Rework concept: Mordekaiser, the undead Warlord

https://img.fireden.net/v/image/1506/44/1506445358198.jpg

#Preface

I know what you are thinking "not one of these again", yes I know I know, I have seen around 40 Mordekaiser rework ideas too. Some very good and some.... interesting let's say.

But give me a chance here alright if it is horrible just say it straight to my face I'm rather thick skinned.

Also this is my second take on it so I'm basically a Mordekaiser rework professionalist!

So reworking Mordekaiser. First what are his actual problems? Why does he need a rework?

• His general playstyle is very feast and famine. Which means he is (kind of) scary when ahead and literally the definition of useless when behind. Adding some cc/utility to his kit or making him able to create chaos/distraction would be enough to lessen this effect so he can be useful outside of "tons of damage".
• His playstyle is wonky. What I mean is the best way to play Mordekaiser is to build straight damage, which isn't a bad thing at all but you have to ask yourself "is this really Mordekaiser?“ Is Mordekaiser a pseudo ranged glascannon burst mage? Or a bulky undead front liner with a big ass maze ready unleash his tyranny.
• He is way too reliant on his and the enemy team. If your team has no engage and the enemy has a peeling tank well you basically can't do anything in team fights. If your tank doesn't engage properly you can't do anything either. So adding some way to get in a fight outside of flash might be a good idea.
• What role exactly is this guy? His W passive and R dragon says bot but he can't be played bot unless there is a Blitzcrank or Nauti support with him and after that he gets outscaled by the ADC anyway. Going into a solo lane is suboptimal since you are wasting your W passive and dragon power budget. I like that Riot tries to make role diversity but this isn't the right approach.
• 200+ Bugs.... yeah..... propably 250 with Sylas R now.

What should be the goal with the rework?

Normally this is rather easy when doing a rework but Mordekaiser has so much stuff to work with it's hard to chose what exactly take over and what to throw into the dumbster.

On my first take I tried to preserve Morde as best as I could but in the end it didn't fix the problems he has.

So instead I will ingore abilities and build him anew from the powers he has in the lore. For this rework I wanted to get following points into the final design:

• His Warlord vibe: He commands an army of Liches, some of them are the most powerful warriors runeterra has ever seen. This is only represented in his current ult which is okay, but I think to truly get the Warlord feeling off you need more than 1 soldier, also you will need to conqueror...
• Heavy Maze weilder: His attacks should feel slow but powerful. He should be slow but a raidboss at the same time. Bascially a Juggernaut.
• User of necrotic and "iron" magic: It should be clear that he doesn't use funny fairy rainbow magic but rather defeats his foes with maddening curses and unworldly corruption.
• Restless: It should feel like he can outlast them all, where others start sweating he will have barely started, where others fall he will prevail. He should get stronger the longer the fight endures, stronger the more people challenge him.

These are the points I want to address/keep with the rework so Mordekaiser still feels like Mordekaiser. Without further ado, here are the abilities:

#Abilities

https://c-3sux78kvnkay76x24j7a1v9r0cvge9qx2eiruajlx78utzx2etkz.g00.gamepedia.com/g00/3_c-3juzg8.mgskvkjog.ius_/c-3SUXKVNKAY76x24nzzvyx3ax2fx2fj7a1v9r0cvge9q.iruajlx78utz.tkzx2fjuzg8_mgskvkjogx2f7x2f71x2fYatjkx78_oiut.vtmx3fbkx78youtx3dj6hgi02j4367657h4h8586il730j0i22_$/$/$/$/$?i10c.ua=1&i10c.dv=21 Passive: Eternal Servitude

For every champion takedown and/or assist and/or 15 creep score Mordekaiser generates a Lich.

Cursed: Enemy champions in combat with Mordekaiser gain a stack of curse every 4/3/2 (based on R levels) seconds (max. 3 stacks). Mordekaiser drains 1/2/4% (based on stacks) of the targets max HP every second and heals himself for the damage dealt. At maximum stacks, Mordekaisers attacks against the target heal Mordekaiser for 50% of the damage dealt.

