How to win lane as Mel against Gnar · 85.71% win rate over 7 Emerald+ games · Updated 2026-07-27
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Gnar | Gnar's Boomerang Throw out-ranges your single ability and ranged auto at level 1, so he pokes you down before you can build Overwhelm stacks. |
| Level 2 | Gnar | His level-2 Boomerang plus a Hop sidesteps your Solar Snare, denying the guaranteed root you'd normally land on a stepping-up melee. |
| Level 3 | Gnar | At level 3 his sustained boomerang poke and hop mobility out-trade your Q-E-W kit since his hops dodge your only CC. |
| Levels 4-5 | Even / skill | Levels 4-5 even out as your Q ranks up and Overwhelm stacks from trades, but his Hyper move speed still lets him kite your barrage. |
| Level 6 | Gnar | Level 6 Mega Gnar's GNAR! AOE stun cancels your kite and can flash past your W wall to burst you before Golden Eclipse detonates. |
| First item | Gnar | His first AD item plus mini-form Boomerang kiting still out-trades your poke; you can only punish when he whiffs a boomerang into your root. |
| Two+ items | Mel | From 2+ items your stacked Overwhelm and AP let Golden Eclipse execute him from range, and W eats his Boomerang to flip his only poke back on him. |
Gnar is the rare melee-adjacent top that out-ranges and out-pokes you early. Boomerang Throw flies further than your Q barrage and his hops sidestep Solar Snare, so don't waste E hoping to root him on cooldown — bank it for when he commits a boomerang animation and can't reposition. Soak Q poke at max range, build Overwhelm slowly, and accept that levels 2-3 are his: he chunks you faster than you stack him. Hold W to delete his next Boomerang and bounce it back rather than burning it on a shield.
The full Mel vs Gnar 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? Gnar vs Mel guide →
All Mel top lane matchups →