Imperial Mandate Katarina Build

Imperial Mandate Katarina Build.

Imperial Mandate Katarina build with runes and items. Imperial Mandate Katarina guide offers in-depth how-to play, skill order and tips. Play Imperial Mandate Katarina build in League of Legends Patch 26.5!

Author: Wrekah

TLDR

Starting items
Guardian's Horn should be final item in your build.
Ruby Crystal should be final item in your build.
Quick Skill Order
Katarina ability Bouncing Blade should be leveled first.
Q
Katarina ability Shunpo should be leveled second.
E
Katarina ability Preparation should be leveled third.
W
Final items
Mercury's Treads should be final item in your build.
Rylai's Crystal Scepter should be final item in your build.
Warmog's Armor should be final item in your build.
Spirit Visage should be final item in your build.
Imperial Mandate should be final item in your build.
Thornmail should be final item in your build.
Quick Runes
Major rune Grasp of the Undying from Resolve tree.
Minor rune Precision.
Summoner spells
Pick Mark as your Summoner Spell.
Pick Flash as your Summoner Spell.

Imperial Mandate Katarina Runes

Resolve
Resolve major tree Grasp of the Undying rune.
Resolve major tree Aftershock rune.
Resolve major tree Guardian rune.
Resolve major tree Demolish rune.
Resolve major tree Font of Life rune.
Resolve major tree Shield Bash rune.
Resolve major tree Conditioning rune.
Resolve major tree Second Wind rune.
Resolve major tree Bone Plating rune.
Resolve major tree Overgrowth rune.
Resolve major tree Revitalize rune.
Resolve major tree Unflinching rune.
Precision
Precision minor tree Absorb Life rune.
Precision minor tree Triumph rune.
Precision minor tree Presence of Mind rune.
Precision minor tree Legend: Alacrity rune.
Precision minor tree Legend: Haste rune.
Precision minor tree Legend: Bloodline rune.
Precision minor tree Coup de Grace rune.
Precision minor tree Cut Down rune.
Precision minor tree Last Stand rune.
Passive
Passive tree Adaptive Force rune (+9 Adaptive Force).
Passive tree Attack Speed rune (+10% Attack Speed).
Passive tree Ability Haste rune (+8 Ability Haste).
Passive tree Adaptive Force rune (+9 Adaptive Force).
Passive tree Move Speed rune (+2 Movement Speed).
Passive tree Health Scaling rune (+10-180 Health (based on level)).
Passive tree Health rune (+65 Health).
Passive tree Tenacity And Slow Resist rune (+10 Tenacity and Slow Resist).
Passive tree Health Scaling rune (+10-180 Health (based on level)).

Optional Summoner Spells

Ghost

Ghost

Ghost for extra mobility and chasing - great for staying on top of enemies and farming more Heartsteel procs.

Exhaust

Exhaust

Defensive option. Exhaust for peeling against enemy divers and assassins and protecting your carries.

Ignite

Ignite

Offensive option if you are feeling spicy. Grievous Wounds + some damage. Good in early fights and you can score some kills, but reduces your going-in potential. Especially later.

Optional Runes

Guardian

Guardian

Guardian is a more passive, support-oriented alternative. Instead of boosting your own tankiness, you protect nearby allies with a shield when they take damage - great if you're playing closer to a support role or prefer a more reactive, less aggressive playstyle. You won't be as tanky as you would be with other runes.

Looking for another tank build? Check these:
Iceborn GauntletKatarinaHeartsteelKatarinaTankKatarina

How it works

  1. You play as a slow tank, disrupting fights and soaking damage.
  2. Thanks to slow + Font of Life, you heal allies. You can even get support items.
  3. Core items: Rylai's Crystal Scepter + Imperial Mandate. If you are behind and the game not go perfectly, skip Imperial Mandate and go full tank.

Playstyle

  1. ❄️

    Rush Rylai's Crystal Scepter to apply constant slows with your abilities.

  2. 🐢

    Play as a slow tank, disrupting enemy movements while soaking up damage.

  3. 🧰

    Adapt your items to the game: go offensive with Imperial Mandate or defensive with full MR/Armor.

How to play

Imperial Mandate Katarina

  1. Katarina can have great engages too! Buy Randuin's Omen, Shunpo (E) into an enemy team and use active for heavy AoE slow!

Getting started

  1. Your all abilities slow and heal your allies and giving them Imperial Mandate buff.
  2. Guardian's Horn is a surprisingly good item for its price. You can keep it for very long time (or even have it as 6th item).

Items

  1. You can go some support items as well in some cases, like Ardent Censer if you got a lot of auto attackers on your team.

Adapting

  1. Enemy team heavy on AP? Buy MR. They are heavy on AD? Buy Armor. You need some damage? Well buy that.

Runes

  1. Remember to consume your Grasp of the Undying procs!

Tips and Tricks

Champion

  1. You can elevate your Katarina play just by not looking at the Daggers, but facing away, then using Shunpo (E) to them.

Riot

  1. Picking up Daggers will significantly reduce Shunpo's cooldown.
  2. Try waiting until the other team is distracted with fighting your team, and use Shunpo to teleport into the fray and unleash a devastating Death Lotus.
  3. Using Shunpo on an allied Champion, Dagger, or minion can be a great escape tactic.

Skill Order

  • Katarina [object Object] ability.
    Q
    Bouncing Blade
  • Katarina [object Object] ability.
    W
    Preparation
  • Katarina [object Object] ability.
    E
    Shunpo
  • Katarina [object Object] ability.
    R
    Death Lotus

Items

Starting items
Guardian's Horn item.
Ruby Crystal item.
Boots
Ionian Boots of Lucidity item.
Plated Steelcaps item.
Mercury's Treads item.
Rush #1
Rylai's Crystal Scepter item.
Rush #2
Imperial Mandate item.
Good tanky items
Jak'Sho, The Protean item.
Heartsteel item.
Warmog's Armor item.
Good MR items
Spirit Visage item.
Kaenic Rookern item.
Abyssal Mask item.
Force of Nature item.
Hollow Radiance item.
Good Armor items
Sunfire Aegis item.
Unending Despair item.
Thornmail item.
Randuin's Omen item.
Iceborn Gauntlet item.
Dead Man's Plate item.
Situational items
Trailblazer item.
Knight's Vow item.
Situational DMG items
Additional considerations for these items is advised!
Overlord's Bloodmail item.
Wit's End item.
Zhonya's Hourglass item.
Liandry's Torment item.
Titanic Hydra item.
For the last fight
Additional considerations for these items is advised!
Elixir of Iron item.
Elixir of Sorcery item.
Example final build
Mercury's Treads item.
Rylai's Crystal Scepter item.
Warmog's Armor item.
Spirit Visage item.
Imperial Mandate item.
Thornmail item.