About the Author My name is Pallis123, and I am a Silver V mid / support main. I have been playing League for almost a year now, and I can safely say that Katarina is my best played champion in the entire game. I picked her up when I was around level 20, and have constantly been playing her ever since. I hope that, even though I am just Silver, you at least take the ideas in my guide in consideration and give them a chance. I enjoy my fair share of theorycrafting and I play Katarina better than the league I am in, so I will assure you this guide contains good and useful information.

This Guide This guide will not be about the way people normally play Katarina, no, it will be about Tank Katarina, played in the top lane! I got inspired by watching Voyboy play a few matches, and then decided to try it out myself. I developed my own runes & masteries setup and item build, and turned it into this guide. Tank Katarina is in contrary to popular belief, a very strong and viable pick. People may argue differently because you do not deal as much damage as glass cannon Katarina, but you can survive longer and thus make use of your passive a lot better.

Voyboy showing his top lane Katarina

---

Note: the Pros & Cons will be specifically about tank Katarina


Pros

1. Very mobile through Shunpo and Voracity
2. Highly durable while still dealing quite a lot of damage
3. Good extended trading power
4. Fun to play
5. Very rewarding once mastered

Cons

1. Not as much damage as glass cannon Katarina
2. Focused often in teamfights (however, is not a too big con when playing tank Katarina as opposed to glass cannon Katarina)
3. One hard crowd control move can stop 50% of your damage output
4. Requires quite some time to master
5. Somewhat weak laning phase with a lot of hard matchups

The summoner spell you should always take on Katarina, is Flash. It allows for insane plays and long-range gapclosing together with Shunpo, and is essentially a "get-out-of-jail-free card". People might argue that Katarina doesn't need Flash because she also has Shunpo, but the latter isn't always reliable if you don't have wards, and besides, having a double escape mechanic is even better than having just one.

For the second summoner spell, there are in my opinion three viable options. I'm not saying other options are always bad, but they are generally outclassed by the mentioned ones and / or completely nonsense on Katarina.

Most of the times, your second spell should be Ignite. It adds a lot to your kill potential, allowing you to snowball the game easier. Late game it can also be used as a second way (beside your Death Lotus) to apply grievous wounds to your target, cutting their health regenerating effects in half.

Teleport is a very strong choice as well, with multiple good uses. Riot lately changed Teleport so that the cooldown is lower when you teleport to an allied turret, so it can be used as a way to make sure you miss out on as little minions as possible. It can also come in handy if your bot lane places some strategic wards (in the far lane bush / river bush / behind the outer enemy turret). You can then teleport to them and surprise-assassinate the enemy. This helps with your roaming (which is also a weak point of top lane Katarina compared to mid lane Katarina).

Since they buffed Heal, it's in my opinion a viable summoner spell for every single lane (with maybe the exception of junglers, who should always take Smite). It can be used to bait your opponent, survive a fight with very little health, and the short burst of speed is very useful for either catching up with someone, or running away from him. This also works for allies close to you, so helps your jungler out a little bit too in case of a gank.

Simply put the best quintessences for top lane Katarina. You will most of the time be facing a physical damage based opponent, and 12 armor is going to help you a lot in the early game. It will really decrease the amount of harrass the enemy laner can do by a lot. It also has a decent late game scaling. The other options here are either magic resist against a magic damage based opponent, or ability power / magic penetration if you need more damage. I also like movement speed a lot, if you need to roam for picking up your kills because your enemy laner is too hard to get killed (Cho'Gath, for example)

Pretty much the best option for marks. The idea behind tank Katarina is that she does not need a lot ability power to deal damage, because she has quite high base damage. The stat that synergizes with that fact the most, is magic penetration. The other option is armor marks, for the same reason that armor quintessences are a good option. Note: armor marks are not completely cost-optimal. space space space space space space space space space space

Since they changed runes (armor nerf, health buff, etc.), health seals have become the best option for almost every champion in the game. They simply give you the most bang for your buck and I would never change them for anything else. space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space

A mix of flat and scaling magic resist seems like the best option to me. It has given me the best results over the time, and just feels the safest. You can swap the amount of flat and scaling ones (more flat ones if you are in a lane against a magic damage champion). If the entire enemy team has no magic damage whatsoever, you can go for scaling ability power. space space space space space space space space space space space

For our masteries, we will be going 9/21/0. This gives you a good mix of offensive and defensive stats, with the focus lying more on the defensive side because you are a tank.

