How to win lane as Graves against Mordekaiser · 39.39% win rate over 33 Emerald+ games · Updated 2026-07-27
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Even / skill | Both pick one ability with a weak opener, so the level-1 trade comes down to mechanics — last-hit at range and stay out of his isolated-Q bonus damage. |
| Level 2 | Mordekaiser | His E knocks you in and Q punishes you while isolated, out-trading your single-ability point-blank shell burst before you can reload. |
| Level 3 | Mordekaiser | With E online he pulls you into auto-and-Q range where W's shield/heal out-sustains your spread no matter how hard it hits up close. |
| Levels 4-5 | Mordekaiser | His stacking W sustain plus AP scaling beats your defensive layer — True Grit's MR softens but never negates his magic damage, so the extended fight is his. |
| Level 6 | Mordekaiser | Realm of Death banishes you into a stat-stealing 1v1 your E charges and W smoke can't escape — this is his single hardest window. |
| First item | Mordekaiser | His first AP item plus R keeps winning the isolated shadow-realm duel faster than your Eclipse spike can flip the lane. |
| Two+ items | Even / skill | Once your first item is online and his R is down, your Q poke, E repositioning and reload-timing finally open a fightable window — pure skill from here. |
Level 1 is genuinely a coin-flip on mechanics — you both have one ability and weak openers, so last-hit with the tip of your Q powder trail and don't stand isolated, because his Q slam hits harder when no other enemy is near you. The moment he gets E, respect the knock-in: it pulls you toward him into Q-and-auto range where his W shield/heal out-sustains your point-blank 4-shell burst. Don't try to win short trades — your spread is heavy up close but he heals it back with W, and your True Grit stacks MR that softens his AP without ever stopping it.
The full Graves 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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Playing the other side? Mordekaiser vs Graves guide →
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