Mordekaiser vs Gnar — Top Lane Matchup Guide

How to win lane as Mordekaiser against Gnar · 50.33% win rate over 596 Emerald+ games · Updated 2026-07-27

Verdict: A genuine skill matchup — the favour swings window to window (3 apiece of the 7 stages). Mordekaiser wins 50.33% of games vs Gnar in top lane (596 Emerald+ games analysed).

Favour timeline — who owns each window

StageFavouredWhy
Level 1GnarAt level 1 you have one ability and no Darkness Rise aura, so he throws boomerangs (Q) at you for free with zero risk — just farm with Q tip.
Level 2MordekaiserObliterate's single-target bonus plus your banked Indestructible shield out-trade his pre-Rage mini form in any short exchange.
Level 3MordekaiserQ + W + a Death's Grasp pull yanks him out of his kite and grinds Darkness Rise stacks his squishy mini form can't sustain.
Levels 4-5GnarMini-Gnar's boomerang slow and hops let him chip you safely here, and if he banks Rage the mega W (Wallop) stun flips the trade.
Level 6MordekaiserRealm of Death banishes him 1v1 — no boomerang spacing, no peel — and you keep his stolen stats if you finish the isolation.
First itemEven / skillYour first-item all-in is lethal in mini form, but if his Rage is full the transform plus W stun trades evenly — it hinges on his bar.
Two+ itemsGnarA scaled Gnar kites your flat late game with boomerang in mini form and saves the mega transform to stun or wall your engage.

Early game (levels 1–5)

"\"Level 1 he just throws boomerangs (Q) at you for free while you have no aura and no all-in — concede it and farm with Q tip. The lane flips at 2-3: once Obliterate and your Indestructible shield are up, walk him down, E-pull if he hops away, and grind a single-target Q into your Darkness Rise stacks — his mini form is squishy and can't out-sustain that. Watch his Rage bar; the danger is letting him hit full Rage and transform mid-trade while you tunnel.\""

Read the rest of this matchup

The full Mordekaiser 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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