Guide · Support

Nami Guide

the Tidecaller

Support

Mage

Tier C Support

Nami, the Tidecaller, is a support and mage champion of medium difficulty. Across our 1152 analysed ranked games, Nami is mostly played as Support (100% of its games), with a 49.0% win rate in that role: tier C among Support champions (#31 of 39, ranked by win rate). Nami's damage is mostly magic (85%): magic resistance items are therefore effective against this champion. Win rate stays steady whatever the game length (47.8% to 51.1%): a reliable pick in every phase of the game.

Average KDA

1.5 / 5.3 / 16.0

ratio 3.3

Damage / min

322

CS / min

0.9

Gold / min

300

Kill participation

60%

Vision / min

2.59

Averages measured over 1152 Support games played with Nami, from our ranked Solo/Duo data collection.

Combos and how to play

Written guide · based on the official ability texts

Nami is a water enchanter: Aqua Prison stuns, Ebb and Flow heals allies and damages enemies as it bounces, and Tidecaller's Blessing empowers an ally's attacks (magic damage and slow). Her abilities on allies give them movement speed, and her ultimate knocks the enemies it hits into the air.

The lane engage

When: Your carry is ready to strike.

Aqua Prison stuns on impact, Tidecaller's Blessing empowers your ally, Ebb and Flow heals your team and damages the target as it bounces.

Protection

When: An ally is in trouble.

Ebb and Flow bounces between allied and enemy champions: it heals allies and damages enemies. Tidecaller's Blessing slows the aggressors.

The engage ultimate

When: A team fight starts.

Tidal Wave knocks the enemies it hits into the air, slows and damages them; your allies it hits gain double the effect of Surging Tides.

Laning phase

Aqua Prison is your engage: its bubble stuns on impact, so aim well. Tidecaller's Blessing on your carry gives them a slow and bonus damage: it is the core of your harassment.

Common mistakes

Casting Aqua Prison without accounting for the bubble's travel time: it stuns on impact, so plan its trajectory.
Forgetting to heal: Ebb and Flow is also your sustain tool.
Using the ultimate with no ally nearby: its speed effect benefits your team.

Riot's official tips for playing Nami

Aqua Prison has a long cooldown, make sure to use it at the right moment.
Using Ebb and Flow during an engagement with enemy champions will help sway the battle in your favor.
Nami's ultimate can come in very handy for initiating on enemies who are far away.

Build, runes and summoner spells

The most-played core build is Staff of Flowing Water, Moonstone Renewer, and Echoes of Helia (69 games, 53.6% win rate).

Staff of Flowing Water

69 games · 53.6%

53 games · 62.3%

33 games · 54.5%

Summoner spells

Flash + Heal48.7% · 984 games

Exhaust + Flash52.3% · 132 games

Flash + Ignite48.6% · 35 games

Most-played runes

Summon Aery + Resolve

50.3% · 708 games

Primary tree · Sorcery

Manaflow Band96%

Transcendence93%

Scorch86%

Secondary tree · Resolve

Revitalize99%

Bone Plating84%

Shards

Adaptive force87%

Adaptive force92%

Health scaling81%

Summon Aery + Inspiration

49.0% · 353 games

Primary tree · Sorcery

Manaflow Band94%

Transcendence66%

Scorch70%

Secondary tree · Inspiration

Cosmic Insight72%

Magical Footwear68%

Shards

Adaptive force82%

Adaptive force86%

Health57%

Summon Aery + Precision

28.6% · 28 games

Primary tree · Sorcery

Manaflow Band100%

Transcendence46%

Gathering Storm64%

Secondary tree · Precision

Legend: Haste93%

Presence of Mind61%

Shards

Ability haste50%

Adaptive force75%

Health54%

For each row, the most picked rune among the games played with this page (share of games in brackets).

Which items to build against the enemy team?

We sort every game by the enemy team's damage. These are Nami's completed items and their win rate in each situation; "▲" marks an item that does at least 3 points better than its usual win rate.

