I feel like I absolutely have to suggest Chalice in this case. I feel like archangel's and rod of ages fill sort of the same niche, and with just ROA and Chalice you have basically infinite mana for less gold, not to mention 30 MR which if, as you say, you're laning against another AP, is simply amazing.

Well well, I've been searching for a guide that doesn't consume that much time and isn't a support Karma. +1

@LostTRoll i did say at the end of the guide that the order depends alot on the game. Often i do get my RoA before Glacial Shroud. By getting the tear first it doesnt delay it that much. we arent spending 450 on a dorans ring so that money goes towards half the tear.

Buying pots isnt such a bad idea, if u go into harras and take a bit more damage than expected, you dont have to blow you mantras and mana on heals which mean you can keep up your harras on your opponent. i was vs an anvia today where i had her egg down at lvl 3 and i was full health.

if you are in a duo lane then ye there may be better choices than ignite. but when mid i can take annies and brans with ignite netting me first blood quite often.

I tried a few games starting with dorans ring and it does help, means you skip the tear and go straight for catalyst for your RoA. u have more early game presence. but ahhhh i love the arch angels passive later on!

A very tanky Karma, yet you still have an uber powerful shield + heal. The only thing I don't agree with is Ignite. Karma is a support character, not an assassin. I find myself flashing in to assassinate with Karma, and still being able to get the kill so I would suggest replacing that with Clairvoyance or maybe Clarity.

I've been thinking forever to play her with 9-21-0 masteries and you've died it pretty much with a build I thought of, although I wouldn't build Tear, but with your chosen items it's perfect and gives you a ton of AP when combined with Frozen Heart and Banshee's Veil. Good job on the guide. +1

@LostTRoll Spamming your Q is great for early game harassment, also the mana from tear of the goddess leads to more AP later. Buying pots is a real waste when you have abilities to heal and protect not only yourself but your team as well.

QQS is waste of item room. Just Mantra, and Spirit Bond to get away. With banshees veil, you get more health, magic res, mana/ap (arch angels) and a ability block every 40 sec. That is theoretically around 45 times a game. realistically around 20.

I dont use ignite in any champions but Karma. Flash, burst ignite nets many many kills.

I build her differently, not so much, but different. I do like this build.

+1 Nice to see more Karma players. very underrated.

glacial shroud+ tear of goddess slows down the RoA way too much you just need to know when to harrass and when to use it to farm, dont spam it like theres no tomorrow(unless there rly is no tomorrow) and to help you buy hp pots so you dont have to waste your mantras healing yourself and mana pots if you're rly bad at using your skills effectively

since you're ap and "intelligence" in utility makes your mantras recharge faster

back to items, quicksilver sash (QSS) can be better than banshee veil(BV) since QSS can stop stuns,taunts,slows, damage over time spells (DoT) w/e crowd control(CC)/status you name it. While BV only helps block the first spell whether it was a CC or a weak damaging spell (BV doesnt stop summoner spells such as ignite, exhaust, etc.)