Gnar, Fighter / Tank
Gnar, the Missing Link, is a Fighter and Tank champion in League of Legends. Everything below comes from Riot's Data Dragon for patch 16.21.1: ability text, base stats and Riot's tips. Counters and matchups by class are worked out from that text, and each one shows its reason.
Playing as Gnar
Riot's own tips
Managing your Rage is very important. Try to time out your transformations so you can get maximum benefit from both forms.
Position yourself next to walls to bait your enemies into getting stunned by your ultimate.
Know your strengths! Mini Gnar is fast, squishy, and has high sustained damage. Mega Gnar is slow, tough, and has high burst.
Playing against Gnar
Riot's own tips
Gnar can't gain Rage for 15 seconds after he turns from big to little. Use this chance to engage on his team.
Gnar's animations and resource bar change as he gets closer to transforming.
Gnar's ultimate stuns if he hits you into a wall. Be careful when fighting him near one.
What the kit does
Analysis read from Riot's ability text. Each line shows the words it rests on.
WHard crowd controlHyper / Wallop: "stunning enemies in"
QSoft crowd control (slow, silence, blind)Boomerang Throw / Boulder Toss: "damages and slows enemies it"
EDash, leap or blinkHop / Crunch: "Gnar leaps to a"
- WArea damage
Hyper / Wallop: "stunning enemies in an area"
RZones with walls, traps or fieldsGnar!: "hits a wall is stunned"
Gnar's abilities
Riot's own text and preview clip for each ability, from Riot's Data Dragon, patch 16.21.1. Pick an ability and its clip plays here, muted.
PPassive
Rage Gene
While in combat Gnar generates Rage. At maximum Rage his next ability will transform him into Mega Gnar, granting increased survivability and access to new spells.
Boomerang Throw / Boulder Toss
Gnar throws a boomerang that damages and slows enemies it hits before returning to him. If he catches the boomerang its cooldown is reduced. Mega Gnar instead throws a boulder that stops on the first unit hit, damaging and slowing everything nearby. It can then be picked up to reduce the cooldown.
Effects in the text
WW
Hyper / Wallop
Gnar's attacks and spells hype him up, dealing bonus damage and granting him Move Speed. Mega Gnar is too enraged to be hyper and instead can rear up on his hind legs and smash down on the area in front of him, stunning enemies in an area.
Effects in the text
EE
Hop / Crunch
Gnar leaps to a location and bounces off the head of any unit he lands on, traveling further. Mega Gnar is too large to bounce and instead lands with earth-shattering force, dealing damage in an area around him.
Effects in the text
RR
Gnar!
Mega Gnar throws everything around him in a chosen direction, dealing damage and slowing them. Any enemy that hits a wall is stunned and takes bonus damage.
Effects in the text
Items and runes that fit Gnar
Riot publishes no builds and this page invents none. Below: completed items ranked by how many of the stats Gnar's kit uses they give (attack damage (AD) first), the runes whose official text matches the kit, and picks for each enemy type. A fit, not a strength ranking. No win rates.
Closest stat fit
Editorial estimateCompleted items ranked by how many of the stats Gnar's kit uses they give. A fit, not a verdict: Riot publishes no builds and no win rates.
Serylda's Grudge3,000- +45 Attack DamageGnar scales with it
- +35% Armor Penetrationits damage is physical
- +15 Ability Hastecasts abilities often
Axiom Arc2,750- +55 Attack DamageGnar scales with it
- +20 Ability Hastecasts abilities often
Bastionbreaker3,000- +55 Attack DamageGnar scales with it
- +15 Ability Hastecasts abilities often
Black Cleaver3,000- +45 Attack DamageGnar scales with it
- +20 Ability Hastecasts abilities often
Chempunk Chainsword3,000- +45 Attack DamageGnar scales with it
- +15 Ability Hastecasts abilities often
Death's Dance3,300- +60 Attack DamageGnar scales with it
- +15 Ability Hastecasts abilities often
More items with the same stat 38
Eclipse2,900 gold
Essence Reaver3,050 gold
Hubris2,800 gold
Lord Dominik's Regards3,300 gold
Manamune2,900 gold
Maw of Malmortius3,100 gold
Mortal Reminder3,000 gold
Profane Hydra2,850 gold
Ravenous Hydra3,300 gold
Sundered Sky3,100 gold
Trinity Force3,333 gold
Umbral Glaive2,800 gold
Voltaic Cyclosword3,000 gold
Blade of The Ruined King3,200 gold
Bloodthirster3,400 gold
Edge of Night3,000 gold
Endless Hunger3,100 gold
Experimental Hexplate3,000 gold
Guardian Angel3,200 gold
Guinsoo's Rageblade3,000 gold
Hexoptics C442,800 gold
Hextech Gunblade3,000 gold
Hullbreaker3,000 gold
Immortal Shieldbow3,000 gold
Infinity Edge3,500 gold
Kraken Slayer3,000 gold
Mercurial Scimitar3,200 gold
Overlord's Bloodmail3,300 gold
Serpent's Fang2,500 gold
Spear of Shojin3,100 gold
Statikk Shiv3,000 gold
Stormrazor3,200 gold
Stridebreaker3,300 gold
Terminus3,000 gold
The Collector3,000 gold
Titanic Hydra3,300 gold
Youmuu's Ghostblade2,800 gold
Yun Tal Wildarrows3,000 goldBoots
Rune fits
Editorial estimateRunes whose official text matches the most things Gnar's kit does. Each line shows the words it rests on.
