[6.5] The Titan of Top Lane [Split Push/Tank]

Starting Items

• Can be good against champions with single target attacks.
• This can be good against champions you can easily harass without them damaging you too much. Also gives you good ap and mana regen. I start this against Nasus.
• This is generally a good item that helps you stay in lane for longer. It also deals good damage combined with your W. Try to drink this while trading and you'll deal tons of damage.
• Remember to buy vision wards! I can't count how many times a vision ward has saved my life. There are many warding spots you can place it in. If you start on purple side, I like placing it in the tri-bush by lane. However you should always have one out on the map or in your inventory. You can use it to clear vision around baron or dragon if your team is planning on doing it.
• This can be a decent start if you want to rush Spectre's Cowl against ap toplaners.

Core Items

• Split push Nautilus. These items can be very good, and will help you splitpush extremely well. Try to combine them with other tank items in order to be a splitpushing machine!
• I like rushing this. Goes well with your kit and synergises well with grasp of the undying.
• Spirit visage if you're going tank build for the extra CDR. Banshee's veil if you're going splitpush, as you'll have maxed out your CDR already with iceborn gauntlet and banner of command + runes. If you don't have CDR runes, you can build spirit visage in a splitpush build. Anyways, comes down to if you prefer the shield or the CDR.
• Core armour item. Synergises greatly with your kit, and you will be able to deal alot of damage with it while you stun your enemies.
• The only damage item you really need. You have low cooldown on your E, so you will be able to use the passive quite often. Synergises well with your CC, as you'll be able to slow them as well. (The first tick of it on an enemy champion won't be as useful as you will stun them anyways, but the autos afterwards will be glorious!)
• Get boots depending on enemy team comp. I like going swifties when I go splitpush build, and ninja tabi when I go tank build.
• ZZ'Rot Portal goes well with your tank build aswell. Consider picking it up if you need to deal with splitpush, or just want to leave it somewhere to get the gold while not having to be there yourself. Is a decent first item as you can place it behind your turret when your roam with not too big consequences.
• Good last buy.
• Example tank build with ZZ'Rot
• Example tank build against AP-based team
• Example splitpush build. You push waves extremely fast with Iceborn gauntlet and sunfire combined with the buffed up minion and zz'rot voidspawns.
• Example tank build vs ad-based team. Can replace spirit visage with zzrot or warmogs.

Situational Items

• Always build depending on how the game is going. The items I've listed above are items I normally. However if you're facing double ap, or a fed adc you might want to change your build accordingly. The items coming up are items you can build:
• Is a very strong armour and hp item. Goes well with splitpush build as you'll be able to run faster to get to lane or escape if getting collapsed on. Passive gets wasted as your auto will stun them anyways.
• I prefer this over dead mans plate. Solid item, especially vs crit based champions like yasuo or tryndamere.
• Can replace Iceborn gauntlet. Is more of a team item instead of damage. Build this if they have many aa-based champions, and you prefer sticking with your team and deal less damage.
• If you want that extra ap damage and mr shred.
• Doesnt work too well as most of your damage comes from ap and not ad. However, combined with the potion that makes you bigger, you will be one big daddy. Wouldn't recommend.
• Good item, but don't stack too many resistances without the HP to back it up.
• Can work well with nautilus, however the passive doesn't do anything in the middle of a teamfight. Buy if you want to get away with a tiny bit of hp, then return to the fight later with full hp! Can also work with splitpush if you get forced away, then you can walk away, heal up and return to spltting.
• If your support doesn't build it, and you have a teamfight build this can be a great pickup.
• Synergises well with your kit. If you're the main initiator on your team you could pick this up.

 Rush one of these against an ap toplaner, and proceed to make ,  or  as your first item. 

Note: All items are completely situational. Build depending on what your team needs and what the enemy team consists of. You may also have to change your build path depending on who gets fed.

• 

  Blitzcrank

  Easy
• 

  Darius

  Hard
• 

  Fiora

  Medium
• 

  Gangplank

  Medium
• 

  Garen

  Medium
• 

  Gnar

  Medium
• 

  Kayle

  Hard
• 

  Nasus

  Medium
• 

  Pantheon

  Medium
• 

  Rammus

  Easy
• 

  Singed

  Medium
• 

  Skarner

  Easy
• 

  Vladimir

  Hard

VS

Blitzcrank

Easy

I just thought I would add this. If blitz tries to  you, you can  a wall while his hook is midair, making him pull you in, then you will be pulled to the wall. However if this is during teamfights, you might want to take the hook in order to get closer to the enemy team and cc their carries. 

VS

Darius

Hard

Try to farm as best as you can. Try not to get into  range if it can be avoided. You can poke with , and also farm with  if needed. He has no escapes so ganks can be fairly easy with all your cc. Try to call for jungler if you're getting pressured too hard.

