Karthus - League of Legends Champion
Win Rate
49.5%
Pick Rate
1.2%

KarthusTop Build

CMage
Patch26.11
Matches776,441
LaneAll Lanes
TierAll Tiers
Last UpdatedJun 3, 2026
MethodologyData Methodology
AuthorDakota Chinnick

The patch 26.11 Karthus top build uses Ionian Boots of Lucidity, Liandry's Torment, Shadowflame, Blackfire Torch, Malignance, Zhonya's Hourglass, Farsight Alteration. This Karthus build has a 5.85% pick rate and a 61.5% win rate in LoL patch 26.11. Alternatively, check out some of the other ranked Karthus build choices below.

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OverviewBuildRunesAbilitiesCountersMatchupsArenaARAMTips

Select a Karthus Build

Best WR
Highest Win Rate Build
  • Liandry's Torment - Karthus Highest Win Rate Build core itemLiandry's Torment
  • Shadowflame - Karthus Highest Win Rate Build core itemShadowflame
  • Blackfire Torch - Karthus Highest Win Rate Build core itemBlackfire Torch
Core Items
61.5%Win Rate
+12.0%WR Diff
5.8%Pick Rate
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
47.8%Win Rate
-1.7%WR Diff
8.1%Pick Rate
Alternative Build 1
  • Liandry's Torment - Karthus Alternative Build 1 core itemLiandry's Torment
  • Rabadon's Deathcap - Karthus Alternative Build 1 core itemRabadon's Deathcap
  • Blackfire Torch - Karthus Alternative Build 1 core itemBlackfire Torch
Core Items
50.4%Win Rate
+0.8%WR Diff
4.0%Pick Rate
Alternative Build 2
  • Shadowflame - Karthus Alternative Build 2 core itemShadowflame
  • Void Staff - Karthus Alternative Build 2 core itemVoid Staff
  • Blackfire Torch - Karthus Alternative Build 2 core itemBlackfire Torch
Core Items
40.9%Win Rate
-8.7%WR Diff
4.2%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
Haunting Guise
Haunting Guise
Fated Ashes
Fated Ashes
Liandry's Torment
Liandry's Torment
Boots
Boots
Glowing Mote
Glowing Mote
Ionian Boots of Lucidity
Ionian Boots of Lucidity

Top Summoner Spells

  • SmiteFlash
    Smite + Flash
    76.5%Win Rate34.0%Pick Rate
  • SmiteIgnite
    Smite + Ignite
    50.0%Win Rate11.0%Pick Rate

Build Stats

61.50%Win Rate
+11.96%WR Diff
5.85%Pick Rate
200Matches

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, Shadowflame and Blackfire Torch. This item combination achieves a 61.5% win rate across 200 matches analyzed.

At full build, Karthus gains a total of 445 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
Precision secondary rune treePrecision
  • Last Stand
  • Presence of Mind
  • Adaptive Force
  • 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: Magic Damage. Lower in: Magic Resistance, Physical Damage.

The most popular starting items for Karthus are Scorchclaw Pup, Health Potion, Stealth Ward with a 57.5% win rate and 23.5% pick rate.

Scorchclaw Pup
Scorchclaw Pup
Health Potion
Health Potion
Stealth Ward
Stealth Ward
57.5%Win Rate
23.5%Pick Rate
These are Karthus's essential core items that you should build in nearly every game. Liandry's Torment (54.9% WR, +5.3% WR diff, 45.1% pick rate) provides 300 Health, 60 AP. Shadowflame (50.8% WR, +1.2% WR diff, 65.6% pick rate) provides 110 AP. Blackfire Torch (49.7% WR, +0.2% WR diff, 75.6% 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 Ionian Boots of Lucidity. 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 movement speedMovement Speed:45
  • Total healthHealth:300
  • Total ability powerAbility Power:445
  • Total manaMana:1200
  • Total armorArmor:50

Build Comparison

Best WR
Most Played
Alt 1
Alt 2
Karthus movement speedSpeed
45
45
45
45
Karthus healthHealth
300
300
300
0
Karthus ability powerAP
445
455
470
505
Karthus manaMana
1200
1200
1200
1200
Karthus armorArmor
50
0
0
0
When facing Karthus's top counters like Rammus, Evelynn, Amumu, 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 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 Spike3,000g~5 min

This Karthus burst mage build is optimized for players looking to maximize their impact in League of Legends. With a 61.5% win rate across 200 matches, this build has proven highly effective in the current meta. The build's key strengths include devastating ability power scaling with 445 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 15,850, this Karthus build scales into the late game. Focus on farming efficiently and reaching your Liandry's Torment, Shadowflame, 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 445 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