Poppy vs Karthus JUNGLE Matchup Guide | LaneStomp

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Champion

Opponent

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Poppy

VS

Jungle

Karthus

Poppy vs Karthus

Updated Jun 5, 2026

Overview

Use Poppy's strong early invade and duel potential to disrupt Karthus's full clear and deny his tempo.
Prioritize river control and terrain angles to leverage (E) wall stuns and (W) dash denial against Karthus's immobility.
This is a control vs scale jungle matchup where Poppy must pressure early and deny Karthus's scaling windows.

Jungle Plan

Invade Karthus during his first clears to force him off camps and deny his tempo before level 6.
Use terrain-heavy paths to set up (E) wall stuns and hold (W) to counter Karthus's limited mobility and punish his positioning.
Prioritize early dragon and Rift Herald control by using (R) to disrupt Karthus's smite and force objective fights on your terms.

Danger windows

Be cautious during Karthus's early full clears when he can quickly reset and punish overextended invades.
Avoid isolated river fights without lane priority as Karthus can use repeated (Q) and (E) damage to wear you down.
Watch for forced objective setups where (R) can finish off low-health allies or disrupt your team.

Early game

Start with a three-camp clear into early gank or invade to leverage Poppy's level 3 strength and terrain control.
Contest first Scuttle only if nearby lanes have priority and can collapse quickly to punish Karthus's low early pressure.
Avoid prolonged river fights without vision as Karthus's full clear speed and (R) can punish overcommitments.

Power spikes

At level 6, use (R) to remove Karthus from objective fights or disengage bad skirmishes before he can use his global damage.
After first tank item, hold (W) longer to survive Karthus's magic damage and dash attempts from lanes, improving your peel and skirmish potential.
Respect Karthus's level 6 (R) spike by avoiding extended low-health fights and maintaining vision to prevent surprise ult damage.

Win conditions

Convert early invade pressure and terrain control into denying Karthus's camps and forcing him into inefficient pathing.
Use (R) to control objective fights by knocking Karthus away or resetting bad engagements, securing dragon and Rift Herald.
Maintain river vision and track Karthus's position to counter-gank effectively and prevent him from scaling into impactful global damage.