Maokai/Strategy

Skill usage

 * , gives him a lot of staying power during the lane phase, especially if facing/laning with champions that spam skills like, , , and.
 * Using your abilities at the start of a game to charge your passive grants you a small burst of health after taking damage in a level one skirmish.
 * will not trigger when attacking buildings. If fighting under a tower, be sure to attack nearby minions if you need the heal.
 * does not trigger when you are at full health, so do not be afraid of last hitting minions at full health while this ability is up.
 * When used close enough causes a small knock-back in addition to the slow it provides, use this to interrupt channeled spells such as   or.
 * and can make a surprise grab and provide an opportunity to open a team fight.
 * is a great initiator and has good tower diving/chasing capability thanks to . His is also able to chase retreating enemies past their towers and possibly kill them.
 * can farm using, as mid-game the sapling can kill 3-5 minions easily. The Sapling deals damage twice: once upon impact and another after a short delay. It can also be used to damage enemies in brush safely.
 * Use to harass enemies in the lane. Try to overshoot your target slightly, just enough to get the impact damage and allowing the enemy to dodge into the explosion.
 * Try to aim your saplings so there are no enemy minions nearby to trigger them, as they may choose to explode on them rather than the desired champion. You can also use it to zone enemies by placing them behind the enemy minions, forcing the enemy to duck away from experience range or take damage.
 * Champions with can outrun the sapling quite easily, making this form of lane-control mainly effective at the very start of a game.
 * Saplings won't dentonate on stealthed enemies, but can hit them. This is very useful if the enemy tries to flee through both minions and stealth.
 * is not a channeled spell, so is free to use other skills while supporting his teammates. Remember to deactivate right before all enemies leave the AoE, or else they will suffer no damage.
 * is very useful when the battle ground is stationary, such as during a tower push or defense. Using it in the open will usually cause enemies to run out of it, wasting its potential. During a push, however, the designated fighting grounds remains around the tower, which forces the enemy team to fight on your terms.
 * Small skirmishes in the jungle or even the occasional team fight are good times to use, as escape routes are few and the fighting ground is often crowded and fast paced.
 * The damage output from is very powerful with some ability power. Using it in team fights to hit as many enemies as possible can turn the tide greatly in your teams favor
 * is good for small skirmishes in laning as well. If you aren't sure you can kill your enemy with the normal E-W-Q combo, throw down to add that extra bit of damage you may need.
 * Use while face tanking minion waves to quickly kill minions and shut down the enemy's push.
 * can be very useful for suiciding a group. A fully built can easily store up the 300 bonus damage when 1 v 4 thanks to . In addition to free hits while they try to kill you, the resulting nuke from  can often get an unexpected kill.
 * is a great counter against other champs' AoE ults. Activate during a channel such as  or  to absorb some damage and retaliate with some of your own.
 * typical initiation is using, rooting them near the sapling with , and finishing off with . Waiting until the root is just about to end before using his knock-back increases disable time on them as well. If a team battle is about to start use after you jump in with your , positioning its location to net as many enemies and allies as possible.
 * 's damage output early game is very high being able to bring a squishy enemy to about 1/3 of their health using a few well aimed . When they get low enough use the above combo and you should easily have a kill.
 * can have a support role similar to, being able to deal decent damage and still protect allies, or , being able to disrupt enemy positions and set-up kills for his allies while still remaining relatively tanky.

Build usage

 * suffers from naturally low MR and benefits greatly from CDR, so is a perfect defensive item as it provides a nice amount of both along with synergizing well with.
 * Health items synergizes well with and improves his sustainability.
 * If using a, It is possible to save your until after you've resurrected as the stacks stay with you through death. Doing this could save your life if a champion decides to wait around until you've revived.
 * Using a provides great synergy with, as it applies the slow with its first hit and then again after it chases down and explodes near an opponent. The health will also benefit his tanking.
 * Using a or  can offer great results due to  high base attack damage and low cooldown on.
 * is very useful on Maokai as it provides valuable MR and greatly increases his mana regeneration to extend the duration of as well as use it more often.

Countering

 * A good portion of tanking ability comes from his being able to consistently heal through . If you can spare it, try using, , or a heal-reducing ability to minimize this.


 * When jungling, can reach level 2 and gank shortly after the 2 minute mark. Be aware of this and play accordingly.


 * will detonate for damage even if it ends due to death or mana loss; don't forget this when finishing him off at low health.


 * When facing a laning, the most reliable way to avoid is to stand near your minions, then run when he throws the sapling. This way, the minions draw aggro instead of you, allowing you to reliably get out of the explosion radius.

Champion spotlight
Gw8f-VqAcQo