Offense

Tier I - I tend to forego Double-Edged Sword because it does not synergize with the goal we want to achieve (tanking), but it is an okay option because a 2% increase in damage dealt opposed to a 1% increase in damage taken is actually a good trade-off. I always take a point in Butcher, because it opens up the option for using Feast which is in my opinion a really good mastery. To fill out this tier, we take three points in Sorcery because Katarina benefits more from cooldown reduction than attack speed. Tier II - I think the choices made here are pretty obvious. Of course there are three points in Mental Force, because ability power is a good stat on Katarina, better than attack damage. The last point can either be put in Exposed Weakness or Feast, and I would always, with the exception of supports, take the latter over the first. It can over the course of the laning phase heal you for almost 300. Tier III - The last point will be put in Arcane Mastery, because of the ability power it gives. 6 flat is quite a lot, and definitely helps you more than a small increase on spells after auto-attacks (not even talking about the fact that you nearly never auto-attack the enemy laner anyway) or a 5% damage increase to targets below 20% of their health. space

Defense

Tier I - Both Recovery and Block are very useful for your laning phase. Absolutely do NOT get Enchanted Armor. It's the worst mastery in the game. (More explanation in the Q & A section) Tier II - Simple. Unyielding and Veteran Scars are the only options (we can not take Bladed Armor because we have no points in Tough Skin), and they also are good options. Unyielding is a better version of Block, and flat health is always useful. Tier III - Always take a point in Juggernaut, because it's simply the best mastery in this tier. Left-over three points in Hardiness for the armor, and one in Resistance because it's better than other fillers in this and the next tier. Tier IV - Perseverance is one of the best scaling masteries in the entire game. In the early it helps a little with your sustain, but late game it's almost like having a Warmog's Armor. Swiftness helps a little against slows. Tier V - Second Wind is amazing for solo laners, giving you an extra boost in those all-ins. Legendary Guardian helps a little in lane and teamfights. Tier VI - I think this one is pretty obvious.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

---

Bouncing Blades

Sinister Steel

sinister steel

sinister steel

sinister steel

sinister steel

sinister steel

Shunpo

Death Lotus

---

A pretty basic skill order. Generally spoken, you will want to max Bouncing Blades first, because it makes your laning phase safer by giving you better ranged poke and farming. Second, you max Sinister Steel because the damage goes up as well as the movement speed buff. Take an early point in Shunpo to be safer from ganks, and from there on max it last. Of course take a point in Death Lotus whenever you can.
Note: always make sure you have unlocked all your three basic abilities by level 3.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

---

Bouncing Blades

Sinister Steel

sinister steel

sinister steel

sinister steel

sinister steel

sinister steel

Shunpo

Death Lotus

---

A second option for your skilling order, is maxing Sinister Steel first. Having a spammable mediocre damage nuke helps a lot with farming (really, if you go this way you should almost never miss a minion!), and because the movement speed bonus goes up it helps a lot with extended trading with other melee champions. Take this if you face a melee opponent who is either auto-attack or skillshot heavy, or has a very weak laning phase too. Examples: Fizz, Gragas, Nasus. After maxing Sinister Steel you proceed to max Bouncing Blades, and of course take Shunpo last while getting a point in Death Lotus whenever you can.

This passive is what makes Katarina Katarina. Not her Bouncing Blades, not her Sinister Steel, not her Death Lotus, no it is her passive, Voracity! You can fearlessly jump into every enemy you know you can kill without getting CC'ed to death, because in less than a second after dealing the finishing blow you can wardjump out with your reset. Once you get this passive rolling in teamfights, you become an absolute monster. You really have to get used to this passive, and you must already have in mind what you will do with your reset before you have even gotten the kill - that way, you can react the fastest and have the best chance of surviving or picking up Multi-kills.

