Karthus Build Guide by Gramps Tewks

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Do You... Feel.. a Chill? YES I DO

Last updated on May 16, 2012

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Build 1 (Cheat Sheet)

Champion Build: Karthus

Recommended Runes

Purchase Order

Ability Sequence

Mastery Tree Is Outdated

WARNING: These masteries are still using the old tree and have not been updated to the new tree by the guide author. As such, they will be different than the masteries you see in-game.

Masteries

Offense: 21

Defense: 1

Utility: 8

Guide Table of Contents

Introduction

Pros / Cons

Masteries

Runes

Summoner Spells

Skill Discussion

Skill Sequence

Items

Gameplay

Summary

Introduction

Hello and welcome to Do You... Feel.. a Chill?; a Karthus build guide of a different color!

I'm Gramps Tewks, and I'll be your curator as we explore the possibilities of playing with the Wall of Pain-placing, Lay Waste-hurling, Defile-spinning, Requiem-firing Undead King of the Swamps!

"The only people who complain about are the people who don't play him."
An excellent parody video for your verymuch wish-fulfillment:

Please comment and rate in the comments section below; share your experiences playing with or against and/or put in your criticism about the guide itself.

Kudos to the incomparable JhoiJhoi for the template, which you can find here.

Onward, then!

Pros / Cons

space

Pros

+ + = $$$
+ Fantastic duelist!
+ Unreal farm.
+ THE Ultimate!!!

space

Cons

- Mana and Map-awareness required!
- is a slow Shaman indeed.
(Get !)
- Not careful? You'll feed :3

Masteries

The Offensive Mastery Tree MASSIVELY boosts ' damage!

and are craaazy good.

Runes

Greater Mark of Magic Penetration: Powerful synergy with Sorcerer's Shoes!
Greater Seal of Armor: Wheaties...
Greater Glyph of Magic Resist: The Breakfast of Champions.
Greater Quintessence of Health: My personal favorite. Do what you want :D

Summoner Spells

: Completely essential! Escapes, wall jumps, and surprise or kills are made possible by our good friend, ;)

space

: Between , , and , it's hard for a good to NOT finish people off!
helps him survive the encounter.

Skill Discussion

Death Defied: Defy death and demoralize your opponents! So so so good.
Lay Waste (Q): This is the reason why you can farm like a demon.
This is the reason why you can control a lane.
This is the reason why you can fully charge a Tear of the Goddess!
Wall of Pain (W): Great for trapping people in your Defile and Lay Waste barrage! Wall of Pain also serves as an excellent escape alternate to Flash.
Defile (E): Mini- Crowstorm on a stick! Careful usage is required, due to the Mana-drain. Defile is disgustingly powerful with high Ability Power!
Requiem (R): FUN. Requiem is my favorite skill in the game :D
Always watch the map for kills and coordinate with your teammates!

Skill Sequence

Ability Sequence
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18

Max alongside so that your Mana Regen matches your damage output and doesn't drain lots of Mana until you can afford it! comes last.
Grab , as always, at 6, 11, and 16.

Items

: Oh-so-good! Spam Lay Waste CONSTANTLY.
You need this baby fully-charged for Archangel's Staff!
: An excellent buy with Tear of the Goddess on your first trip back!
: SPELL VAMP is sooooo powerful on Karthus!
: Standard caster fare: boosts your damage alongside Greater Mark of Magic Penetration.
: Defile is now a spinning buzz-saw of Double and Triple-kills.
: As if Death Defied wasn't enough ;)

This is the core that I generally get. Afterwards, diversify based upon your opponents!
: Collect on your Tear of the Goddess investment for an inexpensive boost!
: Opponents worth their salt will stack Magic Resist! Void Staff punishes them.
: Beef, Crowd Control, and Damage :D
: Nerfed, but still functional.

Gameplay

Early-Game

was pretty much custom-made for solo mid. He takes practice, but is fantastic when played well.

Your early goal is to FARM all day and night. Auto-attack and the **** outta minions for $$$!
Remember that restores Mana per creep score ^^

Charge as soon as (in)humanly possible.
If you can, coordinate a jungle gank with a -> + full spell combo!
This is rumored to induce death ;)

FARM.

Mid-Game

' Mid-Game begins when he's farmed out !
Push turrets, farm, and help your teammates.

Late-Game

DESTROY the Nexus with your teammates!
Let the tougher ones initiate, then unleash unliving anguish upon the enemy!

Summary

He's DPS with Lay Waste. He's got Anivia's Crystallize and Fiddlesticks' Crowstorm, with finer control and utility on each, and Requiem is the most powerful Ultimate in the game!

Karthus be de bomb-diggity Diable Tonnere, with outrageous skills that can't be matched and Paket Kongo from a higher astral plane~

Just press R to get your kills!

~Gramps Tewks

Guide Discussion (33)

The Deathsinger

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