How to Build Karma

Karma Build is one of several enchanters that gets to see the point up close and personal. She's been flexed top, mid, and encourage in the LEC this Season. Here, Excel Esports' Tore "Tore" Hoel Eilertsen tells us why Karma is a stand-out pick for the LEC supports and how to maximise her potential.

Karma Build Pros and Cons

As Tore puts it, Karma's strength lies in her lane phase. "She excels in pushing and poking the enemy bot lane," says Tore.

Everyone playing against Karma Build knows to fear her intense and near-incessant poke, which comes in the form of her Q, Inner Flame. Inner Flame can be empowered by her ultimate, Mantra, to deal area-of-effect damage, to damage and slow enemies. The best part is that Inner Flame has a relatively low cooldown and mana cost, which allows Karma to keep up the pressure at all times.

Karma Build is quite a safe pick as well. She is not easily countered, but she will do very well against melee supports whom she can freely harass.

"Karma Build is a great pick against a few melee supports such as Braum and Tahm Kench," elaborates Tore. "She brings plenty of poke and sustain to the team and a strong teamfight ability using the Mantra shield."

According to Tore, then, it's not just that she will breeze through lane under the right circumstances, but she will also be a great asset in the mid and late game, where she will be able to shine in team fights.

However, there is a reason that enchanters aren't historically that popular in professional play, and Karma Build does have her share of faults.

"Enchanters are easier to gank and penalize competitive play compared to solo queue," admits Tore. Generally speaking, enchanters like Karma Build make their allies stronger, better and faster and win the game through them. Enchanters themselves are not very independent, unlike mage supports or initiators like Thresh. When caught, Karma doesn't have a lot of devices to save herself, as, like the other enchanters, she is immobile and 'squishy'.

"Her weakness is getting all inned by Nautilus, Thresh, Blitzcrank, and Leona," adds Tore.

Although Karma Build can do very well against these melee tank supports, she can also struggle against them as well. With her lack of mobility, Karma is susceptible to being cornered. However, this drawback pales in comparison to her potential to poke without receiving poke back. Furthermore, by poking enemy supports, you will be negating them a chance to engage at all. If they're too low, they won't try to initiate a fight.

One other weakness that should be mentioned is LoL Karma's lack of hard crowd-control. She does have a dependable, if somewhat weak, slow on her Q, but her only other form of crowd-control is a short-lasting snare that comes from her W, Focused Resolve. This snare is quite unreliable, however, as it requires Karma Build to first be tethered to an enemy for two seconds and this often gives the enemy enough time to untether with the use of some gap closer or increased mobility.

Early Game as Karma

As Tore mentioned at the beginning, Karma's strongest point is her powerful early game. Because she is a ranged support, she gets to enjoy numerous advantages that melee supports like Nautilus and Tahm Kench do not.

"She does really well in the laning stage," says Tore,"that's her power for a poke champ."

Karma Build will excel in lane due to the fact that she can dish out serious damage through poke and also the fact that she herself is impervious to poke due to her range and her shield.

Her power comes specifically from her Q, Inner Flame, particularly when it is enhanced by her ultimate ability, Mantra. All throughout the laning phase you can exert a lot of pressure by threatening the enemy with your Q and the possibility of using your empowered Q as well. Be sure to avoid the minion wave where enemies will try to hide, as that will not only put your ultimate ability to waste, sending it on a 45 second cooldown, but it will also push the wave, which might not suit your botlaner.

Due to her poke-prowess, Karma is best picked with a poking botlaner to compliment her.

"Poke or even long-ranged ADC work best," says Tore, "Ezreal, Caitlyn, or Ashe, for example."

Her W, Focused Resolve, and E, Inspire, both allow Karma Build to protect her ally in skirmishes and team fights, and so even immobile, extra vulnerable, botlaners should be safe with her by their side. Karma works well with attack-speed-reliant botlaners like Vayne, Xayah Build or Kog'Maw Build because she can utilize Ardent Censer extremely well with Inspire.

Late Game as Karma

As the game goes on, you will want to shift your playstyle from aggressive to utility-oriented. "I'd recommend staying at the back," says Tore,"and utilizing Mantra only."

Your goal in team struggles is very easy -- keep your conveys living. WIth your Mantra and Inspire combo, so you can protect your whole team, therefore granting everybody security, as well as attack rate from Ardent Censer.

The motion speed increase can come in clutch and rescue an ally from getting hit by a deadly skillshot. More to the point, it may be used to mobilize your entire staff at once and either forcefully engage the enemy team, or nimbly disengage in an unfavourable battle.

Fantastic Karma

Karma Build brings a lot to the table with her early game poke and harm and her late-game capability to shield and buff her entire team with Ardent Censer. Picked with a poking or long-ranged botlaner or with a team of many attack-speed reliant champions, she will make her staff incredibly hard to take care of.