Hello my dear Nasus enjoyers and welcome to my Nasus mid guide. My name Is John or Giannis (my Greek name) I am working as a COACH both personal and team coach and im currently 19 years old . Most people know me as Desperate Nasus(AKA the most hated Nasus).I will also be streaming on twitch.tv/DesperateNasus I started playing Nasus back in season 9 and ended Platinum4. In season 10 I started taking Nasus more seriously as a champion and finished Platinum1 with over 800 games. Sadly the Lp gains werent that good (+12,-18) so I was forced to make a new account and handlevel it. On season 11 i made a promise to myself that I would hit Diamond+.

I've played in every Elo through multiple accounts of mine. I've smurfed from fresh level 30 to Grandmaster-Challenger. I want to share this passion I have for Nasus through this guide and hope you can start enjoying the dog as much as i do!

Enjoy your stay :).

Peaked Rank 1 Nasus Worldwide in s11. https://prntscr.com/20krjpa https://prntscr.com/20xhae4 [Before rename]

Highest LP as Nasus 1trick. https://prnt.sc/20xjrai

Highest Lp Peak in Europe. https://prnt.sc/NX_gCOT3THi2

My Lolpros. https://lolpros.gg/player/desperatenasus ( you can see Lp graph on Euw server on all of my accounts there ).

Before i start talking about why i prefer to play Nasus mid, I wanna say something to all new Nasus players. If you are below Diamond4 i suggest playing Nasus Toplane since most people dont really know how to punish a Nasus well. If you are above Diamond4 you should swap to Midlane because people are more skilled and they often zone you out of your Lane. First of all if your wave gets frozen in Toplane there is nothing you can do, losing 2-3 waves as Nasus can be really painful. Another reason why i swaped to Nasus mid, is because of the matchups. Toplaners such as , , , , etc, are really hard to deal with. Since most of the Midlaners are mages, you have everything you need to deal with them. Your passive which is LifestaI, you also have which is another tool for sustain. Last but not least you have for your sustain items. In Midlane, as Nasus you have access to the enemy minion wave way easier than you have in Toplane. Another advantage of Nasus Midlane is the stacking numbers. Stacking as Nasus mid is way easier than Nasus Top. You will always have more stacks as Nasus Mid than Toplane. There are matchups where you will struggle, but i can surely say they are way easier. Nasus 's W is one of the strongest slows making it really easy to setup a gank for your Jungler. As Nasus mid, you should ask your Jungler to pick something good for early game such as , , etc, so you can abuse the enemy Midlaner with your slow. Overall Nasus mid is way more viable than Nasus top in higher elos. If your goal is to climb to Masters or above, Nasus mid is the way to go.

Pros – What are the benefits of playing this champion?

·Easy mechanically
·You improve as a player by playing Nasus
·You learn Macro since Nasus is all about Macro
·His mid game is really strong if played correctly
·Really good duelist after
·Good pressure around the map
·Punishing champion
·Really good 1v2 potential

Cons – What are the drawbacks of playing this champion?

·Immobile champion
·Really weak early game
·First 10-15 minutes decide how the game will go
·Gets kited easily
·Nowdays there are a lot of items that counter Nasus
·Bad in early skirmishes
·Falls off after 35 minute mark

For me is what you should always ban when you play Midlane. Even if the azir is decent the counterplay to his champ is limited with Nasus. All he is gonna do is win be default. What i mean is you are going to be down in Xp due to him having telemport, Goldwise because he will deny you some minions and it is gonna be harder to farm under your tower, he is gonna have more plates than you and you will never touch his tower unlike him, You can never run him down due to his R and his E so there is no point leaving open.

In the other hand, when you play Toplane you want to permaban or depends on your preference. Both of them are simply just better champions with a kit that outclass you and can bully you from level 1 till the end of the game if they are atleast decent.

Playing Nasus in high elo is way different than in lower elos. You should always pay attention to the enemy comp, if it looks doomed just dodge its worth taking the -5 than -15. There are some combinations you should always dodge in high elo.

