Karthus - League of Legends Champion
Win Rate
49.8%
Pick Rate
1.2%

KarthusTop Build

CMage
Patch26.10
Matches2,379,056
LaneAll Lanes
TierAll Tiers
Last UpdatedMay 25, 2026
MethodologyData Methodology
AuthorDakota Chinnick

The patch 26.10 Karthus top build uses Plated Steelcaps, Shadowflame, Rabadon's Deathcap, Blackfire Torch, Malignance, Zhonya's Hourglass, Farsight Alteration. This Karthus build has a 7.82% pick rate and a 59.12% win rate in LoL patch 26.10. Alternatively, check out some of the other ranked Karthus build choices below.

OverviewBuildRunesAbilitiesCountersMatchupsArenaARAMTips

Select a Karthus Build

Most Played
Most Popular Build
  • Shadowflame - Karthus Most Popular Build core itemShadowflame
  • Rabadon's Deathcap - Karthus Most Popular Build core itemRabadon's Deathcap
  • Blackfire Torch - Karthus Most Popular Build core itemBlackfire Torch
Core Items
59.1%Win Rate
+9.3%WR Diff
7.8%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
58.3%Win Rate
+8.5%WR Diff
4.7%Pick Rate
Alternative Build 2
  • Liandry's Torment - Karthus Alternative Build 2 core itemLiandry's Torment
  • Shadowflame - Karthus Alternative Build 2 core itemShadowflame
  • Blackfire Torch - Karthus Alternative Build 2 core itemBlackfire Torch
Core Items
56.0%Win Rate
+6.1%WR Diff
5.4%Pick Rate
Alternative Build 3
  • Shadowflame - Karthus Alternative Build 3 core itemShadowflame
  • Void Staff - Karthus Alternative Build 3 core itemVoid Staff
  • Rabadon's Deathcap - Karthus Alternative Build 3 core itemRabadon's Deathcap
Core Items
55.2%Win Rate
+5.3%WR Diff
4.0%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
Cloth Armor
Cloth Armor
Plated Steelcaps
Plated Steelcaps

Top Summoner Spells

  • SmiteIgnite
    Smite + Ignite
    63.6%Win Rate6.5%Pick Rate
  • TeleportFlash
    Teleport + Flash
    62.5%Win Rate2.4%Pick Rate

Build Stats

59.12%Win Rate
+9.28%WR Diff
7.82%Pick Rate
340Matches

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, Rabadon's Deathcap and Blackfire Torch. This item combination achieves a 59.1% win rate across 340 matches analyzed.

At full build, Karthus gains a total of 515 Ability Power, 75 Armor, giving a strong power profile for magic damage.

Best Karthus Runes

Sorcery primary rune treeSorcery
  • Deathfire Touch
  • Axiom Arcanist
  • Absolute Focus
  • Gathering Storm
Precision secondary rune treePrecision
  • Triumph
  • Last Stand
  • Ability Haste
  • Adaptive Force
  • Health
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: Physical Resistance, Gold Efficiency, Magic Damage. Lower in: Health, Magic Resistance, Physical Damage.

The most popular starting items for Karthus are Scorchclaw Pup, Health Potion, Stealth Ward with a 54.0% win rate and 25.6% pick rate.

Scorchclaw Pup
Scorchclaw Pup
Health Potion
Health Potion
Stealth Ward
Stealth Ward
54.0%Win Rate
25.6%Pick Rate
These are Karthus's essential core items that you should build in nearly every game. Shadowflame (51.1% WR, +1.3% WR diff, 68.8% pick rate) provides 110 AP. Rabadon's Deathcap (55.2% WR, +5.4% WR diff, 43.5% pick rate) provides 130 AP. Blackfire Torch (50.4% WR, +0.5% WR diff, 77.8% 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 Malignance, Zhonya's Hourglass. These can be swapped out depending on the enemy composition and team needs.
The best boots for Karthus are Plated Steelcaps. Adjust based on enemy team comp.
The recommended trinket for Karthus is Farsight Alteration for vision control and map awareness.

Combined statistics from all items in this Karthus build.

  • Total armorArmor:75
  • Total movement speedMovement Speed:45
  • Total ability powerAbility Power:515
  • Total manaMana:1200

Build Comparison

Best WR
Most Played
Alt 1
Alt 2
Karthus armorArmor
75
50
25
50
Karthus movement speedSpeed
45
45
45
45
Karthus ability powerAP
515
520
470
520
Karthus manaMana
1200
600
1200
600
When facing Karthus's top counters like Volibear, Vayne, MissFortune, 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 or health-stacking items for general survivability 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 Malignance 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 Spike3,200g~5 min

This Karthus burst mage build is optimized for players looking to maximize their impact in League of Legends. With a 59.1% win rate across 340 matches, this build has proven highly effective in the current meta. The build's key strengths include devastating ability power scaling with 515 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. The armor in this build makes it effective against AD-heavy enemy compositions with champions like assassins or marksmen. However, be aware that this build low health pool requiring careful positioning and no built-in sustain for extended fights. With a total gold cost of 16,650, this Karthus build scales into the late game. Focus on farming efficiently and reaching your Shadowflame, 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 515 total AP

Weaknesses

  • Low health pool requiring careful positioning
  • No built-in sustain for extended fights
  • Limited ability haste may result in longer cooldowns

Champions with Similar Builds to Karthus

Ahri champion
Ahri
Core Items
  • Shadowflame - Ahri core item
  • Malignance - Ahri core item
  • Rabadon's Deathcap - Ahri core item
55.7%Win Rate
6.5%Pick Rate
Kayle champion
Kayle
Core Items
  • Shadowflame - Kayle core item
  • Rabadon's Deathcap - Kayle core item
  • Dusk and Dawn - Kayle core item
69.0%Win Rate
5.1%Pick Rate

See Also

Karthus OverviewKarthus RunesKarthus CountersAll Items