Learn how to counter Gnar in League of Legends Season 11

By Christian Vejvad

|

Apr 27, 2021

Reading time: 3 min

Gnar, the Missing Link, has been a big part of the League of Legends season 11 meta so far, but what is the best way to counter him? 

A ranged fighter that can turn into a big melee monster is definitely not an easy champion to play against, which might be why Gnar is currently seeing a lot of strength in solo queue as well as professional play. Gnar is played in the top lane and will be a true lane bully in most matchups.

If that wasn’t enough, Gnar also has decent scaling and will be very versatile in the late game. With his range, he can split push against most team compositions while being the deciding factor in a big team fight.  

Here’s the best way to counter Gnar in season 11. 

How to counter Gnar in LoL

Facing Gnar in League of Legends will almost exclusively be in the top lane and there are a few ways to beat him. In the early levels, Gnar will perform well against most top laners because of his range and damage output from Boomerang Throw (Q). 

After a few levels, it becomes possible to trade against Gnar and take advantage of his squishiness. One of the best champions to withstand Gnar in the lane is Vladimir, who is able to out sustain and push in Gnar at most points in the game. In Platinum rank and above, Vladimir wins 53.8% of all games against a Gnar. Not only is Vladimir able to go even in lane, or maybe even win, but he will also outscale Gnar in the long run. 

Another way to play against Gnar is picking tanks or bruisers that can keep up with him in lane and make sure the Gnar doesn’t get to be a bully in lane. Two great picks for this are Darius and Wukong. Both champions are fairly simple and viable to play in any rank. Darius will be the best pick against Gnar, as he wins most 1v1’s and can stick to gnar by using Apprehend (E). The same goes for Wukong, who can make easy trades on Gnar as soon as he hits level 3. Gnar might be ranged, but a champion like Wukong can jump in and pull off a combo without any problem. 

The third, and maybe most risky way to counter Gnar is by picking ranged carry champions in the top lane. These picks aren’t usually a safe choice in top, but with confidence, it can work. The champions to consider will be Jayce, Quinn, and Vayne, who will all resist the range of Gnar and be able to turn the lane into their favor. 

Gnar

Is Gnar good in LoL?

Gnar has been a stellar champion so far in season 11 and is one of the most popular picks on the current patch 11.8. In Platinum rank and above, Gnar has a 49.95% win rate which is very good considering how often he is picked.

In fact, Gnar is the most-picked top laner with over 82,000 games tracked this patch. Over the past five patches, this has been the case for Gnar and it doesn’t look like Riot will get rid of him in the meta any time soon.  

Is Gnar hard to play? 

Gnar is a fairly complex champion in many ways and will be very hard to master. It’s possible for newer players to succeed on Gnar, but there are much easier champions that should be learned before picking up Gnar.

The reason why Gnar is hard to play is that he has to play as a squishy ranged champion for the majority of the game while timing his ultimate perfectly when going into melee form. Turning into Mega Gnar at the right time will be crucial to stay useful in a game, and that combo can be tricky to pull off by even the best players. 

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