Karthus

Karthus Build

the Deathsinger

Role: Jungle Pick Rate: 1.3% Win Rate: 49.57%

Recommended Build

Summoner Spells

Exhaust Exhaust
Smite Smite

Skill Priority

Q › E › W

Items

Start
Scorchclaw Pup
Health Potion
Core
Blackfire Torch Blackfire Torch
Sorcerer's Shoes Sorcerer's Shoes
Shadowflame Shadowflame
Late
Rabadon's Deathcap
Void Staff

Runes

Most Played
Domination
Dark Harvest
Dark Harvest 66.6% · 48.6% WR
Cheap Shot
Cheap Shot 65.2% · 48.6% WR
Grisly Mementos
Grisly Mementos 50.4% · 46.8% WR
Ultimate Hunter
Ultimate Hunter 40.9% · 46.9% WR
Sorcery
Axiom Arcanist
Axiom Arcanist 25.4% · 52.8% WR
Gathering Storm
Gathering Storm 24% · 52.8% WR
Adaptive Force
Adaptive Force
Adaptive Force
Adaptive Force
Health Scaling
Health Scaling
Best WR
?
Deathfire Touch
Deathfire Touch 25.6% · 52.7% WR
Axiom Arcanist
Axiom Arcanist 25.4% · 52.8% WR
Transcendence
Transcendence 6.9% · 53.5% WR
Gathering Storm
Gathering Storm 24% · 52.8% WR
Precision
Triumph
Triumph 0.2% · 36.8% WR
Last Stand
Last Stand 0.1% · 45.5% WR
Ability Haste
Ability Haste
Adaptive Force
Adaptive Force
Health
Health

Skill Order

Q
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
W
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
E
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
R
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15

Win Rate by Elo

Iron Iron 41.00%
Bronze Bronze 48.94%
Silver Silver 47.17%
Gold Gold 48.20%
Platinum Platinum 48.53%
Emerald Emerald 48.97%
Diamond Diamond 50.08%
Master Master 49.69%
Grandmaster Grandmaster 56.31%
Challenger Challenger 54.24%
All Elos All Elos 49.58%

Best Counters and Matchups for Karthus

See all counters for Karthus

Top 5 Counters Against Karthus

Sejuani
Sejuani Matchup detail
37.4% WR -10.2%
Fiddlesticks
Fiddlesticks Matchup detail
41.1% WR -6.4%
Udyr
Udyr Matchup detail
44.4% WR -2.2%
Talon
Talon Matchup detail
44.4% WR -3.7%
Ekko
Ekko Matchup detail
44.7% WR -3.8%

Top 5 Best Matchups for Karthus

Qiyana
Qiyana Matchup detail
65.7% WR +14.3%
Zed
Zed Matchup detail
59.2% WR +7.5%
Sylas
Sylas Matchup detail
56.3% WR +7.0%
Elise
Elise Matchup detail
54.4% WR +6.0%
Quinn
Quinn Matchup detail
53.9% WR +3.2%

