How to win lane as Nautilus against Akshan · 80% win rate over 15 Emerald+ games · Updated 2026-07-27
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Even / skill | Pre-E Akshan can't swing away, but you have no all-in without W/E either — it's a straight auto-trade where your passive root just edges his poke. |
| Level 2 | Akshan | His E grapple swings off any terrain to reset the angle, so your Q-pull and E slow chase empty air while his Q pokes you. |
| Level 3 | Akshan | With E online he kites your full CC chain — every link can be swung out of before it lands. |
| Levels 4-5 | Akshan | His Q poke and grapple mobility zone you off the wave faster than your W shield and E can answer. |
| Level 6 | Akshan | Your R hooks him out of a swing, but his camouflage reset and revive let him win the DPS race if you don't kill in the lockup. |
| First item | Akshan | First-item Akshan's crit and poke spike outpace your tank components while he still out-positions your slow. |
| Two+ items | Nautilus | Black Cleaver and tank stats outlast his crit budget — R + E slow + passive root walk down a frontline he can no longer kite or chunk. |
Level 1 is the one moment this lane is yours — he has no E grapple yet, so my first auto roots him with passive and a clean Q lands a stun-pull he can't swing out of. Step up and threaten that the instant he walks to a minion. The catch: I have to hit Q ON HIM, not the wall, or it just yanks me forward into his Q poke. Once he hits Level 3 and his E comes online he grapples off any terrain near him and the auto-trades stop being free.
The full Nautilus vs Akshan 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? Akshan vs Nautilus guide →
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