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Mordekaiser, The Iron Revenant: A character Study

Malicious Metal·2/20/2018, 2:59:44 PM·74 votes·11,079 views

Some might have shared my disappointment in the recent Champion roadmap, especially the lack of a certain Undead Warlord, even though he has been listed as a tier 1 VGU priority for the past few years.

But him not being chosen for a VGU is not surprising since Riot does not operate on a checklist. They only rework champions they have a solid direction, a core theme, for that allows them to push it to the limit and truly create something outstanding.

So Akali was chosen, since her theme is a simple, yet resonant one. Fair enough, but it made me think...

What IS Mordekaiser's ONE core theme anyways?

Let's take Swain for example. He had a LOT of themes and character traits, some of them clashing, some of them not even explored fully. He was a Bird mage, a grizzled battle commander, some weird bid guy, a monster, a sorcerer, a guy who doesn't like showing his face and has a peculiar choice of hairstyle.

And yet instead of trying to keep all of these intact, Riot chose ONE resonant character trait and just built from there.

They are very alike, Swain and Mordekaiser, with them having the potential to be awesome characters but having way too many clashing identities that makes it hard for Riot to just pick ONE and base their entire VGU off of that.

And this is what inspired me to conduct a little thought experiment to maybe give Riot some ideas for what Mordekaiser IS, what he SHOULD be and what he COULD be!

So, without further ado, this is a Character study of; #Mordekaiser, The Iron Revenant!

Indiana Morde and the raiders of the lost Theme

Mordekaiser is a very old champion with several themes that seem core to him, but in the end make him a blurry mess in terms of actual character cohesion.

He is; -A Necromancer -Undead -A Mage -A Mace wielder -Somehow controls Metal? -Is Sauron -Is an ancient evil entity -Is an old suit of armor -Overlord of...something?

From that alone Mordekaiser seems somewhat of a thematic mess, with the only pointers to what he's supposed to be being sprinkled in here and there with snippets of new lore; Swain "A King remains in the Isles, and an other marches." Maokai "Just another pile of bones wearing a crown." Yorick "My army will soon storm your gates, Revenant!"

Mordekaiser is painted as the current de facto leader of the Shadow Isles, an ancient evil that reigned over most of old Runeterra, and was only brought down by the combined effort of the human tribes...as well as being backstabbed by his advisor Leblanc

This provides a good starting point for Mordekaiser's ONE core theme. He dominates, he enslaves, he wants to once again reign over the known world He is CONQUEST

We have the grand visionary dictator with Swain, but Mordekaiser is an entirely different Monster. Mordekaiser is, what I could best describe, an OVERLORD character.

Tyrant Swain "Men are too weak to rule, but I am no man!"

Mordekaiser is no longer human, he has lost his humanity to endless reincarnations, he is solely one Will, an entity anchored in this realm because of simply the desire to Conquer. He is prideful, he sees everyone else as lesser beings, he is a force of nature.

And with that in mind I tried bringing forth this beast through Riot's preferred way of storytelling; Visual language!

Reimagining Mordekaiser's overall appearance was harder than I initially thought because a lot of people think he does look pretty cool in theory. But I have to disagree to notions of simply copy pasting the idea unto a new rig since while Galio, Swain and co. had a distinct appearance, they did not speak of their place in the world as well as their new look.

Enter new Mordekaiser! https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/411203032358060032/411204046477852673/image-4.jpg

The first thing someone might notice is the lack of spikes, which was a deliberate move. Spikes are a cheap way of making something appear evil or wicked, and I tried straying away from it due to its implications. Instead I tried focusing more on the Overlord angle by making Mordekaiser appear eerie and commanding, making him look more like an ancient conqueror King and less like some cheesy WoW character.

The main thing I focused on in his visual design was to settle on ONE silhouette that would make him instantly recognizable in game. Morsekaiser was always a "big" champion, he had to be like that to seem imposing and tough, yet unlike things like Sion the thing that made hims appear so large wasn't bulk. It was his especially broad shoulders and his mantle! His Pizza feet are a meme and do add to his mass, but in the end I settled on this aesthetic of Neck->Shoulder->Cloak, a Bust so to speak, as Mordekaiser's core visual cue.

Finding a suiting color was a tricky thing. A lot of people, myself included always liked the red and metallic hues of his but in the long run I think they do need to go for one main reason: Undeath

Yes, while people are attached to Mordekaiser's metal fantasy, it is just one aspect of many clashing themes that still stand in the way of a unified Character Identity.

Instead I focused on the cold, haunting hues of undeath, trying to bring forth shapes and colors that speak of "Cruel, Ancient Witchfire" more than just "Look, red eyes, he must be eeeevil!" https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/411203032358060032/411203745402191874/colorMK.jpg

In the end I think it does make Mordekaiser fit more into the Shadow Isles while still retaining his more "pure" undeath due to the way his color seems stronger and more powerful than the other undead palettes.