Liches: Liches are undead warriors, following Mordekaisers call. If there are no orders given from Mordekaiser, Liches will spread evenly across all Corrupted areas. Liches have (based on R levels): HP = 200/500/1000 (+50% of Mordekaisers HP) AD = 60/80/100 (+50% of Mordekaisers AD) (+20% of Mordekaisers AP) MR/Armor = 50/100/200 (+50% of Mordekaisers MR/Armor) Liches slow cursed targets upon attacking them for 15% for 1 second

Upon death, Liches come back to life after 30/20/10 seconds in Corrupted areas

Lich Aggro Priority:

1: Mordekaisers orders 2: Target Mordekaiser is attacking 3: Cursed champion targets 4: Champion targets nearby 5: Any target nearby

_Note: The Curse range is 800, if the champion leaves the range their curse stacks start falling off by 1 stack every 2 seconds. Curse stacks do not fall off when the target is in Corrupted areas but the effect doesn't take place as long as they stay away from the 800 range. The curse passive can be applied to 5 champs at the same time. The thing with the "corrupted" areas will be explained with his R - Unholy Crusade. _

https://c-3sux78kvnkay76x24j7a1v9r0cvge9qx2eiruajlx78utzx2etkz.g00.gamepedia.com/g00/3_c-3juzg8.mgskvkjog.ius_/c-3SUXKVNKAY76x24nzzvyx3ax2fx2fj7a1v9r0cvge9q.iruajlx78utz.tkzx2fjuzg8_mgskvkjogx2f4x2f44x2fKgx78zn_Yvrozzkx78_oiut.vtmx3fbkx78youtx3dg05h853i6214lh49klkl97jj17l14j86_$/$/$/$/$?i10c.ua=1&i10c.dv=21 Q - Nightfall Cost: 15/20/25/30/35 Health Cooldown: 13/11/9/7/5 seconds (starts when ability is fully finished) Recast time: 4 seconds Range: 250 - 800 units Spelltype: AOE Damage / Slow

Active (Tapping): Mordekaiser swings Nightfall and performs 3 attacks.

First Cast: Mordekaiser cleaves infront of him dealing 40/55/70/85/100 (+70% AD) (+30% AP) Physical damage Second Cast: Mordekaiser cleaves infront of him dealing 40/55/70/85/100 (+70% AD) (+30% AP) Physical damage Third Cast: Mordekaiser turns Nightfall into Spectral Morningstar and crushes an area (range 800) dealing 60/80/100/120/140 (+100% AD) (+50% AP) Magic damage and slowing targets hit by 40% for 2 seconds.

Active (Holding the spell): Mordekaiser holds Nightfall with both hands and unleashes a powerful attack infront of him dealing 100/140/180/220/260 (+120% AD) (+70% AP) Physical damage and stunning enemies hit for 1 second.

Note: This ability works like Pyke Q, it has 2 sides to it, either you instantly tap it or you hold it for another effect. All of these attacks are AOE spells. While he charges his holding attack he slows himself for 30%

https://c-3sux78kvnkay76x24j7a1v9r0cvge9qx2eiruajlx78utzx2etkz.g00.gamepedia.com/g00/3_c-3juzg8.mgskvkjog.ius_/c-3SUXKVNKAY76x24nzzvyx3ax2fx2fj7a1v9r0cvge9q.iruajlx78utz.tkzx2fjuzg8_mgskvkjogx2fgx2fggx2fYavkx78tubg_oiut.vtmx3fbkx78youtx3d6j33k8hi7h5k71247i608ki5925k7946_$/$/$/$/$?i10c.ua=1&i10c.dv=21 W: Living Armor Cost: 20/30/40/50/60 Health Cooldown: 16/14/12/10/8 seconds (starts when ability is fully finished) Range: 400 units Spelltype: Shield / Selfbuff / AOE Damage

Mordekaiser shields himself for 80/100/120/140/160 (+60% AP) (+20% of missing HP) for 4 seconds with metal shards and gains 50% tenacity for the duration of the shield. The shield goes away after 4 seconds, if it gets destroyed by damage however it will explode dealing 80/100/120/140/160 (+50% AP) Magic damage around Mordekaiser.

