This build has been archived by the author. They are no longer supporting nor updating this build and it may have become outdated. As such, voting and commenting have been disabled and it no longer appears in regular search results.
We recommend you take a look at this author's other builds.
This guide has not yet been updated for the current season. Please keep this in mind while reading. You can see the most recently updated guides on the browse guides page






Your votes and comments encourage our guide authors to continue
creating helpful guides for the League of Legends community.
Choose Champion Build:
Spells:
Exhaust
Flash
Recommended Items
Items
Ability Order
Death Defied (PASSIVE)
Karthus Passive Ability
NOTICE
If you are downvoting because of the suicide build, if you "don't like it" or think it's trolling or something, don't. It's a build used by multiple high Elo players and WORKS.
Please, if you have a legitimate reason to DV, let me know.

______Hey, it's wRAth again, with another spontaneous guide! This time, as you can see, it's for

______Karthus is a great champion in so many ways, even with the recent cooldown nerf to his ultimate. He is fairly easy and extremely fun to play, farms superbly well, and has terrific global presence that can put him ahead of his opponent mid laner, as well as put his teammates ahead, without doing anything except clicking R. Karthus also provides nice utility for his team in the form of his

______The only real downside to playing Karthus is his weak laning phase. He can still do well versus many AP mids, due to his extreme single target damage and gold advantage he can pick up with his ultimate. However, due to his squishy nature, his lack of any hard CC (stuns, silences, knockups, fears, suppresses, etc.), and the somewhat easy ability to dodge his






______If you want to learn how to properly play and build Karthus, look no further. I hope you enjoy my guide, and feel free to leave any comments and constructive criticism below. Don't forget to vote once you read it!
______Now, let's hear what one of the best Karthus players in the world (besides me of course), PhantomL0rd, has to say about Karthus.
Powerful Pros
+Really easy to farm with +Terrific single target as well as AoE damage +Global presence, which can put both yourself and your teammates in a better position, all with the click of a button +Really nice CC with his ![]() +Not a very difficult champion to learn and play +Great harass +Gets mana back for every unit kill -- when ![]() ![]() +Due to this mana sustain, and low mana costs anyway, once he gets a ![]() +Terrific passive which allows him to deal tons of damage after dying +Undead |
______ | ___ |
___ |
______ | ___ |
___ |
Corrosive Cons
-Pretty squishy, especially early game -- many AP mids can take advantage of that -No hard CC -Due to the above factors, can lose some mid lanes if not played right -He's never actually alive (hue) -His ult gets canceled by any hard CC ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ |




This is the more traditional AP carry route. You want to be a bit more survivable here since you won't be able to instantly







Suicide Karthus




The main idea behind suicide Karthus is to be a squishy glass cannon with tons of AP, run into the middle of a fight, turn on







Remember,


You generally want to leave blue buff to another teammate that can use it, because with this build you will have an

Try not to play suicide Karthus if the enemy team has a lot of hard CC (more than 2), since they can easily stun you and disengage when you try to get into their whole team. It can still work out, but it will be a bit more difficult.

Greater Marks of Insight
All of Karthus's abilities are dealt as magic damage, and as such you want magic penetration. This extra MPen is very helpful along with your masteries (if you follow my setup), your


Greater Seal of Vitality
Greater Seals of Vitality
With these, it is quite an easy choice. Besides these being half the price of the flat

You want health seals to make her a little less squishy. In total, 9 of these seals give around 180 extra health at 18, which helps a lot considering you don't have to spend any gold in-game to get the extra HP.
You could also go with the

I get these runes over the





In fights, whether you are playing suicide Karthus or not, there is a very good chance of you dying at some point if you are fulfilling your job of doing tons of damage to the enemy team (this requires you to either straight up run in and





They are still not bad runes to take, so if you have them and still feel like taking them for the increased mana regen, especially if you are newer and have trouble managing your mana, feel free to. But they really aren't necessary.

Greater Seals of Force
Since you don't need the extra survivability on suicide Karthus, I take some extra damage on him with these seals. If you feel you need the extra health regardless, feel free to take the Greater Seal of Vitality.

Greater Glyphs of Warding
These runes help a ton. You get 12 MR in total from the start, and since you will most likely be mid, this means you are negating quite a bit of damage from the enemy AP's spells, which helps a lot early on to let you lane longer. I get flat over scaling here since the scaling

Take these runes if you are against a high-burst match up and feel you will easily get pushed out of lane. For example, if you see a spam-heavy, bursty champion that you will be going against in draft mode, such as





Greater Glyphs of Force
These runes, which I take on my suicide Karthus build, work really well on him. They add 27 ability power at level 18, which amounts to a little over 35 with


I get these runes over the flat


Get these runes if you don't feel you will get bullied out of lane easily and you think you can win your matchup pretty hard, or if you want to risk not doing as well early game in laning phase to have a bit of a stronger late game.

