Katarina Matchup Guide (Some champs outdated as of

now, will try to update soon)

Note: When I say to all-in, this is disregarding junglers. Always note where the junglers are before
going for a trade or an all-in. This guide is about mostly laning phase.
Lvl 3 Trades: I will usually be referring to two types of level three trades:
● Lvl 3 safe poke: Q (usually off of a minion) + e + auto + w back, if they follow, you can e back
in on your w
● Lvl 3 all-in: E + w + q + auto + e + auto + (e + auto) or (e out) - First e can be on a minion
○ A variation would be to q + e + auto + e + w + auto + e +auto
Unless stated otherwise, you can always go for a safe poke lvl 3 trade.
Lvl 6 All-In: The standard lvl 6 all-ins are e + w + q + gunblade + r + e + auto or e + w + gunblade + r
+ q + e + auto. I personally almost exclusively do the first but the second can be better situationally.
Ability Maxing: I always do three points q, three points e, then max q > e > r > w. Q max is better
overall, but I will put points into e before q sometimes if I know I am going to all in early.
Keystones: This guide was made with electrocute in mind. I have started to use conqueror in
certain matchups, but remember that you can always use either keystone, just each has different
playstyles. (Dark harvest is viable too, with the goal to scale into an easy matchup and play for
resets rather than single target burst.)
In general, you choose Electrocute in order to snowball and conqueror to scale. Conqueror is a rune
that is always good and will always scale. It makes longer trades more effective as well as making
your ult more useful with 5 stacks. However, electrocute is really useful in getting and early
snowball and in blowing up squishier. Additionally, it is the reason why lvl 3 safe pokes are so
effective but with conqueror, the damage is far less without that proc.
Additionally, if you are teamfighting, with electrocute you normally want to get on the back line and
blow up them with electrocute so you can get that first reset and go crazy. With conqueror, you can
play fights front to back, stacking up conqueror so you can then become unkillable when diving.
When going conqueror, you want to build deaths dance second so you can become unkillable. If you
know you want to build zhonya’s second item, opt for electrocute.
Favorite Matchups: Corki, Karthus, Malzahar
Least Favorite Matchups: Ekko, Leblanc, Kassadin, Jayce

Aatrox | Preferred Keystone: Elec/Conq

He has three predictable q’s, you have three potential blinks. Free matchup if you just dodge his q’s.

Ahri/Anivia/Lux/Morgana/Taliyah/Xerath/Zoe | Preferred Keystone: Elec/Conq

Though there are some differences in the matchups, I’m grouping these five together because the
win condition in these is all the same: Dodge the cc ability
Lvl 1:
Try to avoid poke, lose farm if you need to
Lvl 2:
You can go for a q + e + auto + if they used or didn’t level their cc ability.
Lvl 3-5:
Here, you can go for an all-in starting with e. The way I go about all in’s vs these champions is e + w
+ move to the side/behind them, then q + e + auto + auto + e + auto + ignite + kill. Almost always,
they will throw their cc in front of them but you can usually dodge it this way with the w movement
speed (easiest with zoe/morg because cast time, hardest with anivia because her q has a large
hitbox and taliyah because quick cast time). Make sure to pick up dagger so that you still get dmg.
Lvl 6:
Besides ahri (she can ult away), you win the lvl 6 all-in if they’ve used their cc ability. Morg may ult
+ stopwatch but you can just e back out to avoid the second part of dmg.

Note: Don’t forget about anivia passive. Once she hits 6, she will also just perma shove lane. Out of
all the champs here, trying to go for a lvl 6 all-in is a lot more dangerous against her.

Akali | Preferred Keystone: Electrocute

Lvl 1:
Her lvl 1 dmg and ms is absurd, mostly try to cs with q
Lvl 2:
A q + e + auto combo will beat her q + empowered auto. If she gets w second, you’ll win trade, but
going for the shunpo is dangerous if she shrouds before you e in. if she starts e and hits it, she’ll win
the trade hard.
Lvl 3-5:
It’s hard to all in her pre-6 due to her shroud. Stick to lvl 3 safe pokes, but shunpo’ing is still
dangerous if she shrouds before you e in.
Lvl 6: At this point, you can do a lvl 6 all-in because your ult hits her in your shroud, but you need to
play around her ult because the first part of it will cancel your ult. If she hasn’t used the first part of
her ult, don’t go for an all-in.

Annie | Preferred Keystone: Electrocute

I always start long sword + 3 pot, but for safety you can go dorans shield sometimes for her q poke.

