KarthusBuild for Jungle - Patch 26.18
The patch 26.18 Karthus top build uses Sorcerer's Shoes, Shadowflame, Malignance, Rabadon's Deathcap, Blackfire Torch, Stormsurge, Oracle Lens. This Karthus build has a 4.26% pick rate and a 60.49% win rate in LoL patch 26.18. Alternatively, check out some of the other ranked Karthus build choices below.
Best Karthus Build - Highest Win Rate Items
Full Build
Early Build Order
Top Summoner Spells
Exhaust + Smite52.9%Win Rate63.0%Pick Rate
Smite + Flash69.2%Win Rate32.1%Pick Rate
Build Stats
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 Shadowflame, Malignance, and Rabadon's Deathcap. This item combination achieves a 60.5% win rate across 81 matches analyzed.
At full build, Karthus gains a total of 500 AP, giving a strong power profile for magic damage.
Best Karthus Runes
Domination
Sorcery
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: Magic Damage. Lower in: Physical Resistance, Health, Magic Resistance, Physical Damage.
Theorycraft Your Next Karthus Build
Test any item combination — even off-meta — against thousands of real Karthus matches. See win rate, KDA, damage, and every item's real impact before you ever lock in.
- Any item combo — even off-meta
- Thousands of real matches
- Win rate by rank & game length
The most popular starting items for Karthus are Scorchclaw Pup, Health Potion, Stealth Ward with a 56.0% win rate and 30.9% pick rate.
- S
Shadowflame
3,20049.89%Win Rate+1.25%WR Diff66.43%Pick Rate - S
Malignance
2,70049.53%Win Rate+0.89%WR Diff46.05%Pick Rate - S
Rabadon's Deathcap
3,50055.18%Win Rate+6.54%WR Diff47.06%Pick Rate
Karthus players complete Scorchclaw Pup first in 74% of games, winning 49.1% of them. The median first item is finished at 0:12 (25th to 75th percentile: 0:06 to 0:18).
First item
| Build | Win Rate | Pick Rate | Done at | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 49.1% | 73.7% | 0:12 | 511 |
 | 47.0% | 24.0% | 0:12 | 166 |
 | 56.3% | 2.3% | 0:12 | 16 |
First two items
| Build | Win Rate | Pick Rate | Done at | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 50.2% | 45.6% | 10:12 | 297 |
 | 55.8% | 8.0% | 10:18 | 52 |
| 45.8% | 25.5% | 10:30 | 166 |
Three-item core
| Build | Win Rate | Pick Rate | Done at | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 66.7% | 4.3% | 17:48 | 27 |
 | 52.1% | 27.0% | 18:12 | 169 |
 | 50.0% | 6.7% | 19:36 | 42 |
Stages keep purchase order, so "A then B" and "B then A" are counted separately. Completion time is the minute the last item of the stage was bought. Boots are tracked separately.
Karthus players max Q > E > W in 97% of games, winning 48.8% of the 640 games that followed that order. The grid shows the most common ability at every level.
Q
E
W| Level | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |||||||||||||
| W | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |||||||||||||
| E | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |||||||||||||
| R | 1 | 2 | 3 |
- Q > W > E: 2% of games, 30.8% win rate
- E > Q > W: 1% of games, 25.0% win rate
- S
Blackfire Torch
2,80048.36%Win Rate-0.28%WR Diff65.57%Pick Rate - S
Stormsurge
2,80056.91%Win Rate+8.27%WR Diff17.65%Pick Rate
- S
Sorcerer's Shoes
1,10050.77%Win Rate+2.13%WR Diff74.32%Pick Rate
- S
Oracle Lens
049.42%Win Rate+0.78%WR Diff49.07%Pick Rate
Combined statistics from all items in this Karthus build.
Movement Speed:45
Ability Power:500
Mana:1200- Movement Speed:6%
Build Comparison
SpeedAPManaSpeed
This Karthus burst mage build is optimized for players looking to maximize their impact in League of Legends. Its 60.5% win rate comes from only 81 games, so treat it as an observation rather than a proven edge. The build's key strengths include devastating ability power scaling with 500 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 lacks defensive stats making Karthus vulnerable to burst damage and low health pool requiring careful positioning. With a total gold cost of 16,100, this Karthus build scales into the late game. Focus on farming efficiently and reaching your Shadowflame, Malignance, and Rabadon's Deathcap 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 500 total AP
Weaknesses
- Lacks defensive stats making Karthus vulnerable to burst damage
- Low health pool requiring careful positioning
- No built-in sustain for extended fights
- Limited ability haste may result in longer cooldowns
