Win Rate: 50.1%
Pick Rate: 2.7%
Ban Rate: 6.3%

Katarina Mid Build: Items & Boots

AssassinMage

Patch: 26.20
Games: 5,397
Lane: Mid
Tier: All Tiers
Last Updated: Oct 17, 2026 UTC
Methodology: Data Methodology
Author: Dakota Chinnick

The most-played Patch 26.20 Katarina build is Spellslinger's Shoes, Shadowflame, Zhonya's Hourglass, Lich Bane, Mejai's Soulstealer, Rabadon's Deathcap, Oracle Lens: 7.81% of games, 57.66% win rate. Below are the boots, first items, starting items and summoner spells players pick most, each with its own win rate and game count.

Select a Katarina Build

Best WR

Highest Win Rate Build

Shadowflame
Lich Bane
Rabadon's Deathcap

Best Katarina Build - Highest Win Rate Items

Full Build

Early Build Order

Top Summoner Spells

Flash + Ignite
60.2%Win Rate96.5%Pick Rate
Teleport + Flash
63.6%Win Rate1.6%Pick Rate

Build Stats

60.31%Win Rate

+10.19%WR Diff

6.62%Pick Rate

708Matches

This Katarina 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 Katarina build are Shadowflame, Lich Bane, and Rabadon's Deathcap. This item combination achieves a 60.3% win rate across 708 matches analyzed.

At full build, Katarina gains a total of 465 AP, 100 Health, and 85 Armor, giving a strong power profile for magic damage.

Best Katarina Runes

Domination

Resolve

View full runes

Katarina Abilities

View ability details

Build Strengths

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

Build Deep Dive

Katarina Starting Items

The most popular starting items for Katarina are Dark Seal, Refillable Potion, Stealth Ward with a 61.1% win rate and 15.3% pick rate.

Dark Seal

Refillable Potion

Stealth Ward

61.1%Win Rate

15.3%Pick Rate

Doran's Ring

Health Potion

65.8%Win Rate

10.3%Pick Rate

Best Katarina Core Items - Build These First

These are Katarina's essential core items that you should build in nearly every game. Shadowflame (52.8% WR, +2.7% WR diff, 52.9% pick rate) provides 110 AP. Lich Bane (53.0% WR, +2.9% WR diff, 49.8% pick rate) provides 100 AP, 0.06% Speed. Rabadon's Deathcap (57.8% WR, +7.7% WR diff, 20.5% pick rate) provides 130 AP. Rush these items first to reach your power spike and maximize your impact.

Shadowflame S Tier
Shadowflame
3,200
52.82%Win Rate
+2.70%WR Diff
52.94%Pick Rate
Lich Bane S Tier
Lich Bane
2,900
52.97%Win Rate
+2.85%WR Diff
49.84%Pick Rate
Rabadon's Deathcap S Tier
Rabadon's Deathcap
3,500
57.83%Win Rate
+7.71%WR Diff
20.47%Pick Rate

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Any item combo — even off-meta
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Win rate by rank & game length

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Katarina Build Path & Item Timing

Katarina players complete Lich Bane first in 45% of games, winning 52.3% of them. The median first item is finished at 11:18 (25th to 75th percentile: 9:54 to 12:36).

First item

Build	Win Rate	Pick Rate	Done at	Games
Lich Bane	52.3%	45.3%	11:18	2,313
Blade of The Ruined King	56.6%	2.1%	12:06	106
Kraken Slayer	49.2%	23.5%	11:12	1,198

First two items

Build	Win Rate	Pick Rate	Done at	Games
Lich BaneMejai's Soulstealer	82.3%	2.7%	14:00	124
Hextech GunbladeMejai's Soulstealer	73.3%	0.7%	13:48	30
Hextech GunbladeLich Bane	62.2%	2.8%	19:30	127

Three-item core

Build	Win Rate	Pick Rate	Done at	Games
Lich BaneMejai's SoulstealerShadowflame	78.5%	2.4%	18:42	79
Lich BaneShadowflameMejai's Soulstealer	77.3%	2.9%	20:48	97
Lich BaneShadowflameRabadon's Deathcap	59.8%	11.1%	25:30	366

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.

Large sampleBased on 5,104 matches. That is a large enough sample for these numbers to be reliable.

Katarina Skill Order

Katarina players max Q > E > W in 88% of games, winning 50.7% of the 4,608 games that followed that order. The grid shows the most common ability at every level.

Skill priority

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

E > Q > W: 10% of games, 47.9% win rate
Q > W > E: 1% of games, 34.7% win rate

Large sampleBased on 5,209 matches. That is a large enough sample for these numbers to be reliable.

High Win Rate Situational Items for Katarina

Top situational items for Katarina include Mejai's Soulstealer, Zhonya's Hourglass. These can be swapped out depending on the enemy composition and team needs.

