How to win lane as Poppy against Nautilus · 53.44% win rate over 1,658 Emerald+ games · Updated 2026-07-27
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Even / skill | Two weak level-1 tanks with single abilities — neither has a combo yet, so it's a coinflip on who lands the first auto-trade. |
| Level 2 | Poppy | With Q and E online your wall-stun comes up before his — E him into terrain and Q the fissure for max-HP damage he can't out-trade. |
| Level 3 | Poppy | Level 3 is your strongest early window: all basic tools mean a wall misposition gets him stunned and chunked, while his flat base damage trades poorly. |
| Levels 4-5 | Poppy | Your Q scales off his huge HP bar, not your gold, so even trades favor you as you chip him faster than he chips you. |
| Level 6 | Nautilus | His R is a point-and-click knockup that chains into his Q hook and E — it's his one all-in spike, so the lead is his while his ultimate is up. |
| First item | Poppy | Cheap tank components plus gold-independent W dash-deny and percent-HP Q let you out-tank and out-trade his first-item Nautilus. |
| Two+ items | Poppy | Neither tank out-scales — your W still hard-counters his Q-hook engage and E-into-wall wins the duel, keeping the edge yours into the side lane. |
Two tanks poking, but you have the cleaner kill button. At Level 2-3 your E into a wall is an unconditional stun and your Q chunks his fat max-HP bar — bait his Q hook, hold W to ground or eat it, then E him into terrain on his side. Don't waste E shoving him into open lane; only commit when a wall is behind him. His autos root you on proc, so don't sit in his auto range after a trade.
The full Poppy vs Nautilus 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? Nautilus vs Poppy guide →
All Poppy top lane matchups →
Also played in: Support