Hi I’m Zikzlol, CLG’s analyst, and I’m writing a blog because I wanted to talk about the new build that people have been hyping up: The Double Morellonomicon. I’m here to explain why Lucidity Boots and one Morellonomicon is a better option.

1. Masteries

The best talent in the tier 1 of the offensive tree for mages is the 5% CDR for 4 points. The other points are somewhat negligible because 5% attack speed doesn’t merit 4 points along with the other two are one point wonders, forcing you to essentially take CDR points anyways. This makes up for the 5% CDR missing in Lucidity+Morello which gives 35% CDR, while the other build would force you over giving ~42.5 or 45% CDR depending on how much you put into the point.

2. Overvalued mana regeneration

Mana regen as a stat is obviously necessary but does it really change things or make that big of a difference to warrant two morellonomicons as other people have said? My theory is probably no. Mana regeneration is usually just a bonus stat added to items that has an insanely high cost. 180 gold gives you 25% mana regen. Therefore, for 100% mana regen, you need to spend 720 gold to achieve around ~10 mana per 5 seconds(rough estimate based on average level you would generally purchase an item that gives 100% mana regen). A whopping 2 mana per second. After a whole minute you’ll gain 120 mana. You could have bought a sapphire crystal for 400 gold, and gained 200 mana, which would have been much more valuable at a lower cost. The point others have posed that this build handles your mana issues and brings solid cost efficiency is moot due to this stat entirely.

3. Slower core items

The major draw back is that you will get core items a lot slower because you’re spending gold on getting your pure stats as soon as possible which isn’t necessarily bad, but it’s not optimal. If your champion needs Rabadon’s or any other core item, the build delays your purchase of it by a lot of gold. A lot of champions rely on these power spikes for their champions to perform to their utmost potential.

4. Minor Drawbacks

If CDR truly is your main stat, it does really limit you to buying CDR boots which may not be the best for every scenario. Sometimes you want to buy Sorcerer’s Shoes, but usually with a build like this, you would be delaying your second Morellonomicon by buying Sorcerer’s Shoes after it would matter. Since the item Aegis of the Legion is still in the game and remains to be important in the meta, Sorcerer’s shoes falls off pretty hard in mid-late game unless you are split pushing or creating picks on the target that doesn’t have Aegis. So in this case, it’s really only a minor draw back in variety of what you can build for boots, like in the rare case you want Mercury Tread’s for tenacity.

5. So why do people buy double Morellonomicon?

It’s not bad, it’s fairly “cost efficient”, but mostly, it’s new and exciting. When people see crazy builds and pros use the builds, they automatically think that the math supports that build, and even try it out when it’s not the most optimal build that you could be using on those champions.

Math to support Theory (in terrible format)

Build 1: Lucidity Boots + Morellonomicon

1000g + 2100g = 3100g

Stats:

35% CDR

80 AP

100% Base Mp5

45 Move Speed

Build 2: Morellonomicon x2

2100g + 2100g = 4200g

Stats:

40% CDR

160 AP

200% Base Mp5

Notes:

In build #2, there are no boots addressed, so the difference in move speed is important to the calculation. Having a 1100 gold difference and assuming boots of speed(325g) have been purchased as well in build #2, you can assume you are fairly close to the purchase of a needlessly large rod because it’s 1425 gold not accounted for, making the AP the exact same value in both cases and the only difference is put in mana regen, but gets you to your core items faster which allows for stronger power spikes. In most cases, the bonus 120-150 mana a minute won’t affect too many scenarios in mid game that would make your champion that much stronger with this build. Also, the main merit of this build is that you get 40% cdr as fast as possible, but Lucidity+Morello gets you 40% even faster.

In conclusion, my theory of Lucidity Boots + Morellonomicon being better than Double Morellonomicon has been proven. I feel as though a faster spike on your 40% cdr, a boost toward your power spike instead of away for mid game strength, and utilizing the most optimal points in tier 1 of the offensive tree are far too important over having a build that looks “weird and cool.”