How to win lane as Nautilus against Kennen · 40% win rate over 5 Emerald+ games · Updated 2026-07-27
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Even / skill | At Level 1 neither of you has a real all-in, but if he steps up to last-hit your passive Staggering Blow roots him for a free auto trade. |
| Level 2 | Kennen | His Q-shuriken and W marks come online and out-range your only poke, so he chunks you walking to CS while your Q-hook whiffs through minions. |
| Level 3 | Kennen | With full Q + W stacking he pokes you off every melee creep and your single Q-Dredge Line can't close the gap before his Lightning Rush kites away. |
| Levels 4-5 | Even / skill | When his energy is spent and Lightning Rush is down you can land Q-pull into passive root into E slow and win the short trade, so this stage is genuinely even. |
| Level 6 | Kennen | His R AOE stun lasts far longer than your single-target Depth Charge can answer, and his Zhonya's window makes any all-in lethal for you, not him. |
| First item | Kennen | On his first AP item his poke still out-paces your tank itemization and his R + move speed let him kite your whole CC chain. |
| Two+ items | Nautilus | By 2+ items your durability and gap-close mean one missed Q-shuriken lets you anchor-pull and chain CC him to death before he escapes. |
Level 1 is the only roughly fair window: if Kennen steps into auto range to last-hit, your passive Staggering Blow roots him for a free trade, so contest melee CS aggressively before he has energy to burn. The problem starts at Level 2-3 — his Q-shuriken and W marks come online and he pokes you every time you walk up to farm, and your only answer (Q-Dredge Line) has to land through minions from a range he sits outside. Don't throw Q on cooldown into the wave; a missed hook leaves you walking up naked into his poke with no gap-close.
The full Nautilus 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 Nautilus guide →
All Nautilus top lane matchups →