How to win lane as Nasus against Ryze · 49.57% win rate over 464 Emerald+ games · Updated 2026-07-27
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Ryze | No Wither, no ult, and his Q-into-E root plus W root chain-poke you while you can only farm — he owns level 1. |
| Level 2 | Even / skill | You get level 2 but still can't trade into his root-reset poke; soak stacks and stay back — it's even at best. |
| Level 3 | Even / skill | Wither lets you peel a root chain now, but his Q resets still out-poke your walk-up — genuinely even. |
| Levels 4-5 | Even / skill | He shoves-or-pokes with spammy Q and you hoard stacks; neither kills the other, so the window stays split. |
| Level 6 | Nasus | Fury of the Sands + a ramped Wither lets you survive and win one committed all-in before his items online — your spike. |
| First item | Nasus | Sheen/Iceborn empowers your Q and your lifesteal eats his Q-E-Q burst, letting you Wither and kill on his root cooldown. |
| Two+ items | Ryze | Ryze hard-scales: rooted spell rotations and realm-warp map pressure out-DPS your lifesteal and reclaim the game. |
Ryze's Q-into-E combo roots you and his W is a second hard root, so never walk up to last-hit inside his range or you eat a full rooted poke rotation with no answer — you have no Wither until level 3. Just soak Q stacks from max range behind your minions and accept the chip; his early poke stings but can't kill you through Soul Eater lifesteal. Don't waste Spirit Fire on him to trade — use it to push and stack, and only step up once his Q-E is on cooldown.
The full Nasus vs Ryze 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? Ryze vs Nasus guide →
All Nasus top lane matchups →