How to win lane as Nautilus against Nasus · 47.34% win rate (1,595 Emerald+ games, lolalytics, sampled July 2026) · Matchup data reviewed on patch 26.15
Q-hook off stacks — chain CC, deny his Q.
Track: Nasus's W — Wither (15–11s cooldown). His only kite. Chain CC around it.
Read from Nautilus's seat: which stage windows this plan plays for against Nasus.
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Nautilus | Your Q hook into the passive auto-root chains enough CC to lock a pre-Wither Nasus for a kill or gank — you own the level 1 all-in. |
| Level 2 | Even / skill | You can still hook into root for a gank setup, but with no R yet and his stacks shallow it's roughly even farming — respect his ramp. |
| Level 3 | Even / skill | Wither isn't online until his next point, so trades stay even, but your hook follow-up can't safely commit a full all-in here. |
| Levels 4-5 | Nasus | Wither lands at 3 and slows your hook follow-through to a crawl — it is 15s at rank 1, so commit only inside that window. |
| Level 6 | Nasus | Even with your R pick, his Wither plus Spirit Fire armor shred and lifesteal out-grind your low base damage in any committed fight. |
| First item | Nasus | His Sheen-empowered Q and lifesteal let him stand on you and out-sustain — your tank stats can't punish him anymore. |
| Two+ items | Nasus | His stacked Q one-shots through your HP and you have no escape from his slow — he owns the 1v1 and splitpushes away from you. |
You are one of the few melee who can actually punish a pre-Wither Nasus, so the first three levels are your whole game. Lead with a Q hook over open ground — never let him sit safely behind his caster minions — and your first auto roots him, so you chain pull-into-root-into-E-slow before he can crawl away. At level 1 your passive auto-trade already favors you; force him off his Q last-hits and look to convert any hook into a kill or a jungle gank. Once he hits 3 this window is gone, so spend it.
Pooled Emerald+ win rates from Nautilus's side, sampled July 2026.
The full Nautilus vs Nasus 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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Nasus, slightly — Nautilus wins 47.34% of 1,595 games; winnable with the right plan.
Mostly — Nasus has a small statistical edge (52.66% win rate), but execution decides this lane far more than the pick does.
No — if anything Nasus has the slight edge (Nautilus wins 47.34%), though it stays close.
Nautilus takes Grasp of the Undying on the Resolve tree with Demolish, Second Wind and Overgrowth, and Precision secondary (Triumph and Legend: Haste) vs Nasus.
Start Doran's Shield + Health Potion and back for Executioner's Calling (≈800g) — cuts his healing. Build Iceborn Gauntlet (perma-slow chains) first, then Sunfire Aegis, with Plated Steelcaps.
Playing the other side? Nasus vs Nautilus guide →
All Nautilus top lane matchups →
More Nautilus top lane matchups: vs Master Yi · vs Mel · vs Mordekaiser · vs Neeko · vs Olaf · vs Ornn