Nah not good.

ok first off there pal i did read the whole guide, Karthus is my main so I think I know him pretty well. (heck i can even jungle with him though its not recomended yet). I realize flash is a positioning tool, i just find its cool down kind of long at this point, and I never said anything about it would "set you back" by buying phil stone i just said i felt it was an unnecessary item for a mid lane.


@Arides
I think im seeing your point and I might try it out, we defenitly have difrent play styles with karthus i think but its all good, thanks for explaining your point.

I added a 3rd possible build, that focuses on getting Rabadon's Deathcap as soon as possible, without skipping the chalice. It should provide some insight to the priority of items depending on the time when you buy them, since for instance the strength of Will of the Ancients is different depending on when you buy it.

Regarding Ghost, it's more of an alive-karthus thing. Since i prefer to die in exchange for winning the battle for my team, i cannot really use this.
And i would feel kinda silly using Cleanse when playing karthus like i do (suicidal if needed).

But if you build tanky, those two spells are really good. Well, at least ghost is. Cleanse might be great for spellvamp tanking.

Just as i suspected, the first downvote came because he didnt read the part where you say *rush the heaviest ap if you can afford it*. Also, how does philosopher's stone set you back in any way? it is a superb laning item, and if you sell it in 8 minutes, it's like you never had it. In 8 minutes, you get 400 gold from the passive, and then 400 from selling it...

Flash is a positioning tool, not an escape mechanism - if you want to escape, pick Ghost+ Cleanse :P

I have to agree though, builds 1 and 2 could be more diverse - you could for instance rush Rabadon's Deathcap in the first one, and get the antiburst build in the second...

@no0wwarrior
Thank you for your comment! I will try to explain a few thing you mentioned here:
#1
Philo stone is completely optional. I only get it in cca one game out of 5, when im doing super well and i want the extra regen stats - it's not really needed.
Chalice of harmony supplements clarity. Unless you get chalice, you need catalyst, or clarity, or tear, or to level up defile faster. Getting that "useless" chalice of harmony allows me to skip all of that for the cost of 890gold. And i also get +30 magic resistance, which is very good on mid. Now it doesn't build into anything, but it is so useful and cheap that i prefer to take it instead of any other mana source (clarity, tear, catalyst, defile).

#2
The only nerf on flash was the cooldown. The range is almost the same, most people won't even notice it. I strongly disagree on not getting flash - i think it is still a must-have for karthus. And i don't need clarity because of the chalice.

#3
The only difference is the Giant's Belt, which ilustrates the main difference - either go for AP right away or get a giant's belt first if you stand against a burst champion. That's the difference, not skill leveling.

#4
- Wrong. With meki pendant and mana seals, you really don't need defile until level 4, what you need is DAMAGE. If you are up against, say, zilean, you WANT the wall on level 2, since he can easily kill you otherwise. Now the wall isn't just a slow, it reduces magic resistance, giving you a lot more damage.
- And regarding bombs, it's your main damage. You cannot under any circumstances level something else and leave lay waste underleveled. The point of getting a wall on level 2 is walling anyone that has a high low-level damage and either getting away, or bombing him. Defile really sucks with damage early on, so wall is sometimes a better choise. I only take defile against characters that cannot close in early on (veigar).
- Regarding mana problems, with meki pendant, you will not have any mana problems even with taking defile on level 4. If you do, you are doing something wrong. And with chalice of harmony, you don't need to level up defile before lay waste, so you are not wasting any damage.

I hope i explained well. But i feel that most of your questions are originating from not having a chalice of harmony in your build - if you imagine it being there, the things i write should start making sence.

oh and i see your point on surviability and that realy dosnt change much becasue all you do is go ap tank with itmes like rylais, zhonya's hourglass, and abysal sceptor, and yes ROA, i realize you dont like it, i agree not nesacary and so your ROA had nothing to do with my vote im just listing it.

#1. completly disagree with the chalice of harmony/phil stone. Neither is needed and neither buildinto anything in your build. i can maybe see chalice but phil stone is completly pointless, your mid, if you cant farm enough gold like that your doing something wrong.

#2. flash is useless at this point due to nerf and also clarity is better karhtus when you dont get a large manna pool (which i do). Ignite can be used i guess but it would not be my first choice.

#3. This is more a technical point but its one of those things thats pointless to do. Why do you have 2 cheat sheets when the only difference is what skill you take at lvls 2 and 3?

#4. Since were on the subject of skills, you need to take a much more balanced aporach on lay waste and defile, you do not have a high manna pool which is fine, but lacking also lacking clarity you should build lay waste and defile evenly for defile's passive (of course no matter what your manna situation this is a good idea to do). Also in reality you dont need the wall until lvl 4 but at lvl 3 works just as well.

Or because of the stuff i wrote about Rod of Ages :p Well, let's get surprised.

I like this build, it's something new and i bet not many people can play well against it. Altough I am afraid this wil get downvoted, because people don't read the guide before they vote :(