A bigger Death's Grasp, a hungrier ult, and one fewer true-damage nuke to worry about have turned Mordekaiser into the top lane's biggest problem.
Check out the details on runes and builds below!
FOTM Report
Mordekaiser Top
A bigger Death's Grasp, a hungrier ult, and one fewer true-damage nuke to worry about have turned Mordekaiser into the top lane's biggest problem.
As of Patch 26.14, Mordekaiser has climbed into God Tier on the solo queue tier list. His own numbers went up, and his most reliable lane rival got reeled in at the exact same time, which is about as clean a recipe for a top lane spike as it gets.
How to Play Mordekaiser
- Abilities
- Q, E, W then prioritize Q > E > W (take R whenever it's available)
- Summoner Spells
-
- Starting Items
-
- Strategy
- Shove waves with Q and Siphon of Destruction poke, then look for a Death's Grasp landing on a cooldown trade before diving into a full Realm of Death duel once you have priority
- Core Items
-
Mordekaiser Rune Setup
Primary: Conqueror, Triumph, Legend: Haste, Last Stand
Secondary: Bone Plating, Revitalize
When to Pick Mordekaiser
Pick Mordekaiser into low-mobility top laners who can't avoid a fight once Realm of Death locks them down, especially bruisers and juggernauts who lean on their own ultimate to close out a duel. With Garen's true damage trimmed this patch, the matchup that used to threaten to blow Mordekaiser up out of nowhere is a lot less scary, so he can freely shove and look for E-driven trades without playing as much around the sudden burst.
He's also a strong pick for teams that want a reliable answer to an enemy hyper-carry, since dragging that carry into the Death Realm removes them from a teamfight entirely for several seconds. Avoid locking him in against lanes with hard peel or a kiting toolkit, since he still has no way to force a fight on someone determined to keep running.
How It Works
A Harder-Hitting Death's Grasp
Death's Grasp [E] now deals 60/80/100/120/140 damage (up from 60/75/90/105/120) with its AP ratio bumped from 40% to 45%. It's Mordekaiser's main lane trading tool and the ability he leans on most before level 6, so a flat damage and scaling buff on it makes every poke exchange in lane hit noticeably harder.
A Hungrier Realm of Death
Realm of Death [R] now steals 13% of the target's stats instead of 10%. Once he drags someone into the Death Realm, Mordekaiser is walking away with a bigger chunk of their bonus AD, AP, armor, and magic resist for the duration, which makes an already miserable 1v1 even more lopsided in his favor.
Garen's True Damage Got Reeled In
Demacian Justice's true damage was cut from 150/250/350 (+25/30/35% missing health) down to 125/200/275. Garen was one of the few top laners who could threaten to burst Mordekaiser down out of nowhere with a scaling execute, and that threat is meaningfully smaller now, giving Mordekaiser more room to play aggressively into the matchup that used to check him hardest.
Potential Pitfalls
No Real Escape
Mordekaiser still doesn't have a dash, blink, or any hard mobility tool outside of his passive movement speed toward enemies. If he gets caught pre-6 or misses his ultimate in a skirmish, he has no way to disengage from a coordinated gank or all-in, and a jungler who tracks him down early can punish that lack of escape hard.
Kiting and Ult Denial
Realm of Death only works on a single target and can be avoided entirely by champions with enough range or mobility to stay out of it, and some ultimates can cleanse or block the pull outright. Against a lane full of poke or kite tools, Mordekaiser can be worn down in lane without ever getting the chance to force the duel that makes him so strong.
Conclusions
Between the direct numbers buffs to Death's Grasp and Realm of Death and a Garen nerf that defangs his scariest lane check, Mordekaiser is in as strong a spot as he's had in a while. He's a low-risk, high-reward pick for anyone who wants to punish immobile lane opponents and delete a carry from a teamfight on demand.
Suggested Tier: God Tier
No comments:
Post a Comment
Feel free to comment or leave a message :)