Very hard if Akali plays properly. She wins every trade. She is stronger 1v1, stronger in 2v2s and on Side Lane.
Your only chance is to get random kills or shine in Skirmishes/Teamfights.
Avoid 1v1 by all cost.
Lich Bane first is go to.
Akshan
A lot of people struggle with this matchup but it's actually not that bad.
You have to play Electrocute Bone Plating and Doran's shield.
Trade whenever you have Electrocute and Bone Plating up. You can block his E swing with your E.
Lich Bane first is go to.
Aurora
Play Conqueror Second Wind with Doran's Shield to surive her poke.
Lich Bane first is go to.
Azir
You win all early trades, but once he gets good components it's hard to play.
Take Electrocute.
Lich Bane first is go to.
Annie
Conqueror resolve Doran's Blade start. All in level 2, level 3, level 4.
Preferably play AD and rush kraken.
Stridebreaker/Titanic on 2nd can be an option to survive her burst.
Cassiopeia
If you ever get hit by Q you lose, if you are movement god and dodge Q's you win.
You should be able to kill her on level 6 with ulti trick. If you click backwards before ulting her R will not work against you.
Can both play AD and AP. But if you play AD you need to care a lot about dodging her Q.
Corki
Never win trade.
Can only punish if he wastes W.
Conqueror should be go to, since it scales better than Electrocute and you are not supposed to win lane.
Can both play AD and AP.
Cho'Gath
You get outscaled at level 6 already. Can't kill him if he is playing properly. He has great cc against you.
Only thing you can do is maybe try roam.
BUT he is easily gankable.
AD better in 1v1, but AP better for map movement(roaming).
Diana
You lose everytrade. Dodge Q to get punished less.
You should be just afk farming and be better in skirmishes/teamfights.
AD better for 1v1 since you lack DPS over her.
Yasuo
He can block your Q and Ult. He can even block the Q while it's in AIR (dagger is falling).
You don't win trades since he has a passive shield and he can space you out easily in minion wave.
Can only kill at lvl2/3 with AD Kata if you feel confident.
AD better for 1v1 because he will not block your autoattacks.
Ahri
Pretty easy, you can dodge a lot of her damage. She is pretty squishy. Can play either AD or AP.
If AD look for an all in lvl3.
Kraken is first go to.
If AP look for short trades.
Lich Bane first is go to.
LeBlanc
This matchup is very hard, altough it's outplayable. You can dodge her W and E damage with your shunpo.
Should be taking electrocute because you can never all in her because of her W.
Lux
You are stronger than Lux most of the time, but she is stronger lvl1/2/3/4 -> play safe.
You can avoid a lot of her damage with your E.
Can go either go Conq or Elec.
If you struggle with her poke go Doran's Shield.
Vladimir
You have to kill him lvl2/3/4 before he recalls otherwise he outscales u at 5mins.
If vlad takes E lvl2 instead of W, you should be all inning him immediately.
Go Conqueror ignite with doran's blade to kill him on all in.
If AP go Nashors, if AD go Blade of The Ruined King.
Remember that your ult gives you anti-heal so you can use it to your advantage. (Example Use R before he heals from R or big Q)
Talon
You lose almost everytrade, unless you go AD and dodge his W2 (before lvl6) so he doesn't get passive proc.
AD kata is simply better because Talon wins short trades and also he has THE HIGHEST MR IN THE GAME. AD build also allows you to go tanky early so you can survive his burst.
Try to get prio before him otherwise he will roam and do crazy value on map.
Zed
It's actually not bad matchup as people portray.
You can win a lot of trades if you dodge his Qs and proc Electrocute.
Can't ever all in -> play for short trades with Electrocute.
Very snowballable matchup for both sides.
Make sure you don't start the combo with Q when he has ult up otherwise your Dagger will disappear.
Vex
Hard matchup. You can never E in.
Her Qs and E's are easy to dodge with movement.
Make sure you don't use E while farming next to her because she gets empowered autoattacks.
You should afk farm with conqueror against Vex. It's good to go Second Wind with Doran's Shield if you struggle into that champion.
Fizz
He wins every trade.
He doesn't have great range so you can actually avoid his damage.
If you MAX Range Q him and then E to minion, you won't take damage from his Q.
You can only fight if he wastes E.
Can go Electrocute to make your lane easier, bone plating can be a choice.
Syndra
Easy matchup go agressive setup.
You can avoid so so much of her damage, If you E on her try to dodge her EQ with your W movement speed.
Can go both AD and AP.
