Kayn - League of Legends Champion
Win Rate
50.5%
Pick Rate
5.5%

Kaynvs Karthus

BFighterAssassin
Patch26.11
Matches776,441
LaneAll Lanes
TierAll Tiers
Last UpdatedJun 6, 2026
MethodologyData Methodology

Kayn vs Karthus is a very close matchup in LoL patch 26.11. Kayn wins with a 50.9% win rate (+1.8%) over Karthus based on 55 games. Kayn holds the advantage in both the early and late game. Below you'll find the best Kayn build, runes, laning stats, and strategies for the Kayn vs Karthus matchup.

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Kayn Matchup Breakdown

Use the dropdown to select an opponent and see a detailed breakdown of how Kayn performs against them. You'll get head-to-head win rates, laning stats, the best build and runes for the matchup, and early vs late game analysis — all based on real ranked data.

Compare against an opponent
Kayn - 50.9% win rate in this matchup
Kayn
50.9% WR
VS
Karthus vs Kayn matchup - 49.1% win rate
Karthus
49.1% WR

Who Wins the Kayn vs Karthus Matchup?

Kayn wins the Kayn vs Karthus matchup
Winner
Kayn
Matches: 55
50.9%
Win Rate
49.1%
1.0
CS / min
1.4
762
DMG / min
1,030
13,074
Gold / game
12,957
493
Heal / min
289
833
DMG Mitigated / min
440
0.4
CC / min
0.6
52.2%
Early Game WR
47.8%
50.0%
Late Game WR
50.0%

Kayn vs Karthus Matchup Summary

The Kayn vs Karthus matchup is a very close matchup in League of Legends ranked play. Based on 55 recent matches analyzed, Kayn wins with a 50.9% win rate compared to Karthus's 49.1%, giving Kayn a 1.8 percentage point advantage. Kayn holds a slight edge in both the early and late game, but the margins are thin enough that individual skill and jungle attention will often determine the outcome. Karthus can still find windows through outplays and team coordination. The most significant statistical gap is in sustain, where Kayn leads by 597 HP/min — a difference that heavily influences the outcome of trades and skirmishes. Kayn has a statistical edge, but the margin is close enough that respecting Karthus's strengths is important. Trade when cooldowns are favorable, track the enemy jungler, and build toward your strongest item spikes to convert the slight advantage into a decisive lead. Understanding these matchup dynamics is essential for champion select decisions and in-game strategy when facing this lane opponent.

Kayn vs Karthus Laning Phase Breakdown

Karthus wins the laning phase against Kayn in League of Legends

Karthus is favored during the laning phase against Kayn, winning 3 out of 5 key stat categories. Karthus holds advantages in farming, damage and crowd control, making them the stronger laner in this matchup.

Farming
1.0Kayn
1.4Karthus
Karthus edges out Kayn by 0.4 CS per minute — a moderate farming advantage that adds up to roughly 6 CS over a 15-minute laning phase. This translates to earlier component purchases and slightly faster power spikes for Karthus.
Damage
762Kayn
1,030Karthus
Karthus heavily out-damages Kayn by 269 DMG/min, dominating both short trades and all-in fights. Kayn should avoid extended combat and instead focus on burst trade patterns — short engages followed by immediate disengagement — to avoid letting Karthus's sustained damage advantage take over.
Economy
13,074Kayn
12,957Karthus
Kayn and Karthus generate nearly equal gold per game, with just a 117 gold difference. Neither champion has a clear economic advantage, so gold leads will depend on individual play quality, kill participation, and objective contributions.
Utility
0.4Kayn
0.6Karthus
Both Kayn and Karthus provide similar amounts of crowd control (0.2s/min difference), meaning neither has a significant advantage in locking down opponents for ganks or team fights. Lane ganks are equally effective for both sides.
Sustain
1,326Kayn
729Karthus
Kayn vastly out-sustains Karthus, healing and mitigating 597 more damage per minute. This massive durability gap means Kayn can absorb significant punishment and remain in lane while Karthus is forced to recall. Building grievous wounds early is essential for Karthus, and focusing on burst trade patterns rather than sustained fights is critical.

Best Kayn Build Against Karthus

Ionian Boots of Lucidity is the optimal boots choice against Karthus, providing the mobility and stats Kayn needs most in this matchup. The top-performing core items for Kayn against Karthus are Voltaic Cyclosword, Axiom Arc and Serylda's Grudge. This combination gives Kayn an effective balance of damage, survivability, and utility for the matchup. This build performs exceptionally well, achieving a 100.0% win rate across 4 games — well above average and making it the top item path against Karthus. Adjustments may be needed based on team compositions and game state, but this build provides the strongest foundation for the Kayn vs Karthus matchup.

