Nidalee — LoL Classic counters & build

Who beats Nidalee in League of Legends: Classic, who Nidalee beats, and the Season 3 items, runes and masteries to run jungle, top. Patch 26.17.

Nidalee is weak against

Lee Sin jungle
He invades and outduels you before your spear scaling comes online.
Skarner jungle
Suppression catches you out of cougar mobility.
Xin Zhao jungle
You gap close through cougar mobility and win the duel outright.

Nidalee is strong against

Nunu & Willump jungle
Spear poke and traps deny his pathing before he can contest.
Evelynn jungle
Traps reveal her stealth approach and cougar form outduels her.

Nidalee Season 3 build

Start:

Hunter's MacheteHealth Potion ×5

Core:

Wriggle's LanternLich BaneRabadon's Deathcap

Lich Bane procs on cougar autos after a spear. That is the Season 3 Nidalee burst.

Alternative Nidalee builds

Bruiser Nidalee: Wriggle's Lantern → Wit's End → Blade of The Ruined King → Trinity Force → Guinsoo's Rageblade
Cougar form applies on-hit and Takedown executes, so you duel and split rather than poke from the back.

Nidalee rune page

9× Mark of Attack Damage9× Seal of Armor9× Glyph of Scaling Magic Resist3× Quintessence of Attack Speed

Attack speed quints are the Season 3 jungle clear stat - the camps take real damage and Wriggle's procs more often. Armor seals are mandatory for monster damage.

Nidalee masteries

21/9/0 Offense. Bladed Armor is the jungle-only node: it returns damage to monsters and speeds every clear.

Open Nidalee in the app