Ryze
Unplayable for both AD and AP Kata. He has insane movement speed to avoid your DMG. He has high base Damage. He goes tanky builds but the worst part about the matchup is that he has point and clicks abilities that you cannot dodge as Katarina. He outscales you very fast.
You can kill him lvl 4 if you go Conqueror resolve doran's shield.
Viktor
Just go Doran's shield with Second Wind and pray.
You can sometimes dodge his E with your E BUT ITS VERY HARD TO REACT TO, so usually it's a predict rather than dodge.
REMEMBER THAT HIS R CAST BREAKS YOUR ULT CHANNEL. (SO YOU USUALLY DON'T WANT TO ULT IF HE HASN'T USED IT)
Sylas
Hard matchup. Pref AD kata against him since you lack DPS with AP.
You lose everytrade but if he E's first you can all in him.
I like to go conqueror with boneplating and flat hp with ignite to win the early all ins.
If he goes lvl1 on you with E1 in the wave, level up E as Kata and do AA->E->AA while dodging his E2.
Anivia
You are weak lvl1/2. Can start trading on lvl 3. Care about her high Q range.
Her W can cancel your Ult.
If you feel confident you can play doran's blade into her.
Nasus
You damaging him is kinda whatever since he has sustain, but if Nasus makes mistakes you can go Electrocute and punish him over and over.
Care about his R magic resist and armor.
He outscales you pretty fast, but you get perma prio into the matchup so you can roam whenever and anywhere.
You lose 1v1 after 6 always.
Orianna
Similiar thing to Viktor, but her damage can be avoided way easier.
Can play both AD and AP, but all ining her is not so easy if she has phase rush.
Usually you just want to start Doran's shield and go Second Wind to surive her poke.
Play on the opposite side of lane where her Q is.
Remember that if she has her ball on her she gains armor and magic resist.
Zoe
She wins most of trades, unless you dodge her E. Then you win the trade but only with Electrocute. This is kinda a skill matchup but she has control over the wave so it can be hard to find trades.
Be careful of her movement speed during her W(after ignite or any other summoner spell).
Go electrocute AP. Can go ignite for more lane power.
Kayle
This matchup might seem hard for some people but it's actually easy.
You win every trade before lvl 6 with AP Electrocute.
Why electrocute? It's because she has lower mr in the game so your combos deal insane damage, and also it's hard to all in kayle since her movement speed is insane.
Can play D shield because of her E poke.
Galio
Everything about that champion is great against Katarina, he is only worse at all ins.
So i go AD Kata with full lane runes and try to kill him lvl2/3/4.
Mercs is very good purchase later on against that character.
If he plays Phase Rush it's not so easy to all in him.
Malzahar
It's very easy matchup if you know how to play it.
Most of people don't abuse him before level6 and that's why they struggle. You can actually perma abuse him lvl2/3/4/5 and you should be able to get a kill or huge xp/cs diff vs him.
Freezing is very optimal against him so you can have a good all in space.
Go AD conqueror with OVERGROWTH(you get stacks from his mobs) and perma fight him. If you start the combo from E, your W fill kill his spawned mobs.
If you go AD, can invest into QSS.
Taliyah
Giga easy, her E doesn't work against you, it's easy to dodge her W with either your W or E. She very low armor so all ins with Doran's Blade hurt her a lot but you can also play electrocute if you like.
Tryndamere
FF, he just takes ur tower while u watch him do it next to you without any punishment.
Need just perma help from JGL/SUP to play the game.
Don't go AD tho, AP is better in this matchup so you can waveclear.
Sion
Kinda hard since he is too tanky for you, so you never get kills etc. But you can maybe try to kill him lvl3/4/5 with doran's blade.
Pref AD with BotRK or if AP go nashors so you have DPS.
Kassadin
A skill matchup. You need to kill him lvl3/4/5 on all in with Doran's Blade.
Can go ignite.
Pref AD Kata, if he goes Malignance first go Kraken, if he builds ROA go BotRK.
Qiyana
She statchecks you any trade, but you can avoid her Q's with your E or movement.
If you want to play the lane go Electrocute and just try to OUTPLAY her on trades.
You can use your ULT while she is invisible in bush Q.
Mel
Very hard, she pokes you and you cannot trade back usually.
Don't randomly Q into her.
Don't use ult against her W otherwise you will just damage yourself.
Remember that even if you deal damage to her teammates with R, she can block it with her W and you just triple the damage on yourself XDDDD.
Yone
Pretty easy, you can win short trades or all ins if you dogde his Qs.
Can both go AP and AD.
Easy to dodge his damage with your dashes.
It's pretty snowballable.
