Talk:Maokai/@comment-3184542-20110504134541/@comment-99.231.193.28-20110510172634

I have always found that a hybrid works, not too high on the defense though. Since he has such a spammable Q, I find that lichbane works wonders on him, especially since hes so slow. It gives him extra burst after landing on someone, and helps make sure they don't get away. Plus it gives him a small amount of magic resist, which might be enough in some games. CDR? Glacial shroud gives armor, enough CDR with runes and masteries (for me), and more mana. But first I grab an RoA, which gives me sufficient bonus life and mana, that along with the later mana from sheen/lichbane and the glacial shroud, I have enough for all the spell casting for the rest of the game, though I do carry clarity just in case. Then I just need a deathcap to bring my AP over 400, and one other item. Of course much earlier I get boots, usually boots of swiftness(Goes well with lichbane) or sorc boots, sometimes even merc treads. Last item? I usally get an Abyssal Scepter or a Banshees Veil, but its situational. I aim for an AP item, so it'd likely be Rylais, Abyssal Scepter, or Hourglass, and the defense helps, but a full on AP item like Arch never hurts either, especially with the extra mana from LB and GS.

Last game I played, I was targeted every fight because I was stomping all over their Caitlyn, a Caitlyn with almost 400 damage, 90% crit chance and 20%ish lifesteal (Zerk Boots, 2 IE, 2 PD and a BT... Yeah it was a long game, 76 mins, 443 minion kills 13 kills and 21 assists). Mao does great damage with his decently high AP ratios, she wasn't doing much better with a warmogs and one less PD.