Mordekaiser guide: build, runes, matchups and mistakes to avoid

At a glance

Runes

Spells

Start

×2

Build

››+

Skills

Q›E›W

Mordekaiser in figures

Games in top lane

27,90490.0% of its games

Win rate

51.4%

Pick rate

≈ 8.2%

Ban rate

≈ 12.9%

The figures come from 378,251 ranked solo games on EUW (patches 16.18 to 16.21, Riot’s official API, up to 24 October 2026): the same sample as Gankademy’s champion pages. “≈”: a figure the app gives as indicative.

Strengths and weaknesses

When Mordekaiser is strongest

The build that wins most

A build, here, is the order of the first three finished items. Out of the 4,795 Mordekaiser games in top lane where they are known, the three most-played paths:

Build	Items	Played	Win rate
Liandry’s Torment	››	20%	≈ 57.4%
Anti-heal	››	8%	≈ 53.0%
Spirit Visage	››	8%	≈ 57.3%

All three most-played builds open with Rylai’s Crystal Scepter then Riftmaker; only the third item changes. Liandry’s Torment, the most played, and Spirit Visage win about as often; ending with Thornmail wins clearly less.

With build 1, the game most often starts with Doran’s Ring + 2 × Health Potion, and the boots are Plated Steelcaps (66% of games).

Depending on the game

What build 1’s players buy next (5% of its games or more):

Item	Bought	Why
Spirit Visage	29%	vs magic damage
Thornmail	24%	vs healing (×1.18)
Zhonya’s Hourglass	8%	vs burst (×1.08)
Jak’Sho, The Protean	6%	vs magic damage

×: how many times as often it is bought against that need (191,000 games checked by Gankademy).

Skill order

Level by level, the most-played order in top lane: 69% of the 3,477 games where Mordekaiser reaches level 18.

Q	1			4	5		7		9
W			3											14	15		17	18
E		2						8		10		12	13
R						6					11					16

Runes and summoner spells

The most-played rune pages of Mordekaiser in top lane, by keystone and trees:

Page	Games	Win rate
ConquerorPrecision + Resolve	21,994	51.1%
ConquerorPrecision + Sorcery	4,761	53.1%
ConquerorPrecision + Inspiration	685	52.8%
Grasp of the UndyingResolve + Precision	96	55.2%

Conqueror is the keystone in almost every game. With Resolve behind it, it is by far the most-played page, yet with Sorcery it wins two points more (53.1% against 51.1%). Grasp of the Undying wins more still, but on only 96 games.

Conqueror, Triumph, Legend: Haste, Last Stand, Bone Plating, Revitalize

Summoner spells: Flash + Ignite in 82% of games.

Matchups: the easiest and the hardest

Mordekaiser’s win rate against each opponent in the same role, against the usual 51.4%: the gap in points, from 200 games.

Easiest against

Opponent	Games	Win rate	Gap
Jayce	210	≈ 59.5%	+8.1
Sion	502	≈ 56.8%	+5.4
Illaoi	544	≈ 55.7%	+4.3
Cho’Gath	508	≈ 55.5%	+4.1

Hardest against

Opponent	Games	Win rate	Gap
Heimerdinger	321	≈ 43.9%	−7.5
Tryndamere	547	≈ 46.8%	−4.6
Yorick	628	≈ 47.6%	−3.8
Fiora	704	≈ 47.9%	−3.5

Heimerdinger is the hardest lane: his turrets and his grenade punish a champion with no dash who has to walk up to fight — farm and wait for your jungler. Fiora parries your pull with her riposte, and Tryndamere’s ultimate keeps him alive through yours: pull only once those are spent. Against Yorick, your slam loses its bonus among his ghouls: clear them first. Against Jayce, Sion, Illaoi or Cho’Gath, the sample gives you the edge: once your pull lands, the trade is yours.

Matchup sheet

The 12 most frequent opponents in top lane. The difficulty is the app’s: the gap with the usual 51.4%, and whether it holds.

Opponent	Games	Win rate	Difficulty
Garen	1,578	50.6%	Even
Sett	1,326	≈ 48.6%	Hard
Yone	1,309	≈ 49.0%	Hard
Darius	1,283	53.2%	Even
Malphite	1,169	≈ 54.8%	Easy
Volibear	998	49.7%	Even
Teemo	940	53.8%	Even
Jax	765	51.6%	Even
Renekton	765	50.1%	Even
Fiora	704	≈ 47.9%	Hard
Yorick	628	≈ 47.6%	Hard
Shen	603	53.4%	Even

Bans to consider

The opponents Mordekaiser beats least often in top lane, among those met at least 300 times:

Opponent	Win rate	Games
Heimerdinger	≈ 43.9%	321
Tryndamere	≈ 46.8%	547
Singed	47.0%	330

What the specialists do

16 players of the sample play Mordekaiser in at least 40% of their games, and at least 30 times. Their 651 games in top lane, against all its players:

	Specialists	All players
Win rate	≈ 54.5%	51.4%
Build	Same 9%	›› 20%
Rune page	Same 67%	79%
Skills maxed	Same 100%	Q›E›W 91%

Same choices as all the players. Their win rate: 3.1 points higher.

The most frequent mistakes

Two habits measured on the 6,974 games with a timeline, then the champion’s own mistakes. These gaps go with losing without proving the cause.

• Dying before 15 minutes. 44% of games have three or more deaths before the 15th minute; they win only 41.0%, against 61.1% when Mordekaiser dies once or less (33% of games). Instead: Mordekaiser has no dash — once he has walked up, he can’t get away. Trade when their jungler has shown elsewhere, and step back once your shield is spent.
• Falling behind on farm. At 10 minutes, games with 58 minions or fewer (26%) win 41.8%; those with 76 or more (27%), 58.3%. Instead: take the wave with your slam when your opponent out-ranges you, and don’t chase him into the fog when a wave is about to crash on your tower.
• Thornmail by reflex. The second build (Rylai’s Crystal Scepter → Riftmaker → Thornmail) wins ≈ 53.0%; the same start with Liandry’s Torment wins ≈ 57.4%. Instead: Liandry’s Torment by default, Thornmail only when their attackers heal a lot.
• Casting the ultimate on the closest enemy. Your ultimate takes one enemy out of the fight with you: spent on their tank, it leaves their carry free. Instead: aim it at their carry, after landing your pull.
• Slamming into the minions. Your slam hits much harder when it touches only one enemy: thrown into a wave, it loses that bonus. Instead: trade when your opponent steps away from his minions, or pull him out first.

With Gankademy

These are the figures of Gankademy’s Mordekaiser page: the draft compares your options against your lane opponent and imports your rune page in one click. The draft · The coaches · What it reads.

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