Shapes, Poses and PRESENCE!

Next up was finding a movement/pose pattern that fit Mordekaiser's reimagination of this kind of Overlord character. For this I looked for inspiration in other, similar characters. The most fitting one being Sauron in all his various appearances in movies, games and artwork, as well as his big boss Morgoth.

I emphasized his shoulder area and him standing tall, looking down on everything around him. Nightfall is still an important aspect of his but instead of carrying it around on his shoulder all the time to show off its weight, I thought making it less clunky of a tool more akin to a scepter would be the right call.

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/411203032358060032/411203171210493972/mkpose1.jpg

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/411203032358060032/411203792198041600/Mordepose2.jpg

In the end this would translate very well into practice as it gave Mordekaiser the presence he needed. It also made the line between Necromancy/Dark magic and Physical prowess more flexible and flow more naturally since his new shape did invoke feelings of dark power and more sorcerous tones due to the emphasized mantle.

"Kleider machen Leute!" aka Armour galore!

Lastly, Skins were also extremely interesting to try reimagining to this change of silhouette and theme!

First off! #Infernal Mordekaiser! https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/411203032358060032/411203871977766914/infernalMK.jpg

With Mordekaiser's core theme as an Overlord, Infernal instantly clicked. Enter the King of Hell himself!

The emphasis on demonic armour designs and jagged ends made this skin a blast to redesign as I tried bringing the whole "Demon Armour" aesthetic out of it. Thus making hims appear inhuman with a less practical, more mask-like helmet, the "hellish pit" kind of neck guard, as well as the visage on his chest piece!

A Dragon Master himself! #Dragon Knight Mordekaiser! https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/411203032358060032/411203560487780363/dragonknight.jpg

there was a thread a while back where a Rioter asked if people would be alright with DK Morde being more of a "Dragon Slayer" aesthetic but with the reveal of Dragon master swain i though of a better way of including him in this skin canon.

This Mordekaiser skin tries being more of a "mediaeval" style and truly bring out the KNIGHT in him. Not a white knight of course, no.

A Dragon Knight. One that subjugates Dragons instead of slaying them and uses them to wage war, making their power his own!

Just a Sauron reference! #Lord Mordekaiser! https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/411203032358060032/411203843049783296/lordekaiser.jpg

I have to admit, it was hard finding ONE good direction to take this skin in but in the end I thought paying homage to this well known overlord was the way to go! I tried styling the armor similarly to Sauron's own and made him appear more unquestionably evil and inhuman than the other skins.

He is numero UNO! #Pentakill Mordekaiser! https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/411203032358060032/411203815690207236/PKMordekaiser.jpg

This skin was a no-brainer seeing that we already know what it should look like! I tried pushing this to eleven though by adding a few more Metal references like the hands on his shoulder pads and the black, death metal fingernails!

But that's about it for my little brainstorming session on Mordekaiser and the ONE THEME TO RULE THEM ALL! Everyone's entitled to their own opinion and views on the matter but I just wanted to conduct a little experiment to mimic Riot's own process of refining a champion's core identity and building a VGU off that!

Thoughts? Let me know what you think about this!

94 Comments

RiotBioluminescence2/20/2018, 6:59:11 PM48 votes

Hey up, Malicious!

This was really neat to read, and ofc. I can't give much feedback on it (nor would I be the best person to do so anyway) but reading it DID make me curious about a possible long-distance problem/clash that could crop up, so I've reached out to give it a bit of visibility.

Sorry I have to be so vague (you understand) but I did want to let you know that you shook something loose outta my brain. Might not be a real problem, but early warnings not needed are much better than a too late warning that shocks and dismays.

GreenLore2/20/2018, 4:14:07 PM13 votes

Overall i think your artwork looks really good and your redesigns for the skins are awesome as well.

However I feel like your design is too similar to Tyrant Swain,especially when his arms are hidden behind his cloak in what I think is most likely going to be idle pose. https://www.pcgamesn.com/sites/default/files/tyrant%20swain.jpg

Also I feel like he looks kinda scrawny in that pose,he looks more like a mage than a juggernaut.Though I admit that the shape does work pretty well in the pictures where he is in motion(though that is most likely because he lifts the shoulder pads up,while moving his arms,reversing the triangle shape of his upper body), In general I'd suggest that he should keep the general top heavy-stature,make his body like a triangle,with the tip on the bottom,not on the top.

