How to win lane as Samira against Karthus · 47.47% win rate (1,146 Emerald+ games, lolalytics, sampled July 2026) · Matchup data reviewed on patch 26.15
He zones the brawl you want — whirl the rotation's projectiles, surf the gap, and melee the mage out of the conversation.
Track: Karthus's R — Requiem (200–160s cooldown). The global execute — recall above the red line and track it from his level 6 on.
Read from Samira's seat: which stage windows this plan plays for against Karthus.
This is Samira's own plan; across 1,146 pooled games the lane is leaning Karthus.
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Samira | You beat immobile Karthus at level 1 since he has no way to escape your dash. |
| Level 2 | Samira | At level 2 he's still rooted in place and exposed every time he steps up to poke. |
| Level 3 | Samira | Level 3 gives you the dash to punish his Q commitments and farming. |
| Levels 4-5 | Samira | Through 4-5 you windwall his Lay Waste and force melee brawls he can't escape. |
| Level 6 | Samira | At 6 your ult executes him at close range where his global Requiem can't peel. |
| First item | Samira | At first item you out-brawl a squishy Karthus who can't create any distance. |
| Two+ items | Samira | Late, your mobility and resets overwhelm a stationary Karthus who can't stop your dive. |
You beat an immobile Karthus at 1-2: he has no dash, so every step he takes to farm or poke with Q exposes him to your Q gap-close and windwall. He stands still to cast, which is exactly the target a dash-in combo wants. Blade Whirl eats nothing he throws, so time the step-in for the beat after a Lay Waste rather than during it. Stay out of Defile once you are on him only long enough to finish the grade, then leave.
Pooled Emerald+ win rates from Samira's side, sampled July 2026.
The full Samira 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.
Read the full guide — plans from $1.99/month →🔒 Secure checkout · 💰 7-day money-back guarantee on your first payment · ✋ Cancel anytime
Lane Pass $1.99/mo · All Lanes $3.99/mo · Annual $24.99/yr. Renews automatically — cancel anytime.
Karthus, slightly — Samira wins 47.47% of 1,146 games; winnable with the right plan.
Mostly — Karthus has a small statistical edge (52.53% win rate), but execution decides this lane far more than the pick does.
No — if anything Karthus has the slight edge (Samira wins 47.47%), though it stays close.
Samira takes Conqueror on the Precision tree with Triumph, Legend: Bloodline and Last Stand, and Domination secondary (Taste of Blood and Treasure Hunter) vs Karthus.
Start Doran's Blade + Health Potion and back for Vampiric Scepter / Dirk (≈900g). Build Bloodthirster / Collector first, then Infinity Edge, with Mercury's Treads / Berserker's.
Playing the other side? Karthus vs Samira guide →
All Samira bot lane matchups →
More Samira bot lane matchups: vs Jinx · vs Kai'Sa · vs Kalista · vs Kog'Maw · vs Lucian · vs Miss Fortune