Pros
- More durability
- Wont be focused as much
- More tanks the better
- Still has good damage output
Cons
- Ultimate wont be as strong
- A tiny bit less damage overall
- Slightly different play style

When you think about karthus, you just think of him for his insane ultimate. However, in this guide i will be showing you how i build karthus. Something i like to call tankthus. Thats right, this guide will show you how to play tank karthus.

Magic pen marks works with any caster. So why not?
Mana regen/5 at 18. Karthus does have mana issues. Especially when you spam lay waste and leave your defile on.
Ap/lv glyps, this also just works well with many casters
Flat AP quints, just so that you can dominate your lane during the early game.

This item build revolves on being in the middle of the team fights. Mainly getting items thatll make your more durable and also give you more damage output. Abyss scepter will give you ap and lower their magic resist. which will make your defile do more damage. Sunfire cape gives you the extra health and armour, while the aoe effect of it works well with your defile. Hourglass for the armour and ap. But also for its great active, use it whenever you feel your in need of it. Archangels just for the dmg, and RoA for the health, mana and AP.

As always your item choice should change a bit depending on the enemy team. If they have more AP then you can drop the hourglass and pick up a banshees viel

Farming is crucial for any champion. As karthus you should always take mid, simply because hes and amazing midder and he needs to rush lv 6 for his global ultimate. Try to just use auto attacks to last hit, but if you really need to then you can use lay waste. But make sure your not over spamming it, or else youll be out of mana.

As tank karthus and relying on your defile for your most damage output, youll be playing a different style. You want to be in the middle of the fights with your defile on, while spamming your lay waste. Like anyone else, try to focus down the carry/squishies. But dont be the initiator, your not a REAL tank. Let the amumu or whoever engage the fight, go in after and just camp while spamming laywaste. You will most likely die in the fights because the enemy team will still try to focus you down. But thanks to his amazing passive, you can still do massive amounts of damage. Sue your ulti sometime while your in your passive to try and pick off and stragglers.

Tankkarthus, or as i like to call him tankthus is very unique. You wont often see him in games. This build turns a normal karthus who just uses his ultimate to pick off any stragglers, into a tanky mage who can hold his own in the middle of a fight. Youll have lots of sustain while still doing large amounts of damage