
Karthus the Deathsinger
The harbinger of oblivion, Karthus is an undying spirit whose haunting songs are a prelude to the horror of his nightmarish appearance. The living fear the eternity of undeath, but Karthus sees only beauty and purity in its embrace, a perfect union of life and death. When Karthus emerges from the Shadow Isles, it is to bring the joy of death to mortals, an apostle of the unliving.
Death Defied
Upon dying, Karthus enters a spirit form that allows him to continue casting spells.
Lay Waste
Karthus unleashes a delayed blast at a location, dealing damage to nearby enemies. Deals increased damage to isolated enemies.
Cost:- 20/
- 25/
- 30/
- 35/
- 40
Cooldown:- 0
Range:- 875
Wall of Pain
Karthus creates a passable screen of leeching energy. Any enemy units that walk through the screen have their Move Speed and Magic Resist reduced for a period.
Cost:- 70
Cooldown:- 15
Range:- 1000
Defile
Karthus passively steals energy from his victims, gaining Mana on each kill. Alternatively, Karthus can surround himself in the souls of his prey, dealing damage to nearby enemies, but quickly draining his own Mana.
Cost:- 30/
- 42/
- 54/
- 66/
- 78
Cooldown:- 1
Range:- 550
Requiem
After channeling for 3 seconds, Karthus deals damage to all enemy champions.
Cost:- 100
Cooldown:- 200/
- 180/
- 160
Range:- 10000
- Mage
![[object Object] champion tier](/_next/image?url=%2Fshared%2FTiers%2FTier-S.png&w=128&q=75)
Champion Base Stats
Ability Power:0
Attack Damage:46(3.25 per level)
Attack Speed:0(2.11 per level)
Crit Chance:0%
Mana:467(31 per level)
Mana Regen:8(0.8 per level)
Health:620(110 per level)
Health Regen:6(0.55 per level)
Armor:21(4.7 per level)
Magic Resist:30(1.3 per level)
Movement Speed:335
Attack Range:450(450 per level)
Champion Performance Ranking
- Damage to Champions
- Early Game Strength
- Late Game Strength
- Objective Control
- Supportive Strength
- Creep Farming
MetaBot Tips

- Karthus has less crowd control than most champions. This can make locking down kills or ganking for other players more difficult.
- Karthus secures less objectives than most champions. Your value may be better oriented towards helping other champions secure objectives.
- Karthus tends to have a lower vision score than other champions. Make sure you are working to place wards and clear enemy wards.
- Karthus has a low base movespeed compared to many other champions. Play back towards your tower in lane, and consider early game boots when fighting skillshot-based laners.
- Karthus has more base armor than most champions, which makes them excellent in the early game against attack damage type enemies.
- Karthus has more base attack damage than most champions, so they should be trading autos aggressively in lane.
Top Item Builds
Build Stats:
Movement Speed:50
Health:300
Ability Power:480
Movement Speed:6%
Mana:600
Spellslinger's Shoes
1,600
Item StatsMovement Speed:50
56.92%Win Rate57.14%Pick RateLiandry's Torment
3,000
Charge up in combat to deal high damage over time, especially against durable enemies
Item StatsHealth:300
Ability Power:60
70%Win Rate28.57%Pick RateStormsurge
2,800
Item StatsAbility Power:90
Movement Speed:6%
55.36%Win Rate85.71%Pick RateShadowflame
3,200
Item StatsAbility Power:110
51.28%Win Rate42.86%Pick RateMalignance
2,700
Partner with an ally to protect each other
Item StatsMana:600
Ability Power:90
78.69%Win Rate71.43%Pick RateRabadon's Deathcap
3,500
Massively increases Ability Power
Item StatsAbility Power:130
45.83%Win Rate28.57%Pick RateFarsight Alteration
0
Grants increased range and reveals the targetted area
Item Stats55.91%Win Rate85.71%Pick Rate
Best Rune Build
Primary Tree













Secondary Tree














Gameplay Tips
Playing Karthus
- Ask your allies to help point out when you should use Requiem to get kills in different lanes.
- Lay Waste is very strong at farming minions and harassing enemy champions.
Playing Against Karthus
- Karthus can cast spells for a short duration after he is killed. Move away from his corpse to be safe.
- Make sure you always have enough health to survive Requiem, even if you have to go back to the base more frequently to heal.