Karthus/Strategy

==Strategy==

Skill Usage

 * In the ealy game it may be beneficial to imediately spam your ultimate upon reaching level 6 when you see that the enemies on the sidelanes are half hp. By doing this you will not only harass any enemy junglers and your mid enemy, but also make sure the enemy team will require a minimum of health replenishment by means of level ups, as their hp is now reduced to a 1/4, thus immensely helping out your team. Ganking often doesnt commence untill +2 levels later, and requiem will be up by long then.
 * You may want to consider rushing tear of the goddess on karthus (later AA), as he is very mana hungry and tends to use his Q a lot for farming/ganking purposes.
 * When playing as karthus it is important to be aware of the skill usage of certain enemies who can shield (part of) your damage. Be always sure to see weither soraka has alraedy used her ult (or seeing her items and knowing for certain that your ult - hers is still enough to kill an enemy champ).
 * When you play well, most enemies will start stacknig magic resist, not rarely in the form of banshees veil. When you see that the enemy team has about >90 magic resist per person, consider acquiring void staff next as it will increase your effective damage.
 * If the enemy team has a lot of mobile champions or offtanks who can close the gap fast in teamfights, consider using rylay's for excellent synergy with your lay waste.
 * Ask your allies to help point out when you should use to get kills in different lanes. However, be sure to keep your eye out for action elsewhere on the map; you may be able to help someone when they otherwise wouldn't have time to type for help. If you see an enemy of which you know your ult can take away 3/4 of the remaining HP, be sure to signal and type to the respective sidelane that they need to dish out damage, as enemies with low hp tend to run backwards when they see the telltale sprite animation of your ultimate. Coordinating with the signal button ensures you get a lot more kill/assists.
 * Like singed's poison trail, defile has a very fast toggle cooldown, make use of this for faming/battle purposes.
 * is very strong at farming minions and harassing enemy champions.
 * Try placing where it will hit the champion, but not the minions. This way, it will deal double damage.
 * His passive allows him to cast spells while dead. Abuse this every time you die and punish any who remain near your corpse by first activating wall of pain, then, and finally endlessly casting . This may actually get you kills, sometimes recouping lost golem buffs from your now dead killer and resetting their timers for further use.
 * Karthus highly benefits from the, giving him increased mana regeneration and reduced cooldowns for all his spells, as a typical karthus build focusses on attaining high AP (with cdr boots and cdr blues you can get max cdr with a blue elixir or golem buff.
 * Taking 1 level of gives you a slow allowing you more time to cast  on fleeing enemies, as well as detering attempts of harassment, shooting it behind an enemy tower makes enemies often reluctant to defend it. In later game it is useful in teamfights, thanks to it's armor and magic resistance debuffs.
 * is a great harasser use your to zone your enemies
 * Karthus's at higher levels can mow down creeps by standing next to them or walking past them for just 2 seconds. If given free rein or adequate protection from enemy Champions, this can turn the tide of a battle very quickly or cement a teams victory.
 * can be used mid-game before a major offensive is launched to weaken all enemies, making them easier to kill.
 * can be used to scout brushes since it reveals a small area around where it is cast. Since the skill is near manaless, this can be used to scout brushes frequently.
 * Karthus needs mobility in order to be an asset to the team. Flash and Ghost are highly recommended.

Build Usage

 * Sometimes it can be beneficial for Karthus to die a strategic death, by rushing into a group of enemies and casting the enemy will focus you long enough for your team to inititate without affecting your chance of winning a team fight, as Karthus can cast his spells even after dying. You can also activate  right before dying to let  tick even longer.
 * Carrying or  can lead to some surprising tactics with  and increase your overall damage output. A sidenote to this tactic is that rylay's slow only works upon ACTIVATION of defile.
 * Despite what many people think, can enable you to regain health quickly with  or.