Bard vs Nautilus Counter Pick
Matchup Summary
What the Data Means
Bard is a support/mage hybrid, Nautilus a tank/support hybrid, and they meet in the Support lane. Over 4,098 ranked games on patch 16.13.1, Bard closes out 46.5% of them. A deficit of 3.5 points is what earns Nautilus its counter flag in this matchup.
Bard looks for Magical Journey (E); Nautilus answers with Dredge Line (Q). Tempered Fate and Depth Charge are the two buttons that end the exchange outright.
Range decides much of the early game: Bard attacks from 500 units, Nautilus from 175. The burden is on Nautilus: Bard has no reason to walk into an even fight.
Bard and Nautilus overlap on mixed damage, so itemisation converges rather than splits. Level-one bases: Bard 630 HP / 34 armour / 30 MR, Nautilus 646 / 39 / 32. 5 armour of separation tilts level-one trades toward Nautilus. Level 18 armour lands at 119 for Bard and 123 for Nautilus. On autos alone the numbers read 52 AD for Bard and 61 for Nautilus. Bard walks at 335 and Nautilus at 325, so Bard dodges skillshots a fraction easier.
A 9/10 difficulty rating on Bard, against 6/10, means the sample includes plenty of players still learning it. Pair 46.5% with its 4,098 games and patch 16.13.1 before calling the matchup settled.
FAQ
No — current data marks this as a counter matchup: Nautilus has the statistical edge. Bard wins 46.5% of the recorded games.
46.5% from Bard's perspective, measured on patch 16.13.1.
4,098 ranked games at Emerald rank and above, across all regions.
The current Bard build — items, runes and skill order from the same data set — is on the Bard build page.