How to win lane as Kassadin against Karma · 52.89% win rate (2,488 Emerald+ games, lolalytics, sampled July 2026) · Matchup data reviewed on patch 26.15
Her rotation hits a magic shield and a blink — survive the windows, then out-burst the burster from level 11 on.
Track: Karma's W — Focused Resolve (12s cooldown). The root tether — break it with range or line of sight.
Read from Kassadin's seat: which stage windows this plan plays for against Karma.
This is Kassadin's own plan; across 2,488 pooled games the lane is leaning Kassadin.
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Karma | Inner Flame pokes from 950 on a 9-second cooldown, so even under the Null Sphere shield her poke wins every exchange |
| Level 2 | Karma | Mana-refund poke keeps grinding you down with no way to punish it |
| Level 3 | Even / skill | Level 3 doesn't add enough burst to threaten her from range |
| Levels 4-5 | Karma | Mantra-doubled poke and utility widen her lead further |
| Level 6 | Even / skill | Riftwalk at 6 lets you blink out of Focused Resolve's 675 tether before it roots, and her level 6 only adds a rank to a Mantra she has had since level 1, so nothing new punishes the blink — level 6 tips to you |
| First item | Even / skill | Void Stone plus the Q shield blunt her magic poke and you can finally trade |
| Two+ items | Kassadin | Two-item mobility lets you close the gap and burst a target with no escape |
Levels 1-2 are already a slow bleed — Karma's Q poke costs her almost nothing thanks to the mana refund, while you have zero shield to soak it. Play max range, take poke only when necessary for cs, and don't try to fight through her spacing. Just survive the chip damage and reach level 3. Track Focused Resolve: a flat 12s tether — break the 675-unit leash or the line of sight and it never roots.
Pooled Emerald+ win rates from Kassadin's side, sampled July 2026.
The full Kassadin vs Karma 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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Kassadin, slightly — a 52.89% win rate edge over 2,488 games; execution can flip it.
Mostly — Kassadin has a small statistical edge (52.89% win rate), but execution decides this lane far more than the pick does.
Not a hard counter — Kassadin has a slight edge (52.89% win rate), and play quality decides the rest.
Kassadin takes Fleet Footwork on the Precision tree with Presence of Mind, Legend: Haste and Last Stand, and Sorcery secondary (Manaflow Band and Transcendence) vs Karma.
Start Doran's Shield + Health Potion and back for Catalyst of Aeons (≈1300g) — the survival battery. Build Rod of Ages first, then Seraph's Embrace, with Mercury's Treads.
Playing the other side? Karma vs Kassadin guide →
All Kassadin mid lane matchups →
More Kassadin mid lane matchups: vs Galio · vs Hwei · vs Irelia · vs Katarina · vs LeBlanc · vs Lissandra
Also played in: Top Lane