Patch History

V14.15
  • Death Defied Bug Fix: Restored death voice lines after Death Defied expires.
V14.14
  • Death Defied Bug Fix: Is no longer sometimes unable to issue movement commands after the zombie state has expired.
V14.13
  • Death Defied Bug Fix: Corpse is no longer sometimes a valid movement collision target.
  • Lay Waste Base damage reduced to 40 / 59 / 78 / 97 / 116 from 43 / 62 / 81 / 100 / 119. Single-target damage reduced to 80 / 118 / 156 / 194 / 232 from 86 / 124 / 162 / 200 / 238.
V14.11
  • Lay Waste Base damage reduced to 43 / 62 / 81 / 100 / 119 from 45 / 65 / 85 / 105 / 125. Single-target damage reduced to 86 / 124 / 162 / 200 / 238 from 90 / 130 / 170 / 210 / 250.
V14.2 - January 24th Hotfix
  • Wall of Pain Bug Fix: Magic resistance reduction while in zombie form no longer multiplies the magic resistance of enemies hit by 25 instead of 0.75.
  • Requiem Bug Fix: Now properly benefits from ability haste as soon as he respawns.
V14.2
  • Lay Waste Base damage increased to 45 / 65 / 85 / 105 / 125 from 43 / 61 / 79 / 97 / 115. Single-target damage increased to 90 / 130 / 170 / 210 / 250 from 86 / 122 / 158 / 194 / 230.
  • Wall of Pain Magic resistance reduction increased to 25% from 15%.
V13.22
  • Stats Basic attack missile speed increased to 1500 from 1200.
V13.19
  • Death Defied Bug Fix: No longer deals damage to his allies with Defile when the effect was triggered by taking lethal damage from an enemy Briar in her Blood Frenzy state.
V13.14
  • Lay Waste Base damage reduced to 43 / 61 / 79 / 97 / 115 from 45 / 62.5 / 80 / 97.5 / 115. Monster damage increased to 100% from 95%.
  • Defile Mana restored reduced to 10 / 20 / 30 / 40 / 50 from 15 / 25 / 35 / 45 / 55.
V13.1
  • Death Defied Bug Fix: No longer leaves a square VFX on the ground after the effect ends.
V12.22 - November 17th Hotfix
  • Death Defied Bug Fix: Can no longer momentarily revive from the effect if he had the Chemtech Dragon Soul buff.
V12.22
  • Stats Mana growth increased to 31 from 30.5.
V12.13
  • Stats Base armor increased to 21 from 18. Health growth increased to 110 from 101.
V12.12
  • Death Defied Bug Fix: Corpse is no longer an obstacle to other units' pathing.
V12.10
  • Stats Base health increased to 620 from 550. Health growth increased to 101 from 87. Armor growth increased to 4.7 from 3.5. Magic resistance growth increased to 1.3 from 0.5.
V12.8
  • Death Defied Bug Fix: Enemy champions that deal lethal damage to trigger the zombie state are no longer considered to deal damage to the source when the effect ends.
V12.7
  • Lay Waste Damage against monsters increased to 95% from 85%.
V12.5
  • Lay Waste Bug Fix: Special buffering behaviour removed so that he can no longer bypass the spawn boundaries before 15 seconds into the game on Summoner's Rift after a certain condition. Karthus will now wait for the full cast animation to finish before walking into range for the next Lay Waste cast buffered outside cast range, instead of moving as soon as the cast time is complete.(note)
V12.2
  • Death Defied Bug Fix: Fixed a bug where towers would incorrectly target enemy champions who took damage from it.
V11.21
  • Defile Mana refund changed to 15 / 25 / 35 / 45 / 55 from 20 / 27 / 34 / 41 / 48.
V11.20
  • Lay Waste Bug Fix: Fixed a bug where it granted Tear of the Goddess stacks despite not hitting a valid target.
V11.6
  • Lay Waste Base damage reduced to 45 / 62.5 / 80 / 97.5 / 115 from 45 / 65 / 85 / 105 / 125. Single-target damage reduced to 90 / 125 / 160 / 195 / 230 from 90 / 130 / 170 / 210 / 250.
V11.2 - January 21st Hotfix
  • Lay Waste Bug Fix: Fixed a bug where he wasn't able to buffer cast while on cooldown.
V11.1
  • Stats Base attack damage increased to 46 from 45.66.
V10.25
  • Lay Waste Mana cost reduced to 20 / 25 / 30 / 35 / 40 from 20 / 26 / 32 / 38 / 44. AP ratio increased to 35% AP from 30% AP. Bug Fix: Now properly triggers Horizon Focus.
V10.22
