Maokai Build Guide by Teyso

This is continued from my guide about all things Maokai.For ability explanations and other detailed information, look at the other guide. These two parts of my guide have been separated out for two reasons:

1) The original guide was forced into the Dominion Category (for programming reasons) on Mobafire when it is in fact a champion guide.

2) The original guide was WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY too long. This should make them both more readable.

This is different from the one in the main guide, the spells are rated specifically for Dominion.

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I. Viability: (2/5) II. Uses: Track the enemy in the fog-of-war. Spot incoming Ganks or hidden Defenders. III. Comments: I find that other spells benefit Maokai more in Dominion.

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I. Viability: (1/5) II. Uses: Mana sustain. III. Comments: If you think you need sustain, get a Catalyst the Protector instead. Its passive activates more frequently in Dominion because of how much more quickly you level up.

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I. Viability: (3/5) II. Uses: Break CC so you can continue fighting, chasing, escaping, etc. III. Comments: Meh, it's not my favorite, but I can't think of any argument against it besides "I like other spells more" which lacks rhetoric >.<

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I. Viability: (5/5) II. Uses: Shut down a Carry, or slow an enemy so you can escape from or catch them. III. Comments: This spell is fantastic, one of my favorite spells because it is so versatile. If I am not jungling or AP Mid I usually take this.

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I. Viability: (4/5) II. Uses: Hop walls, catch or escape enemies. Juking. III. Comments: Very versatile, helps with a lot of different situations. An all around good pick. HOWEVER, ghost has a much better cool-down, so you may want that instead.

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I. Viability: (5/5) II. Uses: Defending or Assaulting Capture Points in Dominion. Regenerating a Capture Point's health. III. Comments: I use it more when I'm the defender at bottom Capture Point, for when 3 of them try to turret dive me. It can also help regen a Capture Point to be more securely under your team's control. Also useful for the Siege/Assault Captain role.

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I. Viability: (5/5) II. Uses: Catch or escape from enemies. get to a capture point to defend it. Reduce travel time from point A to point B. III. Comments: Another great option, it's a toss up between this and Flash for me, because its cooldown is better than that of Flash.

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I. Viability: (3/5) II. Uses: baiting, Teamfights, and sustain. III. Comments: I don't take this with Maokai, he has lots of sustain already, although if you really really like it i guess...? It's also viable for the purpose of heal-baiting opponents.

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I. Viability: (4/5) II. Uses: Reduce Heals on a target, helps pick up kills. III. Comments: If you're not the AP carry, get this only if nobody else on your team has it. It's only for preventing heals on enemies with lifesteal, or champs like Vladimir, Mundo and Volibear, who heal themselves.

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I. Viability: (3/5) II. Uses: Return to defend a Capture Point or continue a teamfight if you die. III. Comments: Has good potential to steal back the advantage after losing a fight at a Capture Point, but I usually take something else.

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I. Viability: (1/5) II. Uses: Kills Minions. III. Comments: Only really useful on promoted minions or against a champion that uses pets. I would not take this in Dominion.

The idea of the build is to be deceptively tanky. Get a Catalyst the Protector to start, for early game sustain. This item is FANTASTIC in Dominion because you level up and use its passive so frequently.

Get Boots of Speed next for the mobility, and Kage's Lucky Pick for AP and Gp10.

Build Chain Vest and Negatron Cloak now for resistances, these will cost 1440 gold together.

Mercury's Treads will reduce the duration of CC that will be used on you.

Get early Odyn's Veil and Randuin's Omen, these will give you great baiting strength and the capability to 1v3 on your own Capture Point.

Then you get Chalice of Harmony for mana sustain and build it into Athene's Unholy Grail for AP, CDR and Mana Regen.

Get Wooglet's Witchcap for more AP and the active, which allows you to stall captures even more.

Finish Blackfire Torch for health, AP, CDR, and the DoT that will further hinder your enemies' captures.





Boots of Speed and Prospector's Ring are best for early game since you will be fighting people.

Wait to go back until you can afford Sorcerer's Shoes. Then build Kage's Lucky Pick for GP10 and AP.

next get a Spirit Visage for magic resistance, health, and the awesome passive.

Iceborn Gauntlet gives you slows and AoE damage, so that you can help your teammates attack defended points.

Twin Shadows allows you to scout for enemies in the jungle between points.

Then Aegis of the Legion helps make your teammates tankier when they fight near you.

Blackfire Torch gives you health and ability power and magic pen. Alternatively, if your team has other people who deal magic damage, get Abyssal Scepter.

Enchantment: Captain helps teammates follow you when you initiate fights.

Runic Bulwark upgrades out of Aegis to improve the stats it already gave.





The pusher is simply a bulky AP. Get items that increase your durability, damage and sustain.

Start with Catalyst the Protector for sustain if you are going to the bottom of the map. Boots of Speed, Sapphire Crystal and an Amplifying Tome if you are going towards the top of the map.

Your next couple trips to the shop should finish Rod of Ages (Bulky AP) and Boots of Swiftness or Boots of Mobility (less time to get to a lane that can be pushed).

