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Gnar Matchups and Counters
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This guide is assembled by the site from match data and the game's own information — nobody wrote it by hand. Official and community guides appear alongside it when they exist.
Overview
This guide covers Gnar's matchups and how to adapt to them. Riot publishes no matchup statistics, so the matchups below come from the champions' own stats and kits: attack range, starting durability, crowd control and mobility. They describe an advantage on paper, not a measured result.
Strengths
- Crowd control: Hyper / Wallop applies a stun to set up kills.
- Mobility: Hop / Crunch lets you reposition, engage or escape.
- Clear job in the team: win a long one-on-one lane, pressure the side and matter in team fights.
Weaknesses
- Hard to master: Riot rates its difficulty 8/10.
- Isolated lane: vulnerable to ganks when you push.
Build cheat sheet
Pick the build that fits what you want to do this game.
- Against physical damageDefensiveRecommendedFor a lane or a team that hits with attacks: armor boots and an armor item in the core.
- Against magic damageDefensiveSituationalFor a team that kills with abilities: magic resist boots and a magic resist item in the core.
- Against healingDefensiveSituationalFor games against healers, life steal or regeneration: the anti-heal item goes into the core instead of waiting.
Builds
Against physical damage
When to use it
For a lane or a team that hits with attacks: armor boots and an armor item in the core.
Where it's played
Picked before the game: the main lane first, then the alternatives.
1100%- TopMain100% of matches
Starting items
Core items
- 1Black Cleaver
- 2Trinity Force
- 3Death's Dance
Boots
Situational
Runes
Primary· Resolve
Secondary· Precision
Shards
Summoner spells
Flash
Teleport
Against magic damage
When to use it
For a team that kills with abilities: magic resist boots and a magic resist item in the core.
Where it's played
Picked before the game: the main lane first, then the alternatives.
1100%- TopMain100% of matches
Starting items
Core items
- 1Black Cleaver
- 2Trinity Force
- 3Mercurial Scimitar
Boots
Situational
Runes
Primary· Resolve
Secondary· Precision
Shards
Summoner spells
- Flash
- Teleport
Against healing
When to use it
For games against healers, life steal or regeneration: the anti-heal item goes into the core instead of waiting.
Where it's played
Picked before the game: the main lane first, then the alternatives.
1100%- TopMain100% of matches
Starting items
Core items
- 1Black Cleaver
- 2Trinity Force
- 3Chempunk Chainsword
Boots
Situational
Runes
Primary· Resolve
Secondary· Precision
Shards
Summoner spells
- Flash
- Teleport
Abilities
Rage GenePassiveWhile in combat Gnar generates Rage. At maximum Rage his next ability will transform him into Mega Gnar, granting increased survivability and access to new spells.
QBoomerang Throw / Boulder Toss16/14.5/13/11.5/10sGnar throws a boomerang that damages and slows enemies it hits before returning to him. If he catches the boomerang its cooldown is reduced. Mega Gnar instead throws a boulder that stops on the first unit hit, damaging and slowing everything nearby. It can then be picked up to reduce the cooldown.- Cooldown
- 16·14.5·13·11.5·10
- Range
- 1100
WHyper / Wallop7sGnar's attacks and spells hype him up, dealing bonus damage and granting him Move Speed. Mega Gnar is too enraged to be hyper and instead can rear up on his hind legs and smash down on the area in front of him, stunning enemies in an area.- Cooldown
- 7
EHop / Crunch22/19.5/17/14.5/12sGnar leaps to a location and bounces off the head of any unit he lands on, traveling further. Mega Gnar is too large to bounce and instead lands with earth-shattering force, dealing damage in an area around him.- Cooldown
- 22·19.5·17·14.5·12
- Range
- 475
RGNAR!Ultimate90/60/30sMega Gnar throws everything around him in a chosen direction, dealing damage and slowing them. Any enemy that hits a wall is stunned and takes bonus damage.- Cooldown
- 90·60·30
- Range
- 590
Strategy
1Good matchups
Gnar does well against these:
2Tough matchups
Gnar struggles against these:
- K'Sante: Gnar has to walk up to start a fight, and Path Maker (stun) stops that engage before it lands.
- Riven: Gnar has to walk up to start a fight, and Ki Burst (stun) stops that engage before it lands.
- Jax: Gnar has to walk up to start a fight, and Counter Strike (stun) stops that engage before it lands.
3Synergies
Gnar works well alongside these, because their kits fit together:
4Adapting the build
The situational builds in this guide answer specific threats: Against physical damage, Against magic damage and Against healing.
5Playing against Gnar
If you're on the other side, this is what to exploit:
- Gnar can't gain Rage for 15 seconds after he turns from big to little. Use this chance to engage on his team.
- Gnar's animations and resource bar change as he gets closer to transforming.
- Gnar's ultimate stuns if he hits you into a wall. Be careful when fighting him near one.
Tips
- Look at the enemy team before choosing your build: the situational builds below answer the most common threats.
- Good matchup: Fiora. Play forward when you face them.
- Tough matchup: K'Sante. Play safer and wait for your team.
- Against teams with a lot of dive, save Hop / Crunch for the first jump.
- Against slippery heroes, hold Hyper / Wallop until their escape is used.
Matchups
Strong against
Hyper / Wallop (stun) lets Gnar pin Fiora down before Lunge gets them out.
Hyper / Wallop (stun) lets Gnar pin Zaahen down before Aureate Rush gets them out.
Hyper / Wallop (stun) lets Gnar pin Aatrox down before Umbral Dash gets them out.
Weak against
Gnar has to walk up to start a fight, and Path Maker (stun) stops that engage before it lands.
Gnar has to walk up to start a fight, and Ki Burst (stun) stops that engage before it lands.
Gnar has to walk up to start a fight, and Counter Strike (stun) stops that engage before it lands.
Changelog
- Guide created for patch 16.19.1.
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