Maokai

Playstyle Profile

Maokai is a protector — defends carries by neutralizing incoming threats

Teamfight Role

Backline Protector

Power Spike

Mid game

Split Threat

None

Backline Access

Low

Maokai's Strengths

• Keeps carries alive through burst — Maokai's peel makes hyper-carries nearly unkillable in teamfights

How to Play Maokai

Champion-specific pre-match tips

Lane Phase

Toss your E into river or lane brushes before starting an early skirmish to secure vision and create empowered traps that zone enemies.

Lane Phase

Weave a basic attack immediately after landing your W to trigger your passive heal and win the short trade.

Lane Phase

Cast Q the moment an enemy steps into melee range to knock them backward and interrupt their attack animation.

Mid Game

Stack multiple E saplings in the jungle brushes surrounding a major objective thirty seconds before it spawns to chunk approaching enemies.

Mid Game

Target an enemy with W the moment they cast a crucial crowd control spell to dodge the effect using your brief untargetability.

Mid Game

Channel your ult from behind a wall or out of vision right as a teamfight begins to trap the enemy team inside a narrow choke point.

Late Game

Cast your ult diagonally across lanes or jungle corridors to maximize the root's spread and guarantee you hit multiple spread-out targets.

Late Game

Save your W and Q exclusively to lock down diving assassins once they commit onto your backline carries.

Late Game

Strike the nearest target with a basic attack every time your passive comes off cooldown to out-sustain enemy damage in extended 5v5 fights.

For matchup-tailored tips, use Baron Buff's AI Coach during champion select.

How to Counter Maokai

Counter strategies and draft context

build percent-health damage, kite effectively, or bypass them entirely to reach carries

• Struggles against multi-angle pressure — Maokai can't peel multiple threats at once
• Split-push threats that avoid 5v5 team fights entirely
• Compositions with strong disengage to negate engage windows
• Picks that bypass the frontline to reach backline carries directly

Maokai's Weaknesses

• Multiple dive threats at once — Maokai can only peel one target, and coordinated dives overwhelm the backline

Best Synergies with Maokai

Team synergies and draft context

• Hyper-carry ADCs that thrive behind Maokai's protection — the longer fights last, the more value you get
• Assassins that flank while you hold enemy attention at the front
• Follow-up damage dealers that capitalize on your engage and CC
• AOE mages that combo with your crowd control for wombo setups

Draft Context

• Drafts only squishies — Maokai can peel, but there's nothing to absorb damage in the frontline

Learning Curve

Based on hundreds of thousands of high-elo matches — how Maokai's win rate changes with mastery level

Maokai has exceptional depth — there is always something new to learn, but getting results takes patience. Expect lower win rates early while building the experience to unlock this champion's potential.

Skill Cap

Very High

Cost of Learning

High