AP Nasus probably has one of the most annoying laning phases for the enemy to deal with. The two main attributes that makes a great AP Nasus is POSITIONING and MANA CONTROL.
POSITIONING: The reason why AP Nasus is so cheese is because you are actually unpunishable by most enemies when you Spirit Fire them. If you can get really good at Spirit Fire from a safe distance then you are already on your way to being a master wizard doggo. The more you play AP Nasus, the better you will get at Spirit Fire from max range. Remember that your Spirit Fire does more burn damage after the initial cast so ideally you would want to Spirit Fire the center of the enemy but sometimes it is better to Spirit Fire them from max range because it is safer.
MANA CONTROL: AP Nasus doesn't really come online until your first back so be very careful not to spam your Spirit Fire too much because you will become OOM very quickly. Generally I will Spirit Fire the enemy when my Arcane Comet and Manaflowband are up and then wait for them to come back up again before Spirit Fire. If they are low enough you can flash Spirit Fire (and ignite if you reach) to finish them.
PLEASE BE PATIENT: I am not kidding when I say that you suck until first back. Just make it a personal goal to first back for Blasting Wand/Sorc boots/Hextech Alt/Lost Chapter (Any of those and of course always Dark Seal if you can) and then you feel your wizard powers come online! However, don't get ahead of yourself apprentice wizard, you will still have to be patient. AP Nasus is definitely a different playstyle. YOU NEED TO PLAY LIKE A MOSQUITO. You have to slowly wither them for their health with your Spirit Fire until they are low! After they are low they will either 1) overstay in lane which allows you to oneshot them OR 2) they recall, which is also a win because they lose xp and gold.
NASUS LIKES GANKS: Nasus wither is AMAZING for ganks. As soon as you see your jungler come in walk up and hit them with the wither. You can also Wither people to stay in your Spirit Fire for longer since it does ticking damage.
DON'T UNDERESTIMATE YOUR ULT: Do not be afraid to use your Fury of the Sands to get out of sticky situations. (Or to win) You aren't building tank but you are still surprisingly tanky when you press Fury of the Sands. The burn damage is also very strong once you get some AP. I have won many fights by simply walking on them with my Fury of the Sands and the enemy not expecting that much damage. No one seems to remember that Nasus Fury of the Sands can do nasty damage.
DON'T FORGET ABOUT PASSIVE: Nasus is very good at healing up after a trade. Typically you want to not even allow them to trade you but sometimes it just happens. The doggo has to CS so you will take damage. Just don't forget that you will heal up a bunch after autoing/ Siphoning Strike minions.
DON'T FORGET YOUR STACKS: You are still playing Nasus so please stack accordingly. If you can get the stacks then your Siphoning Strike will still hurt very bad! A good AP Nasus will also be able to BONK you with his wizard stick. If you do prefer more the BONK playstyle then feel free to buy a Lich Bane!
BE AWARE OF DAMAGING THE MINION WAVE: A consequence to constantly poking with your Spirit Fire is that you will naturally push the wave. This isn't necessarily bad because you can still poke them while they CS under tower, BUT you need to have good vision and be very careful of ganks! If you don't want the wave to push as hard I advise placing your Spirit Fire so that they don't hit the minions (or at least not the whole wave) when you poke them. This can sometimes be very difficult. A trick that you can use against laners that respect your damage is to just walk towards them so they run away and you can Spirit Fire them behind the wave. Obviously this only works if they are scared of you so keep that in mind.
FAQs
Counter Nasus by focusing him with your jungler and setting him behind so he can't scale. Do not Auto Attack your wave and push it unless you can push it all the way to the enemy turret and reset. Nasus wants to be able to freeze the wave on his side of the river and farm.
What is the win rate for Nasus items? ›
Top Build. Nasus Top has a 52.8% win rate with 11.1% pick rate in Emerald + and is currently ranked A tier. Based on our analysis of 731 matches in patch 14.17 the best build for Nasus is Trinity Force, Ionian Boots of Lucidity, Frozen Heart, Spirit Visage, and Thornmail.
How to play Nasus better? ›
Nasus is prone to being kited. Try not to engage him at full health. Try to all in him at lvl 2-3,he is weaker than most bruisers at that level and poking him is not enough. All in him once to take him to half hp, wait for your cooldowns, then all in again for the kill.
Is nasus ad or ap? ›
Although Nasus has abilities that deal AP damage, his primary ability, which is his Q, deals physical damage, which primarily makes him a more AD champion.
How to beat Nasus mid? ›
Try to fight him when he is focused on stacking as he may focus on the farm rather than fighting you- which will allow you to gain a health advantage. Do not push Nasus under his turret as it allows him to farm safely. Instead, freeze the lane towards your side of the map so he has to overextend for farm.
Who hard counters Nasus? ›
Based on our analysis of 153 024 matches, the best counters for Nasus Top are Zac, Sylas, Tahm Kench, Shen and Garen.
Is Nasus weak late game? ›
Has a lot of poor matchups. In the current meta, he will struggle to lane against a lot of enemy champions. Relies heavily on the late game to win. As games end around or before the 30-minute mark, his late-game carry potential is lessened.
Is Nasus good for beginners? ›
Nasus may be more your speed. He's a great top laner and relatively easy to use to learn the lane, but you'll want to be more familiar with the game first to play him easily.
Is Nasus strong early? ›
Nasus is a really good split pusher and should be looking to split push and open up the map during the later parts of the game. He can be incredibly hard to stop if he is ahead. While he is drawing pressure, his team can siege or fight elsewhere. Incredibly weak early game.
What God is Nasus? ›
In Egyptian mythology, Nasus was a demigod that was linked to knowledge and wisdom. Nasus is believed to be from the Nubian community that lived in ancient Egypt. He was the leader of the Shurima empire, which he led with great intelligence and strategy.
Because of his playstyle, Nasus is never exactly picked in pro play. Pros do not want a Nasus in their team because it basically makes any early skirmishes in the top side of the map impossible. He is frail early and cannot offer much to his team in early fights.
Is Nasus a dog or wolf? ›
Nasus is an imposing, jackal-headed Ascended being from ancient Shurima, a heroic figure regarded as a demigod by the people of the desert. Fiercely intelligent, he was a guardian of knowledge and peerless strategist whose wisdom guided the ancient empire of Shurima to greatness for many centuries.
What item can counter Nasus? ›
Nasus wild rift counter items list: To reduce Nasus's healing ability, use items that cause grievous wounds such as: Morellonomicon, Mortal Reminder, Thornmail, Ignite. Use Quicksilver Enchant to remove slow from Wither skill.
What is the best ADC to counter Nasus? ›
Nasus's Best ADC matchups include Aphelios, Jinx, and Lucian. Nasus's Best ADC counters are Ashe, Vayne, and Zeri.
How do I stop being Nasus? ›
Things that may help you stop feeling sick
- get plenty of fresh air.
- distract yourself – for example, listen to music or watch a film.
- take regular sips of a cold drink.
- drink ginger or peppermint tea.
- eat foods containing ginger – such as ginger biscuits.
- eat smaller, more frequent meals.
- Swift boots are the counter to Nasus W. ...
- Take Unflinching rune, its really strong for the slow resist.
- Be really aggressive about zoning him off the wave pre-6, even if it means losing CS.
- Don't trade in his E! ...
- Potentially take Phase rush for 75% slow resist to negate his W.
![[13.1] AP Mid Nasus Guide! Annoy your opponents to death! (2024)](data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAQAAAC1HAwCAAAAC0lEQVR42mP8/h8AAvMB+NzmkbcAAAAASUVORK5CYII=)