Nilah vs Lucian ADC Matchup Guide | LaneStomp

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Nilah

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Lucian

Nilah vs Lucian

Confidence highUpdated Jun 7, 2026

Overview

Nilah must survive Lucian's early burst and punish his short-range dash windows with support help.
The lane turns on wave state: Nilah benefits from frozen or slow-pushed waves near her side to enable safe all-ins.
Lucian wins short burst trades and early lane pressure, but Nilah scales better into extended fights with (W) and (R).

Trading pattern

Punish Lucian stepping up for CS by auto-attacking during his last-hit if enemy support can't immediately trade back.
Use (W) to block Lucian's auto attacks when committing to all-ins, denying his main retaliation.
Avoid using (E) forward without support follow-up, as Lucian can kite you and punish overextensions.

Danger windows

(E) dash combined with support follow-up creates lethal burst windows; avoid stepping up without (W) ready.
Stepping into brush or river control without vision risks Lucian's support enabling quick engages.
Avoid trading when (Q) poke is off cooldown and minion waves are large, as his poke outranges you.

Early game

Hold the wave near your side to reduce Lucian's dash angles and punish his last-hit attempts.
Contest level 2 trades only if your support can engage or shield you through Lucian's burst.
Use low-health caster minions to step forward and hit Lucian during his last-hit animations if enemy support is out of position.

Power spikes

Level 6 (R) spike lets you commit to grouped fights, pulling Lucian into your team and denying his escape.
First completed marksman item increases your all-in damage, making short-range engages safer and more threatening.
Lucian's level 2 dash and burst require you to respect early trades and only engage with support setup.

Win conditions

Convert health leads from punishing Lucian's CS attempts into crashing waves for turret plates and dragon setup.
Use (W) and (R) with support engage to force Lucian recalls before first item spikes.
Survive early poke and scale into teamfights where your short-range burst and crowd control secure sustained DPS access.