How to win lane as Gangplank against Gnar · 53.33% win rate over 870 Emerald+ games · Updated 2026-07-27
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Gnar | Mini-Gnar's Boomerang Throw (Q) out-ranges your Parrrley and his Hyper passive (bonus damage + slow on every 3rd hit) punishes you if you walk up — the early short trades go to him. |
| Level 2 | Even / skill | He keeps kiting with boomerang plus Hyper move speed while your kegs are still on long cooldowns; you can't punish yet, so this stays a farm-and-skill standoff. |
| Level 3 | Gangplank | Your second Parrrley and Powder Keg point let you place a barrel and Q-detonate it from outside his Q — first real window where you out-trade mini-Gnar. |
| Levels 4-5 | Gnar | Mega-Gnar's GNAR! (R) can throw you into a wall for a stun plus his tankiness spike; if he catches your commit here he flips it, so the transform window is his. |
| Level 6 | Gangplank | Sheen-empowered Parrrley plus a chained keg detonation bursts him while he's stuck in fragile mini form — your first-item spike takes the lane over. |
| First item | Gangplank | Pre-placed keg chains on walls remove his kite, and a Sheen proc plus barrel burst out-damages a squishy mini-Gnar before mega returns. |
| Two+ items | Gangplank | At 2+ items your chained kegs and global Cannon Barrage out-range and out-scale a kiting Gnar in the 1v1 — pin him to a wall and detonate. |
Levels 1-3 belong to mini-Gnar. Boomerang Throw (Q) out-ranges your Parrrley, and if you walk up to last-hit he stacks his Hyper passive — every third hit on you deals bonus damage and slows, so the short trades go his way. Don't try to fight here: your Powder Kegs have long cooldowns and aren't online to punish him yet. Last-hit at max Parrrley range, accept some boomerang poke, and watch his Rage Bar — you do NOT want to be caught in an all-in when it fills into mega.
The full Gangplank vs Gnar report continues with the mid-game plan, the late-game and teamfight plan, every power spike to play around, and the win conditions for both sides — plus cooldown tracking and the live enemy-jungle tracker inside the app.
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Playing the other side? Gnar vs Gangplank guide →
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