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By GamGem ResearchLast updated 20 Aug 2026 · 00:00

Karthus

the Deathsinger

Mage

League of LegendsPatch 26.16MidRanked Solo/DuoEmerald+NA26,642 gamesSample data

Role snapshot (Mid)

CTier
48.6%
Win Rate
5.2%
Pick Rate
1.5%
Ban Rate

26,642

Games

High

Confidence

Matchup map (Mid) — level 1–18

40%60%
≥ 60%
Nobody in this lane sits here.
55 – 60%
50 – 55%
45 – 50%
40 – 45%
< 40%

Conditional build matrix

vs AP Burstvs AD Assassinsvs Tanksvs Sustain
Mythic / Core
Core 2
Core 3
Boots
Situational

Popular build

12,255 games

49.0%Win Rate

FlashIgnite

Reliable build

8,792 games

47.7%Win Rate

FlashTeleport

High observed win rate

3,197 games

51.1%Win Rate

FlashExhaust

Runes

Primary: Resolve

  • Aftershock
  • Shield Bash
  • Second Wind
  • Unflinching

Secondary: Domination

  • Sudden Impact
  • Sixth Sense

Shards

+9 Adaptive Force

+9 Adaptive Force

+10-180 Health (based on level)

Skill order

Skill order
Q123456789101112131415161718
W123456789101112131415161718
E123456789101112131415161718
R123456789101112131415161718

Ability details

  • Death Defied

    Upon dying, Karthus enters a spirit form that allows him to continue casting spells.

    Passive — never cast

  • Lay Waste

    Karthus unleashes a delayed blast at a location, dealing damage to nearby enemies. Deals increased damage to isolated enemies.

    Cost 20/25/30/35/40 ManaCooldown 0sRange 875

  • Wall of Pain

    Karthus creates a passable screen of leeching energy. Any enemy units that walk through the screen have their Move Speed and Magic Resist reduced for a period.

    Cost 70 ManaCooldown 15sRange 1000

  • Defile

    Karthus passively steals energy from his victims, gaining Mana on each kill. Alternatively, Karthus can surround himself in the souls of his prey, dealing damage to nearby enemies, but quickly draining his own Mana.

    Cost 30/42/54/66/78 ManaCooldown 0.5sRange 550

  • Requiem

    After channeling for 3 seconds, Karthus deals damage to all enemy champions.

    Cost 100 ManaCooldown 200/180/160sRange 10000

Scaling — level 1–18

KarthusMid average

Win Rate

1918

Damage / Min

1918

Gold / Min

1918

Counter plan — how to beat Karthus

  • Dodge the primary — its rotation is one skillshot; sidestep it and the rest is chip

  • Punish the cooldown — Karthus is exposed while its rotation is down

  • Ward the flank — vision is what turns its best opening into a worse one

  • Respect the spike — Riot rates the kit 7/10, so a practised player gets more out of it than the average

  • Trade on your terms — take the fight where its damage lands on nobody

ARAM performance

A
51.8%
Win Rate
▲ 0.3%
1.5%
Pick Rate
▲ 2.3%
0.4%
Ban Rate
▲ 3.6%
Damage dealt
92.8%
Damage taken
107.4%
Healing
109.0%
Shielding
100.5%
Ability Haste
+2

Best ARAM build

Patch timeline

Riot’s notes

We hold the rates, not the balance log. What actually changed each patch is in Riot’s own notes.

  1. 26.16Live now+0.7
  2. 26.14Sample win rate across this patch+0.8
  3. 26.11Sample win rate across this patch-0.4
  4. 26.08Sample win rate across this patch+0.1
  5. 26.05Sample win rate across this patch+0.0

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Methodology

Data window
512,340 games on patch 26.16, Ranked Solo/Duo, NA. Last refreshed 20 Aug 2026.
Rank aggregation
Emerald+ and above, pooled. Splitting further leaves samples too small to separate a real effect from noise.
Role assignment
A champion is filed under the lanes it actually plays, not the one class it belongs to — which is why several appear in two.
Counters
A matchup, not a tier gap: how this champion does into that one specifically, over that pairing’s own games.
Minimum sample
The confidence indicator beside every rate is driven by how much of the window this champion appears in. A low reading means read the figure loosely, not that it is wrong.
Why a build is not a cause
The best-scoring build is the one the best-placed players happened to take. Correlation is what a rate can show; it is not evidence that buying those items caused the wins.
Where the numbers come from
Names, classes, lanes, abilities, items and runes are Riot Data Dragon. Win, pick and ban rates are derived samples — Riot publishes none of them, and nothing on this page presents one as measured.