How to win lane as Nasus against Cho'Gath · 51.6% win rate (407 Emerald+ games, lolalytics, sampled July 2026) · Matchup data reviewed on patch 26.15
Scaling tank duel — out-stack him and Wither his combo.
Track: Cho'Gath's Q — Rupture (6s cooldown). Telegraphed. Dodge it.
Read from Nasus's seat: which stage windows this plan plays for against Cho'Gath.
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Even / skill | His Q knockup and your Q stacking both want the same minions, but neither of you can punish the other at level 1 — pure farm stand-off. |
| Level 2 | Even / skill | Still even — he can't all-in without a gank and you out-sustain his poke, so just keep stacking through it. |
| Level 3 | Cho'Gath | He gets Q-W online: a ruptured Q into silence interrupts your stack and wins the trade before your Wither matters. |
| Levels 4-5 | Cho'Gath | Pre-Sheen you lose the extended trade — his Q-W combo plus minion damage out-trades your empty Q, so concede and farm. |
| Level 6 | Even / skill | Feast is a large true-damage execute that ignores every resistance you built — at 6, never fight him while chunked. |
| First item | Nasus | His tank body still shrugs off your un-empowered Q while his R threat looms — keep stacking and don't force the all-in. |
| Two+ items | Nasus | With stacks plus Sheen and ult, Wither shuts off his Q-W and your empowered Q grinds through his HP faster than his R can answer — you finally own the duel. |
Neither of us does anything level 1-2 — I last-hit for Q stacks, he last-hits for Feast stacks, and we both just get fat. Respect his Q knockup, though: if he lands the ruptured Q it sets up his W silence, and a silence on me means no Wither, no E, no escape while he autos. Don't greed a Q stack standing on top of him at low levels — eat the poke and keep farming, my sustain holds.
Pooled Emerald+ win rates from Nasus's side, sampled July 2026.
The full Nasus vs Cho'Gath 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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Nasus, slightly — a 51.6% win rate edge over 407 games; execution can flip it.
Mostly — Nasus has a small statistical edge (51.6% win rate), but execution decides this lane far more than the pick does.
Not a hard counter — Nasus has a slight edge (51.6% win rate), and play quality decides the rest.
Nasus takes Fleet Footwork on the Precision tree with Triumph, Legend: Haste and Last Stand, and Resolve secondary (Second Wind and Unflinching) vs Cho'Gath.
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 Frozen Heart (his attack speed dies here), with Plated Steelcaps.
Playing the other side? Cho'Gath vs Nasus guide →
All Nasus top lane matchups →
More Nasus top lane matchups: vs Aurora · vs Camille · vs Cassiopeia · vs Darius · vs Dr. Mundo · vs Fiora