What to build on Mordekaiser, and what each item is for
An item path for Mordekaiser with live gold costs, chosen from what the champion's damage actually scales on.
What your damage scales on
Riot rates Mordekaiser at 4 for attack and 7 for magic. That single comparison decides most of the build before any matchup does.
Mordekaiser wants to trade repeatedly, survive the return damage, and win the third exchange rather than the first, and items are how you buy more of that rather than a little of everything.
What to build, and what each piece is for
Riot rates Mordekaiser higher on magic than attack, so the build follows ability power.
Rabadon's Deathcap
3500 goldMassively increases Ability Power
Zhonya's Hourglass
3250 goldActivate to become invincible but unable to take actions
Shadowflame
3200 goldSpellDamage, MagicPenetration
Dusk and Dawn
3100 goldHealth, AttackSpeed, SpellDamage, OnHit, AbilityHaste
Riftmaker
3100 goldHealth, SpellDamage, CooldownReduction, SpellVamp
Gold costs are live from the current patch. Order depends on the game — buy resistances when you are being punished, damage when you are not.
Skill order, and how to reason about it
Take Realm of Death at levels 6, 11 and 16 — the ultimate is always worth the point it costs.
For the basic abilities, Death's Grasp (E) gains the most from being ranked: its cooldown falls by 8 seconds between rank 1 and max, which is the largest improvement in the kit. That is the usual argument for maxing it first.
This is reasoning from the cooldown data, not a win-rate ranking — a matchup that punishes you can invert it.
- Q · Obliterate — cooldown 8/7/6/5/4s, improving by 4s across its ranks
- W · Indestructible — cooldown 12/11/10/9/8s, improving by 4s across its ranks
- E · Death's Grasp — cooldown 16/14/12/10/8s, improving by 8s across its ranks
What you already have before you buy anything
| Stat | Level 1 | Level 18 |
|---|---|---|
| Health | 645 | 2413 |
| Attack damage | 61 | 61 |
| Armour | 37 | 108.4 |
| Magic resist | 32 | 66.9 |
Movement speed 335 and attack range 175 do not grow with levels — they are the two numbers that stay true all game.
Buy order is a reaction, not a plan
The list above is what the champion scales on. The order you buy it in is decided by the game — resistances when you are being punished, damage when you are not.
Riot's own notes on playing Mordekaiser
These are the designers' words, not ours — the tips shipped in the client for Mordekaiser.
- Offense is your defense. Keep fighting to build up larger Indestructible shields.
- Hitting multiple champions with the same ability can help quickly activate Darkness Rise.
- Use Realm of Death on a low health enemy to guarantee the kill and keep their stats for the rest of a teamfight.