Champion Guide

Karthus Guide

By LoLSuggest

Jungle

Karthus is a farming AP mage who is mostly played in the jungle and also as an unusual bot laner. Lay Waste drops delayed blasts that hit harder on single targets, Wall of Pain slows and shreds magic resistance, Defile is a toggled damage aura, and Requiem hits every enemy champion on the map. Death Defied lets him keep casting for a few seconds after he dies, so even his deaths can win fights. His plan is to power-farm, scale and decide teamfights with Requiem.

Recommended Setup

Our recommended Karthus build

Our recommended runes, summoner spells and items. Compare build win rates on the stats page.

Items

Starting Items

Core Items

Situational Items

In the jungle start Gustwalker Hatchling. Blackfire Torch with Sorcerer's Shoes is the core, and Rylai's Crystal Scepter is a key item for most builds, followed by Rabadon's Deathcap and Void Staff or Cryptbloom; Shadowflame, Liandry's Torment, Horizon Focus and Zhonya's Hourglass, which lets Defile keep ticking during stasis, are common additions. Boots of Swiftness with Dead Man's Plate makes a sturdier catch-and-kite build. Aim for at least 40 ability haste so Lay Waste comes up quickly. Run Deathfire Touch with Axiom Arcanist, Transcendence and Gathering Storm, plus Legend: Haste and Cut Down. Take Ghost or Flash with Smite. Bot-lane Karthus instead takes Flash and Exhaust, buys Lost Chapter on the first back and plays very aggressively. Max Q, then E, then W.

Runes

Primary Tree

Secondary Tree

Summoner Spells

Skill Max Order

Strengths

Requiem damages every enemy champion at once, which can set up or end fights anywhere on the map.
Death Defied keeps him dealing damage after dying.
Excellent scaling and wave and camp clear.

Weaknesses

Weak in duels against mobile junglers such as Kassadin or Hecarim, who can reach and kill him.
Not a good blind pick: some enemy junglers counter him directly.
Lay Waste's delay means good players can step out of it.

Laning Phase

Karthus is not a strong early duelist, so the default plan is to power-farm, take occasional ganks and objectives, and avoid fights against difficult junglers. Drop Lay Waste slightly off-centre so the enemy is forced to move in the direction you want, and move between casts to keep your distance. If an enemy with a dash is in range, avoid using Wall of Pain first and let them waste the dash. In the bot lane, push and poke with Lay Waste to stack Dark Harvest, and from level 6 keep checking other lanes for Requiem kills.

Mid & Late Game

From the mid game look for early Requiems: casting it just before a fight starts hits every enemy for full damage and applies item effects such as Rylai's slow, which sets up your team's follow-up. Do not cast it many seconds before your team can follow if the enemy can heal or shield it back. In teamfights stay at long range behind your frontline and keep casting Lay Waste even after Death Defied triggers; dying in a good spot is often fine on Karthus.

Key Tips

Casting Requiem right before an engage often deals more total damage than saving it for clean-up.
Keep casting after you die: Death Defied gives you several seconds to finish fights.
Off-centre Lay Waste casts herd enemies into the rest of your team's spells.
Defile keeps damaging during Zhonya's Hourglass stasis.

Matchups

Matchups and synergies

Our picks for difficult opponents, favorable lanes and strong allies. Compare matchup win rates on the stats page.

Best Allies