How to win lane as Gnar against Mordekaiser · 51.17% win rate (596 Emerald+ games, lolalytics, sampled July 2026) · Matchup data reviewed on patch 26.15
His R isolates you — build MR, boomerang-poke pre-6.
Track: Mordekaiser's R — Realm of Death (140–100s cooldown). His 1v1 realm. Mega-CC to out-trade.
Read from Gnar's seat: which stage windows this plan plays for against Mordekaiser.
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Gnar | Mini's ranged autos plus a single Boomerang win the first trade — Morde has no dash to punish you and can only eat the poke. |
| Level 2 | Mordekaiser | His W shield makes the return trade safe, and stepping in for the Hyper proc lets his E pull and isolated Q slam your fragile Mini body. |
| Level 3 | Mordekaiser | At 3 his full E-pull into isolated Q with W shield up out-trades a squishy Mini Gnar who overstays inside his range. |
| Levels 4-5 | Gnar | With Rage banked your Mega Wallop stuns him even through his W shield and a wall-pinned GNAR! flattens his dash-less body for the kill. |
| Level 6 | Mordekaiser | Realm of Death drags you into a stat-siphoning death-realm 1v1 — caught in Mini with no Mega bulk or wall, you lose that duel. |
| First item | Even / skill | It is pure form RNG: Mega-up you wall-combo him, Mega-down he ults you, so the window is a coin-flip on your Rage timer. |
| Two+ items | Gnar | Your wall-ult and front-to-back Hyper kiting peel him off the carry, wasting his single-target R and reclaiming the teamfight. |
Level 1-2 is mine: Mini's ranged autos plus a Boomerang let me poke a dash-less Morde who simply cannot trade back, so I chip him and step out past his Q range. But the second I walk in for the Hyper third-hit proc, his E can drag me in, and at 2-3 his Q lands its isolated bonus damage on my squishy Mini body while his W shields the counter-trade — that flips short range hard to him. Hit him at distance, never sit inside his E.
Pooled Emerald+ win rates from Gnar's side, sampled July 2026.
The full Gnar vs Mordekaiser 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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Gnar, slightly — a 51.17% win rate edge over 596 games; execution can flip it.
Mostly — Gnar has a small statistical edge (51.17% win rate), but execution decides this lane far more than the pick does.
Not a hard counter — Gnar has a slight edge (51.17% win rate), and play quality decides the rest.
Gnar takes Grasp of the Undying on the Precision tree with Triumph, Legend: Alacrity and Last Stand, and Resolve secondary (Bone Plating and Unflinching) vs Mordekaiser.
Start Doran's Blade + Health Potion and back for Executioner's Calling (≈800g) — cuts his healing. Build Stridebreaker (stick + waveclear) first, then Sterak's Gage, with Mercury's Treads.
Playing the other side? Mordekaiser vs Gnar guide →
All Gnar top lane matchups →
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