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By GamGem ResearchLast updated 18 Oct 2026

Karthus Build and Runes — Jungle and Bot Lane ADC · Patch 26.20

the Deathsinger

Patch 26.20 · Stats from the 26.18 Master+ sample (3,082 games).

Karthus, the Deathsinger, keeps casting for a few seconds after he dies through Death Defied, and Requiem hits every enemy champion on the map. Master+ played him in the jungle first and, often too, as the bot lane carry; Deathfire Touch led his keystones, and both printed paths open on Blackfire Torch.

Mage

Patch 26.18 · Jungle · Ranked Solo/Duo · Master+ · EUW · KR · NA · 3,082 games · Preview sample

Role snapshot (Jungle)

STier
Win Rate
52.0%
Pick Rate
4.7%
Ban Rate
3.6%

3,082

Games

High

Confidence

Win rate by lane

  • Jungle52.6% · 1,646 games
  • Bot51.2% · 1,083 games

Most common path

290 games

57.2%Win Rate

Start
FlashExhaust

Highest win rate path

243 games

67.9%Win Rate

Start
FlashExhaust

Runes

Patch 26.18

This exact page: taken in 14.9% of games·52.9% win rate over 459 games.

Primary

Sorcery

Deathfire Touch

Damaging a champion with an ability burns them over time.

Axiom Arcanist

Your Ultimate has increased damage, healing, and shielding. Scoring a takedown on an enemy champion reduces your Ultimate's current cooldown.

Transcendence

Gain bonuses upon reaching the following levels:Level 5: +5 Ability Haste Level 8: +5 Ability Haste Level 11: On Champion takedown, reduce the remaining cooldown of basic abilities by 20%.

Scorch

Your first damaging ability hit every 10s burns champions.

Secondary

Precision

Presence of Mind

Restore a small amount of mana or energy when damaging an enemy champion. Takedowns restore mana or energy.

Last Stand

Deal more damage to champions while you are low on health.

Shards

  • Adaptive Force
  • Adaptive Force
  • Health

Other keystones taken

  • Dark Harvest30.4% taken · 50.5% win938 games
  • First Strike3.2% taken · 46.5% win99 games
  • Press the Attack0.0% taken · 0.0% win1 games

Tree pairs

  • Sorcery + Precision58.3% taken · 52.2% win1,796 games
  • Domination + Precision25.7% taken · 51.5% win792 games
  • Sorcery + Domination7.3% taken · 61.9% win226 games

Skill Order

Which ability to max first, and the level each point goes in — Karthus's most common path.

Q

Lay Waste

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

Cooldown 0s · 20/25/30/35/40 Mana
W

Wall of Pain

Karthus creates a passable screen of leeching energy.

Cooldown 15s · 70 Mana
E

Defile

Karthus passively steals energy from his victims, gaining Mana on each kill.

Cooldown 0.5s · 30/42/54/66/78 Mana
R

Requiem

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

Cooldown 200/180/160s · 100 Mana

Max Order

QEW

Max Q first, then E, then W. Take R whenever available (6 / 11 / 16).

Level-up Order

  • Q
  • W
  • E
  • R
Ability123456789101112131415161718
QLay WasteQQQQQ
WWall of PainWWWWW
EDefileEEEEE
RRequiemRRR

Matchup map (Jungle)

How Karthus performs against enemy jungle laners

Levels 1 – 18 · Master+40%60%Karthus's win rate
≥ 60%Very favorable
55 – 60%Favorable
50 – 55%Even
45 – 50%Unfavorable
40 – 45%Hard
< 40%Very hard

Conditional build matrix

Recommended items by enemy team composition

Master+ · Patch 26.18
Mythic / CoreFirst major item
Core 2Second item
Core 3Third item
BootsBoot slot
SituationalPick as needed

Scaling — minute 10–30

KarthusJungle average

Gold

102030

Damage to champions

102030

CS

102030

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

Ability details

  • P

    Death Defied

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

    Passive — never cast

  • Q

    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

  • W

    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

  • E

    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

  • R

    Requiem

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

    Cost 100 ManaCooldown 200/180/160sRange 10000

Karthus balance history

Riot's notes from patch 25.S1.1 to 26.20 change nothing about Karthus.

Karthus skins (11)

Riot's data lists 11 looks for Karthus with their own art, the base skin included and 33 chroma variants.

ARAM performance

EstimateA
Win Rate
51.8%
▲ 0.3%
Pick Rate
1.5%
▲ 2.3%
Ban Rate
0.4%
▲ 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

This champion’s win rate on each patch the preview sample spans, over its own games there. What actually changed each patch is in Riot’s own notes.

  1. 26.1952.5% over 831 games · small sample+0.4
  2. 26.1851.4% over 1,717 games-0.5
  3. 26.1753.4% over 521 games · small sample—

Karthus's base stats against all 173 champions

  • Karthus's base attack damage of 46 is the 2nd-lowest of 173 champions on patch 26.20.
StatKarthusRankMedian
Base health620=85th620
Health per level110=25th104
Base armor21=158th30
Armor per level4.7=42nd4.6
Base magic resist30=110th32
Magic resist per level1.3=93rd1.55
Base attack damage46172nd59
Base attack speed0.625=117th0.656
Attack speed per level2.11%=107th2.5%
Move speed335=74th335
Attack range450=75th175

