Rakan vs Nautilus - Matchup Guide | Patch 26.16

YouRakan

EnemyNautilus

Win Condition

Survive the lane by dodging , then out-perform him in teamfights by using + to disrupt multiple targets while he can only lockdown one.

Overview

This is a high-stakes dance where you act as the bait. You have the mobility to dodge his hooks, but one mistake means you get locked down and deleted. Your goal is to frustrate him into missing and then punishing his ADC.

Difficulty

Medium

You can outplay his entire kit with your dashes, but Rakan's low base durability makes any landing of or potentially fatal.

You (Rakan)

•Elite mobility with and to dodge hooks.
•Sustain for your ADC via healing.
•Multi-target charm/knockup with + .
•Passive shield from to survive small trades.

Them (Nautilus)

•Heavy lockdown with and to catch you.
•High burst-soaking potential with shield.
•Guaranteed point-and-click shutdown using .
•Passive root from to stop your dashes.

Nautilus's Abilities

Ability	Threat	What It Means For You
	High	Roots you on his first auto-attack. If he touches you, you cannot use or to escape.
	High	A long-range hook blocked by minions. Stay behind the wave or use to dash out of its path.
	Med	A shield that resets his auto and adds damage. Avoid trading while he is 'glowing'—wait for it to expire.
	Low	Three waves of AOE slows. It is hard to dodge but won't kill you unless you are already hooked by .
	High	A targeted knockup that cannot be dodged. Use to pull the shockwave away from your ADC.

Lane Phase

Lvl 1-5

→Stay behind minions at all times to ensure cannot reach you.
→Use to poke him when he walks up to execute minions with his support item.
→Save for counter-engage; never jump in if is up and he is near his ADC.
→Always keep an ally in range of so you have an instant escape route if he steps forward.

Lvl 6+Power spike

→He will use to stop your engage. Wait for him to burn it on your ADC first.
→If he targets you with , immediately to a safe distance so you aren't knocked up in the middle of the fight.
→Your + combo is faster than his animations. Use it to catch their ADC before he can react.

Trading Patterns

Safe Poke

Land from max range for the heal, then immediately to your ADC if he moves to trade back.

Punish

When he misses , he is useless for 14s. Immediately his ADC, land , and back to safety.

All-in

Activate for speed -> Run through the ADC to charm them -> Follow up with knockup -> + Ignite -> to safety.

Respect

•
hitbox — It is wider than it looks and can clip you around the edges of minion waves.
•
auto-attack — If he flashes on you and autos, you are rooted and can't dash away, leading to certain death.
•
tracking — It follows you even if you flash or dash. Do not dash into your ADC while the wave is chasing you.
•
Bush control — If he sits in a bush, you lose the ability to dodge reactively. Keep bushes warded.

Punish

•
misses — Force a heavy trade on the enemy ADC. He has no way to peel you off without his hook.
•
is down — He is surprisingly squishy without his shield. Focus him if he overextends without it.
•
Level 1 — He usually takes . If you take , you can poke him for free before he can engage.
•
He roams — You are much faster. Use and over walls to beat him to mid lane and counter-gank.

Wave Management

Early

Let the wave push toward you. Being near your tower makes much less dangerous and sets up a long lane for you to chase them down.

Post-6

Maintain a freeze near your tower to force him to walk up. If he tries to break it, use to catch him in a gank.

AI analysis • Patch 16.3.1 • CachedView Nautilus vs Rakan

YouRakan

EnemyNautilus

Generating matchup guide for Rakan vs Nautilus...

Analyzing champion abilities and cooldowns...

Ability

Threat

What It Means For You

High

Roots you on his first auto-attack. If he touches you, you cannot use or to escape.

High

A long-range hook blocked by minions. Stay behind the wave or use to dash out of its path.

Med

A shield that resets his auto and adds damage. Avoid trading while he is 'glowing'—wait for it to expire.

Low

Three waves of AOE slows. It is hard to dodge but won't kill you unless you are already hooked by .

High

A targeted knockup that cannot be dodged. Use to pull the shockwave away from your ADC.