How to win lane as Kai'Sa against Karthus · 48.99% win rate over 2,135 Emerald+ games · Updated 2026-07-27
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Karthus | Level 1 favors Karthus as Lay Waste out-ranges and pokes you off CS. |
| Level 2 | Karthus | Level 2 stays his with layered Q poke before your dash is available. |
| Level 3 | Kai'Sa | Level 3 is yours: you dash through the Q delay and burst the immobile Karthus. |
| Levels 4-5 | Karthus | Levels 4-5 swing to Karthus with Wall of Pain zoning and mana to spam Q. |
| Level 6 | Karthus | Level 6 is his: global Requiem punishes your poke and Death Defied keeps damaging. |
| First item | Karthus | First item favors his safe-range carpet-bomb poke you can't close on. |
| Two+ items | Kai'Sa | By 2+ items your mobility flanks past the Wall to delete him before his death-passive matters, flipping it. |
Level 1-2 favors Karthus: his Lay Waste out-ranges everything you have and pokes you off the wave before your dash is online.
The full Kai'Sa vs Karthus report continues with the mid-game plan, the late-game and teamfight plan, every power spike to play around, and the win conditions for both sides — plus cooldown tracking and the live enemy-jungle tracker inside the app.
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Playing the other side? Karthus vs Kai'Sa guide →
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