Apart from having a good passive ability, Katarina of course like every other champion also has four active abilities.

This will be your main farming and harrassing skill. It gives you the possibility to play safe and still get minions in lane, even when facing a hard opponent. Together with the mark explosion this skill will get your damage up pretty high late game. Enemy teams will get scared by you throwing out Bouncing Blades, because they know what's next if they see them flying in: death!

sinister steel

A nifty skill on a low cooldown. It helps with both trading and farming, while also helping you with assisting in or escaping from jungler ganks. The damage is not as high as Bouncing Blades', but the cooldown is lower, it's instant and it makes farming easier. During teamfights you can use this to help get your passive off faster and kite around with the movement speed bonus.

This skill is your main mobility asset, allowing you to jump to almost everything: including but not limited to allies, minions, enemy champions and wards. This skill does have a damage component, but because that one isn't so high this should mainly be used for positioning. You can jump in and out of teamfights, escape ganks, and jump over walls. More on how to use this skill effectively in the Wardjumping section. Tip: you can destroy an enemy ward by auto-attacking it once and then Shunpo'ing to it, which makes it visible for another two seconds, giving you the time to take it down.

This skill is, if used well, one of the highest damage dealing-spells in the entire game. With a bunch of ability power and a level three Death Lotus, you can easily deal 2500 damage to three opponents at a time. After three kills or assists, you can even use this a second time, almost guaranteeing a won teamfight. Be careful however, as this skill requires very good game knowledge. Tip: the icon will grow brighter if an enemy is close. You can use this to detect that sneaky Teemo who stealthed or Garen waiting for you in the bushes.

Now we have come to an interesting chapter. Katarina's abilities all interact with each other, making for some good combos to be used. The most effective ones will be described below, combined with an explanation to when and why they are useful.

sinister steel The most basic combo that can be used to trade in lane. At level 3, once you have all your skills unlocked, you can throw a Bouncing Blades on the enemy laner, jump onto him (or to a minion next to him), and use Sinister Steel before backing off again. Doing this multiple times will whittle your enemy low enough to be killed at level 6. Make sure to dodge incoming skillshots when you run away.

sinister steel This is actually the same combo as the one to the left, with the difference being that it is harder to pull off. However, the enemy will not expect this (I mean, almost every single Katarina I ahve ever faced started combos with her Bouncing Blades). If you get used to doing this combo, it can really improve your trading potential in lane. space

sinister steel If an enemy decides to jump onto you (which they never should!), you can throw out Bouncing Blades and use Sinister Steel, while saving your Shunpo to either escape or chase when your enemy runs out. Wasting your Shunpo early on would be a waste, since they are already in your range anyway and you could always secure the kill later with it or use it for escaping. space

sinister steel This is the all-in-your-face combo, which you should use at level 6 to kill your enemy. If you have whittled him down enough over the course of the laning phase by using the above described combos, this nearly always means a kill. If you play glass cannon Katarina, you can also add Deathfire Grasp to this combo. Note that Ignite will not make you stop channeling Death Lotus, so feel free to use it during your ult. space

The default start. It gives you a little movement speed which helps in escaping ganks or catching up to the enemy. In addition to that you get 4 Health Potions, which helps a lot with your sustain. This is a safe start in nearly every case. space space

A start that is probably even safer than Boots of Speed and 4 Health Potions. Before the nerf I used to buy this item on Katarina in every single match I played, no matter what the matchup, but even after the nerf I still like it a lot. You get only one Health Potion, but the passive and health regen more than make up for it in most of the cases.

