Hello! I'm LePawn242! Glad to see you here! This is my guide to my favorite champion, Karma. She's special to me because she was the first champion I mastered when I started playing this game. Karma is unique because of her kill pressure as early as level one, and is a good champion to master if you're trying to learn to play aggressive supports. This guide actually has two builds nested into it: a safe build and an aggro build. I suggest the safer one for new players and those who want to be a more traditional support. Go with the aggro core if you're looking to scale into a late game AP monster! I believe there is beauty in brevity, so I tried to keep everything short. I appreciate all of your views and feedback! Please, enjoy!

+ Excellent poke
+ High early game pressure
+ Ability to shield entire team in team fights
+ Intimidating tether ability
+ Easy to master


- Squishy
- Must establish early lead
- No level six power spike
- Has to play aggressively

Let's start by going over Karma's kit so that you can better understand why I build Karma the way I do.

• Mantra (R): This ultimate ability is what makes Karma so scary in the early game. She starts with this ability, and activating it causes her next ability to be empowered.
  
• Gathering Fire: Karma has a very simple passive. Hitting an enemy champion with an ability reduces the cooldown of her ultimate, Mantra . Basic attacks also reduce the cooldown, but the effect is halved. This encourages you to play aggressively.
  
• Inner Flame (Q): This is the bread and butter of Karma. This projectile has good range and speed, making it an excellent poking tool. If it hits an enemy it will detonate in a small AOE fashion and slow all those affected. When empowered by Mantra , it becomes Soulflare . The empowered version detonates in a much wider area, and then the affected area will detonate again after a brief delay. Unlike the basic version, Soulflare will automatically detonate at maximum range if it does not collide with an enemy.
  
• Focused Resolve (W): This ability allows Karma to be a real bully. She tethers herself to an enemy, dealing magic damage. If the enemy cannot get out of tether range they take magic damage again and get rooted. This can force enemies to back off, or allow Karma to escape if she's being chased. The empowered version is Renewal . It restores some of Karma's health and extends the root. I would recommend empowering other abilities.
  
• Inspire (R): This is one of the best shields in the game. While it doesn't provide a ton of shielding, it provides a burst of speed, allowing it to be used to engage, disengage, and dodge. When empowered, it becomes Defiance . It will provide more shielding to the target, as well as provide partial shielding to all nearby allies. All allies affected will receive the full movement speed buff. This is an amazing team shield that is invaluable in team fights. Shield supports took a big hit in patch 8.12, but Karma was probably the least affected. Her shield duration was reduced, but the movement speed, the key piece, was left unaffected.

Flash: Need I say anything? This spell is standard, and for good reason. Use it to get out of hairy situations.

Ignite: This gives Karma more kill pressure. Always take this against heavy healing, such as Soraka.

Exhaust: This spell is a little more standard for supports. Though Ignite is preferable, take Exhaust if you're up against someone really pushy, such as Tristana, or you're afraid of a ganky jungler.

Karma is a mage, so naturally we take Sorcery.

• Summon Aery: Despite its damage getting nerfed, they increased its shielding power. As a support, this isn't a bad thing. I usually prefer this to Arcane Comet, but it's worth mentioning that since Inner Flame slows, hitting enemies with it almost guarantees that Arcane Comet will also hit. It's ultimately up to you, but I prefer Summon Aery because it is more reliable, can be used defensively, and can be triggered by basic attacks.
  
• Nimbus Cloak: We mourn the loss of The Ultimate Hat. This is a great pick instead, as it allows Karma to quickly position for Soulflare after triggering Mantra. It also provides magnificent escape or chase when combined with Defiance. Take Nimbus Cloak if you plan on building mana or mana regen. Manaflow Band is also valid, as taking it along with Biscuit Delivery completely removes the need to build a mana rock or mana regen.
  
• Transcendence: Now that The Ultimate Hat is gone, we need as much CDR as we can get. Also keep in mind that if you took Nimbus Cloak it benefits from this rune. Celerity is always nice, but recent nerfs make it less desirable than it once was.
  
• Gathering Storm: With Scorch getting nerfed and games getting longer, I prefer this rune nowadays. Since Karma doesn't scale as well into late game as other champs, this keeps her relevant.