  • Lay Waste Base damage reduced to 45 / 65 / 85 / 105 / 125 from 50 / 70 / 90 / 110 / 130.
V10.20
  • Stats Base armor reduced to 18 from 20.88.
V10.16
  • Lay Waste AP ratio reduced to 30% AP from 35% AP.
V10.15
  • Wall of Pain Bug Fix: Spawns properly even when cast at 0 range.
V10.14
  • Stats Base health increased to 550 from 528. Base movement speed increased to 335 from 325.
  • Lay Waste Base damage increased to 50 / 70 / 90 / 110 / 130 from 45 / 65 / 85 / 105 / 125. AP ratio increased to 35% AP from 30% AP. New Effect: Damage against monsters is now reduced by 15%.
  • Defile Now always restores mana on kill. Previously only when toggled off. Tick rate reduced to 1 per 0.25 seconds from 1 per 1. Total damage unchanged. New Effect: Deactivating Defile deals 1 tick's worth of damage. Bug Fix: Tooltip now accurately mentions the increased mana cost per second at each level.
V10.9
  • Stats Movement speed reduced to 325 from 335.
V9.18
  • Death Defied Bug Fix: When in Death Defied, Wall of Pain now properly grants vision around the wall.
V9.13 - July 12th Hotfix
  • Requiem Bugfix: No longer hits through untargetability.
V9.12
  • General Adjusted splash artwork for Pentakill Karthus.
V9.11 - May 30th Hotfix
  • Requiem AP ratio increased to 75% AP from 65% AP.
V9.11
  • Requiem Base damage reduced to 200 / 350 / 500 from 250 / 400 / 550. AP ratio reduced to 65% AP from 75% AP. Undocumented: No longer goes on full cooldown if cast after respawning. Undocumented: Can now hit through untargetability.
V9.8
  • General Bug Fix: Can now dance.
V9.4
  • Lay Waste Base damage reduced to 45 / 65 / 85 / 105 / 125 from 50 / 70 / 90 / 110 / 130. Isolated base damage reduced to 90 / 130 / 170 / 210 / 250 from 100 / 140 / 180 / 220 / 260. Bug Fix: Now triggers runes more consistently.
V9.1
  • Death Defied New Effect: Ability icon HUD now shows the remaining duration of the ability.
V8.21
  • Wall of Pain Cooldown reduced to 15 seconds from 18. Mana cost reduced to 70 from 100.
  • Requiem Mana cost reduced to 100 at all ranks from 150 / 175 / 200.
V8.9
  • Stats Base mana increased to 467 from 372.48. Mana growth reduced to 30.5 from 61. Base mana regeneration increased to 8 from 6.
V8.7
  • Lay Waste Base damage increased to 50 / 70 / 90 / 110 / 130 from 40 / 60 / 80 / 100 / 120.
V8.3
  • Stats Base health regeneration increased to 6.5 from 6.424.
V7.24
  • Requiem AP ratio increased to 75% AP from 60% AP.
V7.22
  • Stats Base health increased to 528 from 516. Health growth increased to 87 from 75.
V7.9
  • Stats Magic resistance growth increased to 0.5 from 0.
V7.8
  • Lay Waste New Effect: Can now be buffered. Casts input as Lay Waste explodes will now automatically fire once Lay Waste comes off cooldown, unless Karthus cancels the command.
V7.4
  • General Adjusted splash artwork for Fnatic Karthus.
V6.18
  • General Adjusted splash artwork for Pentakill Karthus.
V6.7
  • General Splash artwork for Phantom Karthus, Statue of Karthus and Grim Reaper Karthus updated to the Chinese art. Adjusted splash artwork for Original Karthus.
V6.4
  • Statue of Karthus Bug Fix: Eagle screech being heard globally by allies when Karthus dances.
V5.24
  • Wall of Pain New Effect: Wall slow is reduced to 20 / 25 / 30 / 35 / 40% after 1 second.
V5.6
  • General Basic attack frame improved.
V5.5
  • Wall of Pain Bug Fix: Enemy champions sometimes dashing through wall and not being slowed.
V4.11
  • Requiem Bug Fix: Allied-ultimate HUD indicator displaying as available when it wasn't.
V4.10
  • Statue of Karthus New Effect: A certain bird of prey screeches when Karthus dances.
  • Lay Waste Bug Fix: Fixed a bug where Lay Waste appeared to give more vision than it actually did.
  • Wall of Pain Bug Fix: No longer interrupted by movement commands.
  • Requiem Particle updated for visibility.
V4.9
  • General Visual upgrade across all skins. New splash artwork for Original Karthus and Pentakill Karthus. New voiceover. New lore
