Gnar

Playstyle Profile

Gnar is an initiator — excels at engaging grouped enemies with impactful openings

Teamfight Role

Vanguard Initiator

Power Spike

Mid game

Split Threat

None

Backline Access

Low

Gnar's Strengths

• Starts fights on your terms — Gnar's engage forces enemies to react, giving your team the initiative

How to Play Gnar

Champion-specific pre-match tips

Gameplay tips on Summoner's Rift

Lane Phase

Trigger your W passive by weaving an auto-attack before and after your Q to maximize short trades while maintaining your attack range.

Lane Phase

Fast push the wave when your rage bar hits 80% to force the enemy to interact with your Mega form while they last hit under their tower.

Lane Phase

Hold your E until the enemy commits an engage tool, or bounce off a minion at 100 rage to instantly close the gap and transform.

Mid Game

Keep your rage hovering around 70% by attacking jungle camps or minions 30 seconds before an objective spawns to ensure you transform exactly as the teamfight breaks out.

Mid Game

Chain your Mega form crowd control by casting your R to knock targets into a wall, then immediately casting your W before the first stun expires.

Mid Game

Shove side waves in Mini form using Q to clear safely, then rotate through the river to flank mid lane right as your rage bar caps.

Late Game

Flank from the fog of war when your rage is completely full to cast E over a wall and surprise the enemy backline with your R.

Late Game

Kite backward immediately after reverting to Mini form, using your Q slow and W movement speed to peel enemy frontline threats away from your carries.

Late Game

Delay 5v5 engagements when you have the tired debuff after leaving Mega form, as your teamfight impact is drastically lower without access to your R.

For matchup-tailored tips, download Baron Buff's AI Coach & Companion App.

Gameplay tips in Arena

• Track the rage bar before taking a gate or plant fight. In Mini form, kite and stack W; transform near terrain so Mega E into R or W can pin the focus target.
• Build Trinity Force, Black Cleaver, Bloodthirster, and Divine Sunderer. Movement and mixed durability keep both forms useful; avoid transforming after the fight is already lost.
• Prioritize Deft, Goliath, Slap Around, and Symphony of War. Attack speed powers Mini while health and control bonuses preserve Mega's engage.

Gnar Build

This might not be your familiar build. We look at ranked games after each item was bought. If the player or team gained ground in gold, we rate that item higher.

Core

• Trinity Force
• Plated Steelcaps (Boots)
• Sterak's Gage

Situational

• Black Cleaver
• Randuin's Omen
• Jak'Sho, The Protean
• Terminus
• Chempunk Chainsword

Gnar Runes

The most popular rune page and summoner spells for Gnar in ranked games over the last 30 days.

Precision + Resolve · 48.4% WR · 7,519 games

• Fleet Footwork
• Triumph
• Legend: Alacrity
• Last Stand
• Overgrowth
• Bone Plating
• Attack Speed
• Adaptive Force
• Health Scaling

Summoner spells

Flash, Teleport

Gnar Skill Order

The recommended skill order for Gnar from ranked games over the last 90 days: the first three skill points, then the order to max abilities.

1. lvl 1: W
2. lvl 2: Q
3. lvl 3: E
4. max: W
5. max: Q
6. max: E

How to Counter Gnar

Counter strategies and draft context

understand their unique win condition and draft to directly deny it

• Weak to disengage and spread comps — Gnar's engage loses value when enemies aren't grouped
• Champions that match their unconventional playstyle
• Hard-engage picks that force standard team fights
• Waveclear to prevent map manipulation

Gnar's Weaknesses

Heavy disengage compositions push Gnar's engages off before the team can follow up.

Best Synergies with Gnar

Team synergies and draft context

Burst mages and long-range ADCs turn Gnar's engage into kills. Your unconventional win condition works best with allies who commit to it. Allies who create pressure elsewhere give you room to execute your strategy. A frontline buys time for your game plan to develop.

Draft Context

• Pairs another engage champion with no follow-up damage to capitalize on Gnar's initiation

Learning Curve

Based on 1.2M+ matches across all ranked elos, showing how Gnar's win rate changes with mastery level

Gnar has exceptional depth — there is always something new to learn, and the learning curve is among the steepest in the game. Expect a long stretch of low win rates before meaningful improvement — mastering this champion demands serious commitment.

Skill Cap

Very High

Cost of Learning

Extremely High