Gangplank vs Mordekaiser — Top Lane Matchup Guide

How to win lane as Gangplank against Mordekaiser · 51.25% win rate over 999 Emerald+ games · Updated 2026-07-27

Verdict: Winnable despite the lane — Mordekaiser owns 3 of the 7 game windows to Gangplank's 2, yet the win rate favours Gangplank: survive their windows and the game is yours. Gangplank wins 51.25% of games vs Mordekaiser in top lane (999 Emerald+ games analysed).

Favour timeline — who owns each window

StageFavouredWhy
Level 1Even / skillBoth of us are thin at level 1 with one ability, but my bare Parrrley poke and his lone Q slam roughly cancel out before kegs or his shield matter.
Level 2MordekaiserHis W shield and isolated-target Q come online before my second keg does, so his auto-Q trade beats my single Parrrley here.
Level 3MordekaiserHe grinds the level 2-3 short trades with W shield-into-heal sustain while my keg sits on a long cooldown and is free to deny, so the lane tilts his way.
Levels 4-5Even / skillI get a second keg and Parrrley-into-keg poke as he walks up to CS, pulling the lane back to even on his approach angles.
Level 6MordekaiserRealm of Death (R) drags me into a 1v1 where my global ult and barrel zoning are dead weight and the stats he steals win the box.
First itemGangplankMy Sheen-empowered Parrrley detonating a full barrel chain finally out-bursts his W-shield sustain from outside his E range.
Two+ itemsGangplankA chained keg detonation plus a maxed-rank Parrrley deletes him from range, and with no dash he can never reach a barrel-walled me.

Early game (levels 1–5)

Morde out-trades me levels 1-3 and I just accept it. My barrels (E) have a long cooldown and a tiny HP bar he can free-hit to deny, and my bare Parrrley poke loses to his W shield plus an isolated-target Q. Do not stand next to a placed keg in his auto range or he gets the isolated Q on me AND pops my barrel for free. Last-hit with the tip of Q, hold W for his E pull, and concede the first few short trades.

Read the rest of this matchup

The full Gangplank vs Mordekaiser report continues with the mid-game plan, the late-game and teamfight plan, every power spike to play around, and the win conditions for both sides — plus cooldown tracking and the live enemy-jungle tracker inside the app.

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