Graves vs Trundle — Top Lane Matchup Guide

How to win lane as Graves against Trundle · 45.45% win rate over 11 Emerald+ games · Updated 2026-07-27

Verdict: Trundle is favoured — Trundle owns 3 of the 7 game windows to Graves's 2. Play it patient and win your windows. Graves wins 45.45% of games vs Trundle in top lane (11 Emerald+ games analysed).

Favour timeline — who owns each window

StageFavouredWhy
Level 1Even / skillTrundle is a weak level 1 but so are you with one ability and no E mobility yet — neither of you owns the first window, so set up your level 2 spike instead of fighting now.
Level 2GravesYour second ability gives you a real combo and Trundle's Chomp hasn't stolen any AD yet — E in and burst him point-blank before the bite lands.
Level 3GravesFull Q-E-W online: W-blind his Chomp auto and burst him faster than his bite can drain your AD — this is your cleanest kill window of the lane.
Levels 4-5Even / skillYour True Grit stacks and E charges still out-trade short bursts, but Frozen Domain sustain forces you to keep fights brief — neither side reliably wins, so it's a coin-flip skirmish.
Level 6TrundleSubjugate (R) steals your armor and MR and heals him off it, so the more True Grit you've stacked the more he rips away in any extended fight.
First itemTrundleHis Bramble Vest plus a Chomp bite opening every trade gut your point-blank shells while he out-heals your burst — your first item can't keep pace with his sustain.
Two+ itemsTrundleA fully-scaled drain-tank shrugs off your damage, steals your resists with R, and zones with Pillar — you can't 1v1 him, so roam and end through the map instead.

Early game (levels 1–5)

Trundle is one of the rare melee laners who actually wants you in his face. Your level 2-3 window is real — E in, W-blind a Chomp (Q) auto, and burst him point-blank with your shell spread plus the End of the Line cone before his bite has stolen enough AD to swing the trade. But every Chomp he lands rips attack damage off you and hands it to him, so your damage bleeds out fast the longer you stand and auto-fight. Hit your combo, deal it in one burst, then E out — do not brawl a champion built to win the long fight.

Read the rest of this matchup

The full Graves vs Trundle 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? Trundle vs Graves guide →
All Graves top lane matchups →