Mordekaiser Counters: Who Beats Mordekaiser
Updated for patch 26.21. Ability details come from Riot’s official game data for this patch.
Mordekaiser counters, the ones that hold up past the first few games, do one of three things to him: they break his shield, they eat Death’s Grasp and live, or they make him regret pressing his ultimate. Mordekaiser is a top lane fighter-mage with 175 attack range, a damage aura after three hits, a stored-damage shield that heals, a pull and a one-on-one ultimate. He has no dash.
These picks are editorial. We built this list of Mordekaiser counters by going through each kit against his abilities in patch 26.21. No win-rate data went into it, so read it as our reasoning, not a stat sheet.
Why is Mordekaiser hard to counter?
- Darkness Rise (passive): after landing 3 attacks or spells against champions or monsters, he gains a damage aura and Move Speed.
- Obliterate (Q): a mace smash that damages each enemy struck, with increased damage when it hits a single enemy. Cooldown 8/7/6/5/4.
- Indestructible (W): stores damage he deals and takes as a shield, which he can consume to heal. Cooldown 12/11/10/9/8.
- Death’s Grasp (E): pulls all enemies in an area. Cooldown 16/14/12/10/8.
- His ultimate (R): drags one victim into a different dimension with him and steals a portion of their stats. If he kills them, he keeps the stats until they respawn. Cooldown 140/120/100.
Thing is, none of that is a dash. Mordekaiser wins by standing in your face, stacking three hits for the aura, and turning every trade into shield. The pull drags you back when you try to leave, and the ultimate takes you somewhere your team can’t follow (which is exactly why he wants to fight you alone). So what’s actually left to exploit? The Mordekaiser counters that actually work in lane mess with one of those steps. They block the pull, they strip the shield, or they just never hand him the one-on-one.
Which champions are the best Mordekaiser counters?
Fiora
Riposte (W) parries all incoming damage and disables for a short time, and it stuns the first champion hit if Fiora blocked an immobilizing effect with it. Hold it for Death’s Grasp or a big Obliterate. Lunge (Q) also lets her step around him, and his kit has no dash to follow with.
Renekton
Ruthless Predator (W) with more than 50 Fury destroys damage shields on the target, deals high physical damage and stuns for 1.5 seconds. Indestructible is a shield. That’s the whole matchup: wait for the shield to appear, pop it, then dash out with Slice and Dice (E) before Darkness Rise comes online.
Gwen
Hallowed Mist (W) means she can only be targeted by enemies who enter the mist. He has to step in first. Her passive, A Thousand Cuts, deals bonus magic damage based on the target’s health and heals her for part of it, and Snip Snip! (Q) deals true damage to units in the center of the cone. Good against him, honestly. His whole plan is to stand still and trade.
Quinn
Her 525 attack range against his 175 is the point. Vault (E) dashes to an enemy, slows them, briefly interrupts them and drops her back near her maximum attack range, so she can land a hit and back off before he stacks three attacks or spells for Darkness Rise. To be fair, she does still have to dodge Death’s Grasp. Once the trade is done, though, Behind Enemy Lines (R) lets her leave the lane entirely.
Olaf
Ragnarok (R) makes him immune to disables for as long as he keeps attacking, so Death’s Grasp can’t drag him back once it’s up. Reckless Swing (E) deals true damage, Undertow (Q) reduces the target’s Move Speed, and Berserker Rage gives Life Steal that grows as his Health drops. He just walks through the pull and keeps swinging.
How do you play the lane against Mordekaiser?
- Count to three. Darkness Rise needs 3 attacks or spells on you. Trade in short bursts and back off at two.
- Stand next to your minions. Obliterate deals increased damage when it hits a single enemy, so don’t be the only thing in the smash.
- Short trades only. Indestructible stores damage he deals and takes, so a long brawl builds his shield and the heal behind it.
- Death’s Grasp sits on a 16 second cooldown at rank 1. Once he’s thrown it, you get a window to trade or back off before it’s up again.
- His ultimate is 140 seconds at rank 1. If he wastes it, that’s the time to push and fight.
Which items counter Mordekaiser?
Magic Resist and Grievous Wounds. Riot lists him as a Fighter and a Mage, so the defensive items in the table below are built around Magic Resist, with anti-heal to shrink the heal from Indestructible.
| Item | Cost | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| Kaenic Rookern | 2900 | 400 Health, 80 Magic Resist, and Magebane: a magic shield after 15 seconds without taking magic damage. |
| Spirit Visage | 2700 | 400 Health, 50 Magic Resist, 10 Ability Haste, and heals and shields on you are increased by 25%. |
| Wit’s End | 2800 | 50% Attack Speed, 45 Magic Resist, 20% Tenacity, bonus magic damage On-Hit. |
| Mercury’s Treads | 1250 | Boots that bring 30% Tenacity for the pull, plus 45 Move Speed and 20 Magic Resist. |
| Executioner’s Calling | 800 | 15 Attack Damage, physical damage applies 40% Wounds for 3 seconds. |
| Oblivion Orb | 800 | 25 Ability Power, magic damage applies 40% Wounds for 3 seconds. |
Which one first? In practice, Kaenic Rookern if you’re a tank or bruiser, since the Magebane shield comes back after 15 seconds without taking magic damage. Spirit Visage is the pick for champions with their own healing (Fiora and Olaf both qualify). Executioner’s Calling and Oblivion Orb both cost 800 gold and are the cheapest listed ways to cut Indestructible’s heal. Zhonya’s Hourglass (3250 gold, 2.5 seconds of Stasis) is there for mages who get pulled. Full stats and patch history are in our item database.
When is Mordekaiser at his weakest?
Put simply, before the third hit and after the ultimate. Darkness Rise only starts once he has landed 3 attacks or spells on you, so the start of a trade is where he’s just a 175-range melee champion with a mace. His ultimate’s cooldown is 140 seconds at rank 1, and while it’s down he can’t isolate anyone.
Is he ever easy to kite? Sure, if you have the range. He has no dash and no blink, so Quinn or any champion that stays outside his 175 attack range avoids his basic attacks and still has to watch for Death’s Grasp and his ultimate. The stat steal is what makes him scary in a 1v1, and it’s also why he wants that fight so badly. Deny it and you’ve done half the work in lane.
New to top lane? Our guide to LoL roles covers what the lane actually expects from you. ARAM is a different fight altogether, so that one has its own Mordekaiser ARAM guide. His skins live on the Mordekaiser skins page, and the rest of our champion guides follow the same layout as this Mordekaiser counters page.
FAQ
Who counters Mordekaiser the most?
Renekton, whose empowered Ruthless Predator destroys damage shields, and Fiora, whose Riposte parries his damage and disables. Ranged top laners like Quinn stay outside his 175 attack range.
Can you escape Mordekaiser’s ultimate?
His ultimate drags one victim into a different dimension with him and steals a portion of their stats. Gwen’s Hallowed Mist stops him targeting her from outside it, and Zhonya’s Hourglass gives 2.5 seconds of Stasis.
Does Mordekaiser have a dash?
No. His kit has a damage aura, a smash, a stored-damage shield, a pull and his ultimate, but no dash or blink.
Which items help against Mordekaiser?
Magic Resist items such as Kaenic Rookern, Spirit Visage and Mercury’s Treads, plus Grievous Wounds from Executioner’s Calling or Oblivion Orb to reduce the heal from Indestructible.
Is this list based on win rates?
No. We put this list together by reading how each kit interacts with his abilities in patch 26.21, so it is editorial rather than statistical. We don’t use win-rate data.