How to win lane as Nasus against Kennen · 58.71% win rate over 356 Emerald+ games · Updated 2026-07-27
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Even / skill | Level 1 is even-to-coinflip — his Q and Surge autos chip, but with no stun and your sturdier body neither side commits, so you just soak stacks. |
| Level 2 | Kennen | His second Q point plus Electrical Surge on-hit lets him stack three Marks and stun you off any Q you step up to last-hit — concede the wave here. |
| Level 3 | Kennen | He still owns the poke trade — his mark stun on your overstep chunks you before you can soak stacks safely, so take the safe farm. |
| Levels 4-5 | Nasus | You reclaim the hard-commit window — your sturdier body and Soul Eater lifesteal mean a pre-6 Kennen has to chip and respect rather than all-in you. |
| Level 6 | Kennen | Slicing Maelstrom plus an E-in stun-locks a pre-Wither you with no stacks — his single biggest spike and the one stage he flatly owns. |
| First item | Nasus | Your Sheen/Iceborn and maxed Wither answer his burst directly: you cut his move and attack speed mid-R, so his kite dies and your empowered Q lands. |
| Two+ items | Nasus | You out-scale hard — stacked Q, Spirit Fire shred and R lifesteal eat his squishy caster body the moment his Maelstrom is on cooldown. |
Level 1 is a coinflip you can stomach — Kennen chips with one Thundering Shuriken and Electrical Surge autos, but your body is sturdier than his and he has no stun yet, so just farm Q stacks and eat the poke. Levels 2-3 are genuinely his, though: with his second Q point and a W on-hit he stacks three Marks of the Storm and pops the stun the instant you walk up to last-hit, then chunks your HP before you can answer. Do NOT throw yourself into Q range to contest CS — take the safe stacks under tower, accept you concede this window, and remember his only real plan is to deny your farm before Wither exists.
The full Nasus vs Kennen 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? Kennen vs Nasus guide →
All Nasus top lane matchups →