How to win lane as Malphite against Nautilus · 53.22% win rate over 4,117 Emerald+ games · Updated 2026-07-27
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Nautilus | Pre-W/E you have no trade and his Q hook into passive root is a real all-in window — sidestep the hook and just farm. |
| Level 2 | Even / skill | Still no armor online, but his combo is on cooldown after a hook — it is a coinflip skirmish, so trade only when his Q is down. |
| Level 3 | Even / skill | Granite Shield and Q poke let you contest, but his E+passive can still match you — even window until your W lands. |
| Levels 4-5 | Malphite | W armor and E attack-speed slow come online — they blanket his auto/passive-root damage and you start winning the sustained trade. |
| Level 6 | Malphite | Unstoppable Force outranges his single-target R — you engage or counter-engage first and he can only knock up one target. |
| First item | Malphite | An early armor item stacks into both E and W, hardening you against his AD autos while your shockwave shreds his attack speed. |
| Two+ items | Malphite | Every armor item scales your E and W, so his auto-and-hook trades do nothing while you out-durable him in every skirmish. |
Naut's whole early game is the Q hook into his passive root — pre-4 you have no trade pattern, just Granite Shield, so the one thing to respect is getting hooked and chain-rooted before W armor and E exist. Sidestep the hook (it is a slow skillshot) and last-hit at range with Q-Seismic Shard; don't walk into minions where his E AoE and passive proc on you for free. Eat a little poke, give up the very early levels, and wait — his root means nothing once you can armor up.
The full Malphite vs Nautilus 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? Nautilus vs Malphite guide →
All Malphite top lane matchups →