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Karthus·Jungle Build

Death DefiedP
Lay WasteQ
Wall of PainW
DefileE
RequiemR
Win rate50.5%
Pick rate5.0%
Ban rate28.1%
Matches111 279-
Karthus Jungle has a 50.5% win rate with 5.0% pick rate in Emerald + and is currently ranked A tier. Based on our analysis of 111 279 matches in patch 14.12 the best build for Karthus is Blackfire Torch, Sorcerer's Shoes, Liandry's Torment, Rabadon's Deathcap, and Void Staff. Most picked runes for Karthus Jungle are Dark Harvest, Cheap Shot, Eyeball Collection, and Treasure Hunter for primary tree, as well as Coup de Grace, and Presence of Mind for secondary tree.
Karthus Top
Karthus Jungle
Karthus Mid
Karthus Bot
Karthus Support

Karthus Build

Jungle Jungle  Patch 14.12

Most Popular

Win Rate 53.2% based on 53 415 matches

Import this build directly into your game client:

Recommended builds

Build
WR
Dark HarvestPrecision
Blackfire Torch

Most Popular

53.2%
Dark HarvestSorcery
Blackfire Torch

2nd Most Popular

49.3%
First StrikeDomination
Blackfire Torch

Alternative

50.3%
Dark HarvestSorcery
Malignance

Off-Meta

47.9%

Top Players
ALL

Player name
WR

Destroy Pro

100%

Josedeodo Pro

75.0%
iconRankName

NoLucianMidPls OTP

62.7%

Matchup Specific

vs Champion
WR

Lee Sin

55.8%

Kha'Zix

54.1%

runes

Domination
Domination
ElectrocuteDark HarvestHail of Blades
Cheap Shot
Taste of Blood
Sudden Impact
Zombie Ward
Ghost Poro
Eyeball Collection
Treasure Hunter
Relentless Hunter
Ultimate Hunter
Precision
Precision
Absorb Life
Triumph
Presence of Mind
Legend: Alacrity
Legend: Haste
Legend: Bloodline
Coup de Grace
Cut Down
Last Stand
Adaptive Force
Attack Speed
Ability Haste
Adaptive Force
Move Speed
Health Scaling
Health
Tenacity and Slow Resist
Health Scaling

spells

SummonerExhaust

D

SummonerSmite

F

items

Starter Items

Time Target
Scorchclaw Pup
Health Potion
Stealth Ward

@ 15 sec

Early Items

Fated Ashes
Boots

@ 4 min

Core Items

Blackfire Torch
Sorcerer's Shoes
Liandry's Torment

@ 18 min

Full Build

Blackfire Torch
Sorcerer's Shoes
Liandry's Torment
Rabadon's Deathcap
Void Staff
Shadowflame

ability order

Max:

Q

right arrow

E

right arrow

W

right arrow

Skills

Death Defied
Lay Waste
Wall of Pain
Defile
Requiem
1
Q
2
E
3
Q
4
W
5
Q
6
R
7
Q
8
E
9
Q
10
E
11
R
12
E
13
E
14
W
15
W
16
R
17
W
18
W

situational items

Zhonya's Hourglass
Malignance
Cryptbloom
Morellonomicon
Banshee's Veil
Rylai's Crystal Scepter

Karthus Matchups Overview

Karthus General information

Karthus tips and tricks

Look to gank lanes that are overextended and are low. You do not have the greatest ganking potential, so ganking easy lanes is key.

Continuously toggle your DefileE on and off for extra damage when farming the jungle camps. Do not leave it on though as it will quickly burn through your mana bar.

Keep an eye on the minimap at all times and use your RequiemR to pick up kills on low health enemies.

Karthus combos

Every combo you need to master the champion!

The Best Karthus Builds, Runes and Items for Jungle in Emerald +

Most Popular

If you want to use the most popular Karthus Jungle build, you should take Exhaust and Smite as your Summoner Spells. For runes, you should pick Dark Harvest as your keystone, followed by Cheap Shot, Eyeball Collection and Treasure Hunter in the primary tree, as well as Coup de Grace and Presence of Mind in the secondary tree. For rune shards, you want Adaptive Force in offense, Adaptive Force in flex and Health Scaling in defense, though it depends on the matchup. Finally, for your items, you should build Blackfire Torch as your first item, followed by Sorcerer's Shoes and Liandry's Torment. For your last 3 items, you should build Rabadon's Deathcap, Void Staff and finish with Shadowflame. For the skill order, you want to stick with Q - E - W. Right now, this build has 53.2% winrate over 53 415 matches played.

