Nunu & Willump vs Graves — Jungle Matchup Guide

How to win the jungle race as Nunu & Willump against Graves · Matchup data reviewed on patch 26.15

Verdict: Graves pressures 6 of the 7 windows in this race — survive the early game and scale into your windows.

The jungle race — the windows in Nunu & Willump's plan

Read from Nunu & Willump's seat: the race windows this plan plays for against Graves.

StageReadWhy
Level 1 ClearDanger — Avoid GravesHard no-contest for Nunu & Willump at level 1: End of the Line plus knockback autos shred melees holding a buff pit, and True Grit armor plus point-blank double-shot autos win any close-range brawl. Fight him in the open where his pellets spread, never inside a tight buff pit. Path opposite, ward your entrances, and let the clock carry you to your own spike.
Level 2 SkirmishDanger — Avoid GravesTrue Grit armor plus point-blank double-shot autos win any close-range brawl. Quickdraw (E) True Grit armor stacking lets them out-trade in tight jungle lanes on top of that, so level 2 is a straight stat check Nunu & Willump loses — fight him in the open where his pellets spread, never inside a tight buff pit, and give the river vision-line respect.
Level 3 RouteDanger — Avoid GravesGraves out-classes you at the opening scuttle — Smoke Screen's blind caps a kit that wins almost every close-quarters exchange, and True Grit armor plus point-blank double-shot autos win any close-range brawl. Give up the level-3 river fight, full-clear away from them, and trade map pressure instead of health.
Levels 4-5 MacroDanger — Avoid GravesDo not be seen by Graves at levels 4-5 — you lose every exchange. Full-clear away from them, ward your entrances, and trade map pressure, not HP.
Level 6 BreakpointRespect Graves's RThe R execute plus True Grit armor closes out any trade he starts ahead — Nunu & Willump loses the straight post-6 duel. Respect the burst threshold and fight him in the open, never the pit, and shift your pressure to the side of the map Collateral Damage is not on.
First Item SpikeLiandry's SpikeCompleting Liandry's Torment puts a max-health burn on every Consume (Q), Biggest Snowball Ever! (W) and Snowball Barrage (E) hit, so camps and waves melt and brawlers who try to out-sustain you lose a chunk of health every trade. Graves' first item is a large step in raw damage — the double-shot at point blank starts removing squishies outright.
2+ Items ScalingDanger — Graves OutscalesEvery minute past 25 tilts toward Graves — he shreds anything in a corridor and holds a side lane against most of the map. Force your win condition early or watch it slip away slowly.

How to beat Graves as Nunu & Willump: the first clear and pathing

Start your clear at the Red or Blue Buff camp utilizing your Consume true damage to maximize early clear speed without needing a heavy leash. Graves has one of the fastest clears in the game — End of the Line through two camps at once means he is level three early.

Hardest and easiest matchups for Nunu & Willump in the jungle

Ranked by the race windows in Nunu & Willump's plans — the jungle race carries no win-rate sample.

Hardest

Easiest

Read the rest of this matchup

The full Nunu & Willump vs Graves 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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Common questions

Who wins Nunu & Willump vs Graves in the jungle?

Graves pressures 6 of the 7 windows in this race — survive the early game and scale into your windows.

Is Nunu & Willump vs Graves a skill matchup?

Not exactly — Graves pressures 6 of the 7 windows, so Nunu & Willump is playing catch-up and has to lean on the map.

Related guides

Playing the other side? Graves vs Nunu & Willump guide →
All Nunu & Willump jungle matchups →

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