Karthus vs Poppy JUNGLE Matchup Guide | LaneStomp

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Champion

Opponent

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Karthus

VS

Jungle

Poppy

Karthus vs Poppy

Updated Jun 4, 2026

Overview

Prioritize full clears early to leverage Karthus's superior clear speed and avoid early fights against Poppy's strong invade potential.
Avoid river fights unless lanes have priority to prevent getting caught by Poppy's anti-dash and wall stun threat.
Focus on scaling through safe farming and use global (R) to influence fights once available.

Jungle Plan

Full clear camps efficiently to reach level 6 and first AP item before engaging in fights or objective contests.
Contest Scuttle Crab and river control only when lanes can collapse or counter-gank Poppy's early aggression.
Use vision to avoid isolated river fights and punish Poppy's overcommitment with cross-map pressure and (R) damage after fights start.

Danger windows

Early game river fights around level 3 when Poppy has terrain advantage and strong crowd control.
Low-health clears where Karthus is vulnerable to invade or forced smite fights.
Objective setups where Poppy can use (R) to knock Karthus or allies away, disrupting fights and smite control.

Early game

Start with a full clear path away from river entrances to minimize risk from Poppy's early invade attempts.
Only contest first Scuttle Crab if nearby lanes have priority and vision control to avoid Poppy's strong level 3 dueling and crowd control.
Track Poppy's pathing closely and prepare to counter-gank when she commits to early river or lane pressure.

Power spikes

Level 6: Use (R) to finish low-health enemies and influence fights globally; avoid extended low-health skirmishes before this.
First AP item: Cycle camps quickly to reach item spike and convert farming lead into stronger objective damage.
Respect Poppy's level 6 (R) knockaway which can reset fights or deny objective attempts; bait it before committing.

Win conditions

Maintain full clear tempo and avoid early disruption to reach key power spikes safely.
Use global (R) to punish overextended or low-health enemies after skirmishes and secure objectives.
Leverage vision and lane priority to contest Scuttle and dragon when Poppy's engage tools are on cooldown or misused.