How to win lane as Mordekaiser against Locke · 47.91% win rate over 1,004 Emerald+ games · Updated 2026-07-27
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Even / skill | Even at level 1 — your shield trades into his mark poke, but neither of you can force a kill. |
| Level 2 | Even / skill | Level 2 comes down to spacing — land your Q-into-shield combo and you win the trade; miss it and his marks bank free damage. |
| Level 3 | Even / skill | Level 3 stays even — your Darkness Rise DoT ramp runs level with his mark stacks; nobody wins a trade outright. |
| Levels 4-5 | Even / skill | Levels 4-5 remain a spacing duel with no clear favourite — keep farming and make him work for every mark. |
| Level 6 | Even / skill | Level 6 stays even — your shield sustain matches his grey-health game, and neither ult auto-wins the exchange. |
| First item | Locke | His first item is the danger spike — Purgatory can execute you inside your own Realm of Death, so a low-health R all-in is suicide. |
| Two+ items | Even / skill | Post-items it evens out — your shield trades against his duel-and-execute threat; the better opener wins. |
This is an even, knife-work lane: your whole trade is Q-into-W shield, his is stacking marks and banking grey health. Land the isolated Q and you chunk him; whiff it and he pokes for free. Farm with E when pressured and keep trades short until Darkness Rise has fuel to ramp on.
The full Mordekaiser vs Locke 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? Locke vs Mordekaiser guide →
All Mordekaiser top lane matchups →