If you are facing a physical damage heavy caster that does not rely so much on auto-attacks, you should start with a Cloth Armor and 5 Health Potions. The 20 armor actually is quite a lot, and with so many potions you must screw it up really really badly to not be able to sustain through the early laning phase. space space

If the enemy has a jungler that is very strong at early ganking (e.g. Lee Sin), you can opt to go with 4 Stealth Wards and 5 Health Potions for optimal safety and vision. Be careful though, as having none of the afore mentioned items (Boots of Speed, Doran's Shield, Cloth Armor), makes your laning weaker. Note: when going up against Evelynn / Twitch / Akali, you can replace two Stealth Wards with a Vision Ward.

Note: Always get Warding Totem, but never use it for actual warding. Keep it with you, so if there's a gank coming you can just simply jump out

You should aim to get a Haunting Guise on your first back. It's an item that seems to be almost made for Katarina, and will really improve your laning phase. Ability power, health and magic penetration are all fantastic stats and it's also very cost-efficient. The ability power and health are worth about 1000 gold, and someone on the NA forum did some calculations regarding magic penetration having a very high gold value per point. Of course also buy some Stealth Wards and Health Potions.

In the case you started with Cloth Armor (hence are facing a physical damage opponent), you can also opt to get Seeker's Armguard on your first back instead of a Haunting Guise. This item is also pretty cost-efficient, and grants you just the stats you need to deal with for example a Renekton or Riven early on. Here also, get some Sealth Wards and Health Potions! space space space

Your core when playing against a physical damage opponent should look like this. Sorcerer's Shoes are, even though this is tank Katarina, the best boots. Because of Katarina's high base damage, she scales very well with magic penetration. Haunting Guise should be bought by now too, for aforementioned reasons. The biggest purchase you should make is Zhonya's Hourglass, which is literally perfect for Katarina. It gives a huge chunk of ability power, quite a lot of armor and a very good active. space space space

The core against magic damage based champions is, in the beginning, the same. You should also have Sorcerer's Shoes as your boots (unless you play against a mage with really high burst damage who also has a lot of crowd control, like Leblanc, in which case you should get Mercury Treads), and Haunting Guise is also the next pick-up. The first big item, however, is going to be an Abyssal Scepter. This item synergizes greatly with Katarina. The ability power and magic resist are great, and then I have not even mentioned the passive yet. Katarina will always be in the middle of teamfights, so all enemies will constantly have reduced magic damage.

If the enemy team (be it your former lane opponent or other teammates) is very physical damage-heavy, you can purchase one of the above items. Frozen Heart - If the enemy team has a lot of auto-attackers (for example, Jax top, Master Yi jungle and a good AD Carry) and you want more cooldown reduction, you can get this item. The mana might be wasted, but 100 armor and 20% cooldown reduction really are nice to have. Randuin's Omen - This is almost always a good purchase, considering that apart from the armor it gives it also has a nice active and gives you a nice health boost. It's just a very solid pick in general. Sunfire Aegis - This item is good on Katarina for the same reason that Abyssal Scepter is. You are constantly in the middle of teamfights, therefore you can make very good use of the aura. Also, if you plan on splitpushing a lot, this item is a must-purchase because it increases your duelling potential and waveclear. Thornmail - Should be purchased in the same situation as Frozen Heart. It can be very useful if their Master Yi is fed, but by the time you need this item to stop him he will probably already be doing so good that your other teammates die in a matter of seconds. You can get it if you want, but it is generally outclassed by other items. space

If you need more magic resist to deal with the enemy, your next purchase(s) can be one of the above. Banshee's Veil - In my opinion the best magic resist item for Katarina. It helps you negate on of the enemy's abilities, and if timed well can really help with getting off your ultimate. People will hesitate to cast a spell on you if they see a giant blue bubble around you, and if they throw it out it won't help. They need to use even more spells on you than before. Guardian Angel - If you need a mix of both armor and magic resist and think somewhere soon there will be an all-deciding teamfight, pick up a Guardian Angel. That second life can really help a lot and combined with your resets can make you win the fight even after your teammates die. Locket of the Iron Solari - I don't find myself getting this often, but it's a very cost-efficient purchase which every tank should consider if his support or jungler doesn't pick it up. The stats on itself for only you are not great, but when you find yourself teamfighting often this can be a good purchase. Spirit Visage - My favorite choice of a magic resist item for most champions, and I also like it on Katarina. It gives a chunk of health, a lot of magic resist and cooldown reduction, which are all fantastic stats. Do note however, that Katarina doesn't make good use of the passive.

