How to win lane as Kennen against Nasus · 41.29% win rate (356 Emerald+ games, lolalytics, sampled July 2026) · Matchup data reviewed on patch 26.15
He out-scales your poke and sustains through it. Deny stacks early or he simply out-1v1s you late.
Track: Nasus's W — Wither (15–11s cooldown). His only kite. Poke before it.
Read from Kennen's seat: which stage windows this plan plays for against Nasus.
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Even / skill | Level 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 2 | Kennen | Your 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 3 | Kennen | You still own the poke trade here — chain the mark stun on an overstep and burst him before he can soak stacks safely. |
| Levels 4-5 | Nasus | Once 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 6 | Kennen | Slicing 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 item | Nasus | Wither (700 range, 15s at rank 1) answers your first item: it slows move and attack speed mid-R, so his Q lands while your kite dies. |
| Two+ items | Nasus | He out-scales hard — stacked Q, E shred and R lifesteal eat your squishy caster body the moment your R is on cooldown. |
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.
Pooled Emerald+ win rates from Kennen's side, sampled July 2026.
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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Nasus — Kennen wins only 41.29% of 356 games, so Kennen plays this as the disadvantaged side.
Not really — Nasus holds a real statistical advantage (58.71% win rate), so Kennen is the one working uphill.
No — Nasus counters Kennen (Kennen wins only 41.29% of games). Play it as the disadvantaged side and lean on the windows in the plan.
Kennen takes Arcane Comet on the Sorcery tree with Manaflow Band, Transcendence and Scorch, and Inspiration secondary (Biscuit Delivery and Cosmic Insight) vs Nasus.
Start Doran's Ring + 2 Health Potions and back for Oblivion Orb (≈800g) — cuts his healing. Build Liandry's Torment (burn poke) first, then Shadowflame, with Sorcerer's Shoes.
Playing the other side? Nasus vs Kennen guide →
All Kennen top lane matchups →
More Kennen top lane matchups: vs Master Yi · vs Mel · vs Mordekaiser · vs Nautilus · vs Neeko · vs Olaf