The 12 Days of Karthus - Day 5: The Builds of Karthus
Hello again Yall, it's D2Vincent with Day 5 of the 12 Days of Karthus! Today's topic (a bit late today, yes, but still) is the age old question: "How exactly do you BUILD Karthus?". Well to start, there is actually a build for Karthus for just about each role you can play (cept maybe ADC, but even then I bet there's a way.)
With Each build I use with Karthus, I go by a step-by-step list as to what I need to defend myself against the enemy team, what damage do I need to be focusing on, and when should I get said items. That being said, let's get on with the show shall we?
#Mid Lane: The Standard build
This is gonna be the standard build for an average Mid-Lane Karthus build. The List goes as follows
Runes/Masteries: 18/12/0 going DFT, I either go a runepage of MPen, CDR, and Flat AP, or go MPen, Armor, and Flat & Scaling AP
Start: 
,
X2, 
First Back: 
, 
, and some more pots/biscuits
(note, sometimes I go Corrupting potion for the burn effect, but only if I can get away with it)
##First Core Item Question: Will they be building Heals?
If yes, then go 
, otherwise, you can choose between 
and 
. I personally like GLP more because of the earlier powerspike it can give, which offsets the late game spike of Archangel's
##Second Item Question: What is their primary source of Damage?
At this point you'll want to have a way to keep yourself alive so you don't waste the power spike given thus far. So, if the enemy team is AD, buy 
, otherwise get 
.
##Third/Fourth item Question: How much MR/Health are they building?
When you get to the third and fourth item, it'll be fairly common that the enemy will be building MR or health by now. If the enemy is focusing on MR, get 
for the 35% MPen attached to it. Otherwise, get 
so that your Q and E will be burning away their health. There is one exception to this however, and it's if they're building neither, with which you can either build Deathcap or finish Archangel's Staff at this point and THEN get Void/Liandry's
Final Build example: 
#Top Lane: the "TanKarthus Build"
Now, what exactly IS the TanKarthus build? Well, it's pretty much what it sounds like. This build makes Karthus a TANK, but it also has one other benefit to it; it makes Karthus's E hit like a TRUCK. Don't believe me? Just watch this TOTALLY ACURATE DESCRIPTION of how TanKarthus plays made my Deus-ex-Lacrymae, known by his Twitch name Kartharsus, and Mod of /r/KarthusMains.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eHm_OTqGKw
This build's a little less complicated than the Mid lane build, but it goes as follows:
Runes/Masteries: 18/12/0 running DFT, Armor, Flat/Scaling MR, MPen, and SpellVamp (IMPORTANT TO GET SPELLVAMP)
Your first item will be either 
or 
depending on their team comp. But there's one thing that is VERY IMPORTANT with this, and that is in the next patch, Righteous Glory will have Catalyst taken out and Glacial Shroud put in (which means it'll have armor instead of the eternity passive), whereas Abyssal Mask WILL have Catalyst put in, so it will have Eternity.
So what do you do afterward? You're gonna want next, but if the enemy team is AD Oriented, you're gonna want to get 
before you get 
. This is one of the few builds where Boots will be handy, so get either 
to get into fights faster, or 
to keep the slows off you. Finally, get 
so that the damage you do will actively heal you with those Spellvamp quints.
Final Build:
#Jungle Karthus!
Ahh yes, one of Karthus's most notorious roles. It's a hard role to play for him, but it's soooooo worth it. This build isn't so much about what you're building with him, as you can pretty much use either his standard build or Tank Build for either one. What matters here is HOW you play him! Again, here's a TOTALLY ACCURATE SIMULATION of how Karthus in the Jungle operates thanks to Deus-ex-Lacymae!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4zcrmPwTKQ
Aaight, first things first, like the tank build, Spellvamp Quints are "QUINT"essential to this build lol. Why exactly? well it's how you're gonna survive the jungle provided you don't get invaded or anything. (I did mention this is one of the harder roles to play) As for your Jungle route, just take the advice of this Jungle Karthus clear with 0 pots and no leashes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzJuIwwN95k
The only thing Buildwise that is different for Karthus, is that you can just start with 
and just not upgrade it for the rest of the game. I however tend to at least build it into 
for the smite slows that make your Ganks Better.
##Bot Lane: Support Karthus
Yeah, as it turns out, you can actually Support with Karthus! The build and Playstyle revolves around the slows from your W and the Double Damage Q's that you can use. Karthus is especially synergistic with Kalista, since she can ult you while IN PASSIVE, and Corki, who's passive makes all his damage into AP, which you can use W to shred MR to help out.
Your Starting Support item will be the Frost Queen's item set, going into the Ward option (AKA 
). Afterward, I think the 2nd item to get is to get a slowing item, like or . Afterward, you can actually build into either the AP build, or Tank build. A side note, that if you do plan on going the Tank route, feel free to replace the with 
for more health and the active on it. Just gotta be careful with the execute since it'll probably be like how Thresh's autos only get the gold if he actually CS's it
Final Build Examples:
AP:
Tank: 
Sorry for this REALLY late post, but I've finally managed to finish this one! Stay tuned for tomorrow's episode as we go into the Fans of Karthus, including groups, streamers, and different people who play Karthus :)