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The reason why i take and in almost every single game is simple. Nasus outside laning phase without is trash. This is why Nasus struggles with mobility and is the only resource he has for that problem. Even if you are fed it doesnt really matter, enemies will just kite you away and there is nothing you can do about that. For me cant be given up. There are only 2 matchups you could take instead of . Never remove from Nasus 's kit no matter what. The only other reason some Nasus players take instead of is for the tower dives but in Midlane there is almost 0 chance you get dove. In toplane things are different so i can understand some Nasus players still picking it up.

Precision is one of the strongest trees if not the strongest. It has really good scaling into Mid game and it is the most used tree for Bruisers - Damage Dealers

Lethal Tempo allows Nasus to take duels he isnt supposed to take. In other words you push Nasus to his limits.

Triumph is the best for Nasus. A Triumph heal can be game changing.

Legend: Alacrity Allows you to have extra attack speed on duels - 3v3's etc and it also helps you push waves incase your enemy laner roams. It also helps on farming under tower and maybe 1v1ing weak enemy midlaners on early levels such as ,

Last Stand Provides Nasus with extra damage in all ins as he gets low. It deals 1.5-2k in avg per game.

Resolve It is by far the best secondary Rune setup for Nasus. Great tree to survive Laning phase and reduce Crowd control.

Second Wind Is overall really good. It helps you sustain. Second wind is extremely crucial against poking matchups.

Overgrowth Will allow you to be a bit extra tanky in all phases of the game. It might seem not a lot but it actually is so do not underestimate that rune.

The reason i prefer is mainly because Provides you with Attack speed and synergizes well with Nasus passive . Fully stacked Lethal Tempo during Nasus R = 320/325 range on Q, which is pretty much a mid range auto and there are less chances to get kited.



Also allows Nasus to become a bruiser in the earlier stage of the game. The lower your Hp the stronger you are. Nasus is strongest when his Hp is below 25%. When you are low, deals extra 100 damage per Q with 250+ stacks plus healing. That means you have to go all in no matter what and fight to the DEATH. Dont be afraid to take 1v2 's with this rune setup.



Overall this is the setup i used to climb that far. I used to play in mid season11 and i couldnt get above 350Lp. Then i went with and got 1K+ Euw Lps but the setup did not last for too long. The reason that it did not last long is because the game got way more fast paced, Meta changed and that did not help at all.

Fleet Footwork Is the Rune you should go for if are a begginer Nasus player or if you feel you cant handle some laning phases. When Fleet Footwork is at 100 stacks, once you Auto Attack or Q it will provide you with some healing and movement speed making it easier to walk up for a minion. The intention of this rune is to help you survive the Laning Phase but it wont help you that much on duels.

Grasp of the undying should never be 1 of your main rune pages. You are only gonna use it whenever the matchup forces you to. The matchups:









For me the main Keystone you should always take is tree. It scales really well into the Mid game thanks to and . I prefer playing with because it has the highest 1v9 potential across all rune pages.

Unsealed Spellbook Is the best option from tree. This setup is often seen in Toplane. However you dont need to run in Midlane, thats because the Lane is short and you dont need . Since Toplane matchups are way harder, you need tools to work with and thats where shines. You can have a 1 time use while you have and as your main Summoner spells. The use of is also a great tool to work with. Most Toplaners are Bruisers so is the most powerful combat spell in these situations. There is another reason why is a good setup. You have which is basically 300 gold for free. This allows you to finish your as soon as possible. Another advantage of tree, is , it provides you with 3 biscuits at minute 2:00 , 4:00 and 6:00. Consuming a biscuit grants you 50 Mana and increases your maximum Mana by 50. Selling a biscuit gives you 5 gold and increases your maximum Mana by 50. The whole setup is not that bad but , and are just 10 times better


Conqueror used to be really popular on Nasus 1-2 patches ago but the game became really fast paced and then slow paced playstyle died. Never use this rune page anymore

Phase Rush Is the best option you can take if you want to go tree. Although this Rune setup is not as good as it seems. The only good Runes from tree is which helps you run down your enemy with the extra movement speed you gain by it. Last but not least, is your last useful tool from tree. This setup is not good in Midlane that is why it is usually seen in the Jungle.

