Nautilus - League of Legends Champion
Win Rate
50.5%
Pick Rate
5.2%

Nautilusvs Zilean

BTankSupport
Patch26.11
Matches776,441
LaneAll Lanes
TierAll Tiers
Last UpdatedJun 8, 2026
MethodologyData Methodology

Nautilus vs Zilean is a decisive matchup in LoL patch 26.11. Nautilus wins with a 59.4% win rate (+18.8%) over Zilean based on 69 games. Nautilus holds the advantage in both the early and late game. Below you'll find the best Nautilus build, runes, laning stats, and strategies for the Nautilus vs Zilean matchup.

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Nautilus Matchup Breakdown

Use the dropdown to select an opponent and see a detailed breakdown of how Nautilus performs against them. You'll get head-to-head win rates, laning stats, the best build and runes for the matchup, and early vs late game analysis — all based on real ranked data.

Compare against an opponent
Nautilus - 59.4% win rate in this matchup
Nautilus
59.4% WR
VS
Zilean vs Nautilus matchup - 40.6% win rate
Zilean
40.6% WR

Who Wins the Nautilus vs Zilean Matchup?

Nautilus wins the Nautilus vs Zilean matchup
Winner
Nautilus
Matches: 69
59.4%
Win Rate
40.6%
1.0
CS / min
1.4
368
DMG / min
386
8,462
Gold / game
8,784
105
Heal / min
271
1,458
DMG Mitigated / min
352
2.1
CC / min
1.0
64.7%
Early Game WR
35.3%
54.3%
Late Game WR
45.7%

Nautilus vs Zilean Matchup Summary

The Nautilus vs Zilean matchup is a decisive matchup in League of Legends ranked play. Based on 69 recent matches analyzed, Nautilus wins with a 59.4% win rate compared to Zilean's 40.6%, giving Nautilus a 18.8 percentage point advantage. Nautilus dominates at every stage — from early laning through late game team fights. This consistent advantage makes it difficult for Zilean players to find favorable windows, so team-dependent strategies and avoiding solo confrontations are essential. The most significant statistical gap is in sustain, where Nautilus leads by 940 HP/min — a difference that heavily influences the outcome of trades and skirmishes. Nautilus players can confidently pick into Zilean and play aggressively from level 1. Look to establish lane dominance early through favorable trades and zone Zilean away from CS whenever possible. Understanding these matchup dynamics is essential for champion select decisions and in-game strategy when facing this lane opponent.

Nautilus vs Zilean Laning Phase Breakdown

Zilean wins the laning phase against Nautilus in League of Legends

Zilean is favored during the laning phase against Nautilus, winning 3 out of 5 key stat categories. Zilean holds advantages in farming, damage and gold income, making them the stronger laner in this matchup.

Farming
1.0Nautilus
1.4Zilean
Zilean edges out Nautilus by 0.4 CS per minute — a moderate farming advantage that adds up to roughly 6 CS over a 15-minute laning phase. This translates to earlier component purchases and slightly faster power spikes for Zilean.
Damage
368Nautilus
386Zilean
Damage output is virtually even between Nautilus and Zilean, with only 18 DMG/min separating them. Fights in this matchup are decided more by ability timing and positioning than raw damage numbers, making mechanical skill the deciding factor in trades.
Economy
8,462Nautilus
8,784Zilean
Zilean earns 323 more gold per game than Nautilus, equivalent to roughly one additional component item. This economic edge comes from a combination of better farming, kill participation, and objective control, giving Zilean slightly faster item completions.
Utility
2.1Nautilus
1.0Zilean
Nautilus brings significantly more crowd control than Zilean, with 1.1 more seconds of CC per minute. This large utility gap makes Nautilus far more valuable in setting up jungle ganks, controlling objectives, and locking down targets in team fights. Zilean should invest in tenacity and position carefully to avoid being chain-CC'd.
Sustain
1,563Nautilus
623Zilean
Nautilus vastly out-sustains Zilean, healing and mitigating 940 more damage per minute. This massive durability gap means Nautilus can absorb significant punishment and remain in lane while Zilean is forced to recall. Building grievous wounds early is essential for Zilean, and focusing on burst trade patterns rather than sustained fights is critical.

Best Nautilus Build Against Zilean

Mercury's Treads is the optimal boots choice against Zilean, providing the mobility and stats Nautilus needs most in this matchup. The top-performing core items for Nautilus against Zilean are Locket of the Iron Solari, Thornmail and Bandlepipes. This combination gives Nautilus an effective balance of damage, survivability, and utility for the matchup. This build has a 33.3% win rate across 3 games. While the overall matchup may be difficult, this item path gives Nautilus the best chance to compete against Zilean. Adjustments may be needed based on team compositions and game state, but this build provides the strongest foundation for the Nautilus vs Zilean matchup.

