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Locke vs Naafiri
Mid Lane MatchupLocke vs Naafiri MID matchup tips: who wins, how to trade, wave control and common mistakes.
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Who Wins
- Pre-6, Naafiri's level 2 all-in with her pack is genuinely dangerous and can kill you before you establish Q stacks, so respect the early window and play for Q poke rather than trading until you have W available to sustain through her burst.
- Post-6, your R fundamentally changes the matchup because Naafiri must engage to win, and your R's 99% slow into execution threshold punishes her dive pattern directly — you become the stronger duelist if you can land R before she reaches you.
How to Trade
- Your best trading pattern is to stack Q on Naafiri from range (ideally 2–3 stacks), then use E to blink in, auto to consume stacks, and immediately activate W to sustain through her counterattack while dealing true damage — recast W early if you've taken enough damage to bank a meaningful heal.
- The key is that W's heal scales with damage taken during its duration, so committing to the trade rather than recasting immediately is what makes the pattern lethal.
Wave Control
- Play for a slow push or freeze early to force Naafiri to walk up into Q range repeatedly — her pack makes her wave clear decent, but she needs to be in melee range to CS effectively, which is exactly where you want her for Q stacking.
- Once you have R, consider using it to zone Naafiri off the wave or force her to back, as the threat of the execution mark alone changes her willingness to fight near the totem.
Mistakes to Avoid
- Do not activate W reactively the moment Naafiri engages — if you recast it too early to avoid true damage, you lose the heal value and the trade becomes much more even than it should be.
- Avoid using E aggressively without Q stacks already applied, as your burst damage drops significantly without the stack consumption, and Naafiri's W gives her enough durability to survive a stackless all-in and potentially kill you in return.
Created on 09/08/2026
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