Xerath
Same as Syndra but easier to avoid his damage.
Lissandra
Lane is not really difficult but she is way stronger in any skirmish/teamfight usually.
Can go Doran's Shield if you struggle into this matchup.
Can take 15% tenacity shard instead of hp.
I suggest Conqueror with Resolve (can go unflinching)
If you ever start combo with E+W make sure you E in position where she walks so your W can hit her during CC.
Can go mercs later.
Vel'Koz
Pretty easy matchup, you easily dodge his abilities + outdamage him.
Only need to care about his E, it's cast time is pretty fast. If you get hit you most likely lose the trade.
Can both go AD and AP.
Hwei
It's kinda skill matchup, you can avoid a lot of his DMG.
Be careful of his EE->QQ.
If you start combo with E be careful of his EQ -> use W movement speed to dodge - similiar to Ahri E or Syndra EQ.
Can go Doran's Shield if you struggle.
I don't suggest Electrocute since he has big shield on his WW.
Veigar
Same as Taliyah, his E doesn't work against your dash, it's very easy to dodge his W so basically all his damage is Q which you can dodge easily as well, but you have to be careful about his Q range, its pretty high.
Whenever he walks up to a minion to Q/lasthit it, punish him by going for a trade.
It's also very nice to freeze the wave against veigar.
Both AD and AP are very good against veigar.
Naafiri
This matchup is pretty easy, but if you missplay you get giga punished.
Never get hit by two Qs otherwise you hard lose.
Care about her W, she can make your Dagger disappear. She can also make your Dagger disappear with her E (if your Q bounces on the dogs and she repositions them at exact moment).
Her range is pretty small.
Preferably AP since she statchecks you in melee range so it's hard to go for AD build.
Can play Electrocute if you like.
Irelia
Make sure you never get hit by her E otherwise you HARD lose, if not you just lose anyways since she statchecks you. Never go for an all in when she has 4 stacks cause she can auto you to death.
Hold E for her R so she can never hit you.
Boneplating is pretty nice.
Don't play electrocute because she has insane sustain so it is pointless to go for short trades. I suggest to go conqueror and be stronger in skirmishes and teamfights.
You hard lose on side lane. Just always avoid fighting at any stage of the game, unless she missplays hard.
Jayce
He statchecks you hard in any trade, avoid getting hit by EQ(he can also make splash damage with that on your minions so don't stay close to them).
Be careful of his E on hammer so he doesn't mess up your position when you want to pick up Dagger.
I suggest going Doran's Shield if you struggle.
Can go electrocute if you want to be more agressive.
Aurelion Sol
Just go Doran's Blade with Conqueror and ignite. You statcheck him any trade except lvl1(be very careful of that).
Just perma fight.
If AP go Nashor's Tooth, if AD Kraken Slayer prob better for snowball but BotRK also not bad.
CONQUEROR IGNITE!
Ekko
I would say it's very skill matchup and both sides have wide range of possibilities.
Can go Electrocute + boneplate to be stronger on lane.
You can use a funny trick against his E. You E to your minions under a tower the moment he E's you so you teleport him with you.
Be careful of him not leveling his ult 6 so you don't see his Ult shadow.
Care lvl1 lvl2 for his Hail of Blades trades.
Can go ignite.
Ziggs
His poke is easily avoidable. You can play agressive in that matchup with Electrocute(or sudden impact with conqueror).
If you struggle with his poke go Doran's Shield.
Quinn
She wins any trade, she can mess up your position with E if you want to pick up a Dagger.
Electrocute and Bone Plating may help a lot in the early trades. You can actually punish her if she plays her trades wrong.
I suggest Doran's shield.
After level 6 she can roam perma AND SHE CAN ACTUALLY ROAM FROM BASE AFTER RECALLING/DYING.
So it's good to ping your teammates/type on chat about the possible Quinn move.
On sidelane when she has Edge of Night, its pretty hard to survive, so be careful of her. Blue trinket may help on side.
Kennen
You can never trade with him, he can zone you with his poke and he has more damage than you in skirmishes/teamfights and he has milion cc XD...
You can go tenacity shard if you feel like you need it, but I don't suggest it, since even if you go on him and CC is shorter you don't win a trade.
I suggest Doran's Shield into this matchup with teleport and just try to scale.
Mercs are very good in mid game against him.
Swain
Easy matchup. Can both go AP and AD, Electrocute or Conqueror. Pretty snowballable. Very easy to avoid his damage.
Tristana
Be very careful of her all in, so do not step up in the lane. Go AP Kata and just play for clearing the waves under tower so she takes less plates.