Early Game vs Late Game

Early Game
Nautilus
64.7%
+29.4% advantage
Nautilus early game win rateNautilus64.7%
Zilean early game win rateZilean35.3%
Late Game
Nautilus
54.3%
+8.6% advantage
Nautilus late game win rateNautilus54.3%
Zilean late game win rateZilean45.7%

Nautilus dominates the early game (first 15 minutes) with a commanding 64.7% win rate — a 29.4 percentage point lead over Zilean. This lopsided early game means Nautilus can dictate the pace of the lane from level 1, controlling trades, wave state, and river priority.

Nautilus is far superior in the late game (25+ minutes), boasting a 54.3% win rate — 8.6 points above Zilean. Extended games heavily favor Nautilus, whose kit and scaling make them a dominant force in team fights and objective control.

Nautilus holds the advantage at every stage of the game, making this a consistently favorable matchup from lane through late game team fights. Zilean players should look for outplays, team-dependent strategies, and picks rather than relying on scaling to win this matchup.

Best Nautilus Runes Against Zilean

Resolve rune tree - Nautilus primary runes vs ZileanResolve
Aftershock - best Nautilus rune vs ZileanShield Bash - best Nautilus rune vs ZileanBone Plating - best Nautilus rune vs ZileanUnflinching - best Nautilus rune vs Zilean
Inspiration rune tree - Nautilus secondary runes vs ZileanInspiration
Biscuit Delivery - best Nautilus rune vs ZileanCosmic Insight - best Nautilus rune vs Zilean
62.5% WR

Running Resolve primary with Inspiration secondary allows Nautilus to press their advantage against Zilean, amplifying the strengths that make this a favorable matchup.


Nautilus matchup data for League of Legends patch 26.11. The table below shows Nautilus's win rate, gold difference, and performance stats against every champion in the current meta. Click any champion name to see a detailed head-to-head breakdown including the best Nautilus build, runes, laning stats, and early vs late game analysis for that specific matchup.

Nautilus matchup win rates and stats in League of Legends patch 26.11
Opponent
Win Rate
Matches
CS/min
DMG/min
Gold/game
Early WR
Late WR
50.55%5481.13678,54548.8%52.0%
51.75%4871.13578,46950.0%53.6%
50.69%4361.13598,97647.9%52.8%
46.39%3881.13928,62744.9%47.9%
50.73%3431.13698,57153.2%48.7%
42.59%3241.13798,94140.3%44.6%
50.93%3221.13479,03950.8%51.0%
46.78%2331.13918,79345.5%47.9%
54.91%2241.13458,53549.0%59.4%
49.54%2181.13628,44151.4%47.8%
46.38%2071.13618,95939.8%50.8%
49.26%2031.13828,30747.4%50.9%
50.77%1951.13278,34553.9%48.1%
42.33%1891.13868,71641.4%43.1%
57.06%1771.13448,73853.2%60.2%
49.71%1711.14388,49547.0%52.3%
45.83%1681.13998,45742.9%48.4%
39.16%1661.14088,40829.6%48.2%
46.91%1621.03978,82845.3%48.3%
51.88%1601.13598,24051.9%51.9%
52.90%1551.13198,39264.9%41.0%
53.47%1441.24339,10748.0%59.4%
45.77%1421.13538,81449.2%43.2%
39.13%1381.13288,31040.3%37.7%
55.12%1271.13899,55546.3%61.6%
56.91%1231.13448,53254.5%58.8%
46.34%1231.03608,57350.0%42.4%
50.85%1181.13738,91367.3%39.1%
61.26%1111.24059,23261.7%60.9%
43.48%921.13908,76946.8%40.0%
48.89%901.13969,47848.8%49.0%
49.41%851.24038,82453.3%45.0%
50.00%781.14028,81255.6%45.2%
59.42%691.03688,46264.7%54.3%
50.98%511.14049,09556.0%46.1%
51.06%471.84269,51447.4%53.6%
44.68%471.23478,86954.5%36.0%
47.73%441.14198,81931.6%60.0%
62.86%351.23739,19557.1%66.7%
48.39%311.13428,99146.1%50.0%
62.07%291.34559,92263.6%61.1%
61.54%261.04279,44454.5%66.7%
57.69%261.84569,55160.0%56.3%
57.69%261.13738,50663.6%53.3%
56.00%250.93798,77858.3%53.9%
60.87%231.13789,19753.9%70.0%
59.09%221.03608,90363.6%54.5%
50.00%182.14729,59833.3%58.3%
47.06%171.44749,30855.6%37.5%
41.18%171.247710,19250.0%38.5%
29.41%171.24749,94330.0%28.6%
46.67%151.64829,54725.0%71.4%
46.67%150.93517,75440.0%60.0%
66.67%150.93518,40871.4%62.5%
60.00%151.74389,25363.6%50.0%
50.00%140.93928,70433.3%62.5%
35.71%141.03918,52357.1%14.3%
38.46%131.94899,99050.0%33.3%
61.54%132.54689,10757.1%66.7%
50.00%121.463111,97420.0%71.4%
33.33%122.04177,84414.3%60.0%
33.33%121.263411,69420.0%42.9%
50.00%120.95019,03840.0%57.1%
63.64%110.94349,49566.7%60.0%
45.45%111.43157,96633.3%60.0%
54.55%113.15119,98625.0%71.4%
50.00%102.44366,93066.7%25.0%
40.00%100.94198,35528.6%66.7%
30.00%101.750110,86766.7%14.3%
50.00%101.24219,45433.3%57.1%
60.00%101.137710,376100.0%42.9%
77.78%91.052110,57575.0%80.0%
33.33%91.155010,9540.0%42.9%
66.67%90.73757,95580.0%50.0%
44.44%91.95129,78275.0%20.0%
55.56%91.65038,90050.0%100.0%
44.44%91.353711,4140.0%66.7%
55.56%91.54619,35150.0%60.0%
55.56%91.44417,35750.0%66.7%
50.00%81.05118,69842.9%100.0%
62.50%81.14109,378100.0%57.1%
50.00%82.24799,53725.0%75.0%
75.00%81.152710,19875.0%75.0%
75.00%80.954910,80775.0%75.0%
50.00%82.04869,61933.3%60.0%
57.14%70.866012,29450.0%60.0%
28.57%73.26769,3040.0%100.0%
28.57%71.243910,20050.0%20.0%
42.86%71.457913,2900.0%50.0%
28.57%71.94609,60750.0%20.0%
33.33%61.54919,6000.0%50.0%
83.33%65.78589,98383.3%0.0%
66.67%61.574413,2380.0%80.0%
50.00%63.657710,30275.0%0.0%
33.33%60.949110,303100.0%0.0%
50.00%60.949210,78550.0%50.0%
40.00%52.167010,3770.0%66.7%
40.00%51.13689,76966.7%0.0%
20.00%54.563010,8570.0%25.0%
0.00%52.455311,7430.0%0.0%
80.00%50.93868,79450.0%100.0%
40.00%51.14509,801100.0%25.0%
40.00%50.743810,58333.3%50.0%
40.00%52.75809,918100.0%25.0%
60.00%53.85359,34750.0%100.0%
20.00%53.652810,8090.0%33.3%
40.00%51.84208,28433.3%50.0%
60.00%53.667712,4280.0%100.0%
40.00%52.74698,29025.0%100.0%