-If he  you in, use  on a wall to escape. 

-Try to not let him get 5 stacks of his  on you, as it will deal alot of damage.

-His  deals true damage, so remember to get some hp as well as armour. 

-Beware of him hiding in the lane bush as lane starts, as he might walk up behind you and start trading with you with his . He has an amazing level 1 so he can out-trade you while he's in minions and maybe burn a flash or a back.

-If you  right before he , you can drag yourself away from him after you've been pulled in. 

VS

Fiora

Medium

Start  or  depending on what you prefer. 

 deals alot of damage if she's able to hit her vitals on you. Try to stand in a way that makes it so her vitals don't face you. If she gets too close to you use your . If she  to you in order to hit your vitals, also use your . However she might escape it with the extra movement speed she gets. Be careful of autoing her as she can riposte it and stun you. She can also  your  and your  fairly easily. Try to not use your  until after she has used her . If you are able to, you can cancel your auto-attack midair if you see she uses. Your aa-animation is really slow so this should be possible.

She deals tons of true damage with her ult, so build hp as well as armour against her. I recommend getting  to counter her splitpush. 

If she misses a , try to go for a tade as she will have very low mobility. 

VS

Gangplank

Medium

Start  or  depending on what you prefer. 

Usually ends up in a farm lane. Try to avoid getting hit by his . If you get close to his barrel, at 2 stacks: you can auto it then activate  in order to auto attack reset and kill his barrel before he can get it off. 

-His  removes your passive, and can also be used mid  in order to not get pulled by it. However it can't be used on your .

-He is a melee champion, so you can try to walk up to him and harass him. Beware of his  and his  as it can deal quite a bit of damage.

VS

Garen

Medium

Skill based matchup. 

Garen is a very straightforward champion to play against. Try to harass with  as he has to get into aa range in order to trade with you. If he runs at you use  to escape his . If he will hit you anyways, use  and trade with him.

Be careful of his ultimate, as it deals magic damage and will execute you when you have low hp. If you're marked by his passive he deals true damage with his ultimate, so be wary of that.

VS

Gnar

Medium

Can kite the shit out of you. His auto attack range is pretty short, so with your long aa-range you might be able to auto him while he's attacking minions. When he tries to cs something in the back, try to walk up to him so he'll have to decide between taking your harass or taking the minion. If you ever get close up to him, aa him to trigger  and then use your . You need to also use your  and auto him a couple of times. If he doesnt run away keep on autoing him until your shield runs out. You will outtrade him while he is mini gnar if you are in range of him. However be careful of him kiting you. You might have to  away if he commits to poking you down. You can also use your  to catch up to him if he jumps away. If you have low hp, be careful of his , when he is nearing mega gnar and you have low hp, he can burst you down. However if he is mega gnar and you have more hp than him, he is very immobile and you can easily outdamage him. Try to dodge his mega gnar stun. It isn't very difficult to dodge. Be careful of a gank though. As many junglers will wait until gnar is mega so he can cc you while they both kill you. 

VS

Kayle

Hard

Not very much you can do. Lane goes depending on how kayle trades. You can walk close when her  is on cooldown to maybe get some harass. However when she has her  activated, try not to get too close as she can harass you very effectively. 

-Do your best to farm, you can still get pretty decent farm, however you will rarely get the opportunity to win a fight against kayle. 

-You can kill her fairly easily if you get a gank, especially pre-six. As she has no real escapes.

-Beware of towerdiving her after level 6, as her  will make her immune to damage.

VS

Nasus

Medium

Depending on how you play you can either stomp him, or allow him to farm by turret and turn into a late game monster. 

Consider building 2  in order to harass him with your  under turret, or when he tries to cs. you can also use your empowered autoattacks with  to harass him down. And if he tries to  you and run you can hit him with your . In order to continue harassing him. Try not to use your  to push wave, and only use it if he decides to go for farm. You can effectively deal tons of damage to him by doing this, but be careful of pushing the wave too much. If you're able to freeze the wave, while zoning him away from cs that would be the ideal situation, but it is pretty hard to pull off. Be careful of harassing him under his tower, as his  is very good combined with a gank. 

He is also very good at csing under turret, so be careful of this. 

If you end up pushing him into turret, you can try positioning by the ranged creeps,  (stun) him and  him to make him scared of getting the next ones.

I like building   going into  when facing nasus, as you can deal alot of damage with your autos with it, and he has minimal damage early game.

VS

Pantheon

Medium

His  counters your . Fight with caution. Try to poke with e, and shield when he throws his  at you. 

If you get a gank, you can wait for your jungler to auto him before autoing him yourself in order to get off the stun. However this might stop your damage so don't do it every time. 

