Nautilus Counters: Who Beats Nautilus

Updated for patch 26.21. Ability details come from Riot’s official game data for this patch.

Nautilus counters are supports who can cancel, block or punish his engage after he commits. He’s a 175 range tank whose whole kit is crowd control: a pull, a root on his first attack against each target, a slow, and an ultimate that knocks up everyone on its path before stunning its target. The supports who beat him shield the target, block the anchor, or throw him back out.

Below are five picks, each tied to a named ability in his kit and theirs. We didn’t touch a win-rate table for this.

Why is Nautilus hard to counter?

• Staggering Blow (passive): his first Attack on any target deals extra physical damage and roots it briefly.
• Dredge Line (Q): a thrown anchor. Hit an enemy and the two of them are pulled together for magic damage; hit terrain and he pulls himself to the wall. Cooldown 14/13/12/11/10.
• Titan’s Wrath (W): a temporary Shield that makes his attacks deal damage over time to the target and anyone nearby. Cooldown 12.
• Riptide (E): three waves exploding around him, each one damaging and slowing. Cooldown 7 seconds at rank 1, 5 at rank 5.
• Depth Charge (R): a shockwave that chases one opponent, knocking up every enemy above it, then erupting under the target to knock it up and stun it. Cooldown 120/100/80.

Four abilities out of five lock someone in place (Titan’s Wrath is the exception). That’s the problem. Dredge Line pulls him onto your carry, the first auto roots, Riptide slows anything trying to walk away, and Depth Charge can’t be dodged by sidestepping because it follows its target. Can you just outrange him? Not really, because the anchor also works on walls, which gives him a second way in. Funny enough, the answer is mostly defensive: the supports who do well here make his crowd control land on a shield, a projectile block or empty air.

Which champions are the best Nautilus counters?

Morgana

Black Shield (E) is a starfire barrier that swallows disables and magic damage, and nothing short of breaking it gets through. Put it on the carry and Dredge Line’s pull, the Staggering Blow root and the Depth Charge stun all bounce off, which leaves Nautilus standing next to an ADC he can’t lock down. Dark Binding (Q) then roots him in place for the trade back. Soul Shackles (R) chains nearby champions and stuns the ones who stay close, and a melee tank who just engaged is usually exactly that. The catch is the cooldown. At rank 1 the shield takes 26 seconds to return, and a patient Nautilus simply waits.

Braum

Unbreakable (E) raises Braum’s shield in one direction for several seconds, intercepting all projectiles so they hit him and get destroyed. A thrown anchor aimed at the carry behind him is the kind of thing that shield exists for. Stand Behind Me (W) leaps Braum to an ally and gives both of them Armor and Magic Resist, so he can arrive after the hook lands. Concussive Blows (passive) stuns at four stacks, and allies’ attacks add stacks too (once Braum lands the first), which turns a Nautilus who dove in into a stunned Nautilus surprisingly quickly. Glacial Fissure (R) adds a knock-up of its own, around Braum and along a line ahead of him, plus a slowing crack left behind.

Janna

Monsoon (R) throws nearby enemies back and then heals allies while the storm lasts. Nautilus has to be in melee range to finish his combo, so a Janna who presses R after the pull undoes the engage and heals the damage. Howling Gale (Q) knocks away enemies in its path, Eye Of The Storm (E) shields an ally from incoming damage, and Zephyr (W) lets her pass through units, so she isn’t easy to pin down with a pull. Her 550 range also lets her poke him while he waits for the anchor to come back. Honestly, no support peels quite like her.

Lulu

Whimsy (W) cast on an enemy turns them into a critter that can’t attack or cast spells. Time it right after Dredge Line lands and Nautilus is on top of your carry with no Staggering Blow root and no ultimate. Wild Growth (R) enlarges an ally, knocking nearby enemies into the air and adding a large amount of bonus Health. The carry who just got hooked becomes the hardest target on the map. Help, Pix! (E) shields an ally, and Glitterlance (Q) heavily slows him once he tries to walk back out.

Taric

Cosmic Radiance (R) pulses onto nearby allies after a delay and makes them invulnerable for a short duration. He can still knock them up. The damage that follows does nothing. His W shields an ally and lets Taric’s spells cast off them, so Dazzle (E), a delayed beam that stuns, can come from the carry Nautilus just pulled. In practice that means the tank who engaged gets stunned on arrival. Bravado (passive) lowers Taric’s cooldowns every time his empowered attacks land, which keeps Starlight’s Touch (Q) heals coming.

How do you play the lane against Nautilus?

• Stay behind your minions. Dredge Line pulls the first enemy it collides with, so a creep in the way blocks the pull.
• Watch the walls near you. The anchor pulls him to terrain too, which gives him an angle you might not expect.
• Count Depth Charge. 120 seconds at rank 1 is a long time, and without it he has a single pull and a root.
• Don’t stand close to the target of his ultimate. The shockwave knocks up every enemy along its path, not just the target.
• Trade when Dredge Line is down. It costs 14 seconds at rank 1, and without it he can only walk at you.

Which items counter Nautilus?

Tenacity first. His damage is modest; the crowd control is what kills you, so cleanses and Tenacity come before raw resistances. Mercury’s Treads bring 30% Tenacity and 20 Magic Resist, and both Dredge Line and Riptide deal magic damage. Quicksilver Sash removes crowd control debuffs except Airborne, so it won’t save you from the knock-up part of Depth Charge, though it does break the stun that follows. Mikael’s Blessing does the same for an ally (excluding Airborne and Suppression), with 12% Heal and Shield Power on top. Annul, the Spell Shield on Banshee’s Veil (mages) and Edge of Night (AD), soaks the next enemy Ability, and a blocked anchor means no engage at all. After he dives in, Locket of the Iron Solari’s Devotion throws a decaying shield over every nearby ally. For prices and the full stat lines, see the LoL item list, and supports who want to run away faster can look at Shurelya’s Battlesong.

When is Nautilus at his weakest?

With Dredge Line on cooldown. That’s 14 seconds at rank 1, and for most of it he’s a 175 range tank who has to walk up to you. Punish it.

The second window is right after Depth Charge. A Nautilus who spent the ultimate (120 seconds at rank 1, 80 at rank 3) to stun one target has only the pull and the passive root left, and if your support absorbed the first engage, his lane goes quiet for a while. Real talk: most lost lanes against him come from walking out of the minion wave, not from his damage.

Wondering how support differs from the other positions? Our guide to LoL roles lays it out. His cosmetics are collected on the Nautilus skins page, and for the five-versus-five brawl version read the Nautilus ARAM guide. Long story short, Nautilus counters let his engage land on a shield, a projectile block or a knock-back, and then punish the 175 range tank left standing in the middle.

FAQ

Who counters Nautilus the most?

Morgana and Braum, who block his crowd control or his anchor, and Janna, Lulu and Taric, who undo or punish his engage after he commits.

Does Quicksilver Sash work against Depth Charge?

Partly. Quicksilver removes crowd control debuffs except Airborne, so the knock-up stays but the stun that follows can be removed.

Can minions block Dredge Line?

Yes. The anchor pulls the first enemy it collides with, so a minion in the way takes the pull instead of you.

What is the cooldown of Depth Charge?

It starts at 120 seconds, drops to 100 at rank 2, and bottoms out at 80 once the ultimate is maxed.

How were these Nautilus counters picked?

We set Nautilus’s patch 26.21 ability text against each support’s kit and kept the five strongest answers. Win rates weren’t involved.