(Champion Rework) Mordekaiser, Lord of Malice
GOALS
Current Issues:
- Clunky, slightly buggy, half-ass kind of kit that kind of leaves a bad taste in your mouth
- Underappreciated thematic potential
- Passive either makes him overbearing or the squishiest melee in the game
- Juggernaut rework forced him into an awkward play style that isn't really Mordekaiser (Morde should not rely on allies to kill his enemies, at least not more than any other Juggernaut)
Goals:
- Capture that "Prime Evil/Dark Lord" thematic he has going
- Give Mordekaiser the tools to be useful when behind and not overbearing when ahead
- Focus him into a solo lane role
- Retain his "Slow But Every Blow Is Powerful and Purposeful" feel to his kit
KIT Mordekaiser, Lord of Malice Health- 666 (+100 per level) Health Regen.- 9 (+0.6 per level) Armor- 33 (+3.75 per level) Magic Resist- 32.1 (+1.25 per level) Movement Speed- 325 Attack Damage- 60 (+5 per level) Attack Speed- 0.475 (+1% per level) Attack Range- 225 (Melee)
Passive- Symphony of Destruction Innate: Mordekaiser's basic attacks crush his enemies into submission, causing them to strike all enemies in front of Mordekaiser in a half-circle shape for (100% AD) physical damage and 12 (+4 per level) (+20% AP) magic damage. This attack can critically strike, causing both the physical damage and magic damage portion of the attack to deal 200% damage to enemies hit. Mordekaiser cannot gain bonus attack or movement speed from anything outside of leveling up or his own abilities. Any bonus attack or movement speed will instead increase his Armor and Magic Resist by the half the amount (flat will increase it by half the flat amount and percentage increases by half the percent amount).
Ability 1- Creeping Death Active: Mordekaiser causes his next three basic attacks within 6.5 seconds to deal 30/45/60/75/90 (+20/22.5/25/27.5/30% AD) (+35% AP) bonus magic damage to enemies hit and cause him to dash a very short distance in the direction of his swing. During this time, Mordekaiser gains 40% increased Attack Speed and is immune to Attack Speed Slows. For every enemy champion hit by each swing, Mordekaiser will gain a 25/35/45/55/65 (+6% bonus health) shield for up to 7.5 seconds, stacking up to 5 times. Whenever an enemy champion is killed within 3 seconds of being damaged by Mordekaiser during this time, the remaining duration of Creeping Death is reset and an additional attack is added to the number of enhanced swings left. Cannot move Mordekaiser over terrain. Cost: 20/30/40/50/60 Health Cool Down: 11/10/9/8/7 seconds Dash Range: 75
Ability 2- Hail to the King Active: Over the next 0.75 seconds, Mordekaiser stomps into the ground in order to force all nearby enemies to bend the knee with an explosion of necrotic energy, causing all nearby enemy units to take 60/90/120/150/180 (+60/70/80/90/100% AD) (+70% AP) magic damage, be Grounded, and be slowed by 20/25/30/35/40% for 3 seconds after the delay. For each enemy champion hit by the explosion, Mordekaiser is healed for 30/45/60/75/90 (+8% bonus health) health. Cost: 30/40/50/60/70 Health Cool Down: 12/11.5/11/10.5/10 seconds Range: 400
Ability 3- Black Metal Active: Mordekaiser swings his mace upwards in the target direction, dealing 50/75/100/125/150 (+60/70/80/90/100% AD) physical damage to enemies hit and knocking them briefly into the air for 0.5 seconds. From his mace, a wave of metal is sent in the target direction, dealing 45/75/105/135/165 (+65% AP) magic damage to enemies hit and briefly slowing them by 80% for 1 second. Cost: 25/40/55/70/85 Health Cool Down: 15/14/13/12/11 seconds Mace Swing Range: 250 Metal Wave Range: 750 Metal Wave Projectile Speed: 1250
Ultimate- Children of the Grave Active: After a brief delay, Mordekaiser sends a chain out in the target direction that latches onto the first enemy champion hit, dealing 20/25/30% (+3% per 100 AP) of their maximum health as magic damage, granting Mordekaiser a shield equal to 15/20/25% (+2% per 100 AP) of their maximum health for 10 seconds, and briefly stunning them for 0.5 seconds. For the next 10 seconds, Mordekaiser and the enemy champion hit by the chain are linked, causing Mordekaiser to be healed for 40/60/80 (+5% bonus health) health every time he damages the linked enemy champion with a basic attack or ability. If the linked enemy champion moves more than 1350 units away from Mordekaiser, the chain will snap and free them from Mordekaiser's grasp. If the chained enemy champion is killed while linked to Mordekaiser, the killed enemy's soul will be shackled to Mordekaiser, causing the enemy champion to fight for Mordekaiser's team for the next 30/40/50 seconds. Champion souls can be controlled by reactivating this ability. Cost: No Cost Cool Down: 155/125/95 seconds Range: 775 Projectile Speed: 1650
STUDYING NEW MORDE'S ITEMIZATION
Sustain Options
Ravenous Hydra A new, incredibly powerful tool to Mordekaiser that allows him to deal absolutely devastating AoE damage without using a single ability. For those that don't know, this will not break his passive as Ravenous has a 0.01 or so second cool down on it's Passive, meaning the AoE Cleave effect will only proc on Morde's main target of his basic attack. Anyways, every hit with this equipped will not only heal Mordekaiser for an immense amount, but will actually encourage Mordekaiser to hit the target NEXT to whoever he is attacking to effectively deal up to 160% AD damage per attack. This seems weird, but I find it fitting for Mordekaiser as it goes back to that old tactic/saying in combat of, "The best way to defeat a man is not to cut him in half, but to cut his best friend in half beside him."