Electrocute can be very good if she actually missplays.
If you wanna go AD in the game I suggest Stridebreaker rush so you have waveclear and also you are tanky enough to survive her damage.
Malphite
Go electrocute doran's shield. Try to dodge his comet with E and only trade when electrocute is up. You should outdamage him in the trades.
Can go ignite for more lane power.
Gragas
If you are hiding behind minions care about his E since it's splash aoe.
Care about his E+R combo if you are next to tower.
Just scale and avoid fighting since you will never kill him. Go conqueror.
Braum
This support is the strongest support in skirmishes. You can actually play Katarina ADC if you have him on Support.
Why is that? Braum has a funny passive which works on Katarina's E, Dagger and any small knife from Ult(15 of them total).
So enemies never expect to get insta CC'd by you and they can't avoid your entire combo.
Poppy
A lot of CC, so you can hit your entire combo.
Sejuani
Similiar to Braum but in jungle. You stack her E passive on enemies instantly.
She has a lot of CC.
Bard
Bard usually will outroam enemy support to get you ahead.
He doesn't have great CC though.
Janna
Similar to Bard but worse.
She is better if you play AD Katarina so her shield gives you damage.
Ivern
You get very good skirmishes with Ivern, and you can go for very agressive plays with his E Shield.
His E shield gives enemies great slow, so usually you can do full combo on the slow.
Taric
Taric + Katarina is very good if you both know how to play it. You can do instant CC to enemy with his E.
When he E's you E to the target and they are giga surprsied.
Also good if you play Katarina ADC. He has good sustain which you lack.
Nami
Very nice if you play AP Katarina into snowballable teamcomps. Her E gives you slow on abilities so it's easier to hit the combo.
Zac
Very good jungle for skirmishes and teamfights for Katarina. His CC makes crazy value in fights.
Jarvan IV
If Jarvan plays around midlane and skirmishes he is very broken with you. He has a lot of Damage + great CC. If you play AD Kata his E flag will give you more damage on R.
Alistar
Great CC + diving ability. Better for single targets rather than AOE unless enemies stack on each other.
Leona
Great CC + diving ability.
Rell
You can pull off insane teamfights with her Ult + CC.
Rakan
Very strong skirmishes and teamfights. Before lvl 6 he is kinda useless tho.
Lulu
Very good overall + even better for AD Kata so you get more damage with her buffs.
Similiar to taric interaction, you can E on enemies and then Lulu instantly Ults you they all get knocked up.
Yuumi
Ok for AD Katarina, but overall not good since enemy support will take over the game. Good if you are 1v9 in the game.
Kayn
No cc + they usually don't fight around mid.
Nidalee
No cc, AP damage so you guys are usually both AP.
Both champions rely on CC setup and you both don't have it.
Nidalee usually wants to play agressive and invade but Kata prefers to sit under tower.
Zed
Sits perma in JGL fullclearing.
Both Zed and Katarina rely on CC.
Morgana
Ok into heavy cc comps.
Zilean
Op ult. Can go for very agressive plays with him.
Amumu
Op in lower elos for skirmishes and teamfights. You just full combo enemies on his CC.
Fiddlesticks
Same as Amumu, you just can full combo during his CC.
Malphite
Similiar to Amumu. Very good AOE CC.
Volibear
He has insane damage and good CC.
Renata Glasc
Can go for very agressive plays with her W. She has insane CC + very good AOE CC ult(it's hard to pull off tho)
Shen
Dream toplaner. Helps a lot in skirmishes and gets you ahead.
Nunu & Willump
Strong if he camps your lane.
Nautilus
Similiar to Alistar. Very great CC + actually good damage.
Pantheon
He can help you snowball a lot with his CC and single target damage.
Neeko
INSANE AOE ULT.
She can sometimes gank your lane as minion and help you kill laner.
Milio
Very good against CC comps.
Xin Zhao
Similiar to Pantheon. He has very good single target damage, he has good CC on the Q and also creates a lot of space for you in a teamfight/skirmish.
Vi
Very good for single target kills and helps you snowball a lot. (insane cc)
Viego
He is very good if you guys both get resets. Both Katarina and Viego rely on CC so by yourselves you are not that strong but if you have CC supp its free LP.
Karma
Pretty nice for snowball vs some comps.
Elise
Probably she is better for you when she plays support. She has insane base damage and also very good single target CC. It's like Pantheon support.
Thresh
Very good if he hits his hooks but usually it doesn't happen hehe.
Sometimes can play like a psychopath if you know he has lantern for you behind.