Mejai's Soulstealer S Tier
Mejai's Soulstealer
1,500
83.14%Win Rate
+33.02%WR Diff
7.80%Pick Rate
Zhonya's Hourglass S Tier
Zhonya's Hourglass
3,250
53.00%Win Rate
+2.88%WR Diff
28.15%Pick Rate

Katarina Boots

The best boots for Katarina are Armored Advance. Adjust based on enemy team comp.

Armored Advance S Tier
Armored Advance
1,200
50.14%Win Rate
+0.02%WR Diff
6.39%Pick Rate

Katarina Trinket

The recommended trinket for Katarina is Oracle Lens for vision control and map awareness.

Oracle Lens S Tier
Oracle Lens
0
53.71%Win Rate
+3.59%WR Diff
25.70%Pick Rate

Complete Katarina Build Item Stats

Combined statistics from all items in this Katarina build.

Armor:85
Movement Speed:45
Ability Power:465
Movement Speed:6%
Health:100

Build Comparison

Best WR

Most Played

Armor

Speed

465

Speed

0.06%

Health

100

Katarina Counter Build Advice

When facing Katarina's top counters like Vladimir, Lux, Ahri, 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 Mejai's Soulstealer or Zhonya's Hourglass based on which counter champions you're facing and their itemization patterns. Monitor enemy builds and adjust accordingly for optimal Katarina performance.

When Should You Play This Katarina Build

burst mageFirst Power Spike3,200gLich Bane at 11:18 (median)

This Katarina burst mage build is optimized for players looking to maximize their impact in League of Legends. With a 60.3% win rate across 708 matches, this build has proven highly effective in the current meta. The build's key strengths include devastating ability power scaling with 465 total AP and strong physical damage mitigation. Choose this build when your team needs magic damage, especially if teammates are primarily AD-focused. Katarina 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 15,550, this Katarina build scales into the late game. Focus on farming efficiently and reaching your Shadowflame, Lich Bane, and Rabadon's Deathcap power spike before taking major fights. For optimal results with this Katarina 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 465 total AP
Strong physical damage mitigation

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 Katarina

Katarina Mid Boots, Starting Items & Summoner Spells (Patch 26.20)

5,183 games

Most Katarina Mid players rush Lich Bane first (45% of games), finished at a median of 11.3 minutes. Spellslinger's Shoes are the usual boots (58%). The standard summoner spells are Flash + Ignite (95%). The game usually starts with Dark Seal + Refillable Potion.

Katarina boots

Option	Players	Win Rate	Games
Spellslinger's ShoesMost played	58.4%	51.6%	3,026
Chainlaced Crushers	16.1%	49.5%	832
Immortal Path	11.8%	50.9%	613
Armored Advance	6.7%	50.1%	345

Katarina starting items

Option	Players	Win Rate	Games
Dark Seal + Refillable PotionMost played	22.0%	51.8%	1,140
Doran's Blade + Health Potion	21.2%	50.4%	1,099
Dark Seal + Refillable Potion + Stealth Ward	11.4%	55.7%	589
Doran's Blade + Health Potion + Stealth Ward	9.8%	46.0%	506

Katarina summoner spells

Option	Players	Win Rate	Games
Flash + IgniteMost played	95.4%	50.3%	4,945
Flash + Teleport	1.9%	45.5%	101
Teleport + Ignite	1.0%	56.9%	51

Every option is listed with its own pick rate, win rate and game count from ranked games this patch. Options under 40 games are left out.

Katarina First Item and Core Build Timing

Which item Katarina players finish first and which three-item core they build, with the median completion minute and the middle 50% of games — the timing to beat if you want to spike before your opponent.

First completed item

Items	Finished	Players	Win Rate	Games
Lich Bane	11.3 min 9.9-12.6 min	45.3%	52.2%	2,311
Kraken Slayer	11.2 min 9.9-12.6 min	23.5%	49.2%	1,198
Hextech Gunblade	11.3 min 10.0-12.9 min	22.3%	47.1%	1,135
Nashor's Tooth	11.1 min 9.8-12.3 min	3.7%	49.7%	189
Blade of The Ruined King	12.1 min 10.9-13.6 min	2.1%	56.6%	106

Three-item core

Items	Finished	Players	Win Rate	Games
Kraken Slayer → Blade of The Ruined King → Terminus	25.1 min 22.8-27.9 min	11.7%	57.3%	386
Lich Bane → Shadowflame → Rabadon's Deathcap	25.5 min 23.1-28.3 min	11.1%	59.8%	366
Lich Bane → Shadowflame → Mejai's Soulstealer	20.8 min 19.0-22.6 min	2.9%	77.3%	97
Lich Bane → Mejai's Soulstealer → Shadowflame	18.7 min 17.2-20.6 min	2.4%	78.5%	79
Blade of The Ruined King → Kraken Slayer → Terminus	26.5 min 23.6-29.5 min	1.2%	68.3%	41

Every Katarina Mid Item by Win Rate

The completed items Katarina players build most this patch, with the share of games each one appears in and its win rate. Situational items sit low in pick rate for a reason — read the win rate next to the game count.