Note: In some cases, you might want to swap out your Sorcerer's Shoes for Ninja Tabi or Mercury Treads if your team already is tanky enough. Ninja Tabi if the enemy has heavy auto-attackers, and Mercury Treads if the enemy has a lot of magic damage and crowd control.

If your team lacks damage or needs more utility (slows), then you can fill in that gap by buying one (or two) of the above items. Deathfire Grasp - If their AD Carry is doing very good, you can purchase this item. You will not have much ability power, but if you use this active and all your skills on their AD Carry, he will for sure die. Your damage still is more than high enough for that. This also gives a nifty 10% cooldown reduction. Rabadon's Deathcap - If the enemy doesn't have a lot of magic resist and you mainly need more ability power to burn through them, you can get a Rabadon's Deathcap. Your damage will skyrocket once you purchase this item. Do note that it only gives ability power though, and other items might be more useful at a time. Rylai's Crystal Scepter - My item of choice out of this list most of the time. The 500 health is quite a lot, 80 ability power also helps, and the slow is very useful. Most of your spells only slow 15% because they are area of effect, but you can spam them pretty often so you will be able to keep that slow up all the time which is why I consider it a good item for Katarina. Twin Shadows - I actually like this item a lot for Katarina. Since they changed it, it has 80 ability power, which is pretty huge compared to the 40 it was before. It also grants movement speed and cooldown reduction, which are all good stats on Katarina. The active is what makes this item so useful. It adds a little utility to your kit, making up for your biggest lack. Void Staff - If the enemy has bought a lot of magic resist because either you or the mid laner (or Fiddlesticks jungle) is doing very well, you should pick up a Void Staff. Like, it really is mandatory. It will just help you so much more than 120 ability power or a slow would.

---

The full build should consist of a pair of boots, one damage item, the two core items and two more defensive items which can be changed depending on the opponent. Remeber: no build is ever set in stone.

After having purchased your core items, you should buy the other big item (Zhonya's Hourglass if you built Abyssal Scepter, and vice versa). Next you should buy a defensive item, depending on what the situation asks for. I most of the time get a Sunfire Cape, because its damage is most relevant mid game and it helps a lot with duelling and splitpushing.
Next you must decide whether your team needs more damage, or you can buy another defensive item. For my offensive / utility item, I normally get Rylai's Crystal Scepter because it also has its defensive part and the slow is very useful.
By now you have six items, and to make room for your last item you must sell your Haunting Guise. If you do however insist on keeping it and upgrading it to Liandry's Torment, do what you want. I just want you to know that it is not a very good upgrade unless you have Rylai's Crystal Scepter and the enemy team is full of tanks, and even then.. there are better options out there.
The last two things you have to do, are enchanting your boots and upgrading your trinket. For enchantments, I normally go with Distortion, because that lower Flash cooldown is really, really useful. The other options are Alacrity (as movement speed is always a good stat), and Homeguards (if you need to defend your base). As for trinkets, either upgrade is fine. If your team needs to deny the enemy more vision, get a Greater Vision Totem, otherwise the Greater Stealth Totem is best.

Play Video

During Katarina's laning phase, there is one thing you should focus on: farm, farm, farm some more, farm, farm, you get it.. farm! Katarina has a quite weak laning phase, and you should try to get as much gold as possible through taking last-hits. Only trade when your opponent's skills are on cooldown, and try to hit him with your spells when he goes in for a last-hit. While doing this all, be aware of ganks and either ward the river / tribush, or immediately jump out when you see the jungler. If you did well pre-level 6, you can jump on your opponent and kill him once you have a good opportunity (enemy laner focuses your jungler, or his crowd control move is on cooldown). If you do not kill him, he at least is forced to back. Repeat this over and over, hoping to get the best out of your laning phase.