  • Lay Waste Added a new indicator that shows the full area of effect. Added crit-style combat text and a unique sound effect for double-damage Qs.
  • Wall of Pain Added a visual debuff effect that marks affected enemy champions.
V4.5
  • Stats Base armor increased to 15 from 11.
V4.4
  • Death Defied Bug Fix: Karthus not benefiting from damage modifiers ( Rabadon's Deathcap, Void Staff) while active.
V3.12
  • Requiem Enemy warning buff duration updated to match impact delay.
V3.10
  • Lay Waste New Effect: Casts at maximum range when targeted beyond max range during Death Defied
  • Defile AP ratio reduced to 20% AP from 25% AP. Bug Fix: Fixed a bug where cooldown reduction allowed it to be rapidly toggled, increasing its damage output.
V3.7
  • Requiem Bug fix: Should not longer have a major FPS performance hit across all maps.
V1.0.0.152
  • Stats Movement speed increased to 335 from 310.
V1.0.0.146
  • Wall of Pain Removed: No longer reduces armor. Magic resistance reduction changed to 15% from flat 15 / 20 / 25 / 30 / 35.
V1.0.0.142
  • Requiem Cooldown increased to 200 / 180 / 160 seconds from 180 / 150 / 120.
V1.0.0.131
  • Death Defied (Dominion) New Effect: Death timer now starts when the effect ends.
V1.0.0.130
  • Dominion Bug Fix: Karthus sometimes immediately awarding a double kill when affected by both Sunlight and Storm Shield.
  • Wall of Pain Wall duration reduced to 5 seconds from 7. Slow application changed to once from per-crossing.
V1.0.0.126
  • Death Defied Bug Fix: Requiem channel sometimes not finishing if cast while active.
V1.0.0.118
  • Death Defied Duration reduced to 7 seconds from 8. Removed: 20% death timer reduction.
  • Requiem AP ratio reduced to 60% AP from 70% AP.
V1.0.0.105
  • Wall of Pain Tooltip updated to emphasize decaying slow effect.
V1.0.0.103
  • Death Defied New Effect: All abilties are free to cast while active. Bug Fix: Various usability issues.
  • Lay Waste Mana cost reduced to 20 / 26 / 32 / 38 / 44 from 20 / 28 / 36 / 44 / 52.
  • Wall of Pain Cooldown reduced to 18 seconds from 22.
V1.0.0.101
  • Death Defied New Effect: Grants 20% death timer reduction to compensate for active duration. Code remade for bug fixing and for usability issues.
V1.0.0.100
  • Wall of Pain Bug Fix: Rank-up tooltip displaying incorrect slow increase.
V1.0.0.99
  • Requiem Mana cost reduced to 150 / 175 / 200 from 200 / 300 / 400.
V1.0.0.86
  • Lay Waste Bug Fix: Tooltip displaying incorrect AP ratio.
V1.0.0.75
  • Death Defied New ability icon.
V1.0.0.70
  • Stats Armor per level increased to 3.5 from 3.
  • Lay Waste Range increased to 875 from 825. Mana cost reduced to 20 / 28 / 36 / 44 / 52 from 24 / 32 / 40 / 48 / 54.
V1.0.0.63
  • General Basic attack projectile speed increased to 1200 from 800.
  • Lay Waste Base damage increased to 40 / 60 / 80 / 100 / 120 from 35 / 55 / 75 / 95 / 115. AP ratio increased to 30% AP) from 25% AP.
  • Defile AP ratio increased to 25% AP) from 20% AP.
  • Requiem Removed: No longer reveals Karthus to enemies when cast.
V1.0.0.61
  • Lay Waste AP ratio increased to 25% AP from 20% AP.
V1.0.0.52
  • Lay Waste Bug Fix: Corrected AP ratio.
  • Wall of Pain Bug Fix: Slowing units 2 seconds after particle had faded.
V1.0.0.32
  • Lay Waste Mana cost reduced to 24 / 32 / 40 / 48 / 54 from 25 / 35 / 45 / 55 / 65.
  • Defile Mana cost reduced to 30 / 42 / 54 / 66 / 78 from 30 / 45 / 60 / 75 / 90.
V0.9.25.34
  • General Secondary/critical strike animations updated.
V0.9.25.24
  • General Removed: Karthus can no longer out-range Baron Nashor.
V0.9.25.21
  • Death Defied Duration reduced to 8 seconds from 10.
  • Lay Waste Mana cost increased to 25 / 35 / 45 / 55 / 65 from 24 / 32 / 40 / 48 / 54.
  • Wall of Pain Wall updated for visibility. Bug Fix: Incorrect wall appearance. Bug Fix: Targets sometimes not being slowed when crossing the wall. Duration reduced to 7 seconds from 9.
  • Defile Mana cost increased to 30 / 45 / 60 / 75 / 90 from 30 / 40 / 50 / 60 / 70.
