Karthus vs Zed JUNGLE Matchup Guide | LaneStomp

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Karthus

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Jungle

Zed

Karthus vs Zed

Updated Jun 4, 2026

Overview

Prioritize full clears to leverage Karthus's superior clear speed and scaling potential over Zed's early skirmishing power.
Avoid early river fights and invades unless lanes have clear priority to support, as Karthus is vulnerable to Zed's high mobility and burst.
Use vision and tracking to prevent losing tempo from early disruption and to set up safe objective control.

Jungle Plan

Cycle camps efficiently to reach first AP item spike quickly, using (Q) and (E) to maintain tempo and clear speed.
Prioritize river control and Scuttle Crab when lanes can assist, but avoid direct fights with Zed early unless you have numerical advantage.
Track Zed's jungle pathing to counter-gank his early pressure and punish overextensions with (R) after fights start.

Danger windows

Early invade windows before Karthus completes first clear, especially if lanes lack priority to assist.
Isolated river fights where Zed's mobility and burst can punish Karthus's low dueling and lack of hard CC.
Objective setups without vision control, as Zed can exploit these with picks or forced smite contests.

Early game

Start with a full clear path focusing on camps near safe lanes to minimize early invade risk from Zed.
Contest first Scuttle only if nearby lanes have priority and can assist to avoid getting collapsed on.
Avoid low-health river entries and counter-invade only when you have vision on Zed's position and cooldowns.

Power spikes

Level 6 unlocks (R), enabling global damage to finish low-health targets; use it after skirmishes or when enemies commit.
First completed AP item boosts clear speed and objective damage; use this tempo to contest dragons and Rift Herald.
Respect Zed's level 3 (W)+(E)+(Q) combo and level 6 (R) for burst all-ins; avoid extended fights during these windows.

Win conditions

Convert full clear tempo into early AP item spikes to secure objective control and force fights on your terms.
Use (R) to influence skirmishes globally, finishing off low-health enemies and denying Zed's scaling.
Punish Zed's early all-in attempts by tracking his pathing and counter-ganking when his cooldowns are down or after he commits.