Orianna is a control mage with medium lane pressure and low early agency, aiming to control the lane with ball placement and create teamfight opportunities.
Katarina is a volatile assassin with low early agency and lane pressure, relying on dagger setups and resets to all-in.
Orianna must manage ball position carefully to zone Katarina and avoid giving her dagger setups or all-in windows.
Trading pattern
Trade by zoning with ball placement and poke, then shield or speed yourself with E to survive Katarina's burst.
Punish Katarina if she uses E forward without a reset path by stepping up with Q and W.
Respect Katarina's dagger positions; avoid committing to trades when her daggers threaten resets or escape.
Danger windows
Katarina is most dangerous when her daggers are positioned near you or escape routes.
Avoid engaging when Katarina's R channel is likely uninterrupted.
Be cautious when Katarina has resets from takedowns, as she can chain mobility and damage.
Early game
Use Q and W to poke and keep Katarina from safely placing daggers early.
Avoid reckless trades before level 6 when Katarina's E and resets become dangerous.
Maintain mana and ball position to shield and speed through Katarina's short burst trades.
Power spikes
Orianna's major spikes are level 6 R and first completed mage item.
Katarina's major spikes are level 3 dagger combo with E mobility and level 6 R channel.
Respect Katarina's level 6 all-in potential when crowd control is down.
Win conditions
Control the lane by maintaining ball position to zone Katarina and deny dagger setups.
Use shields and speed from E to survive Katarina's burst and punish cooldowns.
Reach level 6 and item spikes to leverage R for teamfight impact and force Katarina to respect your threat.
Tip: For Orianna vs Katarina, read overview, trading pattern, and danger windows first for a fast Mid lane check.
