Karthus - League of Legends Champion
Win Rate
54.3%
Pick Rate
1.0%

KarthusTop Build

SMage
Patch26.14
Matches134,440
LaneAll Lanes
TierAll Tiers
Last UpdatedJul 19, 2026
MethodologyData Methodology
AuthorDakota Chinnick

The patch 26.14 Karthus top build uses Sorcerer's Shoes, Liandry's Torment, Rabadon's Deathcap, Blackfire Torch, Shadowflame, Zhonya's Hourglass, Oracle Lens. This Karthus build has a 4.79% pick rate and a 76.92% win rate in LoL patch 26.14. Alternatively, check out some of the other ranked Karthus build choices below.

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Select a Karthus Build

Best WR
Highest Win Rate Build
  • Liandry's Torment - Karthus Highest Win Rate Build core itemLiandry's Torment
  • Rabadon's Deathcap - Karthus Highest Win Rate Build core itemRabadon's Deathcap
  • Blackfire Torch - Karthus Highest Win Rate Build core itemBlackfire Torch
Core Items
76.9%Win Rate
+22.6%WR Diff
4.8%Pick Rate
Most Played
Most Popular Build
  • Liandry's Torment - Karthus Most Popular Build core itemLiandry's Torment
  • Shadowflame - Karthus Most Popular Build core itemShadowflame
  • Blackfire Torch - Karthus Most Popular Build core itemBlackfire Torch
Core Items
61.8%Win Rate
+7.5%WR Diff
6.3%Pick Rate
Alternative Build 1
  • Shadowflame - Karthus Alternative Build 1 core itemShadowflame
  • Void Staff - Karthus Alternative Build 1 core itemVoid Staff
  • Blackfire Torch - Karthus Alternative Build 1 core itemBlackfire Torch
Core Items
62.5%Win Rate
+8.2%WR Diff
4.4%Pick Rate

Best Karthus Build - Highest Win Rate Items

Full Build

Early Build Order

Scorchclaw Pup
Scorchclaw Pup
Health Potion
Health Potion
Stealth Ward
Stealth Ward
Needlessly Large Rod
Needlessly Large Rod
Needlessly Large Rod
Needlessly Large Rod
Rabadon's Deathcap
Rabadon's Deathcap
Boots
Boots
Sorcerer's Shoes
Sorcerer's Shoes

Top Summoner Spells

  • SmiteFlash
    Smite + Flash
    83.3%Win Rate46.1%Pick Rate
  • ExhaustSmite
    Exhaust + Smite
    80.0%Win Rate38.5%Pick Rate

Build Stats

76.92%Win Rate
+22.64%WR Diff
4.79%Pick Rate
26Matches

This Karthus build focuses on ability power for maximum spell damage. Build the core items first for your power spike, then adapt with situational items based on enemy team composition.

The core items for this Karthus build are Liandry's Torment, Rabadon's Deathcap and Blackfire Torch. This item combination achieves a 76.9% win rate across 26 matches analyzed.

At full build, Karthus gains a total of 485 Ability Power, 300 Health, 50 Armor, giving a strong power profile for magic damage.

Best Karthus Runes

Domination primary rune treeDomination
  • Dark Harvest
  • Cheap Shot
  • Grisly Mementos
  • Ultimate Hunter
Sorcery secondary rune treeSorcery
  • Axiom Arcanist
  • Gathering Storm
  • Adaptive Force
  • Adaptive Force
  • Health Scaling
View full runes

Karthus Abilities

View ability details

Karthus build strength based on the items chosen in the build when compared to all builds across every champion. Strongest in: Gold Efficiency, Magic Damage. Lower in: Magic Resistance, Physical Damage.

The most popular starting items for Karthus are Scorchclaw Pup, Health Potion, Stealth Ward with a 100.0% win rate and 23.1% pick rate.

Scorchclaw Pup
Scorchclaw Pup
Health Potion
Health Potion
Stealth Ward
Stealth Ward
100.0%Win Rate
23.1%Pick Rate
These are Karthus's essential core items that you should build in nearly every game. Liandry's Torment (58.2% WR, +3.9% WR diff, 40.9% pick rate) provides 300 Health, 60 AP. Rabadon's Deathcap (65.8% WR, +11.5% WR diff, 43.5% pick rate) provides 130 AP. Blackfire Torch (53.7% WR, -0.6% WR diff, 76.2% pick rate) provides 600 Mana, 80 AP. Rush these items first to reach your power spike and maximize your impact.
Top situational items for Karthus include Shadowflame, Zhonya's Hourglass. These can be swapped out depending on the enemy composition and team needs.
The best boots for Karthus are Sorcerer's Shoes. Adjust based on enemy team comp.
The recommended trinket for Karthus is Oracle Lens for vision control and map awareness.

Combined statistics from all items in this Karthus build.

  • Total movement speedMovement Speed:45
  • Total healthHealth:300
  • Total ability powerAbility Power:485
  • Total manaMana:600
  • Total armorArmor:50

Build Comparison

Best WR
Most Played
Alt 1
Karthus movement speedSpeed
45
45
45
Karthus healthHealth
300
0
300
Karthus ability powerAP
485
520
475
Karthus manaMana
600
600
600
Karthus armorArmor
50
50
0
When facing Karthus's top counters like Hecarim, LeeSin, Yasuo, consider adjusting your situational items to increase survivability and match their damage output. If counter champions are building high damage, prioritize magic resistance items against AP threats in your situational item slots to reduce burst damage and improve trading potential. Your core build provides strong damage output. Against tanky counter picks, consider penetration items or percentage-based damage from your situational options to maintain kill pressure. Adapt your final build slots with items like Shadowflame or Zhonya's Hourglass based on which counter champions you're facing and their itemization patterns. Monitor enemy builds and adjust accordingly for optimal Karthus performance.
burst mageFirst Power Spike3,000g~5 min

This Karthus burst mage build is optimized for players looking to maximize their impact in League of Legends. With a 76.9% win rate across 26 matches, this build has proven highly effective in the current meta. The build's key strengths include devastating ability power scaling with 485 total AP. Choose this build when your team needs magic damage, especially if teammates are primarily AD-focused. Karthus with this build can punish teams that stack armor. Consider the enemy team composition when finalizing your situational items to maximize Karthus's effectiveness. However, be aware that this build no built-in sustain for extended fights and limited ability haste may result in longer cooldowns. With a total gold cost of 16,850, this Karthus build scales into the late game. Focus on farming efficiently and reaching your Liandry's Torment, Rabadon's Deathcap, Blackfire Torch power spike before taking major fights. For optimal results with this Karthus build, focus on proper itemization timing, positioning in teamfights, and adapting your situational items based on the specific challenges each game presents.

Strengths

  • Devastating ability power scaling with 485 total AP

Weaknesses

  • No built-in sustain for extended fights
  • Limited ability haste may result in longer cooldowns

See Also

Karthus OverviewKarthus RunesKarthus CountersAll Items