I also take Inspiration. Your secondary tree is a bit more of an expression of your playstyle, and this is just how I do it.

• Magical Footwear: The is a slightly underrated rune. This is basically 300 gold you never have to spend and free movement speed. The only disadvantage is that the enemy team can rush boots, leaving you slow and vulnerable until ten minutes. Consider Perfect Timing for a safer play or Biscuit Delivery if you want to go aggro and skip building mana.
  
• Cosmic Insight: I'll take any CDR I can get, enough said.

Another popular way to build that you may consider if you want to play a safer game is to take Resolve with Revitalize for better healing or shielding. Take Font of Life against easy to poke champions or Bone Plating against all-in bursty champions.

A newer alternative is Domination as the secondary tree. With the introduction of Ultimate Hunter, Karma can pursue Domination for the CDR on Mantra and more vision dominance with one of the tracking runes.

This item is too good not to take. Karma's poke will easily stack the tribute effect. Upgrade to Frostfang ASAP, but don't bother building all the way to Remnant of the Watchers as it is not gold efficient. With the recent support nerf you can only take two health potions along with this item. That may initially sound bad, but it's actually kind of a good thing for poke champions like Karma. Since the enemy support also doesn't have three potions anymore, your poke counts more.

It's kind of a toss-up here between Ionian Boots of Lucidity and Sorcerer's Shoes. Take the former for a safer, more support-focused game and the latter for a more aggressive damage build.

Your first and most important core item on a safe Karma. This affords you two things. First, it allows you to heal your allies when you shield them, and it's super easy to gain blood charges since you're playing a poke champion. Second, it allows you to build AP without actually building AP, since it converts mana regen to AP. This causes utility items like Redemption and Ardent Censer to give you some extra oomf.

The active ability is invaluable once lane phase is over, and the massive mana regen makes this item scary when combined with Athene's Unholy Grail. The extra health, health regen, and shielding power also gives you valuable sustain.

CDR, AP, mana regen, heal / shield power, and bonus attack speed and magic damage?! This item is a godsend. Skip this if you really need to build a stuational item, but come back for it right afterwards if you can.

This is the first item in our aggressive core. Only build this first if you took Manaflow Band and Biscuit Delivery to solve our mana sustain problem. This is still a solid fourth buy on our safe build if the enemy team is building a lot of health.

This item is nice against healing supports or teams that are building high MR, which will almost always happen if you have an AP heavy composition. This is an attractive second buy on an aggressive build with Liandry's Torment.

This is a decent first build after you finish your core. The stats are nice and its active ability can help you survive if you dive too deep in a team fight chasing a kill or something.

This item can be really useful against heavy AP teams. It's a nice item to build after your core if the enemy team is being carried by an AP midlaner or you have to deal with hard engage abilities. A great third item for an aggressive build.

Movement speed is always nice, as is AP and CDR. The active is also useful for catching any low health enemies trying to escape. A cheap and attractive buy on any build.

I have mixed feelings about this item. I can't deny that it's an extremely valuable support item, but the fact that Karma can already use Defiance to shield her whole team makes this investment questionable unless you really need the armor and MR.

This is a new addition to this build as of patch 8.11. It doesn't provide as much movement speed as it used to, but the addition of mana regen makes it much more attractive for Karma since it combos with Athene's Unholy Grail. It's a solid fourth buy if you want to have the active ability on hand for chasing or escaping.

What a fun and horrific item! Only go for this item if you're doing really well. Basically, if you ever back with at least 1250 gold after you've already upgraded your support item and finished boots it might be worth grabbing a Needlessly Large Rod to start building into this.

Only build this item if you went aggro and didn't build Athene's Unholy Grail, as their passive abilities cancel each other out. Take this on aggro Karma against very heavy crowd control.

Karma is an extremely early game champion, so she really shines during lane phase. If you aren't leashing, hide in the bushes in lane for a free Soulflare on the enemy ADC when they arrive to lane. This can put your enemies on the defensive from the start. If you're leashing, go ahead and use Soulflare on the jungle monster, as it will allow you to get to lane faster and save your jungler some damage.

