League of Legends S12: Nasus Top Build Guide

From runes to items, gameplay tips amd more, we've put together a guide to help you master playing Nasus in the toplane in League of Legends.

Be mindful that there are several ways to build and play a champion, and you'll need to be adaptable as the game and the enemy team progress.

That said, this guide is a good starting point to helping you get to grips with the champion and making an impact in your games.

Runes

Core Items

Divine Sunderer

3300 Gold

Frozen Heart

2500 Gold

Build

Divine Sunderer is a great item on Nasus, offering health, AD and ability haste, as well as the Spellblade passive for extra % health damage.

Frozen Heart is a solid tanky item that massively increases armor, while its passive weakens enemies.

Other good items include Spirit Visage, Thornmail, Gargoyle's Stoneplate, and Sterak's Gage.

Starting Item & Boots

Health Potion

50 Gold

Doran's Shield

450 Gold

Ionian Boots of Lucidity

950 Gold

Skill Order

While your choices may differ according to how the game progresses, the typical Nasus skill priority is:

R > Q > W > E

Summoner Spells

These are the summoner spells most typically taken by Nasus in this role. Naturally, this may change depending on match-ups.

Gameplay

Nasus is pretty terrible in the early game, with slow attacks and low mobility. However, if you manage to farm Siphoning Strike and gain stacks quickly - a huge, huge if on Nasus, then you'll become a literal monster. Play safe early, focus on last-hitting with Q, and be patient. Try not to let your opponent get too far ahead, and make sure you keep the toplane warded. 

• Level 1 - Take Q - Siphoning Strike, and begin last-hitting minions to gain stacks. 
• Level 2 - Take E - Spirit Fire, to zone enemies and deal AoE damage to creeps.
• First Back - Start building towards your Divine Sunderer, or pick up defensive boots if you're struggling. 

Tips & Tricks

• Enemy champions, large jungle monsters, and large minions (i.e. cannon) grant double the stacks of Siphoning Strike. 
• Siphoning Strike resets your auto-attack, so alternate between that and your auto for max damage output.
• Your passive allows you to recover health when auto-attacking minions, so use this to sustain yourself in lane. 
• Enemies within Spirit Fire have their armor reduced.
• Fury of the Sands increases your armor and resist. 
• When Nasus uses Fury of the Sands, the cooldown on Siphoning Strike is halved for the duration. 
• Fury of the Sands ramps up your damage output considerably, so use it right away in teamfights.