Traditionally, Nasus has always been a late game monster that needed a lot of time to farm up. Known for being the primary target for top lane bullies, the old Q-max Nasus had problems with trading, harassment, and sustain. However, that’s changed with a brand new build. Popularized by former NRG top laner Diego “Quas” Ruiz, Nasus has seen a resurgence and has a completely different feel to him. So, what’s new about Nasus?

Strengths:

• Has a built-in stacking mechanic in his kit, so the longer the game goes on the more damage you'll deal, even if you only build tanky
• Is surprisingly tanky with Wither's attack speed slow and stats from his ultimate
• Can 1v2 very well with Spirit Fire
• Near instant wave clear

Weaknesses:

• Takes some time to ramp up
• Has no mobility skills
• Can be kited easily
• Loses to a lot of bruisers
• Cannot abuse the new keystone mastery, Courage of the Colossus

Summoner Skills

Teleport is an absolute must have on Nasus. It helps supplement his dominant early game, and allows him to become a split pushing threat later on. Flash is preferred as the second summoner to make up for Nasus' lack of mobility, but Ghost can also be an option.

Abilities

Nasus' passive, Soul Eater, permanently gives him 10 / 15 / 20% bonus life steal depending on his level (1, 7, 13). Combined with the attack speed runes, you can actually heal up a lot of damage if the enemy laner goes off to ward.

Nasus' Q, Siphoning Strike, buffs his next basic attack to have slightly more range and deals bonus physical damage. If you use this ability to kill a target, its damage is permanently increased by 3 (6 if the target was a champion, large minion, or monster). As an added bonus, Siphoning Strike will reset your autoattack timer. Stacking this ability slowly over the course of a long game is what makes you a late game monster, but don't sweat it if you have to skip out on a few creeps in the early game. Staying healthy is more important than a few stacks.

Nasus' W, Wither, is a point-and-click ability that greatly slows them and cripples their attack speed for 5 seconds. This ability is one of the reasons why Nasus is so great at 1v1'ing enemy champions. It helps slow people down for a gank, it lets you 1v1 practically any AD champion, and can disable an enemy ADC for up to five seconds late game. Be wary of its rather long cooldown; if you use it too early then you're a target to get jumped on in lane.

Nasus' E, Spirit Fire, leaves an AoE circle on the floor dealing magic damage. Half of the damage is dealt on cast, while the other half deals damage over five seconds. In addition, it will also reduce the armor of targets in the circle. This ability is what will let you wave clear quickly and safely, give great leashes because of the armor reduction, and harass enemy champions from a safe distance. In the past, Spirit Fire was completely ignored, but it's been shown that maxing this ability and going for a bit of AP can help you become a bully in the top lane.

Nasus' ultimate, Fury of the Sands, grants him bonus health, armor, magic resistance, and range for 15 seconds. He will also deal AoE magic damage to enemies nearby, gaining more armor and magic resist each second enemies are near him. This ability is what makes Nasus so durable, and how he can surprisingly do a lot of damage in an extended fight. At a click of a button, you can easily 1v2 many ganks that come your way, provided that the enemy is low enough.

Runes and Masteries

The runes and masteries are geared towards helping you survive the laning phase. Stormraider’s Surge is the optimal keystone mastery, as it can be activated late game with a single Q, but Thunderlord's Decree and Grasp of the Undying are also viable options, depending on your lane opponent. The attack speed runes allows Nasus to utilize his life steal passive, so whenever you have some breathing room you can start auto attacking minions to get some health back.

Early Game

As mentioned earlier, the real change from the typical Nasus skill order is that instead of maxing Siphoning Strike and rushing CDR, Quas maxes Spirit Fire first. You can grab either a Corrupting Potion if you are against a lane with heavy poke or a Doran’s Ring if you can survive the lane and need the extra mana. This build path resembles the AP Nasus builds that you might see in an ARAM, and it still works up in the top lane. With double Doran’s Ring, you’re able to push out waves, harass, and trade with enemy champions. In the early laning phase, do not actively look to farm Q stacks, and be willing to drop CS. Save your mana, and try to harass as much as possible with your E once you have a few ranks into it.

Although Quas misses the kill, this goes to show that you do have kill pressure against ranged champions with this new Nasus build; something that was not possible before.

The reason why this build works so well is because Nasus now has early game pressure. With double Doran’s Ring, he has enough mana regeneration to harass nonstop, giving most top lane bullies a run for their money. If you go up against strong laners such as Kennen or Riven, the lane will naturally push to your side if they try to harass you. Using your E to harass, the enemy laner should be low and pushed up to your turret. They will be forced to either go back to base, or risk getting slowed by your Wither and ganked. Use your mana sparingly until you have a couple of points into E so that you don't run out of mana before you start doing a lot of damage.

Although it may be tempting to Q that really low ranged creep, it is probably not worth the health or the mana. Your goal is to play as safe as possible, sacrificing CS as you chunk the enemy with your E. Over time, the Spirit Fire poke will build up, and you should even out on CS with most enemy top laners.

Mid Game

From here, the build path is mostly the same. Look for places to farm up your Q, but make sure to roam with your team. Build a Triforce as your first major item if you think you have kill pressure. If not, build a Zz'rot first to help push down towers. For boots, build either Mercury Treads or Ninja Tabi, depending on the enemy team comp. Late game, your item choices can include a Frozen Heart, a Spirit Visage, a Guardian’s Angel, a Randuin’s Omen, or any other tanky item that you see fit.

Late Game

Late game, you should look to split push with your teleport up. If you find that the enemy has someone that can easily 1v1 you, try to just defend turrets against that person, or try to force fights with your team and then teleport back to save inhibitors. In a fight, try to pop your ultimate as soon as you think that the enemy has fully committed. Pop your ult too early, and the enemy can disengage and you’ll be less tanky for the next fight. Use Wither on enemy ADC’s, to chase down low people, or to peel for your carries. With Wither’s slow and Spirit Fire’s armor debuff, you can easily kill chase down and kill a single person. As long as you understand how much damage you can do and you don’t tunnel vision on a certain enemy, 1v1’ing somebody split off in a fight should be a breeze. Nasus’ lack of mobility skills are compensated by how much you can burst with a single Siphoning Strike, and how much damage you can simply shrug off.

Nasus' Bad Win Rates

With the new build, champions such as Riven, Jayce, and Kennen are no longer your biggest threats. Maxing Spirit Fire first can help you poke back very easily. Sure, you'll lose a lot of CS in the first few minutes, but you'll become tanky enough to deal with them in no time. However, this magical build won’t grant all of Nasus’ wishes. He still has bad matchups against tanks like Sion and Nautilus, who can shrug off his damage and can easily set up ganks. On the other hand, bullies such as Jarvan IV, Darius, and Renekton can all kill Nasus before he reaches level 6. If you find yourself stuck laning against one of these guys, build tanky and sacrifice some CS. A few ranged creeps are not worth trading half of your health for.

Conclusion

So, is the new “Quasus” the best in every situation? Quite frankly, no. If the enemy team picks Malphite as their top laner, it might be a good idea to max Q first, as you can safely farm without too much trouble. Let’s face it, not all your games will be easy farm lanes and top lane bullies do exist, so Quasus does have its uses. E-max Nasus lets you push quickly, gives you good harass, and lets you survive the laning phase. The major downfall to this build is that you accumulate Q stacks slower and your W is maxed later in the game. Regardless, with Nasus’ buffs in 6.21 and a new way to deal with the popular top lane champions, Nasus’ is becoming a powerful pick to be scared of. For live footage of Quasus in action, you can check out Quas’ Youtube or his Twitch.

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