AftershockResolve, Keystone · Matches: 1- It can immobilize, slow or impair enemies: Hyper / Wallop: "stunning enemies in"
Glacial AugmentInspiration, Keystone · Matches: 1- It can immobilize, slow or impair enemies: Hyper / Wallop: "stunning enemies in"
Stormraider's SurgeSorcery, Keystone · Matches: 1- It can immobilize, slow or impair enemies: Hyper / Wallop: "stunning enemies in"
Approach VelocityInspiration · Matches: 1- It can immobilize, slow or impair enemies: Hyper / Wallop: "stunning enemies in"
Cheap ShotDomination · Matches: 1- It can immobilize, slow or impair enemies: Hyper / Wallop: "stunning enemies in"
Font of LifeResolve · Matches: 1- It can immobilize, slow or impair enemies: Hyper / Wallop: "stunning enemies in"
Against each enemy type
Editorial estimateSituational picks, counted from what the champions of each class do in Riot's Data Dragon. Swap a slot when the enemy team has several of that class.
Tanks
Anti-heal 25 of 45 heal or sustain
Cleanse or tenacity 19 of 45 have two or more hard CC abilities
To cut through them Tanks stack armor and magic resist; these items give armor penetration.
Fighters
Anti-heal 40 of 59 heal or sustain
Armor 37 of 59 deal physical damage only
Assassins
Anti-heal 24 of 46 heal or sustain
Armor 23 of 46 deal physical damage only
Mages
Magic resist 53 of 75 deal magic damage only
Anti-heal 30 of 75 heal or sustain
Marksmen
Armor 14 of 33 deal physical damage only
Supports
Magic resist 36 of 43 deal magic damage only
Anti-heal 19 of 43 heal or sustain
Counted from the official ability text, League of Legends patch 16.21.1. These are counts of champions, not win rates.
Rune trees
Lit runes: their official text matches something Gnar's kit does (Analysis). Select a rune to read why.
Precision0 lit
Domination2 lit
Sorcery1 lit
Resolve2 lit
Inspiration3 lit
Matchups by class
Gnar against each class of champion, counted from the official ability text. Choose a class or a lane to narrow it down.
Against all 172 champions: 109 ahead, 59 even, 4 behind. Each class is read against that, so check the best and toughest tags too.
Against Tanks
EvenToughest class
5 ahead · 40 even · 0 behind of 45
- Your hard crowd control stops their dashes.
What to do: Neither side has a clear edge over tanks. Execution and the team around you decide it.
Against Fighters
Strong25 ahead · 34 even · 0 behind of 59
- Your hard crowd control stops their dashes.
- You clear waves faster and can push the lane.
What to do: A good pick when the enemy has several fighters. Play for the fights where your edge shows.
Against Assassins
StrongBest class
42 ahead · 3 even · 1 behind of 46
- Your hard crowd control stops their dashes.
- You clear waves faster and can push the lane.
What to do: A good pick when the enemy has several assassins. Play for the fights where your edge shows.
Against Mages
Strong58 ahead · 14 even · 3 behind of 75
- You can lock down squishy targets that have few escapes.
- You clear waves faster and can push the lane.
What to do: A good pick when the enemy has several mages. Play for the fights where your edge shows.
Against Marksmen
Strong26 ahead · 4 even · 3 behind of 33
- You have early pressure while they need time to scale.
- You can lock down squishy targets that have few escapes.
What to do: A good pick when the enemy has several marksmen. Play for the fights where your edge shows.
Against Supports
Strong29 ahead · 13 even · 1 behind of 43
- You can lock down squishy targets that have few escapes.
- You clear waves faster and can push the lane.
What to do: A good pick when the enemy has several supports. Play for the fights where your edge shows.
Source: Nexus Lab rules over the official ability text, League of Legends patch 16.21.1. Each champion of the class is compared with Gnar one by one; the counts come from those rules, not from match results, so they are not win rates. Strong, even and weak compare the number of champions ahead and behind. Lanes are the lanes each class usually plays (Riot ships no lane data per champion), not play rates.
Building against Gnar
Analysis: answers to what Gnar's own kit does.
Gnar deals physical damage only, so armor pays off. Fighter role
Gnar has several hard crowd-control abilities, so a cleanse or tenacity item is worth a slot. Hyper / Wallop: "stunning enemies in"
Picks that can punish Gnar
Analysis: rules over Riot's ability text.
