Zedvs Karthus
Zed vs Karthus is a decisive matchup in LoL patch 26.7. Zed wins with a 55.6% win rate (+11.1%) over Karthus based on 9 games. Karthus wins the early laning phase while Zed scales better into the late game. Below you'll find the best Zed build, runes, laning stats, and strategies for the Zed vs Karthus matchup.
Zed Matchup Breakdown
Use the dropdown to select an opponent and see a detailed breakdown of how Zed 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.
Karthus(55.6%)Who Wins the Zed vs Karthus Matchup?
Zed vs Karthus Matchup Summary
The Zed vs Karthus matchup is a decisive matchup in League of Legends ranked play. Based on 9 recent matches analyzed, Zed wins with a 55.6% win rate compared to Karthus's 44.4%, giving Zed a 11.1 percentage point advantage. Game phase dynamics play a critical role here: Karthus controls the early laning stage, but Zed outscales as the game goes longer. The matchup shifts dramatically depending on game length — Karthus needs to press advantages before Zed reaches their power spikes, while Zed should focus on safe farming and hitting key item breakpoints. The most significant statistical gap is in crowd control, where Karthus leads by 0.2s CC/min — a difference that heavily influences the outcome of trades and skirmishes. Zed players can confidently pick into Karthus and play aggressively from level 1. Look to establish lane dominance early through favorable trades and zone Karthus away from CS whenever possible. Understanding these matchup dynamics is essential for champion select decisions and in-game strategy when facing this lane opponent.
Zed vs Karthus Laning Phase Breakdown
Zed is favored during the laning phase against Karthus, winning 3 out of 5 key stat categories. Zed holds advantages in farming, gold income and sustain, making them the stronger laner in this matchup.
Best Zed Build Against Karthus
Plated Steelcaps is the optimal boots choice against Karthus, providing the mobility and stats Zed needs most in this matchup. The top-performing core items for Zed against Karthus are Voltaic Cyclosword, Eclipse and Spear of Shojin. This combination gives Zed an effective balance of damage, survivability, and utility for the matchup. This build achieves a solid 50.0% win rate across 2 games, proving it to be a reliable item path when facing Karthus. Adjustments may be needed based on team compositions and game state, but this build provides the strongest foundation for the Zed vs Karthus matchup.
Early Game vs Late Game
Zed0.0%Karthus100.0%Zed71.4%Karthus28.6%Karthus dominates the early game (first 15 minutes) with a commanding 100.0% win rate — a 100.0 percentage point lead over Zed. This lopsided early game means Karthus can dictate the pace of the lane from level 1, controlling trades, wave state, and river priority.
Zed is far superior in the late game (25+ minutes), boasting a 71.4% win rate — 42.9 points above Karthus. Extended games heavily favor Zed, whose kit and scaling make them a dominant force in team fights and objective control.
This matchup features a dramatic power shift: Karthus must aggressively press their early advantage and close out the game before Zed reaches their scaling breakpoints. If Zed survives the laning phase without falling too far behind, the matchup flips in their favor. Dragon and Rift Herald control are pivotal — the team that secures early objectives can snowball or buy time to scale.
Best Zed Runes Against Karthus
Inspiration
Domination
Running Inspiration primary with Domination secondary allows Zed to press their advantage against Karthus, amplifying the strengths that make this a favorable matchup.
Zed matchup data for League of Legends patch 26.7. The table below shows Zed'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 Zed build, runes, laning stats, and early vs late game analysis for that specific matchup.