Option	Players	Win Rate	Games
ShadowflameMost played	55.1%	52.8%	2,856
Lich Bane	51.8%	53.0%	2,687
Zhonya's Hourglass	29.3%	53.0%	1,518
Kraken Slayer	27.0%	49.6%	1,400
Hextech Gunblade	25.4%	47.8%	1,319
Rabadon's Deathcap	21.3%	57.8%	1,105
Terminus	17.7%	55.0%	917
Blade of The Ruined King	17.4%	52.1%	902
Nashor's Tooth	11.9%	49.1%	617
Mejai's Soulstealer	8.1%	83.1%	420
Death's Dance	6.7%	60.1%	346
Void Staff	6.1%	53.2%	316

Katarina Build Planner

Plan a build

Start from Katarina's most common core and swap items to see the total gold and stats. When your picks contain a three-item core players actually build, its recorded win rate shows up.

Katarina's most-built items

Your build (4/6)

Total gold10,300

This core is in our ranked data: 57.3% win rate over 386 games.

Total stats from items

Attack Damage: 115
Attack Speed: 100%
Magic Pen: 20
Magic Pen %: 8%
Life Steal: 10%
Move Speed: 45

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Katarina Build - Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best Katarina build?

The best Katarina build in this patch includes Shadowflame, Lich Bane, and Rabadon's Deathcap. This build has a 60.31% win rate and is picked 6.62% of the time.

What are Katarina's core items?

Katarina's core items are Shadowflame, Lich Bane, and Rabadon's Deathcap. These items provide the best stats and synergies for Katarina's kit and playstyle in League of Legends.

What are the best boots for Katarina?

Armored Advance are the best boots for Katarina. These boots provide optimal mobility and stats for Katarina's playstyle. They are included in 6.6% of Katarina builds.

What is the best trinket for Katarina?

Oracle Lens is the best trinket for Katarina. This trinket provides optimal vision control and map awareness. Using Oracle Lens helps Katarina maintain vision around objectives and track enemy movements.

Are there alternative Katarina builds?

Yes, alternative Katarina builds include options like Shadowflame, Zhonya's Hourglass, and Lich Bane. Different builds can be more effective depending on team composition and matchups.

Where does MetaBot source build data for Katarina?

MetaBot sources its build data for Katarina directly from the Riot Games API, provided to developers for ingesting game data from League of Legends. MetaBot analyzes hundreds of thousands of matches daily to help it determine build statistics.

How does MetaBot determine what the best Katarina builds are?

MetaBot only counts Katarina games that reached a completed build (boots plus at least three finished items), groups them by their three core items, and ranks the groups by a confidence-adjusted win rate (Wilson lower bound) so a build with a handful of lucky games cannot outrank a well-played one. A build is only presented as the highest win rate once it has at least 50 games and a tenth of Katarina's build sample; otherwise the most-played build is shown.

Katarina community builds

All Katarina builds →

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Katarina Mid Build: Items & Boots

Select a Katarina Build

Best Katarina Build - Highest Win Rate Items

Full Build

Early Build Order

Top Summoner Spells

Build Stats

Best Katarina Runes

Katarina Abilities

Build Strengths

Katarina Starting Items

Best Katarina Core Items - Build These First

Shadowflame

Lich Bane

Rabadon's Deathcap

Theorycraft Your Next Katarina Build

Katarina Build Path & Item Timing

First item

First two items

Three-item core

Katarina Skill Order

High Win Rate Situational Items for Katarina

Mejai's Soulstealer

Zhonya's Hourglass

Katarina Boots

Armored Advance

Katarina Trinket

Oracle Lens

Complete Katarina Build Item Stats

Build Comparison

Katarina Counter Build Advice

When Should You Play This Katarina Build

Strengths

Weaknesses

Champions with Similar Builds to Katarina

Katarina Mid Boots, Starting Items & Summoner Spells (Patch 26.20)

Katarina boots

Katarina starting items

Katarina summoner spells

Katarina First Item and Core Build Timing

First completed item

Three-item core

Every Katarina Mid Item by Win Rate

Katarina Build Planner

Plan a build

Katarina Build - Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best Katarina build?

What are Katarina's core items?

What are the best boots for Katarina?

What is the best trinket for Katarina?

Are there alternative Katarina builds?

Where does MetaBot source build data for Katarina?

How does MetaBot determine what the best Katarina builds are?

See Also

Katarina community builds

Katarina Build - Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best Katarina build?

What are Katarina's core items?

What are the best boots for Katarina?

What is the best trinket for Katarina?

Are there alternative Katarina builds?

Where does MetaBot source build data for Katarina?

How does MetaBot determine what the best Katarina builds are?