How to win lane as Mordekaiser against Karma · 50.88% win rate over 30 Emerald+ games · Updated 2026-07-27
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Even / skill | You both have a weak level 1 — she can poke a little with Inner Flame but has no kill threat, so farm at Q range and bank W off her chip. |
| Level 2 | Mordekaiser | Q + W comes online — your single-target Obliterate plus a banked Indestructible heal wins the short level-2 trade before she can Mantra-empower her poke. |
| Level 3 | Karma | Her Focused Resolve tether roots you in place and she free-pokes with Mantra Q from outside your aura while her E shield eats your return — she edges this window. |
| Levels 4-5 | Even / skill | It's a sustain stalemate: her poke is real but your W banks it into a heal, so neither of you can force a clean kill — play it even. |
| Level 6 | Mordekaiser | Realm of Death banishes her 1v1 where her root, poke range, and shields can't peel — you grind a dashless enchanter and own the 6 spike. |
| First item | Even / skill | Your magic-item all-in is lethal but her E shield and W-tether disengage can survive it — without the realm up it's a coin-flip trade, so it's even. |
| Two+ items | Karma | Full-AP Karma kites on E move speed and out-ranges your whole kit — she shields the all-in and pokes you out before you land Death's Grasp, reclaiming the late game. |
Karma has poke from level 1 via Inner Flame, so don't walk into her just to throw an Obliterate she can shield-and-step away from — last-hit at the tip of your Q and bank Indestructible off her pokes. Your real window is level 2: Q + W lets you punish her in a short trade where your single-target Obliterate plus shield-heal beats one Inner Flame. From level 3 she pulls ahead — Focused Resolve tethers and roots you in place (longer, with a self-heal, if she Mantra-empowers it) while she chips you with Mantra Q from outside your Darkness Rise aura, and her E shield soaks your return, so respect the root and don't over-extend on her cooldowns.
The full Mordekaiser 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 Mordekaiser guide →
All Mordekaiser top lane matchups →