Nautilus vs Mordekaiser — Top Lane Matchup Guide

How to win lane as Nautilus against Mordekaiser · 44% win rate over 25 Emerald+ games · Updated 2026-07-27

Verdict: Mordekaiser is favoured — Mordekaiser owns 3 of the 7 game windows to Nautilus's 1. Play it patient and win your windows. Nautilus wins 44% of games vs Mordekaiser in top lane (25 Emerald+ games analysed).

Favour timeline — who owns each window

StageFavouredWhy
Level 1Even / skillBoth of you are weak level 1 with no all-in, but your passive root on the first auto makes early auto-trades favorable as long as you deny him an isolated Q.
Level 2MordekaiserWith Q and W online his isolated-target Q out-damages you and his W shield-heals through your trades, so he owns the lane the moment he hits 2.
Level 3MordekaiserHis Q-Q burn rotation plus W sustain beats your W splash in any straight trade — never duel him without a minion breaking his isolation bonus.
Levels 4-5Even / skillIt's a knife's edge: your Q-pull-root-E-slow chain can lock him, but his E-pull-into-isolated-Q answers your engage, so trade only when you have a clean exit.
Level 6Even / skillGenuinely even — his R isn't up to punish your engage yet, but his sustained-trade kit still matches your CC, so it comes down to who commits first.
First itemMordekaiserThe instant he hits 6 he R's you the moment you Q in, stealing your tank stats and winning the 1v1 you started — his hardest favor window.
Two+ itemsNautilusYour durability and chain CC outlast his plateauing AP — with 2+ tank items you survive his R and your Q-R lockdown wins the teamfights he can't 1v1.

Early game (levels 1–5)

Level 1 is roughly even — neither of you has a real all-in yet, but your passive root on the first auto makes short auto-trades favorable, so don't let him get a free isolated Q on you. Once he has Q-W online he out-trades you: his isolated Q does big bonus damage and his W shield-heals through your pokes, so never duel him alone in the open. Keep a minion beside you to deny his Q crit, and only commit your Q-pull into root when you have the slow to follow up, not as a naked engage he can E-Q punish.

Read the rest of this matchup

The full Nautilus vs Mordekaiser 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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