Triumphant Glory2/20/2018, 8:59:21 PM5 votes

Did you mean, MordeKai'Sa?[sg-lulu]

DWT123452/21/2018, 12:57:28 AM5 votes

I see Mordekaiser as the "big bad" of the Runeterra story. The void might be a little spooky, the Darkin might kill some people, but when it comes down to it, Morde is the ultimate evil in Runeterra (Except for Veigar of course). Rito should really just go all out when designing Morde, as a complete sauronish monster.

ModKnightsKemplar2/20/2018, 3:04:35 PM4 votes

Looking at these images, I'm reminded of Sauron.

So I'd say you did well.

DeadUnborn2/20/2018, 3:35:58 PM4 votes

didn't you say you were done with the character?

sleepysithlord2/20/2018, 7:19:36 PM3 votes

I like the "other wordly" comment for Lord Mordekaiser. Making him look like an alien Conquerer would be really cool

Realniaf2/20/2018, 3:03:11 PM3 votes

Ah very nice

Mordepool2/20/2018, 9:23:58 PM3 votes

I agree with the Mace change 100%
The original focus having this huge Cheesy Mace was a defining factor of his Rework several years ago and keeping its size was in error

I'm not opposed to say: having the Mace increase in size and Spikyness. During his Ultimate (as a way to pay homage) it is Magical after all so Show it. Also it's a nice visual tell.

My 1 gripe: original skin Morde has one chest spike which he can use to impale people on if he grapples with someone. I'd like to see it to continue as part of his base skin

Sauronkaiser2/20/2018, 8:53:48 PM3 votes

The cape image really reminded me Dracula from Castlevania. The only problem I see is, where does his mace go when he stands like that? Maybe gets magnetized to his back..? Nice concepts, I hope they do this in a near future before most morde mains quit league or the game ends it's competitive life.

Jaghatai2/20/2018, 11:26:20 PM3 votes

At this point I've given up on Mordekaiser The champion I "grew up with" doesn't exist anymore and likely will not exist anymore.

I just can't care anymore. If/when he gets reworked ... I'll judge him then. I have excessively low expectations though. I dread that they will try to maintain his "bot lane presence" rather than restoring him to being a AP Juggernaut.

I doubt that the shotgun abilities that I loved about him in the first place (his old E and old Q) will return or remain (especially with Swain's Q)

/sigh

DunkmasterDennis2/20/2018, 8:55:26 PM2 votes

How bout King of Clubs

midnight oil242/20/2018, 3:12:16 PM2 votes

You could probably make a career out of character design, this was impressive to read. You looked at a lot of key factors, and created a visually interesting and impressive version of Mordekaiser. Stuff like how the character moves and color scheme are all very important, and it's clear you put a lot of thought into this.

WOOOOOOOOHOOOOOO2/20/2018, 3:15:09 PM2 votes

Beyond being a spooky conqueror, what would you say is the literary point of Mordekaiser

Pingu212/20/2018, 7:50:35 PM2 votes

I kinda want the new morde to trick people into joining his ranks willingly by luring them in with things based on their lore, (Lucian's wife, Olaf's honorable death, helping kassadin find his daughter, etc) I kind of imagine mordekaiser acting very caring and offering the champion to join him (maybe a quote that plays to the champion he ulted) and then once they do, boom, hes back to the tyrant we know today. all mordekaiser is is a conqueror, who wants to conquer runeterra , the void, and the entire multiverse, and make everyone submit to his control, along with his immortal army.

Linna Excel2/20/2018, 8:02:43 PM2 votes
  1. I think riot should shy away from the overlord theme and just make him an undead knight or knight captain. He could be the main henchman of the ruined king, maybe an undead darth vader.
  2. I think a tragic lore and background would probably suit him best. As a knight, he could have been loyal to his king even though he knew it meant his loss of humanity.
  3. People probably aren't going to like this suggestion, but I think he should be less of a tank-mage and more of a hybrid juggernaut. Maybe put a fear mechanic on him somewhere even if it's just minions that are affected.

Riot should watch this before remaking him: https://youtu.be/npEX8uRvUEo

Valor Bot2/20/2018, 8:52:05 PM2 votes

Really love this exploration/rework study. Been wanting to do something like this for Quinn for a long time; was pretty inspiring/gave me some ideas, even if the two characters are vastly different. I especially love that you provided so many concepts for his different skins =)

To offer some feedback, I’d say if you really wanna amp up that “imposing overlord” theme to the next level, you should focus on making his character pose (particularly in the base skin concept) more tall and commanding. Right now he’s got a bit of a hunch/slouch — and though it looks extremely cool and plays into the undead theme, I think it also risks making him feel a bit brittle or weak. A tiny nuance for sure, but for such a heavy, powerful, and intimidating champion like Morde It’s important to make him look the part!

