How to win lane as Nasus against Karma · 51.92% win rate (1,273 Emerald+ games, lolalytics, sampled July 2026) · Matchup data reviewed on patch 26.15
She denies your stacks from range — take Fleet + Doran's Shield, farm what's safe, and out-scale.
Track: Karma's W — Focused Resolve (12s cooldown). Her root tether — breaks if you LoS / outrange it.
Read from Nasus's seat: which stage windows this plan plays for against Karma.
This is Nasus's own plan; across 1,273 pooled games the lane is leaning Nasus.
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Karma | Focused Resolve roots you and Inner Flame pokes from 950 while you have no ult, no Wither and almost no stacks — soak Q farm and concede the wave. |
| Level 2 | Karma | She chips your HP bar from range with empowered Q and you still have no answer; just last-hit and survive the poke. |
| Level 3 | Karma | Wither comes online at 3 but her Inspire shield and Mantra move speed pull her out of any trade, so she keeps controlling the lane. |
| Levels 4-5 | Karma | Levels 4-5 are hers on poke — she pushes or pokes you down while you play not to die and pile up Siphoning Strike stacks under tower. |
| Level 6 | Even / skill | Fury of the Sands plus a Wither lock makes a single all-in even — bait her E shield and RE dash, then W her to a crawl and punish with ult DPS and lifesteal. |
| First item | Karma | Her first item (Liandry's/Lich Bane plus E shield and RE move speed) lets her kite and poke you down from outside Wither range — her threat peak. |
| Two+ items | Nasus | With stacked Q burst, Sheen/Iceborn and ult, one Wither removes her kite and your empowered Siphoning Strike deletes her squishy body — you out-scale and splitpush her out of the game. |
Karma owns the entire early game, so do not pretend otherwise — I have no ult, barely any stacks, and Spirit Fire (E) is my only ranged tool, while she roots me with Focused Resolve (W) and pokes my fat HP bar with Inner Flame (Q) from 950 range. I just last-hit with Siphoning Strike (Q) and farm stacks under tower, eating the poke I cannot punish. Do not walk at her to trade — the tether plus her Inspire (E) shield mean I take three pokes for every auto I land, and Wither isn't up until 3. Soak the lane and survive.
Pooled Emerald+ win rates from Nasus's side, sampled July 2026.
The full Nasus 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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Nasus, slightly — a 51.92% win rate edge over 1,273 games; execution can flip it.
Mostly — Nasus has a small statistical edge (51.92% win rate), but execution decides this lane far more than the pick does.
Not a hard counter — Nasus has a slight edge (51.92% win rate), and play quality decides the rest.
Nasus takes Fleet Footwork on the Precision tree with Triumph, Legend: Haste and Last Stand, and Resolve secondary (Second Wind and Unflinching) vs Karma.
Start Doran's Shield + Health Potion and back for Sheen (≈900g) — every Q after this hits twice as hard. Build Trinity Force (Iceborn Gauntlet if you need the slow + armor) first, then Spirit Visage (MR + heal amp), with Mercury's Treads.
Playing the other side? Karma vs Nasus guide →
All Nasus top lane matchups →
More Nasus top lane matchups: vs Jax · vs Jayce · vs K'Sante · vs Kassadin · vs Kayle · vs Kennen