Karthus at level 1 and level 18

  • Karthus reaches 2490 health at level 18 — 620 at level 1 plus 17 × 110, the 38th-highest of 173 champions on patch 26.20, shared with 1.
  • Karthus reaches 994 mana at level 18 — 467 at level 1 plus 17 × 31, the 44th-lowest of 145 mana users on patch 26.20, shared with 1.
  • Karthus reaches 100.9 armor at level 18 — 21 at level 1 plus 17 × 4.7, the 51st-lowest of 173 champions on patch 26.20, shared with 3.
  • Karthus reaches 52.1 magic resist at level 18 — 30 at level 1 plus 17 × 1.3, the 34th-lowest of 173 champions on patch 26.20, shared with 43.
StatLevel 1Per levelLevel 18Rank at 18
Health620+1102490=38th of 173
Mana467+31994=101st of 145
Armor21+4.7100.9=120th of 173
Magic resist30+1.352.1=97th of 173

Riot Data Dragon 16.20.1. Growth curve: League of Legends Wiki — Champion statistic.

Riot's tips for Karthus

Playing 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.

Quick answers about Karthus

How does Karthus do against Viego?
Karthus won 65.3% of 49 counted Master+ games against Viego. It is a matchup Karthus wins more often than not. A small sample — read it as a lean, not a rule.
How does Karthus do against Hecarim?
Karthus won 46.8% of 79 counted Master+ games against Hecarim. Hecarim is one of the opponents that beat Karthus. A small sample — read it as a lean, not a rule.
How does Karthus do against Kha'Zix?
Karthus won 48.1% of 54 counted Master+ games against Kha'Zix. It is close to even. A small sample — read it as a lean, not a rule.
What class is Karthus?
Riot classes Karthus as Mage. This site files the champion under Jungle.
How hard is Karthus to play?
Riot rates Karthus's difficulty 7 out of 10.
What resource does Karthus use?
Karthus's abilities spend Mana.
What is Karthus's attack range?
450 units — the 75th-highest of 173 champions on patch 26.20 (shared with 3 others).
What are Karthus's abilities?
Passive — Death Defied, Q — Lay Waste, W — Wall of Pain, E — Defile and R — Requiem.
How many skins does Karthus have?
Riot's data lists 11 skins with their own art, the base look included, plus 33 chroma variants.
How much health does Karthus have at level 18?
2490 — 620 at level 1 plus 17 × 110 per level, Riot's own values, before items and runes.
What is Karthus's ultimate cooldown?
Requiem (R): 200/180/160 seconds by rank, before ability haste, in Riot's Data Dragon 16.20.1.

Karthus at a glance

Karthus, the Deathsinger, is a Mage champion in League of Legends. Riot rates the kit 7/10 for difficulty, 2/10 for attack, 2/10 for defense and 10/10 for magic. Karthus spends Mana and has 11 skins with their own art. Karthus's base attack damage of 46 is the 2nd-lowest of 173 champions on patch 26.20.

Attack2/10
Defense2/10
Magic10/10
Difficulty7/10

Karthus's story

The harbinger of oblivion, Karthus is an undying spirit whose haunting songs are a prelude to the horror of his nightmarish appearance. The living fear the eternity of undeath, but Karthus sees only beauty and purity in its embrace, a perfect union of life and death. When Karthus emerges from the Shadow Isles, it is to bring the joy of death to mortals, an apostle of the unliving.
— Riot Games, Data Dragon 16.20.1. League of Legends Universe

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Methodology

Data window
Preview sample — a one-time snapshot of 65,406 ranked games (Master+, EUW/KR/NA, patch 26.18), counted by GamGem while our Riot production key is under review. Figures will update daily once it is approved. Counted 26–27 Sept 2026; patches 26.18 (35,477) · 26.19 (18,580) · 26.17 (11,048) · 26.16 (293) · 26.15 (8); by server EUW 22,382 · KR 21,922 · NA 21,065 · EUNE 20 · TR 17. 642 games without a result — remakes ended by vote in their first minutes, and games recorded with no winner — were not counted.
Rank aggregation
Master, Grandmaster and Challenger, pooled — the three ladders the count read its players from. Splitting further leaves samples too small to separate a real effect from noise.
Role assignment
A champion is filed under every lane that holds at least a tenth of its counted games — the position the match itself reports, not the champion’s class. Its headline win rate is across all of them; each lane’s own win rate and games are counted too, and a lane’s tier list ranks by them.
Counters
The two champions in the same position on opposite teams, over that pairing’s own counted games — ranked on the edge pulled toward zero by its sample size, printed raw.
Minimum sample
None — no figure is hidden for being thin. Every rate prints its games, and the confidence band is its 95% margin: Very High within ±1.5 points, High ±2.5, Moderate ±3.1 (1,000 games), Low wider.
Why a build is not a cause
An item is counted when the match ENDS with it, so late items show long games and an item bought when already ahead shows games that were being won. Correlation is what a rate can show; it is not evidence that buying the item caused the win.
Where the numbers come from
Names, classes, abilities, items and runes are Riot Data Dragon. Win, pick and ban rates, builds, keystones, spells and matchups are counted by GamGem from Riot's ranked match records. An estimate, not a count: this panel is not in the preview sample, and is labelled so.

Karthus on video

Published by League of Legends on YouTube, 14 June 2014.

12 years old. League of Legends has been patched since, so watch it for how the kit plays, not for numbers — the rest of this page is written for the current patch.

It plays in YouTube’s own player once you press play. Nothing is downloaded or re-hosted here, and nothing loads from YouTube until then.