Trading effectively as Katarina requires some skill, mainly the sense to when you can come out ahead and when it is better to stay back. You should be looking to force trades with the combos in the Combos section, but using Sinister Steel every time your enemy runs op to you, for example, is also a good way of trading. Remember that you have no mana and the only thing restricting you is cooldowns, so spam your skills as often as you can. If you do it right, your opponent will get scared of you, and you have won the mental game. This should give you the upper hand, allowing to zone your enemy and farm up well.

There is one key word in teamfighting as Katarina: timing. If you make only one single mistake, half of your damage output is gone because the enemies will interrupt your ultimate. That would be a pity, considering it really decreases the chance of your passive coming into work. If you however do it right, you can be devastating to the enemy team. With the potential to deal insane area of effect damage and repeat that over and over again due to her passive, Katarina is one of the best teamfighters in the game. You just need to know when to go in. I can not completely explain it to you because every case is different and you need to develop a feel for it yourself, but I can give you some basic rules you should keep to. Do note that they are just general guidelines and you can deviate from them if need be.

Play Video

First of all, never, ever jump in if the enemy still has some hard crowd control left to stop your ult (stuns, knockups). Note that slows and snares do not stop it. Just stay at the side while poking at your enemy with Bouncing Blades. If someone on the enemy team makes a mistake and gets caught by your team, feel free to jump on him and help with the feast. Because of your passive you can jump out immediately anyway. Just keep poking and poking, and stay patient. There will always be that one opportunity to jump in, so do not overcommit or try to force a good opportunity. As soon as it is there, jump in, do your whirl of death and jump from opponent to opponent with your reset(s).

Play Video

Wardjumping is the act of using Shunpo on a just placed ward, mainly used to escape from the enemy team with your reset after having gotten a kill. This is esentially like having another Flash, and makes escaping as Katarina very easy once you have mastered this skill. How to: you place a ward on the ground, and then immediately Shunpo to it. A good example of what you have to do, is shown in the video to the left. To be able to effectively pull this off you need to practice a lot, and I can not tell you how to do that, but I can give you some tips that make it easier. First of all, put smart cast on. This is good to do on Katarina anyway, but for wardjumping it is almost necessary. Second, putting your wards in the item slot that you use with 3, makes it easier to do this trick fast because you only have to slide your finger down to the E button. Trinkets are by default binded to 4, and I would

keep them that way. I really recommend going into a custom game, leveling Shunpo first and buying some Stealth Wards to practice this trick. Once you have mastered it, it really makes a difference and allows for bigger plays.

