Mage

Karthus

The Deathsinger

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.Read the full story on Riot's Universe site

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P
Death Defied
Q
Lay Waste
W
Wall of Pain
E
Defile
R
Requiem

Karthus

Overview

On patch 16.21, Karthus is rated C tier in the jungle, winning 48.3% of 1,226 ranked games with a 1.3% pick rate. The most successful build this patch runs Deathfire Touch with Flash and Smite and builds Shadowflame, Rabadon's Deathcap, Blackfire Torch, and Sorcerer's Shoes.

Karthus struggles most against Nocturne (34.4%), Kayn (39.8%), and Ekko (40%) and does best against Kha'Zix (68.5%), Vi (64%), and Rengar (62.5%).

Ranked solo/duo · patch 16.21 · 1,226 games · updated Nov 1, 2026 · How we calculate

48.3%

Win rate

1.3%

Pick rate

1.2K

Games

16.21

Patch

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.

Guides

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Matchups

All Karthus matchups

Strong against

Kha'Zix68.5%54
Vi64.0%25
Rengar62.5%24
Lee Sin60.5%43
Qiyana59.0%39

Weak against

Nocturne34.4%32
Kayn39.8%93
Ekko40.0%20
Xin Zhao40.0%20
Amumu42.3%26

Abilities

P
Death Defied
Upon dying, Karthus enters a spirit form that allows him to continue casting spells.
Q
Lay Waste
Karthus unleashes a delayed blast at a location, dealing damage to nearby enemies. Deals increased damage to isolated enemies.
Cooldown: 0Cost: 20/25/30/35/40Range: 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.
Cooldown: 15Cost: 70Range: 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.
Cooldown: 0.5Cost: 30/42/54/66/78Range: 550
R
Requiem
After channeling for 3 seconds, Karthus deals damage to all enemy champions.
Cooldown: 200/180/160Cost: 100Range: 10000