Note: Upon destruction the bonus Tenacity will also be lost. This shield can be casted while charging abilities

https://c-3sux78kvnkay76x24j7a1v9r0cvge9qx2eiruajlx78utzx2etkz.g00.gamepedia.com/g00/3_c-3juzg8.mgskvkjog.ius_/c-3SUXKVNKAY76x24nzzvyx3ax2fx2fj7a1v9r0cvge9q.iruajlx78utz.tkzx2fjuzg8_mgskvkjogx2fhx2fhhx2fHax78x78ucyzx78oqk_oiut.vtmx3fbkx78youtx3d83171l277j1688ig49llkk82i095ik20_$/$/$/$/$?i10c.ua=1&i10c.dv=21 E: Burrowing Iron Cost: 40/50/60/70/80 Health Cooldown: 15/14/13/12/11 seconds Range: 600 units Explosion radius: 100-200 (depending on how long the spell was charged) Spelltype: AOE damage / Resistance shred / Grounding / Slow

Mordekaiser charges up to 1.5 seconds and smashes the hilt of Nightfall to the ground sending out a wave of metallic energy. Upon colliding with a champion, spiked iron pieces emerge from the ground dealing 30/50/70/90/110 (+60% AD) (+40% AP) up to 60/100/140/180/220 (+120% AD) (+80%AP) Magic damage and slowing targets hit by 50% for 2 seconds. Enemies struck get their resistances reduced by 10/15/20/25/30% for 4 seconds.

This ability grounds champions for the duration of the slow.

Note: Mordekaiser cannot walk while charging this ability. The damage portion of the ability is applied after the targets resistances are reduced

https://c-3sux78kvnkay76x24j7a1v9r0cvge9qx2eiruajlx78utzx2etkz.g00.gamepedia.com/g00/3_c-3juzg8.mgskvkjog.ius_/c-3SUXKVNKAY76x24nzzvyx3ax2fx2fj7a1v9r0cvge9q.iruajlx78utz.tkzx2fjuzg8_mgskvkjogx2fhx2fh7x2fYngjuc_Cux78j_oiut.vtmx3fbkx78youtx3dg49h595l6jj8l0jgh510i54g9il5i5i3_$/$/$/$/$?i10c.ua=1&i10c.dv=21 R: Unholy Crusade Cost: None Cooldown (Active): 20/15/10 seconds (cooldown for any order given) Spelltype: Control tool / Map control

Active (Tapping): Mordekaiser orders nearby Liches to attack the selected target for 10 seconds (max 5 Liches follow the order). The Liches gain increased movementspeed towards the target. Active (Holding): Only works in Corrupted territory. Mordekaiser calls for his Liches, which travel with Mordekaiser and fight by his side (max 5 Liches come to aid)

Mordekaiser Corrupts the land around him, making way for his Liches to conqueror and lay waste. Mordekaisers base will always be Corrupted territory (in the image below that is the area number 1). Mordekaiser gains the ability to corrupt additional areas for every 5 Liches he generates. To corrupt an area he needs to have at least 1 Lich with him and travel to the red marked places on the image below (each area has it's own place to start the corruption). He needs to cast his R on the ghostly flag that will appear. Once finished, that area will forever stay corrupted until game end.

Liches in corrupted areas patrol the region like Kalista sentinels, once a Lich spots an enemy champion it screams and alerts Liches nearby, Liches charge towards the intruder and attack him, generating stacks of curse on the target every 4 seconds (max 5 Liches aggro on a target at the same time). Leaving the corrupted area de-aggros the Liches and the curse stacks start falling off again.

There can be only a maximum of 5 Liches per area, Mordekaisers maximum amount of controllable Liches are <<5 x corrupted areas>>, any other additional Lich generated after that treshhold will instead get "stored" and released as soon a new area gets corrupted or when Liches get killed.

https://imgur.com/cXXQcTS

Here you can see the different areas. Area 1 is corrupted from the beginning and area 10 cannot be corrupted (if the Mordekaiser is on the blue side). Mordekaiser can only corrupt areas which are directly connected, so for example for the first area to corrupt he has to chose between area number 2 - 5. Areas A and B get automatically corrupted as soon all 4 areas around it get corrupted too. Areas A and B only hold max 3 Liches at a time. The red dots are the places where the ghostly flags will appear. Good thing to note, lanes can never be corrupted.

