How to win lane as Mel against Nasus · 28.57% win rate over 7 Emerald+ games · Updated 2026-07-27
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Even / skill | One ability and your ranged auto poke, but Nasus's Level 1 is just as weak — you can chip him but can't commit yet. |
| Level 2 | Mel | Q plus Solar Snare's root lands a guaranteed punish when Nasus steps up to Q a minion — he has no dash to dodge it. |
| Level 3 | Mel | With Q, E and W online you out-poke and root an immobile Nasus while W eats any projectile he has — he can only farm and eat it. |
| Levels 4-5 | Mel | Your Q ranks up and Overwhelm stacks accumulate from every trade — a pre-item Nasus can't reach you to answer the poke. |
| Level 6 | Mel | Golden Eclipse detonates your built-up stacks for ranged burst — your hardest kill threat before he comes online. |
| First item | Nasus | Wither flips it: it guts your move and attack speed so your kite fails, and a single item lets him close and Q-chunk you. |
| Two+ items | Nasus | A stacked, itemized Nasus statchecks you — R lifesteal and size facetank your poke, Wither locks you, and his Q one-shots your frame. |
Level 1 is even — one ability and your 550-range auto can chip him but you can't commit. Your real window opens at 2: take Q then E so when Nasus shuffles up to last-hit, Solar Snare's root plus a Q barrage is a free chunk he can't answer with no dash and no range. Keep poking from max range, stack Overwhelm, and never let him farm Q stacks in peace — your only path in this lane is to make his early miserable. Watch his Wither cooldown; once it's up, do not get cornered.
The full Mel 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 Mel guide →
All Mel top lane matchups →