Aatrox Aatrox is a matchup that is neither easy nor hard. Your ultimate counters his healing, his Dark Flight counters your ultimate. You both have a form of ranged poke and an escape. The only thing you have over Aatrox, is good melee-range harrassment, but he makes up for that with ridiculous sustain. All in all a matchup that can go both ways, while I feel that it favors Katarina a little. Item: Skill order: sinister steel Runes:	Ahri Ahri is a pretty easy matchup for Katarina, with the only downside being that she can stop your ult as soon as you jump on her. She's all skillshot based, quite mana-hungry and her level 6 power-spike is not as big as yours. Just farm safely until level 6 and jump on her as soon as her Charm is on cooldown. Item: Skill order: sinister steel Runes:	Akali Akali is one of the easiest lanes possible for Katarina. Her Mark of the Assassin is a single target version of your Bouncing Blades and deals a little more damage, so be aware. But, the point is, if you max Sinister Steel you can absolutely wreck this lane. Never let Akali get farm for free, press that W button like your life depends on it and watch her health go down. Either you kill her at level 6, or she gets zoned from farm completely. Also, your Sinister Steel and Death Lotus still hit Akali while she is in her shroud. The most important thing to do here, is going on the aggressive side immediately, and keeping harrassing Akali on every opportunity you get. Start with a Doran's Shield, since it helps you win trades and allows you to zone harder. Item: Skill order: sinister steel Runes:
Annie I hate laning against Annie. She has everything that is needed to destroy Katarina. Hard crowd control with a pretty high up-time, high early damage and high level 6 burst damage. Just sit back and try to farm and poke with your Bouncing Blades. Never go in when she has her stun up and keep track of that stacks. Punish her mistakes and assist in jungler ganks. Item: Skill order: sinister steel Runes:	brand Brand is for the most points the same as Annie. He has pretty high early damage, hard crowd control and (with some luck) strong burst at level 6. The only difference is that he revolves around skillshots, and not click-to-point or instant abilities. Same advice against Annie, but be a little more aggressive and try to bait out his skills. Item: Skill order: sinister steel Runes:	cassiopeia I like this matchup a lot. It can go either way, and is a very interactive matchup. Both champions have spammable skills and you constantly have to be on your tip-toes. The thing you have over Cassiopeia, is that your harrass is targeted and hers is not. If you manage to dodge her Noxious Blast often enough, you can try to kill her at level 6. Her ult only stuns you when you face her, and you Shunpo behind her. Try to make use of that. Item: Skill order: sinister steel Runes:
cho'gath Cho'Gath is one of those matchups where neither one will be able to kill the other. Cho'Gath can not kill you if you consistantly dodge his Rupture (which is pretty easy considering its delay and you have Shunpo), and you can not kill him because he has two ways to interrupt your ult and is just way too tanky. Your best bet would be to take Teleport as a summoner spell and start with Boots of Speed rushed into Sorcerer's Shoes, because you will need to roam for getting kills. Item: Skill order: sinister steel (Summoner spells: ) Runes:	darius This is also a pretty hard lane. Your laning phase is weak, while Darius is supposed to be a lane bully with high early damage. He can also interrupt your ult, and jumping on him means giving him free hits on you which allows for a full damage ult. His Decimate is a stronger version of your Sinister Steel, but costs mana and has a higerh cooldown. Try to dodge it, and then go in when it is on cooldown. At level 6 only go in if you are sure you can kill him before he gets enough stacks of his passive to kill you with his ult. Item: Skill order: sinister steel Runes:	diana This is a pretty even lane. Both champions have a gap closer, ranged harrass / farming and an area of effect ability in melee range. If I would compare this matchup based on only that skills, I would give Katarina the upper hand. Sinister Steel max would really make you win this lane. The only problem is that Diana can easily interrupt your ult. All she has to do is press E. And then you are screwed, because Diana is a good close-up fighter. Item: Skill order: sinister steel Runes:
dr. mundo This is a pretty easy lane. Just max Sinister Steel, spam it like your life depends on it and zone Mundo from farm. There is no excuse to lose this lane! Mundo should have a hard time hitting his cleavers against you, and you are one of the only champions in the game with early killing potential over him because your ultimate applies Grievous Wounds which cuts his healing in half. Item: Skill order: sinister steel Runes:	elise I have never played this lane before, but I suppose it is somewhat of a skill based matchup. I can not name any notable things the one does to counter the other, except for the fact that Elise has a stun to interrupt Katarina's ult. It is a skillshot however, and can be dodged. Max your Bouncing Blades and farm from afar, or if Elise likes staying in her spider form, max Sinister Steel. She has no power spike at level 6 while yours is huge, so try to make use of that. Item: Skill order: sinister steel or: sinister steel Runes:	ezreal This is a pretty easy lane. Ezreal's damage early is not that high, he has no way to stop your ult and he is completely skill-shot based. The only thing he has over you, is his range. Do not constantly let him auto-attack you and smack his face at level 6, and you should be fine. He is also pretty mana hungry so try to bait out his Mystical Shots. Item: Skill order: sinister steel Runes:
fiddlesticks Fiddlesticks is a pretty damn annoying lane. He has multiple ways to stop your ult, insane level 6 damage and he is ranged. He just beats you in lane on every single point. I can only mention two small things Katarina has that she can use against him, being that her ult halves his healing and he is pretty mana hungry. Just play safe and farm from afar. Only use your ultimate when his fear and silence are on cooldown. Item: Skill order: sinister steel Runes:	fiora One of the easier lanes you can have. Fiora has no crowd control, is weaker at trading than you are and gets completely shut down if you buy a Doran's Shield. She just can not win this lane, and if you max Sinister Steel zoning her is a breeze. Only note that you do not ult too early, because if she is level 6 she can ult and become untargetable, negating a lot of your damage. Item: Skill order: sinister steel Runes:	fizz Many people argue that Fizz counters Katarina because he can dodge your ult with Playful / Trickster and you are an easy target for his Chum the Waters when you jump on him, and however this is to some degree true, if you play it smart you can win. And before level 6, your laning phase is a lot stronger than Fizz'. You can use Shunpo to dodge every single Playful / Trickster, and if he decides to jump in on you he makes a mistake. With maxing Sinister Steel, you should be able to come out ahead on every single trade you do. Item: Skill order: sinister steel Runes:

