If you’re struggling to play against Nasus up in the top lane, here are five counters to dominate him in game.

5 Best Nasus Counters

Nasus is a very unique champion in the League of Legends universe. He’s one of the few that has infinite scaling, and the ability to 1v9 games if given the chance and the tools to do so. His kit is not that hard to pick up either, making it an ideal and fun champion to learn the top lane role.

That being said, Nasus has some clear weaknesses which can be abused during the game. And with the game becoming more snowbally, it’s getting harder for Nasus to find its own footing. But if you’re still having some issues beating him, here are the five best counters you should definitely play to abuse his flaws.

Illaoi – I’m the sustain queen

• The main reason why Illaoi is able to prevail over Nasus is her ability to quickly chunk him down with her tentacles. Even though both champions have great sustain, the healing and damage Illaoi has come in quicker compared to Nasus.
• During the laning phase, Illaoi can freely harass Nasus by using W and Q whenever the enemy tries to farm minions. And whenever he walks up close to the wave, try to hit the E and further lower his health bar.
• Try to play with the minion wave and force a bounce back toward you so you can freeze the wave close to the turret. The enemy Nasus will be forced to make a choice between overextending to shove the wave or losing farm, experience, and stacks. Either way, it will be a win-win situation for you.
• Nasus will lose the majority of trades unless he farms extremely well and scales late into the game with hundreds and hundreds of stacks on his Q. Make sure to close out the game before he gets his spike. Ideally, you want to stay in the side lane and push the turrets: he won’t be able to defend since he will lose the 1v1.
• If Nasus is stacking fast, get antiheal early on to reduce his sustain.

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Garen – I’m the king of juggernauts

• Garen is similar to Illaoi but he has the ability to chase after Nasus and kill him with one good combo rotation. Thanks to his Q-E combo, he can constantly harass Nasus and not give him a chance to fight back.
• Garen’s Q also cleanses all slows which neutralizes Nasus’ W if cast after. Not to mention that Garen’s ultimate deals true damage, rendering useless any defensive itemization.
• During the laning phase, you want to cast your combo whenever Nasus tries to farm minion waves. Remember to use your W as well for the extra shield and the 60% tenacity. If possible, use it before Nasus’ W is activated.
• In this matchup, you want to get Hullbreaker and exert side lane pressure by denying farm and stacks to Nasus. Once you take down the first tier-one turret, proceed to move to other lanes to further open up the map. Nasus will be forced to stay on one lane and won’t be able to match you.

Aatrox – One of the best counters to dominate Nasus in lane

• Aatrox is probably the best lane counter to play against Nasus. Thanks to the high base damage and the crowd controls, Aatrox can abuse him throughout the laning phase. That said, Aatrox will get outscaled later in the game so it’s vital to get the best possible lead early on.
• Whenever you have a winning matchup, you want to use the favorable trades to deny farm and experience to the enemy laner. Aatrox is no exception: use your basic abilities to harass Nasus and try to create a freeze close to your turret.
• Nasus will look to shove ways with his E so make sure you can pull and hold the minion wave as much as possible. Call your jungler to instantly punish him the moment he overextends.
• You want to create a big enough lead by the time you get to levels 8-9. At that point, Nasus will have enough stacks and sustain to survive the rest of the laning phase so try to just have lane priority and play for teamfights and objectives. Aatrox is going to be more useful than Nasus in the mid-game teamfights anyway so transfer the lead to the rest of the team and hope you can break the enemy Nexus before Nasus scales too much.

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Riven – You don’t get to touch the minion wave

• Riven is yet another bully champion that wants to abuse Nasus at his weakest in the laning phase. Thanks to her mobile kit and passive, she will prevail in most trades. That said, she’s a high-risk, high-return pick since she needs to get well ahead or Nasus will be able to beat her in the mid-game.
• Once again, you can easily win the game by playing with the minion wave. Slow push the first two saves and hard-shove the third one with the cannon minion. At that point, recall and wait for the wave to bounce back to you, freeze it and zone him out of the farm and experience, if possible. As soon as he tries to walk up, dash in with your abilities and chunk him down. Keep the freeze as long as possible, and once the wave breaks, push and have it bounce back. Rinse and repeat this process as many times as possible.
• By denying experience, you should be able to get level six before he does. The moment you unlock it, try to quickly burst him down with R and ignite.
• After level six, the only way for you to kill him is if you’re able to bait his W and R. Without the additional health from the ultimate, he won’t be able to survive Riven’s full rotation.
• If you’re able to get the lead, use it to help your teammates and secure other advantages on the map. When playing against Nasus, it’s like you’re against a ticking time bomb: finish the game off before it explodes.

Olaf – Abusing Nasus’ weak laning phase

• Even though Olaf falls off heavily later in the game, he can completely prevent Nasus from farming throughout the laning phase, making the top lane matchup basically impossible to play for the Curator of the Sands.
• Nasus will get instantly punished if he tries to walk up in the first three levels since Olaf can chase him down with Q and harass him with E.
• Similar to other matchups, use the minion wave to your advantage and force him to walk up or bleed farm. Look for the opportunity to run after him if he chooses the former. Otherwise, don’t let him farm up. Even if Nasus farms with his E, he won’t be able to get early stacks.
• When slow pushing waves into Nasus, call your jungler and attempt a dive. As long as the enemy dies, it will be a worthy trade since he’ll lose a lot of farm. In case you’re not able to pressure him, use the lane priority to invade the enemy jungler or roam toward the mid lane. Whatever you do, make the best out of your strong early game and create a big enough advantage going into the mid-game.

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