Karthus is a ranged mage usually played Jungle/Bot on Summoner's Rift. This guide covers Karthus in ARAM: Play as a backline poke mage, focusing on constant Lay Waste spam and using your passive to deal damage after death.
Karthus ARAM Abilities
Karthus becomes a spirit on death, letting him cast spells for a short time.
Delayed AoE blast deals bonus damage to isolated enemies.
Creates a passable wall that slows enemies and reduces their Magic Resist.
Karthus drains mana per second to damage nearby enemies, and gains mana on kills.
After a 3-second channel, Karthus deals damage to all enemy champions globally.
Karthus ARAM Playstyle & Tips
Play as a backline poke mage, focusing on constant Lay Waste spam and using your passive to deal damage after death. Prioritize mana sustain and ability haste to maximize your ultimate's impact.
Tips
Use your passive to keep casting abilities after death, especially Lay Waste for area denial.
Build mana items like Seraph's Embrace to sustain your high mana costs in ARAM.
Position safely behind your team and use Lay Waste to poke from a distance.
Take Ultimate Hunter rune to reduce Requiem cooldown for frequent global pressure.
Buy Zhonya's Hourglass to survive dives and continue dealing damage with your E and Q.
Combos
Use Wall of Pain (W) to slow enemies, then spam Lay Waste (Q) for damage.
Activate Defile (E) before dying to maximize area damage while in passive form.
Cast Requiem (R) when multiple enemies are low health to secure kills across the map.
Follow up a teammate's engage with Wall of Pain (W) and Lay Waste (Q) for burst.
Karthus ARAM Build Patch 16.13
Runes
Primary — Sorcery
Deathfire Touch
Axiom Arcanist
Transcendence
Gathering StormSecondary — Domination
Ultimate Hunter
Cheap ShotSummoners
Skill Order
Max your skills in this order
Starter Items
- 1.
Amplifying Tome - 2.
Fated Ashes
Core Items
- 1.
Blackfire Torch - 2.
Liandry's Torment - 3.
Sorcerer's Shoes
Buy / avoid tips (5)
Buy when:
- your champion needs to kite effectively
- enemy team lacks gap closers
- you want to peel for carries
Avoid when:
- your champion has built-in slows
- enemy team has tenacity stacking
Options
Buy / avoid tips (5)
Buy when:
- enemy team is squishy with low mr
- you need burst to delete priority targets
- your champion excels at quick trades
Avoid when:
- enemy has multiple tanky frontliners
- you need sustained dps over burst
Options
Buy / avoid tips (5)
Buy when:
- you are the primary AP carry
- enemy team is stacking health
- you need maximum burst damage
Avoid when:
- you need utility or survivability
- your team has mixed damage sources
Options
Karthus ARAM FAQ
What is the best build for Karthus in ARAM?
In ARAM, Karthus typically builds core items like Blackfire Torch, Liandry's Torment, Sorcerer's Shoes and Deathfire Touch runes (Sorcery primary, Domination secondary).
What runes should I use for Karthus in ARAM?
Take Deathfire Touch in the Sorcery tree as your keystone, with Domination as your secondary tree for Karthus in ARAM.
How do you play Karthus in ARAM?
Play as a backline poke mage, focusing on constant Lay Waste spam and using your passive to deal damage after death. Prioritize mana sustain and ability haste to maximize your ultimate's impact.
What is Karthus's best combo in ARAM?
Use Wall of Pain (W) to slow enemies, then spam Lay Waste (Q) for damage.