Early Game vs Late Game

Early Game
Kayn
52.2%
+4.3% advantage
Kayn early game win rateKayn52.2%
Karthus early game win rateKarthus47.8%
Late Game
Kayn
50.0%
+0.0% advantage
Kayn late game win rateKayn50.0%
Karthus late game win rateKarthus50.0%

During the early laning phase (first 15 minutes), Kayn has a meaningful 52.2% win rate, outperforming Karthus by 4.3 percentage points. Kayn players should look to press this advantage through aggressive trades, wave priority, and early jungle coordination.

Late game (25+ minutes) is equally balanced, with Kayn at 50.0% win rate — only 0.0 points ahead of Karthus. Team fight execution and macro play determine the winner at this stage, not champion matchup advantage.

Kayn holds the advantage at every stage of the game, making this a consistently favorable matchup from lane through late game team fights. Karthus players should look for outplays, team-dependent strategies, and picks rather than relying on scaling to win this matchup.

Best Kayn Runes Against Karthus

Domination rune tree - Kayn primary runes vs KarthusDomination
Dark Harvest - best Kayn rune vs KarthusSudden Impact - best Kayn rune vs KarthusGrisly Mementos - best Kayn rune vs KarthusTreasure Hunter - best Kayn rune vs Karthus
Inspiration rune tree - Kayn secondary runes vs KarthusInspiration
Cosmic Insight - best Kayn rune vs KarthusMagical Footwear - best Kayn rune vs Karthus
42.9% WR

The Domination primary with Inspiration secondary combination helps Kayn maximize their potential in this closely contested matchup, providing the right mix of offensive and defensive tools to edge out Karthus.


Kayn matchup data for League of Legends patch 26.11. The table below shows Kayn's win rate, gold difference, and performance stats against every champion in the current meta. Click any champion name to see a detailed head-to-head breakdown including the best Kayn build, runes, laning stats, and early vs late game analysis for that specific matchup.