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Nautilus vs Zilean - Frequently Asked Questions

How does Nautilus do against Zilean in League of Legends?

Nautilus wins the Nautilus vs Zilean matchup with a 59.4% win rate compared to Zilean's 40.6%, a 18.8 percentage point difference. This data is based on 69 recent ranked games in patch 26.11.

How does Nautilus do against Zilean in the early game?

In the early game, Nautilus has the advantage against Zilean with a 64.7% win rate versus 35.3%. Nautilus players should look to press their lane advantage through aggressive trades and wave control during the first 15 minutes.

How does Nautilus do against Zilean in the late game?

In the late game, Nautilus takes over the Nautilus vs Zilean matchup with a 54.3% win rate compared to 45.7%. Nautilus scales better into team fights and objective contests after 25 minutes.

Who wins the Nautilus vs Zilean matchup?

Nautilus wins the matchup against Zilean with a 59.4% win rate in League of Legends patch 26.11. The 18.8 percentage point advantage means Nautilus is significantly favored in this lane matchup based on 69 games analyzed.

What is the best Nautilus build against Zilean?

The best Nautilus build against Zilean includes Locket of the Iron Solari, Thornmail, Bandlepipes with Mercury's Treads. This build achieves a 33.3% win rate in the matchup. Check the matchup breakdown above for the full item path and build order.

What are the best Nautilus runes against Zilean?

The best Nautilus runes against Zilean use the Resolve primary tree with Inspiration secondary. This rune setup achieves a 62.5% win rate in the Nautilus vs Zilean matchup. See the full rune breakdown in the matchup comparison above.

Does Nautilus counter Zilean?

Yes, Nautilus has a favorable matchup against Zilean with a 59.4% win rate. Nautilus strongly counters Zilean in lane based on current patch 26.11 data.

How do I play Nautilus against Zilean?

When playing Nautilus against Zilean, leverage your statistical advantages by trading aggressively during favorable windows. You have early game priority — look for kills and zone control before first recall. Build the recommended items and runes for this specific matchup for the best results.