User blog comment:ChaseKing/Maokai's Roles/@comment-24966592-20150524113356

Yeah, you definitely should have been the initiator on your team. But I do understand what you mean by Mao not being a standard initiator due to poor range on his main engage ability. I generally find it's best to flank enemies as Mao because of this. I think Mao works better as a counterinitiator now. With old Maokai, you could place your ultimate down for your squishies then dive the backline, but now that his ult circles around him, staying around the ones you want to protect seems like a better idea. Especially considering the % of health damage on your W allows you to deal sufficient damage to other tanks/bruisers. His E should be used to reach the enemy backline and assist your assasins/mages in landing shots while you hang back and peel.