Kayn matchup win rates and stats in League of Legends patch 26.11
Opponent
Win Rate
Matches
CS/min
DMG/min
Gold/game
Early WR
Late WR
53.04%4281.079212,93249.2%56.1%
47.64%4241.174612,54951.3%44.7%
51.49%4021.181013,01446.2%55.5%
50.60%3321.179213,30646.9%53.0%
51.21%3301.077112,89342.3%56.5%
43.99%3161.178813,01241.4%45.7%
47.78%3161.174712,57751.7%44.4%
44.07%2951.179512,82943.4%44.6%
48.91%2741.175313,06347.5%50.0%
54.81%2701.282914,21057.8%53.5%
52.49%2211.185112,36946.5%57.4%
51.00%2001.074412,30350.5%51.4%
49.49%1961.178113,01852.4%47.4%
45.60%1821.275312,23050.6%41.2%
50.59%1701.182312,82042.5%56.7%
53.25%1691.180712,89946.8%58.9%
58.79%1651.180813,63174.7%45.6%
52.15%1631.172912,20359.0%45.0%
48.97%1451.176812,75442.6%53.6%
51.75%1431.178912,31744.3%57.3%
43.08%1301.173312,82046.9%40.7%
53.08%1301.478312,83052.8%53.3%
50.79%1261.074812,65257.9%44.9%
42.74%1241.382913,00443.9%41.8%
52.50%1201.084913,22638.2%64.6%
60.34%1161.184913,92275.0%52.6%
48.25%1141.181213,83945.0%50.0%
46.79%1091.176812,33248.2%45.3%
50.00%1081.177413,53551.0%49.1%
51.00%1001.180612,42254.4%48.1%
45.26%951.581312,75951.4%41.7%
47.37%951.172511,89154.8%41.5%
54.26%941.285913,73659.4%51.6%
54.95%911.284713,64856.3%54.2%
43.48%692.283212,71264.0%31.8%
40.30%671.071811,07635.9%46.4%
46.97%661.579312,58150.0%44.4%
50.00%662.696211,81254.0%44.8%
49.23%651.981912,78350.0%48.9%
55.17%581.275513,13261.3%48.1%
50.91%551.076213,07452.2%50.0%
55.56%541.575012,75770.8%43.3%
42.59%542.272012,46928.6%51.5%
53.06%491.192213,96829.4%65.6%
54.17%481.373212,05456.5%52.0%
48.94%470.971912,64347.4%50.0%
58.70%461.078912,59760.0%57.7%
53.33%451.696614,46557.1%51.6%
59.09%441.286213,59866.7%53.9%
50.00%423.577311,80452.4%47.6%
60.98%411.185812,97870.6%54.2%
60.53%382.073711,78972.2%50.0%
51.43%350.974912,39050.0%52.6%
50.00%324.01,09714,20344.4%52.2%
46.88%322.383112,18433.3%58.8%
43.33%301.978214,24133.3%45.8%
48.28%292.577012,37250.0%46.7%
44.83%295.481411,24221.4%66.7%
41.38%292.389311,04635.7%46.7%
40.74%271.069012,56836.4%43.8%
57.69%261.91,02514,48440.0%61.9%
62.50%241.375012,95575.0%60.0%
52.17%231.688814,78633.3%64.3%
52.38%214.194811,94745.5%60.0%
61.90%211.490912,29962.5%61.5%
35.00%202.577810,58641.7%25.0%
47.37%191.071712,21722.2%70.0%
61.11%183.41,05412,24344.4%77.8%
27.78%185.774010,74822.2%33.3%
66.67%151.085314,222100.0%50.0%
71.43%144.381812,51180.0%66.7%
42.86%141.054111,40028.6%57.1%
42.86%146.884510,62144.4%40.0%
46.15%131.180813,45450.0%42.9%
46.15%131.686213,33150.0%44.4%
46.15%132.857710,42937.5%60.0%
66.67%121.084114,40480.0%57.1%
50.00%123.91,09615,29933.3%55.6%
25.00%125.890011,14533.3%16.7%
45.45%112.075413,49266.7%37.5%
63.64%113.982611,78460.0%66.7%
27.27%114.596412,74620.0%33.3%
45.45%111.199912,64633.3%50.0%
44.44%94.990610,62533.3%50.0%
75.00%84.996314,963100.0%60.0%
50.00%82.577311,97325.0%75.0%
37.50%82.372811,7780.0%50.0%
71.43%77.68409,57580.0%50.0%
50.00%64.273312,15325.0%100.0%
40.00%56.375411,2760.0%100.0%
60.00%55.667513,620100.0%50.0%
80.00%56.284411,83666.7%100.0%

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Kayn vs Karthus - Frequently Asked Questions

How does Kayn do against Karthus in League of Legends?

Kayn wins the Kayn vs Karthus matchup with a 50.9% win rate compared to Karthus's 49.1%, a 1.8 percentage point difference. This data is based on 55 recent ranked games in patch 26.11.

How does Kayn do against Karthus in the early game?

In the early game, Kayn has the advantage against Karthus with a 52.2% win rate versus 47.8%. Kayn players should look to press their lane advantage through aggressive trades and wave control during the first 15 minutes.

How does Kayn do against Karthus in the late game?

In the late game, Kayn takes over the Kayn vs Karthus matchup with a 50.0% win rate compared to 50.0%. Kayn scales better into team fights and objective contests after 25 minutes.

Who wins the Kayn vs Karthus matchup?

Kayn wins the matchup against Karthus with a 50.9% win rate in League of Legends patch 26.11. The 1.8 percentage point advantage means Kayn is slightly favored in this lane matchup based on 55 games analyzed.

What is the best Kayn build against Karthus?

The best Kayn build against Karthus includes Voltaic Cyclosword, Axiom Arc, Serylda's Grudge with Ionian Boots of Lucidity. This build achieves a 100.0% win rate in the matchup. Check the matchup breakdown above for the full item path and build order.

What are the best Kayn runes against Karthus?

The best Kayn runes against Karthus use the Domination primary tree with Inspiration secondary. This rune setup achieves a 42.9% win rate in the Kayn vs Karthus matchup. See the full rune breakdown in the matchup comparison above.

Does Kayn counter Karthus?

Yes, Kayn has a favorable matchup against Karthus with a 50.9% win rate. Kayn slightly edges out Karthus in lane based on current patch 26.11 data.

How do I play Kayn against Karthus?

When playing Kayn against Karthus, leverage your statistical advantages by trading aggressively during favorable windows. You have early game priority — look for kills and zone control before first recall. Build the recommended items and runes for this specific matchup for the best results.