How to win the jungle race as Master Yi against Nidalee · Matchup data reviewed on patch 26.15
Read from Master Yi's seat: the race windows this plan plays for against Nidalee.
| Stage | Read | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 Clear | Respect Nidalee | Max-range Javelin poke decides who enters the scuttle fight healthy, and Master Yi has no clean answer to it at the first buff — a max-range Javelin into the Hunt pounce executes you before the fight even starts. Keep a camp between you and her spear line — the Javelin is the whole matchup, and give up your opening camps rather than the kill. |
| Level 2 Skirmish | Respect Nidalee | The window on the second camp belongs to Nidalee: Pounce-reset cat clears let them out-tempo and kite the slower kits. Your own line is real — Wuju Style helps the clear more than the duel; keep choosing camps over combat — but it arrives second here. Keep a camp between you and her spear line — the Javelin is the whole matchup, then refuse the level-2 skirmish. |
| Level 3 Route | Respect Nidalee | At level 3 this window belongs to Nidalee: the spear-hunt-pounce execute pattern wins any fight they start at range, and a max-range Javelin into the Hunt pounce executes you before the fight even starts. Keep a camp between you and her spear line — the Javelin is the whole matchup. Give up the level-3 river fight and bank tempo on the opposite side of the map. |
| Levels 4-5 Macro | Master Yi Favoured — Take Duels | Through levels 4-5 you remain the stronger duelist — keep taking short, decisive trades vs Nidalee, but only with the HP and cooldown lead. |
| Level 6 Breakpoint | Highlander Domination | Highlander's slow immunity plus Alpha resets snowball any post-6 cleanup. The spear-into-pounce execute loop gets a full extra rotation at six, but in a straight post-6 duel that is not enough — you out-spike them at this breakpoint, so play the aggressor while it lasts. |
| First Item Spike | Kraken Slayer Spike | Completing your core item triggers a massive physical damage, attack speed, and on-hit multiplier that completely overpowers traditional brawlers or isolated targets. Nidalee's first item makes the spear a genuine execute threat rather than chip damage on the way to a fight. |
| 2+ Items Scaling | Master Yi Favoured — Wins Late | Nidalee falls off relative to you — from two items on you win the raw stat check, even though she is a poke-and-execute pattern that never actually stands in the fight. Drag the game long and force the 1v1s. |
Start your clear at the Red Buff camp to maximize early health sustain and red buff true damage. Nidalee clears extremely fast in cougar form with pounce resets, and she is usually the first jungler to level three.
Ranked by the race windows in Master Yi's plans — the jungle race carries no win-rate sample.
The full Master Yi vs Nidalee report continues with scuttle & dragon rules, invade windows and safety boundaries, the top-side objective fight, macro rotations and the win condition — plus the live enemy-jungle tracker that shows their start, clear and gank timers in game.
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No clear favourite — Master Yi holds 4 windows, Nidalee 3, the rest are even.
Yes — Master Yi vs Nidalee plays as a skill matchup: the jungle race swings window to window, and the better first clear usually sets the tone.
Playing the other side? Nidalee vs Master Yi guide →
All Master Yi jungle matchups →
More Master Yi jungle matchups: vs Maokai · vs Morgana · vs Naafiri · vs Nocturne · vs Nunu & Willump · vs Olaf