Nautilus Support Build Guide: Best Runes, Items and Counters

Nautilus Support Build Guide: Best Runes, Items and Counters

By Marcus Chen

February 25, 2025 at 07:00 PM

Nautilus is a powerful support champion known for his strong engage potential and crowd control abilities. His current win rate stands at 48.4% based on 19,406 matches.

Core Build

  • Summoner Spells: Flash, Ignite
  • First Items: Celestial Opposition > Plated Steelcaps > Locket of the Iron Solari
  • Full Build: Add Knight's Vow, Thornmail, Vigilant Wardstone
  • Ability Order: Q > W > E

Optimal Runes

  • Primary: Aftershock, Shield Bash, Bone Plating, Unflinching
  • Secondary: Biscuit Delivery, Cosmic Insight
  • Shards: Ability Haste, Health Scaling, Health Scaling

Key Tips

  • Hold Q (hook) until enemies use their escape abilities or misposition
  • Use Q to catch overextended enemies during tower sieges
  • Maximize roaming potential despite low movement speed by utilizing CC abilities

Strong Against (Win Rate)

  • Yuumi (54.4%)
  • Mel (53.8%)
  • LeBlanc (53.1%)
  • Zilean (53.0%)
  • Elise (52.5%)

Weak Against (Win Rate)

  • Taric (36.7%)
  • Renata Glasc (42.2%)
  • Rell (43.3%)
  • Tahm Kench (43.8%)
  • Maokai (45.1%)

Best ADC Synergies

  • Swain (54.5%)
  • Samira (52.2%)
  • Yasuo (51.4%)
  • Kog'Maw (51.4%)
  • Nilah (51.2%)

Alternative Builds

  1. Solstice Sleigh Build (51.0% WR)

    • Same runes and spells as core build
    • Replace Celestial Opposition with Solstice Sleigh
  2. Bloodsong Build (53.1% WR)

    • Same runes and spells as core build
    • Replace Celestial Opposition with Bloodsong
  3. Off-Meta Build (49.0% WR)

    • Glacial Augment instead of Aftershock
    • Add Hextech Flashtraption
    • Keep standard item progression

Situational items should be chosen based on team composition and specific matchups. Adjust your build path and rune choices accordingly.

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