Talk:Karthus/@comment-8506165-20140305190817/@comment-8506165-20140413005816

I personally find though, that with the superior sustain of the Belt/Flask combo you can stay in lane csing for longer meaning that... well, you get gold quicker. Regardless though... let's assume I go back with enough gold for my preferred item path, and I'm against a Karthus that goes back with the same amount and gets Catalyst. I now sustain better than him. But let's say that still doesn't net me any kills on him, so I go back next and get a Blasting Wand and Amp tome for ~1300 gold. He's still shy of his RoA if he backs at the same time (although I should be able to stay out longer) and just has a Blasting Wand. I still sustain better than him, and at this point I actually have more ability power, with my Rylai's being virtually guaranteed on my next back, whereas he... well, he'll get his RoA next back, but I already have as much AP as RoA starts with, and only 70 less health mitigated by my Flask's on-demand HP5.

Were Catalyst just marginally better as a lane item or RoA not so demanding in its build path (two components, hefty upgrade cost, starts out weak) I'd be more in agreement with you. At the moment though, I just don't see RoA as being worth at all.