How to win lane as Graves against Karma · 38.82% win rate over 85 Emerald+ games · Updated 2026-07-27
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Karma | Her Q (Inner Flame) out-ranges your point-blank shells and you have no E charge yet to close — she pokes you for free. |
| Level 2 | Karma | Still one ability and no mobility, while Inner Flame chunks you every time you step up to CS. |
| Level 3 | Even / skill | Your E charges and W blind finally let you contest — Smoke Screen on her face means she can't aim her poke or RQ. |
| Levels 4-5 | Even / skill | True Grit armor stacks and E charges compound, so if you bait her RQ root and E shield you take the short trade. |
| Level 6 | Even / skill | Collateral Damage turns a clean E-in into a kill — when her shield and root are both on cooldown. |
| First item | Even / skill | Your first-item spike (Eclipse/Youmuu's) is real, but she can still RQ-root and shield-kite to deny the all-in. |
| Two+ items | Karma | Mantra RE shields her team through your burst and RQ roots you out of fights — she out-scales your face-range kit hard. |
Karma owns levels 1-2 outright — her Q (Inner Flame) out-ranges your whole 4-shell spread and detonates its delayed burst for heavy poke before you can ever close, and you have no E charge yet to dodge or commit. Don't walk into Inner Flame range for a caster minion; eat the CS loss and farm from max distance with the tip of your Q (End of the Line). At 3, two E (Quickdraw) charges finally let you weave in, and W (Smoke Screen) on her face blinds her and shrinks her sight so she can't aim her poke — that's the first moment you stop bleeding for free.
The full Graves 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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Playing the other side? Karma vs Graves guide →
All Graves top lane matchups →