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How to Win Karthus vs Olaf Counter MatchupKarthus is in the b tier of champions

Karthus vs Olaf

How to Beat Olaf as Karthus in LoLKarthus is in the a tier of champions
Mage
FighterTank

How to Beat Olaf as Karthus

based on 430 Karthus vs Olaf matchups
Win Rate
45.3 %
K/D/A
2.15
Pick Rate
0.9 %

How We Analyze LoL Champion Counters

At MOBA Champion, we evaluate millions of ranked League games each week. Within our data, Karthus did battle with Olaf 430 times. With so many games with Karthus versus Olaf provides us faith in our ability to prepare actionable stats and a recommended build to counter your rival. This particular champion matchup is fairly rare. Karthus encounters Olaf in only 0.9% of his rounds.

Karthus vs Olaf Matchup Summary

Unfortunately, Karthus has done a terrible job of countering Olaf. On average, he wins a lowly 45.3% of games the champions battle each other in. In Karthus versus Olaf matches, Karthus’s team is 0.2% less likely to obtain first blood. This implies that he probably won't be able to get first blood versus Olaf.

Best Karthus vs Olaf Counter Build

Items

Starter Items

Time Target
Scorchclaw PupHealth Potion

Early Items

~5 Mins
Sapphire CrystalAmplifying Tome

Core Karthus Items

~22 Mins
MalignanceStormsurgeLiandry's Torment

Optional Items

Rabadon's DeathcapShadowflameLuden's Companion

Summoner Spells

summonerexhaust summoner spell D
summonersmite summoner spell F

Skill Order

First skill for Karthus to level upq
>
Second ability for Karthus to level upe
>
Last skill for Karthus to max outw

Runes

DominationDark HarvestCheap ShotEyeball CollectionUltimate Hunter
SorceryTranscendenceGathering Storm
Adaptive ForceAdaptive ForceArmor
Karthus's passive ability p
Karthus's q ability q
Karthus's w ability w
Karthus's e ability e
Karthus's ultimate ability r
1
Q
2
E
3
Q
4
W
5
Q
6
R
7
Q
8
E
9
Q
10
E
11
R
12
E
13
E
14
W
15
W
16
R

Guide to Countering Olaf as Karthus

Tips for Playing as Karthus against Olaf

Lay Waste is very strong at farming minions and harassing enemy champions.

Ask your allies to help point out when you should use Requiem to get kills in different lanes.

Advice to Win Against Olaf

Olaf has reduced defenses from damage during Ragnarok, despite being immune to disables. If you can't escape from Olaf during Ragnarok, try focusing your damage on him with your teammates.

Olaf becomes more dangerous the lower life he is. Save your disables to finish him off.

Preventing Olaf from reaching his axe will minimize the amount of harassment he can cause in the laning phase.

Karthus vs Olaf Counter Stats

Karthus Image
Win Rate
45.3 %
VS
Win Rate
54.7 %
Olaf Image
6.7
< Kills >
7.5
7.5
< Deaths >
6.7
9.4
< Assists >
5.2
1.59
< Killing Sprees >
1.69
84
< Minions Killed >
161
0.85
< Dragons Killed >
0.34
0.29
< Inhibitors >
0.64
256
< Physical Damage >
16,787
27,596
< Magic Damage >
171
2,121
< True Damage >
6,253
29,974
< Damage Dealt >
23,212
29,669
< Damage Taken >
34,634
12,588
< Gold Earned >
12,910
1.05
< Towers >
2.56
0.23
< Baron Takedowns >
0.09
9,488
< Total Healing >
16,914
14,780
< Experience >
15,659
19
< Vision Score >
17
7
< Wards Placed >
8
217
< Time Dealing CC >
352

How to Counter Olaf with Karthus in LoL

The stats shown here emphasize some vital Karthus vs. Olaf counter stats that can help you figure out the differences between this pair of champions. Karthus’s KDA ratio ([kills + assists] / deaths) of NaN is greater than Olaf’s KDA ratio of NaN, indicating that Karthus may be more central to his team's team fighting capacity than Olaf. This observation is in large part a result of the differences in assists.

Karthus typically has a similar longest kill spree as his foe does. On average, he takes less damage than Olaf. This often reflects different amounts of tankyness, but it can also imply that the one champ has less agility and thus is not able to flee from additional damage when engaged or poked.

Differences between Karthus and Olaf

Damage Types Compared

Karthus
Olaf
Physical Damage
Magic Damage
True Damage

Champion Playstyles Compared

Karthus
Olaf

Who is Better, Karthus or Olaf?

Both LoL champs are great champions. Both have their pros and cons. In League's current meta, Karthus usually loses when playing against Olaf, with a 45.3% win rate. Thus, Karthus makes a poor counter for Olaf.

While Karthus does have a much lower winrate compared to Olaf, when they face off with one another, Karthus also has a much greater level of difficulty that makes him a more complex character to pick up and master. You may get destroyed when picking Karthus into Olafas his relative depth means you may not be able to reach his full potential without a lot of practice beforehand.

Moreover, Karthus has some amount of CC and other utility, a similar amount to Olaf. This makes her just as valuable during team fights, especially when trying to counter champions with a lot of burst damage.

While there is not one best champion in League of Legends, in Karthus vs Olaf matchups, Olaf is the better champion with a much lower win rate, more champion depth, and a similar amount of utility to help out your allied champions during late stage team fights.

Karthus is a garbage counter to Olaf. Make sure you focus your gameplay on maximizing your gold income and destroying objectives. If you can do that, you should do very well as Karthus against Olaf.

Additional Information for Karthus Players

How We Calculated Our Karthus vs Olaf Build and Stats

For this guide on countering Olaf as Karthus, we analyzed 430 matchups from recent LoL games. We use rigorous data cleaning and processing methods to ensure that our counter stats are of the highest quality. You can rest assured that the recommended build to counter Olaf as Karthus comes from real data and is not the fabrication of some random LoL player, as some other sites provide. You can use the filters at the top of the page to view the most relevant stats and items to your rank.

Other Useful Resources

Further Insights to Win this Matchup

To truly master Karthus to counter Olaf during both the laning and mid / late game phases of League of Legends, you should keep reading to pick up a few extra tips and tricks for this matchup. If you listen to the build and suggestions presented here, you will grow your win rate by a lot and be closer to League of Legends pro players.

Karthus on average picks up less CS as Olaf. Champions who typically don't get much CS typically don't require much CS to be valuable teammates, such as support champions. These kinds of champions are capable of scaling properly off of their skills, stats, and first items alone. Yet, champs with large amounts of CS, such as hyper-carries, often have to have many items to be effective. In either situation, try to exceed the numbers shown on this page to do well.

The most important items to prioritize in your Karthus versus Olaf build include Malignance, Stormsurge, and Liandry's Torment. When Karthus incorporated at least these three pieces in his build, he performed a lot better vs Olaf than with most other typical builds. In fact, Karthus boasted an average win rate of 45.3% when playing against Olaf with these items in his kit.

To have the greatest probability of annihilating Olaf as Karthus, Karthus players should use the Dark Harvest, Cheap Shot, Eyeball Collection, Ultimate Hunter, Gathering Storm, and Transcendence runes from the Domination and Sorcery rune sets. Out of all the rune builds players used for Karthus vs Olaf counterpicks, this composite of runes yielded the greatest win rate. Notably, these runes provided a 45.3% winrate overall.

By default, tips, stats, and builds on how to beat Olaf as Karthus are presented for all skill levels combined. If you want to narrow the stats and builds to an individual player tier, you may use the selection menu located above.