Mostly magic-damage enemy team51.4% · 331 games

At least 50% of their damage is magic

Echoes of Helia 48.6%

Moonstone Renewer 58.1% ▲

Staff of Flowing Water 57.9% ▲

Imperial Mandate 56.9% ▲

Ardent Censer 50.7%

Mikael's Blessing 66.7% ▲

The item that stands out most is Imperial Mandate: 56.9% win rate, +7 points versus its usual win rate.

Mostly physical-damage enemy team48.5% · 293 games

Less than 35% of their damage is magic

Echoes of Helia 46.2%

Moonstone Renewer 50.0%

Staff of Flowing Water 51.2%

Ardent Censer 47.9% ▼

Imperial Mandate 54.0% ▲

Redemption 58.1%

The item that stands out most is Imperial Mandate: 54.0% win rate, +4 points versus its usual win rate.

Balanced enemy team47.9% · 528 games

Mixed physical and magic damage

Echoes of Helia 50.6%

Moonstone Renewer 49.8%

Staff of Flowing Water 50.3%

Imperial Mandate 43.5% ▼

Ardent Censer 53.2%

Mikael's Blessing 51.6% ▼

No item clearly stands out in this situation: the usual build remains the reference.

Counters and matchups

Who counters Nami as Support

Milio Nami: 28.6%28 games

Milio has the edge in 71% of the 28 Support duels against Nami. See the Milio guide.

Sona Nami: 33.3%30 games

Sona has the edge in 67% of the 30 Support duels against Nami. See the Sona guide.

Leona Nami: 37.5%32 games

Leona has the edge in 62% of the 32 Support duels against Nami. See the Leona guide.

Seraphine Nami: 38.5%39 games

Seraphine has the edge in 62% of the 39 Support duels against Nami. See the Seraphine guide.

Zilean Nami: 40.9%22 games

Zilean has the edge in 59% of the 22 Support duels against Nami. See the Zilean guide.

Who Nami is strong against

Janna69.0% · 29 games

Nautilus63.6% · 33 games

Thresh59.4% · 32 games

Karma56.8% · 37 games

Senna50.0% · 26 games

How to play against Nami

Aqua Prison is a very powerful ability with a long cooldown, take advantage of the situation if Nami misses this ability.
Tidal Wave has a very long range but travels slowly, be aware of when it is coming your way as you can move out of its path.
Try to avoid fighting an opponent affected by Tidecaller's Blessing, it lasts a short duration so waiting it out can help you greatly.

Riot's official tips.

Win rates measured over direct same-role duels; only matchups with more than 15 games are listed. See all of Nami's matchups.

Abilities

PassiveSurging Tides

When Nami's Abilities hit allied champions they gain Move Speed for a short duration.

QAqua Prison

Sends a bubble to a target area, dealing damage and stunning all enemies on impact.

WEbb and Flow

Unleashes a stream of water that bounces back and forth between allied and enemy champions, healing allies and damaging enemies.

ETidecaller's Blessing

Empowers an allied champion for a short duration. The ally's basic attacks and spells deal bonus magic damage and slow the target.

RTidal Wave

Summons a massive Tidal Wave that knocks up, slows, and damages enemies. Allies hit gain double the effect of Surging Tides.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best build for Nami?

The most-played core build is Staff of Flowing Water, Moonstone Renewer, and Echoes of Helia (69 games, 53.6% win rate).

Who counters Nami?

Nami's toughest matchups as Support are Milio (28.6% win rate over 28 games), Sona (33.3% win rate over 30 games), and Leona (37.5% win rate over 32 games).

What are Nami's best matchups?

Nami posts its best win rates against Janna (69.0%), Nautilus (63.6%), and Thresh (59.4%).

What game length suits Nami best?

Win rate stays steady whatever the game length (47.8% to 51.1%): a reliable pick in every phase of the game.

Which runes should I play on Nami?

The most-played rune page uses Summon Aery with the Resolve secondary tree (708 games, 50.3% win rate).

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