Xayah vs Karthus Counter Pick

Range suggests Xayah should control the spacing, 525 units against 450, and the record disagrees. She sits at 41.9% over 117 recorded games on patch 16.13.1, a small sample carrying a Hard rating.

The reason is that almost nothing Karthus does depends on his attack range. Lay Waste is a delayed blast placed at a location that deals increased damage to isolated enemies, which is precisely the state a marksman farming Feathers tends to be in. Wall of Pain cuts move speed and magic resist for anyone walking through it, and Defile surrounds him with a persistent damage aura instead of a targeted spell. He also walks slightly faster, 335 against 330.

All of that is magic damage, so 96.4 armor at level 18 is the wrong statistic to invest in and Xayah’s 30 base magic resist carries the load. Her opening is his frame: 21 base armor is soft, and a Bladecaller root followed by Deadly Plumage‘s attack speed and move speed is the fastest route to a kill. Two details change how the fight ends, since Death Defied lets him keep casting after dying and Requiem reaches every enemy champion after a three-second channel, so killing him is not the same as ending his damage. Profiles: Xayah and Karthus.