Opponent | Win Rate | Matches | CS/min | DMG/min | Gold/game | Early WR | Late WR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 52.53% | 158 | 6.4 | 938 | 12,913 | 52.0% | 53.0% | |
| 55.65% | 124 | 6.7 | 911 | 13,156 | 51.7% | 59.1% | |
| 44.92% | 118 | 6.6 | 865 | 12,858 | 48.0% | 42.6% | |
| 53.49% | 86 | 6.2 | 1,020 | 13,511 | 54.5% | 52.8% | |
| 47.67% | 86 | 5.4 | 923 | 11,890 | 48.0% | 47.2% | |
| 51.81% | 83 | 6.5 | 825 | 12,426 | 45.0% | 58.1% | |
| 51.81% | 83 | 6.5 | 960 | 12,611 | 50.0% | 53.9% | |
| 39.76% | 83 | 6.3 | 949 | 12,892 | 46.1% | 34.1% | |
| 38.75% | 80 | 6.1 | 897 | 13,433 | 31.0% | 43.1% | |
| 51.32% | 76 | 6.3 | 948 | 12,904 | 53.3% | 50.0% | |
| 54.05% | 74 | 6.6 | 969 | 13,644 | 62.5% | 47.6% | |
| 52.11% | 71 | 6.3 | 928 | 13,492 | 53.6% | 51.2% | |
| 53.73% | 67 | 6.4 | 953 | 13,183 | 48.3% | 57.9% | |
| 53.73% | 67 | 6.3 | 929 | 13,587 | 52.0% | 54.8% | |
| 38.81% | 67 | 6.4 | 844 | 12,499 | 35.7% | 41.0% | |
| 45.45% | 66 | 6.0 | 974 | 12,891 | 42.9% | 47.4% | |
| 42.86% | 63 | 5.4 | 847 | 12,444 | 44.0% | 42.1% | |
| 47.46% | 59 | 6.2 | 787 | 11,656 | 41.9% | 53.6% | |
| 51.02% | 49 | 6.1 | 811 | 12,459 | 41.7% | 60.0% | |
| 55.32% | 47 | 6.4 | 1,059 | 12,927 | 52.0% | 59.1% | |
| 53.19% | 47 | 5.2 | 905 | 13,354 | 47.6% | 57.7% | |
| 51.16% | 43 | 6.1 | 798 | 12,466 | 55.6% | 48.0% | |
| 55.81% | 43 | 6.3 | 1,005 | 12,883 | 70.0% | 43.5% | |
| 45.24% | 42 | 6.0 | 932 | 12,730 | 55.0% | 36.4% | |
| 50.00% | 38 | 6.0 | 878 | 12,994 | 43.8% | 54.5% | |
| 55.26% | 38 | 6.4 | 1,013 | 12,144 | 50.0% | 62.5% | |
| 57.89% | 38 | 5.3 | 942 | 13,185 | 57.1% | 58.8% | |
| 62.16% | 37 | 6.8 | 1,027 | 12,633 | 65.0% | 58.8% | |
| 45.71% | 35 | 6.3 | 897 | 13,366 | 42.9% | 47.6% | |
| 51.43% | 35 | 6.0 | 826 | 12,552 | 35.3% | 66.7% | |
| 64.71% | 34 | 5.2 | 940 | 13,856 | 62.5% | 65.4% | |
| 55.88% | 34 | 6.7 | 1,031 | 12,668 | 62.5% | 50.0% | |
| 64.52% | 31 | 6.7 | 1,020 | 12,828 | 50.0% | 73.7% | |
| 51.61% | 31 | 6.1 | 939 | 12,120 | 41.2% | 64.3% | |
| 28.57% | 28 | 6.1 | 742 | 12,013 | 33.3% | 23.1% | |
| 51.85% | 27 | 6.7 | 1,126 | 14,666 | 44.4% | 55.6% | |
| 60.00% | 25 | 6.3 | 830 | 12,228 | 62.5% | 58.8% | |
| 52.00% | 25 | 1.4 | 757 | 13,078 | 53.3% | 50.0% | |
| 45.83% | 24 | 1.9 | 860 | 15,140 | 66.7% | 33.3% | |
| 25.00% | 24 | 5.5 | 1,096 | 11,930 | 23.1% | 27.3% | |
| 56.52% | 23 | 2.6 | 944 | 14,335 | 58.3% | 54.5% | |
| 26.09% | 23 | 6.5 | 887 | 12,960 | 25.0% | 26.7% | |
| 40.91% | 22 | 6.5 | 839 | 11,978 | 37.5% | 42.9% | |
| 36.36% | 22 | 1.5 | 779 | 14,142 | 37.5% | 35.7% | |
| 57.14% | 21 | 6.4 | 965 | 14,262 | 80.0% | 50.0% | |
| 38.10% | 21 | 3.5 | 841 | 12,762 | 36.4% | 40.0% | |
| 45.00% | 20 | 6.2 | 1,071 | 14,079 | 44.4% | 45.5% | |
| 55.00% | 20 | 2.1 | 844 | 14,314 | 75.0% | 41.7% | |
| 50.00% | 20 | 5.1 | 815 | 11,357 | 40.0% | 60.0% | |
