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Nautilus & Kai'Sa vs Tristana & Malphite

Bot Lane Matchup

Nautilus vs Tristana (with Kai'Sa & Malphite) BOT matchup tips: who wins, how to trade, wave control and common mistakes.

You

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Who Wins

Pre-6, you slightly favor the lane at level 2 if you land your Q hook before Malphite can Q-slow you, because your E root combined with Kai'Sa burst can chunk Tristana hard; however, Malphite's passive shield regeneration and tankiness make extended trades unfavorable, so your window is short burst trades only.
Post-6, Malphite's R completely negates your engage pattern — he can R onto Kai'Sa the moment you hook Tristana, so the 2v2 post-6 is roughly even and heavily dependent on who engages first.

Your best pattern is to hook Malphite rather than Tristana when possible, since Malphite has no escape and your chain of Q-root into E-slow into R-knockup on him lets Kai'Sa freely stack passive and burst him; hooking Tristana is riskier because her E can knock Kai'Sa away mid-combo.
Always walk up with your E active to apply the slow before throwing your Q, as the slow makes your hook significantly easier to land.

You should roam, but only after a successful recall-and-shove cycle where the wave is pushed to their tower.
Optimal roam timing is post-level-6 when your R gives you reliable CC for mid-lane kills; before 6, your roam threat is lower because mid laners can often disengage your Q hook alone without the R follow-up.

Do not use your R as the initiation tool into Malphite — his R will interrupt or overlap your engage and he will simply R onto your ADC while you are mid-animation.
Also avoid burning your Q hook on Tristana when she has her E available, as she will knock Kai'Sa away and you will have wasted your primary engage tool with no damage follow-through.

Created on 08/03/2026

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