If you remember, in the early stages of Teamfight Tactics season 5, Karma was regarded as an extremely powerful magic carry with the ability to cast spells continuously. At that time, Karma with Blue Buff was an incredibly strong combo that provided players with a massive amount of damage in combat rounds.
However, when it came to season 5.5, Karma appeared completely outclassed compared to other magic carries like Vel’Koz or Heimerdinger. Even Riot Games continuously buffed Karma’s skill damage, but this champion still has a very low pick rate. According to the specialized site Metatft.com, Karma’s pick rate is only 8.1%, the lowest when compared to 4-cost champions. So what is the issue with Karma at this time?
As mentioned above, one of Karma’s most dominant features is her ability to cast spells continuously when equipped with Blue Buff. The reason lies in the fact that Karma’s skill already has the effect of reducing energy cost after using a spell. However, this changed since patch 11.12 when Karma’s energy lock time was increased, and this champion always auto-attacks before casting the next spell.
This leads to a major issue for Karma where having Blue Buff on this champion becomes less effective. If using Blue Buff, the time between the first and second spell cast becomes very long, significantly reducing Karma’s damage output. In the case of using the Spear of Shojin, players need to be lucky enough to combine this item early. In a meta where physical carries are currently very strong, acquiring a B.F. Sword in the common selection round is relatively difficult.
Moreover, the lack of support from the Celestial units (except for Garen) in dealing damage also makes Karma outclassed compared to other characters. Compared to Vel’Koz, this unit, when placed in the Celestial lineup, receives increased skill damage every time an ally of the same race falls. Furthermore, Vel’Koz is also protected by units like Syndra and Lux in the backline to deal damage, which Karma does not have in the Celestial team.
Not stopping there, the growing preference among players for durable and high-recovery carries like Yasuo, Riven, Jax… also causes Karma to lose her standing gradually. You must use high burst damage champions like Heimerdinger or Vel’Koz to defeat the aforementioned units. Meanwhile, Karma’s damage over time only gives Yasuo, Riven, and Jax… more time to heal and secure victories with their resilience.
In summary, Karma’s damage dealing method in season 5.5 makes it hard for this unit to shine in the current meta. The idea of a magic carry dealing damage over time isn’t bad. However, Karma cannot unleash her power in a meta that favors resilient and high-recovery carries like in season 5.5. Perhaps to make Karma stronger, Riot should reduce the energy lock time of this unit instead of continuously buffing her damage as seen in previous patches.
