How to win lane as Gnar against Shen · 54.57% win rate over 744 Emerald+ games · Updated 2026-07-27
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Gnar | Shen is a melee tank with zero ranged tools, so your Mini autos and a Boomerang win the first trade with nothing given back. |
| Level 2 | Gnar | Hyper's third-hit proc plus a Boomerang lands a free chunk and shove before his Q-empower or Refuge can answer. |
| Level 3 | Gnar | Your full kit is online and you kite his slow body with the Boomerang slow and Hyper move speed while he has only Shadow Dash to close the gap. |
| Levels 4-5 | Gnar | When Rage lines up, a Mega Wallop stun on his Shadow Dash cooldown is a trade he simply cannot taunt his way out of. |
| Level 6 | Even / skill | Neither of you gains a lane-changing spell at 6, so it's a coin flip between your Rage timing and a landed Shadow Dash taunt onto your Mini form. |
| First item | Gnar | A bruiser or poke first item makes your harass too sustained for him to heal off, while Spirit's Refuge still blocks only autos, not your Boomerang. |
| Two+ items | Even / skill | Past laning it evens out: your solo-kill edge flattens as his tank items and global R turn fights you can't influence with Mini poke. |
Shen is a melee tank with no ranged tool, so own the first three levels with Mini Boomerang and ranged autos. The only thing that punishes you is Shadow Dash (E) — his lone gap-close and taunt — so always poke from outside its range and never throw a Boomerang while standing where the dash can reach you. Hyper's third-hit move-speed proc at level 2 lets you stack a chunky trade and back off before he can swing, and remember Spirit's Refuge (W) only eats your basic attacks, not the Boomerang or its slow, so keep chipping his health while he tries to farm.
The full Gnar vs Shen 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? Shen vs Gnar guide →
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