This matchup comes to playing around her stun. If she uses her stun on a minion from lvl 3-5, it is
safe to go for a lvl 3 all-in. Hexdrinker is also a viable buy in this matchup because she is an
example of a champ who can one shot without counterplay. Unless you’re ahead, I’d almost say this
buy is a must post 6.

Aurelion Sol | Preferred Keystone: Electrocute

Aurelion sol really has no kill pressure on you. You can e on him making it so none of his starts hit
you. The only problems with aurelion sol is he is insanely fast so it may be hard to hit your daggers,
so buying cutlass before AP is a viable option. If he hits his q, (which he shouldn’t really because of
your shunpo), you can just shunpo out and he has no more follow up options.

Azir | Preferred Keystone: Conqueror

This champion has insane poke so you really need to play back the early levels. Lvl 3, if he uses his q
it will have a 15 sec cooldown so you can go for a lvl 3 all-in while his daggers aren’t on top of him.
Play around his cooldowns and be careful of his ult as it will cancel yours.

Cassioepia | Preferred Keystone: Electrocute

Lvl 1:
Focus on dodging q, lose cs if you have to.
Lvl 2:
Even q + e + auto is extremely dangerous here because if she hits her q now, she will spam e and run
you down.
Lvl 3-5:
Beware of her w, as it cucks your e. Without it, a lvl 3 all-in is rather safe but since they usually run
phase rush, if she hits her q, you won’t be able to hit every single dagger on her. Going cutlass first
before ap is viable.
Lvl 6:
Honestly, I still don’t 100% understand the interaction between kat and cass ult but I believe it’s
dependent on which way you were staring before you press r. A lvl 6 all-in will 100-0 Cass with
gunblade slow, but make sure you’re not staring at her before you press r.

Corki | Preferred Keystone: Conqueror

Corki is a pretty oppressive laner, try not to take too much poke early, and play around his
cooldowns. Without his w, he’s pretty vulnerable. Lvl 6, the first lvl 6 all-in is safe even with w
because the q will follow his w (random note: same with ezreal e). Do note however, if the corki is
good, he will not w directly away from you but wait for the q to hit and then w to the side to get out
of your ult. Many players aren’t this good (I’ve only seen two ezreals ever do this in diamond) but
they can outplay you this way.

Diana | Preferred Keystone: Conqueror

This matchup is more dependent on the diana. At no point in the game do you really beat her, but
you can abuse the cooldown of her w if she uses it in lane. Dodging q is also really important (more
so post 6) because it greatly lowers her dmg output.

Ekko | Preferred Keystone: Elec/Conq

Your two goals in this matchup are not letting him get his passive off and not getting stunned. If he
misses both parts of his q, you will hard win any trade lvl 3. If he misses only one part, he will still
get auto + e and get his passive dmg making the trade go even. (And ofc if he hits both parts,
goodbye to your health bar). Post 6, always be conscientious of where his ult is).

Fizz | Preferred Keystone: Conqueror

This matchup is all about playing around his e. If his e is down, you can easily trade with him. If he e
is up, then you can:
● Q + e + auto
○ If he e’s the q and your dagger doesn’t go off, don’t e. If you do, you will lose the
trade.
○ If he e’s after you get your dagger dmg off, just e out and take the trade (or dodge it if
you can)
● E+w+q
○ If he e’s before you get your dagger dmg off, step off of the dagger and step back on it
once he lands so you can get your dagger dmg off afterwards. If you can’t get off the
dagger in time, try to e out.
○ If he he e’s after you get dagger dmg off, then just e out and take the trade
○ If he e’s after you get both dagger dmg, he’ll most likely be low and you can try to kill

Post 6, always save your e for his ult. Even when he’s 5, he might try to ult the second he gets 6 so
respect it. His ult does little dmg at close range however so if you all in him and his ult gets no
distance, you can possibly win the trade.

Galio/Lissandra (Aka aftershock abusers) | Preferred Keystone: Conqueror (Don't go elec

here)

These matchups are easier than they seem. You want to try to go for a lvl 3 safe poke and get them
to use their aftershock. After this, they are extremely weak and you can all in them whenever. For
Galio, you usually want to kill him earlier if you can because you 100% aren’t going to be able to kill
him later. I usually push a bit, try to hit lvl 2 first and just all-in him then q + e + autos. You can
hopefully get a kill or push him out of lane before he gets aftershock. If he doesn’t have his taunt, he
doesn't’ have guaranteed cc so he’s easy to kill.

Irelia | Preferred Keystone: Elec/Conq

This lane is the same as the ahri like champs, just dodge the e. The only difference is, she actually
has the potential to kill you without e. Play around her passive, if she has max stacks, she has the
potential to kill you with just autos. If she has ult and she hits it, you automatically die as well.