| 36.84% | 19 | 1.9 | 788 | 13,425 | 54.5% | 12.5% | |
| 52.63% | 19 | 7.1 | 1,164 | 14,335 | 75.0% | 36.4% | |
| 61.11% | 18 | 6.3 | 1,052 | 14,603 | 83.3% | 50.0% | |
| 41.18% | 17 | 2.0 | 991 | 18,022 | 0.0% | 50.0% | |
| 56.25% | 16 | 2.2 | 1,127 | 12,970 | 54.5% | 60.0% | |
| 62.50% | 16 | 6.8 | 1,088 | 14,227 | 66.7% | 60.0% | |
| 60.00% | 15 | 3.3 | 985 | 14,344 | 57.1% | 62.5% | |
| 53.33% | 15 | 6.2 | 893 | 13,029 | 71.4% | 37.5% | |
| 60.00% | 15 | 5.5 | 887 | 11,640 | 50.0% | 71.4% | |
| 40.00% | 15 | 5.0 | 866 | 13,684 | 42.9% | 37.5% | |
| 57.14% | 14 | 6.4 | 903 | 11,754 | 57.1% | 57.1% | |
| 64.29% | 14 | 2.5 | 819 | 14,266 | 75.0% | 60.0% | |
| 30.77% | 13 | 6.5 | 768 | 11,771 | 42.9% | 16.7% | |
| 76.92% | 13 | 5.8 | 1,007 | 13,169 | 100.0% | 62.5% | |
| 58.33% | 12 | 1.2 | 931 | 15,244 | 66.7% | 55.6% | |
| 45.45% | 11 | 1.5 | 923 | 13,355 | 25.0% | 57.1% | |
| 36.36% | 11 | 6.2 | 1,011 | 14,359 | 40.0% | 33.3% | |
| 27.27% | 11 | 6.3 | 1,062 | 13,157 | 60.0% | 0.0% | |
| 72.73% | 11 | 7.1 | 960 | 15,222 | 100.0% | 57.1% | |
| 0.00% | 11 | 2.5 | 835 | 15,256 | 0.0% | 0.0% | |
| 54.55% | 11 | 2.2 | 763 | 13,943 | 100.0% | 28.6% | |
| 45.45% | 11 | 6.3 | 1,043 | 12,179 | 50.0% | 42.9% | |
| 36.36% | 11 | 1.6 | 857 | 15,620 | 33.3% | 37.5% | |
| 40.00% | 10 | 6.0 | 802 | 10,865 | 50.0% | 25.0% | |
| 50.00% | 10 | 3.0 | 732 | 13,459 | 50.0% | 50.0% | |
| 60.00% | 10 | 1.4 | 776 | 13,175 | 50.0% | 66.7% | |
| 40.00% | 10 | 2.9 | 810 | 12,815 | 50.0% | 33.3% | |
| 33.33% | 9 | 1.1 | 999 | 15,663 | 25.0% | 40.0% | |
| 88.89% | 9 | 4.3 | 792 | 14,511 | 75.0% | 100.0% | |
| 33.33% | 9 | 5.5 | 792 | 14,541 | 0.0% | 37.5% | |
| 44.44% | 9 | 7.4 | 945 | 10,267 | 50.0% | 33.3% | |
| 44.44% | 9 | 6.7 | 974 | 11,520 | 60.0% | 25.0% | |
| 55.56% | 9 | 4.2 | 986 | 15,918 | 0.0% | 71.4% | |
| 55.56% | 9 | 1.1 | 960 | 14,344 | 100.0% | 20.0% | |
| 50.00% | 8 | 1.3 | 1,236 | 16,254 | 33.3% | 60.0% | |
| 50.00% | 8 | 7.1 | 877 | 13,241 | 75.0% | 25.0% | |
| 75.00% | 8 | 2.1 | 1,121 | 16,031 | 100.0% | 60.0% | |
| 37.50% | 8 | 1.4 | 815 | 16,486 | 0.0% | 37.5% | |
| 50.00% | 8 | 6.5 | 1,118 | 14,868 | 66.7% | 40.0% | |
| 42.86% | 7 | 5.9 | 658 | 11,133 | 20.0% | 100.0% | |
| 42.86% | 7 | 3.5 | 1,040 | 14,125 | 40.0% | 50.0% | |
| 71.43% | 7 | 5.2 | 957 | 13,373 | 0.0% | 83.3% | |
| 57.14% | 7 | 5.0 | 1,136 | 15,601 | 50.0% | 66.7% | |
| 85.71% | 7 | 1.5 | 801 | 14,241 | 75.0% | 100.0% | |
| 57.14% | 7 | 0.9 | 819 | 14,313 | 50.0% | 60.0% | |
| 16.67% | 6 | 3.9 | 979 | 17,012 | 0.0% | 16.7% | |
| 83.33% | 6 | 5.9 | 747 | 11,255 | 100.0% | 66.7% | |
| 66.67% | 6 | 1.8 | 809 | 12,480 | 80.0% | 0.0% | |
| 66.67% | 6 | 5.5 | 863 | 11,571 | 75.0% | 50.0% | |
| 50.00% | 6 | 7.2 | 1,091 | 12,974 | 33.3% | 66.7% | |
| 33.33% | 6 | 4.9 | 670 | 11,330 | 33.3% | 33.3% | |
