How to win lane as Graves against Nasus · 41.18% win rate over 34 Emerald+ games · Updated 2026-07-27
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Even / skill | Both of you are weak at level 1 — he has only Q, you have a single ability and no Quickdraw mobility yet, so contest his first last-hits but commit nothing. |
| Level 2 | Nasus | Wither comes online at 2 and cripples your move and attack speed, gutting your Quickdraw kite and shell DPS before you can answer it. |
| Level 3 | Graves | With Q, W and an E charge you can Quickdraw-in for the point-blank 4-shell spread and an End of the Line cone on a Wither-less Nasus — your cleanest punish window of the lane. |
| Levels 4-5 | Nasus | By now his Q stacks matter more than your True Grit armor — if he Withers you first his trades go even and his free-farm scaling pulls ahead. |
| Level 6 | Graves | Collateral Damage plus a full magazine and a Q cone chunks him hard, but only if you R before Wither lands — this is your best all-in window. |
| First item | Graves | Your Eclipse/Youmuu's first-item spike out-damages his current build, so forcing the all-in here on his Wither cooldown is the last point you can still win the trade. |
| Two+ items | Nasus | A stacked Siphoning Strike chunks you, Spirit Fire shreds your armor so True Grit is near-worthless, and Wither plus R lifesteal walks through your burst — he out-scales you outright. |
Nasus is weak and stack-hungry early, so this is your window — but respect Wither (W) the second he hits 2. Until then, Quickdraw (E) in for the point-blank 4-shell spread and drop an End of the Line (Q) cone to deny his Siphoning Strike last-hits and zone him off the wave. Do NOT linger in auto range once his W is up: Wither slows your move speed AND attack speed, which kills your kite, your reload tempo and your shell DPS at once. Smoke Screen (W) blinds his Siphoning Strike (it's an empowered auto, so the blind makes it miss) and slows him, but it does nothing to remove the Wither slow already on you.
The full Graves vs Nasus 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? Nasus vs Graves guide →
All Graves top lane matchups →