V0.9.22.16
  • Lay Waste Mana cost increased to 24 / 32 / 40 / 48 / 54 from 18 / 26 / 34 / 42 / 50.
  • Defile On-kill mana gain changed to 20 / 27 / 34 / 41 / 48 from 15 / 25 / 35 / 45 / 55. Removed: Mana regen on champion kill. Mana cost increased to 30 / 40 / 50 / 60 / 70 from 25 / 35 / 45 / 55 / 65.
  • Requiem AP ratio reduced to 60% AP from 70% AP. Removed: Can no longer be disrupted by Cleanse.
V0.9.22.15
  • Stats Base attack damage increased to 44 from 39.
  • Lay Waste Range reduced to 825 from 900.
  • Wall of Pain New Effect: Wall targeting cursor.
  • Defile Removed: No longer doubles cost upon casting.
V0.8.21.110
  • Lay Waste AoE diameter increased to 200 from 185.
  • Requiem Base damage increased to 250 / 400 / 550 from 200 / 350 / 550.
  • Wall of Pain Slow reduced to 40 / 50 / 60 / 70 / 80% from 80% at all ranks.
  • Defile Cooldown reduced to 0.5 seconds from 1.
  • Requiem Bug Fix: Now correctly shows buff tooltips.
  • Lay Waste Base damage increased to 35 / 55 / 75 / 95 / 115 from 30 / 50 / 70 / 90 / 110. Corrected tool-tip to say that it deals double damage if it hits a single target (corrected numbers in tool-tip as well).
  • Wall of Pain Cast range reduced to 1000 from 1200. Armor and magic resistance reduction reduced to 15 / 20 / 25 / 30 / 35 from 20 / 25 / 30 / 35 / 40. Duration reduced to 9 seconds from (and it no longer lingers after the particle fades). Cooldown reduced to 22 seconds from 25.
  • Defile Base damage increased to 30 / 50 / 70 / 90 / 110 from 20 / 40 / 60 / 80 / 100.
  • Fallen One Ability power ratio reduced to 70% AP from 75% AP. Can no longer be cast while dead.
  • Death Defied (Innate) When Karthus dies, he can continue to cast spells for 10 seconds after death. If he kills a champion in this time he respawns instantly at base.
  • Lay Waste (Q) A 1 second cooldown spell which leaves a time delayed mine that deals double damage if it only hits a single target.
  • Wall of Pain (W) Stretches a perpendicular wall through the target location, enemies who walk through it are slowed and take increased damage.
  • Defile (E) While toggled on, Defile continually damages nearby enemies. While off, Karthus regains mana whenever he kills a unit.
  • Fallen One (Ultimate) Channeled spell; upon successful cast, Karthus damages all enemy champions in the game.
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Recommended build

What players actually run on Karthus on the current patch: summoner spells, skill priority, starting, core and late items, runes and skill order.

Every entry comes with its pick rate (how often it is chosen) and, where available, its win rate. For runes, Most Played is the page the majority takes and Best WR the variant that wins most among those with enough games: when they differ, the second is usually the sharper choice, the first the safer one.

Win rate by elo

Karthus's win rate in each rank tier, from Iron to Challenger, plus all tiers combined.

A champion that climbs with rank is usually one that rewards mechanics or game knowledge; one that peaks in low elo is often easy to pick up and punished by better players. Read the tier you play in, not the average. Tiers with no data for this patch are hidden.

Counters and matchups

A preview of the counters page: the five opponents Karthus struggles against the most, and the five it beats most often, on the current patch.

Percentages are Karthus's own win rate in each duel, with the gap to its overall win rate. The full lists, with every matchup that has enough games, are on the counters page linked below each table.

Patch history

Balance changes that touched Karthus, patch by patch, most recent first, as published in the official patch notes.

The ten latest patches are shown, the older ones fold out. Use it to read the win rate movements above: a jump right after a patch is usually a buff or a nerf, not a change in how people play the champion.