Kai’Sa vs Karthus Counter Pick
Matchup Summary
What the Data Means
Kai’Sa is a marksman/mage hybrid, Karthus a mage, and they meet in the ADC lane. 564 tracked games on 16.13.1 put Kai’Sa at a 42.6% win rate into Karthus. Sitting 7.5 points below the 50% line marks Karthus as a genuine problem pick for Kai’Sa.
The exchange usually opens with Supercharge (E) or Lay Waste (Q). Ultimates decide the rest — Killer Instinct versus Requiem.
Damage types split — physical from Kai’Sa, magic from Karthus — making that first resistance a real decision. Kai’Sa carries 640 base health to Karthus’s 620, and 25 armour to 21. Late-game bases read 2374 health / 96 armour for Kai’Sa and 2490 / 101 for Karthus. Kai’Sa also hits harder before items — 59 AD to 46.
With both sitting in ranged range (525 against 450), neither side gets a free poke pattern.
Sample size counts as much as the number — 564 games for Karthus here. No hand-editing here — the Kai’Sa figures come straight from ranked play.
FAQ
No — current data marks this as a counter matchup: Karthus has the statistical edge. Kai'Sa wins 42.6% of the recorded games.
42.6% from Kai'Sa's perspective, measured on patch 16.13.1.
564 ranked games at Emerald rank and above, across all regions.
The current Kai'Sa build — items, runes and skill order from the same data set — is on the Kai'Sa build page.