Jayce | Preferred Keystone: Conqueror

At no point in the game do you beat him. If he somehow loses this lane 1v1, it’s due to his mistakes.
He has higher dmg output, and he can always go to hammer form and e q you out of any combo you
try. The only time you can maybe kill him is if he has no knockback, but he’ll always have it in lane
unless he used it on you when you engaged on him. Play passive and ask for jungler help.

Karthus | Preferred Keystone: Elec/Conq

His q’s are slow and predictable and you have three potential e’s. Use them to all in him and build a
stopwatch over a hexdrinker.

Kassadin | Preferred Keystone: Conqueror

The only champion you might want to shove lvl one on. You pretty much have to kill him pre-6 or
you just hard lose. Your best chance to kill him is if you hit lvl 2 first and you all-in him. Besides that,
you have to let it push into you and ask for jungle help. You can go for a lvl 3 safe poke off of a
minion so that you can get your e + auto + dagger dmg off before he gets his q shield. His q shield is
what wins him trades so play around it.

Edit: Running conqueror over electrocute makes killing him pre-6 easier because you will win an
extended trade due to conqueror

Leblanc | Preferred Keystone: Conqueror

This is my least favored matchup personally. She’s not much of a nuisance late game, but her laning
phase is extremely oppressive. The best tips I have is:
● Try to e to dodge her w dmg
● If you q her when she w’s, your dagger will land on her old position so if she takes it back
you can e to that (but she usually won’t take it back if there’s a dagger on it but rather q + e
you)
● Play around minions to dodge her e
● Play around her w cooldown as that’s big

Malzahar | Preferred Keystone: Conqueror

This matchup should rather easy, especially pre 6. Though the champion is annoying, he doesn’t
really have any kill pressure and he has low dmg output compared to most mid laners. One q or e
will take away his passive so it won’t block any of your combo damage, you can dodge his q with
your e easily, one dagger will kill of his minions, you can avoid his e by not standing next to minions
and if he e’s you, he’s practically trolling because the e damage isn’t that big and he won’t shove the
wave which is what malz wants to do.
All-in’ing him at any time after lvl 3, you will win the trade (although I advise starting with q for
all-in’s against him usually pre-6). Even lvl 6, if you go for lvl 6 all-in and he ults you, his damage
won’t kill you before his ult finishes so just save your ult until after he ults. Usually, it will go e + w +
q >> he ults + your w kills his minion + his ult finishes >> gunblade + e + r + ignite.

Neeko | Preferred Keystone: Elec/Conq

Similar to the ahri like champs, just make sure you dodge her e. She does a lot of poke dmg but you
have better all-in lvl 3-5. Lvl 6, you can’t really kill her with a lvl 6 all-in, but her ult takes a while to
channel so you can get a lot of dmg off and then just e out midway through without losing any hp
unless she roots you before she ults. You want to play lvl 6 the same as the ahri like matchups but e
out before her ult lands.

Orianna | Preferred Keystone: Elec/Conq

Lvl 1-2:
You struggle against, especially if she gets e second. If she gets w second, you can go even with a
trade because long sword early damage.
Lvl 3-5:
This is when you want to trade for the most part. Try to avoid poke and any damage unless you’re
trying to go for all-in or to trying to chunk her.
Lvl 6:
You have a higher damage output but her ult is pretty scare and hard to dodge because it has a short
cast time. If you go for a lvl 6 all-in, she can e ult herself before you get your next e or interrupt your
ultimate with it so have to be conscientious of it always.

Ryze | Preferred Keystone: Conqueror

This is one of the exceptions where a lvl 3 safe poke isn’t exactly safe anymore, because he can
immediately w you when you e in and chunk you. If anything, the lvl 3 all-in is as safe, if not more.
Overall though, you don’t really want to fight him until you have gunblade (slow important for phase
rush) and lvl 6. Try to avoid his e from spreading onto you from minions.

Swain | Preferred Keystone: Elec/Conq

Pre-6, you heavily out damage him. His w and e are easily telegraphed and insanely easy to dodge.
Even post-6, he you win because of the grevious wounds on your ultimate, but he will have
stopwatch most likely at this point so you won’t be able to easily kill.

Sylas | Preferred Keystone: Conqueror

I haven’t played this matchup enough to give advice about (especially since I perma ban him at the
moment). So far, what I know is that if he hits e, you will lose the trade 100%. Your ultimate also
applies grievous wounds for his w, so you have a better chance of beating him post game, but early
game is a struggling. Your mid game is better than his so if you survive laning phase without inting,
you should be good later.

