Nasus
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Good (6.5/10)
High Investment Required
Rare Relics OK
Nasus is characterized as a balanced mid-to-late-game champion. While his potential for infinite scaling and board control is significant, he is often viewed as less efficient than faster-scaling Shuriman alternatives like Nidalee or Kai'Sa. His effectiveness is highly dependent on reaching specific constellation milestones and managing a slow early game.
The Siphoning Engine
Reduces Nasus's high mana cost and provides immediate slay triggers by consuming weaker allies on play, accelerating his level-up condition.
Generates a zero-cost Siphoning Strike on level-up. Since Nasus can level up twice, this provides high-value removal and stat-stacking opportunities.
Grants the entire board Overwhelm, ensuring that the massive stats accumulated through the slay engine translate into Nexus damage rather than being blocked by low-value units.
Strategy
This build focuses on aggressive board stabilization. By using Disciple of Shadows to enter the board early, Nasus can begin utilizing burst-speed Siphoning Strikes to systematically dismantle the enemy board. The dual level-up mechanic allows for repeated free spell generation, which is used to stack stats until a lethal Overwhelm attack is possible.
Ascended Vanguard
Allows Nasus to strike both the weakest and strongest enemies on play, facilitating immediate board control and quick scaling.
Synergizes with strike-on-play mechanics by introducing high-stat champions that can benefit from global buffs and further stabilize the board.
Reduces the cost of the champions generated by Oath of the Guardians, mitigating the deck's inherent tempo issues.
Strategy
This strategy leverages the strike-on-play mechanic of Scales of Judgment to ensure Nasus has an immediate impact upon arrival. It is particularly effective in adventures with high-health enemies where standard combat trades are unfavorable. The inclusion of Oath of the Guardians adds a layer of versatility, providing secondary win conditions if Nasus is targeted by removal.
Other Relic Options
Provides a consistent source of Siphoning Strikes every round, which is vital for long-form battles and maintaining board dominance.
When reaching six mana, this relic doubles the impact of Siphoning Strike, allowing Nasus to clear two threats or deal massive damage to high-health targets with a single cast.
Reduces the cost of champion spells and increases deck consistency, which is useful for preventing the deck from running out of resources during extended matches.
Provides a board-wide damage effect on play that can trigger multiple slays simultaneously, rapidly advancing the Sun Disc restoration.
Nasus has a flexible third relic slot that can be tailored to the specific adventure. Defensive options like Black Shield are advisable for encounters with heavy removal, while offensive options like Secret Technique can be used to maximize the stat gains from champion spells.
Constellation
Nasus's constellation significantly improves his smoothness and utility, though it does not necessarily elevate him to the highest tier of power. The most critical upgrades are those that alter spell speed and reduce the high costs of his centerpiece cards.
Boon of the Ascended
Round End: Grant your strongest ally +1|+1 for each unit you've slain this round. Once you've slain 10+ units, Restore the Sun Disc.
Shuriman Preservation
+1 Starting Mana. Enemies have -1|-0. Vulnerable enemies have -3|-0 instead.
Boon of the Ascended II
Round End: Grant your strongest ally +2|+2 for each unit you've slain this round. Once you've slain 8+ units, Restore the Sun Disc.Review
The reduction in the requirement to restore the Sun Disc is a core improvement to Nasus's consistency. Reaching this milestone is essential for him to fulfill his endgame fantasy.
In My Sights
Round Start: Grant the weakest enemy Vulnerable.Review
In My Sights is considered a low-impact upgrade. Because it only triggers once per round and targets the weakest enemy, its contribution to board control is often marginal in higher-difficulty encounters.
Manaflow
Game Start: Get a mana gem.
Soul Reclamation
When you slay a unit, reduce the cost of every card in your hand by 1 (to a minimum cost of 1). When you Restore the Sun Disc, grant allies everywhere +5|+5.Review
The Soul Reclamation power provides a significant cost-reduction engine that allows for high-value drafting in the mid-to-late game. While it heavily assists in snowballing an existing lead, it does not solve the champion's primary weakness: the slow initial setup phase.
Gameplay Tips
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Strategic Use of Siphoning Strike. The burst-speed and stopwatch upgrades for Siphoning Strike are the deck's primary assets. Use them to reactively kill units during enemy actions, effectively countering their buffs or attack declarations.
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Managing Health Breakpoints. Nasus is designed for midrange combat. It is often necessary to accept Nexus damage in the first two rounds to preserve units and set up favorable slay opportunities. His high innate regeneration allows for health recovery once board control is established.
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Self-Slaying for Momentum. In scenarios where the enemy lacks a board or their units are too large to kill, use Siphoning Strike on your own low-health units. This triggers the slay condition, grants Nasus stats, and facilitates the restoration of the Sun Disc.
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Late-Game Drafting. Upon acquiring his sixth star, prioritize drafting high-cost units (8+ mana). The cost-reduction mechanic makes these units exceptionally affordable, allowing you to flood the board with massive threats that the AI cannot match in the late game.
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Bypassing Keywords. Use Siphoning Strike to remove units with problematic keywords like Elusive or Lifesteal before they can interact with your Nexus. This is often more reliable than attempting to block them.