How to win lane as Vayne against Karthus · 51.36% win rate over 736 Emerald+ games · Updated 2026-07-27
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Karthus | At Level 1 Karthus's Lay Waste poke controls the lane over a stack-less Vayne. |
| Level 2 | Karthus | At Level 2 his Q spam and Wall setup keep the trading edge. |
| Level 3 | Karthus | At Level 3 his poke still zones Vayne off farm. |
| Levels 4-5 | Karthus | At Levels 4-5 his mana and Defile burn keep the lane in his favour. |
| Level 6 | Karthus | At Level 6 Requiem's global execute adds pressure Vayne can't match. |
| First item | Karthus | At first item his AP spike lets him zone the whole lane with Q and burn. |
| Two+ items | Vayne | By two-plus items Final Hour and Silver Bolts let Vayne flank and melt his immobile body. |
Levels 1-3 favour Karthus — Lay Waste spam pokes you off CS and his Wall slow zones your walk-ups before Silver Bolts stacks matter, so farm safe and dodge his Q.
The full Vayne 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 Vayne guide →
All Vayne bot lane (adc) matchups →