VS

Rammus

Easy

Rammus is very easy to harass as nautilus. If you  before he  you, the damage he deals with his  will be minimal. Try to harass him down with your empowered auto-attacks while your  is activated, and your . The fact that you deal mixed damage is great against a tank like rammus. 

You can  him if he tries to escape with  in order to stop him.

VS

Singed

Medium

Singed is very hard to deal with as nautilus. He can easily proxy you without you being able to do anything without your jungler. If you manage to  onto him, he will simply  you away, and leave you to bite the dust. If he does proxy, you can either try to farm under turret (something nautilus is pretty bad at due to his low attack speed) or take the minion aggro in the middle of the lane (nautilus isn't the best at this) Or try to kill him (Which you won't be able to do). 

If he stays in lane, the matchup is alot easier. Try to  him without him being able to flip you. If he does get too close to you, you can pop your  and auto him a few times. Beware of chasing him as he is very hard to catch up to. 

(Depending on the skill of the singed, you can easily win this or get completely destroyed.)

VS

Skarner

Easy

You might not see Skarner too often in the toplane, but you never know!

I've played against it once. Try not to get into very extended trades. Trade until your shield runs out, then walk back. Also try to poke him with your  when he goes in to get minions.

Go split-push or full tank depending on what your team needs.

Start  or  depending on what you prefer.

VS

Vladimir

Hard

Vlad can harass you all game, and he has insane sustain. Almost all his abilities are easy to land, and he can easily push you into tower and harass you under tower. If you're low enough he might even dive you, and easily get out due to his .

I would recommend buying  first item, and go into  in order to counter his splitpush. Then you can go into  or a full tank teamfight build. If you leave the lane on its own for a while, he will easily kill your turrets. However with zz-rot you can leave it behind your turret, and he won't be able to push as easily. You will then be able to pull of some roam plays in order to get your team ahead. Consider asking for ganks if he constantly pushes, as you have tons of cc. Be careful of  while his  is up, as he can simply dodge it. If you use  while he's , he will be cc'd in his pool, but he won't be knocked up or damaged. 

Try your best to farm, and ask for ganks! Don't go too agressive unless you already have an advantage or the jungler is coming. If you somehow outtrade him, he will just sustain up and negate your whole trade, forcing you to chug some potions and hug your turret.