Syndra | Preferred Keystone: Elec/Conq

This matchup is technically a skill matchup but it’s more dependent on how kat plays. If you play the
lane perfectly, you should win, just a lot of annoying skillshots. Play back lvl 1, lvl 2 you can go for a
short trade. If she has no e, you can all-in her. The matchup is similar to the ahri-like matchups
because if you go for a lvl 3 all-in, you can usually e + w + walk behind her to dodge her e. (Honestly
I could’ve put her in that category but this has a little more to think about).

Tip: If you see her w, wait for her to throw it at her then all-in her and either a kill or a won trade.
That w slow is crucial to set up her q + e.

Talon | Preferred Keystone: Electrocute

Pre-6, as long as he doesn’t hit both of his w’s, you can out damage him because he can’t proc
passive. Post-6, if you’re even, don’t fight him unless he whiffs both w’s. He usually just shoves and
roams so not much you can do except clear wave and try to match/ping for your team.

Twisted Fate | Preferred Keystone: Electrocute

He can’t really kill you alone. Lvl 1-2 he has lane pri but he doesn’t have much damage. Lvl 3-5, if he
gold cards you, you can just e + w on him and the dagger dmg will go off. After you’re stunned, you
can q + e + auto and try to kill him. If he pulls out any other card or his gold card is on cooldown, you
can just lvl 3 all-in as usual and he can’t do anything to out damage you. The same thing when
you’re 6, except save ult till after he uses gold card if he has it. This matchup is rather free, but he
will usually either use gold card with jungler and if they have a cc jungler, you will die. Also, he
wants to roam a lot so make sure to ping mia and tf ult for your team.

Note: If you’re going precision second, taking Legend: Tenacity instead of Coup de Grace is a good
choice.

Veigar/Vel’Koz/Ziggs | Preferred Keystone: Elec/Conq

Ahri-like matchups but easier, cc is more predictable. You should never lose 1v1 to veigar. Vel’koz
has range advantage so if he plays safe he’s hard to kill but if you get on him or if you have flash, it’s
an easy kill. Ziggs is harder because he has w and e so you should try to play around cooldowns.

Viktor | Preferred Keystone: Elec/Conq

Lvl 3-5 is your best chance to fight against him. Try to avoid his e poke early and be conscientious of
his w as it can make your combos really awkward and cause you to miss daggers. He wins short
trades because of his q, similar to kassadin, but getting all your daggers off with auto attacks, you
will do more damage. Post 6, you have the potential to kill him still but note his ultimate will cancel
yours so don’t ult too early.

Vladimir | Preferred Keystone: Electrocute

This matchup is more vlad favored but you can play around his cooldowns and abuse his mistakes.
When he has no w, you can all-in him. If he has w, you can go for lvl 3 safe pokes depending on his
other abilities. If he just used his q, you can go for a trade without losing any hp. If he has q, you can
still go for a trade unless he has an empowered q (always keep track of his resource bar). His e will
also do a lot of damage so when you go for a lvl 3 safe poke, try to immediately go behind your
minions. If you tether him throughout the lane and keep track of cooldowns, you can win. Level 6,
you won’t win really unless he has no w.

Note: Your ult applies grievous wounds so try to use it when he wants to use q or his ult healing will
kick in

Yasuo | Preferred Keystone: Conqueror

At no point in the game do you really beat him unless the Yasuo is bad. You can go for lvl 3 safe
pokes but depending on where your minions are and the lane position, he can just dash on you and
punish you for it. Let lane shove to you and ask for a jungler gank. Try to dodge q’s if you can and
respect his all-in.

Note: Yasuo’s like to q once, play back to bait you, then e + q towards you, getting them a tornado
and a gap closer for them to easily kill you. If a yasuo q’s once, respect his gap close even if he plays
back.

Zed | Preferred Keystone: Electrocute

This is a very heavy skill matchup. Both champs are pretty much even at all points in the game. You
have to dodge his shurikens and he wants to dodge your daggers. The matchup becomes more zed
favored post-6. At this point, you usually don’t want to go for a lvl 6 all-in because he can ult you to
dodge dagger dmg. If he ults you, you can e + w to a minion or flash when he lands to dodge some
shuriken damage.

Zilean | Preferred Keystone: Conqueror

This matchup is rather annoying because he can just perma shove lane. Don’t go for all-ins unless
he’s missed one of his q’s. Even without his q, all-ins are hard due to his slow/speed. Lvl 3 safe
pokes are fine but you have to be careful of his bombs. Avoiding his bomb damage is basically the
entire matchup. Try to save e usually to dodge if he he has slow up or to dodge a bomb.