Greater Quintessences of Potency
These quints are amazing to take with Karthus, as well as every mid AP champion. These runes work with your Deathcap as well, just like the





Other viable alternatives could be the



Offense Mastery Tree
![]() |
space |
Tier 1 - You want the extra 3 AP from
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() I don't take ![]() ![]() Tier 2 - You want to take the CDR from ![]() ![]() Tier 3 - The extra magic penetration from ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Tier 4 - Four points in ![]() Tier 5 - ![]() Tier 6 - ![]() |
Defense Mastery Tree
Tier 1 - I take a point in
![]() ![]() ![]() |
space |
![]() |
Utility Mastery Tree
![]() |
space |
Tier 1 - I take the 3 points in
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Tier 2 - We take three points in ![]() Tier 3 - We put a point in ![]() I don't get a point in this if I am playing suicide Karthus, because the movement speed from improved ![]() ![]() ![]() |

Exhaust
This is a really nice spell to take on non-suicide Karthus. It lets you focus down an enemy carry in teamfights, and helps you net kills in lane by allowing you to easily hit








Flash
A very common spell on most champions. This spell lets you escape enemies, close any gaps, initiate any fights, get out of turret range, and more. Pretty standard, and should be taken if not running suicide Karthus (I don't take this on suicide Karthus because you need the combination of



Revive
Necessary spell if you are going to run suicide Karthus. As mentioned earlier, allows you to run in to a fight, deal tons of damage, die, and come back to finish the job up. Also grants some bonus health for a bit upon revival, which is a nice perk.

Teleport
Necessary to pull off your suicide


MEH

NO...JUST...NO

Any spell not mentioned is a definite no-no for obvious reasons, too obvious to even spend time discussing.

Death Defied
This passive is great, and makes Karthus who he is. This passive is also what makes suicide Karthus viable. When you die, you still deal damage. Tons of it. It also lets you safely cast your ult, since nothing that can usually stop a channel can stop it when you are already technically dead. A terrific passive overall.

Lay Waste
This is your main harassing, farming, and damaging tool, all on a 1 second cooldown. Deals double damage to single targets, which makes it a superb ability to help you instantly kill enemy carries in lane and in fights. Also makes taking dragon and baron early game a breeze with your team.
To last hit with it, simply wait till creeps are almost going to die, and cast it under the creeps that are about to die. Keep in mind it has a 0.5 second delay, so if you notice creep attacks heading to the enemy creep, make sure to wait until they arrive to use

I learn this ability first so that from level 1, I can be harassing and farming safely. I max it first, since as mentioned, this is your core, your bread and butter, the ability that you will spam most often, the ability you use for harassing and farming; and as such, you want to get the most out of it as soon as possible.

Wall of Pain
Great utility ability. At max level, applies an 80% slow that diminishes over five seconds; also reduces enemy MR and armor. At level 1 however, the slow is still nice, at 40%. The wall also provides sight, so you can pop it in a bush, in baron pit, dragon pit, etc., to help your team steal, get sight on a possible gank incoming, etc. Can't be destroyed like a ward, so it will fully give sight for all five seconds that it's up.
This ability is mainly for utility; you want your damaging and sustain (more mana restory per level of


Defile
Karthus's signature AoE that deals a lot of damage per second. Combined with


If you do go OOM, you can last hit minions with your auto attacks to gain mana back.
For the most damage possible and to get the most lane sustain possible, especially in combination with your




Requiem
One hell of an ultimate. This ability is the signature ult that hits everyone on the map. Someone thinks they get out with low health, only to notice the red line streaming above their head a second later, telling the inevitable.
This ult lets you finish off kills, assist other lanes without leaving your own, deal massive damage to the enemy in fights, even if it doesn't kill them, and makes you look really cool when you use it to killsteal a teammate who was clearly going to get the kill anyway (try not to do this, as the ability is on a really high cooldown, especially early game -- you need to make sure you don't waste it, since there's a chance you could be more useful with it later, only to find it is on cooldown).
Remember that this ultimate is CHANNELED, meaning that hard CC or death will interrupt it. Please do not cast it right before you die, or it will just cancel. Don't cast it in the middle of a fight when you are still alive, you will most likely get hard CCed and it will be canceled. If you are going to use it out of a fight, back up to a safe area such as a tower, to make sure the enemy doesn't notice you using it and cancel it. If you are using it in the middle of a fight, wait until either you die, since then it can't be canceled (make sure to cast it soon after



In fights, you generally want to save this ability until you are safe in


Learn this ability whenever you can.
Skill Combo
You don't really have a "combo", per se. Just DPS down the enemy, with constant