Hextech Gunblade Of course this is still a viable option. It will effectively negate Mordekaiser's health costs and grealty increase the damage of his abilities due to their hybrid scaling. The active effect will also benefit Morde with the slow attaches.
Spirit Visage Boosts all healing Morde receives, no further complications or explanation needed. Works great against short ranged APs in Top Lane to boost Morde's W healing.
Passive Stat Mutation Options
Dead Man's Plate Gives Mordekaiser extra defenses for moving instead of extra movement speed. This will primarily help Mordekaiser survive the initial burst of a fight since these defenses will be lost once he basic attacks a target.
Blade of the Ruined King While, yes, the on-hit effect abuse is pretty great with Morde's passive, the item also gives Mordekaiser a ton of extra defenses from the innate attack speed combined with the movement speed steal from the active, transforming this item from an ADC/On-Hit item into a solid Anti-Tank Bruiser Item.
Phantom Dancer This is a real beauty of an item. When combined with Mordekaiser's passive, it becomes a super defensive item that not only allows Mordekaiser to critically strike with his passive basic attacks for immense damage, but provides him with immense amounts of bonus defenses when he is dueling especially.
Wit's End This is a solid rush item for Mordekaiser against AP tops as well. Mordekaiser will shred enemy Magic Resist while boosting it with the item's Attack Speed. A nice way to get a great amount of Armor and Magic Resist.
Trinity Force Just provides a lot of stats Morde likes while also making good use of his passive with the movement speed on-hit effect as well as all the stats provided.
Stick Options
Rylai's Crystal Scepter A classic choice, this item isn't as good as before due to the way that slows stack now, but will still give him extra stick when using his Q, which is his most constantly used ability.
Rocket Belt If for some reason you find you do not require the stats and effects provided by Gunblade, you can instead invest in Rocket Belt to give Mordekaiser a small dash that won't be negated by his passive.
Frozen Mallet Mordekaiser's new passive allows him to apply this item in an area of effect, which is pretty scary to be honest. Constantly applying a permaslow means enemies will not want to stay near Mordekaiser once he gets going, forcing a retreat.
General Good Options
Sterak's Gage Always a solid option as long as Morde remains a Juggernaut, Sterak's Gage provides Mordekaiser with more shielding and lots of extra base AD. It's a great stat item for our dark lord.
Titanic Hydra Maybe for some reason you simply can't risk purchasing Ravenous Hydra due to build restrictions or a need for more health. That's ok as Mordekaiser can still purchase Titanic Hydra for the same effect, but slightly more defensive.
Randuin's Omen Make sure the enemy ADC doesn't shred you too much with a nice Randuin's Omen. Provides a small amount of extra stick while also boosting Mordekaiser's defenses by a huge amount.
Banshee's Veil Burst Mage have you down? Maybe a big crowd control spell really putting you down? Buy this and laugh at your enemy's as you shrug off their weak spells and destroy both their body and soul.
There are definitely more possibilities than I have here, but I just wanted to touch the surface and give an idea of what new Morde brings once he has some farm.
Thoughts? I tried to keep the cool parts of current Mordekaiser with him while attempting to remove his problems. I also encouraged him in a new and unique way to take on as many enemy champions as once similar to now with huge, hard hitting AoE basic attacks. I hope my rework does the character justice!
