How to win lane as Gnar against Karma · 50.84% win rate (1,493 Emerald+ games, lolalytics, sampled July 2026) · Matchup data reviewed on patch 26.15
Weather the poke — kite her mini and Mega-stun the Focused Resolve cooldown.
Track: Karma's W — Focused Resolve (12s cooldown). Her root tether — breaks if you LoS / outrange it.
Read from Gnar's seat: which stage windows this plan plays for against Karma.
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Even / skill | Karma's level-1 has no answer to your ranged Mini autos, but her Q poke means neither of you commits — it is a true wash. |
| Level 2 | Gnar | Hyper's third-hit proc plus Boomerang lands a free trade before her W root is leveled, so this window is yours. |
| Level 3 | Gnar | You stay favored kiting with Boomerang slow and Hyper move speed while her W tether is still short and single-target. |
| Levels 4-5 | Even / skill | It hinges entirely on Rage RNG — Mega Wallop catches her, but stuck in Mini her W root and E shield punish you. |
| Level 6 | Even / skill | With no new spell at 6 your power is purely whether Mega is up, and her shield-and-disengage cancels half your wall-ults. |
| First item | Karma | Her mantra-Q out-ranges your Boomerang and her E shield out-sustains your harass — the first-item lane belongs to her. |
| Two+ items | Karma | She kites your form-dependent burst from max range with W roots and E speed while your solo dueling plateaus. |
Karma has no level-1 damage that beats your ranged Mini autos, so contest the first wave — a single Boomerang plus an auto wins that exchange clean. Your real window is level 2: Hyper's third-consecutive-hit proc and the move-speed burst let you walk her down for a chunky trade before her W root is even leveled. Just respect that her Q is a long-range skillshot — sidestep it while you last-hit, and never sit in the slow it leaves if she lands it, or her W tether will catch up and root you.
Pooled Emerald+ win rates from Gnar's side, sampled July 2026.
The full Gnar 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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Gnar, slightly — a 50.84% win rate edge over 1,493 games; execution can flip it.
Mostly — Gnar has a small statistical edge (50.84% win rate), but execution decides this lane far more than the pick does.
Not a hard counter — Gnar has a slight edge (50.84% win rate), and play quality decides the rest.
Gnar takes Grasp of the Undying on the Precision tree with Triumph, Legend: Alacrity and Last Stand, and Resolve secondary (Second Wind and Bone Plating) vs Karma.
Start Doran's Shield + Health Potion (vs her poke) and back for Core component + boots (≈1300g). Build Stridebreaker (stick + waveclear) first, then Sterak's Gage, with Mercury's Treads.
Playing the other side? Karma vs Gnar guide →
All Gnar top lane matchups →
More Gnar top lane matchups: vs Jax · vs Jayce · vs K'Sante · vs Kassadin · vs Kayle · vs Kennen