Optional

Your second option for Karthus Jungle build would be to take Exhaust and Smite as your Summoner Spells. The runes that this build takes advantage of are Dark Harvest as your keystone, Cheap Shot, Eyeball Collection and Ultimate Hunter in the primary tree, and Gathering Storm with Transcendence in the secondary tree. The shards used in this build are Adaptive Force in offense, Adaptive Force in flex and Health Scaling in defense. The items for the build are Blackfire Torch, which you should build first, followed by Sorcerer's Shoes as your second item and Malignance as your third item. The rest of the items in order are Liandry's Torment, Rabadon's Deathcap and Void Staff. The skill order for this build is Q - E - W. In the current patch, this build has a 49.3% win rate over 6 298 matches.

Alternative

If you're looking for alternatives, you can use Exhaust and Smite as your Summoner Spells, with runes being First Strike as your keystone, Magical Footwear, Time Warp Tonic and Cosmic Insight in the primary tree, and Eyeball Collection with Ultimate Hunter in the secondary tree, as well as Adaptive Force, Adaptive Force, and Health Scaling as your rune shards. The items that this build incorporates are Blackfire Torch as your first item, then Sorcerer's Shoes as a second item and Liandry's Torment as a third item. You want to finish the build with Rabadon's Deathcap, Void Staff and Shadowflame. As far as ability max order goes, you want to keep it Q - E - W. This build is currently sitting at a 50.3% win rate across 5 479 matches played.

Off-Meta

If you want to try an Off-Meta Karthus Jungle build in the current patch, try Exhaust and Smite as your Summoner Spells, Dark Harvest, Cheap Shot, Eyeball Collection and Ultimate Hunter as your primary rune tree, and Gathering Storm with Transcendence as your secondary tree. Use Adaptive Force, Adaptive Force and Health Scaling as your shards. For items in this build, you want to complete Malignance as your first item, then finish Sorcerer's Shoes as your second item, and Liandry's Torment as third item. The last 3 options are Shadowflame, Rabadon's Deathcap and Void Staff. The ability order for this build is Q - E - W. As of the current patch, this build has a 47.9% win rate over 5 216 matches played.

Situational Karthus Runes and Items

Depending on the context of your game, your matchup, and enemy champions, you might want to consider building some situational items or take specific runes. Carefully examine your team, enemy team, game state , and your matchup to plan your Karthus build accordingly! For example, when it comes to rune shards, you might want to take either Armor or Magic Resist, depending on which champion you are about to lane against.

Furthermore, if you want a more detailed breakdown, you should also check out Karthus runes page.

Karthus useful resources
Probuilds

Probuilds

Check out the latest and best Karthus Probuilds used by pros from around the world, featured by lolvvv.

New Champion: Smolder

New Champion: Smolder

New champion is live! Check out the latest meta Smolder build now!

In-depth Build Stats

In-depth Build Stats

Dive into even more Karthus builds stats with additional analysis from our friends at LoLalytics.

Karthus Communities

Join other Karthus mains and discuss your favorite champion!

Karthus Counters - Best and Worst Matchups for Jungle in Emerald +

Best Matchups

In Patch 14.13 the best possible matchups for Karthus Jungle are:

Consider picking Karthus into these matches to increase your chance to win a game. These are the most popular Jungle matchups that currently are in favor of Karthus.

Worst Matchups

We highly recommend avoiding picking Karthus in the current patch into the following Jungle matchups:

These champions are considered as Karthus counters in the current patch, and playing such a matchup will decrease your chances of winning a game.

Additional Notes

If you want to find out more about best and worst matchups, as well as specific matchup statistics, we highly encourage you to check our Karthus counters page. Keep in mind that while the champion may counter or be countered, it also comes down to your individual skill, the skill of your opponent, your team, and enemy team compositions.