How to win lane as Karma against Sylas · 52.35% win rate over 170 Emerald+ games · Updated 2026-07-27
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Karma | Karma's poke range and mana efficiency dominate Sylas before he has any dash or reliable engage tool. |
| Level 2 | Karma | Sylas remains mana-starved on his Q-spam combo, letting Karma keep winning exchanges freely. |
| Level 3 | Karma | Sylas gains ultimate-steal potential and burst combo that punishes any close-range Karma play. |
| Levels 4-5 | Karma | Sylas's snowball window off item completion and stolen ultimates now outpaces Karma's trade potential. |
| Level 6 | Sylas | Sylas's ultimate directly threatens to weaponize Karma's own kit, flipping the fight in his favor. |
| First item | Sylas | Sylas's burst combo and mobility fully outscale Karma's poke by this item spike. |
| Two+ items | Sylas | Sylas's late-game pick potential and stolen ultimates make him the dominant threat in skirmishes. |
Levels 1-2 you win trades outright since Sylas has no dash until E unlocks and his Q parry is easily played around by just poking from max range with Inner Flame. This holds through levels 3-5 as his mana pool can't support constant Q spam, so keep denying CS and chipping his HP whenever his E is down.
The full Karma vs Sylas 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? Sylas vs Karma guide →
All Karma mid lane matchups →
Also played in: Top Lane