Metallikaiser2/20/2018, 9:16:35 PM2 votes

Wow, as a Morde main this was great to see, really cool art. I absolutely agree that the red and spiked should be moved to his Infernal skin (Kind of like how Swain had some of his old themes moved to the new Tyrant). But I have a couple of problems, first off I think the base skin idea is simply too close to Tyrant Swain (I understand if you like him, I have the skin and I love it), im not sure exactly what to have the base skin be instead but the cape coming over his arms and very shoulder and head heavy identity is simply not acceptable I think. The other thing is Pentakill and Infernal are awesome to look at, but I feel you didnt include King of Clubs for a reason, its already supposed to be the medieval esque skin, I think there needs to be a specified purposeful distinction between it and the new suggestion for Dragon Knight. And lastly, that Lord Morde is actually amazing and I used to use a Sauron custom skin when I didnt have one. But I always felt it was a reference to Chaos Lords from Warhammer, and I feel its a shame to lose that aesthetic, though this is really just a minor complaint.

Poolparty Sauron2/20/2018, 10:12:59 PM2 votes

Very interesting and quite close to what i envision Mord to be like. I still stand by my shadow cape ty very much but overall i feel like making him not as bulky will work wonders for him alone.

Vartius2/20/2018, 10:34:08 PM2 votes

Heck yes. This is a very well constructed post. Especially when it comes to looks. I agree that Mordekaiser should look a lot more Lordy - this was actually my concept for reworked Mordekaiser: https://i.imgur.com/V4IG0M8.png

FlameHalbrdOkido2/21/2018, 4:19:17 AM2 votes

Hey Malicious Metal I've been having a lot of fun playing Morde recently, like u have no idea I have crazy stories

Anyways while I don't have the same lol of experience with Morde and the best direction his theme should head in I do have experience with design and hope I can help.

1st while you have gone to great lengths to define how Morde should look based on what you think his core theme is, I think you could further in defining his core theme in words.

If it IS Overlord pls describe what that is in Runeterra/Valoran because I feel like that is a compound theme that is actually comprised of some simpler themes.

Additionally state why that should be his primary theme and why the other themes don't make the cut.

Finally most Lo l champs that do well have a secondary theme that can be used to supplement the primary, fleshing it out and adding uniqueness as with Swain being ruthless visionary dictator mage with ravens added in.

Bârd2/21/2018, 6:12:18 PM2 votes

What I fear most about the Mordekaiser VGU is that they'll eliminate one of his sides.

Mordekaiser is a warlord lich.

Remove the lich, and we're left with just another bruiser. Remove the warlord, and he overlaps with Karthus.

The combination of the two is important.

TheGreatRasputin2/21/2018, 12:58:49 AM1 votes

First off, LOVE the designs! Even though Lord Mordekaiser's eyeholes makes him look surprised and mildly derpy. Second off, this would tie wonderfully into my theory about Nightfall. I think that Nightfall will be a subjugated Darkin, or a former Darkin that has been banished from the weapon. Third, I can almost imagine what he'll sound like...

Metallic Mayhem2/28/2018, 4:57:00 PM1 votes

Howdy. I'd like to start off by stating that I am absolutely in love with the redesign concept. So much so that this will be the first post I've ever made on these forums. This being said, I have some issues with the proportions you decided to go with.

Let me start by explaining why I care about this.

I mained Morde since S2, when I found League. He was the second champ I ever bought, and I ended up getting really, really into his lore (in fact I'm still sore about the retcon because I felt that they demolished his character. The mystery surrounding our Lord Famine/Pestilence was intriguing and I enjoyed guessing his motivations for joining the Institute). However, I have never been good at this game. Silver for life. Morde's character and lore are the only reasons I've kept with the game.

This having been said, The new lore seems to indicate that the nation of Noxus Is founded on the principle of Morde (I am aware that he came before Noxus). In Noxus, They pay homage to everything the Metal Master was about (in the new lore) while he was alive. Strength, Cunning, Mercilessness, Power. In fact, it seems that he IS the Archetype for Noxus.

Which is why I take some issue with the proportions you gave him.

In order to be archetypal, someone needs to represent everything in that archetype. Strong people are massive. Cunning people are reserved. Merciless people are Bad. Powerful people have no fear. Morde should represent all of these in the most archetypal sense possible, since he is basically the culmination of everything that Noxus represents.

He should LOOK massive, He should SHOW cunning, he should EXEMPLIFY power.

And of course, he should BE a very, very bad dude.

In my opinion, you got 3 outta 4 perfect, and if I interpreted you right, you tried to go a different route with, but keep the fourth. I just don't know if it worked.

But that's just my two cents. Maybe I misinterpreted, maybe I'm wrong. Regardless, that's just how I see it. I've been following your posts since S5, Malicious, and I have to say you are one of our best representatives in the community. Keep on keeping on.