How to win lane as Graves against Gnar · 50.38% win rate (1,971 Emerald+ games, lolalytics, sampled July 2026) · Matchup data reviewed on patch 26.15
He pokes at range where your pellets scatter — close behind smoke and win the point-blank exchange.
Track: Gnar's R — GNAR! (90–30s cooldown). Mega all-in near walls — track his rage bar like a cooldown.
Read from Graves's seat: which stage windows this plan plays for against Gnar.
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Even / skill | His Boomerang Throw out-ranges your 4-shell spread, but it can't punish a clean last-hit — even start, farm at max range and avoid the returning boomerang's second hit. |
| Level 2 | Gnar | At 2 his Hop and second boomerang charge poke you for free before Quickdraw is online to trade back — Gnar edges this window. |
| Level 3 | Graves | Quickdraw online: dash in, point-blank buckshot, bounce End of the Line off the wall, dash out on your second charge before the boomerang returns — your strongest early trade. |
| Levels 4-5 | Even / skill | It's a pure spacing duel — your Bushwhack-stacked trades stay profitable but the rage bar can flip any fight, so neither side owns it cleanly. |
| Level 6 | Gnar | Mega Gnar's GNAR! wall-stun pins you for the full transform combo — his level-6 spike is the rage bar, not your Collateral Damage. |
| First item | Graves | Eclipse/Youmuu's online: you out-tempo his itemless mini form — W-cut his vision and all-in while he's stuck short-range in mini. |
| Two+ items | Graves | Glued to him in melee his boomerang and hops do nothing, and your shells plus Bushwhack resists out-DPS him as long as the rage bar isn't full. |
Level 1 is a coin flip — his Boomerang Throw out-ranges your shells but can't punish a clean last-hit, so farm at max range and don't stand where the returning boomerang re-hits you. At 2 his Hop and second boomerang charge let him poke you for free before Quickdraw is online, so eat a little and wait. Level 3 is your window: once Quickdraw is up you dash in, dump the four-shell spread point-blank, bounce End of the Line off the wall behind him for the double-hit, then dash back out on your second E charge before the boomerang circles back — that combo hurts more than any single mini-Gnar exchange he can answer.
Pooled Emerald+ win rates from Graves's side, sampled July 2026.
The full Graves 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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Nobody on paper — a 50.38% win rate over 1,971 games makes this a coin flip decided by play, not champion select.
Yes — Graves vs Gnar is a genuine skill matchup: 50.38% win rate, and the favour swings window to window rather than being set at champion select.
No hard counter either way — the Graves vs Gnar win rate is 50.38%, an even lane decided by execution.
Graves takes Fleet Footwork on the Precision tree with Triumph, Legend: Alacrity and Coup de Grace, and Resolve secondary (Second Wind and Bone Plating) vs Gnar.
Start Doran's Blade + 1 Health Potion and back for Serrated Dirk (≈1100g) — lethality spike. Build Eclipse / Hubris first, then The Collector, with Plated Steelcaps.
Playing the other side? Gnar vs Graves guide →
All Graves top lane matchups →
More Graves top lane matchups: vs Galio · vs Gangplank · vs Garen · vs Gragas · vs Gwen · vs Heimerdinger