Trundle vs Gnar Counter Pick

Rage Gene controls the pace of this top lane matchup. Small Gnar backs off with Boomerang Throw and Hop, then Rage transforms him into Mega Gnar, adding survivability and GNAR!, a knockback that stuns anything pinned against a wall. Trundle’s counter is Subjugate, a four-second channel that drains a portion of health, armor and magic resist. The best window for it is while Gnar is still small and has only 540 base health.

Patch 16.13.1 numbers show Trundle winning 41.9% of his games across 229 matches, which makes the Troll King the underdog here. Gnar’s damage is split between physical and magic, so leaning on one defensive stat leaves holes. His 37 base armor and 32 magic resist both get pressured in the same exchange. Trundle claws back the difference over time: 2,520 health at level 18 against 1,883, a lead of 637.

Most of Trundle’s mistakes come down to placement. Pillar of Ice creates terrain Gnar cannot cross, and since his ultimate depends on walls, a sloppy pillar can hand him a stun he would not otherwise have. Placed well, it blocks Hop and forces the transformation to happen at a distance Trundle picks. Frozen Domain boosts attack speed, move speed and healing for everyone standing in the area it covers, so extended fights should take place on top of it, ideally within King’s Tribute range of a dying wave. Difficulty 8 gives Gnar some room to misstep, and that room mostly depends on how well he times his transformation.