Nautilus vs Taric Counter Pick

Taric answers a hook support with two things Nautilus has no version of: sustained healing and outright invulnerability. Nautilus records 46.4% over 1,001 games on patch 16.13.1, and the mechanism behind that deficit is denial — Cosmic Radiance makes nearby allies invulnerable after a delay, so the knock-up from Depth Charge and the damage that normally converts an engage into a kill can be erased by one well-timed cast.

The stat comparison is closer than the result suggests. Taric opens with 645 health and 40 armor to Nautilus’ 646 and 39, falling behind only at level eighteen, 2,328 health and 113.1 armor against 2,346 and 123.2. Where he pulls ahead is mobility and utility: 340 move speed against 325, Bastion passively raising an ally’s armor, and Starlight’s Touch restoring health from charges built by Bravado attacks. Nautilus has no healing at all, only the temporary shield on Titan’s Wrath, so a long poke war favors the side that regenerates.

One detail decides most trades: Dazzle stuns after a short delay, which can be walked out of, but not while rooted by Staggering Blow or slowed by Riptide. Throwing the anchor first therefore feeds the stun. Taric sits at 3 on the ten-point difficulty scale and Nautilus at 6, and both spend mana, though Taric‘s cooldown-reducing passive softens that cost.