spirit Visage and a WotA he managed to heal himself for unholy amounts, in addition to generating a lot of shield due to his ult's damage. It having 100% spellvamp made him one heck of a duelist.

The new Mordekaiser only seems more durable due to his build and NOT him relying on managing his passive well. He simply builds tank, still deals great damage and basically ignores his passive out of laning phase. He is no longer Iron man. They took his identity and reduced him to a simple tool to survive poke but due to his poor shield gain he relies on items way more. Heck, Sterak's gage's shield overshadows his iron man passive<<

The "Master of Metal"'s Kit

Iron Man The rework brought about some pretty major shifts in Morde's kit, making some of his most iconic abilities less essential to him and weakening them in effectiveness. There were some pretty great additions to his passive; namely it scaling with his maximum health, effectively encouraging him building tanky items. The shield decay halting at 25% shield strength was a great thing to do, allowing him to hop from fight to fight without having to worry about building up some shield on a jungle camp. The shield conversion nerf from 35% to 25% was a bit harsh though and coupled with the nerf to all his AoE spells, especially his Siphon and making his W conditional and Q single target effectively double nerfed his passive.

Iron man's shield gain should be increased a tad. 30% sounds decent enough but making his shield conversion from hitting minions only a third instead of half the amount seems reasonable in order to not overbuff his lane bully side<<

(M)Ace of Spades Now THIS is truly an ACE up Morde's sleeve, mirroring the powerful Motörhead song in sheer epicness. It makes him a true threat and forces the enemies to respect him yet also affirms his position of lumbering Juggernaut. It's balanced in a way that you have to play around him in order to deny his damage output. It's way too binary though and should be nerfed a bit to allow his other skills to be powerful on their own. He's basically become another Nasus, being a walking, talking Q button.

Nerfing Q's damage would allow other avenues in which Mordekaiser could be buffed while still allowing him to be the threat up close he has to be as a Juggernaut<<

Harvester of Sorrow Now this ability's pure Bs, all the way down to the bloody passive. It limits the lanes he can effectively be viable in while also making him bloody OP in duo lanes. It gives him an unfair advantage in Duo lanes while also leaving him one skill short in solo lanes. In my opinion this skill NEEDS a lot of work in order for allowing Morde to be a great champion and become healthy for the game and NOT be either OP or UP depending on his duo lane success and gimpy kit.

I'd suggest making it similar to Tahm Kench's W, giving it various effects when used on an unit. -Resistances and an AoE Damage shroud on self cast, yet no movement speed -Heal, AoE and speed buff on Ally cast -Speed buff when cast on an enemy in order to catch up with them on occasion, maybe even followed by a Blitzcrank-esque self slow after the duration? -Removing the XP passive or tweaking it has to be done in order to make him fairer for the enemy bot lane<<

Siphon of Mild annoyance...I mean Destruction This used to be such a cool ability and a powerful one to boot. It was pretty obnoxious for the enemy but it was Morde's farming tool and bread and butter ability in order to succeed in solo lanes. I suggest buffing it in terms of damage BUT give it some counterplay so that it won't become as unfair as it was before.

We could buff its damage but give it a delay like Darius' Q We could make it similar to Rumbles' Flamespitter; A three part damage spell, each half/full second dealing a wave of damage in a cone for around 3 second-ish. Animation-wise to could be metal shards splitting the ground as they impale his enemies. Just my personal thoughts though. Morde does need some wave clear back and his other abilities outside his Q should be powerful in their own right.<<

Children of the Grave This and Morde's Iron Man are his two most iconic spells and THANK GOD that riot didn't tinker with it too heavily. The range nerf was completely justified since Morde needs to be a Melee threat and not a long range Nuker. The Dragon ghost though. Oh boy. It either needs a leash range to have its duration lowered since it makes Dragon even more snowbally, while also making it quite the unfair pet to go up against. Not much to say otherwise since it's a pretty balanced ability in my opinion.

The Verdict

Mordekaiser has lost much of his former Identity in order to being forced to work on a gimped mechanic (W passive, active and Dragon). He should be put in line with the other Juggernauts; Powerful threats on their own but kiteable, slow and hulking. Morde has a great premise but there's still a long road ahead in order for him to truly become the MASTER OF METAL, A heavy Metal Juggernaut coming to wreak havoc on the rift if left unchecked. Something along these lines; [(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4UFQWKjy_I)]

He should be a literal Steamroller. Slow, durable, and flattening everything foolish enough to stand in his way. It's perfect for the master of metal. Let him be this one entity you don't want to meet in a dark alley, something you better avoid altogether. Let him be this piece of metal people would have to play around rather than making him this gimped mess he is now.

Mordekaiser should be pushed more in the direction of his core Identity! The Master of Metal! A heavy Metal Juggernaut! His Abilities should all feel powerful in their own right and should not only feel HEAVY AND METAL but also look the part= Add More metal to his ghastly animations and shift him into the same direction you went with the other Juggernauts since they can all be balanced with their current kits without breaking them. Morde will wither be OP or UP if you decide to go through with him being a duo laner since he relies too heavily on his unfair W passive and a support to completely fix his core issues being no Mobility or CC. <<

But that's just my opinion, I need you all to add your very own thoughts in order to allow Mordekaiser to truly live up to his Identity of being the true Master of Metal!

Morde needs you! We should all work together, hand in hand, in the name of Metal!