Gnar vs Ryze Counter Pick

Ryze carries 22 base armor and 93.4 at level 18, the softer defensive line of the two, and Gnar’s damage is mixed rather than magic, so the physical half lands on the stat Ryze is least equipped for. Over 180 games on patch 16.13.1 that produces 54.4% in Gnar’s favor.

Range argues the opposite. Ryze attacks from 550 units to 175 and moves at 340 against 335, and Arcane Mastery turns ability power into maximum mana and bonus mana back into spell damage, which is how he arrives at 2,728 health while Gnar holds 1,883. On paper the ranged mage should never be caught.

In practice Rage Gene does not run on a visible cooldown. It fills through combat and triggers on the next ability cast, so the moment Gnar becomes a real threat is awkward to plan around. Hop gains extra distance off any unit it bounces from, minions included, and the transformed Boulder Toss replaces the boomerang once Rage peaks. Holding Gnar off requires Rune Prison to land with Flux already applied, since a plain slow is not enough against a leap. Health at level one favors Ryze at 620 against 540, so the early poke exchanges are not free on either side. He rates 7 for execution against Gnar’s 8, and both damage profiles reward landing the opening hit.