User blog comment:YourPrivateNightmare/Still waters run deep.../@comment-31656015-20130829031741

One of the reasons morde gets regarded weak ( top lane wise ) is because, as you said. to keep harrass or shield he will push the lane. and makes him prone to ganks. but there are 2 more factors to why he's not played in top.

He's weak pre-6. anyone with enough early power can easily stop him unless he goes very aggressive which'll result in ganks. and lastly because of his pushing downside. the ganks are further hard to avoid because top lane is a lot longer distance-wise when compared to mid.

personally mid lane is a better off lane to morde overall. since most top laners have sustained damage. and morde fares slightly better against burst damage imo ( Which could be wrong ). And the most important note which is - shorter lane distance and is the lane which levels up the fastest which is very beneficial to morde imo.

Other than that... i have nothing to say against the rest of your post other than the fact that most players turn tristana away is due to her weak mid game.