Synergies
IdealStrongOkLowNone
Braum
This support is the strongest support in skirmishes. You can actually play Katarina ADC if you have him on Support.
Why is that? Braum has a funny passive which works on Katarina's E, Dagger and any small knife from Ult(15 of them total).
So enemies never expect to get insta CC'd by you and they can't avoid your entire combo.
Poppy
A lot of CC, so you can hit your entire combo.
Sejuani
Similiar to Braum but in jungle. You stack her E passive on enemies instantly.
She has a lot of CC.
Bard
Bard usually will outroam enemy support to get you ahead.
He doesn't have great CC though.
Janna
Similar to Bard but worse.
She is better if you play AD Katarina so her shield gives you damage.
Ivern
You get very good skirmishes with Ivern, and you can go for very agressive plays with his E Shield.
His E shield gives enemies great slow, so usually you can do full combo on the slow.
Taric
Taric + Katarina is very good if you both know how to play it. You can do instant CC to enemy with his E.
When he E's you E to the target and they are giga surprsied.
Also good if you play Katarina ADC. He has good sustain which you lack.
Nami
Very nice if you play AP Katarina into snowballable teamcomps. Her E gives you slow on abilities so it's easier to hit the combo.
Zac
Very good jungle for skirmishes and teamfights for Katarina. His CC makes crazy value in fights.
Jarvan IV
If Jarvan plays around midlane and skirmishes he is very broken with you. He has a lot of Damage + great CC. If you play AD Kata his E flag will give you more damage on R.
Alistar
Great CC + diving ability. Better for single targets rather than AOE unless enemies stack on each other.
Leona
Great CC + diving ability.
Rell
You can pull off insane teamfights with her Ult + CC.
Rakan
Very strong skirmishes and teamfights. Before lvl 6 he is kinda useless tho.
Lulu
Very good overall + even better for AD Kata so you get more damage with her buffs.
Similiar to taric interaction, you can E on enemies and then Lulu instantly Ults you they all get knocked up.
Yuumi
Ok for AD Katarina, but overall not good since enemy support will take over the game. Good if you are 1v9 in the game.
Kayn
No cc + they usually don't fight around mid.
Nidalee
No cc, AP damage so you guys are usually both AP.
Both champions rely on CC setup and you both don't have it.
Nidalee usually wants to play agressive and invade but Kata prefers to sit under tower.
Zed
Sits perma in JGL fullclearing.
Both Zed and Katarina rely on CC.
Morgana
Ok into heavy cc comps.
Zilean
Op ult. Can go for very agressive plays with him.
Amumu
Op in lower elos for skirmishes and teamfights. You just full combo enemies on his CC.
Fiddlesticks
Same as Amumu, you just can full combo during his CC.
Malphite
Similiar to Amumu. Very good AOE CC.
Volibear
He has insane damage and good CC.
Renata Glasc
Can go for very agressive plays with her W. She has insane CC + very good AOE CC ult(it's hard to pull off tho)
Shen
Dream toplaner. Helps a lot in skirmishes and gets you ahead.
Nunu & Willump
Strong if he camps your lane.
Nautilus
Similiar to Alistar. Very great CC + actually good damage.
Pantheon
He can help you snowball a lot with his CC and single target damage.
Neeko
INSANE AOE ULT.
She can sometimes gank your lane as minion and help you kill laner.
Milio
Very good against CC comps.
Xin Zhao
Similiar to Pantheon. He has very good single target damage, he has good CC on the Q and also creates a lot of space for you in a teamfight/skirmish.
Vi
Very good for single target kills and helps you snowball a lot. (insane cc)
Viego
He is very good if you guys both get resets. Both Katarina and Viego rely on CC so by yourselves you are not that strong but if you have CC supp its free LP.
Karma
Pretty nice for snowball vs some comps.
Elise
Probably she is better for you when she plays support. She has insane base damage and also very good single target CC. It's like Pantheon support.
Thresh
Very good if he hits his hooks but usually it doesn't happen hehe.
Sometimes can play like a psychopath if you know he has lantern for you behind.
Hello I am Kekseres a EUW ChallengerKatarina onetrick since Season 11. In Season 15 I peaked 1546LP with 66% winrate I also got 3 accounts Challenger at the same time. I onetrick Katarina since 2017 so my experience and knowledge about Katarina is very high.
In this guide I've covered a lot of matchups and variety of setups.
I stream everyday on Twitch where I can answer any question:
[25.24] Kekseres' Katarina Guide 1500LP EUW Challenger & 10M+ Mastery
Build Guide By kekseres
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