Bard
Counters youBard is ranged (Mage role) and can poke Gnar, a melee champion (Fighter role) with no sustain to recover.
Watch out: Gnar clears waves more easily (Hyper / Wallop: "stunning enemies in an area") and can push the lane against Bard.
Jhin
Counters youJhin is ranged (Marksman role) and can poke Gnar, a melee champion (Fighter role) with no sustain to recover.
Watch out: Jhin needs time to scale (Marksman role) and Gnar has early pressure (Hyper / Wallop: "stunning enemies in") to punish that.
Kog'Maw
Counters youKog'Maw is ranged (Marksman role) and can poke Gnar, a melee champion (Fighter role) with no sustain to recover.
Watch out: Kog'Maw needs time to scale (Marksman role) and Gnar has early pressure (Hyper / Wallop: "stunning enemies in") to punish that.
Twitch
Counters youTwitch is ranged (Marksman role) and can poke Gnar, a melee champion (Fighter role) with no sustain to recover.
Watch out: Twitch needs time to scale (Marksman role) and Gnar has early pressure (Hyper / Wallop: "stunning enemies in") to punish that.
Kayle
Counters youKayle is ranged (Marksman role) and can poke Gnar, a melee champion (Fighter role) with no sustain to recover.
Watch out: Kayle needs time to scale (Marksman role) and Gnar has early pressure (Hyper / Wallop: "stunning enemies in") to punish that.
Who Gnar is good against
The same rules, read the other way.
Kassadin
You pressureGnar has hard CC (Hyper / Wallop: "stunning enemies in") that can stop Kassadin's dashes (Riftwalk: "Kassadin teleports to a").
Locke
You pressureGnar has hard CC (Hyper / Wallop: "stunning enemies in") that can stop Locke's dashes (Ashen Pursuit: "location before dashing to attack").
Quinn
You pressureGnar has hard CC (Hyper / Wallop: "stunning enemies in") that can stop Quinn's dashes (Vault: "Quinn dashes to an").
Katarina
You pressureGnar has hard CC (Hyper / Wallop: "stunning enemies in") that can stop Katarina's dashes (Shunpo: "Katarina blinks to the").
Lucian
You pressureGnar has hard CC (Hyper / Wallop: "stunning enemies in") that can stop Lucian's dashes (Relentless Pursuit: "Lucian quickly dashes a short").
Counter picks are Analysis: rules over Riot's ability text, each with the words it rests on. They are not win rates, and no League of Legends matchup list has been reviewed by hand yet.
Official story
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Champion video guide
Video by 3 Minute League of Legends · Watch on YouTube The player loads from YouTube (privacy-enhanced mode) only after you press play.
Measured numbers
Numbers published or counted by a named source. Each row names the source and the patch.
| Stat | Level 1 | Per level | Level 18 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Health | 540 | +79 | 1883 |
| Mana | 100 | - | 100 |
| Armor | 32 | +3.7 | 94.9 |
| Magic resist | 30 | +1.3 | 52.1 |
| Attack damage | 60 | - | 60 |
| Attack speed | 0.625 | +6% | 1.263 |
| Attack range | 175 | - | 175 |
| Move speed | 335 | - | 335 |
| Health regen per 5 seconds | 4.5 | +1.25 | 25.75 |
Riot data Riot's Data Dragon, patch 16.21.1. Level 18 is calculated from Riot's growth formula on the same numbers.
Editorial estimates
Our reading of the data. These are not measured rates and they change when the rules or the data change.
- Counter picks
- 5 Editorial estimateNexus Lab rules over Riot's ability text, patch 16.21.1
- Good against
- 5 Editorial estimateNexus Lab rules over Riot's ability text, patch 16.21.1
- Typical lanes
- Top, Jungle Editorial estimateLanes of the class; Riot ships no lane data per champion
- Best class (relative)
- Assassins Editorial estimateWins minus losses over the class, compared with the other classes; counts of champions, patch 16.21.1
- Toughest class (relative)
- Tanks Editorial estimateWins minus losses over the class, compared with the other classes; counts of champions, patch 16.21.1
What no source gives us
- Win rate, pick rate and ban rate. Riot publishes none we may print (the Riot API cards are switched off) and no third-party statistics site is read, so none is shown.
- Popular builds. Riot publishes no builds: the items and runes in Build & Runes are a fit to the kit, not a popularity ranking.
Sources
- Riot Games Data DragonOpen
Names, ratings, base stats, ability text, cooldowns, costs, range, items, runes and art.
Patch 16.21.1, file generated 2026-10-26 - Riot ability preview clips
Played from Riot's own server when you press play; never copied here.
Each clip checked with a request before it is offered - League of Legends WikiOpen
Release dates and skin prices in RP (CC BY-SA).
Committed data, see the skins page - Nexus Lab rules
Counters, matchups by class, item and rune fit: rules over Riot's ability text, each with the words it rests on.
Patch 16.21.1 - Riot UniverseOpen
The official story of Gnar (a link, nothing copied).
