How to win lane as Mordekaiser against Graves · 55.99% win rate over 33 Emerald+ games · Updated 2026-07-27
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Even / skill | You have only Q and no aura yet, and a point-blank shotgun blast out-damages a lone Obliterate — last-hit safely and don't trade into his burst. |
| Level 2 | Mordekaiser | Q + W come online: tank a blast, land the center of Obliterate to stack Darkness Rise, and recast Indestructible to heal the poke straight back. |
| Level 3 | Mordekaiser | With Q + W + E you out-sustain his shotgun trades — bait the Smoke Screen, Death's-Grasp him in, and grind him in your aura when his Quickdraw is down. |
| Levels 4-5 | Mordekaiser | Darkness Rise online means every extended melee fight is yours — punish him the moment his Quickdraw dash is on cooldown and he can't kite out. |
| Level 6 | Mordekaiser | Realm of Death isolates him 1v1 with no Smoke Screen blind and no dash that helps — a near-guaranteed kill that flips any even lane. |
| First item | Mordekaiser | Your magic-item spike plus Death's Grasp's magic pen pull a kiting Graves into lethal aura range — even his tanky ADC HP can't survive the point-blank grind. |
| Two+ items | Even / skill | At two items his armor build and Collateral Damage burst let him kite and chunk you from range — isolate him with R and end before his scaling takes the lane. |
"\"Level 1 is a wash — you have one ability and no aura, and a point-blank shotgun blast chunks harder than a single Obliterate, so just last-hit and don't walk into his burst. The lane flips at 2-3: once Q + W are up, eat a blast, throw Obliterate's center hit to start Darkness Rise, and recast Indestructible to heal the poke right back. Don't chase a Q he can sidestep or Quickdraw away from — punish him when his E dash is on cooldown and you can close the gap.\""
The full Mordekaiser vs Graves 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? Graves vs Mordekaiser guide →
All Mordekaiser top lane matchups →