#Gameplay

In General: Mordekaiser is a Hybrid Juggernaut with a lot of draintanking potential. Once he gets going in a teamfight you better have healing reduction for him. He likes to build bruiser items but can very well make use of the existing AP itemization. Thanks to his hybdrid stats he can build AD and AP bruiser items. With that he has a huge range of possible build options to adapt to the game.

A possible build could look something like this:

Early Game: Mordekaiser is a decently strong fighter in laning phase. Thanks to his shield he can protect himself in ranged matchups and can poke/farm with Q thanks to its rather large range for a melee attack. The Q3 especially can poke really good. His weakness still lies in getting outranged and kited, also champions that only force short trades will find success against Mordekaiser. At this point of the game, he cannot utilise the full potential of his R.

**Mid Game: **Mordekaiser is now a hard guy to kill in extended trades, not only the curse will stack onto multiple foes in 2 v 2 or 3 v 3 skirmishes but he will heal A LOT with his attacks to the cursed targets. At this point of the game Mordekaiser can very well be followed by 3-5 Liches which make him a lot more dangerous to deal with. If the Liches get out of control they will deal a good amount of damage and also set up Curse stacks and slow enemies for Mordekaiser to catch up.

Late Game: You are still a threat... not necessary the champion itself though. Mordekaiser kind of falls off come late game since his survival aspect will be hard to pull off with all the healing reduction flying around and the high damage output by carries makes it hard to get into extended fight and get the curse stacks going. However, the map is hard to traverse for enemies. Walking through corrupted territory is dangerous for the enemy, being spottet and remaining seen for the entire enemy team because of a lich is basically a death sentence in late game. Liches charge forward and slow the target, distract him until Mordekaisers team show up. Once Mordekaiser get a hold of areas A and B, the enemies wont be able to sneak a baron or dragon anymore. Thanks to Mordekaiser having stored so many Liches, killing them only generates a new one, killing that one and a new one will take its place, before that one is killed the first one respawned again. In the very late game, there will be no way to hold off the Liches other than to sneak by them or leaving the corrupted territory alltogether.

#Edits

Edit 1:

• Forgot to add MR/Armor values to Liches
• Liches now gain movementspeed when charging against a target Mordekaiser ordered to attack
• Passive required time to stack changed from 4 at all ranks to 4/3/2 (based on R levels)
• Passive requirement to gain a Lich changed from cursed champion takedowns and / or 20 creep score to champion takedown and/or assist and/or 15 creep score

#Ending Words

I thought to myself "hey what is the craziest thing I could come up with as a mechanic that still could somehow work in League?". I designed champs that can build towers in the middle of the map, champs that buff enemies to then take the buffs away and use them for himself but not a champ that literally just builds an empire throughout a match. I have absolutely no idea how strong this conquering thing would be. There was nothing even coming close to this in leagues entire history so I don't have anything to compare it to. On first sight it might seem OP but at the same time, a Mordekaiser with a few Liches won't be a threat regarding the corrupted territory because the Liches spread evenly across all areas. We would need actual playtesting to see if it too strong or not I guess.

Anyway, I thank you very much for reading my champion concept and I am always open for suggestions so feel free to comment what's on your mind (no not that part of your mind)

Also all ability icons are taken from Dota 2

You liked this concept? Check out other champions and rework concepts I made! (Yes I like to limmy my flimmy thonsons but who doesn't like to do that, come on)

Champion concepts:

Champion concept (Battlemage): Mug'gri, the hopes End Champion concept (Juggernaut): Beauty de Morknaut Champion concept (Joke): RNGesus, the Lord of Dice Champion concept (Juggernaut-Supporter): Oracas, The Heart of War

Rework concepts:

Rework concept: Mordekaiser, the Iron Revenant (First Try) Rework concept: Pantheon, the Aspect of War Rework concept: Tryndamere, the Freljordian King