Lucian and Nami Synergy: How to Win Your Ranked Games

Champion Synergy for Lucian and Nami‍

After receiving a series of buffs across recent patches, Lucian and Nami have become one of the strongest bot lane duos in the meta; let’s break down why these champions have so much synergy, and how to take advantage of it through a combination of different abilities and runes.

Lucian and Nami: Synergy in the Laning Phase

In patch 11.17, Lucian received a new passive effect (Vigilance) which causes ally buffs to empower his next two auto attacks to deal bonus damage. Therefore, whenever Nami uses her E (Tidecaller’s Blessing) on Lucian, his next auto attacks will:

• Slow targets and deal bonus magic damage from Tidecaller’s Blessing
• Deal bonus damage from Vigilance
• Be easier to land as Lucian will have increased movement speed from Nami’s passive (Surging Tides)

This combo allows for some incredibly powerful trades during the laning phase, as Lucian can use his E (Relentless Pursuit) to get in range to basic attack the enemy twice with his Lightslinger passive; this can be followed up with a Piercing Light (Q) and more Lightslinger auto attacks. Nami should use her E as Lucian dashes in to amplify Lucian’s damage, and use her W (Ebb And Flow) on Lucian to keep him topped up during a trade and to damage the enemy with the bounce effect. Nami’s Q (Aqua Prison) has a fairly short range and can be difficult to land. However, it's much easier to land if Lucian has already slowed the enemies down with the empowered basic attacks.

Mid to Late Game Synergy with Lucian and Nami

Lucian’s mobility allows him to play a little more aggressively than other ADC’s, as he is able to dash forward to pick off targets. The number of shots fired during The Culling (ultimate) now increases based on Lucian’s critical strike chance, meaning Lucian is capable of shredding through enemies with perfect accuracy.

Meanwhile, Nami’s ultimate (Tidal Wave) is a very strong ability that has strong synergy with other ultimates in team fights due to its large radius and multiple layers of CC. However, its slow travel time means it works better when following up an ally’s engage or disengaging from the enemy. Keep in mind hitting allies with the wave will proc her passive at double strength, so the best Nami ultimates will hit both enemies and allies to CC enemies and grant a lot of movement speed to allies. Outside of the ultimate, use W on enemies/allies who are close together to get the maximum amount of bounces, and E on your carries to enhance their abilities.

Runes and Build for Nami and Lucian

Press The Attack is a fantastic Mythic on Lucian, given how easy it is to proc with his laning combo (E'ing forward, landing both basic attacks from his passive, and following up with Q). The target takes increased damage for 6 seconds once Press The Attack has been procced, and as the Q will proc your passive again, the 2 basic attacks will shred through the target.

Lucian is a pretty mana hungry champion, as his abilities cost a fair amount of mana and you will be using them a lot throughout the game. Therefore, runes like Presence of Mind and Biscuit Delivery help Lucian overcome these mana issues.

Taking Electrocute will increase Nami's damage in trades during the laning phase, and is pretty easy to proc. Tidecaller's Blessing contributes to Eletrocute even if you've used it on your Lucian and he has applied the slow, meaning you can proc Electrocute with a W -> basic attack -> E combo (even if the E is on your Lucian). Additionally, Cheap Shot synergsises excellently on Nami and will enhance your damage against enemies you've CCd with your Q, E or ultimate.

However, this build is strongest during the laning phase and falls off pretty hard in the mid/late game once you're not able to trade as frequently. If you're not confident in your ability to snowball early leads or want to play a little more safe, you can take Summon Aery as your keystone instead. This is still a decent source of damage, but is a little more flexible than Electrocute build as it shields your allies whenever you use your W or E on them.

Item Build

Galeforce is an excellent Mythic on Lucian, as it offers him an additional mobility tool and can be used in combination with Flash and his E (Relentless Pursuit) to travel a great distance quickly. Given Lucian’s the shots fired by Lucian’s ultimate (The Culling) now scales with crit, items such as Infinity Edge and The Collector work really well on Lucian.

Meanwhile, Imperial Mandate amplifies Nami’s damage and is very easy to proc between her E and Q. The rest of Nami’s build will depend on the game state: Ardent Censer can amplify a fed Lucian’s damage, Staff Of Flowing Water can buff a fed AP carry, and Chemtech Putrifier can be used to shut down the enemy team should they have a lot of healing. Dark Seal into Mejai's Soulstealer is an alternative option, particularly if you're completely stomping in the laning phase and are looking to snowball this advantage. The ability power will increase your damage, heals, the slow provided by your E, and movement speed granted by your passive.

Summary‍

Lucian and Nami are one of the best bot lanes with natural synergy in the current meta, with a fantastic laning phase and a smooth transition into team fights. Their combos are very strong, and they are a strong duo at every point of the game.

Want to learn about other great champion duos? You can read our Champion Synergy Guide to Zeri & Lulu here , or our Miss Fortune and Leona Synergy Guide here.

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