Vayne vs Karthus Counter Pick

Range sets the tone early. Karthus casts from 450 units, 100 short of 550, and the Deathsinger has no dash or blink at 335 movement speed against 330. The 56.1% win rate from 214 games on patch 16.13.1 comes from that opening window, before mage items arrive.

Where each side’s damage comes from:

• Defile works as an aura, so Karthus needs his foe standing inside it, and that is also where Silver Bolts reaches its third stack quickest.
• Wall of Pain slows movement and removes magic resistance, turning a retreat into a run of successful Lay Waste casts.
• Requiem ignores position after a three-second channel, so being ahead late offers no real protection.
• Death Defied lets him keep casting after he dies, so killing him mid-objective fight doesn’t settle anything right away.

Karthus is the bulkier of the two at 620 health and 2,490 at level 18, against 550 and 2,301, yet his 46 base attack damage is the lowest figure on either side and adds nothing beyond his abilities. His magic damage runs into Vayne‘s 30 magic resistance, while her physical damage runs into his 21 base armor, so neither defensive stat shields against both threats. Final Hour grants bonus attack damage and invisibility during Tumble, which makes the all-in lopsided once she gets there. Difficulty ratings are 7 and 8.