Predator is the only "viable" option from tree, it only helps you chase your enemy faster and do some extra damage other than that it is useless. The only "good tools" from this tree are to heal back some HP by using your so you dont need to walk up to activate . Another decent tool is but after the nerfs it is not worth going for it. Instead go for so you can fight more often by using your Ultimate. Either way it doesnt matter since tree is not good on Nasus.

Trinity Force is the only item that can replace and the only item that is buildable with

Spirit Visage is one of the best situational items. Thats why Spirit Visage 's passive increases all healings and shieldings by 25%. Its a really good combination with . Overall really good item into heavy ability power comps.

Frozen heart Is a really good item against a lot of AD champs and On-Hit damage. First of all it reduces the attack speed of nearby enemies by 20%. Frozen Heart 's components are and . This item provides you with 20 ability haste 400 mana and 80 armor. It is by far 1 of the best Core items on Nasus and even if the item gets nerfed it will not change for being that good on him

Sterak's Gage Synergizes really well with your R and with . At the moment Sterak's Gage is a Core item on Nasus and i assume it will forever be.

Ionian Boots Of Lucidity is what you should always go for. There are some cases you should buy or but most of the time you should go for Ionian boots of lucidity. They provide you with 20 ability haste, which is really good on Nasus and gives you 12 summoner spell haste. Having and 30 seconds earlier can be the difference between losing or winning a game.

Sundered Sky Is an item that if you consider about build you want to build it as a second item. The situations you most likely will need it is if you play toplane mainly but it can happen while playing midlane aswell. So the reason behind it is when your enemy laner and jungler are both Melee champions and you want to play sidelane and use the item for 1v2 situations. The item is really strong if you are ahead and it should not be considered as a weak item.

Thornmail is the only Anti healing item you should always go on Nasus. You dont need to buy as your Anti heal item since you dont need the Attack damage. Once you buy , do not upgrade it into Thornmail. You should always buy it as your last item because is already doing its job and its not worth spending more gold for nothing. As Nasus you want to finish your Core Items as fast as you can.

Randuin's Omen Can be a replace to frozen heart if enemy team has a lot of Critical attacks. Other than that i would say Frozen heart is way better as an overall item


Anathema's Chains is now a situational item for Nasus. Both and are really good items on Nasus. They provide you with flat Hp and cooldown which are really important on Nasus. Anathema's Chains designate the target enemy champion as your Nemesis and gain 1 stack of Vendetta every 2 seconds over 60 seconds, up to 30 stacks and take 1% reduced damage per stack of Vendetta from your Nemesis, up to 30% reduced damage. You should target either your laner or the enemy fed champion.

Jak'Sho, The Protean is a new situation item on Nasus. The thinking behind it is if you can sustain the fight for an extended amount of time. At maximum stacks, increase your bonus armor and bonus magic resistance by 30% until the end of combat which works really well with your R. Not the best situational item but it can work in rare occasions. If you are looking to build that item you want to build it as your last item.

Early game is Nasus's most important aspect of the game. For Nasus, the first 10 minutes decide how well the game goes. Respecting your opponent and controlling the wave is what tells a good and a bad Nasus apart. Champions such as , , , etc, are really dangerous into the Early game. Against Champions like them, you want to start as your first ability. Since you play without , there is no point wasting a for 3 stacks. As Nasus you should prioritize surviving the Laning phase than stacking. In higher elos, 1 death can pretty much end your laning phase or even the game. Try make as less mistakes as possible and wait for your item spikes such as and . There are matchups where you want to stay above 50% of your HP. In these cases you want to buy instead of so you wont get dove. At the first minutes, as Nasus you will never have priority against your enemy and that means your wave is always shoved in. Since there is no point going for fights like these, focus on stacking - farming and building XP difference against your opponent unless your support roams for a fight and in my opinion a 3v2 or 4v3 should never be lost no matter what you play.