If you are in a fight with multiple enemies, turn on





Remember that a silence is considered hard CC, not just a stun/knockup/fear. Try not to ult right next to a










______Because, as mentioned in the intro, Karthus is somewhat weak against a good sum of mid laners (although he can still do well vs. many, and even vs. some book counters if he plays it right), the need for a lot of farm is even larger. Thankfully, with his low mana cost, low cooldown



______The beauty of Karthus, however, as such a strong mid-late game carry, you could do horribly early game, but as long as you farm well and get your items, you will still stomp any enemy carry late game, even if they got a bit fed.
______When playing Karthus, you also want to try to roam to other lanes when your opponent recalls/gets pushed out/gets killed and you don't have to recall immediately. You have pretty strong ganks with your damage and your

______Also keep your eye out for

______Make sure that your allies don't telegraph your gank, that is, start moving forward or using spells such as a stun or ghost way before you are able to jump in, or when the enemy is close to their turret and you aren't able to dive. When you are in position to jump in, and the enemy/enemies are in a good position to gank, signal your allies to move forward, either with words if you are in a voice program or with a ping, or even with a quick "GOGO" in chat if you type quickly. If they have a hard CC, such as Udyr's


______Keep in mind that gank opportunities dissipate quickly. If you notice a good chance to jump in, don't hesitate. If it is an actual good opportunity, the worst that could happen is they get away but you force them to go back or burn a flash, ultimate, etc. Remember, you don't have to net a kill for a gank to be successful. Although you may be upset that you won't get any gold for your efforts, your allies will be in a much better position if the enemy simply burns flash. That means that they are easier to gank in the future, and an easier target for your allies to kill for 4 minutes or so. If you do hesitate and lose a good gank opportunity, you not only prevented a possible good situation for your teammates, but lost a lot of your own time as well that could have been used farming, getting kills elsewhere, or buying and healing.
______A lot of times, if you can't immediately roam and help another lane, you generally want to recall. Despite you most likely being able to stay in lane when your enemy has to recall, due to your mana sustain with


______For instance, say you start the game with boots 3 pots and the enemy Gragas does as well. You both farm well for about 5 minutes, but you are farming a little better. Then you tick 6 and kill him, and then continue to stay. You are out of health pots. Gragas returns with double

______Now say you recalled right when he did, and straight away picked up a


Counters
-Champions with single target abilities, ie.


-Champions with hard CC, such as, once again,








-Champions that have huge burst/nukes, such as




______Overall, you want to try to avoid these matchups if you can; if you can't, or you are playing blind pick, just hope for the best, and try to outplay them -- if you know you are against a hard champion for Karthus to deal with, stay back, don't engage them unless you get a gank from your team, just farm and get strong. You can still outscale them late game if you don't feed them.
NOTE: Try to buy an

ANOTHER NOTE: If you still have some leftover gold after your purchases, and some open slots, ALWAYS TRY TO BUY WARDS! If you don't have leftover gold, try to make some the next time you go back! Stay in lane to get three more CS if you need some more gold for a ward! Lose a few health pots! Don't stay in the dark! Don't rely on your jungler to ward your lane if you are top or mid, although oftentimes they will. Buy some Sight Wards, you will not regret it! WARDS SAVE LIVES!
Early Game


Boots of Speed and 3 health potions
This is your core start with Karthus, and most champions in the current meta (minus supports). Since you have mana regen from your masteries and mana return from your


Catalyst the Protector
Catalyst the Protector
First item to get or start building upon recall if you are playing survivable Karthus. Provides some nice health and mana, letting you get bullied a bit more, and some nice sustain from the passive upon leveling up. Will be build into a


Tear of the Goddess
First item to get or start building upon if you are playing suicide Karthus. Gives you good mana sustain, which, when paired with your upcoming



Hextech Revolver
Gives great sustain, which, combined with your masteries,



If you are playing survivable Karthus, get this item AFTER your


Sorcerer's Shoes
Gives you flat Magic Penetration, which, tied with your runes and masteries, will let you deal near-true damage to anyone before they get MRes, which usually isn't until mid-late game. Then, you will get a











If an enemy gets

I get these boots before my

That 20 Mpen and 2 move speed will benefit you too much in game.
By 2, he means of course Enhanced Movement 2, not literally 2 more movespeed. The extra MPen from Sorc's increases your damage by quite a bit early game, so you definitely want to get them before you finish your Rod.

Rod of Ages
For survivable Karthus. Builds from the Catalyst the Protector purchased earlier. It grants a nice amount of AP (80, 104 with





Hextech Revolver
Pick this up now if you are playing survivable Karthus.
Mid Game

Rabadon's Deathcap
This item is just amazing. You want to rush this item after the

A must-have for Karthus, as well as for every other AP carry in the game.

