Aatrox vs Nidalee
Build vs Nidalee
The champion's reference build, for lack of enough games in this matchup
Recommended items for Aatrox: Eclipse, Sundered Sky, Death's Dance, Plated Steelcaps, Spear of Shojin, Voltaic Cyclosword, Maw of Malmortius, Sterak's Gage.
Starting items
Core build
Standard
Summoner spells
Anti CC
Other options
Power Spikes
Strength by game phase
Nidalee's abilities
Passive, spells and ultimate
Moving through brush increases Nidalee's Move Speed by 10% for 2 seconds, increased to 30% toward visible enemy champions within 1400 range.Hitting champions or monsters with Javelin Toss or Bushwhack triggers a Hunt, granting True Sight of them for 4 seconds. During this time, Nidalee gains 10% Move Speed (increased to 30% toward the Hunted target) and her Takedown and Pounce are enhanced against them.
Cooldowns
Cooldowns by spell rank
| Level | Q | W | E | R |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 6s | 13s | 12s | – |
| 6 | 6s | 13s | 12s | 3s |
| 9 | 6s | 12s | 12s | 3s |
| 11 | 6s | 11s | 12s | 3s |
| 16 | 6s | 9s | 12s | 3s |
| 18 | 6s | 9s | 12s | 3s |
Playing as Aatrox
Tips to maximize your impact
- Hit with the edge of your blade
Land the edge of The Darkin Blade (Q): enemies hit by the edge take a short knock-up and more damage, so Umbral Dash (E) heals you for more.
- Reposition your blade with your dash
Cast Umbral Dash (E) during The Darkin Blade (Q) to put the edge on your target: the dash doesn't interrupt your other spells.
- Trap your target with your chains
Cast Infernal Chains (W) when the target can't leave the zone, against a wall or in a chokepoint: if they stay inside, they get pulled back to the impact point.
- Transform before the teamfight
Cast World Ender (R) before you engage, not in the middle of the teamfight: you instantly gain AD, increased healing and move speed.
Playing against Nidalee
How to counter and exploit weaknesses
- Dodge her javelin
Dodge Javelin Toss (Q), especially from range: its damage grows with distance, and a javelin that hits empowers her cougar spells against you.
- Back before you get too low
Back before your health gets too low: in cougar form, Takedown (Q) deals more damage to targets that have already lost health.
- Ward the brush in your jungle
Ward the brush and entrances of your jungle early on: Prowl (passive) speeds her up there, especially when she's heading toward a visible champion.
- Drag the game out
If you survive her first minutes, play for time: Nidalee looks to get ahead through early ganks and invades.
Other Aatrox matchups
Patch 16.21.1