Get a Banner of Command for more pushing power, AP, and health regen.

Abyssal Scepter Gives AP and MR, and reduces the MR of nearby enemies, allowing you to push through minion waves faster.

Iceborn Gauntlet gives you some ap, mana, armor, and CDR for general stat boosts. Additionally the spellblade passive is AoE, so you can clear minions faster, and slow enemies for teammates if a fight breaks out.

Lastly build mana sustain, Athene's Unholy Grail if you do not need to cross the map a lot, or Shurelya's Reverie if you find yourself running around a lot.

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Abyssal Scepter is good when the enemy team is stacking magic resist.

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Aegis of the Legion is good for Support Maokai. Other roles: Get this if your team is full of squishies and if nobody else on your team plans to get one.

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Athene's Unholy Grail is good for Bruiser or AP carry Maokai, but only get if you can't get blue buffs for your mana and cdr.

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Frozen Heart is for Every Maokai. This item is core, Mana, armor and CDR are much needed for Maokai.

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Iceborn Gauntlet is great for pretty much every stat that Maokai needs, as well as provides a great Spellblade passive that works for multiple roles.

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Lich Bane is for AP Maokai, movespeed and bonus nuking damage. If you get this, use your autoattacks between each spell, otherwise it will not be worth the gold you spent on it.

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Odyn's Veil is for Defender Maokai. Stores magic damage taken and can return it. Similar to your ult, but only affects magic damage.

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Shurelya's Reverie gives regeneration, CDR, and an active for initiating or escaping teamfights. Get this if your team can't catch the enemy team to start a fight, or if your team keeps getting caught and can't escape fights.

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Randuin's Omen gives Armor, Health Regen, and a great passive. The active is perfect for teamfights. Get this if the enemy has a lot of champions who use auto-attacks.

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Rod of Ages gives Health, Mana, and Ability Power. Get this if you are fed, or if you are bruiser maokai. Great Tanky AP Item.

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Will of the Ancients gives Spell Vamp and AP. Good for AP Maokai and Defender Maokai. Maybe for Support Maokai. Get this if you and your teammates need more sustain. Note: If you store damage with your ult you can Heal bait with this to deceive and beat enemies.

Maokai makes a fantastic defender, his ult, and AoE's make him capable of defending a Capture point even when he is outnumbered in a fight. Example: I 1v2'd A Twitch and Nidalee one time with this build, without turrets, and won.

Playstyle:

Your job is to be as deceptively tanky as possible. Stay in the fog of war, go wherever your opponents are likely to try to capture, stop the capture, drop your ult, then fight them. Use Randuin's Omen at the start of the fight, and Odyn's Veil and your Ult at the end. They will be tricked into thinking they can kill you and take the capture point, while you secretly have an AoE nuke combo ready to shave off up to 835 from their HP. Use Zhonya's Hourglass if you need to prolong the fight even more. All this delaying will do a few things, it will get you a kill or two, and it will give your teammates time to come help.

Summoner Spells:

Garrison, Exhaust, and Heal will all allow you to bait opponents into fights they can't actually win.

Ghost will allow you to get from A to B faster.

Ability Order Recommendation:

Max your AoE's first:




Maokai is a great fighter, good at siegeing defended capture points, or just ganking for an ally.

Playstyle:

Go to where the fighting is at. Always! Be it defending one of your capture points, or sieging an enemy capture point. You use Garrison and drop your ult on the fight, then jump in and use Randuin's Omen to slow enemies. Use Morello's Evil Tome on whichever enemy is most likely to receive heals. Nuke down the squishy targets first. Kill the enemy, secure the capture point for your team.

Summoner Spells:

Ghost gets you to the fights faster.

Garrison makes assaulting or defending a capture point much easier.

Exhaust shuts down an enemy's damage and makes them easy to focus.

Heal will give your team a second wind in a fight.

Revive allows you to rush back to re-gain the advantage if you lose a fight.

Ability Order Recommendation:

Get a few points in Sapling Toss pre-6, then max Arcane Smash and Twisted Advance evenly for more reliable CC in fights (and if one is on cooldown, you will not be screwed for not having a strong spell when you need one).




Maokai is a great pusher because he has tons of AoE damage, it is easy to amass a large minion wave and then rush a Capture Point.


Playstyle:
Clear creep waves and push down capture points. Use Promote when you want to push harder. try to leave one or two enemy creeps alive while farming so that you can stockpile creeps on your side, then push hard when you have 2 to 3 waves with you.


Summoner Spells:

Heal will keep your creeps healthy

Promote will make one minion stronger

Ghost will get you to a creep wave faster, or help you escape a gank.

Clarity will allow you to stay and keep pushing if you would have had mana problems.

Garrison will allow you to defend points you push and capture.

Ability Order Recommendation:

Level your AoE's evenly, that way you can still deal some damage when one of your leveled abilities is on cooldown.





This concludes the Dominion Section of Everything-Kai. Feel free to leave constructive criticisms. Good luck in the Fields of Justice.