Master Yi vs Nasus — Top Lane Matchup Guide

How to win lane as Master Yi against Nasus · 49.35% win rate over 310 Emerald+ games · Updated 2026-07-27

Verdict: Closer than it looks — Master Yi owns 4 of the 7 game windows to Nasus's 2, but the win rate still favours Nasus: you have to convert those windows or the game slips away. Master Yi wins 49.35% of games vs Nasus in top lane (310 Emerald+ games analysed).

Favour timeline — who owns each window

StageFavouredWhy
Level 1NasusNasus's level-1 sustain and tankiness make an early trade unfavourable for a squishy Yi.
Level 2Even / skillWith Q, E and W online your true-damage trades and Meditate out-duel his Siphoning Strike, tilting level 2 onward to you.
Level 3Master YiWuju Style true damage ignores his armour and lets you win extended trades cleanly.
Levels 4-5Master YiHighlander plus Alpha Strike lets you all-in through his single Wither around levels 4-5.
Level 6Master YiAt level 6 your ult all-in beats his sustain before Wither can fully stack.
First itemMaster YiYour first item spike lets you shove and roam while he's stuck farming stacks under tower.
Two+ itemsNasusA fully-stacked, full-tank Nasus with Wither out-scales and cripples you, flipping the late game to him.

Early game (levels 1–5)

Level 1 Nasus can Q your Alpha Strike animation and his early sustain plus tankiness makes a raw trade unappealing, so respect his lane presence before you have E.

Read the rest of this matchup

The full Master Yi 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 Master Yi guide →
All Master Yi top lane matchups →