Weird Picks #58: Attack Speed Nautilus

With the new Nautilus buff from Patch 6.16 in full swing, this seems like a good time to revisit an unorthodox, but potentially effective build path: Attack Speed Nautilus. The most efficient use of this build is for jungling, where you can gain the most effect out of his powerful ganks and improved clear speed.

Check out the details below!

Weird Pick #58

Attack Speed Nautilus

August 2016

Introduction

How to Play

Primary Runes: Conqueror, Triumph, Legend: Alacrity, Last Stand
Secondary Runes: Bone Plating, Overgrowth
Abilities: W, E, W, Q then prioritize R > W > E > Q
Core Items: Skirmisher's Sabre
Berserker's Greaves
Trinity Force
Blade of the Ruined King
Dead Man's Plate
Hollow Radiance

Why It Works

Excellent Bonus Damage With Titan's Wrath

The main draw to stacking attack speed on Nautilus is to make full use of his Titan's Wrath (W), which allows him to smash through 15 to 35 bonus magic damage on enemies for 10 seconds. This results in quite a bit of damage stacked up over time, and can easily take down many foes.

Tons of Built-In Crowd Control
For most attack speed based melee hyper carries, the biggest issue they have is reaching a target and sticking to them long enough to crush them into oblivion. As a result of his root, stun, slow, and knock-up, Nautilus has plenty of time to rain free damage on enemies.

Faster Clear Speeds
As a cooldown reliant jungler, Nautilus classically suffers from a slow early clear speeds. However, by building attack speed he is able to get to a faster clear earlier on in the game, granting him higher farm rates.

Potential Pitfalls

Low Early Game Durability
Classically an "in-your-face" type of champion, Nautilus relies on being relatively tanky in order to survive the enemy team's peel. However, as a jungler he will tend to be in 2v1 situations early on, and hopefully start picking up Trinity Force for some bulk.

Late Game Weakness
Most of the time, melee damage dealers are responsible for getting into the backline to attack the enemy glass cannons. However, Nautilus will have some trouble getting to the back and sticking to the enemy champion without flash or a secondary diver, especially with this build. As a result, he is probably better in a peel role for the late game. The percentage damage in this build helps him become a very strong peeler.

Conclusions

Attack speed Nautilus capitalizes on his exceedingly strong shield damage bonus. There really are not many reasons not to do it, other than for the sake of having a tank and playing "standard". Personally I think it works well, although it does give him a very different type of playstyle.

Suggested Rating: Tier 2