How to win lane as Nasus against Akali · 45.5% win rate (1,004 Emerald+ games, lolalytics, sampled July 2026) · Matchup data reviewed on patch 26.15
Wither her out of the shroud combo, sustain the burst, and out-scale her hard once you have stacks.
Track: Akali's W — Twilight Shroud (20–16s cooldown). Untargetable inside it. Wither when down.
Read from Nasus's seat: which stage windows this plan plays for against Akali.
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Akali | Akali pokes you with shuriken (E) and autos at level 1 while you have no Wither and no ult — just soak Q last-hits and heal off the wave. |
| Level 2 | Akali | Still hers — she dashes in with E and procs her passive on a trade you cannot answer without Wither, so concede the chip and farm. |
| Level 3 | Akali | Wither is up, but dodge Shuriken Flip first — with nothing marked she has no dash in, and it is down 16s at rank 1. |
| Levels 4-5 | Akali | Levels 4-5 stay hers: Shuriken Flip poke and free Twilight Shroud resets while you hoard stacks and survive. |
| Level 6 | Akali | At 6 your Fury of the Sands plus Wither survives one all-in, but her R double-dash and shroud let her disengage before you cash in. |
| First item | Akali | Even with first-item Q she can vanish into Twilight Shroud where Wither cannot be cast, then E-dash out while her energy allows. |
| Two+ items | Nasus | Now you win — a Wither-locked, ulted Siphoning Strike on full stacks one-shots her squishy HP bar and your lifesteal eats her burst. |
Akali owns these levels and you have to accept it. She has Shuriken Flip poke and auto harass while your ult is still levels away, so just soak Q last-hits at max range and eat the chip — your Soul Eater lifesteal will heal most of it back off the wave. Do not walk up to throw a Q inside her 825 Shuriken Flip range; she marks you, dashes in, procs Assassin's Mark and resets the trade. Once Wither is up, punish that E-in: slow her move and attack speed to a crawl and land a sweet-spot Siphoning Strike.
Pooled Emerald+ win rates from Nasus's side, sampled July 2026.
The full Nasus vs Akali 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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Akali, slightly — Nasus wins 45.5% of 1,004 games; winnable with the right plan.
Mostly — Akali has a small statistical edge (54.5% win rate), but execution decides this lane far more than the pick does.
No — if anything Akali has the slight edge (Nasus wins 45.5%), though it stays close.
Nasus takes Fleet Footwork on the Precision tree with Triumph, Legend: Haste and Last Stand, and Resolve secondary (Second Wind and Unflinching) vs Akali.
Start Doran's Shield + Health Potion and back for Sheen (≈900g) — every Q after this hits twice as hard. Build Trinity Force (Iceborn Gauntlet if you need the slow + armor) first, then Spirit Visage (MR + heal amp), with Mercury's Treads.
Playing the other side? Akali vs Nasus guide →
All Nasus top lane matchups →
More Nasus top lane matchups: vs Zac · vs Ziggs · vs Aatrox · vs Akshan · vs Ambessa · vs Aurora