Karthus

[quote=caucheka]so yeah recently i played karthus for a few games because i remember how much fun i had in free week karthus but.. i'm just getting zoned and shit on by brand and annie and other choice mages. anyway uh, what does everyone else think of karthus? is he good now or does he need a buff? or something[/quote]

[quote=B-Wong]He's an ultimate character meaning if he doesn't have his ultimate he's shit.[/quote]

[quote=caucheka]well no duh. requiem is probably the coolest ult but still. i cant get no farm for my archangels (ahuehuehuehue) even though im trying to throw as many skittles as i can to chase em off[/quote]

[quote=PsiGuard]Well, early boots helps a bit against Brand's [[Pillar of Flame]] and [[Sear]]. Annie can be really tough in mid though, so you'll just have to make her waste her stun on last-hits. If you're having serious difficulties, just play defensively until 6 and use your ult to net a couple kills/assists in other lanes, while using your jungler to gank mid, that'll help with the gold issues. Just some ideas. I'm not much of a Karthus player myself.[/quote]

[quote=Trojan995]Karthus is great. He has damn good lane presence, but the problem is positioning. Just don't worry about soaking the enemy with your E, and farm all day long. I mean all day. Don't leave your lane until you have mad CS and a lot of items. Don't rush tear, get it after catalyst. That might mean that you put off actual AP until way late, but it's necessary. Ties more into lots of farm.[/quote]

[quote=Queso][quote=caucheka] so yeah recently i played karthus for a few games because i remember how much fun i had in free week karthus but.. i'm just getting zoned and shit on by brand and annie and other choice mages. anyway uh, what does everyone else think of karthus? is he good now or does he need a buff? or something [/quote] Annie giving you problems is understandable, as her stun is much harder to avoid than Brand. I've not had a problem against brand yet though. You gotta keep moving to stay out of the pillar, but you should be able to out harass him with Q and manage your mana better than him early game thanks to the defile passive. [quote]He's an ultimate character meaning if he doesn't have his ultimate he's shit.[/quote] Wrong. He is a QQQQQQQQ champion, meaning if you don't land your Q your R won't mean shit except for the easy kills on low opponents bot or top. My solution for you Caucheka is to passively farm until level 4, only harass if they make aggressive movements, easily dropping Qs in their walking path to you. Past 4 if you can land a Wall of Pain on their face, you can then really hurt them badly with Q. Worst case scenario, Q has long range and you can just farm with it by hitting one minion at a time. I carry teleport/flash on my karthus, teleport so you can quickly get Tear & boots and farm to your hearts content. I find Revolver a better choice for sustaining early game, because it gives you both power and sustain. Then rush two major AP items, Deathcap&Archangels. The more mad DPS you have, the better that revolver investment becomes, and do at some point invest in Will of The ancients, it's simply a great item to have on him. I'd buy a banshee veil late in the game as your best defensive item. I feel Karthus is fairly balanced now. I wish his passive still gave 8 seconds of time instead of 7 but other than that, he is good. It's just harder to play him than it is to play Annie.[/quote]

[quote=JEFFY40HANDS]B-Wong is terribly wrong there. Karthus is the teamfight champ. He does amazing damage, but requires enough skill to actually deal it. He's not just about the ultimate anyone who thinks that way is playing him wrong...REALLY wrong. Karthus' is a solid AP carry, unlike Annie or Brand who can deal super burst damage Karthus has 1 true nuke (his Ultimate) and sustainable damage skills. Defile [icon= Defile size= 20] and Lay Waste [icon= Lay Waste size= 20] couple that with his wall and you've got some great AoE damage. Karthus should outrange Annie and Brand. And with Lay Waste being smart cast you should be able to last hit on the move. If they're zoning you early you'll have to get agressive. Grab your wall at 4 or 5. It costs some mana but trust me, people are real scared of it. Lay it down in front or just behind them. If they step through it push them, if they avoid it you're fine. It lasts a little bit should at least keep them away from you or intimidate them.[/quote]

[quote=Dante Rebellion]I think after all the buffs and changes to the champions, plus some really strong new champions.. Karthus has slacked off a bit. He's still okay but he is forced take some heavy punishment from annie, brand, orianna, etc, who have really good range and nuking power. Positioning has just become very important with karthus, so has communication. He's still good, but there are better mage champions out there imo.[/quote]

[quote=Flubadoo]Karthus with 330 AP can theoretically deal a maximum of 630 DPS. Ridiculous. Anyways, I just get Rod of Ages to fix my mana problems. You don't use E unless you're in teamfights or need to farm a massive wave. Archangels is a bad item imo since Rod of Ages should fix all your mana problems.[/quote]

[quote=JEFFY40HANDS]@Flu: RoA is good on him for survival/sustain. Archangel's is also really good not just for the mana and MANA REGEN but the bonus AP from the mana you get....Actually his E should be used whenever you're going for a kill on an enemy, not just treamfights. It's an AoE DAMAGE PER SECOND skill...It has awesome range and is hard to avoid without wasting a summoner....And RoA doesn't fix your mana problems entirely. You need MP5 to make Karthus last is some situations. So blue buff and archangels pretty much gurantee's unlimited mana to keep "E" toggled for awhile. @Dante: By better you mean easier to play right? Annie/Brand are like two jons looking for a cheap hooker. They stroll in blow their load and either walk out immideately or stick around for another "poke". Karthus walks in bangs for an hour and then decides if he wants to blow. Or at least how I play him. He brings sustained DPS in a teamfight, if he dies he dies, but the team should fight on top of him. Annie/Brand can carry hard in almost any situation. Karthus needs to be able to fight from the outskirts with Defile and Lay Waste poking people, then bring the pain with his ulti....In truth there are multiple ways to play Karthus effectively, just depends on your playstyle and mind set.[/quote]