Smolder vs Katarina
Hard matchup
You are stronger late game. Farm safe and avoid early trades.
Build vs Katarina
Build adapted to this matchup
Recommended items for Smolder: Essence Reaver, Black Cleaver, Spear of Shojin, Ionian Boots of Lucidity, Rapid Firecannon, Infinity Edge, B. F. Sword, Hubris.
Starting items
Core build
Standard
Summoner spells
Anti CC
Other options
Power Spikes
Strength by game phase
Katarina's abilities
Passive, spells and ultimate
Whenever an enemy champion dies that Katarina has damaged recently, her remaining ability cooldowns are dramatically reduced.If Katarina picks up a Dagger, she uses it to slash through all nearby enemies, dealing magic damage.
Cooldowns
Cooldowns by spell rank
| Level | Q | W | E | R |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 11s | 15s | 12s | – |
| 6 | 9s | 15s | 12s | 1m15 |
| 9 | 7s | 14s | 12s | 1m15 |
| 11 | 7s | 13s | 12s | 1m |
| 16 | 7s | 11s | 10s | 45s |
| 18 | 7s | 11s | 8s | 45s |
Playing as Smolder
Tips to maximize your impact
- Last-hit minions with your fireball
Last-hit minions with Super Scorcher Breath (Q): each kill with the spell gives you a Dragon Practice (passive) stack, which empowers your basic spells.
- Poke with your sneeze
Poke with Achooo! (W): the sneeze slows, explodes on champions hit, and each champion hit gives you a Dragon Practice stack.
- Aim for the final tier
Build enough stacks for the final tier of Super Scorcher Breath (Q): it burns its target, and kills a champion who drops below a health threshold.
- Take flight to escape
Escape or reposition with Flap, Flap, Flap (E): you fly over obstacles, bombarding the enemy with the lowest health.
- Call your mom from far away
Cast MMOOOMMMM! (R) to finish or slow from far away: the center of the breath hits harder and slows, and if it hits you, your mom heals you.
Playing against Katarina
How to counter and exploit weaknesses
- Stay away from her daggers
Stay away from her daggers on the ground: when she picks one up, Voracity (passive) hits every nearby enemy, and Shunpo (E) lets her blink to it.
- Trade after her Shunpo
Trade right after Shunpo (E): it's her only blink, and it has a 12 to 8 second cooldown, less if she picks up a dagger.
- Save your CC for her Lotus
If you have CC, save it for Death Lotus (R): it's a channel, and interrupting it stops its damage.
- Don't count on your healing
Don't count on your healing during Death Lotus (R): each knife applies Grievous Wounds, which reduces healing received.
Other Smolder matchups
Patch 16.21.1