If you managed to win lane or go even congratulations you passed the hardest 10-15 minutes of your life. If you didnt manage to stay alive in laning phase there is not much you can do since the first 10-15 mintes ptetty much decide your fate. Mid game is Nasus's biggest spike. While having there are situations you should sidelane on the opposite side of the current objective. Since you can handle 2 or more people, the objective fight is automatically 4 v 3 making it a lot easier for your team to fight for it. Without summoner spells avoid grouping up. It is pointless to force a fight without your Core engage spells such as and . You should participate on drake fights only if you have Summoner spells ready or its a drake soul fight. After you have your core items, you are ready to group up. Your main target in a teamfight should be their easy targets. For example if the enemy team has a and a , you should always go for the . Your Wither is one of the strongest slows in the game, so an immobile champion has no way out. Overall your main goal should be to finish the game as fast as possible.

Late game Nasus is not what you want. For most people, Nasus is one of the strongest late game champions. I hardly disagree with that. The reason is because Nasus is an immobile champion and gets kited easily. Late game items such as , , etc makes it really hard for Nasus to deal with them. In lower elos you can still get away with Late game nasus, but as you climb it gets harder. In late game its pointless sidelaning since 50 more stacks wont matter. Your best option is to group up with your teammates and wait for their mistake or play for an important objectives such as Drake souls , Elder Dragon and Baron Nashor. Overall Nasus's late game is not that good and its overrated.

Nasus is a well known Champion for his Stacking ability. Stacking is a way of Nasus getting AD while building Tank. For example stacking a Cannon minion gives you 12 extra damage on your while a gives you 10AD. Each game Stacks will be different. It depends on the matchup and the ELO you are playing on. I want to point out that sometimes Stacks mean nothing. There are times where you will find yourself having 800+ stacks and not ba able to do anything. There are comps where fed Nasus or not fed Nasus doesnt matter. Although that doesnt mean you should not focus on Stacking. If you manage to win your lane its a big advantage for you and your team. Since Nasus is a scaling champion, you will recieve a lot of pressure and your team will have an easier time.

I know there are some people that want to know how many stacks on avarage they should have.

Try to have around 500 stacks at 20 minute mark against free matchups
Try to have around 460 stacks at 20 minute mark against easy matchups
Try to have around 400 stacks at 20 minute mark against even matchups
Try to have around 355 stacks at 20 minute mark against hard matchups
Try to have around 320 stacks at 20 minute mark against extreme matchups

CS DIFFERENCE

As Nasus against lane bullies you will be behind on Cs, try not to greed for Cs out of your frustration. Make sure you get as many Cs as possible while you farm under your tower

XP DIFFERENCE

Against most of the machups, try to be even or ahead in XP. You want to max your and as soon as possible so keep a track on your wave and try to recall after you push the wave or if it is even unless you need to back

ROAMS

People think just because you play Nasus you cant roam and that is false. I agree that roaming as Nasus is a bit harder but that doesnt mean its impossible. You just have to be extra careful when roaming as Nasus. It takes many games to understand when to roam or not.

JUST BECAUSE YOU ARE NASUS IT DOESNT MEAN YOU CANT TAKE DUELS EARLY ON

Everyone thinks Nasus is one of the weaksest early game Champions and i agree with that. Although that doesnt mean your oppenent should get a free pass on the Lane. Since I have played thousands of games around every elo, I have noticed lower elo players disrespect Nasus a lot. If you find yourself in a situation that your enemy is trading you inside your wave dont be afraid to open and start dueling him. If you use which is the suggested rune, you have a lot easier time in duels. Overall you can solo kill someone but in most cases it depends on what champion your opponent plays. Since Midlane is a short lane, if they dash in and you think you can fight go for it. You wont learn if you dont try.

Playing Nasus in high Elo is like a strategy game with your opponent having the upper hand.

However dont start complaning about the Champion not being in a good spot. I managed to peak over 2.1K Lp with him, so i can say giving up is a sign of weakness. Reading this guide wont instantly improve you as a player. It takes hundreds of games to improve. Day by day start learning the matchups and macro. Take 1 step at a time and i promise you, you will become a better player.

If you have any further questions add me on Discord (Desperate Nasus#8176)

Best Regards,

Desperate Nasus