How to win lane as Nautilus against Illaoi · 50% win rate over 14 Emerald+ games · Updated 2026-07-27
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Nautilus | Your passive root plus an early auto out-trades her before a single tentacle is up — she has to walk up to farm and can't kite the root. |
| Level 2 | Even / skill | She comes online with W heal and her first tentacle; your trade is still fine but she no longer just folds, so it's a coin-flip on who commits. |
| Level 3 | Illaoi | Q-pull into passive-root into E lands a full burst before her field forms — your cleanest all-in window of the lane is right here. |
| Levels 4-5 | Illaoi | Her tentacle field and W sustain start out-healing your W burn in any extended trade — disengage with Q on terrain instead of slugging it. |
| Level 6 | Illaoi | Leap of Faith spawns a tentacle ring and her Spirit hits AOE; your single-target R can't answer a field, so she owns the 6 spike. |
| First item | Illaoi | Her bruiser/Iceborn item plus tentacle uptime heals her through your plateaued damage in a prolonged fight on her zone. |
| Two+ items | Even / skill | You're now CC-utility and she's AOE sustain — you can't solo her in-field, but pulling her out and chain-CCing for your team keeps it even. |
Levels 1-3 are mine. My passive roots her on the first auto and my Q yanks us together — before she stacks a tentacle field she is just a slow bruiser who has to walk up to last-hit. Punish every CS she goes for: passive-auto, and at 3 add Q-pull into E slow so she eats damage she can't kite. The one thing to respect is her E — if she lands Test of Spirit on me I have to run from my own spirit, so don't sit in melee when she's winding it up; trade in bursts and back off.
The full Nautilus vs Illaoi 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.
Become a Founding Member — $1.99/month →🔒 Secure checkout · 💰 7-day money-back guarantee · ✋ Cancel anytime
Early Access price — $3.99/month for new members after launch.
Playing the other side? Illaoi vs Nautilus guide →
All Nautilus top lane matchups →