Nidalee vs Karthus JUNGLE Matchup Guide | LaneStomp

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Nidalee

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Jungle

Karthus

Nidalee vs Karthus

Updated Jun 4, 2026

Overview

Use Nidalee's fast, technical clears and high mobility to invade Karthus early and punish his slower, full clear jungle pathing.
Prioritize early river control and Scuttle fights only when nearby lanes have priority to avoid risky isolated fights.
Focus on snowballing through early tempo and camp denial before Karthus hits his major scaling spikes.

Jungle Plan

Invade Karthus early to disrupt his full clear and force him off camps before level 6 when his global damage is unavailable.
Use traps and spears to control river entrances and secure vision for safe counter-jungling and objective setups.
Prioritize dragon control after early tempo leads and use poke to soften enemies before committing to fights or Herald attempts.

Danger windows

Avoid isolated river fights before level 6 where Karthus can punish with repeated (Q) and (W) damage and your limited vision.
Be cautious contesting objectives when Karthus has vision and can use (R) to finish off low-health allies.
Watch for Karthus's full clear resets that enable him to reach item spikes quickly, making early fights riskier.

Early game

Start with a three-camp clear optimized for speed to reach level 3 and look for level 3 invades on Karthus's likely jungle route.
Contest first Scuttle only if your lanes have priority and you can land spears to zone Karthus safely.
Avoid extended river fights without vision or lane support since Karthus is vulnerable but can punish overcommitments with his global (R).

Power spikes

Nidalee spikes at level 3 with strong invade potential using (Q) and (W) combo to punish Karthus's weak early dueling.
Respect Karthus's level 6 when (R) enables him to influence fights globally and finish low-health targets.
Nidalee's high clear speed and mobility allow her to reach item power spikes before Karthus, enabling tempo advantages.

Win conditions

Convert early invade pressure and camp denial into dragon and Herald control to snowball lanes and deny Karthus scaling resources.
Use Nidalee's poke and mobility to force Karthus off objectives and prevent him from safely farming his jungle.
Maintain river vision and track Karthus's pathing to counter-gank effectively and avoid giving him free global damage impact with (R).