Karthus vs Kog'Maw — Bot Lane (ADC) Matchup Guide

How to win lane as Karthus against Kog'Maw · 48.41% win rate over 157 Emerald+ games · Updated 2026-07-27

Verdict: Closer than it looks — Karthus owns 7 of the 7 game windows, but the win rate still favours Kog'Maw: you have to convert those windows or the game slips away. Karthus wins 48.41% of games vs Kog'Maw in bot lane (adc) (157 Emerald+ games analysed).

Favour timeline — who owns each window

StageFavouredWhy
Level 1KarthusKog'Maw's short range and no escape let you out-poke him at level 1.
Level 2KarthusAt level 2 he still can't contest your Lay Waste without taking damage.
Level 3KarthusLevel 3 your poke and Wall of Pain punish his immobile farming.
Levels 4-5KarthusThrough levels 4-5 you keep pressuring the escapeless Kog'Maw.
Level 6KarthusLevel 6 Requiem snipes him from range to deny his scaling, favoring you.
First itemKarthusYour first AP item bursts him before his Bio-Arcane range comes fully online.
Two+ itemsKarthusWith two items you must kite his shred, but Requiem still snipes him before he ramps.

Early game (levels 1–5)

Levels 1-2 are yours: Kog'Maw has no mobility and short range, so you out-poke him with Lay Waste and farm freely while he can only last-hit cautiously.

Read the rest of this matchup

The full Karthus vs Kog'Maw 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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Related guides

Playing the other side? Kog'Maw vs Karthus guide →
All Karthus bot lane (adc) matchups →