Champion	Difficulty	Notes
Blitzcrank		Author Notes
I just thought I would add this. If blitz tries to  you, you can  a wall while his hook is midair, making him pull you in, then you will be pulled to the wall. However if this is during teamfights, you might want to take the hook in order to get closer to the enemy team and cc their carries.
Darius		Author Notes
Try to farm as best as you can. Try not to get into  range if it can be avoided. You can poke with , and also farm with  if needed. He has no escapes so ganks can be fairly easy with all your cc. Try to call for jungler if you're getting pressured too hard. -If he  you in, use  on a wall to escape.  -Try to not let him get 5 stacks of his  on you, as it will deal alot of damage. -His  deals true damage, so remember to get some hp as well as armour.  -Beware of him hiding in the lane bush as lane starts, as he might walk up behind you and start trading with you with his . He has an amazing level 1 so he can out-trade you while he's in minions and maybe burn a flash or a back. -If you  right before he , you can drag yourself away from him after you've been pulled in.
Fiora		Author Notes
Start  or  depending on what you prefer.   deals alot of damage if she's able to hit her vitals on you. Try to stand in a way that makes it so her vitals don't face you. If she gets too close to you use your . If she  to you in order to hit your vitals, also use your . However she might escape it with the extra movement speed she gets. Be careful of autoing her as she can riposte it and stun you. She can also  your  and your  fairly easily. Try to not use your  until after she has used her . If you are able to, you can cancel your auto-attack midair if you see she uses. Your aa-animation is really slow so this should be possible. She deals tons of true damage with her ult, so build hp as well as armour against her. I recommend getting  to counter her splitpush.  If she misses a , try to go for a tade as she will have very low mobility.
Gangplank		Author Notes
Start  or  depending on what you prefer.  Usually ends up in a farm lane. Try to avoid getting hit by his . If you get close to his barrel, at 2 stacks: you can auto it then activate  in order to auto attack reset and kill his barrel before he can get it off.  -His  removes your passive, and can also be used mid  in order to not get pulled by it. However it can't be used on your . -He is a melee champion, so you can try to walk up to him and harass him. Beware of his  and his  as it can deal quite a bit of damage.
Garen		Author Notes
Skill based matchup.  Garen is a very straightforward champion to play against. Try to harass with  as he has to get into aa range in order to trade with you. If he runs at you use  to escape his . If he will hit you anyways, use  and trade with him. Be careful of his ultimate, as it deals magic damage and will execute you when you have low hp. If you're marked by his passive he deals true damage with his ultimate, so be wary of that.
Gnar		Author Notes
Can kite the shit out of you. His auto attack range is pretty short, so with your long aa-range you might be able to auto him while he's attacking minions. When he tries to cs something in the back, try to walk up to him so he'll have to decide between taking your harass or taking the minion. If you ever get close up to him, aa him to trigger  and then use your . You need to also use your  and auto him a couple of times. If he doesnt run away keep on autoing him until your shield runs out. You will outtrade him while he is mini gnar if you are in range of him. However be careful of him kiting you. You might have to  away if he commits to poking you down. You can also use your  to catch up to him if he jumps away. If you have low hp, be careful of his , when he is nearing mega gnar and you have low hp, he can burst you down. However if he is mega gnar and you have more hp than him, he is very immobile and you can easily outdamage him. Try to dodge his mega gnar stun. It isn't very difficult to dodge. Be careful of a gank though. As many junglers will wait until gnar is mega so he can cc you while they both kill you.
Kayle		Author Notes
Not very much you can do. Lane goes depending on how kayle trades. You can walk close when her  is on cooldown to maybe get some harass. However when she has her  activated, try not to get too close as she can harass you very effectively.  -Do your best to farm, you can still get pretty decent farm, however you will rarely get the opportunity to win a fight against kayle.  -You can kill her fairly easily if you get a gank, especially pre-six. As she has no real escapes. -Beware of towerdiving her after level 6, as her  will make her immune to damage.
Nasus		Author Notes
Depending on how you play you can either stomp him, or allow him to farm by turret and turn into a late game monster.  Consider building 2  in order to harass him with your  under turret, or when he tries to cs. you can also use your empowered autoattacks with  to harass him down. And if he tries to  you and run you can hit him with your . In order to continue harassing him. Try not to use your  to push wave, and only use it if he decides to go for farm. You can effectively deal tons of damage to him by doing this, but be careful of pushing the wave too much. If you're able to freeze the wave, while zoning him away from cs that would be the ideal situation, but it is pretty hard to pull off. Be careful of harassing him under his tower, as his  is very good combined with a gank.  He is also very good at csing under turret, so be careful of this.  If you end up pushing him into turret, you can try positioning by the ranged creeps,  (stun) him and  him to make him scared of getting the next ones. I like building   going into  when facing nasus, as you can deal alot of damage with your autos with it, and he has minimal damage early game.
Pantheon		Author Notes
His  counters your . Fight with caution. Try to poke with e, and shield when he throws his  at you.  If you get a gank, you can wait for your jungler to auto him before autoing him yourself in order to get off the stun. However this might stop your damage so don't do it every time.
Rammus		Author Notes
Rammus is very easy to harass as nautilus. If you  before he  you, the damage he deals with his  will be minimal. Try to harass him down with your empowered auto-attacks while your  is activated, and your . The fact that you deal mixed damage is great against a tank like rammus.  You can  him if he tries to escape with  in order to stop him.
Singed		Author Notes
Singed is very hard to deal with as nautilus. He can easily proxy you without you being able to do anything without your jungler. If you manage to  onto him, he will simply  you away, and leave you to bite the dust. If he does proxy, you can either try to farm under turret (something nautilus is pretty bad at due to his low attack speed) or take the minion aggro in the middle of the lane (nautilus isn't the best at this) Or try to kill him (Which you won't be able to do).  If he stays in lane, the matchup is alot easier. Try to  him without him being able to flip you. If he does get too close to you, you can pop your  and auto him a few times. Beware of chasing him as he is very hard to catch up to.  (Depending on the skill of the singed, you can easily win this or get completely destroyed.)
Skarner		Author Notes
You might not see Skarner too often in the toplane, but you never know! I've played against it once. Try not to get into very extended trades. Trade until your shield runs out, then walk back. Also try to poke him with your  when he goes in to get minions. Go split-push or full tank depending on what your team needs. Start  or  depending on what you prefer.
Vladimir		Author Notes
Vlad can harass you all game, and he has insane sustain. Almost all his abilities are easy to land, and he can easily push you into tower and harass you under tower. If you're low enough he might even dive you, and easily get out due to his . I would recommend buying  first item, and go into  in order to counter his splitpush. Then you can go into  or a full tank teamfight build. If you leave the lane on its own for a while, he will easily kill your turrets. However with zz-rot you can leave it behind your turret, and he won't be able to push as easily. You will then be able to pull of some roam plays in order to get your team ahead. Consider asking for ganks if he constantly pushes, as you have tons of cc. Be careful of  while his  is up, as he can simply dodge it. If you use  while he's , he will be cc'd in his pool, but he won't be knocked up or damaged.  Try your best to farm, and ask for ganks! Don't go too agressive unless you already have an advantage or the jungler is coming. If you somehow outtrade him, he will just sustain up and negate your whole trade, forcing you to chug some potions and hug your turret.