MacroMind matchup data: real ranked games, not opinions
Varus vs Karthus
How often does Varus beat Karthus in ADC?
Varus into Karthus in ADC: 44% observed win rate across 179 ranked games.
Global ranked sample: games from every region and every rank pooled together, not one server's stats. Data runs through patch 26.12; curves updated 2026-08-07.
By 15 minutes the median game has Varus behind by 347 gold.
Varus at 15:00
- Gold: -347
- CS: -5
- XP: -367
Typical gap to Karthus, from 179 games that reached 15:00.
Does Varus counter Karthus?
No counter here: Varus sits at 44% over 179 games. The swing lives in the spots below, so play the side you know better and chase the row that moves the number the most in this lane, then hold that lead through the first back.
Beating Karthus: the Varus game plan
A gold lead at 10:00 puts Varus at 49% across 73 games. Flip the lead and Varus falls to 39% across 105.
| The spot | Win rate | Games |
|---|---|---|
| Ahead in gold at 10:00 | 49% | 73 |
| Behind in gold at 10:00 | 39% | 105 |
| First blood | 42% | 84 |
| +kills at 10:00 | 57% | 62 |
| +CS at 10:00 | 44% | 71 |
Someone usually dies here around 3:20 in the median game, and level 6 lands near 7:26. Until your spike is online, respect the all-in.
Varus's ADC build, with receipts
The most-finished Varus core is Statikk Shiv, Guinsoo's Rageblade, Terminus: 52.3% across 4,612 games when all three got done. All matchups, patches 26.1-26.12.
Most games start Doran's Blade + Health Potion; the first finished item is usually Youmuu's Ghostblade (10,588 games).
Skill plan: Varus players max Q first and take E at level 1.