Galio For this one goes the same as for Cho'Gath. He is annoyingly tanky with his magic resist, and because of his ult you can not kill him at level 6 if he is any smart. Best bet would once again be to start Boots of Speed and rush Sorcerer's Shoes, and take Teleport as summoner spell instead of Ignite. As for trading with him, max Sinister Steel and do not let him get close to the minions. He is mana hungry, and if he farms with Resolute Smite he will have to back in no time. Item: Skill order: sinister steel Runes: (Summoner spells: )

Gangplank This lane shouldn't be too hard. Gangplank's early harrass is very limited and can be shred off pretty easily by buying a Doran's Shield and starting off with some armor. He has no way to interrupt your ult whatsoever, and if you max Sinister Steel you should be able to win most trades. Also, your ult cuts his healing in half and as soon as you got the kill you can jump out of his Cannon Barrage. Item: Skill order: sinister steel Runes:

Garen This one shouldn't be too much of a problem either. Sinister Steel spam all the time while taking every single minion possible should do the trick. Garens like to camp bushes, but that is not even a little problem. Sinister Steel will hit him anyway, and staying in that bush means he can not farm. There are just two things you need to watch out for: his silence, which can really screw you(r ult) over, and his ult which is a giant execute. Item: Skill order: sinister steel Runes:

Ask me questions about the guide, if you want! If I think they are relevant enough, I will answer them and put the question in here.

Q: Why do you use Rylai's Crystal Scepter? Isn't it an outdated item for Katarina right now?
A: For glass cannon Katarina, yes it is. Glass cannon Katarina needs to be able to delete the enemy carries as fast as possible, and therefore requires damage that make you deal more damage than just only 80 ability power (Void Staff / Deathfire Grasp, for example). For Tank Katarina however, killing immediately is not always necessary. You rely on your team to deal damage and get your resets off. Rylai's Crystal Scepter is perfectly fit for that situation, because it helps your allies deal more damage, makes you tankier and also helps you with dealing some more damage. - Question by xAncestor


Q: Why do you say that Enchanted Armor is a bad mastery and should never be picked up? I think that some armor is defenitely more useful than a two health regenartion per five seconds.
A: Nope, definitely wrong on this one. Enchanted Armor gives you almost nothing early game, and the health regeneration for sure helps you more. As soon as you get some armor or magic resist, you would say Enchanted Armor starts to kick in, but that is not true. Damage reduction through armor and magic resist is calculated in a way that makes it so that after a while stacking armor and magic resist gets less and less useful. For example, when you have 200 armor, and this mastery would give you ten armor, the difference is (210 / (100 + 210)) - (200 / (100 + 200)) = 1,0%. That really is not worth it.






I have a few people I would like to thank for contributing to this guide in some way.

Emikadon - Without Emikadon, I would not have been able to make this guide. He created the banner, headers and dividers, and the coding I used is for the biggest derived from his Lulu and Diana guide.
GrandmistressD - I used the coding of the matchup section in his guide here, and I really like it. Thanks a lot!