How to win lane as Karma against Mordekaiser · 36.67% win rate (30 Emerald+ games, lolalytics, sampled July 2026) · Matchup data reviewed on patch 26.15
A toll booth he can't afford — RQ every step-up and tether the one chase he tries.
Track: Mordekaiser's R — Realm of Death (140–100s cooldown). The isolated 1v1 is his whole kill threat — track it always.
Read from Karma's seat: which stage windows this plan plays for against Mordekaiser.
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Even / skill | Mantra is up at level 1 so you get a huge RQ first poke, but his W shield/heal and raw bulk mean neither of you can kill — it's an even setup window. |
| Level 2 | Mordekaiser | His E pull into the isolated Q slam threatens to lock you in melee where his W out-sustains your chip, and he picks the moment to commit — respect the gap-close. |
| Level 3 | Karma | Your Q/RQ poke lands on his W cooldown and he has no dash to close the gap, so you fully own this trading window. |
| Levels 4-5 | Even / skill | You out-poke him here but he's stacking HP and W sustain toward his Level 6 spike — neither side lands a clean kill yet. |
| Level 6 | Mordekaiser | Realm of Death isolates you into a 1v1 and steals your stats, and your E shield only delays it while your W tether can't break the box — this window is entirely his. |
| First item | Even / skill | Your first AP/haste item sharpens RQ burst and shield value while his R sits on cooldown — even tempo, your poke against his bulk. |
| Two+ items | Karma | Before Riftmaker/Rylai's fully come online you still out-range, out-tempo, and out-roam him — snowball plates and map pressure NOW before his scaling reclaims the lane. |
At Level 1 you have an opener almost no juggernaut can match — Mantra is available immediately, so RQ Soulflare lays a delayed damage zone and slow before his W shield/heal is even leveled to refund it. Start chunking his oversized health bar from max Q range, and keep poking with Q and RQ while his W is on cooldown, because the shield-then-heal only returns part of what you land and he has no dash to punish you for it. Do NOT walk into E range: his targeted pull into the isolated Q slam yanks you into melee where his sustain beats your chip, and once he's on top of you your whole range advantage evaporates.
Pooled Emerald+ win rates from Karma's side, sampled July 2026.
The full Karma vs Mordekaiser 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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Mordekaiser — Karma wins only 36.67% of 30 games, so Karma plays this as the disadvantaged side.
Not really — Mordekaiser holds a real statistical advantage (63.33% win rate), so Karma is the one working uphill.
No — Mordekaiser counters Karma (Karma wins only 36.67% of games). Play it as the disadvantaged side and lean on the windows in the plan.
Karma takes Arcane Comet on the Sorcery tree with Manaflow Band, Transcendence and Scorch, and Inspiration secondary (Biscuit Delivery and Cosmic Insight) vs Mordekaiser.
Start Doran's Ring + 2 Health Potions and back for Oblivion Orb (≈800g) — cuts his healing. Build Malignance / Blackfire Torch first, then Cosmic Drive, with Sorcerer's Shoes / Mercury's Treads.
Playing the other side? Mordekaiser vs Karma guide →
All Karma top lane matchups →
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