During lane phase, positioning is key. Claim the first bush, and secure the second bush if you can get your minions pushed up. Typically you're going to take Inspire when you get to level two, but if you can coordinate with your ADC take Focused Resolve second. The enemy team won't expect it and you can get them to either waste Flash or secure a level two kill if you're lucky. Establishing that early pressure is paramount for Karma. Don't be afraid to push up to tower, as Karma can harass enemies under tower. Soulflare has enough range that Karma can step into range, toss it, and walk out of tower range before she draws tower aggro. Keep in mind that Inspire can also help you get out of tower range and effectively eat one tower shot.

Buy a Control Ward on your first back to deny the enemy team vision in the lane bushes. Make sure they always fear your shots from the bushes. Keep vision in the river and tri-bush, as the enemy ADC is likely to request a jungle gank if you're harassing them.

If something happens and you're losing lane, focus more on protecting your ADC. Inspire them to eat pokes and help them dodge, and use Focused Resolve to force the enemy team to back off if they're getting too pushy. Don't be afraid to request a jungle gank. Getting your early momentum back is paramount to staying relevant. Also be sure to coordinate with your jungler on early dragons, as your shields and early power make it easier to kill dragons and run off enemies if they try to steal.

Your job is now to keep the team alive. If everyone is grouped up and staring each other down midlane, stay at the front to toss a Soulflare at any enemy who tries to cross no-man's land. You can easily use Focused Resolve and Inspire to get away if multiple enemies push forward. Karma is great at kiting, since she has a slow, root, and move speed buff in her kit.

Once a team fight has broken out, save Mantra for Defiance. If you built Athene's Unholy Grail, be sure to heal injured allies with Inspire. If your team is grouped up and injured, use Redemption to top everyone off. Your job is also to evacuate team members who need to get away from the fight. Inspire them and be ready to Focused Resolve or Exhaust anyone who gives chase. If you're injured, stay behind your team to shield your allies and toss Soulflare when you can.

If your team is losing, Karma is extremely useful because she can keep her team alive when they're grouped up in base. She can also use Focused Resolve to root enemies who enter tower range so that they're forced to take tower shots. If multiple teammates are dead and minions are pushing in, don't be afraid to toss a Soulflare to wave clear.

Defiance is a very important ability in team fights, but keep in mind that the actual target gets more shielding than everyone else. Choose your target carefully, and remember that you can always self-cast by holding alt when you activate the ability.

While Inner Flame and Soulflare can't pass through minions, their AOE effects will still hit champions standing near them. Don't be afraid to shoot minions if the enemy is standing directly behind them.

Focused Resolve can tether enemies through minions, but keep in mind that you can't walk through minions. The enemy will simply walk away and break the tether. Moral of the story, don't use Focused Resolve unless you have room to chase the enemy.

If one of your teammates is chasing down a weak enemy, the speed boost from Inspire can help them catch up and eat some of the damage if they retaliate.

If you played Karma well, you should finish the game with high damage marks. Sometimes I even have the most damage on my team (though those are typically games we lose). Always keep up the pressure and try to end lane phase as quickly as you can after level six since your enemies will have more answers to your harassment. Post lane phase, encourage your team to stay grouped up and focus on healing and evacuating injured teammates.

I hope you found this guide helpful! Please tap that up vote if you liked it and feel free to leave comments on possible improvements! I'm planning on making more guides in the future, and will link those when they're finished!

Have fun and fight with honor!

-LePawn242

Published 5/16/18. Several changes made throughout the day.
5/18/18: Updated Tips. Change Log added.
5/23/18: Many minor grammatical / syntax edits.
6/1/18: Updated for patch 8.11. The Ultimate Hat replaced with Nimbus Cloak. Shurelya's Reverie added to items.
6/4/18: Rune page updated to reflect the viability of Ultimate Hunter.
7/10/18: "Spells" section changed to "Abilities" and shield nerf from patch 8.12 noted in description of Inspire and Defiance.
9/11/18: Numerous changes added, as I've been out of the scene for a while (sorry!). Aggro build added to items. Many item descriptions altered. Starting potions reduced to two. Rune page updated in light of recent Celerity and Scorch nerfs. Lane phase, post lane phase, and tips trimmed for brevity.