Kennen vs Nasus — Top Lane Matchup Guide

How to win lane as Kennen against Nasus · 42.77% win rate over 339 Emerald+ games · Updated 2026-07-27

Verdict: A genuine skill matchup — the favour swings window to window (3 apiece of the 7 stages). Kennen wins 42.77% of games vs Nasus in top lane (339 Emerald+ games analysed).

Favour timeline — who owns each window

StageFavouredWhy
Level 1Even / skillLevel 1 is even-to-weak for you — one Q poke and Surge autos chip, but with no stun and a fragile body neither of you commits.
Level 2KennenYour second Q point plus Electrical Surge on-hit lets you stack three Marks and stun him off any Q he steps up to last-hit.
Level 3KennenYou still own the poke trade here — chain the mark stun on an overstep and burst him before he can soak stacks safely.
Levels 4-5NasusOnce he hits his stacks and you concede the hard-commit window, a pre-6 Kennen has to chip and respect rather than all-in into his sturdier body.
Level 6KennenSlicing Maelstrom plus E-in stun-locks a pre-Wither Nasus with no escape — your single biggest spike and the one stage you flatly own.
First itemNasusWither answers your first-item burst directly: it slows your move and attack speed mid-R, so his Q lands while your kite dies.
Two+ itemsNasusHe out-scales hard — stacked Q, E shred and R lifesteal eat your squishy caster body the moment your R is on cooldown.

Early game (levels 1–5)

Level 1 is a coinflip — one Q and your Electrical Surge autos chip, but his body is sturdier than yours and there is no stun yet, so just farm. Levels 2-3 are your real edge: with a second Q point and W on-hit you can stack three Marks of the Storm and pop the stun on an overstepping Nasus, then chunk him before he can do anything back. Do NOT walk into his auto range to throw that Q — last-hit at max Q distance, because his only answer here is to soak stacks, and the longer he free-farms the worse this gets.

Read the rest of this matchup

The full Kennen 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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