How to win lane as Karthus against Samira · 59.58% win rate over 433 Emerald+ games · Updated 2026-07-27
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Karthus | Melee Samira must enter your Q and Defile range to build any style early. |
| Level 2 | Karthus | Level 2 W shreds her approach so your poke lands before she stacks. |
| Level 3 | Karthus | Level 3 Defile plus isolated Q punishes every step she takes to trade. |
| Levels 4-5 | Karthus | Levels 4-5 your zone keeps her off the wave and denies style stacks. |
| Level 6 | Samira | At 6 her R Inferno Trigger executes you point-blank while W blocks your burst. |
| First item | Karthus | First-item Defile scaling out-pokes her and pushes her out of ult range. |
| Two+ items | Karthus | In 2+ item fights your zone and global ult beat her once you can peel the dive. |
Levels 1-2 punish her melee range: she can't CS or build style without stepping into your ranged Q and Defile, so zone her off the wave and deny her stacks.
The full Karthus vs Samira 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? Samira vs Karthus guide →
All Karthus bot lane (adc) matchups →