Karthus historical 3.15.5 portrait

Historical reference

League Classic champion guideIndependent fan reference

Karthus Classic Guide

the Deathsinger

Karthus is listed in the community-datamined 60-champion starting roster. This guide uses Riot 3.15.5 history and does not claim launch-verified values or a best build.

MidMage

Evidence: Community-datamined roster
Historical source: Riot Data Dragon 3.15.5
Last verified: 2026-07-16
Launch status: Launch verification pending

Quick Answer

Karthus historical snapshot

Karthus's historical kit combines Death Defied, Lay Waste, Wall of Pain, Defile, Requiem. Read the spell summaries together with the historical item direction and the explicit launch-verification limits.

Roster evidence boundary

Riot confirms the 60-champion composition rule but not the complete name list. Karthus is published here from a dated community-datamining observation.

Historical kit

Karthus abilities

Summaries and displayed values come from the labelled historical snapshot. Observed and launch-verified fields remain empty until direct client evidence exists.

P

Death Defied

Historical function: Upon dying, Karthus enters a spirit form that allows him to continue casting spells while dead for 7 seconds.

Historical 3.15.5; launch values pending.

Q

Lay Waste

Historical function: Karthus unleashes a delayed blast at a location, dealing damage to nearby enemies.

Cooldown: 1
Cost: 20/26/32/38/44
Range: 875

Historical 3.15.5; launch values pending.

W

Wall of Pain

Historical function: Karthus creates a passable screen of leeching energy.

Cooldown: 18
Cost: 100
Range: 1000

Historical 3.15.5; launch values pending.

E

Defile

Historical function: Karthus passively steals energy from his victims, gaining Mana on each kill.

Cooldown: 0.5
Cost: 30/42/54/66/78
Range: 550

Historical 3.15.5; launch values pending.

R

Requiem

Historical function: After channeling for 3 seconds, Karthus deals damage to all enemy champions.

Cooldown: 200/180/160
Cost: 150/175/200
Range: self

Historical 3.15.5; launch values pending.

Historical versus modern

Ability names are stable between historical 3.15.5 and modern 16.14.1, but that does not prove equal values or mechanics; launch verification is still pending.

Karthus, the Deathsinger, is documented here from Riot's 3.15.5 historical snapshot. The Mid labels are an editorial navigation taxonomy, not launch-patch usage statistics.

Three-layer build system

Karthus build evidence

Only layers with qualifying evidence are shown. Creator-tested and launch-verified layers are absent until their evidence gates pass.

Riot's 3.15.5 Summoner's Rift recommendation for Karthus, preserved as a historical reading aid rather than a launch-patch best build.

Source era: 3.15.5
Position: Mid
Region: global historical snapshot
Sample: No match sample

Starting items

Boots of Speed
Health Potion
Warding Totem (Trinket)

Early purchases

Rod of Ages
Sorcerer's Shoes

Core direction

Rod of Ages
Sorcerer's Shoes
Tear of the Goddess

Situational options

Rabadon's Deathcap
Archangel's Staff
Void Staff
Zhonya's Hourglass
Abyssal Scepter
Rylai's Crystal Scepter

Playstyle reading

Use Lay Waste, Wall of Pain, Defile, Requiem as the historical kit reference, then verify live cooldowns, costs and ratios before applying this item direction.

Limitation

Historical reference only. No launch-client skill order, rune page, mastery page, matchup or performance claim has been verified.

Setup direction

Karthus runes and masteries direction

A historical Season 3 reference framework for mana-based mages that need spell power, penetration and reliable casting windows.

Use this as a reading map for classic mid-lane mages, not as a claim about the launch meta.

Entity-specific checks

Frequently Asked Questions

01Is Karthus officially confirmed in the complete League Classic roster?

Riot confirms a 60-champion launch composition, but the complete name list used here is a community-datamined League Wiki observation. Karthus's individual roster slot is therefore labelled community-datamined until Riot publishes or the launch client verifies it.

02Are Karthus's ability values launch verified?

No. The displayed historical references come from Riot Data Dragon 3.15.5; observed and launch-verified value fields remain null.

03Is this the best Karthus Classic build?

No. It is a Riot-authored historical item direction with no win-rate, Tier or launch-match sample claim.

Source Ledger

Sources, versions and evidence limits

Every historical record keeps its source era. League Wiki is identified as a structural or historical-data reference, never as Riot official.

Source	Source Type	Version	Region	Verified Date	Used For	Evidence Status
League of Legends Classic	`RIOT_CLASSIC_OFFICIAL`	2026 launch announcement	Global English	2026-07-16	official product identity, 60-champion scope, returning systems	OFFICIALLY_CONFIRMED
/dev: League of Legends Classic	`RIOT_CLASSIC_OFFICIAL`	2026-07-15 article	Global English	2026-07-16	OG 40 plus 20 composition, Tier 3 runes, mastery-system scope	OFFICIALLY_CONFIRMED
League Wiki — League Classic	`WIKI_REFERENCE_ONLY`	Observed 2026-07-16; page edited 2026-07-15	Community-maintained global reference	2026-07-16	60-name roster observation, 141-item observation, 15-spell observation, information architecture	COMMUNITY_DATAMINED
Riot Data Dragon 3.15.5	`RIOT_HISTORICAL_DDRAGON`	3.15.5	Historical static-data snapshot; not region-equivalent launch evidence	2026-07-16	champion identities, historical kits, historical recommended item sets, items, Tier 3 runes, masteries, summoner spells, historical assets	HISTORICAL_REFERENCE