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Karma Counters: Who Beats Karma

Updated for patch 26.22. Ability details below come from Riot’s official game data for the current patch.

Karma counters are supports who block her poke, break her shields, or walk through the damage and force an all-in she can’t hold. She’s a 525-range mage support who wins lanes with Mantra-boosted Inner Flame, a tether root and shields, so champions that cancel one of those three take her main tools away.

Our five picks come from patch 26.22 ability text (we didn’t use win rates).

Karma counters: Karma, the Enlightened One, splash art

How does Karma’s kit win lanes?

  • Gathering Fire (passive): her damaging abilities cut Mantra’s cooldown.
  • Inner Flame (Q): a ball of energy that explodes on the first enemy hit; with Mantra it also leaves a delayed blast. Cooldown 9/8/7/6/5.
  • Focused Resolve (W): a tether that damages and reveals an enemy, then roots and damages again if it holds; Mantra adds healing and a longer root. Cooldown 12.
  • Inspire (E): a shield with Move Speed for an ally; with Mantra, a stronger shield that spreads to nearby allied champions. Cooldown 10/9.5/9/8.5/8.
  • Mantra (R): empowers her next ability, available from level 1 without a skill point. Cooldown 40/38/36/34.

Karma gets her ultimate at level 1. That’s the whole story of her lane: from the first minion wave, she has an empowered Inner Flame that hits hard and leaves a second explosion behind, and every damaging spell she lands brings Mantra back sooner. Her weak spot is commitment. Once she spends Mantra on a shield or a root, her poke drops to normal, and her only escape tools are a Move Speed shield and a tether that needs time.

Which supports are the best Karma counters?

Braum

Braum’s E, Unbreakable, is a door: for several seconds, anything flying at him from the front hits the shield and breaks. Inner Flame is a projectile. So is a lot of what her ADC throws, and Braum negates the first attack completely before reducing the rest. Concussive Blows (passive) stacks from his attacks and his ADC’s, stunning at 4. His Q adds a stack. Stand Behind Me (W) leaps to an ally or minion and gives both resistances. Glacial Fissure (R) knocks up in a line and leaves a slowing fissure. Funny enough, he turns her best lane tool into nothing.

Morgana

Black Shield (E) absorbs magic damage and disabling effects until it breaks, and Karma’s damage is magic while Focused Resolve ends in a root. One cast covers both. Dark Binding (Q) roots its target and deals magic damage, which punishes Karma for stepping up to poke. Tormented Shadow (W) burns an area harder the lower the enemy’s Health. Soul Siphon (passive) heals Morgana off damage to champions. Soul Shackles (R) chains nearby champions, slows them and stuns anyone who stays close. Put simply, the shield answers her and the binding punishes her.

Blitzcrank

Static Field strips shields. Inspire is a shield, and a Mantra Inspire shields several allies at once, all of which Static Field strips. Rocket Grab (Q) drags a target to Blitzcrank, and Karma stands forward to poke, so she’s often the one pulled. Power Fist (E) doubles his next attack’s damage and pops the target up. Overdrive (W) gives a burst of Move and Attack Speed. At low health, his passive turns mana into a shield (handy when her ADC focuses him after a grab). Does the active also silence? Briefly, yes, and that delays her next shield.

Leona

Leona walks through poke with Eclipse (W): Damage Reduction, Armor and Magic Resist, then a second burst of damage that extends the effect if enemies are still close. Zenith Blade (E) dashes her onto the last champion it hits, briefly immobilizing them. Her Q turns the next auto into a stun. Solar Flare (R) stuns the center of an area and slows the edges. Sunlight (passive) lets her ADC add bonus magic damage after her spells. Thing is, Karma’s tether needs time to root, and a Leona chain doesn’t give her that time.

Nautilus

His anchor, Dredge Line, yanks him and whoever it hits toward each other. Staggering Blow (passive) makes his first attack on each target root it briefly, so a hook into an auto is two crowd control effects before she can tether. Titan’s Wrath (W) shields him and adds area damage to his attacks, which soaks up an Inner Flame. Riptide (E) slows with three waves. Depth Charge (R) chases a target, knocking up everyone along the way and stunning the target at the end (and since it chases, Karma’s Move Speed shield doesn’t outrun it).

How do you play against Karma in lane?

  • Stand behind minions. Inner Flame explodes on the first enemy unit it hits.
  • Walk out of the tether range quickly. Focused Resolve only roots if the link isn’t broken.
  • Trade right after she uses Mantra. At 40 seconds on rank 1, a spent Mantra means her next spells are normal.
  • Engage when E is down. Inspire is her Move Speed escape and her ADC’s shield.
  • Dodge the second Inner Flame blast. The Mantra version explodes again after a short delay.

Which items help Karma counters?

Magic Resist and a cleanse. Every point of her damage is magic, so Mercury’s Treads help. Mikael’s Blessing removes crowd control from an ally, including the root at the end of Focused Resolve, and heals them too. ADCs and mid laners facing her poke can buy Banshee’s Veil; Annul blocks the next enemy ability, often her Inner Flame.

When is Karma weakest?

Right after Mantra. With it on cooldown, Inner Flame loses its second blast, Focused Resolve loses the longer root and heal, and Inspire shields only one ally. That’s 40 seconds at rank 1, minus whatever her damaging spells shave off.

And in long fights against tanks. Honestly, her shields fade and her root breaks if the link snaps, while a Leona or Nautilus keeps chaining crowd control. New to support? Our League roles guide explains the job. The Karma ARAM guide covers her build in the random mode, and her skins sit on the Karma skins page. In short, Karma counters block her projectiles, strip her shields, and fight after Mantra is spent.

FAQ

Who are the best Karma counters in support?

Braum, Morgana, Blitzcrank, Leona and Nautilus, since each blocks her poke, removes her shields or forces an all-in.

Can Braum block Karma’s Q?

Yes. Unbreakable intercepts all projectiles from the direction it faces, and Inner Flame is a projectile.

Does Blitzcrank’s ult remove Karma’s shield?

Yes. Static Field’s active removes shields from nearby enemies before dealing damage and silencing them.

How do you escape Karma’s W?

Move out of range to break the tether before it roots. Morgana’s Black Shield or Mikael’s Blessing also stop the root.

How were these Karma counters chosen?

From patch 26.22 ability text: each pick blocks Inner Flame, breaks her shields or tether, or forces fights she can’t kite. Win rates were not used.