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KarthusA

Karthus

Build for Jungle
Death DefiedPLay WasteQWall of PainWDefileERequiemR
Updated 1 hour ago · Patch 26.19
ARAM
All ranks
World
AmericasEuropeAsiaOceania & Southeast Asia

Grey servers: not enough games yet. They switch on as we collect them.

Select matchup
Tier
A
Win rate
52.4%
Win rate change
+3.5%
Pick rate
1.3%
Ban rate
0.7%
Games
778
High-elo games

Runes

51.4% (278)

Domination

ElectrocuteDark HarvestHail of Blades
Cheap ShotTaste of BloodSudden Impact
Sixth SenseGrisly MementosDeep Ward
Treasure HunterRelentless HunterUltimate Hunter

Sorcery

Axiom ArcanistManaflow BandNimbus Cloak
TranscendenceCelerityAbsolute Focus
ScorchWaterwalkingGathering Storm
Adaptive ForceAttack SpeedAbility Haste
Adaptive ForceMove SpeedHealth Scaling
HealthTenacity and Slow ResistHealth Scaling

Summoner spells

ExhaustSmite
53.8% 368

Skill priority

Lay WasteQDefileEWall of PainW
54.5% 657

Start

Scorchclaw Pup55.2%
Scorchclaw PupHealth Potion51.5%

Boots

Sorcerer's Shoes53.5%
Ionian Boots of Lucidity38.5%

Vision

Oracle Lens0.7 control wards / game

First back usually around 3:34

Fated Ashes50.0%19%
Amplifying TomeDark Seal45.5%8%

Build order

  1. Fated Ashes
  2. Amplifying Tome
  3. Dark Seal
  4. Lost Chapter
  5. Boots
  6. Blackfire Torch
  7. Amplifying Tome
  8. Sorcerer's Shoes
  9. Needlessly Large Rod
  10. Hextech Alternator
  11. Shadowflame
  12. Needlessly Large Rod
  13. Needlessly Large Rod
  14. Rabadon's Deathcap

Completed items

  1. Blackfire Torch154.9%9:59
  2. Malignance247.1%10:58
  3. Sorcerer's Shoes353.4%12:58
  4. Shadowflame453.0%18:56
  5. Liandry's Torment554.8%19:30
  6. Rabadon's Deathcap658.8%25:17
When items get finished
051015202530
Blackfire Torch
Malignance
Sorcerer's Shoes
Shadowflame
Liandry's Torment
Rabadon's Deathcap

Median finish time in minutes, from the games that built each item.

Situational

  • Zhonya's Hourglass56.6%
  • Void Staff52.6%
  • Stormsurge66.1%

Skill path

Lay WasteQDefileEWall of PainWMost popular leveling order
Skill path
Lay WasteQ13579
Wall of PainW1314151718
DefileE2481012
RequiemR61116

Toughest matchups

These champions counter Karthus

Best matchups

Karthus beats these champions

Jungle path

How Karthus players start and clear, from 733 games
Blue Sentinel1Gromp2Wolves3Raptors4Red Brambleback5Krugs6
Typical full clear: Blue Sentinel › Gromp › Wolves › Raptors › Red Brambleback › KrugsFirst camp and clear style come from real games; Riot records positions once a minute, so the camps in between follow the standard route.
Red side start18%
Blue side start82%
Path styleFull clear about 3:00
Full clear 80%3-camp gank 14%Invade 6%
First gankusually around 4:27
Bot 45%Top 34%Mid 21%

Win rate by game length

Karthus holds up at every stage
< 25 min179 games25-30 min254 games30-35 min198 games35+ min147 games

Average gold vs the lane opponent at 15:00: +79 (680 games)

Damage breakdown

Physical1%Magic91%True8%

Similar champions

Playing as Karthus

  • Ask your allies to help point out when you should use Requiem to get kills in different lanes.
  • Lay Waste is very strong at farming minions and harassing enemy champions.

Playing against Karthus

  • Karthus can cast spells for a short duration after he is killed. Move away from his corpse to be safe.
  • Make sure you always have enough health to survive Requiem, even if you have to go back to the base more frequently to heal.

Official tips from Riot