Will of the Ancients
This item, in my opinion, is core on basically EVERY AP carry, ESPECIALLY Karthus. The stats it gives for the cheap price are just too hard to pass up, and they help the whole team, too!
Of course this item gives nice AP, and a good aura for your teammates, but the real thing that we are looking for here is the spell vamp. Obviously don't need a



You want spell vamp on Karthus, because, combined with your mana sustain, you will have basically infinite sustain in lane and a lot of sustain in fights that will keep you alive longer. You may be thinking that spell vamp on Karthus is pretty underwhelming, since all of his damaging abilities are AoE, and only 33% effect is applied to AoE spells from Will of the Ancients. However, keep in mind, the 33% is applied to EACH TARGET SEPARATELY. Meaning, if you have three targets dealt the same amount of damage from an AoE ability versus one target dealt that damage from a single target ability, both abilities would heal for the same amount.
Now consider this. MORE than three targets. How about a whole team of five champions? How about a whole wave of 20 creeps?
You heal for a lot.
Since you have low cooldowns with your


If you have blue buff, you basically never have to recall once you have this item. If you are getting low, find a creep wave, and bingo, you are back at full health, and you have full mana from blue buff.
You can also kite enemy champions if you are getting chased down with low health -- slow them with



A terrific purchase for Karthus.

Archangel's Staff
Not too expensive to upgrade since you already bought a Tear if you are playing suicide Karthus. By this time your Tear has seasoned a bit, and now buying this, along with your Deathcap passive, will massively increase your total AP.
Late Game

Void Staff
This item is necessary to pick up late game. More often than not, when the enemy sees your crazy damage, they will be buying some Magic Resistance to counter you. How to counter them countering you?








Mercury's Treads
I swap my



This swap is not in the main build since it is situational, but should be considered when you are getting bursted down quickly by the enemy AP(s), the enemy team has a lot of CC that is messing you up, and/or multiple enemies have over ~200 MR.

Zhonya's Hourglass
This item synergizes really well with Karthus's kit. Whether you are playing suicide Karthus or not, it essentially adds two seconds to your



Elixir of Brilliance
This is the item to just keep spending your gold on if the game is STILL going and you have completed your item build. If you have all 6 item slots full, as you should if you are buying this item at the end, it will automatically be consumed for you. It gives some nice AP (over 50 with


Rylai's Crystal Scepter
Since all of your abilities are AoE (except single target


Why no
Rod of Ages AND
Archangel's Staff in one build?

Generally, however, if you end up actually getting to a full build, and you don't know which item you should drop for one of these, drop the



Quicksilver Sash
This item is good against enemies with a lot of CC (Kennen, Morgana, Lux, Vlad, etc) if you do not have



Mercury's Treads
This item is also great against a team of CCers, just keep in mind it would supplement your



Banshee's Veil
This item can be a lifesaver against certain enemies, such as enemies with CC like Morgana and Kennen, as well as enemies who have an "inevitable ultimate", such as Vlad's ultimate and Karthus's ultimate. It blocks a negative spell every 45 seconds. 'Nuff said. Getting in a sticky situation, your Banshee's might just save you enough time to get the hell outta there. This item also grants Health and mres, both helpful against these types of enemies. It also gives some mana, which doesn't hurt.

Mejai's Soulstealer
Nothing else at this price (let alone most other items) can provide this much AP. Plus, with the deathcap, not even including the bonus % AP masteries, the total 180 AP from this item with full stacks turns into 234 total AP. And getting stacks, especially with Karthus (click R to win), is super easy. Your abilities are so devastating early through late game that you are guaranteed to get a lot of kills and assists. And if you lose some, just get them back! Once you get full stacks, you get 15% CDR, which is helpful when you don't have blue buff or blue elixir on you.
However, this is NOT the most reliable item, use it at your own risk. If you are having an exceptionally good game (think: super stomp), try to pick it up early. If not, don't bother risking to lose an item slot and a lot of AP and some gold. It also adds a big "FOCUS ME" sign on top of your head, since the enemies will want to do all they can to prevent you from getting to 20 stacks. Be aware that this is a risky item to use, but will reap great rewards if you get a lot of stacks on it without dying.
______Yep.
______Any questions or feedback, feel free to leave them in the comments or PM me and I will get right back to you. Thanks, and have FUN!

______Thanks to jhoijhoi for her guide template, which I used for my "Masteries" and "Pros and Cons" sections!
______Thanks to a lot of people, namely Yukimaru and GrandmasterD, for helping me perfect my rune and mastery setup!
You must be logged in to comment. Please login or register.