| 66.67% | 6 | 1.3 | 791 | 19,114 | 100.0% | 60.0% | |
| 80.00% | 5 | 6.4 | 1,712 | 19,228 | 100.0% | 75.0% | |
| 40.00% | 5 | 2.1 | 705 | 15,185 | 0.0% | 50.0% | |
| 60.00% | 5 | 6.1 | 952 | 13,485 | 50.0% | 66.7% | |
| 20.00% | 5 | 1.0 | 616 | 11,141 | 0.0% | 33.3% | |
| 60.00% | 5 | 4.5 | 859 | 12,094 | 33.3% | 100.0% | |
| 80.00% | 5 | 2.6 | 988 | 13,047 | 100.0% | 66.7% | |
| 20.00% | 5 | 1.0 | 959 | 13,865 | 0.0% | 33.3% | |
| 60.00% | 5 | 6.0 | 787 | 13,825 | 0.0% | 100.0% | |
| 40.00% | 5 | 5.9 | 930 | 13,300 | 0.0% | 50.0% | |
| 40.00% | 5 | 6.5 | 951 | 9,983 | 33.3% | 50.0% | |
| 80.00% | 5 | 7.4 | 1,253 | 16,097 | 100.0% | 66.7% | |
| 40.00% | 5 | 7.3 | 1,345 | 17,669 | 0.0% | 40.0% | |
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Zed vs Karthus - Frequently Asked Questions
How does Zed do against Karthus in League of Legends?
Zed wins the Zed vs Karthus matchup with a 55.6% win rate compared to Karthus's 44.4%, a 11.1 percentage point difference. This data is based on 9 recent ranked games in patch 26.7.
How does Zed do against Karthus in the early game?
In the early game, Karthus has the advantage against Zed with a 100.0% win rate versus 0.0%. Karthus players should look to press their lane advantage through aggressive trades and wave control during the first 15 minutes.
How does Zed do against Karthus in the late game?
In the late game, Zed takes over the Zed vs Karthus matchup with a 71.4% win rate compared to 28.6%. Zed scales better into team fights and objective contests after 25 minutes.
Who wins the Zed vs Karthus matchup?
Zed wins the matchup against Karthus with a 55.6% win rate in League of Legends patch 26.7. The 11.1 percentage point advantage means Zed is significantly favored in this lane matchup based on 9 games analyzed.
What is the best Zed build against Karthus?
The best Zed build against Karthus includes Voltaic Cyclosword, Eclipse, Spear of Shojin with Plated Steelcaps. This build achieves a 50.0% win rate in the matchup. Check the matchup breakdown above for the full item path and build order.
What are the best Zed runes against Karthus?
The best Zed runes against Karthus use the Inspiration primary tree with Domination secondary. This rune setup achieves a 100.0% win rate in the Zed vs Karthus matchup. See the full rune breakdown in the matchup comparison above.
Does Zed counter Karthus?
Yes, Zed has a favorable matchup against Karthus with a 55.6% win rate. Zed strongly counters Karthus in lane based on current patch 26.7 data.
How do I play Zed against Karthus?
When playing Zed against Karthus, leverage your statistical advantages by trading aggressively during favorable windows. Play safe early and scale into your power spikes where you outperform Karthus. Build the recommended items and runes for this specific matchup for the best results.